the Internet - lowering the life expectancy of subcultures?
0 Comments Published by Kate on Thursday at 3/02/2006 04:06:00 PM.
To get to my point, I will begin with a story which you really should read out loud, seeing as it IS Read Across America Day:
I lied. Please don't do it.
Back to the story:
I got a Sufjan T-shirt (for Illinoise) from punkstop.com in the mail yesterday, wore it to school today, and had one of my junior friends tell me, "I was going to get that T-shirt!" which resulted in a long discussion about how she should get the Michigan T-shirt so we don't both have the same T-shirt (I am well aware of the materialism and the girliness of this conversation and feel appropriately embarrased). While we were having our discussion, another girl came up to talk to us and, hearing the name Sufjan Stevens, proceeded to tell us how she'd heard him on the OC and "he's really good!" which disgusted my friend more than me, as she reacted by giving an aggravated sigh, which sent the girl off doing other things. Afterwards, my friend told me how when bands are on the OC (and other outlets of annoying teenage-girl pop culture, implied) she likes them less, though she admitted that it was really snobby of her in the same breath.
Frankly, this scenario is not uncommon. I've heard people bemoan everything from the Garden State soundtrack to iTunes in terms of diffusing Indie music culture. Frankly, because of the existence of the internet, I predict that the life of a subculture will decrease dramatically in the next few decades. Folk, punk, hip-hop (and their predecessors) lasted as underground movements for as long as they did in part because, frankly, it was harder to get the information, clothes, and music neccessary to hook on to a subculture. Nowadays, if you want to look like a punk, you go to Hot Topic. If you want to know the names of every Misfits' album, in order, you google it.
Even then, there is still a barrier between the knows and know-nots in the indie subculture, and that is knowledge. The girl I mentioned earlier who had heard of Sufjan on the OC probably couldn't hold a sing-a-long of his songs with guitar accompaniment as my friend and I could. Which means that subcultures, to some extent, may survive because of the pure obsession of members of the subculture. And no, though nowadays just about everyone has heard of the Ramones and can sing along with "I want to be sedated", can I, a non-punk, list off their albums? Without google at my fingertips, no.
I lied. Please don't do it.
Back to the story:
I got a Sufjan T-shirt (for Illinoise) from punkstop.com in the mail yesterday, wore it to school today, and had one of my junior friends tell me, "I was going to get that T-shirt!" which resulted in a long discussion about how she should get the Michigan T-shirt so we don't both have the same T-shirt (I am well aware of the materialism and the girliness of this conversation and feel appropriately embarrased). While we were having our discussion, another girl came up to talk to us and, hearing the name Sufjan Stevens, proceeded to tell us how she'd heard him on the OC and "he's really good!" which disgusted my friend more than me, as she reacted by giving an aggravated sigh, which sent the girl off doing other things. Afterwards, my friend told me how when bands are on the OC (and other outlets of annoying teenage-girl pop culture, implied) she likes them less, though she admitted that it was really snobby of her in the same breath.
Frankly, this scenario is not uncommon. I've heard people bemoan everything from the Garden State soundtrack to iTunes in terms of diffusing Indie music culture. Frankly, because of the existence of the internet, I predict that the life of a subculture will decrease dramatically in the next few decades. Folk, punk, hip-hop (and their predecessors) lasted as underground movements for as long as they did in part because, frankly, it was harder to get the information, clothes, and music neccessary to hook on to a subculture. Nowadays, if you want to look like a punk, you go to Hot Topic. If you want to know the names of every Misfits' album, in order, you google it.
Even then, there is still a barrier between the knows and know-nots in the indie subculture, and that is knowledge. The girl I mentioned earlier who had heard of Sufjan on the OC probably couldn't hold a sing-a-long of his songs with guitar accompaniment as my friend and I could. Which means that subcultures, to some extent, may survive because of the pure obsession of members of the subculture. And no, though nowadays just about everyone has heard of the Ramones and can sing along with "I want to be sedated", can I, a non-punk, list off their albums? Without google at my fingertips, no.
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