"Hipster" as pejorative.

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i'm just glad that the pressure to find at least one black guy willing to join yer ska revival band is off

hahahahahahahahahahahaha

hahahahhaha

Did I mention hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

</former ska revival band member>

nickalicious, Friday, 16 March 2007 17:57 (nineteen years ago)

'hepcat' was really good at finding those guys. uncanny.

tremendoid, Friday, 16 March 2007 18:21 (nineteen years ago)

We should draw a distinction between 50s beat/Mailerian hipsterism and the postmodern Letterman-esque version, which is a kind of channel-flipping detachment from all surrounding events and people. I'm not sure that the two share a direct line of evolution.

fife, Friday, 16 March 2007 18:43 (nineteen years ago)

Somebody said that Mailer's hipster is more a figment of his imagination, or something he tried to will into being: a kind of violent but sly crook lurking in urban environments which he contrasted with beatniks, who are fairly mild middle-class dropouts. If Freud had replaced Marx in the 50s intelligentsia, hipsters were his bolsheviks, the murderous revolutionaries of the psyche as opposed to the menshevik bohemian-liberals.

fife, Friday, 16 March 2007 18:53 (nineteen years ago)

i haven't read this thread but "hipsters", to me, are kids who are trying too hard. there's a difference between being hip and being a hipster.

chicago kevin, Friday, 16 March 2007 18:54 (nineteen years ago)

They try 'too hard' because they care what they look like

ie:::Fashion

maricopa john, Friday, 16 March 2007 19:38 (nineteen years ago)

Nah. You can care what you look like without caring how young/trendy it is. You can wear nice, pressed shirts and keep your shoes shined. That's not a hipster.

kenan, Friday, 16 March 2007 19:39 (nineteen years ago)

My friend was born with a white eyebrow...everyone accuses her of trying too hard. With a genetic eyebrow deal.

Abbott, Friday, 16 March 2007 20:18 (nineteen years ago)

i know someone who has eyebrows that curl up at the ends giving him a look similar to a demon or pixie or sprite or something with pointy curly eyebrows.

chicago kevin, Friday, 16 March 2007 20:20 (nineteen years ago)

I guess there's a subtle line between dressing young and trendy and feeling the need to put on a costume before you leave the house. And you can sense the latter. Maybe it's a personality issue more than a fashion issue? You can look cool as hell and still look unpretentious.

kenan, Friday, 16 March 2007 20:39 (nineteen years ago)

can people just not use the phrase "trying too hard" anymore

s1ocki, Friday, 16 March 2007 20:41 (nineteen years ago)

You're pushin' too hard, uh-pushin' on me
You're pushin' too hard, uh-what you want me to be
You're pushin' too hard about the things you say
You're pushin' too hard every night and day

kenan, Friday, 16 March 2007 20:44 (nineteen years ago)

ya! people should just sing that instead.

s1ocki, Friday, 16 March 2007 20:44 (nineteen years ago)

chaki, Friday, 16 March 2007 20:44 (nineteen years ago)

I hate that phrase too, slocki.

Abbott, Friday, 16 March 2007 20:45 (nineteen years ago)

No i think theres a sense here that people are looking down on people who care about fashion, rather than wearing some good clothes. In a way that others care about music, rather than just having some good cds

maricopa john, Friday, 16 March 2007 21:12 (nineteen years ago)

ie: subtext:people shouldn't spend too much time thinking about their outfits

maricopa john, Friday, 16 March 2007 21:13 (nineteen years ago)

What hipster didn't start out overdoing it and then mellowing out? You should see pics of me in HS. Like sitting in giant piles of peers in a puppy pal evolved into sitting alone on a barstool w/a gimlet.

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/igotabeefpastry/papes.jpg

Actually this is the closest I ever got to 'trying too hard' (and it should actually go on the secret goth shame thredd):

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/igotabeefpastry/BIGHEAD.jpg

Vainglorious me.

Abbott, Friday, 16 March 2007 21:14 (nineteen years ago)

subtext: people should stop dressing funny

milo z, Friday, 16 March 2007 21:17 (nineteen years ago)

"You can care what you look like without caring how young/trendy it is. You can wear nice, pressed shirts and keep your shoes shined. That's not a hipster."

it's not really fashion either, is it? i mean i'm sure you look good but you're missing the point.

jed_, Friday, 16 March 2007 21:20 (nineteen years ago)

"can people just not use the phrase "trying too hard" anymore"

http://www.ilxor.com:8080/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?boardid=40&threadid=30843

scott seward, Friday, 16 March 2007 21:22 (nineteen years ago)

I like when people dress funny, like the old woman I saw dressed like an anthropology prof. w/the flowy dress & billion turquoise necklaces...paired w/neon orange chuck taylors. i like the kids who dress too much, they add some levity to my world.

Abbott, Friday, 16 March 2007 21:23 (nineteen years ago)

I like the sartorialist a ton but it everyone dressed like that what a dry world it would be. I'd rather eat ice than look at Vice, tho.

