HIPSTER RUNOFF

In this video, a tween edits a video about her trip to an Owl City concert in Portland, Oregon. The video is titled "6 Reasons Why Seeing Owl City, Lights and Paper Route was incredible!" In the video, you can see how a meaningful day was built around a concert.

Do u remember when u used 2 feel this alive? When you were young, and you were 'excited' about going to see your favourite band play live. Excited about all of the predictable/unpredictable possibilities that might come your way

• venturing to the city, or perhaps an 'urban' part of the city, and doing something meaningful that alternative grownups probably get to do every day
• some sort of 'inconvenience' that you were able to find meaningful because you knew you had a purpose for enduring: seeing the live show of your fave band.
• Waiting in line, but finding it meaningful because ur surrounded by other people who like the same band that you do
• Being convinced that an 'opener' was meaningful / actually a 'good band'. Like you feel like you should 'invest' in them since you think that one day they will 'replace' the headlining band
• standing 'in the front' at the concert
• taking tons of pix
• taking a vid of the most meaningful song so that other people on the internet can 'appreciate' ur experience
• meeting 'members of the bands' and thinking 'wow. they are so nice and humble. they are really kewl, like just nice people. I have a feeling that we would get along if we knew one another in real life.'
• walking away from the concert sweaty and satisfied, like u just had sex for the first or second time and finally 'came.'
  having the unique opportunity to buy authentic band merch, so that the show will last forever in the form of a physical product.

Sorta just wish I could be young again and connect with a network of hopeful, like-minded people in a live setting. Not being annoyed by so many entry levelers in Am Appy hoodies

Sort of get the vibe that Owl City concerts are like 'after parties' for Christian retreats + soccer tournaments or something.

Maybe every one goes through a 'meaningful-core' phase from age 13-18.2, and one band will captivate this audience no matter who it is that makes the era's best cheesy meaningful, emotionally, hopeful music. Some people had Deathcab for Cutie / Postal Service / Ben Gibbard products. Other tweens had Dashboard confessional. Maybe some tweens even had the Cranberries, the Goo Goo dolls, or Hootie and the Blowfish. Meaningful-core has so many different manifestations.

Just want to be young again, and feel like 'my whole life is ahead of me.' I want to go to a concert, and get the feeling that every1 in the crowd will fulfill their dreams. Want to feel like the concert I attended was 'the most meaningful show' of the entire tour, and possibly one of 'the greatest live performances of music in the history of the world.'

I've become such a professional at finding buzzbands that it's so hard to get excited. I know what is going 2 happen. I know that even if I truly love a band, one day they will probably 'go mainstream' because their music is too universally appealing to go unmainstreamified.

Do u wish u could be a meaningful teenager again?
What was ur favourite band of your meaningful-core era?
Is Owl City the 'worst band of all time'?
Does n e 1 know if the Owl City bro should be a registered sex offender based on the weirdo inspirational kids songs he writes?
Really feel scared, like he shouldn't be allowed to sing to kids who are still growing their first pubic hairs.

Is the Owl City bro the modern day Michael Jackson, since he is like a kid trapped in the body of a twinky thirty-year-old man?
Really feel like this video is supposed to be his 'fuck den' or something.

Not sure if I'd let my teenage son or daughter go to an Owl City concert.
If one of my kids walked out the door dressed in a purple Am Appy hoodie and a few headbands, I would make them feel like they were leaving the house dressed like a slut.

Does n e 1 know what concert is 'still worth seeing'?
Are standing concerts for people aged 12-24?
Are mp3s better than the live show because you don't have to listen to them with hundreds of inauthentic people?
Do u wish they had Macbooks / cheap video cams when you were a tween so you could have captured more meaningful moments forever?
What was your favourite part about going 2 concerts when you were a formative alt?

I was watching this Kanye West video, and I couldn't help but wonder about the future of music videos. This seems rlly different and innovative, so I'm wondering if we're all gonna have to make music videos in 'generic cartoon' format instead of using video cameras. Should I return the HD camera that I obtained with a Canadian Art Grant?

Can black people identify with sillie cartoons and 'progressive production techniques' now that Barry Obama is in office?

Then I watched this KINGS OF LEON video for "Use Some Body."
I think this video is probably the most important video in the history of music videos. It's what the music video format has been working towards for over 50 years. It merges every important altRock aesthetic/gimmick into one video.

