The only kind of relationship the indie kid or hipster knows is love-hate. They embrace the ignored, which suddenly gives it context. That, in turn, draws the attention of the mainstream and removes the meaninglessness that attracted them in the first place.
It’s a painful process that they’ve watched their beloved noise-canceling headphones and knit caps get dragged through, but the latest victim hits very close to the heart indeed: Cheap beer.
NBC Chicago reports that Pabst Blue Ribbon sales have skyrocketed 25 percent this year. One could argue that people opting for quantity over quality these days explains the sales boom. But one would be wrong.
But here’s the thing. According to the article, PBR is actually more expensive than Keystone, Busch light, Natty light…even Miller High Life—the champagne of beers! And yet, the staple of dive-bar culture has enjoyed record popularity during a recession.
So how does something teleport so quickly from uncool to cool? Cool isn’t a spectrum; it’s a circle. PBR ran so far in the unhip direction that it found itself back on the hip side.
That same phenomenon happens on the daily. The Death Row of hipster culture has cells for plaid, beer bellies, and tons of bands that barreled over the line from Indie to Pop. Whenever a band starts to blow up, much of its original fan base slouches away, muttering “sell-out.” See: every kid who “was totally into Fallout Boy before they got big.”
So it appears the hipster’s modus operandi is an all-too-predictable cycle of passionate love and bitter disgust. Nothing, it seems, is inherently hip, so are the critics right? Is the dada-like nature indie culture of today in fact just a lack of culture as a whole?
There is hope for legitimacy. The following three indie culture icons are hip—to the max, in fact—and are sure to stay out of the mainstream for a long time to come:
The first is Sean Nelson of Harvey Danger. Have you heard of anything from that guy since Flagpole Sitta? No—and probably by design. Nelson croons in his song Radio Silence “nobody likes what I like, that’s how I like it:” the battle cry of the hipster.
Next are blogging communities. They’re expressive, easy to use and as Gawker says of Tumblr, “popular with creative types.” Sounds like the perfect target for the next popularity swarm. But there is a natural barbed-wire fence to keep out the undesirables: the very nature of the blogosphere, which demands substance of the author (we’re looking at you, Twitter).
And finally: cutoff denim capris. Those are categorically unpopular.
Our Take
[Ed. Note: Here’s my thought on the matter:
