I would say you're thinking of the 'hipster' subset of Gen X, and not the whole cohort itself. I would easily argue those names you list there (I had to look two of them up before recognizing their faces or work) are not core Gen X at all, but rather the Seattle coffee-house wing of them. Sure the Pacific NW gets a lot of the cred for Ge…
I would say you're thinking of the 'hipster' subset of Gen X, and not the whole cohort itself. I would easily argue those names you list there (I had to look two of them up before recognizing their faces or work) are not core Gen X at all, but rather the Seattle coffee-house wing of them. Sure the Pacific NW gets a lot of the cred for Gen X, (especially grunge, like you said) but it's by no means the least common denominator of the generation. I remember watching a few episodes of Portlandia and thinking to myself, "this would probably be funnier if I grew up along the Willamette."
I would argue that political apathy or general cynicism was a lot more core Gen X than being passionate about authentic or counterculture art ever was. Same with being individualistic, pragmatic, and drinking out of the garden hose. I mean, I grew up with a shit-ton of Xers who never got beyond the relatively benign creations of U2 and Van Halen. Like Grunge, hipsterism was a particular subset of Gen X.
"It was probably among Millenials where the transition from a culture of irony to one of moral earnestness took place. The poor kids in Gen Z probably have no idea that anything other than earnestness and stridency was ever the norm."
PNW? Except for Brownstein and Armisen, most of the folks that I listed were associated with the late 90s/2000s New York scene.
"I would argue that political apathy or general cynicism was a lot more core Gen X than being passionate about authentic or counterculture art ever was."
Clearly, that's a pretty limited subset of GenX that you're familiar with, then. I was born in 1966, so early GenX myself, and subcultures and niche interests were pretty strong (albeit, not universal) for people my age. The hardcore and post-hardcore punk and goth subcultures were largely a GenX phenomenon. Same for much of early hip-hop. If anything, it was during the 2000s and especially 2010s that I saw culture becoming a lot more homogenous, with the dominance of superhero movies and pop music, but maybe that's just me being to old to see what's going on under the surface during that era.
That's odd. Vice news never struck me as a Gen X thing, it always screamed Millennial to me. At any rate, okay - then 90's New York thing too. Those other two peeps (Korine, Sevigny) were both Xers though, they were just putting out material in the 90's when they were in their 20's. They still grew up in the 80's though, and that's how the generations are defined. Most of the 80's icons we think of were probably Boomers themselves, because they were in their 20's and 30's at the time. Madonna is a perfect example of this.
I would agree with you on your ideas about music subcultures and such, I think that is probably pretty obvious to see. I just don't think that music in general is this overwhelming part of generational culture that you seem to think it is. It's certainly an important piece, but it doesn't steer the ship any more than any other piece doesn't. It's a group effort.
I was born 9 years after you, so I'm on the latter end of the cohort. I think I can perhaps see how you feel subcultures and niche interests were strong growing up, for some reason that feels like a remnant of the 60's to me. Perhaps that 'revolutionary' spirit had already died down by the time I was born.
I would say you're thinking of the 'hipster' subset of Gen X, and not the whole cohort itself. I would easily argue those names you list there (I had to look two of them up before recognizing their faces or work) are not core Gen X at all, but rather the Seattle coffee-house wing of them. Sure the Pacific NW gets a lot of the cred for Gen X, (especially grunge, like you said) but it's by no means the least common denominator of the generation. I remember watching a few episodes of Portlandia and thinking to myself, "this would probably be funnier if I grew up along the Willamette."
I would argue that political apathy or general cynicism was a lot more core Gen X than being passionate about authentic or counterculture art ever was. Same with being individualistic, pragmatic, and drinking out of the garden hose. I mean, I grew up with a shit-ton of Xers who never got beyond the relatively benign creations of U2 and Van Halen. Like Grunge, hipsterism was a particular subset of Gen X.
"It was probably among Millenials where the transition from a culture of irony to one of moral earnestness took place. The poor kids in Gen Z probably have no idea that anything other than earnestness and stridency was ever the norm."
I do agree with that part though!
WRT Gen Z: the pendulum always swings back.
PNW? Except for Brownstein and Armisen, most of the folks that I listed were associated with the late 90s/2000s New York scene.
"I would argue that political apathy or general cynicism was a lot more core Gen X than being passionate about authentic or counterculture art ever was."
Clearly, that's a pretty limited subset of GenX that you're familiar with, then. I was born in 1966, so early GenX myself, and subcultures and niche interests were pretty strong (albeit, not universal) for people my age. The hardcore and post-hardcore punk and goth subcultures were largely a GenX phenomenon. Same for much of early hip-hop. If anything, it was during the 2000s and especially 2010s that I saw culture becoming a lot more homogenous, with the dominance of superhero movies and pop music, but maybe that's just me being to old to see what's going on under the surface during that era.
That's odd. Vice news never struck me as a Gen X thing, it always screamed Millennial to me. At any rate, okay - then 90's New York thing too. Those other two peeps (Korine, Sevigny) were both Xers though, they were just putting out material in the 90's when they were in their 20's. They still grew up in the 80's though, and that's how the generations are defined. Most of the 80's icons we think of were probably Boomers themselves, because they were in their 20's and 30's at the time. Madonna is a perfect example of this.
I would agree with you on your ideas about music subcultures and such, I think that is probably pretty obvious to see. I just don't think that music in general is this overwhelming part of generational culture that you seem to think it is. It's certainly an important piece, but it doesn't steer the ship any more than any other piece doesn't. It's a group effort.
I was born 9 years after you, so I'm on the latter end of the cohort. I think I can perhaps see how you feel subcultures and niche interests were strong growing up, for some reason that feels like a remnant of the 60's to me. Perhaps that 'revolutionary' spirit had already died down by the time I was born.