#hipster imagery

[xenosagaepisodeone]

ok I keep seeing this image on both twitter and tumblr but like, scene was long dead in 2013. 2013 was hipster and swag couture. the imagery present here is 2006-2009 at the absolute latest. whoever captioned this random person's art is doing millennial subculture revisionism.

[grrrl-kisser]

Goth and It's Subcultures

A subculture is often associated with subgenres of music. Subcultures are built around the beliefs and political views of a group of people who share an interest in the same thing. A subculture is a smaller and more specific group of a culture for example Goth, Punk, Metalheads, Hip Hoppers, Hipsters, etc. In this I will be talking more about the Goth based ones.

Disclaimer, I myself am not Goth, I do enjoy the music, but I just don't consider myself Goth. However, I absolutely adore the style, sound, and history of it all. So of course, if you are actually Goth or there is something in here, I got incorrect, please let me know! This does not include every subculture but instead my favorites and the ones I’ve done the most research on. Victorian Goth, Bubble Goth, Deathrock, Gothic Lolita, Nu goth, and I’m sure a few others are all the subcultures I haven't wrote about/done enough research about yet.

Goth itself was inspired by Punk fashion, the Punk movement beginning mid 70s and Goth rising and gaining popularity from mid 70s-80s. Not only inspired by Punk but also; gothic literature, horror films, vampirism, religious imagery, Catholicism, and Egyptian mythology which is where the common and famous ankh cross comes from, often seen in Goth fashion as belts, earrings, necklaces, etc.  Goth, especially traditional and romantic, often uses dark metaphors for beautiful things, such as cannibalism for love, death for eternity and peace, decaying for passage of time, shadows for mystery, hunger for desire, I could easily go on. Yes, fashion can be a big part of it, but beliefs are more important. Even if you're a Baby Bat or don’t/can’t dress Goth as long as you aren’t a bigoted fuck and enjoy the music, you’re perfectly fine.

It's common for subcultures to take inspiration from others or blend them together. For example, a subgenre Riot Goth coined by Jessicka from Jack Off Jill was invented in the 90s. It took the sound of Goth Metal and combined it with the lyricism and topics of Riot Grrrl, a Punk subgenre focused on the feminist movement. 

 The Traditional Goth look is in my opinion a mix of Victorian and the New Wave look, think David Bowie, but in darker or all black colors. Messy/Bats nest hair, and androgynous clothing, a common look in plenty of subcultures. No dividing by gender but instead simply style. Often paired with ankh, silver jewelry, rosaries, or occultish jewelry as well.

Romantic Goth, very similar to traditional but more deep reds, maroons, purples, and such. Most of the time with a more feminine look fishnets, lace, corsets, gloves, long flowy skirts, and leather is Romantic Goth. Despite the feminine look being more common for the Romantic Goths that isn't to say men can’t dress that way either often in blouses, cravats, ascots, vests, tailcoats, and trousers. The Romantic Goth definitely plays more into the vampiric look 

Another is Mall Goth which took fashion from the Gothic cultures and subgenres from Metalheads and specifically Industrial Metal, Nu Metal, and even some Emo. Mall Goths are called that from their Hot Topic style from the 90s-2000s they were more of Metalheads who dressed Goth for the aesthetic it's often blamed for the death of Trad Goth and the commercialization of Goth. 

Industrial Goth was all about the dystopian look and sound, with futuristic style and electronic music. Often seen in tactical gear with a tech inspired look. Very similar to Cybergoth but instead of bright colors and Raver inspired clothing it's more about the tech look, of course metallics and such are still being used along with platforms. A big difference between Cyberpunks and Industrial Goths is that while Cyberpunk is about being anti establishment, how high tech and low life the future seems. While Industrial Goth is more about romanticizing/accepting the mechanical and techy aspects of industrialization, and dehumanization of the dystopian society. 

Then Cybergoth sometimes mixed up Industrial Goth, a similar fashion concept all black with pops of color but Cybergoth takes it to the next level mixing it with raver clothes/culture often with brightly colored hair/hair extensions as well as colorful steampunk looking goggles and masks. Often called Gravers(Goth Ravers) seen in pvc, reflective fabrics, neons, and platforms. These Gravers took inspiration from Cyberpunk, Rave, and Goth fashion/culture.

Another one of my favorites is Gothabilly, combining the fashion and sound of Rockabilly but adding a Gothic twist. The subgenre made most popular by The Cramps and Skully Records in the 90s. The style is very similar to Rockabilly focusing on reds, purples, blacks and occasionally whites. Polka dots, plaids, checkers, cherry prints, swing dresses, leather jackets, bandanas, vintage style sunglasses, combat boots or platform heels. Men with very 50s style hair typically slicked back black hair with streaks of color occasionally.

[365-days-of-taylor-swift]

365 days of Taylor Swift masterpost

Link to the ❄️ Back to December - Challenge ❄️post

and ❄️ Back to December - Prompt Calendar ❄️

A collection of links for all the polls/questions within this challenge

August: We're in our Eras era

September: ✨Lost in the memories of my mind✨

Which album was the first Taylor Swift song you actively remember hearing on the radio from?

Which album truly turned you into a swiftie?

Which of these Taylor Swift songs reminds you the most of your own childhood/teenage years?

Which Taylor song/combo reminds you the most of your (current or past) love life?

Which Taylor song reminds you the most of a friendship you have/had?

Which Taylor song(s) makes you cry the most?

Which Taylor songs always put you into a dancing mood?

Which Taylor song would you like to play at your wedding?

Which Taylor song do you love to scream along to at the top of your lungs the most?

Which album was the first Taylor music video you remember watching from? And which song was it?

Have you ever been to a live performance of Taylor before?

Have you ever met Taylor in person before?

Which Taylor song do you hope to relate to one day?

Which Taylor song do you hope you'll never have to relate to?

Which is your favourite Taylor album to play in the car or listen to on public transport rides?

