November 7, 201311 yr People forget that "rap" was basically a novelty genre in the mid-80s. Groups like the Fat Boys did mainstream commercials: The problem with The Beastie Boys is that after Arsenio Hall and In Living Color decided to destroy Vanilla Ice, the Beastie Boys got thrown into the trash bin of "white rappers". This lasted for 10 years, until Eminem appeared. The Beastie Boys were of course HUGE for about two years before Vanilla Ice came out of the woodwork. The great mystery surrounding The Beastie Boys is why Paul's Boutique wasn't as big or bigger than their first record. I mean, the record company initially was *completely* behind that record, and I think "Hey Ladies" was the first single, but then the record just disappeared. I guess the label stopped promoting it. But have any of you watched the release party on the roof of the Capitol Records building? It's surreal...sky writer, custom flag, ragtime band, speech by Jewish record company exec who declares Paul's Boutique to be "The Sgt. Pepper of Rap":
November 8, 201311 yr The Beastie Boys were of course HUGE for about two years before Vanilla Ice came out of the woodwork. ...and there was that chicano rapper Kid Frost (at least I think he was chicano). Ice, Frost, all pretty chill, eh? @@@ Been thinking about Chicago a lot due to that gay marriage thing (and a new boyfriend who used to live in Chicago).... ....here's a link to hipsterism (sp?) in Chicago: What are Chicagos most Hipsteriffic Neighborhoods ...and this excellent Hipster Historical Geography of Chicago (picking up on the historical gensis of hipstersim, esp the artiste<--->hangers-on phenom, in various local bohemias): The Migration of the Hipster
November 8, 201311 yr ...and there was that chicano rapper Kid Frost (at least I think he was chicano). Ice, Frost, all pretty chill, eh? Well, they did themselves no favors by making their monikers play on their race. The names had to say "Hey, I'm white and I'm a rapper and my name says so!" VANILLA Ice Snow etc. (I suppose...I was too busy with Big Daddy Kane, etc.)
November 10, 201311 yr Check out this McDonald's ad that appeared on my Facebook page today: ...so looking like you were at NYU film school in 1995 is now mainstream style if McDonal's of all places is wearing it out. >"Hey, I'm white and I'm a rapper and my name says so!" You're forgetting "Chinaman" Fresh Kid Ice of 2 Live Crew:
November 12, 201311 yr Since the "favorite music" thread seems to generate no discussion, check this out: The Cure played stadiums? Like 50,000 people showed up to see that band? I think that really proves how much bigger music was overall in the 80s and 90s than it is now. What sort-of popular band is filling stadiums these days, let alone arenas? Also, it should be noted, that The Cure drew large crowds because thousands -- TENS of thousands -- of boyfriends got suckered into attending those shows. I know one of them. In fact I happened to talk to him tonight on the phone. I sure as hell wasn't there when they played Riverfront Coliseum back in 1994. What was really weird was how so many Cure fans segued into becoming Nine Inch Nails fans.
November 12, 201311 yr Since the "favorite music" thread seems to generate no discussion, check this out: The Cure played stadiums? Like 50,000 people showed up to see that band? I think that really proves how much bigger music was overall in the 80s and 90s than it is now. What sort-of popular band is filling stadiums these days, let alone arenas? Also, it should be noted, that The Cure drew large crowds because thousands -- TENS of thousands -- of boyfriends got suckered into attending those shows. I know one of them. In fact I happened to talk to him tonight on the phone. I sure as hell wasn't there when they played Riverfront Coliseum back in 1994. What was really weird was how so many Cure fans segued into becoming Nine Inch Nails fans. To be fair they played mostly stadiums in Europe, which of course is an entirely different animal. Only a handful of big market shows here.
November 12, 201311 yr Yeah, on MTV in the 80s, it seemed like *every* concert in Europe was in a stadium. I mean, those shows were *huge*. It had such a powerful effect on kids watching MTV. Bands were drawing crowds as big as sports, even bigger if you count all the people on the field.
November 12, 201311 yr It's like "Who's this guy?" He got to lip sync in a stadium though. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la1mYqpELUg
November 12, 201311 yr RE The Cure: First time I ever heard them referred to as Chic rock. I probably know more guys than girls that like them.
