a short snippet by Brian Eno I read on www.greenleafmusic.com - helps me to embrace the future!
The death of uncool
“There’s a whole generation of people able to access almost anything from almost anywhere, and they don’t have the same localised stylistic sense that my generation grew up with. It’s all alive, all “now,” in an ever-expanding present, be it Hildegard of Bingen or a Bollywood soundtrack. The idea that something is uncool because it’s old or foreign has left the collective consciousness.
I think this is good news. As people become increasingly comfortable with drawing their culture from a rich range of sources—cherry-picking whatever makes sense to them—it becomes more natural to do the same thing with their social, political and other cultural ideas. The sharing of art is a precursor to the sharing of other human experiences, for what is pleasurable in art becomes thinkable in life.”
2 comments:
Inspiring, but it doesn't seem like he hangs out with some of the hipster-types I've run across in Chicago. Nothing but opinions and THE LATEST info on whatever. Of course, I don't hang out with those people and fuck 'em anyway. I think people like us and probably Brian Eno are automatically cool/uncool because we do what we want/think we should and don't feel that tug to keep up with the Joneses. I could be a little cynical, but sometimes I think the latest generation of early 20-somethings is all opinions and no contributions. Like they took the style and attitude from the previous generation but missed out on the part where you offer something of value back to the world. They know all the hip indie bands you never heard of and then hate them before everyone else does and know all the hip blogs, etc. Whatever. May we forever be cool/uncool and forever show up at parties, parks, restaurants, etc. and freak everyone out with our righteousness joyfulness and ability to getthefuckdown on a moment's notice. That shit will always be cool. Always.
jeremy - i know exactly what you mean - in fact you are describing exactly the people I would see in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It used to be a cheaper, yet rough part of town where artists and musicians lived in the 80's. Then over the course of a few decades, it turned into a hipster capitol where people dressed and acted the part (of their predecessors) but really didn't seem to have much to offer of any artistic value. I just hope this isn't some sort of sign of the times. If so, fuck it, we will exist in our own little niche and ignore the rest of the world.
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