Which of her currently most popular songs on Spotify would you most like to perform live (i.e. for karaoke or with a band)?

Which Taylor song featuring someone else is your favourite?

Which is your favourite Taylor song she did on another artist's album?

Which is your fave Taylor song on a movie soundtrack?

Which 1989 (TV) vault track do you claim?

Which song is the most spring-coded to you?

Which song is the most summer-coded to you?

Which song is the most autumn-coded to you?

Which song is the most winter-coded to you?

Which Taylor song best describes fantasies you have/had about a crush?

Which is your favourite Taylor song to listen to while staring out the window on a rainy day?

Which song brings you the most joy to listen to while going on a walk?

Which Taylor song with religious imagery do you connect to the most?

Which Taylor song are you most likely to listen to before going to sleep?

Which Taylor song would you most like to wake up to?

October:

🎃👗It feels like the perfect night to dress up as hipsters 👗🎃

Which album's aesthetic most closely matches your own sense of style?

Which album aesthetic,❣️that doesn't match your own sense of style❣️, do you love the most?

Which of Taylor's Debut music video looks do you like the most?

Which Fearless era music video look do you like the most?

Which of these Speak now music videos looks is your favourite?

Which of these is your favourite Red era music video look?

Which one is your fave Shake it Off MV look?

Which one is your fave Blank Space MV look?

Which Bad Blood MV look do you love the most?

Which of the other 1989 MV looks do you love the most?

Which "Look What You Made Me Do" MV Outfit do you love the most?

Which of these Reputation MV looks do you love the most?

Which is your fave YNTCD or ME! look?

Which is your fave look from the lover 💗 music video?

What is your fave Anti-Hero or Lavende Haze MV look?

Which is your fave Bejeweled MV look?

Which one is your fave Karma MV look?

Which of these is your fave Fearless Tour Outfit?

Which Speak Now Tour look is your fave?

Which of these Red Tour outfits do you love the most?

Which of these is your fave 1989 tour look?

Which Rep Tour Outfit do you love the most?

Which Fearless Eras tour look do you love the most?

Which Speak Now Eras look do you love the most?

Which Red ❤️&🖤 Black Eras Tour Outfit do you love the most?

Which 1989 eras fit do you love the most?

Which Eras Tour Lover Outfit do you love the most?

Which Eras Tour Folklore Dress do you love the most?

Which evermore look do you love the most?

Which is your fave midnights eras tour look?

What is your fave Halloween/Costume!Taylor look?

November 🎼The devil's in the details 🎼

What is your fave first line from the first half of Debut?

What is your fave first line from the first half of Fearless (tv)? 💛

What is your fave first line from the first half of Speak Now (tv)? 💜

What is your fave first line from the first half of Red (tv)? ❤️

What is your fave first line from the first half of 1989 (tv)? 🕊️

What is your fave first line from the first half of Reputation?

What is your fave first line from the first half of Lover? 💘

What is your fave first line from the first half of folklore? 🤍

What is your fave first line from the first half of evermore? 🧡

What is your fave first line from the first half of Midnights?

What's your fave title mention in Debut?

What's your fave title mention in Fearless (tv)? 💛

What's your fave title mention in Speak Now (tv)? Pt.1 💜

What's your fave title mention in Red (tv)? Pt.1 ❤️

What's your fave title mention in 1989 (tv)? Pt.1 🕊️

What's your fave title mention in Reputation? Pt.1 🖤

What's your fave title mention in Lover? Pt.1 💘

What's your fave title mention in folklore? Pt.1 🤍

What's your fave title mention in evermore? Pt.1 🧡

What's your fave title mention in Midnights? (bonus tracks)💙 + fave dear reader

Which Debut bridge do you love the most? 💚

Which Fearless bridge do you love the most? 💛 Pt.1

Which Speak Now bridge do you love the most? 💜 Pt.1

Which Red tv bridge do you love the most? ❤️ Pt.1

Which 1989 tv bridge do you love the most? 🩵 Pt.1

Which Reputation bridge do you love the most? 🖤

What's your fave Lover bridge? 💘

Which folklore bridge do you love the most? 🩶

Which evermore bridge do you love the most? 🧡 Pt.1

Which Midnights bridge do you love the most? 💙

❄️ Back to December - Challenge ❄️

What's your favourite "one" mention in a taylor song?

more to come

[cha-melodius]

9 books

I have been tagged by a bunch people on this (thanks @cricketnationrise, @clottedcreamfudge, @kiwiana-writes, @tintagel-or-cockleshells, @myheartalivewrites, @cultofsappho), so I guess I better do it even though choosing my 9 favorite books sounds impossible. A bunch of these are series, almost none of them are in any way new. Let's go!

Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien A perennial favorite. Fun fact, I once planned to pull a Christopher Lee and reread these every year but then my hyperfixation faded a bit lol. Still love the story and Tolkien's prose.

Dune by Frank Herbert This counts for the whole series, yes, even God Emperor. It took me a while to get to the last two books but I love them just as much, actually.

A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin Still obsessed with this story and desperately hoping we get the full ending that it deserves and not just what D&D butchered on the show.

The Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde The perfect combination of literary nerdery, comedy, and crime-drama intrigue!

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams Quite possibly the funniest book I've ever read, full stop.

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer A nonfiction entry! I love all of Jon Krakauer's books but I'm also obsessed with mountain climbing (reading about it, not doing it lmao), and this one is one that still haunts me.

Blindness by Jose Saramago Read this in college, became obsessed with the poetry and imagery of it.

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske Became absolutely obsessed with this one very quickly. Also I'm pretty sure the third book is going to become my entire personality when it comes out.

Dracula by Brahm Stoker Gonna be a hipster and say I've been obsessed with this book since I was in high school, which was long before Dracula Daily.

(Also reading everyone's lists has reminded me that I really need to actually read the copy of Circe sitting on my shelf...)

