The hipsters are coming.
It’s the eve of SXSW. The real SXSW. Forget your movies. They attract hipsters, sure, but it’s just a prelude. Forget the interactive types. Sure, they have some hipster hangers-on, in one of the weirder developments in the continuing revenge of the nerds, but the actual SXSWi types know their stuff. It’s easier to ignore the hangers on because being pretentious about twitter use (or non-use) is just too ridiculous to take seriously.
But… SXSW music. That’s when the real infestation takes root. They’re here. You can feel it. Hiding. Sitting around in trousers of odd lengths listening to bad music and trying to make each other feel insecure. Possibly creating new pieces of clothing or fashion accessories by mutilating something expensive or building an outfit around a 1984 Olympics baseball cap they picked up in a thrift store. Or whatever the cool hipster term for a thrift store is. They’re here.
Tomorrow, they’ll be everywhere! Like the goths descending on Rome to pillage good taste, or pilgrims dutifully approaching Mecca, the streets will suddenly be full of people who don’t eat and live off family money so they can describe themselves as graphic designers. The true hipsters will plod from show to show grudgingly, completely exasperated that the music on offer is so poor, the parties so lame, declaring the entire festival a waste of time. It USED to be a big deal, you see.
The rest of us get to actually have fun, and develop a counting game based on hipster ridiculousness. I’m not really abreast of hipster couture at the moment but I’m looking forward to the 2010 version of bandanas vs. poorly executed jean-short cutoffs. The best part of all of this though, is seeing ridiculous people who think that they “get” it, and the rest of us don’t. Because guys, music is IMPORTANT. Just none of the music you like. Just the stuff that I like. It hasn’t really made it into the public eye yet, and I hope it never does. The future of music is erhu solos and rhythm sections composed of instruments we’ve made ourselves.
I love them, really. I really do. I can’t have bad feelings towards people who bring me so much joy. The hipsters are coming.