hipsters

[Stripey]

The most interesting thing I've read all week:

Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization | Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters

I take a look at one of the girls wearing a bright pink keffiyah and carrying a Polaroid camera and think, If only we carried rocks instead of cameras, wed look like revolutionaries. But instead we ignore the weapons that lie at our feet oblivious to our own impending demise.

We are a lost generation, desperately clinging to anything that feels real, but too afraid to become it ourselves.

rise of the idiots indeed.

[TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH]

I got halfway through the article and stopped reading it as it was angering up my blood.

[KimyReizeger]

But what is there left to say about this? Every generation complains about the next. I don't see how this is much different beyond saying, 'oh but these guys are even worse'. But I agree they certainly are twats and probably top the table for utter vacuity. Reminds me of a conversation I had in Glasgow with two fashionable coke heads who were 'doing performace art at RSAMD' :

Me: So what's performance art?

Them: It's just, like, using a stage.

Me: A stage?

Them: For art.

Me: What kind of art?

Them: Just what you can do with a stage.

And that was it, verbatim; even the insane grammatical wrongness of the last bit. A girl I was seeing once had a 'best friend' also, who was something of a cringeworthy Doherty impersonator, home-made haircut, frequent art-school attendee, scratching his face all the time and seemingly making genuine effort to look 'fucked up', permanently bleary-eyed, all sprinkled over with a sense of tragedy cuz 'hez so intelijent'....

[Guest Neutral]

I'm going to start making my own clothing out of sacking, old sheets and the sewing together of old garments and stuff from charity shops.

[Chris]

Hasn't every generation had these people though? The writer talks about punks and how every previous generation strived to revolutionise, but did they really? Aside from a handful of visonaries the majority of punks were just the hipsters of the day, slavishly following the trend to appear cool. Much like their beatnik and hippy parents and the mods and rockers before them and the generation x/grunge/britrock/whatever youth movement of choice came after them.

This isn't an interesting article, it's just one guy whinging about kids today.

[Swingin' Ryan]

The problem with articles about 'Hipsters' is, they are always written by 'Hipsters' who are such big fucking 'Hipsters', they believe they have risen above their peers. The immaculate descriptions of 'Hipster uniforms' makes me think that the writer was almost certainly at a loft party in NY listening to Crystal Castles and wearing an ironic ski-jacket last week.

I've got an American Apparel cardigan, however I'm not on Facebook or MySpace so I don't know where I stand now

[KimyReizeger]

The problem with articles about 'Hipsters' is, they are always written by 'Hipsters' who are such big fucking 'Hipsters', they believe they have risen above their peers. :

Or, as stated somewhere in the article - chubby old bloggers seething with jealousy at the brazen sexuality of a younger generation. Still it's good to moan every now and then and I just remembered a couple of other scenarios. One in which when I first met the guy I mentioned above, he offered my a bite of his sandwich and everyone laughed - presumably because he was displaying his utter disregard for established means of introduction etc etc.Also, they all used to shop in charity shops for the perfect topping to otherwise neon gear, listen to the Cocteau Twins on crusty record players in the day then pop endless pills to soaring DnB at night..Maybe that's why I can't get into that genre. I'm pretty sure I've seen that ironic dancing aswell; you've got to watch people that move seamlessly from idleness to full-on, spasmodic, fist-flying joy - I reckon they're the main perpetrators and it makes me miss Kef, which for the most part seemed void of these types and generally came across as something much weirder all together.

[Stripey]

Hasn't every generation had these people though? The writer talks about punks and how every previous generation strived to revolutionise, but did they really? Aside from a handful of visonaries the majority of punks were just the hipsters of the day, slavishly following the trend to appear cool. Much like their beatnik and hippy parents and the mods and rockers before them and the generation x/grunge/britrock/whatever youth movement of choice came after them.

This isn't an interesting article, it's just one guy whinging about kids today.

I don't think that's really the case, obviously all these "movements" over the decades had their mindless easily influenced followers, but at the core of each of them was some genuine agenda, some genuine action, and some genuine belief that things had to change. What's the core agenda and motivation of these kids? Fuck all other than rampant consumerism, narcisissim and self indulgence.

[KimyReizeger]

What's the core agenda and motivation of these kids? Fuck all other than rampant consumerism, narcisissim and self indulgence.

