OK, Now Let Me Explain This Too....

I know many of you (or not, it was probably just Lizzie) read my post pondering Hipsters the other week and I had several people (OK, that was just Lizzie. And then Chris, because he's mean) feedback saying that I came across as a hipster in the post.

This wasn't the point of the post.
And I will defend myself as the most unhipstery person in the world.
(See Lizzie, you made me paranoid now)

Hipsters choose to "like" things because they're unpopular or not particularly well known. I have never done this; I like things because they're good (or funny at least) and because I LIKE THEM, which was the whole point of my post. You should choose to like things which conform to the standards you set internally which make something good in your opinion, rather than those set externally by other people.

Wow, now I sound really weird.

My previous post mentioned several bands which aren't well known because I was proving that it shouldn't matter who you like. As long as you like them for the right reason and not to prove a point, you can like whatever you want. It's a free country!

The Hipster Culture

Hello, today I have been painting a shed. This has given plenty of pondering time, which I have spent primarily on the concept of Hipsters. For anyone over the age of thirty, or who is not accustomed to the ways of Youth Culture and the Internet (congratulations on finding this if this is you) a hipster is a young person who deliberately goes against popular culture to stand out from the crowd. Usually, this involves wearing clothes which would look more appropriate on a pensioner and eschewing the ways of modern technology; using cassette tapes or records instead of CDs and MP3 Players.

Here is a brief educational video if you'd like to know more (be warned, it says it's clean, but it's not entirely free of rude language): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krsRqZ42lyE

Anyway, anyone who announces to others that they are a hipster is, by definition, not a hipster. Hipster culture has become an essential part of mainstream youth culture and therefore anyone who relishes the title of "hipster" is actually a mainstream try-hard.

But in my opinion, a hipster is just as bad as someone who only likes things because they're popular. Trying to stand out by liking things that nobody else cares about is ridiculous. You should like things (and listen to them, wear them, whatever) because YOU LIKE THEM!!!! What other people think of them should have no bearing on your opinion.

I mean, I like bands that I don't think people have heard of, such as Sixpence None The Richer, Violinski, AlternativA, the Flashcubes and Voice Of The Beehive or individual artists, such as Parthenon Huxley (P Hux) and Juliana Raye (I may be wrong, those bands may be quite famous. Does it matter? No!) but I don't like them because nobody else does, I like them because they're god musicians with music that makes me happy. Usually. I also like people like ELO, Queen and the Darts for the same reason, even though a large portion of their members have, sadly, now died.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that hipsters are really silly. In the same way that people who change their lifestyle to be like everyone else are silly. You should like what you like because of your personal tastes, whether that be modern, old, alternative, cheesy, popular, underground, reggae, jazz, soul, dubstep (please God no), or even Math Rock. What actually is Math Rock?

[SIDEBAR:] Thanks to Dad for reminding me of all the weird bands I like that nobody else has heard of/cares about.