Let's Talk Hipsters

repoman wrote: All the while there is the undertone of arrogant disdain for those ignorant savages that are so naive and backward as to actually have convictions. Those simpletons that believe in truth, who like what they like with simple joy and not nihilistic scorn.
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God forbid that anyone is told they are wrong...

Disgustipater wrote: Portland is super hipster-fied. Portland is a lost cause of ridiculousness which wasn't caused by hipsters, but they sure added to it.

I have a general eyeroll attitude toward hipsters, but whatever, live how you want.

This is where I chime in that I went to school in Portland from 93-96, when Powell's books was surrounded by actual warehouses and factories, and they hadn't started making that Portlandia documentary. We went to La Bistro Montage when it was a tiny room that seated 20 people. Now they build fake lofts and all the weird little shops are gone. There used to be a store that sold nothing but used magazines, and anarchist bookstores. Chomsky came and spoke at PSU. My wife's family lives there, but it's depressing to go to the old places and see that they are still there, but have changed. Powell's has every book in a database--no more finding cheap, forgotten books. The people working at Rocco's pizza are in their fifties and have grey hair. It feels frozen in time, while being self-congratulatory.

Mr. White wrote: Reminds me of the Darkness show I went to in Austin. Justin was frustrated mid show because no one was really rocking. Oh, it was a sold out show, but that's because it was the place to be seen, not to, you know, actually rock. This is why I usually see metal or hard rock acts in San Antonio or Houston. You're with actual fans. For this reason, I tend to avoid SXSW.

See, to me this embodies what I believe is a hipster. It's the mindset of, "If people don't like something the way that I do, they're idiots."

Everyone goes to a rock show for their own reasons, and they enjoy it their own way. If you spend your time worrying about how other people enjoy their entertainment, then maybe the issue isn't with them but with you. When I go to shows, I'm there to listen to the music and watch the show. While I personally think mosh pits are fucking stupid, I'm not going to begrudge people that want to do that- I'll just keep away from them.

Every time I hear people describe the loss of Austin's "weirdness" it sounds like people are bemoaning something that "everyone did and embraced"- and if the Austin weirdness was something that everyone did, then maybe it wasn't so weird after all. Culture changes as people change, and as we get older the culture of youth generally becomes less appealing and is something that we find distasteful. Like every parent that listens to their kids music- it sucks because it isn't what they grew up with.

(And as a California transplant to Austin, the "Californians are ruining this town" stereotype can just go fuck off. Not all of us came here with bags of housing bubble money intent on destroying the culture. Just like I don't assume that every native Texan I meet is a bible thumping, homophobic dude in wranglers and a cowboy hat that just wants rope some steer from the bed of his Ford Super Duty.)

I think I put my finger on the reason that hipsters don't bother me as much as they seem to bug everyone else. I live in LA, there are so many levels of douchebag above hipster they don't register. There are tons of rich people, famous people, wanna- be people, people "in the business", that all feel so entitled and are very status driven. The brand of watch you wear can totally matter, etc.

Regarding Austin... Is it possible that the economy there changed and people moved because they got jobs there? They say all over America density is increasing in the cities. That's where people want to be. Cost of housing is jumping leaps and bounds here and I would think its the same most cities.

I very much regret turning this thread specifically to Austin and how I perceive hipsters from a certain region are impacting it. I'm sure I fit some stereotype as well, and unfortunately, the nature of this thread alone means stereotyping. Perhaps I will need to see Zootopia a second time afterall...

With that....are trucker hats and Blue Ribbon still a thing with hipsters? I don't feel like I see those components as often. More like Chapel described: beards, high and tight hair, flannel shirts.

Also, anyone delve into the genesis of this group? What promoted their philosophy? How is there a nationwide group this large that has all bought in? Feels larger than any other counter-culture groups of the past outside of maybe the hippies of the '60s. Was there a hipster equivalent in the '80s and '90s? Yuppies maybe? We know flannels and beards won't last forever...where does it go from here?

EDIT: Maybe this thread should be called 'Let's Talk About Hipsters'. I'm starting to feel ashamed as the originator who split this thread out. Seems like a low rent topic in hindsight.

So far as I knew, hipsters were the ones wearing brown shoes with No Socks and drinking PBR while reminding everyone why the music they like sucks. I never identified hipsters as the people oiling their beards or drinking (blargh!) artisinal micro-brewed IPAs. Hipsters are millennials who can't afford any of that curated old-timey repro nonsense that's always on Massdrop. They have iPhones with cracked screens and all their money goes to paying Verizon each month to keep using it. That other bunch are middle class urbanites.

Alastair MacDirk wrote: I think I put my finger on the reason that hipsters don't bother me as much as they seem to bug everyone else. I live in LA, there are so many levels of douchebag above hipster they don't register. There are tons of rich people, famous people, wanna- be people, people "in the business", that all feel so entitled and are very status driven. The brand of watch you wear can totally matter, etc.

