TheBig3

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.

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TheFolkslave

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.

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clutnuckle

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.

sidewinder

thread:

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I'd love to see your signature/links too, but the huge and obnoxious ones have caused me to block all signatures.

TheBig3

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.

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zachsd

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.

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TheBig3

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)

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NSW

I'm quite fond of this one myself:

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CanwllCorfe

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:



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!

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TheBig3

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.

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