I can no longer remember who has and hasn't done this, so apologies for any double tags. @indomitable-love, @mirilyawrites, @loki-is-my-kink-awakening, @wolfpup026, @tedlassc, @beskarsoshiny, @lilythesilly, @jettestar, @iboatedhere, @pragmatic-optimist, @thesleepyskipper, @heytheredeann, @swearphil, @sweatersinthesummer, @petrodobreva, @b13-maybethistime, @liminalmemories21, @nontoxic-writes, @designatedgrape, @noahreids, @leaves-of-laurelin, @celeritas2997, @orchidscript, @athousandrooms, @welcometololaland, @rmd-writes, @dumbpeachjuice, @ikeepwatchinghelicopters, @okilokiwithpurpose, @thetamehistorian, @hummingbee-o0o

[starleska]

Ok, spill the beans about this Mad Mod blorbo of yours. Gimme the details

aaaaaaaa!!!!!! oh my gosh yes yes yes thank you for the opportunity i would love to gush about him - and hopefully get some other people interested 🙈🙈🙈 prepare for an infodump!!!

this is Mad Mod, real name Neil Richards: a brilliant, stylish villain, and an iconic enemy of the Teen Titans!! now, Mad Mod's been around for a while, first appearing in Teen Titans #7 as a fashion designer-turned-smuggler working on Carnaby Street, and later with a more hipster design in the New 52 DC comics. however, the version you'll see me yelling about most (and i think that most are familiar with) is the Mad Mod from the 2003 animated Teen Titans show (see above) 💖

Mad Mod is very much emblematic of his name: he's a crazy British bad guy whose aesthetic, interests and personality are influenced by 60's Mod culture. he speaks with a pronounced Cockney accent (voiced by Malcolm McDowell, who you may know as Alex DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange), dresses in trim, fashionable, Mod-style suits and other outfits (e.g., military parkas), and is an extreme Anglophile: believing British culture and values (ostensibly Mod culture, but also Britain and/or England as a monolith) are superior to others. his original beef with the Teen Titans is their lack of manners: Mad Mod believes them to be poorly behaved, and in need of 'teaching' and 'correcting' (please make no assumptions about me or my taste from this 🙈).

i think Mad Mod is fascinating for a lot of reasons, with the first being his incredible technological capabilities. you see, Mad Mod is not technically the young man you see in the image above: he's actually well past middle-age, but is capable of constructing high-tech illusions using gadgets, robots and screens (shown to be controlled using his ruby-topped cane, which he is quite proficient with!). in Teen Titans, Mad Mod is first shown projecting this younger version of himself as a hologram in a constructed, confusing labyrinth which mimics a school. behind the scenes, Mad Mod - physically an old man - is using this younger version as an avatar to torment the Teen Titans. however, later on Mad Mod devises a technology which allows him to steal youth from other people. in the episode Revolution, Mad Mod steals Robin's youth, reverting his own physical form to a younger version - confirming that the Mad Mod we see in his debut episode is how he looked when he was younger: the skinny, suited redhead with the pretty smile 😉

a lot of people will remember Mad Mod for one thing: the hypnosis. a big gimmick of Mad Mod's is his use of custom-built hypnoscreens: large screens which play repetitive spirals intended to hypnotise and/or brainwash the observer. his goals expand beyond just trying to hypnotise the Teen Titans into being more well-behaved; he later attempts to brainwash them and the entirety of Jump City into believing the American Revolution never happened, and that he is actually their English king. with regards to his love of Britain and England, Mad Mod is...not particularly well-adjusted, and i'm saying that as a Brit 🙈💖

a lot of people are very taken by the unique design of Mad Mod's episodes - specifically his chase sequences, which contain fun references to popular British culture (like Monty Python and The Beatles). taken to be an avant-garde extension of the giant illusions he builds, Mad Mod's style borrows a good deal from 60's pop art, and uses stark, black-and-white imagery with noticeably different rendering than other characters and backgrounds. it's honestly really cool!!! you may recognise a similar art style used in Across the Spider-Verse with Spider-Punk, AKA Hobie Brown 🔥

everything about Mad Mod is explicitly British (particularly English), but his view of Britishness and correct behaviour is both out-dated and extraordinarily narrow. i theorise this is because he never quite reconciled with growing older and the Mod subculture going out of style...he's obsessed with regaining his youth, and despite being The Most British Thing Since Austin Powers, he continues to live in America and push a very odd, caricatured idea of Britishness onto other people that is unique to his worldview. as Cyborg sums up neatly, "Man, I bet even real British people don't like you!"

but, all of that lore aside - you came to know why Mad Mod is my latest blorbo!!! well...just look at him 🥴 he's capital e 'Evil' with a penchant for tying people up and absolutely no respect for other people's personal space 🥺💖 he also has that attractive combo of being abrasive and degrading, whilst also being soft and elegant. not to mention he's a total goofball;;; there's nothing i love more than a villain who's having a great time, and he is having a blast 🙈

you know this guy is Tumblr Sexyman material too: the suits, the cane-twirling, the crazy powers...who cares that he's actually a grandpa? sexualising old men is a national sport on this website 😂 on a physical level he hits a lot of beats for me...gangly, bespectacled (with tinted lenses!!!!!), ginger and crooked teeth??? man 😳😳😳 it doesn't help that i've already had a handful of f/os who are meant to represent a specific decade/style/etc, one of whom is literally Austin Powers;;; my taste is terrible, but consistent 😂😂 all in all, please visualise little cartoon hearts coming off my icon whenever you see me posting about this freak 🥰🥰🥰 if you're a lover of silly villains too, the DCAU is a great place to look!! shout out to my pal @iriso-page for sending the fateful ask that triggered my fixation in a cascade 🙈 thanks so much for sending this in - hopefully this causes a couple other people to check him out too 😉

[bleachbleachbleach]

Hi, guys! I was wondering, what are your favourite Bleach intros and why? Genuinely curious about this

@whipplefilter: I'm a fake fan and don't have strong attachments to any of the Bleach music, but looking back through my off-the-top-of-my-head faves, they all have two things in common! They all have some kind of engagement with urban environments, and they all prominently feature Matsumoto. Which, like, very on brand of me, albeit unconsciously!

