Carles Presents I Am Carles dot-com
http://www.iamcarles.com

I am Carles is a lifestyle brand, created by Carles.

The brand is meant to be ‘high level’ but also ‘relatable.’ Similar to Chili’s. You feel comfortable when you eat there, but you are also having a unique experience.

Do u feel alone? The IAMCARLES.com brand is attempting to be similar to the HIPSTERRUNOFF.com brand. It wants u 2 feel like it ‘gets’ u. Carles wants to relate to you.

Bro
alone on the internet
downloading illegal mp3s
Pulls out credit card
purchases t-shirts of bands and brands
because buying things off the internet
seems ‘more authentic’ than the limited selection of
local shops in his suburban area.

//////This post is ’sponsored’ by iamcarles.com

‘I will take a picture of u and remember it 4 ever
the way u looked that day
young 4evr and ever’ -something a fashion line would say, I think.

It feels good to finally put my design school degree 2 use.
I never thought I could create something.
Bringing a product to market requires tons of teamwork and dedication.
Lots of emails, lots of decisions.
Just doing your best to ‘preserve/strengthen ur brand’ without ‘losing authenticity.’
It means not isolating ppl.

Please see our limited time offer which includes a shirt hand delivered by Carles

I wonder if this tshirt will cut into the ‘band tee shirt’ demographic.

‘For a limited time, I will offer you free shipping’
- a company that doesn’t understand that consumers know that they are ‘paying for shipping’ somehow.

Carles will be adding new authentic products soon. Please let Carles know what products you need.

R U CARLES? //// I AM CARLES?























This post was sponsored by IAMCARLES.com. For more information, visit http://www.iamcarles.com

Please email carleser [at] gmail.com if you would like to interview Carles about his design process + brand goals.

I might try to make my website ‘less bloggy.’ Not sure how to do this. Maybe if I turn off comments, my posts will seem more ‘absolute’, like it doesn’t matter what n e 1 says. Maybe I will change my font. I recently read that Helvetty is an ‘immature font.’ Just want to be taken seriously, and seem ‘hella attractive’ to advertisers who want to reach the most coveted demographics.

Just want to ‘report stuff’, but also write ‘very formally’ without any gimmicks, even if it feels less natural to me. Just tired of being a blog any more. Not even sure if my goal in life is to be ‘worth blogging about’ n e more. Just feel like everything is irrelevant. Part of the alternative long tail, or something.

Feeling meaningless. Feeling like even when u become ‘relevant’ on the internet, maybe it’s still a lil meaningless. Sad. Not sure if I still want to be a ‘blog.’ Not sure if ‘blogging’ is a viable career option. My parents are making me change majors from Design to Chemistry so that I can get into medical school.

Not sure who I am n e more.

‘Another day, another meme.’
‘So Many blogs, so many memes.’
‘So many memes, so many [vias].’
‘So many buzzbands, so many pitchforks.’
‘So many niche blogs, so many ad spaces.’
‘2Many Bloggers.’
Might start a ‘website for opinions’ instead of a ‘blog.’ Might be a dying format, kinda like ‘magazines/newspapers.’

I have always wanted to be a ‘designer’ & create a ‘meaningful brand.’

Ultimately, the MEMORABLE POSTS are there so that ‘new site visitors’ can get a snapshot of ‘what HRO is all about.’ Feels like my site probably looks ‘mad stale’ + irrelevant, since there are faces like Steve Aoki + Girl Talk + miscellaneous bloghouse personalities showing up whenever my site loads. Carles needs to rebrand HRO ‘as quickly as possible’, showcasing his most recent era of ‘memorable posts.’

This is a reflection upon old MEMORABLE POSTS, where I try to remember why these posts were relevant, and ‘what was going through my head’ as I wrote them.

