Beer of the Week

Beer of the Week will be a recurring segment here at Hepcatmosphere.  Each week I'll introduce you to a new beer and give a bit of a review.

This week's Beer of the Week: Heineken

This video is all that needs to be said about this week's beer of the week:

Hipster Glasses

Indie Nation: For those who don't want to waste their time at a mainstream eyewear establishment that might not even sell black, thick-rimmed glasses. Or perhaps, for hipsters who dream of a life where vampires and humans can live as one. Maybe if American Apparel stopped trying to pass off lingerie as real clothing and focused more on functionality (like helping people see), they wouldn't be having this problem.

BREAKING NEWS

Hipsters across recently-gentrified urban neighborhoods are weeping tonight. It was reported today that American Apparel is nearing financial ruin. Apparently, being a lucrative business operation is too mainstream. Shares in the company have fallen nearly 66 per cent in the last year, and today alone, shares plummeted 13 per cent.

According to the New York Times Dealbook:

American Apparel reported in its quarterly report that it has received a subpoena from the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York regarding its switch to Marcum from Deloitte as its independent auditor.

The company is not only dubious with its hiring process (as noted in a previous Hipster of the Week post), it's equally suspect with it's accounting procedures. AA is also $91 million in debt. What does this mean for our favorite shop for leotards and flex-fleece hoodies? Well, it may not be long before your favorite deep-V is a hard-to-find vintage tee.

For financially-savvy hep cats, check out AA's performance today on the NYSE (courtesy of NY Times Dealbook):

Film Update

If you're true film-obsessed hep cat, then you should probably ignore this post since I'm sure you've been following these films on IMDB since, like, two years ago, before they were even "in development".

The Black Swan
Starring Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, and Winona Ryder. About a rivalry at a ballet school with supposed supernatural elements, and directed by Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler).

Daydream Nation
Named after the 1988 Sonic Youth album, starring Kat Dennings (Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, 40 year old Virgin) and Josh Lucas. Michael Goldbach's directorial debut "has the hazy appearance of The Virgin Suicides with music from Beach House and Metric's Emily Haines".

Somewhere
Directed by Sofia Coppola (Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation), featuring music by the hipster-favorite Phoenix, starring Elle Fanning (mini Dakota) and Stephen Dorff.

The Social Network
Directed by David Fincher (Fight Club, Se7en, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), starring Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland, Adventureland) and Andrew Garfield, and shockingly not Brad Pitt. A dark representation of the creation of Facebook can already be sensed during the trailer, with Radiohead's "Creep" being covered by a choir.

More to Eat, Pray, Love

While I completely agree with Magnus' post about Julia Roberts' upcoming movie, I just had to mention one thing he missed that the truly heppest of cats will enjoy.  The trailer for Eat, Pray, Love actually uses Florence + the Machine's "Dog Days are Over" off of her album "Lungs".   

I've been hearing this track a lot lately and its pretty good.  Now, as far as I know, not too many people know of Florence + the Machine, yet her music is starting to appear in blockbuster movie trailers.  She may be on track to become what I like to call a "Magnetic Hero".  A Magnetic Hero is a relatively unknown band who explode due to their music being used in mainstream advertising, much in the way of Ed Sharpe's recent success, "Home".  This may better be described as The iPod Commercial Phenomenon, with examples such as Feist's "1234" or The Fratellis' "Flathead" coming to mind, but I'm sticking with Magnetic Heroes.

If you haven't heard Florence + the Machine yet, then here's the video for "Dog Days are Over" as you can see, she is one seriously dirty hipster.

The Future of Hipsters

Looks like we can all look forward to fresher hep cats in only eight short years.