Top Fave: Ranbu No Melody - SID

AKA what we here at B3 call "the marble OP." I know it's the hougyoku, whatever. I'm into the experimental, subject-less first third of this OP, though, which is just a series of urban environmental shots, shown first in full and then with an overlay reminiscent of a film negative. The intensity/gravity/bananasness of having moved and replaced Karakura with Fake Karakura is minimized in the story itself, but I feel like it comes roaring in this OP, and I love it.

And then we have this GORGEOUS shot of Matsumoto (crying over Ichimaru's dead body), which is beautifully rendered and also makes my heart hurt for her. And I think it's cool that it plays forwards and also judders backwards--there's a destabilzation of time/affect happening that intrigues.

Also, I actually do like the song itself! The refrain as the imagery changes from urban stills to character motion makes my heart flutter.

2nd Place: Rolling Star - YUI

Nothing but wins here, honestly. More Matsumoto, and Ichimaru's representative ghost holding her in a strangling embrace. (Her hair also seems a bit shorter than usual, so either it's caught up in the way his body is pressing against her back, or it's from an earlier point in canon--either reading delights me.)

Then we have Ichigo manspreading in a hipster loft/cafe and the Advance Team in a different industrial hipster cafe, with RENJI AND HIS HAT, and it's all gold. (Not pictured but imminently entering the third screenshot is Matsumoto, just to note the Matsumoto quotient required of all my fave OPs.)

3rd Place: Shoujo S - SCANDAL

I mostly like this one because it's the "Dancing Girls OP," and I especially love Orihime and Rukia dancing their duet, because the physicality of their bodies and movements brings out the ways they contrast and complement each other.

But the "Shinigami in Random Urban Settings" motif isn't to be slept on here, either! LOOK, IT'S SASAKIBE POSING WITH SOMEONE'S LAUNDRY. YAMAMOTO WITH A VENDING MACHINE.

✨✨✨ AND KIRA MOODILY SHARING AN ALLEYWAY WITH SOMEONE'S 2005 HONDA ACCORD. ✨✨✨

----------------------------------------------------------

@ippoddity Ngl I am not good at remembering OPs off the top of my head and I also don’t have any strong attachments to any of them, because I never watched Bleach while it was airing. I also don’t know the names of any of these songs, I only know them by nicknames LOL.

For some reason, my top favs also align pretty closely with my co-blogger’s. I’ve been sitting here just trying to bring OPs to mind, and the "Marble OP" is one of the most memorable. I’ll also always remember “Hitsugaya Cafe”, because we spent a long time trying to color match Renji’s hat. (whipple: I could not for the life of me find the additional version where actual color balancing was involved, though you'd think it'd be a reblog of that post or at least appear in the archive around the same time. Choosing to believe Tumblr deleted it out of Hatgate censorship!!) “Dancing Girls” will always be a fav, because I think this was one of the first times I tried to make a GIF? And it was simply because I love everyone in their girl group era.

chAngE - miwa

I also have to give a shoutout to this song, because it is one of the few OPs that I know how it goes off the top of my head. The animation is also gorgeous and has a lot of fun action shots!

STARS - w.o.d

I will admit that I didn’t really like the song itself when it was first introduced, but it really grew on me over time. Plus, I really love the animation. It’s such a fun modern AU. I mean, who can resist Ichigo wielding a double-necked guitar like he’s going to bludgeon someone with it?

[smokeybrandreviews]

Bone of my Sword

Scott Pilgrim is a franchise I hold near and dear to my heart. I was already a fan of the comic when it dropped way back when as I WAS those kids. When the OG graphic novel first released, Scott Pilgrims’ Precious little life, I was that twenty year old, hipster douchebag, who knew everything but absolutely nothing. I, personally, didn’t struggle with relationships (fortunate to have met the great love of my life early on and never looked back), but I had friends who were desperately trying to maneuver that mire of self-discovery and intimacy. Scott Pilgrim is the distillation of the Millennial experience during out prime years (if you buy into that sort of thing), captured perfectly on the page by Bryan Lee O’Malley. That said, the film adaption? Scott Pilgrim vs. The World? That is a Millennial culture milestone. When that movie released back in the early Tens, it spoke to me, directly. It spoke to a lot of us. We were those wayward idiots, living in garages, spinning our wheels in terms of careers, just vibing away to dope music and life experiences. I remember being that young, discovering The Killers and Kid Cudi, moving out of state on a whim just chasing new stimuli. Seeing that film, was like watching a crib notes of my entire life experience to that point and it left a strong impression. If I wasn’t a fan before, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World definitely made me one. I showed that movie to anyone who would watch it, gushing about its overlooked genius, and lamenting how there wasn't an anime or something, which adapted the entirety of the comic. Fast forward thirteen years later and, as if the Netflix gods heard me pining all those years ago, they delivered unto us Scott Pilgrim Takes off. I have feelings.