********
Post: PITCHFORK STARTS WAR WITH ELECTROBLOG COMMUNITY + Steve Aoki + DIM MAK + the rock/dance zeitgeist
Date: February 21, 2008

I think this is the first post where I ‘actually wrote a long post with ‘real writing” and it ‘really resonated within the mp3 blogosphere’, which was very electro-centric at the time and mainly only focused on ‘getting hits by posting mp3s. At the time, I probably felt ‘very inspired’ like 1 day, if I blogged hard enough, I would become ‘as big and relevant as pitchfork.’ Psychologically, it was probably just part of a huge inferiority complex that seems too embarrassing to go back and read the entire post. Like I don’t want to explore what my ‘thesis statement’ was…or like if you went back in time and read your college essays and thought ‘I was a faggot when I was 18 years old.’

Sort of just feel miniscule, like I will never ‘touch as many livez as P4k’ or that I won’t make ‘as much ad revenue’ as they do. Think that there is also this underlying theme of ‘mp3 blogz are young, fresh, and authentic’ and ‘pitchfork is all old ppl.’ Feel like I probably ‘think less’ of mp3 blogs, and generally ‘feel lukewarm’ about Pitchfork now. Guess we all have different goals, but we are all possibly still all trying to become the #1 site on the internet who makes the most money and connects the most amount of people, uniting every1 around something that we all love, like ‘music’ or ‘pictures of ourselves.’

Just skimmed the post and it seems very short. I posted an entire p4k review within the post. Not sure if I have even read an entire p4k review since. Jesus Christ. Really need to take that picture down so I don’t seem ‘too electro.’ Not sure if people even know who Aoki is any more.

***********
Post: WTF is a lifestyle brand?
Date: May 25, 2008


I think I wrote this post back when the electro era was becoming ‘very monetized.’ Like when Justice became ‘larger than life’ and for some reason, you knew the name of some weekly party/venue/altClub on the East/West Coast. I think there was a time when alternative people were honored as a relevant demographic who marketers needed to reach in order to give their product ‘credibility.’ Also,people were looking to export the products that ‘we were into’ into the mainstreamer economy.

Think it also analyzed the desire that most bands have to ‘try to make it’ and become this entity that changes the world + sells tons of merch. Seems like a ‘very low level concept’ now that I am a senior in college, finishing up my Political Science degree.

*************
Post: My Relationship With Girl Talk
Date: July 2, 2008

I think that this gif is ‘very eye catching’, but I skimmed back to the post and realized that it is ‘not very epic at all.’ It was a pretty interesting time when Girl Talk was going from alt to malstream, and then from maltstream to mainstream. Seems like a ‘pretty obvious post’, like something that an entry level blogger would make in 2010 as an excuse to post some sweet MP3s to hypemachine. Very ‘weak’ obvious take, like a sports fan calling into a talk radio show just to give his opinion. Maybe at the time, people ‘weren’t talking about’ this aspect of Girl Talk, and just ‘deifying him’ or something.

I think Girl Talk is ‘no longer relevant’, and it is possibly very bad for my blog brand to have his face appear every time the page loads. I think that in the future, Girl Talk should only be blogged about by huge gossip blogs, saying things like ‘this shit really gets da party started, yall!’ He will probably morph into one of those really annoying old bros who get ‘blurbed about’ any time that they say something that is ‘relatively obvious’ about music business strategy on the internet.

***********

Post: WTF is blog house?
Date: July 10, 2008

Blog house is probably 0% relevant as of today. It seems like the genre is officially an ‘inside joke’ or something, but I still find it to be 45% funnier than it was when I wrote this post. I think it seems like I should probably just retire the phrase ‘bloghouse’ and possibly brand my site with the whole ‘conceptual core’ genre/gimmick.

Just read the post, and I think I just listed a bunch of bands, and analyzed what type of ‘electro’ they were. Feel like when I wrote this post, I ‘honestly thought that my taste in music was the best in the world’ and wanted to post-post-ironically brand that music as ‘bloghouse’ to represent how that music only belonged to me and a group of my closest internet neighbors.

I think this post is important because it made my site the #1 result when u google ‘blog house.’ I have read that it is important to be ’search engine optimized.’

***********
Post: Mainstream = Alt: TenenbaumZissou Edition
Date: September 12, 2008

This post was not very memorable, but I think I made it a ‘memorable post’ just because it exploits the iconography of Wes Anderson, and says something ‘extreme’ above his face. Feel like if I were some internet bro visiting HRO for the first time wondering what this site is all about, I would click on that link, and then I would sort of ‘get’ the site more. Might leave that up, just because of the reasons I just ‘explained.’

