More generally, trendsetters in Fashion are sometimes called hipsters, though this use is distinct from the hipster ''subculture'', whose fashion sensibilities are specific and not usually destined for the mainstream.
In the purest sense, the original hipsters were the Hip , mostly Black performers of Jazz and Swing music in the 1940 s and 1950 s, at a time when "hip" music was equated with African-American-originated forms of musical expression.
Although hipsters could be black or s.
Hipsters were Cool . That is, they exhibited a mellow, laid-back attitude that is still called ''hip''. Many also were users and popularizers of recreational drugs, particularly Marijuana , Amphetamine s, and to some extent Heroin , which was epidemic for a time among Bebop musicians such as Charlie Parker and Miles Davis .
Many terms in the hipster Argot , such as ''hip'', ''kicks'', ''square'' and ''dig'' continue to be used in their hipster meanings, though often with a certain level of self-conscious Irony attached. '' Cool '' has entered the everyday speech of many English speakers, and become so common, it is rarely thought of as a word associated with a particular hipster aesthetic.
An even earlier term for hipster was ''gate'', used because gates swing. ''Gate'', ''Jim'', and ''Jackson'' were used in place of regular names in expressions like "Hold on, Jim" and "Solid, Jackson." Hipsters were also known as , "hep" being an earlier form of the word "hip". ''Cat/Kat'' was used to mean "person"; so a ''hip kat'', or ''hepcat'', is a person who is current and up-to-date. However, "Hippie" was a "Beatnik term"; meaning "Not Hip Enough to be Hip" or "Not hip enough to be a real Beatnik".
When Beatnik language was the fad, the stereotypical New York hipster, or Bohemian , wore a Beret , dressed frequently in black, smoked mentholated Kool cigarettes, wore sunglasses even after sundown, and frequented jazz clubs and Beat Poetry coffeehouses and cafés in the Village . Many hipster terms generally fell out of use in mainstream, white society with the changing of styles and the coming of Hippie s in the 1960s , but have remained in use in the African-American community, where they were neither in nor out of fashion, but simply part of the traditional lexicon.
While attempts have been made to link the etymologies of ''hip'', ''cat'' and ''dig'' with Wolof , a West African language, this remains a subject of debate among linguists, and is not widely accepted [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mhip.html .
Since the late 1990s , the word ''hipster'' has resurfaced as a term to describe performers and devotees of Indie Rock and Downtempo Electronica , and related styles of music, and those who follow the associated fashions and tastes. The sterotypical accessories of the modern hipster include Vespa scooters, Buddy Holly -style glasses, patchy facial hair (in the case of men and some Women ), and Vintage Clothing .
Modern hipsters often follow or are involved with the local Art and DJ scenes, and are often associated with Independent Film and Alternative Comics . Unlike previous generations of hipsters, they are rarely now associated with the Jazz scene, though the term likely re-entered use as a result of the Swing Revival and lounge revival of the mid- 1990 s, which many current hipsters were associated with at the time.
As with any distinctive subculture, the hipster -- or at least the supposed hipster stereotype -- is sometimes a target of derision or satire, though, as the subculture is a fairly amorphous group that generally appreciates irony and self-deprecation, the audience is often as not the hipsters themselves. Robert Lanham 's '' The Hipster Handbook '' affectionately lampoons the hipster cliche in its current incarnation. Numerous web sites also exist that less-affectionately express their authors' exasperation at hipster cliches. Many would argue that the term "hipster" itself has become mildly derisive, and it is seldom used as a label for self-identification, except in an ironic or self-deprecating way. Hipsters are often criticized by those outside the scene as materialistic, politically apathetic, narcissistic, elitist and shallow.
For a comprehensive look at the Beat Generation of hipsters, see Beat Generation
- Steve Allen , comedian, jazz musician and songwriter, friend and sometime employer of Lenny Bruce as well as collaborator of Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac.
- Mose Allison , singer, pianist, songwriter
- Lenny Bruce , comedian
- Bing Crosby , Singer, Actor,
- Lord Buckley , monologist, "The Bad Rapping of the Marquis de Sade"
- Al Jazzbo Collins , disc jockey, broadcasting from the Purple Grotto, hip Lexicographer
- Miles Davis , jazz musician and pioneer of Bop and fusion, recorded " Kind Of Blue " and " Birth Of The Cool "
- Sammy Davis, Jr. , singer, actor, and civil rights activist
- Billy Eckstine , singer and bandleader
- Ella Fitzgerald , singer
- Slim Gaillard , musician, "The Groove Juice Special" and "Cement Mixer Puti Puti"
- Harry 'the Hipster' Gibson , pianist, singer of "Who put the benzedrine in Mrs. Murphy's Ovaltine?"
- Danny Kaye , comedian, singer, and actor who protested the Communist trials of the McCarthy Era.
- Gene Kelly , dancer, comedian, film director, moved to Paris to enjoy the Bohemian artistic freedom and refused to testify during the Communist Black listing of the McCarthy Era.
- Henry Jacobs , whose persona was Shorty Petterstein
- Mezz Mezzrow , jazz musician
- Eric "Big Daddy" Nord , king of the Beats
- Ken Nordine , actor and creator of "word jazz"
- Frank Sinatra , singer and actor.