Eat, Pray, Blah, Blah, Blah

Unless you've been avoiding television altogether for the past few weeks or you only watch public access channels, you're sure to be aware of the new Julia Roberts movie set to be released titled aptly Eat, Prey, Love. This movie is like a wet dream come true for most hipsters because it gives them something to identify with and justify their obtuse lifestyle. Hipsters and psuedo-Hipsters alike are going to be coming out of the woodwork on this one, telling everyone and anything that Julia Roberts decision to leave her conformist life behind and trek the globe, (namely India because its mysterious and most people don't really know what it's like aside from the Taj Mahal and the slums a la Slumdog Millionaire) is the most deck thing going. India itself is a land where hipsters can flock, only to return with the greatest souvinier of all, saying they've been there. I can almost hear people uttering "this movie speaks to me on so many levels" and "this is exactly what my life needs right now, a pilgrimage to new lands where I can continue to do nothing in a new time zone." Nothing against Julia Roberts or the crew associated with writing and directing this movie, but it is set to unleash a wave of hep cats young and old that will go on and on about how giving up ones career to walk the earth is one of the most noble things a person can do with themselves. Me, I'll take David Carridine and Kung-Fu re-runs any day of the week.

Vintage Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend Trailer from ezra on Vimeo.

Who knew they were filmmakers too? Back in 2005, when these hep cats were still at Columbia University, Ezra (the lead singer) made a film called "Vampire Weekend"; above is the trailer for said film. The film inspired the band most obviously through the name, but apparently it went even further than that. According to sources (wikipedia), "Ezra plays the main character, Walcott, who has to go to Cape Cod to tell the mayor that vampires are coming". So if you know anything about anything, you'll already have made the connection between the plot and the songs "Walcott" and "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" on Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut album. And if you're a true hep cat, you would've known about this 5 years ago, before the album was even released.

Hipsters: A History

The modern hipster is a direct descendant of the Roaring 20s era "flapper", individuals whom much like hipsters today adorned themselves with garments that did not congeal properly, while speaking in a vernacular that was both incoherent and irrelevant. Things that were noteworthy were deemed to be the bees knees/cats pyjamas, and my personal favorite, "That's so Jake." Alcohol was referred to by the unassuming title of "giggle water." These flappers moved nomadically from speakeasy to speakeasy, latching on long enough to be seen but never long enough to become a regular. The transition to the modern hipster of today has been seamless as they exhibit similar behavioral tendencies and instinctual patterns. Therefore, if history can teach us anything it is that not even Doc Brown and his delorian can save you from the scourge of dirty dirty hipsters that plague our fair cities.

Birthday of the Week

Happy Birthday Jade!! Here's to a girl that's so hip she gets Birthday e-mails from American Apparel.

Beer of the Week

Beer of the Week will be a recurring segment here at Hepcatmosphere.  Each week I'll introduce you to a new beer and give a bit of a review.

This week's Beer of the Week: Pabst Blue Ribbon 1844

What is Pabst Blue Ribbon 1844, you may ask?  It is the same PBR you know and love, poured out of its red, white and blue can into one of these fancy glass bottles you see above, shipped to China and sold for $44 USD per bottle.  Here's the NewYorker article about 1844.  One key quote from the Chinese advertisements:  

 

It’s not just Scotch that’s put into wooden casks. There’s also Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer 1844. 

Many world-famous spirits

Are matured in precious wooden casks

Scotch whisky, French brandy, Bordeaux wine…

They all spend long days inside wooden casks.

It also mentions that Pabst Blue Ribbon 1844 should be served in a champagne flute.  Now, I'm pretty  sure the only thing you should be drinking out of a champagne flute is  a fine cheese drink, but that's beside the point.  The point is, I don't think I ever want to travel to China after reading this article.  One of the main reason's I love PBR so much is because I feel so hep when I'm drinking it and one of the major reasons PBR is so deck, is how cheap it is.  One of my good friends, Wrinkles, is fond of saying, "Alabama, Arkansas, I do love my PBR," yet, even he would never pay $44 for Pabst Blue Ribbon 1844.  That's why we live in America, $2 PBR TallBoys.  Afterall, we wouldn't want to be as mainstream as the 1.3 Billion people living in China, I mean way to be original.  