***********
Post: Should I do blow off my iPhone?
Date: October 8, 2008

I think that this was an example of a ’stupid, short post’ that HRO commenting culture ‘really enjoyed.’ Might be a post that ‘resonated’ because it was some ‘funnie commentary’ abt technology + youth culture. Just the kind of thing that some1 who doesn’t fully ‘get’ HRO would buy into, but then some1 who super ‘gets’ HRO would make fun of the other bro for latching on to such a minor concept. Not much to say about this post. I think I probably wrote this post very hurriedly, worried that if I didn’t make a post, I would lose 80% of my readership.

************
Post: If U Were Going 2 Kill Some1, What Would U Wear?
Date: November 17, 2008


Think that this was a mediocre post with some funnie constructed serial killer memes. Not sure if it represents my current brand, but is possibly still ‘mildly funny.’ Think some people are ‘really into’ serial killers, though.

***********
Post: I Wish they Had Macbooks when I was a Tween
Date: December 2, 2008

I feel like I ‘really like the concept’ behind this post, but the post featured 2 videos by 2 lil cunts dancing around to the Ting Tings and CSS [filmed by Macbook]. Unfortunately, these videos were removed since youtube ‘regulated’ on licensed music within videos. Feel like the post lost its meaning without those videos.

I sincerely wish I had a macbook when I was a tween. Possibly an iPhone instead.

***********

Post : TV on the Radio: 2008’s Biggest Sham/ Gimmick/Pyramid Scheme
Date: December 22, 2008
Picture:
I think that when I wrote this post, I was in an era of ‘trying too hard to be controversial.’ I can’t really remember what I wrote, but it was probably sort of an ‘implied post.’ I feel like I was probably frustrated by the amount of coverage that certain bands get as soon as they reach ‘alternative tenure.’ Feels sort of frustrating how when you become a ‘large enough outlet’, you have to ‘cover everything’ even if it isn’t that good/doesn’t fit in with the brand of your outlet. Also probably wanted to ‘make people uncomfortable’ by throwing race issues into the post. Think that white people ‘feel guilty’ about a lot of stuff.

Think it is HRO’s niche to sort of ‘talk shit’ about bands, but I feel like I sometimes ‘need to be extreme’ to counteract the excessive positivity within the bloggiasphere. Still haven’t listened to TVotR. Does any1 know if they are ‘good’/'relevant’ now?

*******************
Do yall have any reflections about these posts?
Which posts do u want Carles to do ‘directorz commentary’ abt?
Will u be ’sad’ 2 see them go?
Which posts have been ‘memorable’ lately, and what images/memes would ‘improve the brand of my blog?
Do u feel ashamed for identifying with HRO circa 2k_?
R u ashamed of the person who u used 2 b?

miss u old memmy posts.

What I will probably do:

• watch hulu
• eat some pizza [via frozen [via oven] ]
• eat some Ben & Jerry’s
• ‘pleasure myself’ while watching ‘pornography.’
• Stay off the internet, get some fresh air
• avoid checking my twitter every 2 minutes… ‘lol’
• ‘have a cold one’

Love yall and thanks for the support! If anything ‘relevant’ happens, leave them in the comments… I might be checking my email on my telephone. Kinda weird how if u rlly think about it, every day is ‘the same.’

Best,
Carles

PS: U can’t just force memes…  A high level meme won’t just fall in ur lap every day.  You need to be patient, work hard, and accept the memes that come ur way.

Feel like I have lost in touch with ‘the common man’ who reads my blog. Think it ‘went corporate.’ Damn. Just trying to be ‘me.’ Trying to build a meaningful brand on the internet.