THIS. My wife's uncle in LA is THIS GUY. He speaks about himself in the third person, and requires everyone but his immediate family to refer to him as "JP". Those are his initials but I think he probably thinks it's "Jesus' Prodigy" or something.

Anyhow, I'm ultra-bummed to hear that Austin has become poncy. It's my all-time favorite place.

Mr. White wrote: Also, anyone delve into the genesis of this group? What promoted their philosophy? How is there a nationwide group this large that has all bought in? Feels larger than any other counter-culture groups of the past outside of maybe the hippies of the '60s. Was there a hipster equivalent in the '80s and '90s? Yuppies maybe? We know flannels and beards won't last forever...where does it go from here?

EDIT: Maybe this thread should be called 'Let's Talk About Hipsters'. I'm starting to feel ashamed as the originator who split this thread out all. Seems like a low rent topic in hindsight.

www.dailypooper.com/page/article/327/hip...e-did-they-come-from

I'm sort of with you guys on the self conscious types... but I hear this term being thrown around more often to refer generically to young people (millenials does not equal hipster) and I can't get behind that. There's a reason young people are pissed, and it is because they are getting systematically fucked hard by older people for the last 10-20 years.

www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/07/re...income?CMP=edit_2221

Space Ghost wrote:
And who the hell oils their beard? I don't have time for that.

Heh, I totally oil my beard. I am the problem!

Mr. White wrote: Reminds me of the Darkness show I went to in Austin. Justin was frustrated mid show because no one was really rocking. Oh, it was a sold out show, but that's because it was the place to be seen, not to, you know, actually rock. This is why I usually see metal or hard rock acts in San Antonio or Houston. You're with actual fans. For this reason, I tend to avoid SXSW.

I remember back in the late 90's going to "The Back Room", and they were rocking the death metal. It was fun, I had never seen so many metalheads in one place.

Ochobee wrote:
Every time I hear people describe the loss of Austin's "weirdness" it sounds like people are bemoaning something that "everyone did and embraced"- and if the Austin weirdness was something that everyone did, then maybe it wasn't so weird after all.

Yeah, the whole Keep Austin Weird has long passed. Austin is pretty much Dallas now, not much weirdness left.

I don't know what I think about hipsters. I think that I was a hipster before it was cool, but I'm not one anymore. I had a somewhat unconventional upbringing, and by my 20s, I was constantly seeking out different kinds of music and buying snobby imported beers and lots of thrift shop clothes despite getting by on a modest income. By my 30s, I had switched from imports to micro-brews, and often out to see local and upcoming bands in trendy small venues. I also went through kind of a metrosexual phase where I was very into clothes and had a moderately complex daily routine for getting ready in the morning. My friends ranged from hardcore nerds to goths, punks, and urban hippies. In modern times, I stopped giving a shit about some of this stuff. I still get somewhat bored by basic people who have very vanilla tastes and interests, but I no longer feel the need to evangelize about my favorite bands or try to get people to wander farther away from the mainstream.

And yet I don't feel any empathy for modern hipsters. They strive so hard to establish their identities as unique snowflakes, but they seem so cookie cutter, with their bicycles, thrift shop clothes, beards, and Apple accessories. And now the local hipster men have adopted the man-bun. It's like they are all going to the same half dozen websites to receive instructions about how to look and how to talk. I enjoy the occasional irony as much as anybody, but the hipster fixation on it is tiresome and frankly juvenile. I'm a bit old to care about the latest fads, but I am looking somewhat forward to whatever finally displaces hipsterism.

Here in the DC area the problem is more with the clones than the Hipsters. My wife calls it "the official uniform". There's a very narrow range of options that allow you to be considered part of the In crowd, from the type of phone you buy to the SUV you drive to the baseball cap with your ponytail pulled through it that defines you.

Expensive as hell to stay in that game.

I think I'll dig up the thread on What IPA are you drinking here. There was a fair amount of Hipster going on in that one if I recall.

I'm in the wealthy suburbs of LA, so I am more likely to run into this lady:


No one has a beard here because your face will ignite in our 106˚ summers. I don't think people drink beer either, because who drinks beer when there are wine spritzers?

I like repoman's point about irony-as-lifestyle, but I don't think that's what's at play for some of the hipster movement folks. It is for some, to be sure, but some really are into authenticity. The whole world is a fucking lie, and this group is striving for something real. Go to college, you'll get a good job: Lie. Corporations have destroyed the economy like three times since you were born, but they'll be punished: Lie. Ads for mainstream products are selling you something good, of high quality: Lie. We need to protect women's health, that's why we force them to have unwanted children: Lie. A house is a solid investment: Lie. Everything: politics, media, the economy, careerism--it's all bullshit.

Hipsters, the ones that sharpen knives and make shoes and shit--they are on to something with this authenticity kick. I like it more than my generation's obsession with consumption, that's for sure. We've poisoned the world, wrecked the economy, fought wars for fun--and all on a diet of Awesome Blossoms® From Chilis®. Let some cobbler run things, it can't be a lot worse.