These aesthetics include:

• meaningful tour documentary
• singing into the camera and bein' sad/meaningful
• live performance
• staged live performance
• aerial photos over meaningful city
• metaphorical stock footage
• embracing with a woman
• staged 'candid' shots to represent the band being true bros

This video makes me yearn 4 more late 90s/early 2Ks uninspired altRock videos.  I feel like Kings of Leon might be post-meaningfulcore, because they appeal to a new subset of fanBros who are searching for meaning, but want something 'a little bit less indie.' The song "Use Somebody" is a power ballad that will hopefully fuel meaningful montages at the conclusion of television series' & sporting events.

I feel like they are probably the first band that 'started out as indie' but then somehow rebranded themselves as 'mainstream altr0ck', which now means ur going to get DCFC mainstream&alt news source coverage of them for the next 5-10 years.

///I //could //use//somebody///

But srsly...will Ben Gibbard's songs be as meaningful/humble now that he has lost a lil bit of weight?

Would DCFC have been different if Ben Gibb had a different body type since Day 1 (i.e. the Dashboard Confessional Lil Emo Man Theory)?

Does havin' 'a lil bit more meat on ur bones' make you easier 2 identify with/get vulnerable with because you have an easily identifiable 'shortcoming' and/or 'insecurity'?

miss u.

[video may not be viewable in your RSS reader]

How many 'indie music video' gimmicks can u count in this music video?

I was watching this video by the Matt and Kims for the song "Daylight." I feel like this video is the perfect execution of the 'indie aesthetic for people who like things that look earnestly quirky are meaningful.' (These people were created after NappyDynamite Fever.) The song structure is baffling enough for people to not know if it is good or bad, enabling them to decide on the quality of product based on 'how it looks' in relation to 'stuff they've seen in the past.'

Since it is a mashup of indie/meaningfulcore aesthetics, the product is approachable, and most entry level alts are able to assign meaning to it in a deliberately arbitrary way.

BUT SRSLY...if I lived my life in stop-motion, would it be more meaningful?
///Just want to exist where soul meets body//////////////

XX BONUS LACKLUSTER PERFORMANCE BY A BUZZBAND at CMJ XX
NSFW if you work in a work environment that doesn't allow 'dancey female lead singers' who 'sway to-and-fro with the sounds of an indie ballad.'

"I tried to do handstands for yall."
- Chairlift (a.k.a. Apple Buzzband version 4.6) [commercial]

Matt & Kim

Buzzband

Matt Johnson & Kim Schifino make up Matt & Kim, a band 4 entry level lamestreamers.

Lists: boy & girl duos, mindie (mainstream indie)

Read more>>>>

Maybe this is something that all meaningful-core bands have to do, but have yall noticed how these bands are wearing colonial era war outfits?

Sigur Ros

Coldplay

I wonder what they are fighting for/against?
I wonder what Coldplay's colours mean?
Do any other bands dress like they are going to war against something meaningful?

I wonder if Tom Morello is still fighting in a war against 'stuff that is wrong with the world, like capitalism, Republicans, George Bush Jr, and other stuff where poor people don't get to listen to faggy electro, rap-rock, or mainstream alt-rock every day.'

Does n e 1 know what Che Guevara fought for? I have a poster of him chillin in my room. He smokes dank, right?

I can understand when bands wear one colour, or have a certain fashion gimmick, but SRSLY, what r they fighting for?
Why don't I 'get' things that are intended to be meaningful & present commentary on the way the world is so crazy, kind of like a war, and stuff like that.

EDITOR'S NOTE:
SRRY ABT THE LACK OF UPDATES. I WAS MOVING INTO MY DORM ROOM AT PARSONS THIS WEEKEND. S0 EMOTIONAL SAYING GOODBYE TO MY PARENTS. LOVE ALL YALL. THANKS FOR ALL OF THE COLLEGE TIPS.

What is Meaningful Rock?

I feel like we're at a time where 'popular indie bands' achieve more critical acclaim than 'popular mainstream bands.' Although the popular bands outsell the 'indie' bands, they both have exposure and acclaim from similar sources. Is there any difference between these high-selling white acts with male lead singers?

Popular & 'respected' mainstream bands:
1. U2
2. Coldplay
3. Radiohead
4. Dave Matthews Band
(...a few others)

Popular & 'respected' indie bands
1. Death Cab for Cutie
2. Arcade Fire
3. The Shins
(...a few others)

Whenever one of these indie bands releases an album, people are like 'omg! I can't believe it's #1 on iTunes! WTF? They r indie! I used to listen 2 them, but not any more.' When it comes to music that white people listen to, I think popular mainstream and indie bands are fighting against all of that Soulja Boy type of stuff, so it's probably time for them to unite into one genre.