Worried. Think I possibly have ‘blogged about everything possible’ in my niche. Wonder if I have already written ‘the perfect blog post.’
Might just try to ’see the world’ and like ‘travel to the other side of the world.’ Might live in Paris like that 1 song.
Feel like my blog ‘possibly crossed the line.’ Remember I got hacked one time, and I thought ‘ i lost everything.’ but now it’s like I lost everything, except I did it 2 myself. Not sure if I am ‘relevant.’ Feel like I am ‘just another site on the internet.’ Maybe I should have never even started a blogspot.

feel like ’such a fucking fuck up.’ Shit.
Worried. Never thrown down ‘an emotional blog’ before.
Not even sure if I am still an mp3 blog. Don’t even know who I am.

Should I just ‘retire’?
help me. do I even ‘mean’ something 2 u?

‘do i have a reason 2 be alive?’
-hipster runoff

‘why am I here? who am I? what do I believe in?’
-hro

Wish a ‘less fortunate’ alt would say ‘Carles u mean the world 2 me’ so I would be ‘inspired.’
worried that googlewave will ‘change the internet’ 4ever.

Please leave yalls feedback. Need yalls help.
Yall are important 2 me. Just wanna make yall happy.

Photo via thetaste

I remember when I was a female soccer player, and my team went to the state championship tournament. For the road trip, we covered my friend’s mom’s van with the name of every1 on our team, and even wrote some ‘random’ ‘inside jokes’ that no1 else would ‘get.’ It was those ‘inside jokes’ which forged our deepest bonds, and eventually led our team to second place in the state.

Kinda weird how we’ve all grown up, but still are interested in letting the world know what we’re all about. Need to write the names of my favourite bands, blogs, and the propositions which I support on my car. Not sure if ‘bumper stickers’ are still authentic. Just want some thing ‘louder’ that doesn’t bring down the value of my car. Might get my last name in Old English on the back of my car [via Mexicans].

Miss the days when I used to write my favourite band names + brand names on my black Jansport backpack. Shoulda paid more attention in class. Regrets. I now carry that same backpack 2 my community college.

I just want to go to a music festival
And let the world know that I am down with almost every relevant band
and chill and ‘be myself’
and let the world know that ‘myself’ is pretty chill/always down to DL a free mp3

Does n e 1 wanna go on a meaningful roadtrip with me? [via carchalk decorated SUV]

Can u find urself in this list?
Are yall ’surprised’ by a city that u ‘didn’t think was THAT authentic?
Still need more demographic info, because I basically ‘guessed’ this list.

