Tuesday, March 8, 2011

3 Steps to Becoming a Hipster

My friend Lowe has been telling me for months that I need to start listening to Mumford and Sons. The conversation pretty much always went like this:

Lowe: Dude have you checked out Mumford and Sons yet?

Me: No not yet.

Lowe: Dude, they're awesome... you should totally check them out. I'll hook you up with their stuff.

Me: Sweet!

Then a few weeks/months would go by and Lowe and I would have almost that exact same dialogue again.

So I finally got my hands on some Mumford and Sons. Oddly enough it wasn't Lowe who hooked me up but Demo. (don't my friends sound awesome?) His wife's blog is here.

Of course Lowe was right and I am completely hooked on Mumford and Sons. I listened to them pretty much all day and it was great. I found myself trying to get back to work and retreat into a fortress of musical solitude. (Did I just say that I wanted to get back to work?)

Anyway, Mumford and Sons played during the Grammy's and they rocked it out! Here's the performance if you missed it.



So all of this got me thinking...

Am I a hipster now?

The answer is an emphatic NO! I am no way near cool enough, or indie enough, or... what else?

So then I got to thinking...

What makes a hipster a hipster?

You can look it up on Urban Dictionary and get a thorough definition; and if you're like me then all you'll get is confirmation that you're not a hipster in the slightest. There are posts online where you can find ten things to do to become a hipster (yes I searched it...to research this post), but I'm going to boil it down to just 3 things.

1.) Grow a beard:
  • Whether you're a dude or a lady, the beard is an absolute essential if you want to be a hipster. It's just that simple. Here's proof that beards are awesome.
2.) Be Awesome at Something Artistic:
  • Music, photography, or graphic arts. That's pretty much your options. There is a little flexibility in how awesome you have to be. Slightly above average is acceptable in most cases.
3.) Wear Flannel:
  • This is a deal breaker. It probably should have been listed first. If you're not willing to wear flannel in all of its glory year round, then you're not cut out to be a hipster.
Do you need an example? How about Barlich?

Beard... check
Awesome at photography...check
Flannel... check

My problem is that I can't grow a beard. I can maybe rock a fierce neck beard or neard, but other than that it just doesn't work. I do have the flannel and I can play a few instruments. In fact, my Banjo got me an honorable mention but without the beard it just won't work. I'll only be pretending.

So that's it. Grow a beard, become artistic, and wear flannel. Now you're ready. So get to it.

3 comments :

  1. Well....I'm not going to grow a beard. But I sure do like flannel. If I convince you to get flannel sheets does that make me a night-time hipster?

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  2. Being that we're the only people apparently reading or interested in this blog, I'll give you the hipster title and nobody will object. I'm still not sold on the flannel sheets though.

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  3. We LOVE Mumford and Sons. I think you guys are both hip and hipster if that helps...

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