hipsters?
e.e. cummings has always been one of my favorite poets. I believe his poem, since feeling is first, is the first poem I ever memorized (pleased to report I can still recite it):
since feeling is first
who pays any attention
to the syntax of things
will never fully wholly kiss you;
wholly to be a fool
while Spring is in the world
my blood approves,
and kisses are a better fate
than wisdom
lady i swear by all flowers. Don't cry
-the best gesture of my brain is less than
your eyelids' flutter which says
we are for each other: then
laugh, leaning back in my arms
for life's not a paragraph
And death i think is no parenthesis
cummings comes in an out of my life--there was a collaborative performance project that I did my senior year of college which featured the following:
i like my body when it is with your
body. It is so quite a new thing.
Muscles better and nerves more.
i like your body. i like what it does,
i like its hows. i like to feel the spine
of your body and its bones, and the trembling
-firm-smooth ness which i will
again and again and again
kiss, i like kissing the this and that of you,
i like, slowly stroking the, shocking fuzz
of your electric fur, and what-is-it comes
over parting flesh...And eyes big love crumbs,
and possibly i like the thrill
of under me you so quite new
And then, today, another visit: at Joni Takanikos' concert at Mukilteo Coffee Roasters this afternoon, my friend and theatre-viewing partner Max read some cummings from 95 poems (everyone needs to have this book--even if you only own one book of poetry, this needs to be it) The whole Cole-Takanikos clan is insanely talented--if you ever get a chance to hear Joni sing or Max or Barton act--you need to go...seriously...
All of Max's selections were fabulous, but my favorite was the last, # 30, which goes like this:
what Got him was Noth
ing & nothings' exAct
ly what any one Living
(or some
body
Dead like even a Poet) could
hardly express what
i Mean is
what knocked him over Wasn't
(for instance) the Knowing your
whole (yes god
damned) life is a Flop or even
to
Feel how
Everything(dreamed
& hoped &
prayed for
months & weeks & days & years
& nights &
forever) is Less Than
Nothing(which would have been
Something) what got him was nothing
Which brings us to hipsters. Does liking e.e. cummings automatically put one in the "hipster" category? It probably doesn't hurt...Merriam-Webster defines "hipster" as " a person who is unusually aware of an interested in new and unconventional patterns (as in jazz or fashion)."
Urban Dictionary has 156 definitions. Among my favorite are:
(1.)
Listens to bands that you have never heard of. Has hairstyle that can only be described as "complicated." (Most likely achieved by a minimum of one week not washing it.) Probably tattooed. Maybe gay. Definitely cooler than you. Reads Black Book, Nylon, and the Styles section of the New York Times. Drinks Pabst Blue Ribbon. Often. Complains. Always denies being a hipster. Hates the word. Probably living off parents money - and spends a great deal of it to look like they don't have any. Has friends and/or self cut hair. Dyes it frequently (black, white-blonde, etc. and until scalp bleeds). Has a closet full of clothing but usually wears same three things OVER AND OVER (most likely very tight black pants, scarf, and ironic tee-shirt). Chips off nail polish artfully after $50 manicure. Sleeps with everyone and talks about it at great volume in crowded coffee shops. Addicted to coffee, cigarettes (Parliaments, Kamel Reds, Lucky Strikes, etc.), and possibly cocaine. Claims to be in a band. Rehearsals consist of choosing outfits for next show and drinking PBR. Always on the list. Majors or majored in art, writing, or queer studies. Name-drops. May go by "Penny Lane," "Eleanor Rigby," etc. when drunk. On PBR. Which is usually.
I am not a f-ing hipster! (sweeps bangs to side dramatically and takes a swig of PBR)
(2.)
You, for reading ironic, pseudo-intellectual dictionary entries on the word "hipster".
"These dictionary entries on hipsters are so comical! I'm going to email this link to 800 of my closest acquaintances, head to Value Village, grab a chai and then play kickball in a headband and short-shorts."
(7.)
One who possesses tastes, social attitudes, and opinions deemed cool by the cool. (Note: it is no longer recommended that one use the term "cool"; a Hipster would instead say "deck.") The Hipster walks among the masses in daily life but is not a part of them and shuns or reduces to kitsch anything held dear by the mainstream. A Hipster ideally possesses no more than 2% body fat. -The Hipster Handbook, Robert Lanham
Typically a Hipster can be identified by vintage or thrift-store bought clothing, a taste for obscure or underground music, a penchant for irony and an elitist attitude.
(148.)
a rare breed of animal usually spotted at the blackcat in DC (not on nights of popular shows, but rather on nights with a no name band that most likely sucks). current hipster trends include (but are not limited to) trucker caps, dyed black hair, zelda haircuts for girls, vintage clothing, black frame glasses, a "hipster" jacket, pair of black chuck taylors, etc.
dude 1: yo, let's go down to the blackcat to see deathcab.
dude 2: no way, i hate them.
dude 1: you liked them last week!! you're getting too hipster. i hate you.
dude 2: don't hate.
With that, I'll sign off. And remember, don't hate....
No comments:
Post a Comment