THE TOP 500 CITIES TO VISIT HIPSTER RUNOFF

1. New York
2. Chicago
3. Los Angeles
4. London
5. Sydney
6. San Francisco
7. Melbourne
8. Philadelphia
9. Don Mills (Toronto)
10. Austin
11. Seattle
12. Portland
13. Washington
14. Minneapolis
15. Vancouver
16. Paris
17. Atlanta
18. San Diego
19. Houston
20. West Hollywood
21. Madison
22. Weston
23. Cambridge
24. Dublin
25. Columbus
26. Raleigh
27. West Vancouver
28. Dallas
29. Brisbane
30. Beverly Hills
31. Perth
32. Boston
33. Denver
34. San Antonio
35. New Orleans
36. Providence
37. Auckland
38. Victoria
39. Eugene
40. Mont-Royal
41. Calgary
42. Baltimore
43. Outremont
44. Arlington
45. Washtenaw County
46. Pittsburgh
47. (not set)
48. Ottawa
49. Berlin
50. Edmonton
51. Berkeley
52. St Louis
53. Miami
54. Sacramento
55. Richmond
56. Piedmont
57. Mexico City
58. Athens
59. Santa Cruz
60. Tucson
61. Oslo
62. London
63. Singapore
64. Champaign
65. Salt Lake City
66. Santa Monica
67. San Jose
68. Durham
69. Helsinki
70. La Jolla
71. Tallahassee
72. Milwaukee
73. Manchester
74. Boulder
75. State College
76. Wellington
77. Gainesville
78. Addison
79. Oakdale
80. Denton
81. Deland
82. Brookline Village
83. East Lansing
84. Williamsburg
85. Ithaca
86. Nashville
87. Culver City
88. Honolulu
89. Goleta
90. Poughkeepsie
91. Lincolnwood
92. Buffalo
93. Santa Barbara
94. Phoenix
95. Lawrence
96. Munich
97. Amsterdam
98. Winnipeg
99. Blacksburg
100. Carrboro
101. Birmingham
102. Christchurch
103. Omaha
104. Hamilton
105. Bloomington
106. Columbia
107. Kitchener
108. College Park
109. Seoul
110. Adelaide
111. Orlando
112. Columbia
113. Albuquerque
114. Montreal
115. Princeton
116. Syracuse
117. Irvine
118. Grand Rapids
119. Zurich
120. Bellingham
121. Toronto
122. Long Beach
123. Hialeah
124. Kansas City
125. Evanston
126. Charlotte
127. Winter Park
128. Halifax
129. Warsaw
130. Islington
131. Copenhagen
132. Las Vegas
133. Jacksonville
134. Davis
135. Allston
136. Rochester
137. Spokane
138. Sao Paulo
139. Knoxville
140. Hamburg
141. Bergen
142. Lafayette
143. Sunnyvale
144. Bucharest
145. Daly City
146. New Brunswick
147. Burlington
148. Madrid
149. Oviedo
150. Indianapolis
151. Bristol
152. Del Mar
153. Tempe
154. Tallinn
155. Stanford
156. San Luis Obispo
157. Oberlin
158. Charlottesville
159. Guelph
160. Saskatoon
161. Boise
162. North York
163. Cleveland
164. Milan
165. New Haven
166. Stockholm
167. Tokyo
168. Budapest
169. North Hollywood
170. Padova
171. Dundas
172. Kingston
173. Memphis
174. Puerto Madero
175. Waterloo
176. El Paso
177. Alameda
178. Lincoln
179. Claremont
180. Rotterdam
181. Marina Del Rey
182. Northfield
183. Reno
184. Windsor
185. Lexington
186. Bellevue
187. Montclair
188. Chevy Chase
189. Moscow
190. Glasgow
191. Middletown
192. Oklahoma City
193. Tampa
194. Thousand Oaks
195. Beaverton
196. Norman
197. Fullerton
198. Hong Kong
199. Bryan
200. Vienna
201. Brookline
202. Ames
203. Rome
204. Somerville
205. Modesto
206. Riverside
207. New Westminster
208. Glendale
209. Binghamton
210. Tucker
211. Baton Rouge
212. Lakewood
213. Edinburgh
214. Streetsville
215. Belmont
216. Palo Alto
217. Altoona
218. Frankfurt am Main
219. Savannah
220. Clemson
221. Kelowna
222. Kirksville
223. Jamaica Plain
224. Murfreesboro
225. Saratoga Springs
226. Lyon
227. Bramalea
228. Dunedin
229. Cologne
230. Charleston
231. Monterrey
232. Greensboro
233. Pasadena
234. Claremont
235. Pompano Beach
236. Portland
237. West Covina
238. Springfield
239. Southfield
240. Kent
241. Lancaster
242. Orange
243. Burnsville
244. Huntington Beach
245. West Bloomfield
246. Manhattan
247. Los Alamitos
248. Sarasota
249. Leeds
250. Amherst
251. Lacey
252. St Paul
253. Bronx
254. Bonita
255. Barcelona
256. Worcester
257. Colorado Springs