November 12, 201311 yr Agreed. I never saw a strong gender affiliation with The Cure. Rather, their fans seemed to feel very strongly about ennui
November 12, 201311 yr I always thought they leaned female. Usually big girls. The early Gothapotami.....
November 12, 201311 yr The Cure might make more sense on the Coasts where men don't have to act like Stone Cold Steve Austin all the time for good things to happen to them.
November 12, 201311 yr The Cure are all about the eye liner... Note, I am a casual Cure fan. Have Hipsters discovered Too Short yet? That would be pretty ironic. Too Short does do a track on the new Kid Cudi album, which by the way is a beautiful mess. The first half sounds like he's been listening to a lot of early 90's ministry. Sort of a post dance pre grinding industrial synth sound.
November 13, 201311 yr It's like "Who's this guy?" He got to lip sync in a stadium though. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la1mYqpELUg There's a lot of crap on the internet, but sometimes something comes along that is truly appalling.
November 13, 201311 yr It's like "Who's this guy?" He got to lip sync in a stadium though. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la1mYqpELUg That was bad even by 80's standards. I was expecting at the end for him to pop a Mentos in his mouth. Freshmäkken!!
November 13, 201311 yr >That was bad even by 80's standards. Appalling is the word you were looking for. Mods: with that we might just want to close this thread. It's just getting too dangerous.
November 13, 201311 yr ^Probably a good idea, since a lot of the banter in the thread actually sounds like the old people that are wanting the streetcar killed in Cincy.."I don't like it, it needs to stop". The thread is trending very anti-urban actually IMO.
November 13, 201311 yr Let's get back on track then. This just appeared, and I actually know one of the girls in photo #6: http://www.bustle.com/articles/8392-the-24-most-hipster-things-that-have-ever-happened-to-me However, I didn't find that photo or anything about this list particularly entertaining or revelatory.
November 13, 201311 yr Truely excellent article on Hipsters and Berlin from The Baffler (which is itself sort of hipster, or being positioned that way be the new publisher): Sacking Berlin, How hipsters, expats, yummies, and smartphones ruined a city Yummies is sort of a German marketing-speak for the hipster concept: ”....the Yummie. This personage was Young, was Urban, and was Mobile, and the company limned her glory with a composite character it called “Jessica,” a thirty-four-year-old woman with an English name, tousled blond hair, and red lipstick who lives in Berlin. Jessica looked the part of shabby chic, and had the retro blue sunglasses to prove it, but her occupation as a “real estate broker” demonstrated her professional savvy. On the company’s website, “Jessica” told the world how she liked to go out with friends, and “when we do, it’s especially important that we experience something cool!” Jessica’s hunger for the Cool and her casual hipness suggest the real appeal of the Yummie: they are the tastemakers, the consumer connoisseurs who discover and establish what the next trend will be."
November 13, 201311 yr However, I didn't find that photo or anything about this list particularly entertaining or revelatory. ...and thus quite hipster! For me the "most hipster thing that ever happened to me" (one of them) was the curated flea market in Washington Park. Not just any old flea market, a curated flea market.
November 13, 201311 yr However, I didn't find that photo or anything about this list particularly entertaining or revelatory. ...and thus quite hipster! For me the "most hipster thing that ever happened to me" (one of them) was the curated flea market in Washington Park. Not just any old flea market, a curated flea market. CityFlea takes place monthly in OTR.
November 19, 201311 yr Truely excellent article on Hipsters and Berlin from The Baffler (which is itself sort of hipster, or being positioned that way be the new publisher): Sacking Berlin, How hipsters, expats, yummies, and smartphones ruined a city Yummies is sort of a German marketing-speak for the hipster concept: ”....the Yummie. This personage was Young, was Urban, and was Mobile, and the company limned her glory with a composite character it called “Jessica,” a thirty-four-year-old woman with an English name, tousled blond hair, and red lipstick who lives in Berlin. Jessica looked the part of shabby chic, and had the retro blue sunglasses to prove it, but her occupation as a “real estate broker” demonstrated her professional savvy. On the company’s website, “Jessica” told the world how she liked to go out with friends, and “when we do, it’s especially important that we experience something cool!” Jessica’s hunger for the Cool and her casual hipness suggest the real appeal of the Yummie: they are the tastemakers, the consumer connoisseurs who discover and establish what the next trend will be." Man, they could have just as easily written this about San Francisco, except instead of rents going up 20%, they doubled and tripled. Though like all trend-setting places filled with 20-something millionaires lacking social grace, SF is clearly entering a post-hipster phase (basically an even worse version of the hipsters in the rest of the country- makes Brooklyn look like Greek Life by comparison). The Mission District is the worst of the 1% and worst of hipsterdom blended together in a $10 cage-free hops, gluten-free barley craft beer that might as well be skunked Tecate.