Scott Pilgrim Takes off is a goddamn masterpiece! I absolutely adored this show. It's exactly not what you think and i thought making that choice, was a brilliant one. Don't get me wrong, i am a Scott Pilgrim purist but, if we're being honest, with two decades worth of perspective behind me, the OG Scott Pilgrim story is kind of bullsh*t. Scott is the worst and never really had to reconcile for that sh*ttiness. He dated Knives and never really caught any flack for it on his end. He mooched off Wallace until he started mooching off Ramona. Scott was a scumbag on par with e very other Evil Ex, with the exception of, maybe, Roxie. Removing him from the equation not only gave Scott the distance from his would-be actions to grow into a solid, redeemed character, but gave the rest of the cast that very same opportunity. It gave Ramona that opportunity, one she sorely needed. One that we, as fans, didn't even really KNOW she needed. Giving the big chair to Ramona allowed her to reconcile how terrible she was toward her Exes. It gave her so much more agency than just being "won" at the behest of the weirdly gross and aggressively abusive, Gideon Graves. Takes Off is as much Ramona's story as it is Scott's and that sh*t makes for the overall narrative, becoming something more. Adding Ramona's story to this tale, adds a layer of maturity, which makes sense considering it's been twenty years since Scott first punched Matthew Patel into pocket change. Altering the perspective from Scott to Ramona, taking the narrative from one of destruction to healing, absolutely MADE the entire franchise. Altering the perspective from Scott to Ramona, taking the narrative from one of destruction to healing, absolutely MADE the entire franchise.

This take on the story sees Scott actually "defeated" by Matty Pat and the ensuing mystery of his perceived "death" sends Ramona on a quest to find the truth. During this journey, SHE is forced to "fight" with her Exes, and by fight, i mean actually apologize to them for being a sh*tty person. Ramona finally stopped running after she met Scott and he basically murdered all of her evil exes. That made for, at the time, some cool imagery but it was, objectively, an absurd way to properly unpack your traumas. Especially the ones you create yourself. And let me tell you, that League of Evil Exes? Yeah, Ramona definitely created that sh*t. We get hints of each villain origin story in the film and graphic novels but Takes off is ABOUT those relationships and why they ended the way they did. It doesn't take long to understand that Ramona, too, is just as terrible as Scott, but in a different way. Seriously, Roxie's episode hammers that home with such intensity, you don't have a choice but to accept it as gospel. Every Evil Ex gets this treatment. Mostly. Once again the Katayanagi Twins get shafted but that's their thing and they kind of don't seem like assholes anyway. Not really in the previous takes on the story, either. Like, those relationships should have keyed us into just how f*cking destructive the trail to Ramona's flower truly was but we were kids back then, too, and that's the brilliance of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off: We're not kids anymore and neither are these characters.

I'm thirty-nine years old. While i love Scott Pilgrim for what it was, as a dude two decades removed from that time in my life, i can honestly say i was a f*cktard. All twenty-somethings are. We haven't figured out life, at all, and some of us won't even as we approach our mid-Thirties. By the time you're my age, however, once should hope you have a handle on your sh*rt enough to recognize that, maybe, way back when, during your Twenty-something scumbag days, that you were a little bit of a scumbag. That's what Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is doing. That's what the story is about. It's catharsis and acceptance which comes with the benefit of time and space. Bryan Lee O'Malley published the first Scott Pilgrim story when he was about twenty-five. That means he wrote it at an even earlier age and it reads as such. That narrative reflects the emotional maturity of someone who had experienced a handful of years unto themselves, outside the protective bubble of their parents, give or take. Takes Off is written by a mid-Forties, adult man, who has had a life. O'Malley has been married, found success with his goofy little story about wayward love, walked the Hollywood red carpet, made a name for himself, and suffered the sting divorce. He's not punching his problems or running away from them anymore, he's confronting them head on and accepting that, a lot of the issues in his life, are because of his choices. As i approach the cusp of the big Four-Zero myself, i recognize that. I accept that. I've been doing that. To see it happening in one of the most culturally defining stories of my generation, is both comforting and surreal. Scott Pilgrim Takes off is a wonderful show. It's the most appropriate period on a sentence we Millennials started writing way back when we took our first steps into adulthood and i love it for that. That said, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is the best thing to ever come out of this franchise. Fight me about it.

[cambridgedesignvector2]

Elements of a "Happy Father's Day" or "Hipster" collection might include a blend of various characteristics that resonate with the celebration of Father's Day and the style associated with the hipster subculture. Here are some characteristic elements:

Vintage and Retro Aesthetics: Incorporating vintage or retro design elements, such as old-fashioned typography, vintage illustrations, or faded color schemes, to evoke a nostalgic feel often associated with the hipster style.

Handcrafted or Hand-Drawn Elements: Utilizing hand-drawn illustrations, doodles, or artisanal designs that represent a DIY or handmade aesthetic, which aligns with the artisanal and crafty aspects often associated with hipster culture.

Geometric Patterns and Textures: Including geometric patterns, intricate textures, or repeating designs that add depth and visual interest to the collection. Geometric motifs are commonly used in hipster-inspired art and design.

Nature and Adventure Themes: Featuring elements related to nature, wilderness, exploration, and adventure, such as mountains, forests, bicycles, camping gear, or wildlife. This aligns with the outdoor and nature-loving aspect often embraced by hipster culture.

Vintage Fatherhood Imagery: Incorporating vintage or retro images depicting fatherhood, parenting, family bonding, and fatherly activities. This could include illustrations of fathers spending time with their children, playing games, or engaging in nostalgic activities.

Quirky and Playful Illustrations: Using quirky, whimsical, or playful illustrations that add a touch of humor or eccentricity to the collection, capturing the free-spirited and creative essence associated with hipster culture.

Coffee, Books, and Typewriters: Including symbolic elements like coffee cups, books, typewriters, or other items associated with intellectual pursuits or cultural interests often embraced within hipster circles.

Vintage Typography and Fonts: Incorporating vintage-style typography or retro fonts that add character and a nostalgic vibe to the designs or messages.

Urban and Street Art Inspirations: Drawing inspiration from urban art, street culture, graffiti, or streetwear fashion, which are often part of the hipster aesthetic.

Minimalist and Modern Design Elements: Introducing minimalist and modern design elements such as clean lines, simple shapes, and contemporary color palettes, providing a modern twist to the overall collection.

The blend of these characteristic elements aims to create a collection that celebrates Father's Day while embracing the creative, unconventional, and nostalgic aspects often associated with hipster culture.

[thesinglesjukebox]

BONNIE MCKEE - "SLAY"

Will Adams unearths a pop time capsule and presents his findings to the rest of us...