258. Dayton
259. North Amherst
260. Birmingham
261. Boca Raton
262. Athens
263. Medford
264. St Petersburg
265. Emeryville
266. Mission Viejo
267. Istanbul
268. Brighton
269. Akron
270. Carmichael
271. Scottsdale
272. Plano
273. Sheffield
274. Abbotsford
275. Pleasanton
276. Swarthmore
277. Aurora
278. Mcallen
279. Lisbon
280. Grinnell
281. Burbank
282. Chula Vista
283. Goteborg
284. Getzville
285. Boone
286. Schaumburg
287. Fredericksburg
288. Penticton
289. Dusseldorf
290. Beachwood
291. Bangkok
292. Louisville
293. Irving
294. South Beloit
295. Granville
296. Bromma
297. Mountain View
298. Bozeman
299. Canberra
300. Oakville
301. Provo
302. Costa Mesa
303. Cambridge
304. Trenton
305. Agincourt
306. Tacoma
307. Missoula
308. Pennington
309. Bakersfield
310. Uniondale
311. Basel
312. Moncton
313. Oxford
314. Northampton
315. West Mclean
316. Kuala Lumpur
317. Grand Prairie
318. Porto
319. Wooster
320. Jefferson County
321. Staten Island
322. San Marcos
323. Osaka
324. Petaling Jaya
325. Mesa
326. Florence
327. Ypsilanti
328. Rio de Janeiro
329. Notre Dame
330. Bothell
331. Turku
332. Nottingham
333. Kissimmee
334. New Paltz
335. Kent County
336. Thornhill
337. Novato
338. West Henrietta
339. Puyallup
340. Etobicoke
341. Broadview Heights
342. Wembley
343. Winston Salem
344. Wilmington
345. Purchase
346. Waterville
347. Chesapeake
348. Orem
349. Tulsa
350. Big Rapids
351. Fujieda
352. Pembroke Pines
353. Santa Clara
354. Arhus
355. Encinitas
356. Cincinnati
357. Mississippi State
358. Ft Collins
359. Brunswick
360. Bala Cynwyd
361. Prague
362. Surrey
363. Utrecht
364. Towson
365. Wichita
366. Williamson County
367. Little Rock
368. Trondheim
369. Brighton
370. Frederick
371. Newcastle upon Tyne
372. Lebanon
373. Carteret
374. Regina
375. Carlsbad
376. Guadalajara
377. Duluth
378. La Victoria
379. Catonsville
380. Auburn
381. Kalamazoo
382. South Orange
383. Naperville
384. King of Prussia
385. Cheltenham
386. Shanghai
387. Ft Myer
388. St-Leonard
389. Unionville
390. Carbondale
391. Athens
392. Pikesville
393. Henderson
394. Manassas
395. Brunswick
396. Manteca
397. Utica
398. Cork
399. Alexandria
400. Mahwah
401. Riga
402. Troy
403. Woodbury Heights
404. Newport Beach
405. Kearny
406. Gent
407. Yonkers
408. Uppsala
409. Corvallis
410. Fresh Meadows
411. San Mateo
412. Studio City
413. Grand Blanc
414. Geneseo
415. Chandler
416. Mc Gregor
417. Round Rock
418. Grand Junction
419. Curitiba
420. Westminster
421. San Marcos
422. Tupelo
423. White Rock
424. Bronxville
425. Spartanburg
426. Nantes
427. Clarks Summit
428. Orchard Park
429. Johnson City
430. Haney
431. Oak Park
432. Miamiville
433. Makati
434. Lansing
435. Ft Mitchell
436. Bekasi
437. Forest Hills
438. College Place
439. Oceanside
440. Des Plaines
441. Lakeland
442. Solna
443. Albany
444. Brussels
445. Dortmund
446. Merrifield
447. Manhasset
448. Durham
449. Lille
450. Chantilly
451. Batavia
452. San Rafael
453. Brighton
454. Ste-Foy
455. Mobile
456. Williamstown
457. Norcross
458. Palos Heights
459. Ft Myers
460. Hicksville
461. Westmount
462. Lancaster
463. Burlington
464. Cary
465. Schenectady
466. Norwalk
467. East Irvine
468. New Belgrade
469. Scranton
470. Peoria
471. Port Credit
472. Stamford
473. Dekalb
474. Seal Beach
475. Fairfield
476. Broward County
477. Zagreb
478. Chihuahua
479. Quincy
480. Ridgewood
481. Roseville
482. Falls Church
483. Poznan
484. South Pasadena
485. Lethbridge
486. Newark
487. Sea Cliff
488. Albany
489. Mc Neil
490. Renton
491. Walnut Creek
492. Mercer Island
493. Fairfax
494. Carrollton
495. Bremen
496. Anchorage
497. Farmington
498. Newark
499. Parsippany
500. La Mirada

Wonder if these are the most authentic cities/regions in the world.
Did u find urself in this list?