Hipsterdom needs to step it up

Even as a relatively young man myself I’ve seen the counter-culture slide from truly anti-corporate to fawningly commercial. It’s gone lame way before my time but I still see the distinction. You wouldn’t have seen Jannis Joplin, chugging a PBR during a game of beer pong while she talked about how she was saving her money for those nice new pair of hundred dollar lamé leggings from American Apparel. There’s nothing wrong with embracing parts of the consumer culture we live in today, I mean it’s inescapable and as long as you’re a relatively genuine person it’s not going to stunt your individuality all that much. However, young hipsters today seem to miss a fact more ironic than the text of that super deep, ironic, t-shirt they’re wearing: namely that their so called unconventional lifestyles are not all that original. The counter-culture today is much more acceptable and vanilla compared to the past. Large companies have figured out how to cash in on these young kids seeking prefab “artistic” personas. All the people I know who I’d classify as really cutting edge are the ones who don’t give a fuck about the aesthetics and realize that even in hipsterdom, clothes do not make the man. There are plenty of creative people today who don’t fall prey to commercial non-conformism and I’d say as Americans we’re no less creative today than in the past but seriously, drop the affectation. Just because you know a few songs by Yo La Tengo and own a fedora does not qualify you for the ranks of true individuality (and not to bash bands like YLT since I love them dearly). The youth today need to find new ways to be original since the counter-culture, as our parents knew it, is dead. Create art, not an impressive disguise.

-Jack Daniel Betz