- Mel Torme , singer, actor and jazz musician
- Ethel Waters , singer, religious worker, actress and civil rights activist
- Neal Cassady , friend to Jack Kerouac, friend and lover of Allen Ginsberg, Beat Poet and driver of Ken Kesey 's bus Furthur on what was known as " The Electric Kool-aid Acid Test "
- Allen Ginsberg , Beat Poet , friend and contemporary of Kerouac, who served as the face of both the Beats and later the early Hippies
- Jack Kerouac , Beat Poet and author of '' On The Road '' and '' The Dharma Bums '', which launched the "rucksack revolution" and brought the Bohemian atmosphere of San Francisco to the rest of America.
- Terry Southern , author of " Blood Of The Wig ", a hipster classic about getting high using a serum derived from the blood of a Schizophrenic .
This is a non-exhaustive list of a few well-known hipster artists and celebrities of the 1990s and 2000s . Where works or biographical information are cited, this should be read as they key points establishing the figures in hipster culture, and not as an exhaustive bio.
- Mike Allred , Pop Art -influenced comic book writer & artist ('' Madman '').
- Wes Anderson , writer/director of '' Rushmore '', '' The Royal Tenenbaums '' and other films considered hipster classics. Often cited as a particularly influential figure in hipster culture.
- Daniel Clowes , comic book and film author of ("" Ghost World "") and Eightball, his style is a modernization of the comix form
- David Eggers , author of '' A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius '' and editor of McSweeney's .
- Charlie Kaufman , reclusive screenwriter whose credits include '' Adaptation. '', '' Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind '', '' Human Nature '', and '' Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind ''.
- Robert Lanham , Williamsburg-based author of ''The Hipster Handbook'' and ''Food Court Druids, Cherohonkees and other Creatures unique to the Republic''
- Seth , influential comic book creator, known for pushing the boundaries of the medium and for his extreme Retro artistic and personal style
- Adrian Tomine , comic book author whose serious, introspective indie comics have proved highly influential and quite popular with hipsters
- Gregg Araki , writer and director of hipster classics '' The Doom Generation '' and '' Mysterious Skin ''.
- Margaret Cho , comedienne, actress and feminist whose comedy has become very popular amongst both hipsters and members of the gay and lesbian community, respectively. Cho has also dated fellow hipster Quentin Tarantino and has been the target of intense fire from conservatives over her fiercely anti- Bush commentary.
- David Cross , star, writer and co-creator of hipster staple '' Mr. Show '' and the albums '' It's Not Funny '' and '' Shut Up You Fucking Baby! ''
- Chris Cunningham , British video artist whose work includes videos for '' Portishead '', '' Placebo '', and '' Madonna ''.
- Paul Feig , creator of the much praised television program '' Freaks And Geeks '' and occasional director for the extremely hip show '' Arrested Development ''.
- David Fincher , director of regarded indie classics '' Seven '', '' The Game '', and '' Fight Club ''.
- Michel Gondry , director of the acclaimed '' Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind '', and videos for artists such as '' The Chemical Brothers '', '' Massive Attack '' and '' The White Stripes ''.
- Vincent Gallo , writer, director and star of the film '' Buffalo 66 ''.
- Janeane Garofalo , comedienne & actress whose self-deprecating persona (and her fashion sense) have made her a role model for Generation X hipsters.
- Eddie Izzard , British comedian, actor and transvestite known for his flamboyant and surreal performances.
- Spike Jonze , skateboard photographer, noted music video director and filmmaker famed for his original imagination and influential indie-slick style
- Harmony Korine , director of hipster staples '' Gummo '' and '' Julien Donkey-Boy ''
- Richard Linklater , his film '' Slacker '' depicts the proto-hipster bohemian subculture of the early 1990s.
- Takashi Miike , Japanese director famous for his ultra violent cross-over films '' Audition '', '' Ichi The Killer '', and '' Gozu ''.
- Christina Ricci , actress who has appeared in many Independent Films like '' The Opposite Of Sex '' and '' Buffalo 66 ''
- Michael Richards , actor best known for playing Cosmo Kramer on the hit sitcom Seinfeld , has been referred to as a " Hipster-doofus " in episodes such as "The Handicapped Spot" and "The Glasses".
- Guy Ritchie , Madonna's husband and director responsible for the films '' Snatch '' and '' Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels ''.
- Gus Van Sant , Academy Award nominated hipster-director famous for his Death Trilogy of '' Elephant '', '' Gerry '', and '' Last Days ''.
- Chloë Sevigny , actress known for her flamboyant fashion sense and for pushing boundaries in films like '' Kids ,'' '' Party Monster ,'' and '' The Brown Bunny ''
- Michael Showalter , director and co-writer of the often-quoted hipster camp film '' Wet Hot American Summer ''.
- Kevin Smith , filmmaker ('' Clerks. '', '' Chasing Amy '') & comic book writer, whose witty commentary tracks and speaking tours practically defined a certain self-deprecating, geeky strain of hipsterism in the late-1990s
- Quentin Tarantino , hyperactive and hyperarticulate director of '' Pulp Fiction '' and other stylish Independent Films
- "Carrying his language and his new philosophy like concealed weapons, the hipster set out to conquer the world." -- '' Partisan Review '', 1948
- "The hipster is man who's in the know, grasps everything, is alert." -- Mezz Mezzrow, ''Really the Blues''
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