@andheartss haz it: when Armond White uses "hipster" and "hipsterism" to condemn every movie and every director he doesn't like and when his usages of the words from one "review" to the next contradict one another, I think we can all agree it's high time for a moratorium on those words. Some may be loathe to admit it, but Madonna got it right when she told us that words go off, lose their meaning and don't function anymore. #beatriceinn
@downwithdebbie: No, it doesn't. That, combined with other factors, is how people determine a "hipster" (and why anyone would like a "smelly" bar is another issue. The quest for some sort of "authenticity"?). I like cheap beer and places that are close to me too, so I'm not opposed to going to an area sports/frat boy bar when they have drink specials. I don't necessarily like the crowd, but like you said, the beer is cheap so why not go there? Just speaking from personal experience here in Chicago, but it seems to be more about atmosphere than "cheap beer". It's cheaper to drink at home, but I understand wanting to commune with like-minded souls.
The evolution of a divey hipster bar: 1) Old man bar with a few elderly neighborhood patrons and one scratchy TV in the corner is "discovered" by passing "hipsters" one day; 2) they tell a few friends, post on their blog, etc. about the "cool old jukebox" with Johnny Cash and the cheap old school beer (Schlitz, PBR, etc.); 3) "hipster" crowd becomes weekend late night regulars - old patrons still frequent the establishment in the day time but now are gone by 8 p.m. since their regular stools are starting to get occupied earlier and earlier; 4) bar owner notices trend, hires young woman with moderate to extensive tattoos to work the weekend late night shift; 5) one of the new "regulars" convinces the bar owner - whom he now calls by his or her first name - to let his band play there one Saturday night; 6) former regulars can't stand the noise and stop coming; 7: full-blown hipster bar.
Like I said, just personal observation. #beatriceinn
@BicycleShed: It's just a "tag", like hiphopper, Deadhead, metalhead, etc. Madonna is wrong (and I think taking linguistic advice from Madonna is wrong too): Words ALWAYS function. It's just that the function sometimes changes. #beatriceinn
@andheartss haz it: Totally feel your pain. i prefer the bushes around the periphery of interstate rest stops and people keep calling me a hipster too. goddamn douches. #beatriceinn
@A Message To Rudy: I guess one person's "tag" is another's Madonna example word that's gone off and lost its meaning. Such is life I suppose. Anyway, strike a pose!
Wait...actually. Don't strike a pose. Instead I wish you a violently happy day because I think that linguistic advice may have been sung by Madonna, but was written by Bjork.
@muppet_baby: ten different kinds of fucked up AND a fucking sunflower, which was required in seemingly every video made at the time. Or maybe the sunflower is included in the ten? #beatriceinn
@shostakobitch: When I'm sippin' my soothin' syrup, I prefer sitting around a garbage can with an open fire going, singing hobo songs with my tramp friends. I've been called a hipster grifter hobo, but I have a thick, calloused skin, so it don't sting a bit. Occasionally, I'm also called a tramp, and that hurts, but only because it's true. #beatriceinn
@A Message To Rudy: One of the best bars I ever went to was an old Irish bar on the Upper West Side around 1985. I thought it was the strangest mix of people I'd ever seen in my life, ole timey Irish drunks, some college kids, working people, stoners etc...There was an ancient black man serving the drinks and whenever we wanted a drink someone would scream "MMMMAAAAAAAXXXX" like in that old Carol Burnett skit where she's playing Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard, and he'd amble over and take our drink order. I mentioned to the table that I hadn't smoked any good hash in 10 years, and that it was a shame people weren't willing to go to Turkey and face long jail sentences for trafficking in hash anymore (lazy hippies). This one guy at the table says "I have something I'd like to show you, could you follow me? That phrase rarely ends well for me, but I followed him through a kitchen, into another building, down some dark stairs and into a basement with a few stoners smoking hash and listening to Led Zeppelin. There was even a pool table and a bar in the basement. Next time I find an opium den masquerading as an ole timey Irish bar I'll try to remember to get the name of the place. #beatriceinn
Uhhhhhh...I don't think I would call The Box a bordello. Risque as their acts may have been (and continue to be), I don't believe prostitution has ever been their primary business.
Save the Robots in Alphabet City; Underground in Union Square, which is now a pet store. The Bank (now Element) in LES. There was also a club called Peace (the last incarnation of that place that that I can remember) at Bleecker, which is now a CVS or Duane Reade (those chain pharmacies are all alike anyway). And too many to not to remember. I'll go dig up in my rented storage room for all those passes and flyers that they used to hand out. Also back then, it was pretty much an open door policy -- little or no velvet rope in the selection of the patrons. Nowadays, everyone seems to be to be dressed the same: either men in suits in finance, and fashion models or Scary Sadshaw wannabes in stilletto heels and mini-skirts, or they pretend they're in finance or in fashion. Just look at that picture above. #bungalow8
Centro Fly was my favorite. Always had a thing for 1960s biomorphic decor. And yes, there was a curious moment from 1999 to 2000 or so when genuinely interesting people went to nightclubs. Then all of a sudden the lights went on and the khaki pants held indomitable sway over all. #bungalow8
I remember when Bowery Bar and Wax in Soho had their big moments in the mid-90s... Then there was Suite 16 circa 2000... And then there was... Oh, wait, nevermind, I'm abandoning this train of thought because it's reminding me how fucking old I am. Jesus. #bungalow8
11/04/09
It's just as annoying.
In other news, I've been called a hipster a handful of times (by douches) and I've never stepped foot in the Beatrice Inn or Jane Hotel.
I prefer local smelly dives. And alleyways. #beatriceinn
11/04/09
And thus, the "hipster" tag, however unfair. #beatriceinn
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The evolution of a divey hipster bar: 1) Old man bar with a few elderly neighborhood patrons and one scratchy TV in the corner is "discovered" by passing "hipsters" one day; 2) they tell a few friends, post on their blog, etc. about the "cool old jukebox" with Johnny Cash and the cheap old school beer (Schlitz, PBR, etc.); 3) "hipster" crowd becomes weekend late night regulars - old patrons still frequent the establishment in the day time but now are gone by 8 p.m. since their regular stools are starting to get occupied earlier and earlier; 4) bar owner notices trend, hires young woman with moderate to extensive tattoos to work the weekend late night shift; 5) one of the new "regulars" convinces the bar owner - whom he now calls by his or her first name - to let his band play there one Saturday night; 6) former regulars can't stand the noise and stop coming; 7: full-blown hipster bar.
Like I said, just personal observation. #beatriceinn
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Wait...actually. Don't strike a pose. Instead I wish you a violently happy day because I think that linguistic advice may have been sung by Madonna, but was written by Bjork.
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@andheartss haz it:
2 hours of pushin broom gets a
8 by 12 four bit room
i'm a
man of means by no means
king of the road #beatriceinn
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Life, Butter, Cheetah, Lotus and Spa had a nice run in the 90s, the height of the bottle service era.
There was a brief moment before the d-bags took over. Once 2000 rolled around, bottle service was peaking and interesting people moved on. #bungalow8
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