November 19, 201311 yr This is awesome. Put the crappiest lens you can find on a professional camera? Sure, why not...
November 20, 201311 yr Not a hipster per se, but this guy is a total idiot. I hope he gets sued for breaking the girl's arm as he falls off the light rack in the seventh minute:
November 20, 201311 yr Truely excellent article on Hipsters and Berlin from The Baffler (which is itself sort of hipster, or being positioned that way be the new publisher): Sacking Berlin, How hipsters, expats, yummies, and smartphones ruined a city Yummies is sort of a German marketing-speak for the hipster concept: ....the Yummie. This personage was Young, was Urban, and was Mobile, and the company limned her glory with a composite character it called Jessica, a thirty-four-year-old woman with an English name, tousled blond hair, and red lipstick who lives in Berlin. Jessica looked the part of shabby chic, and had the retro blue sunglasses to prove it, but her occupation as a real estate broker demonstrated her professional savvy. On the companys website, Jessica told the world how she liked to go out with friends, and when we do, its especially important that we experience something cool! Jessicas hunger for the Cool and her casual hipness suggest the real appeal of the Yummie: they are the tastemakers, the consumer connoisseurs who discover and establish what the next trend will be." Man, they could have just as easily written this about San Francisco, except instead of rents going up 20%, they doubled and tripled. Though like all trend-setting places filled with 20-something millionaires lacking social grace, SF is clearly entering a post-hipster phase (basically an even worse version of the hipsters in the rest of the country- makes Brooklyn look like Greek Life by comparison). The Mission District is the worst of the 1% and worst of hipsterdom blended together in a $10 cage-free hops, gluten-free barley craft beer that might as well be skunked Tecate. Currently Berlin is the hipster/bohemian capital of the western world. It's not nearly as yuppie or expensive as SF, and when I was there it looked like Berlin's creative class produced real art. I didn't get a trust-fund type of vibe from the place. Really, it's hard to compare Berlin to SF since they are so different and Berlin has a very unique history as to how got to where it is today.
November 20, 201311 yr In what parts of town do they congregate? In Berlin? They're all over but especially in Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain, Prenzlauerberg, and Neukolln. West Berlin to the west of the Tiegarten is less hipster and more upscale, particularly around the Kurfurstendamm (Berlin's main shopping street).
November 20, 201311 yr It's like "Who's this guy?" He got to lip sync in a stadium though. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la1mYqpELUg Weellllllllllllllll, I was on 670 today and heard some I Want You coming out of the radio (CD 102.5 to be exact). The band Washed Out sampled the song on their tune "Feel it all Around" about 4 years ago (2009 was the landmark year for Americans discovering '80s Italo Disco). Apparently the Washed Out song was big with hipsters according to Youtube comments.
November 21, 201311 yr In what parts of town do they congregate? In Berlin? They're all over but especially in Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain, Prenzlauerberg, and Neukolln. West Berlin to the west of the Tiegarten is less hipster and more upscale, particularly around the Kurfurstendamm (Berlin's main shopping street). I spent some time a few years back over by the Zoo which is indeed west of the Tiergarten and near the Kurfurstenstrasse and saw few hipsters if any -- just stuff like the Ferrari dealership so yep, that's the info I was looking for. Hipsters really love all that old Soviet and Eastern Bloc stuff don't they?
November 21, 201311 yr >Hipsters really love all that old Soviet and Eastern Bloc stuff don't they? There is a term for it, Ostalgia. The term has been around for at least 10 years now. I saw a show by the same name at the New Museum in New York in 2011. The show wasn't very good, the highlight being a room of fantasy notebook paper drawings by some 12-year old Russian kid of anatomically naive lesbian scenes.
