Hipsters
 

I found a pretty funny thread about this stereotype and I would like to venture into it more. Personally, I don't agree with stereotyping people, but every "hipster" I see matches each quality perfectly: starts trends, listens to obscure music, has an elitist attitude, dresses like they are poor (but they spent a lot of money looking like it), artsy, etc. I think people can't be summed up by one word, but this is just a fun thread. Anyways, what kind of music do hipsters listen to? Do they even have a specific genre? Specific band?

Most people would have you believe that hipsters listen to Animal Collective, Wavves, Best Coast, really anything that's Pitchfork-approved mallcore. None of those bands are even remotely obscure, though, so I have no idea why people put these 'hipster' types up on pedestals by saying they listen to things 'you've never heard of'. They obviously listen to pretty popular music; who really hasn't heard of Arcade Fire by now?

I find that hipster is seriously one of the misused terms in the whole 'music' world. It's just like calling somebody a metalhead or a punk - they're just boring generalizations that seriously limit that person's ability to argue back. "If they're a hipster, well hey man, anything they say is just a fake lie man, they don't ACTUALLY like Burzum, they're just putting up a FRONT!" Same goes for metalheads: "Ha, of COURSE he doesn't like the new Wu-Tang, he's a METALHEAD, he can't appreciate anything without detuned guitars!"

Please, for the life of you, don't start using this word to define people. Just help it die off; we honestly don't need to use this term to generalize people even further. If you like music, don't 'join' a clique; talk to people about music, make friends over it, but it's just sad to build a second identity off of it, or to attribute it to other people who you think are 'faking'.

Post-rock and/or noise pop?

pfft, it's a known fact that hipsters like proto-reptile core and ice-folktronic dance ballet hop.

Y'all need to stay updated. Geez. But who am I kidding? Of course YOU wouldn't know that.

Clutnuckle's post basically can't be topped. Agree with him one hundred percent on everything.

I think I have to check that out. Sounds awesome. :D

There will ALWAYS be generalizations of people. While I agree with you on this, I have to say that I said in the beginning that I am against stereotyping people. This is just a fun thread and nobody is being picked on.

Well sure, there will always be stereotypes because there will always be people trying to assimilate you into the newest trend, BUT those generalizations are cultural, not musical. It's "Music Banter". Not "Musical Stereotypes You Give to People to Try to Comprehend Their Listening Habits Banter". I know you obviously aren't trying to hurt anybody, but:

Do you really want to perpetuate that kind of attitude? That's what these kind of threads do. For five-or-six pages, people make genre jokes about hipsters and how Pitchfork gave an album a 9.4 so they have to get it, then it just dies, and the hipsterisms are in their heads. Doesn't really have the intended effect.

Plus it really doesn't inherit musical discussion aside from saying things like "I heard they listen to death metal now. But only OBSCURE death metal like so-and-so. Man, they're so weak!"

This video sums up everything wrong with 'hipster slander': MC Lars is a white guy who cashes in on pop culture by making really cheap (and not very funny) fun of it. Remember when hip-hop artists actually attacked things that mattered? WELL MOVE OVER PUBLIC ENEMY, MC Lars makes fun of the stereotypical Pitchfork hipster with the poignancy of a toddler! I got a cheap laugh out of it the first time I heard it, but it's really not much.

Fair enough. I couldn't even sit through that video...

“Hipsters” are people who try to set themselves apart from what's “common”, no? But pretty much everyone does this to some degree or another. The idea of conformity, being a mindless drone who copies everyone else, makes one sound like an idiot. No one would admit to being this way. So instead we all tend to look for things that can set us apart from one other; a element of distinction-seeking, a way to assert our own individuality, even though we know this will be shared by a certain number of people (but not by everyone). We choose certain tastes that are in direct opposition to other tastes. I'm trying to get through Pierre Bourdieu's classic, 'Distinction' at the moment, which is all about this kind of thing.

The first EP, before they got mainstream.

I didn't intened to be an absolute **** here, but the "genres don't really help anything if you think about it" argument in music is like suggested a deep philosophical question is "If a tree falls int eh woods..."

Its music 101. Terms are created to get you in the right direction, not be the gospel truth to some music questions.

I'm a walking hipster stereotype if you look at my moustache and skinny jeans but I don't like the stereotype since I don't consider myself to be better in anyway because of the music I listen to. Also I don't care if a band is popular or not if the music is good. Granted some of the bands I listen to are quite underground but it's not like I intentionally go out and search for these bands to feel better than other people I just wound up finding bands every now and then that I like. No mater if they are popular or not.
What Im saying is that stereotypes are bad and hating on hipsters, metalheads, punks or whatever because of the way they look or the music they listen to is just stupid because you don't really know these people and hating on them makes you an ******* and people can be *******s whether they are hipsters, metalheads or whatever stupid category they seem to fall in.