MEANINGFUL-CORE MUSIC: Presented by HIPSTER RUNOFF

MEANINGFUL-CORE music can be described as
1. music that makes a general mainstream consumer think that his/her life is more meaningful
2. music that an alt or mainstream person can talk about in a conversation and make them seem 'with the times', 'interesting', and 'on a quest for self-awareness.'
3. music that is structured to seem directly meaningful, cryptically meaningful, or if the singer just looks/sounds earnest and meaningful in some form
4. music that is made by a predominantly male band, with a male lead singer (the voice of a male offers more meaning than a female can offer)
5. music that is created by a band who 'meant it' on their first album, then experimented, then 'got mainstream', then 'meant it' in a cool-dad kind of way later in their career. (no matter what, they always sold out large venues)
6. music that music critics respect, and you can put on a mix CD for a person of the opposite sex to make them think that you 'understand love, life, and everything else that could make a relationship work.'

I think meaningful-core can help explain how the popular mainstream bands and popular indie bands have merged into this one classification. Zach Braff was an innovator by lumping meaningful-core hits into the Garden State soundtrack. At that time, consumers began to think that the music within their iPod should 'give them a more meaningful soundtrack for their lives'.' Each song can make an event like looking out a car window seem really amazing.

DCFC: they look like they really 'mean it.'

Meaningful-core bands can take your existence to the next level. They will help you relate to more people who are searching for meaning in their lives'. Meaningful-core will help you connect with impending sexual partners in a meaningful-kind-of-way. Their albums are important snap shots of the global economy of feelings.

Other bands or artists can have a 'meaningful core hit', but it doesn't always mean that their other stuff will be interpreted as 'meaningful on a mass scale.' For example, that Iron and Wine dude covered 'Such Great Heights', but I think only girls liked that song and that guy. A band like Death Cab can gimmick mainstream bros and entry-level altbros in with lyrics like, 'so this is the New Year... and I don't feel any different. :-( '

Meaningful-Core bands are able to transcend our society as a whole. They transcend media outlets, and they re-think 'antiquated methods of album distribution.' They have a sea of fans who are into being their fans. They have street teams.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI8I6qcxWyU&hl=en]
Americans first learned that Coldplay was [Highly meaningful] when the music video for 'Yellow' showcased a rising sun throughout the duration of the video.

Subgenres of meaningful core:
Cryptically meaningful bands in an artsy-ish way
(These bands may or may not achieve success in sales, but garner a lot of critical acclaim for being really meaningful)
1. Sigur Ros
2. The Microphones
3. Animal Collective/Panda Bear
4. The Avalanches
5. Boards of Canada
6. The Books
(These bands appeal to people who want meaning through conceptual stuff that is less approachable to mainstreamers.)

Earnest Electro meaningful
(After people 'fell in love with the Postal Service' they were searching for some replacements of earnest electronic music.)
1. The Notwist
2. The Go Find
3. Air
4. Frou Frou
5. Lali Puna
6. only the song "Digital Love" by Daft Punk
7. Only the song "some one great" by LCD soundsystem

"leave me paralyzed, love" - the Notwist

Mainstream rock bands that add 'meaning' to mainstreamers who think they are really unique in a 'I still wear a ying yang necklace' kind of way
1. Incubus
2. Linkin Park
3. Creed (R.I.P.)
4. Tool

******
The Shins sing that 1 song about Caring being Creepy, right? Soo true (and so random)

******

So in conclusion, people are looking for meaning in their lives'. They want to know why they are here, and why their perspective is more special than yours or mine. Music offers a wide range of products that can help users believe that they are more unique, more authentic, more alterntive, more mainstream, and more intrinsically meaningful. While we all have different interpretations of 'what it means to mean something meaningful', we can all find an artist that helps us to feel like we truly connect with what it is that connects those of us who 'understand the human condition.'

Meaningful-core songs are in 25% of iPod commercials. (25% is dedicated to upcoming female stars, and 50% is dedicated to 'dancey fun stuff that alternative people listen to.)

Filling this iPod with meaningful-core music could make your head start secreting the gel-form of meaningfulness.

Plz elaborate on or refine any theories proposed in this bl0g p0st.
<3 yall r smart. Yall should be consultants 4 EMI/Geffen/SubPop/XL <3
<3 When Soul Meets Body <3