BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) CLICHÉ’D QUIRKS
Somehow certain styles and trends carry on in mass, but yet still remain “underground”. It’s the little things. The whole scenario is about “being different and laid back”, but there is a lot of thought that goes into the attire and it’s all mostly the same. Certain glasses, certain v-neck shirts, certain beers, and certain everything is all “quirky” and “different”. It’s like a thousand little snowflakes claiming the old “no two snowflakes look alike”. No really, they do. You look like how Johnny Depp would if he went to a state college. The only difference is that you’re not Johnny Depp and you look like a feminine lumberjack.
(THREE) MUSIC
This one is tricky. There is a distinct emo/indie rock roots to the current hipster scene, but the style and trend is bleeding into other areas. It’s to the point now where a “hipster” could really listen to ANYTHING and still cling on to their status. I think there are a few very obvious choices though. We have bands like Arcade Fire, Bob Dylan, The Postal Service, Modest Mouse, Panic at the Disco, Arctic Monkeys, Kings of Leon, or any band with more than 3 collective items of flannel in their band’s promo picture. If you have more than two of the preceding bands in your CD collection then you’re a hipster. Wait… let me count… yeah, TWO.
(TWO) LIFESTYLE
I hate to say this, but if you go out of your way to recycle then you’re most likely a hipster. If you wear Chuck Taylors and tells me about it, ride bicycles as transportation and tells me about it, smoke hand rolled cigarettes and tells me about it, shop at a Thrift store to suit your style over financial status and tells me about it, you’re a vegetarian and tells me about it, you embrace being a “nerd” and tells me about it, etc. etc. etc. There are plenty of lifestyle stereotypes a general “hipster” can have. There are exceptions to everything, but if you’re into these things then you’re most likely a hipster or a few PBRs away.
(ONE) YOU ALREADY KNEW THIS
One huge sign of being a hipster is being the “I knew already knew about THAT… when it was still cool” guy. I’m guilty of this. I’m a pop culture sponge so I do take in the newer things sooner than most. By the time it reaches a “mainstream” level, I’m already tired of it. I know this to be the case for friends of mine as well. I think the difference is how you voice your foregone knowledge. If you’re snobby or stuck up about it then you’re a hipster.
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