What is a Hipster? (And why you should care)
When the term “hipster” comes up, which is not an uncommon occurrence with the ongoing expansion of hipster culture and its tendency to interface with underground roots music, there always seems to be some confusion around the term. Part of the reason for this can be explained in one of the attributes of hipster culture, which is to be very isolated from common circles, yet to be hyper-concentrated wherever hipster culture does exist.
I wouldn’t say hipsters are secretive, but having no desire to expand their numbers or to promote themselves (many times it is the antithesis, wanting to stay “exclusive”), and because there’s not many examples of hipsters in popular culture, this lends to hipster’s being an enigma for many. Lots of folks are outright perplexed by the term, or their idea of the term is outdated. And making things even more difficult, many times hipsters refuse to acknowledge that they’re indeed hipsters, or lack the self-awareness to understand they are part of the hipster subculture.
So to make a reference for everyone, I am going to set out on the difficult task of explaining what a modern hipster is. To save some grief, I’ll go ahead and admit the obvious, that when setting out on such a task, using generalizations is inevitable, and that this is rarely fair to individuals, or their individual stories or motivations.
And this is not meant to be a critical, or sarcastic look at hipsters, more a sociological explanation. Truth be known, I am fascinated by hipster culture, though like many, at times I may gawk at it as an annoyance. I don’t want to load this down with qualifying statements, but I will drop the mother of all qualifying statements and say that I have hipster friends, and have spent time in and around hipster culture, enough that I feel I have a grasp of it to take on the task of defining it from my perspective.
So what is a hipster? Hipsters are predominately white, 20-something, well-educated, liberal or progressive, urban dwelling career college students from upper middle class backgrounds. They eat organic, buy local, listen to indie rock on vinyl, and are quasi-employed. They may not as much crave attention as their appearance may hint, but rather covet acceptance from their hipster community, and do so by imbibing in the hipster archetypal representation very deeply.
Appearance:
Skinny Jeans
Possibly the most-identifiable characteristic of hipsters are jeans that fit low on the hips, fit tight, and come to a taper just above the ankle. They could be jeans purposely cut this way, or vintage jeans found or tailored from a too-small size, or women’s jeans worn by men to effect the skinny jeans cut. The look is many times crowned with vintage canvas shoes, converse (sometimes in flashy colors), Keds, or sometimes puffy high-top basketball shoes, loosely-laced with the tongue flapping out. A year ago, skinny jeans were the patented hipster accoutrement. These days they are still very common, but not necessary to the hipster look.
V-Neck T Shirts
Pretty self-explanatory, this is a trend that has also been picked up by mainstream culture. It’s now common to find both V-Neck and plain neck shirts at department stores, where years ago it wasn’t. This has challenged hipster to find even deeper V-neck shirts to distinguish themselves.
Mustache
It used to be any mustache would do. A simple mustache was ironic enough, but just like with the V-neck, as the mustache is becoming more commonplace in mainstream culture, hipster culture has adopted the outlandish, Rollie Fingers-style mustache: bushy, with wax if necessary. The bigger and more outlandish the mustache, the better.

Huge Glasses (Wayfarer)
One of the newest additions to hipster culture, but one of the most identifiable and current are huge glasses, many times called “hipster” glasses by manufacturers. Think Roger Ebert circa 1985, or Ray Ban’s long running “Wayfarer” frame. The bigger, the better, and they’re not to be mistaken with retro, old-folks frames.
The “Fixie” Bike
The bicycle is by far the preferred transport of hipsters, and possibly the most fascinating and inexplicable identifier of hipster culture is their propensity to take bikes with gears, and retrofit them where they one have one single gear fixed for riding. Bike manufacturers have also been releasing new fixed-gear model bikes with tall seats, to meet the increasing demand. Being against conventional wisdom, the “fixie” is mostly a fashion statement (though there are some substantial principles behind the retrofit, including fitness).
If you do see a hipster in a car, you can bet it is old, but not yet vintage, likely an import, many times a Toyota, sometimes a Volvo or Volkswagen, but they steer fairly clear of vehicles that may come across as “hippie”.
