Hipsters Eat Babies

Well...not really. But it would be funny!

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.

That is from the essay Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization by Douglas Haddow which is appearing in this month's issue of Adbusters. While an interesting read, Haddow's essay doesn't touch on anything that's particularly original and lacks a few important incites.

First, yes, hipsters do suffer the malaise of being the off-spring of failed revolutionaries/counter-culturalists, while living in a society where you are confronted with image and consumerism at every turn. This is true. But what Haddow fails to point out is that Hipsters are not as different from past counter culture groups as one would like to believe.

Remember that hippies, punks, and hiphop culture all eventually "sold out." They're movement became commodified (for the most part) and never achieved the initial goals (if any even existed) of the movement. There is no doubt that society has significantly changed because of past counter culture groups, but the leaders of those groups eventually became the heads of corporations that have jammed advertisements and lifestyle choices down our throats.

Besides, what the hell is a hipster? Sure, the events described by Haddow could be indicative of a "hipster" party (a party that I'm pretty sure that if I was at I would leave in about 5 minutes), but that's a pretty general scenario.

Western civilization is not going to die because of hipsters. Hipsters are soulless creatures that latch onto styles and images that surround them. But isn't that what the hippies became? Or how about the punks? I'm pretty sure there were a lot of posers and imitators. Humans are social creatures and latch onto anything that will make them feel apart of something. Hipsterdom or whatever the fuck you want to call it is coming to an end. Changes are on its way. You can feel it in the air. Kind of.

Besides, this whole article is a moot point.

Western civilization is already bunk and on the downward spiral.

Singing Jesus

It's a stunning day out.

Really gorgeous.

It's one of those days when the light of Jesus shines down on everyone!

At least that's what the lady that sat next to me on the train today would probably say.

After over a year of commuting on the LIRR I've had my fair share of strange encounters/events, but this morning was one of the strangest.

As usual the train was packed and the only available seat was the middle seat in a row. I sat down between a man, probably in his early 40s, and a woman who looked to be in her early 60s.

Everything seemed fine at first. I settled into my seat, opened up the paper and tried to relax. Then the woman started talking. To herself.

It was only a slight mumble, but it was still a little unsettling. I couldn't entirely make out what she was saying other than hearing a few key words like "lord" "jesus" and "almighty."

That's fine. She likes religion. A lot. And she likes to talk to herself about it. Cool.

The talking wasn't very loud and was pretty easy to ignore; that was until she started humming. It began pretty soft and quiet, slowly creeping into my ear drum. The tune appeared to be some sort of gospel, church hymn or something of the sort. I could tolerate the humming. I'm pretty sure I hum to myself without realizing it all the time. It happens. Sometimes you just can't contain yourself.

Then she started to sing. No more with the humming. She was singing. Loud. She was proclaiming the coming of the lord by song. How wonderful. There's nothing better than hearing some out of tune gospel singing at 8:00 a.m.

I guess the spirit of jesus consumed her and she just had to let it out. Next time she should wait till she's not on a train.

Burn that Fat!!!!!

Remember how Tyler Durden made soap out of human fat in Fight Club? Well what if we used that same human fat and used it for energy?

This is what Barbara Ehrenreich asserts in her recent article in The Nation, "Liposucition: The Key to Energy Independence." It makes sense. Why not burn some of the fat that rich, overweight Americans have shed?

She writes:

This is the humane alternative to biofuels derived directly from erstwhile foodstuffs like corn. Biofuels, as you might have noticed, are exacerbating the global food crisis by turning edible plants into gasoline. But we could put humans back in the loop by first turning the corn into Doritos and hence into liposuctionable body fat. There would be a reason to live again, even a patriotic rationale for packing on the pounds.

WOW!
What a brilliant idea?!?

It would be the perfect solution to America's problems. We wouldn't need to worry about a lack of crops, the weight problem that Americans face will be greatly diminished, and we would still be able to drive our cars!

WONDERFUL!

I don't know about you but I'm going to run right off to the plastic surgeon this instant! I figure with the amount of fat on me I could get enough gas to last me a week? a few days?

YES!

Lets be thin, fat guzzling Americans!

Later Willie

So the Mets fired Willie Randolph in one of the most classless acts ever by a sports team.

I'm ashamed to be a Mets fan.
Seriously.

Just read Buster Olney's blog over at ESPN.....that about sums it up.

No Way! No Wave!

In the Books section of the New York Times today there is a great review of a new book chronicling the infamous No Wave punk scene in New York in the late 1970's

The book, No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York. 1976-1980, is a visual history by Thurston Moore (of Sonic Youth) and Byron Coley and includes photographs and interviews of groups such as James Chance and the Contortions, DNA, and Teenage Jesus and the Jerks.

Looks like it should be an interesting book covering one of the most intriguing, short-lived musical movements.

Below is a live clip of James Chance and the Contortions.

The Fallacy Is You

"if the folks known as the hiphop generation are learning their politics from "conscious" rap, there is little hope for our future."

Huh?

That was my first reaction after reading this op-ed by John McWhorter in The New York Sun. McWhorter, the well known columnist for the Sun and Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, has long been know for his "interesting" views on race that usually take a Clarence Thomas approach to being African American.

Clearly McWhorter knows very little about the foundations of Hip-Hop and the political nature of it. Sure, mainstream hip-hop is shallow, sexist, and offers a poor representation of African-Americans (which McWhorter does in fact realize). However, he misses the boat in asserting that conscious rap and hip-hop are somehow undermining the new generation of African-Americans.

In citing songs by Pete Rock, Dead Prez, The Roots, and Kanye West, he takes the lyrics out of context and fails to acknowledge that the themes from these songs are common within African-American communities. The idea that public school systems (NOT charter schools McWhorter specifically talks about) in low-income communities are failing and providing a curriculum that is not properly aimed at the students is a topic that has long been talked by educators, civil rights leaders, AND hip-hop artists.

McWhorter, who in previous op-eds has gone as far to say that race is not playing a role in the current presidential campaign, clearly failed to do his homework when writing this piece.

Get Out of My Head!

I woke up this morning with the song "Pink Houses" by John Mellencamp stuck in my head.

What the hell?

I don't even like that song, yet all day long I've found myself humming this crappy, midwest-cheese rock that is John Mellencamp.


However, I do really like that in the video he gets all wild and crazy, dancing in a field. That John Cougar, he's so innovative!