November 21, 201311 yr This is awesome. Put the crappiest lens you can find on a professional camera? Sure, why not... I don't get why anyone cares about low-fidelity images made with cameras. Photography's strength is what only photography can do: show you in exacting detail what the hell was happening at a particular moment from a particular vantage point. If you want hazy images with unrealistic colors, well then you're getting into the realm of painting and printmaking. Speaking of lo-fi, tonight I just sold a box of 20 sheets of expired Polaroid film on Ebay for $150. This crap expired in 2006, and as you can see I bought the box for $85! http://www.ebay.com/itm/281206909695?ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1561.l2649' ^This incidentally is the very expensive type of polaroid film that created a small print AND a negative. This box has been sitting in my closet for almost 10 years, the images are going to look horrible! And I sold this opened pack with 16 sheets of expired film for $28: http://www.ebay.com/itm/281206912574?ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1561.l2649 Who are these people? Well, one of them lives in -- you guessed it -- BROOKLYN.
November 21, 201311 yr I spent some time a few years back over by the Zoo which is indeed west of the Tiergarten and near the Kurfurstenstrasse and saw few hipsters if any -- just stuff like the Ferrari dealership so yep, that's the info I was looking for. Correct. That area is upscale and not hipster. Hipsters really love all that old Soviet and Eastern Bloc stuff don't they? Not really. Artists flooded into Berlin after the fall of the Wall, and in the 90s squatted in older buildings. I beleive Prenzlauerberg was the first to have a big influx or artists squating in buildings but is now pretty gentrified (by Berlin standards). This is in the old East Germany but is mostly older historic buildings. Kreuzberg has also been an artist hub for some time and is an old west Germany area that has mostly older buildings. It was Berlin's punk epicenter in the 70's.
November 21, 201311 yr I went to Mauerpark (Prenzlauer berg) in Berlin for the Sunday Flea Market and Karaoke show and it was hipster, but didn't seem like rich kids. The flea market was a lot of junk mostly and some good ethnic food, and the Karaoke show was cool...there must have been close to a thousand people there watching, and people selling cheap beer and drugs. The outdoor Karaoke show seemed like a good idea, I'm surprised more places don't try it(or maybe they do and I don't know). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauerpark
December 2, 201311 yr The lengths people go to find roommates in San Francisco...notice how someone who is probably not a hipster (or SF hipster lite judging by her lack of tattoos and facial piercings) still throws in the word hipster for marketing reasons. http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2013/09/24/well_this_is_certainly_one_way_to_find_a_roommate_in_sf.php
December 2, 201311 yr And our homegirl Rosa DeLauro is back! http://rosadelauroisafuckinghipster.tumblr.com
December 5, 201311 yr new hipsters battle old hipsters in bushwick! funny: http://nypost.com/2013/12/02/new-hipsters-fight-old-hipsters-over-luxury-bushwick-digs/
December 26, 201311 yr It's like "Who's this guy?" He got to lip sync in a stadium though. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la1mYqpELUg Weellllllllllllllll, I was on 670 today and heard some I Want You coming out of the radio (CD 102.5 to be exact). The band Washed Out sampled the song on their tune "Feel it all Around" about 4 years ago (2009 was the landmark year for Americans discovering '80s Italo Disco). Apparently the Washed Out song was big with hipsters according to Youtube comments. And we have come full circle -- I've found out that the Gary Low/Washed Out song is the theme music to Portlandia.
January 2, 201411 yr new hipsters battle old hipsters in bushwick! funny: http://nypost.com/2013/12/02/new-hipsters-fight-old-hipsters-over-luxury-bushwick-digs/ Bushwick and "luxury" don't belong in the same sentence! UGH.