Irony in Fashion
This is the one that is the hardest to describe, and usually stimulates the most discussion. When people use “camp” or “kitsch” or “nostalgia” in fasion, it is because they think that element of fashion is cool. When hipsters use irony in fashion, they are wearing something because it is purposely not cool: a George W Bush election T-shirt, a Rainbow Bright head band, a McDonald’s hat, camoflouge (to make fun of rednecks). Many times they purposely want to look what would traditional be considered “nerdy”. Many would consider the current phase in the evolution of hipster culture as the “meta-nerd” phase.
Irony is also a huge player in hipster behavior, how they interact with themselves and others: acting apathetic to something they like, overlaughing or overclapping at something they don’t. Some may consider male hipsters acting homosexual (and some do), but this may be a shallow interpretation of the irony in their behavior.
Other hipster calling cards are Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, self-rolled cigarettes, high waist lines on women’s pants, and Apple computers (thought the popularity of Apple has dulled this calling card of late).
Geography:
Though a hipster’s outside appearance may be the easiest way to identify them, their geography many times is what truly makes them hipsters. Huge swaths of the country can’t boast anybody that comes close to being a hipster, but since hipsters identify themselves significantly with where and how they live, they have created massive communities for themselves, mostly within the gentrification zones of urban locales.
With their propensity to buy local, work local, and use bikes for transportation, there is little need for them to stray outside of their world. This also necessities them living close in, and living in an area that is not too expensive, but still “hip” enough to be socially acceptable. Wherever urban renewal is beginning to take shape, but has yet to effect the cost-of-living significantly, that is where the hipsters drop anchor. Once the area becomes fully gentrified, it’s no longer hip for hipsters, and they move to the next up-and-coming neighborhood.
This dynamic also effects bar/restaurant/coffee shop/food store infrastructure. Hipsters are rabid socialites. Many times hipsters don’t just move into a neighborhood, they effect a takeover of it, infiltrating not just housing, but the business and industrial landscape as well. Like a necessary part of the animal food chain, hipsters are a natural part of the gentrification process. The presence of cool, well-educated white young adults usually drops crime levels, beautifies neighborhoods, simulates new, independent business and art, and eventually entices retirees and high-end urban investors to the area. Then the hipsters move to the next neighborhood in need of gentrification.
Along the coasts and in big cities is where these hipster communities are most likely to be found, though they can also exists in small bands based around coffee shops, record stores, music venues and bars in mid-sized towns anywhere. Many college towns cater to the hipster culture where it may not normally otherwise be, towns like Athens GA, Boone NC, Denton TX, Lawrence KS, Norman, OK. The largest hipster epicenters are the large West Coast cities: LA, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. Austin, TX is also a big hipster epicenter. Some famous hipster neighborhoods include east Austin, Echo Park in Los Angeles, and the Ballard neighborhood in Seattle (though its gentrified in recent years).
The Hipster’s Impact on Country & Roots Music
The reason that hipsters can pose a threat to country and roots music stems from their propensity to take over venues, bars, and whole neighborhoods when they move into an area. Because hipsters tend to be semi-affluent, they are able to outspend poor whites, poor blacks, and the working class people who may be the more traditional patrons of bars and venues that cater to blues, country, punk, and metal music. When the hipsters move in, these venues “gentrify” to the new demand, many times replacing roots music with indie rock: the hipster’s preferred genre.
Some long-standing roots venues and their communities have fallen to hipster gentrification, and as the trend continues to be for the American population to move back into cities, this trend could worsen. Hipsters and indie rock have also infiltrated or outright taken over numerous festivals that were built by country and roots musicians, and have even infiltrated large institutions like Austin City Limits.
Indie rock music deserves support just as much as any other genre of music, however it seems unfair when that support is gained at the expense of the original music that created and invested in that infrastructure initially. Hipsters can also infiltrate specific roots music scenes, creating a “trend bubble” that instead of offering long-term support to a scene or band, makes something hyper-popular to only burst later when the hipsters move to the next hyper-trend, leaving the bar or band or scene feeling outmoded or passed over.