Come now - I'm sure they vote Green.

[Spoonie]

What's the core agenda and motivation of these kids? Fuck all other than rampant consumerism, narcisissim and self indulgence.

How can you possibly know what the core agenda and motivation are of a whole raft of people?

[Stripey]

How can you possibly know what the core agenda and motivation are of a whole raft of people?

What do you think they stand for?

[Spoonie]

i've not given it a great deal of thought. just picked up on your broad brush approach and thought i'd see what it stems from.

[lovers_spit]

i've not given it a great deal of thought. just picked up on your broad brush approach and thought i'd see what it stems from.

I think Stripey has a point, though. Those are the only apparent traits with this group of people, and even if its not the ideals of all of them, it probably was by the people who kick started this whole "hipster" movement.

[Stripey]

i've not given it a great deal of thought

oh really?

[KimyReizeger]

Spoonie your argument rests on the notion that the individuals within the clique may have valuable core beliefs of their own, which is fine and good, but the point is that - as a group - they possess nothing discernible. Therefore even if Sally or Johnny Hipster has a soft spot for declining cod stocks, their peer group doesn't, so they lack the virtue of a collective thrust evident in other eras..

[Swingin' Ryan]

listen to the Cocteau Twins on crusty record players in the day

Anyone who listens to the Cocteau Twins is cool. I know what you mean about performance art students at RSAMD painfully well though, I've met many RSAMD acting students and on the whole they are total knobs.

[Guest treader.]

Anyone who listens to the Cocteau Twins is cool. I know what you mean about performance art students at RSAMD painfully well though, I've met many RSAMD acting students and on the whole they are total knobs.

this means i'm cool. cool! oh and yeah, RSAMD/any drama school the world over pupils are mostly dickzzzz.

[Spoonie]

oh really?

yes, really. anything else?

Spoonie your argument rests on the notion that the individuals within the clique may have valuable core beliefs of their own' date=' which is fine and good, but the point is that - as a group - they possess nothing discernible. Therefore even if Sally or Johnny Hipster has a soft spot for declining cod stocks, their peer group doesn't, so they lack the virtue of a collective thrust evident in other eras.[/quote']

in response, i've not got an argument to speak of, i just don't believe that stripey can claim to accurately comment on other peoples core beliefs, particularly not in a large group. i'll fully admit, i'm not that interested in this topic at all, just that struck me as a bit much.

[Cloud]

this means i'm cool. cool! oh and yeah, RSAMD/any drama school the world over pupils are mostly dickzzzz.

Any drama school? Get a grip, some of the most intelligent people I know are drama students. I know a guy that could've (with his results) gone to any university he wanted, but he went and did an ND in Performing Arts (and followed it through to degree level) instead. I saw his workload, and they were effectively expected to be in college four full days a week, plus perform and rehearse on their off days.

But don't worry Ewan, you'll never be an actor Are you actually just jealous that they have talent and have to bloody well work at it, though?

[Guest treader.]

i didnt say they weren't intelligent...i just said they were dicks.

[Bigsby]

i didnt say they weren't intelligent...i just said they were dicks.

lol, touche.

[Cloud]

i didnt say they weren't intelligent...i just said they were dicks.

It's okay, I'm sure they think you're a dick as well, so everyone's happy

[Scootray]

In fact they are very intelligent (at least the males are). "Studying" with hot, slutty girls. Nice work lads.

[Pierre Von Mondragon]

This is, like, so true.

AV Club: Hipster d-bag :: Onion Store

[Le Stu]

I think hipster has become more of an insultive allegation to piss off anyone who is perceived as being both a tragic follower and a zealous evangelist of either pop or sub culture.

But I could be talking out of my bumhole.

However, if you come across real hipsters, you'll know. You will be both shocked and amazed at their absolute and complete lack of diversity. I recall hitting up a small art gallery in the San Francisco bay area (well known breeding ground) and what I saw freaked me out. Every single person, without exception, was dressed exactly the same, with the same scuffed up chucks, art school spiked hair, painted on jeans, thick lensed glasses (if their vision wasn't fucked to begin with it certainly is now) and not only that but their biro art (snigger) was pretty much all the same. I talked with a couple of them, but I'd be hard pressed to pick them out of the crowd again.

I may have just encountered a rare sub-species.