I have spent a staggering chunk of my life composing via the tried and true 5-paragraph essay style. As such, I generally apply this same rubric to other areas of my life. Does my argument hold water? Are my ideas clear and concise? Is my thesis, the crux of my project, narrow enough to focus only on what’s important?
It’s that last question that gets me.
When I first started Hipster, please! my mission was broad: It was “one man’s view of fashion, tech, music, and all things geek chic.” In that lay the problem. I had spread myself too thin. Sure the focus was on music I found interesting, the items I was spending my free time and disposable income on, the tech news that caught my eye, but what did that amount to?
Thesis too nebulous – consider revision.
At the same time I was coming to grips with the ineffectiveness of my blog, I was also becoming aware of a disturbing trend. It wasn’t that the kind of music that spoke to me, that spoke for me, wasn’t getting the kind of respect it deserved. It was, in fact growing in popularity through the kinds of grassroots means that legitimize independent music. The problem was that fans of
The Minibosses were unaware of
MC Lars. Fans of
mc chris had never heard of
virt. 8-bit aficionados were unaware of
NESkimos. It wasn’t that music for nerds by nerds wasn’t catching on, but that there was a rift between the sub-genres… or would that be sub-sub-genres?
Sure, there are folks who still think hip hop is all about guns and hos who have never heard nerdcore, and this site’s for them too. But mostly this site is for people who enjoy the
nerdcore (or 8-bit or geek rock or game music) scene, but don’t quite know where to go from there. The truth is there is a wealth of talented, motivated artists out there making music about the kind of shit that got you beat up in high school, and doing it well. Whether you’re a gamer, a lit nerd, a comic book guy, an old school table-top RPGer, a computer science major, or a sci-fi/fantasy/horror buff, there are some great tunes out there that should be nestled snuggly in your iPod.
So, in one regard this site is about keeping those fanboy dreams alive, about celebrating your inner poindexter. Yet on the other hand, it’s also about smashing those same stereotypes. For every acne-faced cellar dweller yelling at his mom to make him a pb&j while he and the guys play through another death match, there is a well-adjusted, well kempt, happily married, and broadly attractive nerd boy (or nerd girl) living a very un-dorky life.
In my opinion, the nerd lifestyle revels in a powerful self-awareness. The very core of nerd-dom (or, geekery, if you will) is not dependant upon IQ, hobby, or hygiene, but an unyielding sense of self. It is that self that leads me to celebrate my geek brethren. That, in a nutshell, explains this blog’s new focus.
Hipster, please! is a specialty entertainment blog dedicated to nerd music and culture.Notice I said nerd music
and culture. The order of those words is of particular importance. The focus, at least on paper, will be on the music. As such, I’m currently pursuing several avenues for potential interviews and features with artists that sport a uniquely nerd-centric slant. But don’t forget about the culture. This leaves me enough wiggle room to drop in a little bit of tech news, game related info, comic trivia, or other such distraction when the music well runs a bit dry o when I really want to get some shit off my chest. I’ll make a valiant effort to keep the focus on music, and to clearly label all unrelated entries, but I make no promises. I am but a mortal man, chock full of foibles and eccentricities that may render me unable to distinguish between what is relevant to the reading public and what’s just cool to me.
And with that begins this new journey. If you were a regular reader of the old blog, I hope you hang around. If you’re a n00b, I hope you found what you were looking for. And if you found your way here because I used the word “shellfish” in my keyword meta-tag, I’d just like to say that I thoroughly enjoy clams, crab, and lobster.
Now, ready? Get set. Get your geek on!
