I've been dawning on this kind of realization that what I'm searching for isn't really getting my "hipster cred" and hanging out with my "indie" friends. Stereotypes aside, what really embodies the concept of "indie" has gone beyond alternative rock music. You could classify it by the hipster/scenester crowd and groups like Flaming Lips and Bloc Party but that's really only breaking the surface; that's really only the people who are either "posers" (god forbid we CALL them that) or the people that can't find or don't want a place in established mainstream groups so they discover these unknown bands and wear out-there clothes which eventually TURNS THEM INTO the stereotype of "hipster" and it's accepted.
In my view trying to be really Indie has nothing to do with that mindset. It's more of a longing to find those unique ideas that don't really get out into the world and interpreting and maybe promoting them yourself, going beyond just hipster music and fashion and encompassing the non-mainstream art, literature, films, opinions on current events, personal stories, and on occasion really out there concepts of fashion and design, all from the present and the past.
The problem with this is many people, like the hypocritical stereotype mafia, pretentiously oppose the stereotypes and reject anyone who LOOKS like they're taking up a specific stereotype. The problem with that is two fold: 1. these people who oppose stereotypes are essentially perpetuating them by acknowledging and opposing their existence 2. there's no way to AVOID these stereotypes anymore because they encompass just about everything sold. We are a society reared on capitalism and the sales managers of the world know it, they market everything based on specific demographics. The hippies have their food and clothing, the preps have their A&F and Hollister, emos and goths have hot topic, hipsters have their thrift stores and EBTM, so now no matter what you buy, wear, or listen to you're being entered into a stereotype whether purposely or accidentally.
In that strive to feel independent from the general views we seek out these strange ideas BECAUSE in every day life there's no escape from stereotypes. We're not TRYING to find our cliche, we're trying to find our own niche. That spot where we can feel comfortably accepted, viewed based on our personality and not our clothing store, and not constantly oppressed by that metaphorical stereotype mafia. Perhaps there is no more independent group, everything in existence has been classified, there is no such thing as miscellaneous and the only way to look unique is to change yourself and adapt day by day and, most importantly, to shake things up every once in awhile, oppose the norm, and express a new side to every thought process.
Stop stereotyping! You're not indie!
The Path of Humankind
I recently spilled a bag of packaging peanuts that was in my room and the little foam objects went everywhere, hundreds of them. I thought to myself, "What is the use of these things? They don't accomplish anything REALLY(or at least that something much better couldn't do), they destroy the environment by sitting in landfills and getting eaten by small animals, and they're a general pain in the ass. So why did we invent them? The only answer to THAT question that I can think of is for the sake of progress.
Humankind has this false idea that they NEED to use their intellect to invent things and try to make life "easier" when all they're really doing is setting themselves on a path for their demise and making life more complicated. We create things like cars, moving floors, and packaging peanuts in the hope that we can look smart and productive or to make our lives "easier" but with everything that "improves" our lives you create one more thing that can break, and one more reason to be lazy. Besides that, the fuels we use to power our pointless inventions are debatably fogging our atmosphere and creating acid rain that destroys environments and monuments and could be heating our planet to the point where species are dying. The worst part is scientists give us this terrible idea that it would be a waste to NOT use our intellect because it will set us back to the primates.
It all started with the Enlightenment, questioning ideas and discovering sciences that produced the bells and whistles that are the present day machina. Even before that our nomadic ancestors decided to dabble in agriculture that sent us on the path to our eminent demise. As soon as we settled down and lost the need to move and hunt we started thinking and here we are today. Being controlled by falsely represented governments, fighting over damned abstract ideas of religion, and backwardly combating societal laziness.
To top that off, we're pouring glucose and corn syrup into our foods, drinking our alcohol, and smoking until our lungs fall off. Now we're consuming things that erode our bodies, using fuels and technology by the truck load that cause cancer and disease, and spend most of our time sitting on the coach staring at a flashing screen. We gain weight, lose energy, and fall into a capitalism induced stupor.
Then the physically and mentally incapacitated populace force their children into what LOOKS like a strong education supporting creativity and intellect when really they're dropping us in a controlled, conformist environment that promotes darwinian ideologies of survival of the fittest. We're divided by age and ability into classrooms controlled by a single puppet of the government that's pouring rhetoric and forcing obedience into our heads.
If we choose to accept this and try hard in the false system that our forefathers created then we make life the best we can for ourselves and become the stimulant that continues that false progress towards the degenerating technological breakthroughs. Or, if we so choose, we can do whats best for society and avoid that path of self destruction, push away the ideas that are being fed us and find our own way in life. We probably won't get far but at least we're not creating those self-destructive technologies. But then again all those selfish, greedy, short-sited folks that DO decide to take that path are going to destroy society ANYWAYS so we'll be gone too.
So in closing, to quote one of the greatest men I've ever heard, next time you have a thought...let it pass.
a real good life
after the renaissance, logic and "free thinking" have overcome just about every control society has had on the world. weve formed governments that represent the people, weve made life easier with technology, and created the middle class all of which made life "better" in most concrete aspects. but with the "improvements" came the dangers of powerful technology and eventually weaponry. besides that, capitalist empires have gotten our "representative" governments in a strangle-hold where they're no better than a socialist ideology with puppets for presidents. our political leaders dont listen to the populace, markets are becoming sudo-monopolies uncontrollable by the buyers, and institutions like the public education system create a linear lifestyle that puts a price tag on the "american dream." weve created a society where everything has a price and life is still a matter of survival. after thousands of years of societal growth, war, and reform we have improved nothing. for most there isnt a point in life where work stops and you begin enjoying life, its simply everyones goal to survive, make their own small fortune, and eventually improve through reproduction. the only improvement weve accomplished since the dark ages is in medicine. wars are just as terrible, life is just as hard, and governments just as oppressive.
which brings up the question: whats better, the simple, pious, agrarian life of the 1500s or the complex, capitalist empire that is the present day?
pretentiously ranting on obscure topics of discussion, bitchery, and hipsternessismtiony
you want to know what indie is? A true hipster listens to obscure music, discusses it with their hipster friends, and pushes away other "mainstream" music saying how "pretentious" it is. The more hardcore hipsters where tight jeans, converse, and usually band t-shirts from thrift stores. Others go for sweaters and collared shirts and sometimes scarves. If you wear these things that it does not make you "indie" and if you want to be "indie" you don't have to dress any particular way...now that doesn't mean that because you wear black you're a goth or because you where brightly colored polos you're a prep. This is just so everyone understands what indie is. I don't condone or support stereotypes, i hate "indie" being used as an adjective and i feel like im a pretty nice guy most of the time. If you want to bitch me out because i make an off the flip comment about hipsters then it sounds to me like you're gonna have a pretty lonely life.
Age of Conan pushed back to 2008
Funcom announced today that they're pushing the release of Age of Conan back (again) to March 25, 2008. With this push Age of Conan will have officially been delayed three years and I doubt the community is responding too well to that. Now the game will be releasing just behind Warhammer Online which may affect sales if people decide to invest in it instead.
This push doesn't come as much of a surprise though. Funcom has released very little content for a game that was scheduled to release in just three months and with lacking quality and content for Beta testers it is probably for the best that Funcom is providing themselves with an extra five months to polish it up. I think we can all agree we'd rather have an excellent, completed game half a year later than a rushed finished just to make a release date. We don't need a repeat of Vanguard.