[5.20]

Will Adams: I was aware of "Slay" ten years ago, even if it wasn't on iTunes. Through truncated live performances and interview snippets, I got the concept instantly: a big silly pop song that co-opted common Stan Twitter parlance of the time into a motivational anthem. But despite a stellar previous single that showed great promise and an impressive CV of hits penned for other artists, McKee's solo career seemed doomed to fizzle. With each passing month it became clearer that "Slay" would never see the light of day, so I couldn't fully embrace the song. I didn't believe I, myself, could slay. (Put less cornily and more accurately: McKee's label Epic didn't believe she could slay.) But ten years later, she announced her project to re-record her shelved album and release it independently, and the promise reignited. Then "Slay" dropped, and "reignite" felt less appropriate a descriptor than "exploded." Over a bombastic arrangement with a cadence and chord progression that recalls Hoku, the song is quintessential McKee: inspirational rallying cries ("come on, everybody, let's go!", "we can do anything!"); imagery that's punchy at first and confusing if given more than one second of thought ("flyer than firebirds"; "shine like razorblades"; "slaying like 1999"); a colossal bridge where she launches into the stratosphere and makes the song even bigger. And on top of that, spelling out the title in a pep rally affect. It's unashamed to be big, be dumb, be earnest, which makes listening to it in 2023 that much more impactful. It would be easy to cast "Slay" off as naïve yearning for the Obama-era college years, our wasted youth that might not even have been as carefree as we thought. But in spite of it all -- being hardened by a decade of Real Adult Life, of the awful shit that keeps on happening around us and to us, of the increased feeling of being unmoored from any sense of purpose -- I want to embrace it. You see, Dorothy, you've always had the power to slay. Before the 2023 release, I wouldn't have believed that. [10]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: ...iconic? [2]

Taylor Alatorre: As an incurable fan of the might-have-beens on the left of the proverbial dial, the impulse to stan a theoretical pop star is one that I empathize with. It can lead to some weird places, though, like pretending that this rewrite of Katy Perry's "Roar," shorn of its indie pop pretenses and with a muddier zero-to-hero narrative, would've lit up the charts as intended back in 2014. As with the hipster run-off of that era, maybe the wishfulness is part of the appeal. To the subset of the population for whom Bonnie McKee's unreleased album is their Dear Tommy, I'm sincerely glad you're getting what you wished for. [4]

Jeffrey Brister: We really need a critical reappraisal of Trouble, so we'll get less of this. [5]

Micha Cavaseno: The closest parallel I have to Bonnie McKee's musical career is actually the directorial career of Elizabeth Banks. Everything about it is perfectly functional but burdened with a trite and immensely DOA sense of humor that maybe had a chance to thrive 8 or 9 years ago but now just completely misses the mark. (If you overextend the narrative here, this makes the Pitch Perfects and Katy Perry stuff a kind of perfect parallel because they both thrive off the weird see-saw between conservatism and quasi-quirkiness. But I digress!) "Slay" is essentially a Cocaine Bear, because even if the punchline feels like a decades old meme, it's also slapped together in a kitsch from several decades ago. "Slay like 1999" while sounding like late '00s/early '10s pop nostalgia is a triple-double of identity crisis (made all the weirder by those subtle happy hardcore breaks at the bridge). It's so perfectly amorphous and logically commercial, yet also missing every possible mark? I'm not even mad it exists, I'm just more concerned how we justified it needed to exist now? [3]

Dorian Sinclair: Bonnie McKee has had a hell of a career and, in the process, been a writer on multiple all-time great songs ("Teenage Dream" is probably the crowning glory here, but let's give a shout out to Britney's "How I Roll" and CRJ's "Turn Me Up", two deeply underrated album cuts). I don't know that "Slay" is going to join that pantheon, and it's showing its age a bit after its release was deferred for a decade...but it's a solid song from a solid writer, and it gets me looking forward to her long-delayed second album, which is enough to be counted as a win. [6]

Ian Mathers: On the one hand, this really makes me wonder why McKee didn't just get to have Katy Perry's career directly instead of writing a lot for her. On the other... I don't actually like those Katy Perry singles that much, and all the goodwill towards McKee in the world doesn't change that this sounds a lot like them. [6]

Michael Hong: The further we get from "Teenage Dream," the less the American dream seems viable, the more it seems unattractive -- unfortunate for Bonnie McKee, whose music sounds like sparklers and stars and stripes all written in glowing neon letters. This version is just too theatrical; the way she sings the word "technicolor" is far too excessive. [4]

Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: I naively thought we were doing away with this sort of label-mandated Search Engine Poptimisation, where keywords are stuffed into a song and its title, ensuring that it shows up at the top of confused uncles' Google searches until the end of time. Brazen, yes, but if you can give this songwriting prompt some heft, the shortcut is forgiven. Nope! "SLAY" (even the try-hard all-caps!) is engineered to make you think of different better songs you've heard in different better places, a cynical DayGlo casing that sounds like it was destined for a Buffalo Wild Wings Pride commercial instead of a major label release. Screw the SEO and dig deeper; there is better, organic, REAL affirma-pop out there, and you know it. [2]

Brad Shoup: Will this be the last pop song to reference Technicolor? "Slay" is out of step in so many ways: a widescreen arena-pop yearner in a time of grim partying, with a title that would have been in the pop vanguard when McKee originally wrote it. (In the video, she pulls the song from a synthwave vault -- door code 2013 -- and it's on a VHS tape.) It's really moving to see that McKee still believes in these big gestures, in the goofy metaphor that ushers you to the towering bridge. [8]