But it would also be unfair to omit the positive impact much of hipster culture has on the revitalization of urban areas, their tendency to be very socially-conscious and responsible citizens, and to be general friends of the arts. Hipsters perform a very necessary role on the socioeconomic scale. The key to making sure the impact of hipsters and hipster culture on roots music is not adverse is by understanding their tendencies and motivations. Hipsters aren’t going anywhere, in fact the chances are they are only growing, so country and roots music must meet the challenges that the introduction of their demographic creates in the traditional roots music corridors in urban areas, in local music scenes, and in large nationally-focused festivals.
March 12, 2012 @ 8:49 am
Perfect description. Ha.
Even tho I may not one of them, but the way you described the appearance (minus mustache & the bike), I’m afraid that I am. You forgot the plaid shirt by the way. Haha.
March 12, 2012 @ 8:51 am
wow this is so like that Even in Canada man,,,,,your article is spot on !
March 12, 2012 @ 8:57 am
Informative.
March 12, 2012 @ 11:47 am
“Hipsters can also infiltrate specific roots music scenes, creating a “trend bubble” that instead of offering long-term support to a scene or band, makes something hyper-popular to only burst later when the hipsters move to the next hyper-trend, leaving the bar or band or scene feeling outmoded or passed over.” —————
———————————————————————————————————–
This may be what happened to Hank 3. In alot of reviews of his music starting from “Damn Right…” on, suddenly many “fans” were almost offended by song themes about alcohol, drugs, fighting, fucking, and fuck Nashville. Like it suddenly wasn’t “cool” anymore. Despit the fact that the majority of songs on “Lovesick…..”, and “Straight to hell” were about those themes and are his most recognized songs that made 3 have a comparativly large audience.
March 12, 2012 @ 2:28 pm
That’s probably a pretty good analogy, though I don’t think that the “hipsters” I am describing here were ever Hank3 fans specifically. I’ve always attributed people turning on Hank3, specifically after “Straight to Hell” because on his first few albums, he walked right up to the line of blending punk and country on a sonic level, but never crossed it. In “Damn Right Rebel Proud”, he did cross it sonically, and that is where he lost a lot of support amongst hippies, neo-traditionalists, and possibly just general audiophiles who were out looking for something cutting edge, but still solidly country. Hank3 was definitely hot in 2006, and a crowd draws a crowd, or a “scene” that can be shallow with its loyalty long-term.
March 12, 2012 @ 3:02 pm
I think you definitley are right it was a trend bubble for sure. I also would agree with Trigger that I maybe don’t think it applies to the particular “hipster” culture in what he describes above…maybe the Hank III scene spawned the country hipster in a sense or maybe the message and style got repetitive to people. I still think a lot of people want to hear albums like that. I guess it’s like having a great cookie and wanting another one when there aren’t any. Then when you finally get a box and eat that same great cookie every day you eventually get tired of it.
I think Hank III started being disliked because the quality of his material was scrutinized really heavily after Straight To Hell (and maybe didn’t live up to some expectations). Some of the artists trying to replicate it also just couldn’t capture the magic of Straight To Hell and it felt watered down. It could have something to do with all the blending of style choices becoming more apparent. I know my uncle went to a Hank III show and he told the crowd after the country set that it was going to be “heavier” and if they didn’t like that kind of thing they may want to leave. My uncle didn’t so he left. With the latter Hank III albums that choices isn’t as easy.
March 16, 2012 @ 3:16 am
Most of the hipsters in my east Texas enclave, are metal heads and not the danger to folk, as most people see them. They are liberals who drink shitty beer and shoot guns. They are hellbillies in the sense of word. They love Hank 3 and Dale Watson… Yankees need not apply, if you can’t mix Cannibal Corpse and Dale Watson, while eating brisket or CFS…GTFO.
March 12, 2012 @ 2:09 pm
funny stuff. as an old aging rock ‘n’ roller i’ve forgotten more stuff than most hipsters ever knew or ever will. just sayin’. thankfully, it seems, using a macbook pro to type this doesn’t make me a hipster. even an aging one. lol.