Abbott, Friday, 16 March 2007 21:24 (nineteen years ago)

can people just not use the phrase "trying too hard" anymore


i'll stop saying it when i stop seeing it. restraint is key, rarely is anything any good when it's over the top.

chicago kevin, Friday, 16 March 2007 21:26 (nineteen years ago)

But what attitude does it imply beyond dress sense and musical taste?

fife, Friday, 16 March 2007 21:36 (nineteen years ago)

Slocky OTM. In my experience, the phrase "trying too hard" is generally employed by self-conscious killjoys.

Fluffy Bear Hearts Rainbows, Friday, 16 March 2007 21:38 (nineteen years ago)

to me it screams "i want to belong accept me accept accept me" and i don't dig that.

chicago kevin, Friday, 16 March 2007 21:39 (nineteen years ago)

"I'm cooler than you"

not saying that's the INTENDED projection of attitude - sometimes yes sometimes no

dmr, Friday, 16 March 2007 21:40 (nineteen years ago)

xpost to fife

dmr, Friday, 16 March 2007 21:41 (nineteen years ago)

kevin mostly OTM

milo z, Friday, 16 March 2007 21:46 (nineteen years ago)

oh man high school... that's where it's ok to try too hard, i guess, but man. I was like the girl in... what's that movie?... who keeps coming in wearing totally different "looks" (i.e. beehive)? Anyway, I was like that. I went from band geek in polo shirt to wannabe surfer to metal guy with boots.

Today I am dressed not unlike Kumar.

kenan, Friday, 16 March 2007 21:46 (nineteen years ago)

I do look down on people who care about fashion. As a midwesterner, it's my birthright to do so.

Granny Dainger, Friday, 16 March 2007 21:50 (nineteen years ago)

well, there's no shame in being a provincial boob, I don't guess, but there's no pride in it either.

kenan, Friday, 16 March 2007 21:56 (nineteen years ago)

I like hipsters. hooray people who make an effort - however misguided, self-conscious, or obnoxious it may be - to make their lives strange or unusual or interesting.

Shakey Mo Collier, Friday, 16 March 2007 22:03 (nineteen years ago)

*flees from shower of stones, rotten garbage*

Shakey Mo Collier, Friday, 16 March 2007 22:04 (nineteen years ago)

I do look down on people who care about fashion. As a midwesterner, it's my birthright to do so.

This might explain why midwestern thrift stores beat the shit out of anything on the coasts-- y'all throw away all of your cool articles of clothing! I mean, clothing designers from Japan fly into Cleveland all the time just to buy tons of shit at the thrift stores and then re-sell them to young hip types in Tokyo.

the table is the table, Friday, 16 March 2007 22:11 (nineteen years ago)

That's where definitions begin to differ, I guess. 'Hipster' as I hear it used (and the people I see) really doesn't refer to someone who is making their life strange, unusual or interesting.

Hipster means they're taking their cues (fashion, music, etc.) from a certain pool of resources that just happens to be a different pool than Stripey-Shirt Frat Bro or Redneck Woman use.

milo z, Friday, 16 March 2007 22:12 (nineteen years ago)

key word is "different", methinks

Shakey Mo Collier, Friday, 16 March 2007 22:17 (nineteen years ago)

if caring about fashion is wrong, i don't wanna be right.

lauren, Friday, 16 March 2007 22:17 (nineteen years ago)

Redneck Women can also be quite entertaining/idiosyncratic in their own ways.

Fratboys I have an inherent aversion too, however.

Shakey Mo Collier, Friday, 16 March 2007 22:18 (nineteen years ago)

chicago kevin otm upthread.

BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 16 March 2007 22:22 (nineteen years ago)

self-conscious killjoy that i am.

BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 16 March 2007 22:22 (nineteen years ago)

what i mean about midwestern thrift stores is that not only can a "hipster" or whatever find all sorts of stupid-ass clothing to astound and amuse their friends, a normal person can find nice clothes (sometimes couture) for very cheap. case in point: the halston suit i bought for $4. perfect condition.

the table is the table, Friday, 16 March 2007 22:24 (nineteen years ago)

that's kinda true of any thrift store anywhere.

scott seward, Friday, 16 March 2007 22:28 (nineteen years ago)

how is that different from non-midwestern thrift stores?
kenan are you saying that thinking that those who care deeply about fashion are silly makes one a provincial boob?

Granny Dainger, Friday, 16 March 2007 22:32 (nineteen years ago)

caring about fashion isn't wrong, i just find it silly. just like you most likely find people who wear stretchy pants and tweety t-shirts silly. yin to the yang.

Granny Dainger, Friday, 16 March 2007 22:35 (nineteen years ago)

You can't get a Halston suit for $4 in the NYC area!

tokyo rosemary, Friday, 16 March 2007 22:35 (nineteen years ago)

you definitely can't get any kind of suit for $4 in SF, I don't care where you're lookin. Not even at the "Clothes by the Pound" place.

Shakey Mo Collier, Friday, 16 March 2007 22:37 (nineteen years ago)

you can if you get up early enough!

scott seward, Friday, 16 March 2007 22:37 (nineteen years ago)

you guys sleep in too late! cuz yer slacker hipsters!

scott seward, Friday, 16 March 2007 22:38 (nineteen years ago)


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