Post #742910 by Ragbag Comics on Wed, May 13, 2015 4:12 PM

Both coming from Chicago (Land of 1000 Hipsters) and
working in the (indie) music industry the last 10 years,
I feel like I should chime in...

I think the blanket term "Hipster" is to the current 20-something-to-30-something generation what terms
like "Alternative""Indie," "Gen-X" and "Slacker" were
to the current 40-something-to-50-something generation.

They are, generally speaking, people who listen to non-mainstream music and fall into that non-fashion-
trend-that-becomes-fashion-trend-that-becomes-marketing-
gimmick pit, whether on purpose or not.

There are many varieties of actual hipsters... from the "Old Timey Mustache Guy" to the "Lumberjack" to the "Fixed Gear Bike Messenger"... (we used to have a chart...), but in order to really be a hipster, my feeling is that you really have to be trying to prove something, typically how "weird" and "unique" you are through your fashion, lifestyle and music choices. You are trying to convince people that you are unlike anyone else (and, ironically, ultimately end up being like most others you associate with.)

Y'know all that awful modern advertising like the Skittles and Old Spice commercials where a bunch of non-sensical bullshit happens and you're supposed to find it hilarious... kind of a short encapsulation of "internet culture?" That's targeting hipsters (or "Millenials" which is becoming an interchangeable term.)

With true "hipsters," to me, there's a sense of trying way too hard and a level of affectation and pretension... here, I'm thinking the dudes with complicated haircuts and waxed mustaches and tattoos that make reference to some painstakingly obscure, rightfully forgotten pop-culture cul-de-sac from the 80's or 90's, and who will argue with you all night, tooth-and-nail, as to why said painstakingly obscure, rightfully forgotten pop-culture cul-de-sac is worth your attention (when, really, it's just the obscure reference he's chosen to cling to as proof that he is "authentically interesting and weird" because no one else remembered it first.)

A lot of people nowadays might look like hipsters at first blush to other generations, but in fact they're just people in their 20's and 30's who aren't yuppies or are into some kind of sub-culture (err...like this one!) or are not otherwise easily categorized. They are just "young people."

I'm 33... I would imagine at first glance some of the older folks amongst us would look at my friends and I and think us "hipsters," possibly, but in actuality we are decidedly not. We are just dudes and girls who used to go to punk rock shows, listen to a wide assortment of music (and none of us really listen to the same music) go to our jobs every day and are too old to give a shit about trying to prove anything or really care about what anyone thinks about us.

My wife and I started getting into Tiki 10 or more years back as part of the "Punk Rock Retirement Plan" (which may include forays into the rockabilly scene, country music, Tiki, etc etc, or all of the above) and neither of us could be classified as a hipster, by a long shot... neither one of us has ironic haircuts or tattoos (I don't even have hair) or is trying to prove anything.

We like to go to old places with an older crowd ourselves... Wisconsin supper clubs, old lovably crappy dive bars, old Chinese joints... it doesn't matter so long as it's got plenty of character. It feels comfortable. And as I see most of those places close in Chicago and get replaced with new flashier "hipster" bars, it saddens me. We go to as many old places as we can find when we're out of town, too, because god dammit if there isn't a point where all feels right with the world when yer perched on a stool in an interesting environment surrounded by people ready to tell you why where you are matters (and unlike obscure pop culture references, it actually DOES matter... it's a community...it's history...)

So, all that being said, with the craft cocktail scene, there's a lot of great stuff going on, but there's also a definite need to leak off some of the pretentiousness-gas, because while I like a nicely made drink, I don't personally care (nor can I tell) if the 1/8 ounce of honey in my cocktail is organic and made by rare Himalayan Mountain Bees who only produce during the peak of the summer solstice in one small village, or if it came out of a plastic bottle shaped like a bear somebody bought at Jewel. "Craft" doesn't have to be crazy and over-the-top, it just has to be not "crap."

It's good the younger folks are paying attention to what had once been relegated to being "old" and living on borrowed time - the less bars with flav-o-rite martinis of the month and "Red Headed Slut" shooters the better... that's what Buffalo Wild Wings and TGI Fridays is for. The fact that younger generations are giving that the finger is encouraging.

But there ain't nothin' wrong (or pretentious, or ironic if you're not a moron) about an old neighborhood bar, a PBR tall boy and a shot of Jim Beam. That's where you'll find the best stories...

And to keep this thing on the rails, Tiki Ti is a national treasure... only had the pleasure of visiting a few times (all in the same trip to LA) but that is the standard-bar-none for what makes a "great old place." Thank God they're comin' back... you can't make 'em like that anymore.

--Pete