On Hipsters

[iamn8]

Yeah, I kinda set myself up for that huh?

 

[bonehed]

 

[davet]

I just don't want to be the old guy talking about the good old days and yelling "get off my lawn".

I can only hope to achieve that level :rofl:

 

[brian64]

An artificial appropriation of different styles from different eras, the hipster represents the end of Western civilization – a culture lost in the superficiality of its past and unable to create any new meaning. Not only is it unsustainable, it is suicidal. While previous youth movements have challenged the dysfunction and decadence of their elders, today we have the “hipster” – a youth subculture that mirrors the doomed shallowness of mainstream society.

As I commented once before on one of the several hipster threads that have come up, the current hipster phenomenon is the inevitable expression of a society/culture that has become post-everything.

Don't get me started on tattoo's my pet peeve

I'm too rebellious to get a tattoo.

 

[iamn8]

for lack of new ingredients, there's nothing left to do but mix what you've got till something new is made?

 

[brian64]

for lack of new ingredients, there's nothing left to do but mix what you've got till something new is made?

I think that about sizes it up. Because it seems to be rooted in outward appearances rather than in some identifiable philosophy and/or principle.

 

[lasttango]

So, is a lumbersexual just a type of hipster or is it its "own thing?"

 

[warren]

brian64: Absolutely correct! Generally people prefer to class people from a distance. You have to know someone to start to understand them and what makes them tick. Most prefer a quick glance and a snap judgement. Much as each of us desires to be known for who we are, we compartmentalize others by clothes, posture, vehicle, pipe brand, neighborhood, room note, ethnicity, accent, etc. It's partly an ingrained defense mechanism but, mostly, doing so makes life simpler. And most do not like a complicated life.

 

[brian64]

Good points Warren, and I think human nature has always been that way. But in the past, even if most people were just "fitting in" there was still some identifiable idea behind it that the smarter ones at least were consciously aware of. For example, hippies all had long hair and beards, but it was based on the idea of being natural...getting back to nature...as opposed to the "artificial" continual shaving and grooming. But in the case of the modern hipster, there does not seem to be any such identifiable idea. It all seems artificial. But maybe I'm just not getting it. Are the smarter hipsters aware of what it's all supposed to be about?

 

[warren]

My theory is, the smarter hipsters are having a good time seeing how many others they can affect. Kinda like standing on the street corner and staring up at the sky. How many others can you get to strain their necks trying to see what you are looking at? Or, perhaps the movement is aimed solely at the members of this forum, trying to see how many members they can offend. It appears that some of us are particularly easy targets.

 

[thesillyoldbear]

Just a thought here, no snark I promise, it's not my place to criticise. But...
Every day I get up and put on a french press pot of hand mill ground coffee, drive to work and light my first pipe of the day (at my desk) and enjoy said coffee. I work with people who share a lot of common interests: art, video games, literature, and film. I get to listen to music I like (aloud, because common interests). Sometimes that's hip-hop, sometimes it's punk, and sometimes, heaven forbid, it's folk, or The Lumineers or Decemberists. I get to do this all while earning a living doing something I love and am passionate about, the. I go home to my lovely and loving wife.
What's my point you ask? Only that if this is being a hipster I'm fine with that. I'm happy, fulfilled, and I genuinely love my life.

 

[warren]

Good on you! I'm sure you fit someone's profile of the "hipster." I admire a person who is comfortable in their own skin. Very refreshing! Healthy also!

 

[dochudson]

I don't get the fascination on pipe forums with hipsters.. or for that matter with cobs or Penzance.

 

[deathmetal]

Hipster is a state of mind, or "inside out." Trying to measure "outside in" is the hard way. While I echo Warren's comments, some behaviors are clearly of the trend-mentality, but they are rarely ones that trends hold to be such.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Every day I get up and put on a french press pot of hand mill ground coffee, drive to work and light my first pipe of the day (at my desk) and enjoy said coffee. I work with people who share a lot of common interests: art, video games, literature, and film. I get to listen to music I like (aloud, because common interests). Sometimes that's hip-hop, sometimes it's punk, and sometimes, heaven forbid, it's folk, or The Lumineers or Decemberists. I get to do this all while earning a living doing something I love and am passionate about, the. I go home to my lovely and loving wife.
What's my point you ask? Only that if this is being a hipster I'm fine with that. I'm happy, fulfilled, and I genuinely love my life.

Best post in this whole thread in my opinion. I honestly don't understand why hipsters bother people so much. They're doing their thing along with like minded people. Do we not all do that to some extent? Are we all here a hipster sub genre? Pipes smoking forum hipsters maybe? Lol. In all seriousness... let the hipsters be hipsters. Why should we be bothered by it. I've worn flannels for years. I just like them. And I've recently grown out my beard and mustache, not because I'm trying to be a hipster but because I work in a cold room cutting meat all day and I like to keep my face warm. And my father has always worn a beard and I suppose it fits me. Hell, I'm even thinking about curling my mustache every once in a while. Why? Just because I think it's kinda neat and fun and it hearkens to a bygone era. I like old stuff.
And another thing.... at least their not walking around with their pants hanging down to the back of their knees like some people.

 

[cobguy]

.. or for that matter with cobs or Penzance.

Yet, it's a Cob being smoked in your avatar. Interesting. ::

 

[beefeater33]

And another thing.... at least their not walking around with their pants hanging down to the back of their knees like some people.

Those are Kneesters, right?? :D

 

[deathmetal]

I honestly don't understand why hipsters bother people so much.

Because they are inauthentic. In genres like metal, punk, industrial, hacking, this is a vital distinction.
But, the people usually called "hipsters" are rarely the actual hipster...

 

[aldecaker]

deathmetal, if I didn't know better, I'd think you had a hard-on against hipsters that transcends pipe and tobacco enjoyment.

 

[aldecaker]

Nothin'. It just seems that a usually vibrant, dynamic group of convivial conversationalists is kind of getting drawn into the dead horse vortex.