Sinister: Fw: People who say they aren't indie when they really are to be cool are shite

[Peter Carter]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Carter" <p.carter at xxx.uk>
To: "Something Sinister" <something_sinister at hotmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 21, 2001 8:25 PM
Subject: Fw: People who say they aren't indie when they really are to be
cool are shite


>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Peter Carter" <p.carter at xxx.uk>
> To: "jarkko frantila" <chamomile1 at hotmail.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, August 21, 2001 7:44 PM
> Subject: People who say they aren't indie when they really are to be cool
> are shite
>
>
> > In answer to Miss JF's comments...
> > > There, I've said it. There's been some talk about indie do's and
dont's,
> > and
> > > I thought I'd contribute something to the list.
> > >
> > > All genres of music have their very own cliques. They think they are
> > better
> > > than other people. But lately I've started to think that indie
hipsters
> > are
> > > maybe the worst of them all. Hand on your heart; Look into the mirror
> and
> > > say: "I do not sneer at people who dress like everyone else does."
Were
> > you
> > > able to do that? Were you honest? Could you ever go out with someone
who
> > > doesn't have the right hairdo, the right clothes, the right albums in
> > > his/her cd- collection?
> > >
> > > Most indiehipsters (well, maybe I could say "us", but more about that
> > later)
> > > aren't actually bad people in such, just... closeminded. There's some
> > > hipsters who are truly evil in their heart (hello), but there's rotten
> and
> > > deceptive people everywhere in the world. But not being able to
> understand
> > > that there can be people who don't really give a rat's ass about 7-
inch
> > > singles, that's just... Example: If I should say here that i really
> don't
> > > care much about gay people, what would your reaction be? Anger? Think
> > about
> > > it: That's what the worst indiehipsters do. They don't care much about
> > those
> > > people who are into that "crappy, mainstream music", do they?
> >
> > Wooh there! You're saying that stating you don't care for gay people is
> like
> > stating that you don't like people into mainstream?
> >
> > Although I get your point, there are a couple of pretty glaring flaws in
> > that statement
> >
> > 1. Do you think people choose to become gay? Do you really think it's a
> > lifestyle choice in the same way as your listening habbits are?
> > 2. Like it or not, with cliques come behaviour pattens. People who
choose
> to
> > dress and certain way, or listen to a certain kind of music tend to
share
> > common traits. This is the essence of cliquedom, and why, if you
actually
> > dig a bit deeper than the obvious, they are neccesary. Now, a guy
walking
> > down the street with a shaved head, a tattoo saying 'Fuck the police'
and
> > wearing a Limp Bizkit t-shirt may be the nicest in the world, but would
> you
> > walk up to him and say hello? Would you expect a kid wearing a B&S
t-shirt
> > to be into violence? I didn't think so. Now, I'm not saying these
> > stereotypes always hold water, but people who choose cliques often do so
> > because they fit their mindset, and hence there is always an overlap
> between
> > stereotype and the real world.
> >
> > > As I write this, wearing faded, darkblue jeans, old Converse sneakers
> and
> > a
> > > B&S- t-shirt, I know I look like an indiekid (sic). But I don't think
my
> > > clothes or my cd-collection makes me somehow better than other people.
> > Some
> > > people seem to think that wearing cardigans straight from the 70's is
> like
> > a
> > > secret handshake between indiers (nice word!). No, that's just the
image
> > of
> > > yourself you give out to people. In my case, I just like the way they
> look
> > > on me. If someone feels like s/he knows me just because I wear the
same
> > > clothes s/he does, two words for them: piss off.
> >
> > They could have an idea about you though. Don't you choose the clothes
you
> > wear in order to reflect how you feel, and the values you relate to?
> > Personally I've never worn flares or a duffel coat in my life, and I
never
> > will, but the doesn't mean I wouldn't recognise that I might have more
in
> > common with someone who did...
> >
> > > I am not a better person because I listen to music that doesn't sell
> well.
> >
> > It's more about being choosy about music, rather about not excepting
> > anything with easy hooks that the media tell people to like. I don't
think
> > most people really think about their music at all. Having said that, my
> best
> > friend at University listens to Eminem and even bought a Limp Bizkit
> single,
> > but I respect her taste more than a lot of 'indie' people because I
don't
> > actually think she's had it forced on her by anyone.
> >
> > > I am not a better person because I wear these clothes.
> > >
> > > I am not better because I have this hair.
> > >
> > > I am not a better person than people who aren't a part of this list.
> >
> > agreed.
> >
> > Peter
> >
> > p.s. There seems to be a disturbing number of 'indie' people claiming
they
> > like one, and only one, bad pop band in order to prove they aren't
> > pretentious. These people are almost always the most pretentious.
> >
>

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