March 12, 2012 @ 2:29 pm
Subculture’s are always interesting. I’ve studied them a lot. I think the definition of hipster is dated a little as there has been a huge amount of hipster culture moving into the hip hop community over the last six or so years. I’d say hipster culture is just as predominate in the underground hip hop scene as the indie scene these days (and includes just as many African American’s as Caucasians). Drawing influences from the golden age of hip hop, indie culture, as well as newerish artist like Outkast, Kanye West, Pharrell.
Hipster-hop as it was dubbed a few years ago included artists like: The Cool Kids, The Knux, PacVic, Spank Rock, Kid Sister, The Pack, Hollywood Holt, MIllion $ Mano, Kid Cudi (before the Kanye label days…now people tend to refer to him as “emo” rap), Charles Hamilton, Asher Roth, etc… Newer artists labeled with a hipster tag (or seem to be associated with it in people’s eyes) are artists like: Spaceghostpurrp, Odd Future, A$AP Rocky, Danny Brown, Action Bronson, etc…
Hipster-hop went mainstream with acts like the New Boyz (albeit a water down version of what the underground was doing…much like made for mainstream indie rockish stuff). Also the shift in style with artists like Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, etc… all starting to wear more uniformed looking hipster apparel over the last half of the decade or longer.
Also there is a huge hipster scene in electronic music with artists like Skrillex, Rednek, Toro Y Moi (electronic influence but called chillwave term coined by Hipster Runoff), Neon Indian, etc… A lot of people would say the dubstep community has gained a large hipster following over the last year and Skrillex (Sonny Moore) wears the big glasses and has made the side shave haircut extremely popular throughout the hipster community.
I tend to agree with you about a large use of irony. Even the term Hipster is ironic as most of what they do isn’t generally “hip” at all when they start doing it. I think if a large following of hipsters moved into a country or roots area they wouldn’t replace the music of the area…I’d say they would be more looking to acclimate it into their culture instead of replacing it. What roots venues and festivals where you talking about in the article? I’m interested to see if I agree. I think Austin City Limits was originally created as more of a celebration of Texas music. So it seems like indie rock, hip hop, etc whatever is going on in Texas would fit in. I think Austin City Limits probably altered the programing more for national appeal and not solely hipster wants or needs.
Places like Urban Outfitters, Karmaloop, and American Apparel do an easy job putting a price stamp and presenting a fairly descent image of hipster culture (IMO only).
March 12, 2012 @ 6:27 pm
the last entire austin city limits program i watched was a stevie ray vaughn re-run from a number of years ago. previous to that it was a doug sham set.
March 13, 2012 @ 8:18 am
If it was the Doug Sahm set when he opens the show playing fiddle and doing “Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone” it was an amazing show. What a cat!!! (Sorry for the aside but I love me some Doug Sahm.)
March 12, 2012 @ 6:50 pm
Action Bronson is hipster?
March 12, 2012 @ 8:07 pm
I probably wouldn’t consider him a hipster (but he gets lumped in with stuff like that because his voice is similar to Ghostface (of Wu-Tang…really big old school hip hop influence vocally and musically). He just released a mixtape called Blue Chips which was a 1994 film (play on an old-school movie…hipster-hop originally drew influences from a lot of 80’s-90’s things like Blue Chips, Fresh Prince, Air Jordan’s, Guess, Starter, etc…).
Here’s a quote Bronson gave the Fader about being lumped in with hipsters:
Article titled: Generation F: Action Bronson (Bronson’s quote is in parenthesis)
Tonight, fresh off a photo shoot with Terry Richardson (“I”™m sure that put me on a lot of weirdos”™ and hipsters”™ maps”), Bronson is on his way to Chinatown to show love at an art opening for Smart Crew, friends from his old graffiti days.
So not really saying he is a hipster (or hipster-hop). Just saying in some people’s eyes he’s associated with it in some ways or has associated himself with the certain elements of it in some ways.
March 12, 2012 @ 8:33 pm
@Sounds- right on. hipster rap is the worst of that whole (bowel) movement imo.
…dope mag & blog btw,i got you on the twitter now.
March 12, 2012 @ 8:40 pm
Thanks! I really appreciate the kind words!
