Althouse: "Hipsters are an uptight bunch. They like dance music, but they lack the sense of abandon that made raving so much fun...."

March 18, 2016

"Hipsters are an uptight bunch. They like dance music, but they lack the sense of abandon that made raving so much fun...."

"Organised and particular, hipsters know to detest big business. Instead, they fetishise the authenticity of an independent operator. Yet they expect a level of service that can only be delivered by a multinational corporation.... Perhaps the most depressing trend of all is the introduction of the ‘safe space’ policy.... Once, the rave was supposed to feel like a distinctly unsafe space, even if the danger was illusory.... Under the hipsters’ watch, dance music has become tedious and diluted... I’m out."

Says George Hull.

14 comments:

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: What do you expect? The world we created for them to grow up in was a corporatist one, which is as fascist an environment as they come.; 3/18/16, 5:43 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: Hipsters are conflicted. They want things. They have the same problems as "steak-eating vegetarians" -- they want the benefit of good taste and protein (steak) and the benefit of status (aw, man, that's cool you don't eat animals, far out), but reality says you can't have both at the same time.

Far out, Dude.; 3/18/16, 5:52 PM
Barry Dauphin said...: Although I can appreciate his sentiment, perhaps he has become the "parent" that today's hipsters are rebelling against. Maybe he stayed in the game too long.; 3/18/16, 6:04 PM
YoungHegelian said...: Disdaine me still, that I may ever love,
For who his Love injoyes, can love no more.
The warre once past with ease men cowards prove:
And ships returnde, doe rot uppon the shore.
And though thou frowne, Ile say thou art most faire:
And still Ile love, though still I must despayre.

John Dowland, Disdain Me Still

(I thought the performances at Youtube all sucked, but I'll link one anyway; 3/18/16, 6:08 PM
buwaya said...: Its an odd thing indeed.
San Francisco is full of hipsters (daughter is an anti-hipster who looks like one at first, second and third glance, go figure that one out).
They do like their comfort. Risk-taking is not in. Sacrifice for a cause is not in.
Education is not in - these are notably ignorant people, they read little or nothing, and of that nothing challenging.
The 1950's-80's generations of the type were far more respectable.; 3/18/16, 6:25 PM
Laslo Spatula said...: Fromage.

Forage.

Frottage.

I am Laslo.; 3/18/16, 6:40 PM
Floris said...: Most of the hipsters I have met seem to have skipped childhood. They went straight from being infants to being uptight, crotchety prigs.; 3/18/16, 9:25 PM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: Most manifestations of being no fun to be around can be traced back to taking oneself too seriously. Hipsters, as a rule, take themselves waaaaaaaaaay too seriously.; 3/18/16, 11:00 PM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: It's a substitute for not being taught what to take seriously during their upbringings. Things one ought to take seriously: questions of the divine, family, deep education, and character development (see Washington, George for the kind of thing I'm talking about). Hipsters are ironic about those things, but take nonsense such as themselves and their consumer tastes very seriously indeed.; 3/18/16, 11:05 PM
David said...: "Once, the rave was supposed to feel like a distinctly unsafe space, even if the danger was illusory"

The danger was not illusory or course.; 3/18/16, 11:08 PM
Zach said...: Hipsters have always seemed like people who learned about fun from reading a textbook.

I get the principle, but to me it looks like ugly fashion and boring hobbies. And from a distance, "ironic detachment" looks a lot like "not trying very hard."; 3/18/16, 11:43 PM
Wilbur said...: Like my father used to say, I can feel for you but I can't reach you.; 3/19/16, 7:37 AM
JCC said...: Instructive on several levels, beginning with the author who is, of course, a complete moron however accurate his assessment of the new demographic who are also morons. This isn't recommended reading, because it fosters a sense of superiority on the part of the reader.

We have a twelve second smugness rule around here, in that one is only allowed 12 seconds to feel smug about anything before relenting, lest the karmic scales tip against you in retaliation. The linked article tested the limits.; 3/19/16, 8:52 AM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: Does anyone actually call himself a hipster?; 3/20/16, 12:21 PM