[Jandek] RE: Hipsters

[D. Craig Wasson]

Yeah-that's right.  We here can probably all appreciate the fact that "hipster," as Kerouac used it, and the term as it applies to the thrift store-dressin,' Johnny Cash lovin,' shameless money grubbin' "Hipster" of today, have different connotations. There is probably little-to-no disagreement on that.
 
We probably all mostly agree that Janky may spark a casual interest in the garden-variety "Hipster" (i.e.:  buying a copy of "Ready for the House" from a chic "Indie" record store just to listen to it once in the presence of their buddies for "ironic" effect, then put on their bookshelf like a status symbol); however, it is my belief that the music is too strident and extreme to inspire that same "Hipster" to hang in there and really develop a passion for it.    
 
It just isn't "Lifestyle Accessory" music; it requires a lot from the listener. A "Hipster" isn't going to interrupt their work schedule and social calendar to actively listen to, interpret, and fight the sense of dread that comes from hearing, say, "White Box Requiem (which, right now, I think is 'The Greatest Mental Horror Movie Ever Made,' and a kickass corruption of Roger McGuinn-style 'Raga Rock')."
 
I, perosnally, have no fine high pretensions about my admiration for Janky.  He's "my jam," just like Ted Nugent and Grand Funk was the "jam" of all the older stoner teenagers in my prole neighborhood when I was a kid-I like his music because it's rebellious, hard on the ears, and cool.  He rocks.
 
If anyone is over-obsessing about The Rep on here, it's just unlikely that it is out of some "Hipsterish" poseury.  As I understand the label, "Hipsters" don't obsess over anything; they move on to the next trend without any sentiment.
 
 
 
whoever said hipsters were 'yuppies" here is a moreaccurate definition of what one is "In the 1990s and2000s, the 1940s slang term hipster began being usedin North America to describe young, well-educatedurban middle class and upper class adults withleftist, liberal, or libertarian social and politicalviews and interests in a non-mainstream fashion andcultural aesthetic. While definitions vary, hipstersare often associated with alternative music, "indie"culture (independent rock and independent film), andother non-mainstream products, such as vintageclothing. Hipsters may dress in a campy or ironicmanner, pairing expensive vintage clothes withworking-class clothing. The social scene in some majorcities is centered in a gentrified downtown area whereDJ clubs, fair-trade coffee cafés, and organicrestaurants sit side-by-side with thrift stores andworking class taverns."
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