Nortey Dowuona: "Welcome to the part of the show / where we fake it 'til we make it." That's an irritating thing to say on a pop song. First, it's giving the game away. All pop is fake. It's the amalgamation of every genre, flattened until acceptable and accessible to anyone who would turn their nose up at the depths of it. Why let anyone know that you fake it? Second, it's an awkward line. The drum patter is kick snare kick-kick snare, and it lands so clumsily on that patter that it jars you either awake into "what, what does that even mean" or "oh ok, fine." It's not a sudden spark of wit, just a jarring reminder of the actual project here -- allowing you a peek into a swelling bubble of confidence. Thirdly, each lyric after and at the beginning of the second verse is as clumsily sung, as is the chant, but it feels right to have them in that way, and they turn to mush the way pop song lyrics should. They're not itchy and scratchy the way that first line is. Finally, because it's so revealing, awkward and jarring, the rest of the song fades once you hear it, since the hook, the drums and even the seething synth line jumping up and down the chorus, all melt into each other since they all cancel each other out. It don't slay, it just swipes. [5]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: OMG it's got a "spell out a word" hook I'm in love

Tara Hillegeist: Oh, so that's what Dua Lipa was missing. [7]

Alfred Soto: MARGO CHANNING: A mass of music and fire. That's me. An old kazoo and some sparkles. [3]

Katherine St Asaph: I got into an argument the other day with someone else my age about whether millennials are middle-aged yet -- they thought no, I think yes. My argument is admittedly vibes-based, swayed less by historical context than how many gray hairs I eradicated on that particular morning. But it's hard not to declare that you're in your midlife crisis era when you hear millennial Don Quixote-core like "Slay," which is only 10 years old but feels like an artifact from an ancient era with an equally ancient worldview. We all hear Katy Perry and "Halo"; what truly marks this as a genuine 2010s production rather than zoomer retromania is how many of the era's minor artists you hear. Specifically, I hear Catcall in the shouts, and MS MR in the way Bonnie McKee clips notes short. McKee's songwriting stakes out her usual turf, a lightly subversive yet unironically inspirational underdog anthem -- think the midpoint of Grease, Tank Girl, and Ready Player One, for those who too were raised by the television. Ultimately, though, "Slay" is a Bonnie McKee song that wasn't given to Katy Perry (or whomever); it's too easy to devise just-so explanations for why. Were the hooks too dulled, too inconsistent? Maybe, but so were the ones in "Part of Me." Were the lyrics miscalibrated -- too razor-blade explicit, or conversely too earnest and uncool? We have pejoratives for this sort of thing now: girlboss, Disney adult, Marvel fan. (Whether someone actually likes Disney or Marvel or has a managerial job is irrelevant to the online gaze.) But for every "Fight Song" and "Roar" on the charts, there was a "Government Hooker" or "Cannibal" in the album tracks that got even bloodier. The most likely explanation is luck: someone woke up too hungover to send an email, too sick for the earworm to take, too grumpy to want to reach for glory from the gutter. Whatever the reason, the song's nonexistence as an actual 2013 single adds another layer of subtext. Not only is "Slay" about seizing at a dream that's a decade dead, it's about seizing at a dream that maybe wasn't even alive at the time either. McKee deploys the firebirds and pop hooks regardless, and they roar to life oblivious but loud. We slay on, us aging diamonds. [6]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

[blackmarketcraftsupply]

Well I think one of the best parts about being a teenager in the early to mid 2010s was that cigarettes were definitely not cool anymore and vapes hadn’t popularized yet so I felt cool as fuck listening to my chemical romance and being hip-trash garbage-leaf and smoking BOTH like some kind of hipster with a deathwish extending further than my self-imposed emo imagery required. actually nvm it WAS the gamecube

[backup-baby-backup]

Maroon and Jake Gyllenhaal: A theory

Jake Gyllenhaal is friends with Adam Levine who fronts a "band" called Maroon 5. Case closed.

Okay seriously this time. Since Taylor recently mentioned that Maroon was about something that happened "years ago", I think we can safely assume that it's not about JA since that breakup only happened recently. And yes I believe the song was written in the wake of a breakup, cf. "and I wake with your memory over me".

Taylor wears the Red TV ring in the Midnights Mayhem With Me video where she reveals Maroon.

Rosé, burgundy, blood, scarlet, carnations, roses, rubies, MAROON -> Re-e-e-ed imagery everywhere

"When the morning came we were cleaning incense off your vinyl shelf" -> Jake has many indie records (much cooler than hers)

Also Jake is a fan of incense:

"The one I was dancing with in New York" -> Jake and Taylor spent most of their time together in New York

"The mark thеy saw on my collarbone" -> yes I know Harry did dance barefoot with Taylor in New York and there's a picture with a hickey from that time period, but again Jake and Taylor spent most of their date in New York, they also danced (see All Too Well), and they evidently got sensual occasionally (see Treacherous), so these are very likely to not be exclusive to Harry. I am also NOT going through pap pics from 2010 to look for a hickey.

"The rust that grew between telephones" -> they broke up when Jake didn't come to Taylor's birthday; also see "You called me later, "I'm sorry I didn't make it", and I said, "I'm sorry too", and that was the moment I knew"; "Distance, timing, breakdown, fighting"; and general focus on the fact that they were in different cities after the breakup in I Almost Do, I Bet You Think About Me etc.

"You were standing hollow-eyed in the hallway" -> "Were you standing in the hallway with a big cake? Happy birthday"

Now the biggest question: Why would literal descendant of Hollywood royalty Jake Gyllenhaal have a roommate? I don't think this was a roommate in the "broke college students renting an apartment together" sense, but rather he had a friend with whom he lived together in New York. This might not be normal celebrity behaviour, but then again 2010s Jake was a cool-indie-music-concert hipster. For example, Jake seems to have a penchant for taking the subway although he literally does not need to. There are also some rumours that Jake lived together with a male friend (and of course that feeds into the homosexual rumours) which I will not address here.

[allamericansbitch]

the polaroid imagery died for the seagulls 💀 i associate 1989 with polaroids and that whole hipster-ish vibes way more than those food stealing birds

Omg the seagulls = stealing food, scooter = stealing her music, omg Easter eggs did I do it right

[dianashchurova]

This project was created for a hipster craft beer festival.