January 30, 201411 yr Fun. http://gawker.com/this-is-the-williamsburg-of-your-city-a-map-of-hip-ame-1460243062
January 31, 201411 yr I'm starting to think that hipsterdom is merely a rebellion against the dullness that kicked in during the late '90s. No bright colors allowed, paint instead of wallpaper, a four-color world consisting of red, black, gray and white, whimsy dropped in favor of profit-maximization, hardwood floors and tile instead of colorful carpet, avoidance of anything gaudy etc. Most hipsters are young enough to only remember going back to say the mid '90s or maybe the early '90s when they were really little, so must of their lives have been spent in the "dull days". But of course they can tell that before the late '90s there was a lot more novelty, color and whimsicality in everyday life rather than people just wearing black all the time. The only people allowed to let loose with their looks since then have been rappers really. So histers seek pre-late-'90s looks in order to rebel like most young people do. And that's why hipsters can't be all that sinister.
January 31, 201411 yr I'm starting to think that hipsterdom is merely a rebellion against the dullness that kicked in during the late '90s. No bright colors allowed, paint instead of wallpaper, a four-color world consisting of red, black, gray and white, whimsy dropped in favor of profit-maximization, hardwood floors and tile instead of colorful carpet, avoidance of anything gaudy etc. Most hipsters are young enough to only remember going back to say the mid '90s or maybe the early '90s when they were really little, so must of their lives have been spent in the "dull days". But of course they can tell that before the late '90s there was a lot more novelty, color and whimsicality in everyday life rather than people just wearing black all the time. The only people allowed to let loose with their looks since then have been rappers really. So histers seek pre-late-'90s looks in order to rebel like most young people do. And that's why hipsters can't be all that sinister. I was acutely aware as a kid in the 80s that the clothes we were wearing were absolutely ridiculous. That's why I liked going to a catholic school with uniforms, since we got to avoid as much of that crap as possible. Yeah, there was a time when people would wear some flamboyantly airbrushed hot pink t-shirt reading "U Can't Touch This!" to King's Island because they thought it was fun, not because it was funny. That was all over by about 1993-94, when monochrome took over, and anyone wearing anything "fun" was doing it to be funny.
January 31, 201411 yr I'm going to go with teal, forest green and purple. For real grownups it was beige, but you can say that about the '80s and even the 2000s as well regarding building exteriors.
January 31, 201411 yr I was acutely aware as a kid in the 80s that the clothes we were wearing were absolutely ridiculous. That's why I liked going to a catholic school with uniforms, since we got to avoid as much of that crap as possible. um, yeah, you went for pedophile fetish clothing, great....
January 31, 201411 yr It's certainly not rebellion in hipster dominant cities like San Francisco (hipsters are the mainstream). It's Pacific Heights and Marina residents that are the rebels. The best line I've heard from a hipster girl is "I can't believe you go out in the Marina and North Beach! You must be a terrible person." I ended that relationship right quick. Another favorite was "I can't believe you shop at Macy's!" See ya in hell, honey. True blue blood hipsters are mainly limited to SF, NY, a few small areas of LA, and Seattle. They thrive on provincialism and are afraid of more socially/sexually aggressive people (that's why they hate SF's Marina, North Beach, and most of LA and OC). They've got enough dough to do what they want and not care about other people. This can create a really ugly, college-style social scene that becomes an echo chamber. I visited Ohio around the holidays and what I saw was the same as what I remembered from a few years ago- lots of struggling aspirational hipsters. Most were degreed people who worked coffee shops, bars, and retail. They were hipster lites...quite literally. They were pretty light on facial piercings and arm sleeves. They wore the clothes and had the unkept beards, but that was it. They told me facial piercings and too many tats would lessen their local job prospects. They're probably right. I don't think what most people call hipsters in the Midwest are actually hipsters. They're too afraid to go all out due to their locales. Sure some did, but they were less likely to be front of house. The Midwestern aspirational hipsters don't have the dough for the Mission District or Williamsburg, and as a result, they're a completely different breed. They're not brothers and sisters with their saltwater counterparts. I don't even know if I'd call them cousins. One thing I'll give the Midwesterners is that they can talk to strangers and have some social skills. They're not up to their necks in Tinder and can still approach. The main thing I think is a commonality with all these people is desexualization. That's the rebellion. This movement has always been about making yourself less sexually appealing and it's androgynous. It takes gender out of the equation and doesn't show skin. In a way, that's a bigger slap across the face of America than anything else. In a nation that has always been obsessed with sex appeal, hipsters shun it...
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