March 12, 2012 @ 7:14 pm
The issues with Austin City Limits are much deeper than the hipster dynamic. ACL has run from its roots as hard as any other American music institution, and that deserves its own series of articles to explain and discuss. ACL has little to do with Texas music these days, except maybe a few token performances. They’re not showcasing indie rock from Texas, they’re showcasing whatever keeps their corporate sponsors of Budweiser, Lexus, Dell, and AMD happy, despite their “non profit” sham and the endless begging for viewer alms.
March 12, 2012 @ 8:23 pm
I agree it isn’t much like its original format. The way you wrote the article though it seemed like you were saying hipster gentrification was the cause of the downfall of Austin City Limits. I took it that way because it was the only example you gave by name to make your point about hipster gentrification. Sorry if I read it that way and that’s not what you meant.
I think maybe you are agreeing with me that hipsters had little to do with it and it was mainly a mass appeal push (or mass appeal for sponsorship sake…same thing as sponsors would only want to sponsor something a ton of people were watching so they could promote their product). Am I right at all? If I’m not I’m not sure how corporate sponsors and push for mainstream popularity have anything to do with hipster gentrification.
March 12, 2012 @ 4:29 pm
I’ve got a fat butt, so I am against skinny jeans. I’m over 40, so I’m against young people. I loosing my hair so I’m against that also.
What’s with the bin-laden beards I’m seeing at shows lately? Aren’t they just hipsters with worse hygiene?
March 12, 2012 @ 6:59 pm
Haha aint that the fuckin truth!
March 13, 2012 @ 9:48 am
so beards reflect poor hygiene?
March 14, 2012 @ 1:43 pm
Beards reflect an abundance of manhood. And are never “hipster” in any way. At least I don’t think my Grandpa was ever a hipster. A mountain man, a drunk, YES. But not a hipster.
March 12, 2012 @ 11:42 pm
What i’ve seen from hipsters is that they have enough of a “draw” to change the dynamic of a local venue yet they back out just before that same scene can actually gain success. Sure, they shop local, organic, hug trees, blah blah blah. At the end of the day, there are people who CONSUME at a critical juncture in the life of a local scene. The scene becomes unsustainable. It’s not hip enough for these jackoffs, but not organized enough to bring the real working-class locals in to enjoy live music. We end up making music for people who express themselves by not giving a fuck.
March 13, 2012 @ 5:41 am
Man, you said a mouthful when you said that. I actually see these fucks as being really dangerous to the longevity of live venues/bars etc…
I’ve seen many iconic venues close over the past few years. Places that had existed for 20-30 years (some even longer) under one banner and management. Then they are re-opened as “Hipster” joints and within a few months they too close down, due to the fickle attitudes of these “too cool for cool” idiots. When they start infiltrating long-standing establishments, they drive off the local patrons that have frequented some of these places for years. What is “irony” to the Hipster, I find is just coarse sarcasm and it offends people to the point of driving them off.
As society becomes litigious, these fuckers enjoy the freedom to openly offend and deride people with no consequences. Acts that would have earned someone a serious beating when I was younger are now overlooked. I had some cunt make a comment about my sideburns the other week, while I was at my job. As a man with a family, I couldn’t afford to stub my cigarette out in his ear.
They may shop locally, but they kill off local businesses when they decide to move on to the next shop in the next neighborhood.
“Hipsters” cannibalize every aspect of past and current subcultures, cherry-picking what they want, while not subscribing to any ethos at all. They hold allegiance to nothing. My generation, the so-called “Generation X” may have been apathetic but we, like those before us, held allegiance to things. Be it certain bars, certain subcultures, certain music. And we subscribed to it whole-heartedly without a hint of irony. It’s just a shame that most of us are now over forty with families and can’t get out to support live music like we used to. But, that is for the new generation to do, and that is why I fear for the future of live music.
In case you hadn’t noticed, I loathe these fucks intensely.
