Being 'hipster' isn't a tangable thing.
what do you mean, mate?
here in Berlin, and also in London's Shoreditch/Brixton, the whole
"hipster" thing is an obsession...from both sides: those practicing it, those ironically practicing it, and those criticising it. It makes for great comedy like
this meme, and
this video. But then again it encourages
hipster-watch (like bird-spotting, but more critical), meaning even mentioning you've read the book of a film being discussed is considered 'hipster', which is just silly.
Hipster is a look, a lifestyle, an attitude. They're like posh hippies, and are really into 'art' (see how Lady Gaga often confuses art with mere style).
One example: a hipstery girl I met at a Sonic Youth concert looked textbook: that nerdy pretty girl face with big-rimmed plastic glasses. We talked for a while, about music 'n stuff, and I mentioned I make techno music on drum machines. She said she just bought a Korg Electribe (i know, mate) and asked me to come round and show her how to use it. So I went round and showed her how to sequence, from scratch, some banging techno with a fat rolling bassline, shaping the dynamics of the sound so it mixed properly. But half the time her gaze was averted towards her open bedroom door, waiting for her housemates and their friends to pop by
: "wow, are you making techno? That's really cool! Yeah, I know!".
After an hour she had to pop out to an art gallery, where she probably enthused to people that she makes techno. She sketches emo-looking women with tattoos too (think Jane from Breaking Bad).
That's a hipster. They do exist. Harmless, really. Nowt wrong with it. But they are culturally pretty vacant, so that's where the criticism comes from.
. The wife fell asleep after half an hour!
