Editor's Log: The Rise and Fall of the American Hipster
I found myself recently in a hipster bar in Columbus, Ohio, listening to some local noise-rock band and surrounded by people in ironic clothes, with ironic mustaches, ironically sipping PBRs.
On any other given night over the last three or four years, I would have felt incredibly welcome and at home. But on this particular night, the irony and pretension made me queasy and I headed to the exit, only to be punched in the mouth with a fist of Parliament smoke.
Like all scenes, the day of the hipster will eventually be in the past. I, for one, can’t wait. Scenes, in my experience, tend to be artificial once they reach scene status. When every one of your friends is wearing the same pair of skinny jeans, the same studded belt, the same I-just-woke-up haircut, you’re no longer being Punk Rock, or anti-scene or whatever you call yourselves. You’re being just like everyone else.
And so it is with indie rock these da
What is it about the Bat-man?
What is it about Batman that draws us to him? Is it his dark history — his parents brutally murdered in front of him? His humanism from his lack of superpowers? The colorful villains he so often faces? The zingers that pop up on screen —
» Full StoryRobot Love
The first robot I fell in love with was Uncle Pauly’s from the Rocky movies. Here was someone I could program to do anything I wanted — clean my room, take out the garbage, feed the dog, etc. That robot opened a world of possibilitie
» Full StoryEditor's Log: A Special Guest
Ed. Note: I was stopped at my son's daycare the other day by someone who was wondering if I had left Graffiti. No, I haven't gone anywhere. For Ben's last issue, I promised him he could write the editor's log. That's it. Nothing more. So for that one
» Full StoryWistfulness and West Virginia
I — like many my age, I believe — have a fondness for nostalgia. Like the characters in Noah Baumbach’s “Kicking and Screaming,” I’m instantly nostalgic for moments, even as they happen.
In
Editor's Log: White Water Rafting
My first trip down the white waters was almost 12 years ago. My dad took a group of my friends and I. Us being the brash young teens we were, we were confident none of us would end up overboard. So we had a bet. Who could stay in the boat the longest
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All Good Festival
Bod ? Mike Adkins
Rain ? Morgantown
La Roca
Bonnaroo
His & Hers ? 5.21.08
What's On Your Pod, June 16
Yama's