I'm not sure why you're bringing up genres. We're talking about a term you attach to a person, not music.

"Hipster" isn't a genre. I'm fine with calling albums metal, punk, noise pop, classical, avant-garde... Hipster is just a slanderous term for people that you don't NEED to use.

I love music, but it's not a person. You can make generalizations on it, divide it into genres, call this avant-garde, that screamo, etc. But to actually put time and effort into generalizing people into a certain sect of the music-listening population - why would you even bother? Yes, people who like metal will probably naturally talk to people who think the same - is 'metalhead' really necessary, though? Some of them embrace it because they like to feel like they're part of something, but I read something in the paper last week where a kid killed himself because he was tired of being harassed at school for liking 'obscure movies'. Not everybody is as tolerant of these generalizations as others. All of those people who do enjoy feeling like they're part of something can join a club, but it's not worth it, because it simply ends up making a lot of people feel like ****.

The human mind is a lot more complex than even the most technically-demanding piece of classical repertoire you can find. Thus, it's unfair to make generalizations on a person. Music? Sure, why not. Doesn't really hurt anybody, as long as you don't get too anal about it.

ON ANOTHER NOTE, back in the 50s, hipsters actually had a positive connotation. It meant somebody who was well-versed in the arts, somebody who you could ask questions to, somebody who was 'obscure', but just because they naturally wanted to be. I'm sure some of the kids hanging out outside of your Starbucks are just like that; people who are actually interesting and open-minded if you give them the chance.

thread:

http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/q...leFacePalm.jpg

Its the same set-up though. When you call someone a metal-head, it at least serves to know where the person stands on something. I don't think anyone should assume it gives you the answers to every issue.

Hipster on the other hand usually refers to someone who's highly contrarian with regard to music, though fashion and lifestyle choice aren't far behind.

And metal-heads wouldn't be considered social contrarians? This is one of the problems with the term "hipster" in my opinion. It attempts to identify a group that doesn't have any common attributes worth identifying. There is no common way of thinking among hipsters, no ideology, not even clear tastes in music. So when people are asked what makes a hipster a hipster, they just say something along the lines of them being social contrarians.

In my opinion, the only reason why such a social group, or perception of a social group, exists in the first place is because of the internet.

No, I don't think metalheads are contrarian. I think they generally see the way they do things as a better, smarter way or at least their preference. Punks would have been a better comparison but even Punks have aim's.

Hipsters are more identifiable because of the internet, but they don't exist because of them. Whether or not they have commonalities that are worth identifying is unrelated as to whether or not they have them.

To sum it up in a word, hipsters are "anti." Not any one thing, everything, even bands they enjoy because they have a misanthropic tint by nature. They're often a reflection of what they hate about everything else. Whether they intended it or not, they became the Aristotelian Mirror to almost anything they've come into contact with.

The problem with them, as a group, is that theres an implicit moral judgement made on the things they scorn, though not verbalized. Meaning the can wriggle their way out of having a purpose and yet continue their ridiculous jihad against them. (Music, fashion, cultural values, transit even)

I'm quite fond of this one myself:
http://www.threadbombing.com/data/me...lm_implied.jpg

I know many o' hipsters! I don't assume what kind of music they listen to. I only know that they're easy to spot. I was actually a hipster for last Halloween. I wore flip flops, American Eagle jeans, a plaid t-shirt, as best a beard as I could have grown, and one of these hats:

http://www.rusclothing.com/imp/hat-rabbit-combi.jpg

I don't like stereotypes, but for some people I think it's just fake. Especially one of my friends who quite literally went from one extreme to another.. to another. From dark clothes and metal, to skinny jeans and was a self proclaimed emo fanatic, to a Starbucks lover who frequents thrift shops. I can't wait to see what the next big "thing" is. This new commercial almost made me cringe at how "current" it tries to be:



Who the hell is Pomplamoose? Exactly!

Yeah but don't fool yourself. The English-speaking people aren't going to let something go unnamed. Furthermore, unnamed things are just as easy to fake.

As for that commercial, it reminds me of the band things about the culture. That woman never looks like she's singing. And the music is Musicbox-esque.

Well this makes more sense to me. But still, it just sounds like being a teenager, or more specifically being immature. Possibly the whole hipster concept came about as a result of society not having a clear counter-culture that young people could identify with. As a result, they just flaunt their desire to be "anti-" without joining a specific group. For instance, I'm sure in the hippie movement there were a lot of young people that joined without prescribing to any of the major ideals of the movement, just to fulfill their desire to be a part of a counterculture.