The concept idea originated from the fermentation process of the beverage in specialized vessels. When preparing various types of craft beer, a specific temperature and time are used, resulting in the formation of foam on the surface of the drink. By combining the imagery of a specialized thermometer for temperature measurement and beer foam, we managed to create an interesting concept and typography. The temperature on the measuring device varies depending on the type of beer.

This project is on the packagingoftheworld.com

[freshlybakedspiderbread]

looping right back around from too cool for eosd hipster to too cool for eosd hipster hipster, lets hear it for remilia

General opinion/How much I care about them: eosd is absolutely overexposed but that doesn't have to affect how much I genuinely like the sdm crew, and Remilia 🧛‍♀️! its a little funny how the og (well og windows) final boss has somewhat faded into the shadow these days, but then again you kinda cant predict who will suddenly become relevant in canon anymore

Either way, I like Remilia! the devil who insists on playing up her castlevania aesthetic to outsiders whenever possible. Despite general fandom playing her up as a spoiled sort, I do believe in her dignity as head of the household at least to the extent that she cares about her entire makeshift family dearly and has long since carved a proper place for them all in gensokyo...

A ship I love: There's really only two big Remilia ships for me, and those are with Patchouli, her oldest and dearest friend, or Sakuya, her devoted human maid. what I like about remipatchy is a lot to do with the implied history and closeness they have, but that's not as easy to just get into on the spot, so i'll instead talk about remisaku.

They're really funny, and bizarrely sweet in ways thats quite unlike any other ship. A lot of it has to do with Sakuya in particular being the most youkai-like being in the whole mansion despite being the only human. The imagery of the dark vampire mistress and her loyal servant is something that they both enjoy playing up and only get more into it whenever the other starts encouraging it. And yet its definitely Remilia who probably has trouble sometimes keeping up with Sakuya...

also remisaku is also a staple for that melancholic ageless creature x mortal human relationship, ever since Sakuya said that thing about wanting to live as a human... Many fans of gone into depth in it in many different stories over the decades, because its a good cliche!

i know technically you can do that kind of story with just about any human x nonhuman, but in my opinion there are only two touhou ships that genuinely warrant and fit with it. One is mokou/keine, because being unable to die is obviously mokou's entire deal (while the other immortal characters explore other facets that come with living forever), and the other is remisaku, even if only because of one iconic line of dialogue, and because they came first 😛

A non-romantic relationship that I love: I think the only people Remlia would trust to take care of Flandre (as in both caring for her and also being capable of doing so) outside of sdm (so basically sakuya, patchouli and meiling) are Reimu and Marisa. while i don't think Reimu's ever actively offering to do so, Marisa's frequent visits to the sdm probably makes as a sorta surrogate big sister to Flandre, which maybe annoys Remilia to some extent especially when Flandre jokes(?) about only having one sister who is also blonde, but i think she's pretty happy about it otherwise n_n

although of speaking of blonde people visiting Flandre and acting as a surrogate something! I really love to imagine what madness is going through Remilia's head when it comes to Okina, this sage who basically abducted her little sister who is not supposed to casually go ouside and take her on as some weird protoge

The NOTP: i mean aside from the obvious 'dont ship with her sister', i guess i dont have any feelings for remilia/reimu. I know Remilia was basically the first of Reimu's enemies turned recurring visitors, but there's also been so many more exciting examples since (which uh even include Sakuya!)

My biggest headcanon about them: you know, it is also funny how koumakan doesnt entiiirely gel with touhou's worldbuilding since then. like what role do they even serve in gensokyo? how are they maintaining their wealth? I know they were already rich when they arrived, but its been a long time since, andthey're gonna run out of trinkets or old hierlooms to sell eventually, right? Though I guess if the sdm crew want to claim the entirety of misty lake belongs to them, uuuuh whos gonna care enough to stop them? Yeah that's my headcanon, Remilia and her crew have claimed everywhere within like a hundred square feet of land of their mansion as their private property.

An idea for a fanfiction I would like to write/read about them: gosh i think any kind of fun or interesting story involving remilia or sdm i can think of, I've probably already seen it somewhere! that's the power of eosd popularity!! Not that a good idea can't be done more than once but it means im not exactly left wanting 😄

Something that makes me think of them: i kinda cant think anything this moment and trying to force it would probably be really unnatural, but i will say Remilia is the only member of the aristocracy i would respect. probably.

[wildwood-faun]

Wrapped #'s 40, 50, and 60

Yes!!

40: The End - Sibylle Baier - her album Colour Green was recorded in the 70s but only released in 2006 and it's fantastic. This is the sound all the modern sad indie folk bands I listen to are looking for.

50: Daddy - Hotel Lux - this is the band I'm referring to when I try to look appropriately sheepish as I flaunt my hipster credentials ("one of my top bands haven't even released an album yet"). This song comes with a csa trigger warning attached.

60: Black Soul Choir - 16 Horsepower - I have a weakness for a gothy banjo and a larger weakness for Christian imagery and that means I'm very drawn to what David Eugene Edwards (16 Horsepower, Wovenhand) is up to.

[coolmaycroft]

Having Hot Topic as a store was the sign of the alt fashion being adopted into the mainstream. AFAIK punk was the only alt fashion with a political ideology firmly tied to it.

The emo, goth, metal, hipster and other subcultures didn't. They were considered subversive in their time but I mean, these days we have Hot topic and Spencer's at malls. The music and imagery was not-conservative but that doesn't mean it was progressive by nature.

So uh... don't judge a book by its cover kids...

it is my experience that people with dermal implants and eyeball tattoos and 34 visible piercings are the sweetest people you'll ever meet and will cry if they see a pigeon with a broken wing. it is also my experience that clean-cut people in polo shirts with perfect smiles will vote against your rights and say the most disgusting things imaginable once they think you're out of earshot.