March 13, 2012 @ 10:48 am
I’ll say, I’ve had some of those exact experiences where I find myself in a situation where I am being outright mocked by a group of hipsters for simply standing there and being myself, and had to check my anger pretty hard. I do think that behavior by hipsters can exist and it may even be common, and this lends to the changeover of venues and such just as much as anything. But the reason I did not go down that road in this article is because I didn’t want to come across as bitter towards them, or attack them, but instead give folks who don’t know who they are an honest perspective, and speak more deeply on the issue so that people understand the gravity of it. I really feel hipster culture poses serious dangers to important elements of roots music.
March 13, 2012 @ 6:15 pm
It is frighteningly true Triggerman. I’ve been told that the latest in the Hipster music scene is to listen to Black/Death Metal, of course “irony” is the major factor playing into this. Six months from now, who knows? (I remember a time when we listened to music because we actually liked it) Through your articles I’ve been made aware of the shift by some Hipster elements into the Country/Roots scene and that is scary. While the metal scene has and will always have a massive core that support it, independent Roots Music has a relatively small following and is still in a fairly delicate position financially. A lot of these guys still have to work day jobs to keep their passion for the music afloat. What I see happening is if there is a massive swing by Hipsters into the Roots community it will create a sort of false economy. Small labels and artists will see a sudden upswing in sales and profits. Of course these labels are going to pour that cash straight into their businesses and increase stock to keep up with demand, as they should. The problem lies in when the Hipster decides to move on to his/her (is there such thing as a hipsterette?) “ironic” musical venture and abandons Roots music, leaving artists/labels with severe over saturation of stock/merch to the point where the financial outlay is just too much of a burden.
March 13, 2012 @ 6:29 pm
Just wanted to mention as well that I understand and respect your article. An encyclopedic overview is the best way to inform and let people make their own judgements. My take in my second post is just my view of what I see as the major danger for the Roots community, and is just one of a raft of problems the Hipster element will bring to the music we hold so dear.
I also apologise for the strong language in my initial post, please feel free to edit any words that may be offensive to other readers.
March 13, 2012 @ 7:22 pm
No apologies or edits are needed man. I’m glad you said what you said because it’s an important part of the discussion. I more just wanted to explain why I personally decided not to go there in the article itself.
March 13, 2012 @ 9:30 am
It makes sense, cause when I went kayaking on a popular river up here in michigan, I had a group of hipsters float by me loving the fact that I was drinking “PBR”.. I heard “yeah man PBR”…. seriously dude, its just beer..
I love Pabst. I buy a 30 pack almost every two weeks…But Id have to say im far from being a hipster. I live in a rural area, work 70 hours a week as a metal fabricator and listen to real country and blue grass…..
March 13, 2012 @ 6:52 pm
Hamm’s is the new PBR. PBR is the new Heineken. Get with the times man.
March 13, 2012 @ 8:14 pm
Hamm’s is vile! Concert venue where I live offers Hamm’s as the only “cheap” beer… It’s 3 bones per cup but everthing else is 5. I just can’t stomach it… Life is too short for cheap beer! Though I am drinking Busch at this moment… PBR is definitely a hipster beer, though it isn’t fair to all of those who were drinkin’ it before it was trendy. For me the only good thing about it is that you can play blackjack with the bottles. I remember drinkin’ with W.E.W’s uncle and that was his beer of choice… I know where Whitmore’s ability to “throw ’em back” comes from!
March 13, 2012 @ 8:31 pm
Anyone heard of Yarn?
Saw this show advertised
http://music.hillcountrywdc.com/event/99091/
and they are billed as
“Brooklyn-based Americana/Alt-Country band Yarn”™s sound owes as much to Gram Parsons and Earl Scruggs as to Jerry Garcia and Exile On Main Street-era Rolling Stones. Following in a fine tradition that includes forward thinking roots bands like The Flying Burrito Brothers and New Riders of The Purple Sage, Yarn weaves roots music idioms into a fresh sound that turns on hipsters and fans of country music alike with technically impressive song-crafting and universal tales from the road of life.”
I wanted to hate them, but checked out some of their songs and they were pretty good.
http://www.yarnmusic.net/music.cfm
Anyway, I’m not the type of person who is not going to listen to god music because I don’t agree with the band’s image, politics etc; but I agree that I prefer for Hipster’s not to go to country shows.