I don't know, I think I'm just giving too much thought to a subject that I really couldn't care less about.

Wow, this thread is so un-hip. Just chill guys.

There is nothing at all hipster about flip flops and American Eagle jeans. I think you may have your stereotypes mixed up. ;) Plaid and beards, sure, that more typically associated with hipsters. But really, how long have people been wearing plaid and growing beards? Ok.

Disregarding the band and whether they are well-known or not, I fail to see anything hipster about the commercial. The guy had a beard. Is that all it takes these days to be labeled a hipster? The clothes they are wearing are just normal fashion these days.

Sure there are certain fashion trends these days that I'm not hip to (mostly the recycled 80s stuff like bright colors and those fake Ray-Ban sunglasses with the colored arms) because I grew up with that stuff and don't need to see it again, but I think most hipster-hating comes from just not being hip to current fashion trends. Just because you (and I mean that in the general sense) are not willing to accept certain things that others wear and you prefer to wear the same style clothing you wore 10 years ago, does not make everyone around you that does care more about current fashion trends a hipster.

I like to play a game with my friends when we go to a public place full of young people. It's called "Look at that hipster". It's a contest to see who can point out the hipsterest hipster.

American Eagle jeans & flip flops are a bit on the older side. They're more circa 09'. Plaid & beards were big in the 70s. My one friend posted a pic of his "hero" who was almost like a lumberjack. Big beard, long hair, and flannel. Ah yes, flannel.

It's not so much the clothes as the whole commercial. The hand knit sweaters, the "cute" hand puppets, the sort of huge clunky headsets, the lack of any real effects, it's all very DIY. It looks like it could be done with a $100 budget, which is the base of its appeal with these kids. Hobo chic. That girl's voice sort of bothers me too. I don't know of it's just me, but that type of singing, and that sort of voice is everywhere. It's hard to explain. It's just that once I spot a fad coming on, it takes forever for it to really take root. I know when I saw Rockwell font twice in 2 days, I knew it was gonna be big. Now it's everywhere. It won't ever dethrone Helvetica or anything, but still. So do note, I don't have a disdain for hipsters as much as a disdain for any long lasting fads. I mean, come on now. This one is getting stale. That, and I'm really eager to see what's gonna be big. We had the 80s there for awhile where bright fluorescent colors were huge and stutter shades was the way to go. Now it's more like the 70s with dull colors and everything looking old and outdated. Maybe we'll revisit the 90s! I hope we do.

Yeah that makes for a fun time.

Mocking hipsters is such a hipster thing to do.

I'm more hipster than hipster. That's why.

Who's in to start the next big thing?

Hapsters?

That'll work. There are no rules, except that you try and be as weird and out there as possible. The fashion style will be widely varied. Whatever you wanna do is fine, except for those damned hipster ways. Perhaps a modern military look. That'd be great

http://i392.photobucket.com/albums/p...g?t=1291011239

Or maybe like a modern dandy

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8Pah4-4s0F...62042_4949.jpg

http://www.styleclicker.net/streetst...tradgarden.jpg

http://sebastianhorsley.typepad.com/...bastianred.jpg

In the end, it's all about NEWNESS.

i think this is a good place to drop this....


yourscenesucks.com - you are just like everybody else

It's also a good place to drop this, "the history of cool". A good read for all the hipster haters.

I wonder where I'd fit? I'll have to e-mail them. YOU FORGOT ME

In this thread: People work very hard to undefine something they can spot from across a parking lot. Get real folks. If you can't define one, you've never met one.

Thinking you are unique is quite hipster, isn't it? :p:

I feel its futile to have this debate being that some people are going to hate the way hipsters look no matter what. And we all know that all hipsters are douchey creeps, but it only takes one bad apple to spoil the pie.

Hitting the nail on the head.

Hipsters are very lame. They seem full of themselves.

UHHHHHHH UMMM


The Indie Girl Voice Aesthetic Presents 'Single Ladies'--a cutesy indie interpretation of the popular song by Beyonce. | HIPSTER RUNOFF

**** I am so down for that, please hipsters, do that. osihgijohshoj

When did I say I was unique? I just said they don't have my clique.

The Dandy would be a great new fad so long as it wasn't a Renaissance fair variant. If they tried to sound old monday and pronounced things shed-ual, vaaze, and neander-tal it would be dead in a year.

If they dressed that way but conducted business like the currently do, it could fly. I personally dress fancy as **** just to disassociate with most of these idiots.