 

So pick up a case of Pabst Blue Ribbon 1844 this weekend, and enjoy not being from China (apologies to our faithful follower Chenchen).

Hipster of the Week

Spotlight on : Joanna Newsom

Who: Harpist, Pianist, Singer/Songwriter; Changeling (so says the New York Times); Second cousin (twice removed) of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom

D.O.B.: January 18, 1982

How Hip is She:

This indie/folk starlet is critically acclaimed and just released her third studio album: Have One on Me. Her sound is one you could best describe as "acquired." Some people say her voice is ethereal and childlike; others say she sounds like an Appalachian hill person. Her instruments of choice are the piano (conventional), the harp (a bit unconventional), and the harpsichord (whoa, we're back in the court of Louis XVI! or maybe just at a BK basement party).

Recently, Newsom performed with Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold at Carnegie Hall. The highlight of the show? Their cover of Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow's "Picture."

Two whimsical and excessively erudite folksters covering a blue-collar lovesick ballad? The irony is almost too much to handle!

Where the Dirty Hipsters Are

This reminds me of a particular post from the blog "Stuff White People Like". Some of the posts on SWPL seem like they belong on "Stuff Hipsters Like", such as Post #127, Where the Wild Things Are. It begins by describing white people's unhappiness with the beloved book being translated onto the big screen. As I was reading the post aloud to a certain hipster friend of mine, she stated that the turning point for her was when she found out Spike Jonze would be directing. Before she even finished her sentence, I got to the sentence "concerns quickly turned into an opiate-like peace when they found out that the film is being directed by white person favorite Spike Jonze." This was too much for me, as she was falling right into the hands of the SWPL writers. Yet if you ask me, the average white person didn't get around to seeing the movie, whereas the average hep cat could charm (or bore) you with an hour long discussion. Perhaps it's time for Christian Lander (creator of SWLP, also a white person himself) to create the hipster spin-off blog, as this is the case with several other posts (i.e. #41 Indie Music, #50 Irony, #101 Being Offended).

Oh, and in case any of you were curious, I was listening to the infamous (strictly amongst hep cats) soundtrack of Karen O and the Kids as I wrote this.

Hey Wrinkles,

Wake up and start ranting!

LATFH

Doing just as I told them, picking up some 16oz cans of PBR

Short Film

So Jade sent me this piece and instead of posting it herself, she is too busy "redoing her resume".  I told her that who she is should speak for itself, and that she shouldn't need a piece of paper to do it for her; but I guess she's just really into conforming right now.

This is a beautiful expose on the hipster culture we love so dearly. Yourdictionary.com defines a hepcat as:

hep·cat (hep′kat′)
noun

Slang a jazz enthusiast

Only once in a long while does a film truly capture a culture's essence, quite like HondaAustralia does so masterfully in this piece.  Without further ado, I present:

How much Hipster can you pack in a Jazz?

Comic of the Month

Copyright: www.marriedtothesea.com, 6/7/2010

Why so hip?
Married to the Sea is known for their comics touching upon (aka mocking) human nature at its finest, and in this case, its hippest. If you don’t know Godspeed You! Black Emperor, their long, instrumental songs are known for being experimental, and you can’t get much more hip than that. In fact they are such hep cats that throughout their existence, they’ve changed around the placement of the “!” in their name*. This keeps us intrigued, and even more importantly, it dates their music. Yes, that guy wearing an American Apparel tank top and skinny jeans was actually saying “I listened to Godspeed You! Black Emperor back when they were Godspeed! You Black Emperor. That was before they sold out.” This comic's one flaw is that apparently the hep cats in Godspeed You! Black Emperor have already reunited. But don’t tell too many people or it won’t be cool anymore.

*This information about the moving “!” came from a professor of Philosophy (Philosophy of Contemporary Music, to be exact) at Villanova University. He can be seen at the Holy Grounds in Falvey Memorial Library by day, and rocking to Diplo (Philadelphia’s hippest DJ) by night. Most importantly, he is always sporting plaid sneakers and a fedora.