Shallow Irony.
I wonder if I am not actually just another hipster? I apparently dress the part. I flirted with keeping a beard. And I do try so very hard to find merit in folk music, essentially devoid of virtuosity, for the sake of its organic, homey, and therefore unassailable, pure form. Alas, to no avail. I make it through about 5 songs before I begin to suspect that I have actually only been listening to different lyrics set to the same tune, which consists of four repeated guitar chords.
Perhaps I am a failed hipster, or an odd hybrid creature which exists on the outer edges of hipsterdom. Irony is fine, but is often cloak used to distract us from the fact that there is nothing much deeper behind it. I remember Lee once talking in class about how badly modern Germans abuse irony, to the point that its subtle use is almost lost amidst the crass sarcasm and lower forms. I appreciate irony, but to take it to heart as a defining characteristic--to mold oneself to a more contrary nature--seems a bit odious to me. I do not think it makes for a genuinely pleasant person.
On the other hand, the chill attitude which so many try to cultivate is a natural reaction to the sustained excess and vulgarity of the culture. Postured diffidence when thrown up as a bulwark against exorbitance might just be interpreted as a conservative reaction. And here I am not referring to a negative cultural reaction to something new based on its newness, but rather, a reaction tied back to an older ideal of moderation. Conservatism as an instinct not to use up or cast aside what is beautiful or good, or perhaps just not consuming for consumption sake. It is not good that we should cast away Bow Ties into nothingness, and we thank the hipsters for saving them. The fascination with a return to a natural more conscientious lifestyle is also a positive hipster trait.
For all of the decent impact that I think the trend could have on society, I have never really felt like I was actually one of them. I believe the way I do based on a rudimentary but hard won knowledge of philosophy and theology. It happens, then, that I am Descartes, and insufferably wish to drag things back to first principles. Unfortunately, I might be a little too earnest to be ironic. I will try not to let that turn me into a prat. But I question whether much of what I have seen and heard comes from deep ideological belief and knowledge, and therefore might enjoy staying power, or if it is just another fad which will define this generation and be forgotten with the next.
Hipsters make better neighbors, and good friends, but I wonder if it is not still devoid of a deeper tether, and I worry that it will not last.
I, on the other hand, fully intend to be around for awhile, becoming more colorful and ridiculous with age. Bow Ties will cease to be cool. Folk music will fade with dissonance back to bars from whence it sprang. People will stop trying to pretend that they are consuming less. And yet, new things, both good and beautiful, will rise to replace them in due time. The world, even this garrulous society of ours, is never devoid of good things when you look for them.
I suppose then, that what I hope to mold myself to do is to find the beautiful things as they come, and perhaps not let them so quickly when they fall out of vogue. What I want, then, is good taste. But it must go a little deeper than that. I want grace. Without grace, even something beautiful may be rendered coarse. I just want the grace to do justice to that which is beautiful, good, or true.
So, yeah, I guess I'll get right on that.
Perhaps I am a failed hipster, or an odd hybrid creature which exists on the outer edges of hipsterdom. Irony is fine, but is often cloak used to distract us from the fact that there is nothing much deeper behind it. I remember Lee once talking in class about how badly modern Germans abuse irony, to the point that its subtle use is almost lost amidst the crass sarcasm and lower forms. I appreciate irony, but to take it to heart as a defining characteristic--to mold oneself to a more contrary nature--seems a bit odious to me. I do not think it makes for a genuinely pleasant person.
On the other hand, the chill attitude which so many try to cultivate is a natural reaction to the sustained excess and vulgarity of the culture. Postured diffidence when thrown up as a bulwark against exorbitance might just be interpreted as a conservative reaction. And here I am not referring to a negative cultural reaction to something new based on its newness, but rather, a reaction tied back to an older ideal of moderation. Conservatism as an instinct not to use up or cast aside what is beautiful or good, or perhaps just not consuming for consumption sake. It is not good that we should cast away Bow Ties into nothingness, and we thank the hipsters for saving them. The fascination with a return to a natural more conscientious lifestyle is also a positive hipster trait.
For all of the decent impact that I think the trend could have on society, I have never really felt like I was actually one of them. I believe the way I do based on a rudimentary but hard won knowledge of philosophy and theology. It happens, then, that I am Descartes, and insufferably wish to drag things back to first principles. Unfortunately, I might be a little too earnest to be ironic. I will try not to let that turn me into a prat. But I question whether much of what I have seen and heard comes from deep ideological belief and knowledge, and therefore might enjoy staying power, or if it is just another fad which will define this generation and be forgotten with the next.
Hipsters make better neighbors, and good friends, but I wonder if it is not still devoid of a deeper tether, and I worry that it will not last.
I, on the other hand, fully intend to be around for awhile, becoming more colorful and ridiculous with age. Bow Ties will cease to be cool. Folk music will fade with dissonance back to bars from whence it sprang. People will stop trying to pretend that they are consuming less. And yet, new things, both good and beautiful, will rise to replace them in due time. The world, even this garrulous society of ours, is never devoid of good things when you look for them.
I suppose then, that what I hope to mold myself to do is to find the beautiful things as they come, and perhaps not let them so quickly when they fall out of vogue. What I want, then, is good taste. But it must go a little deeper than that. I want grace. Without grace, even something beautiful may be rendered coarse. I just want the grace to do justice to that which is beautiful, good, or true.
So, yeah, I guess I'll get right on that.
Question one: What is your functional definition of "folk music", here?
ReplyDeletePreemptive question two: is it Mumford and Sons?
Oh heavens no. What I refer to particularly is the present brand of folk or urban folk revival that draws on bluegrass, country, or bluesy sounds, and relying on a vocal centered aesthetic. The music I am thinking of features entirely acoustic instrumentation, often breathy vocalists, and soul-searching lyrics...mostly about love in some form.
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