March 14, 2012 @ 4:04 pm
Hmmm…..a lot of this description could also belong to Emo. Maybe the modern Hipster is an aging Emo.
March 14, 2012 @ 9:30 pm
Hipster is the evolution of the Emo. http://sozadesigns.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/picture-1.png
Hope the link works, it shows the timeline from Emo to Hipster.
March 15, 2012 @ 8:59 am
The link worked. Our Emo’s in my area were a little more gothy but I have seen the rest of those ‘evolutions’. They are prevalent in the Pacific NW.
March 21, 2012 @ 7:03 pm
i think this whole hipster thing started when johnny cash came and covered the nine inch nail song hurt, next thing you know people who had never listened to him before and were not fans of his music started wearing his shirts and it became kind of the “hip” thing to do, be a fan of johnny cash.
March 22, 2012 @ 1:50 pm
They definitely took over Bonnaroo.
March 22, 2012 @ 10:12 pm
I guess it was only a matter of time…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPZbjcDw2Co
Finally, a mirror to show them what they are.
March 26, 2012 @ 5:37 pm
At first I thought this article was a joke, despite you saying otherwise. But then I came to your last paragraph and see that the crux of your problem seems to be with venues that sell out or don’t cater to your personal tastes.
Maybe you should take that problem up with them instead of typecasting and judging.
On a more personal note…
Though i’m not a “hipster”, I am a city dwelling, liberal, office worker. And if my attire for the evening does not meet your approval or my voting record or choice of music for that matter, then you can eat a dick.
March 26, 2012 @ 10:38 pm
Unfortunately I think you misunderstood the intentions of this article. You may want to also read this one:
https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/jonny-corndawg-talks-country-music-hipsters
March 27, 2012 @ 12:33 am
hipster…
March 30, 2012 @ 7:36 am
I miss the days when the only people who drank PBR were guys like my ex-Step Grandpa Merle, who wore a feathered cowboy hat and passed out in the front yard in the middle of the afternoon.
September 8, 2012 @ 1:09 pm
I think most of it is spot-on. It’s funny, I was telling our friends a couple weeks ago that, by definition, we are probably hipsters, and I don’t really care, and I’m sick of people using it as an insult or putdown of people. I’m from St. Louis, and we have an up-and-coming arts scene and community that’s really impressive and still growing (and yes, includes lot of hipsters!). We’ve seen some venues close and other ones open, but it’s honestly not the hipster clientele that’s the problem–it’s the landlords jacking up rent, or the local government coming in and revoking licenses for noise complaints at shows, or ASCAP and BMI coming in and suing local business owners. While the growing popularity the hipsters’ presence adds to the overall value and therefore interest in the area, they also tend to actively try to prevent corporate gentrification in areas they care about, especially now that this demographic has started opening businesses here in the past 5 years (some of us had to do something when we finally finished/dropped out of college, right?) :).
And Stag beer is the new PBR in STL, though PBR is still a close second. (Stag is made across the Mississippi about 30 minutes away in Illinois–thus its popularity with my hipster friends!)
I do disagree, at least in STL, about the decline of country and roots music. A lot of those semi-employed artists in our town are in multiple bands, usually of different genres. (And as an aside to some above comments, STL’s hipsters seem to love Hank III, but can’t stand conservative Hank Jr.) But we have some really great acts, one of whom is gaining popularity nationally, that are roots/Americana acts–Rum Drum Ramblers, Pokey LaFarge & The South City 3 (who have been playing with Jack White and are on his album), and then of course Jack White himself has gone totally roots on his solo album. I think there’s a resurgence of a lot of Americana/roots music right now. Even bluegrass has been coming back again here (after everyone finally stopped giving a shit about O Brother Where Art Thou about 3 years ago). But again most, but certainly not all of it, may be a local anomaly within our hipster community.
Anyway, thanks for not being a hater!
August 12, 2013 @ 4:59 am
Perfect example, 3rd and Lindsley Bar and Grille, here in Nashville. It used to be predominantly the “blues” bar in Nashville. Now it’s been remodeled and books folks such as ZZ Ward, Jenn Wigmore, etc….