October 16, 2009
THE PBR PHENOMENON DECONSTRUCTED
You may have noticed a trend over at least the past couple of people raging against hipsters for being shallow trend-followers. You don't necessarily have to actually know what a hipster is to complain about them, but more astute complainers will know that they drink Pabst Blue Ribbon beer for the "ironic effect". This meme has even recently been cemented in the mainstream media with reports mentioning PBR's "[adverb, e.g strangely, highly, etc.] effective" "word-of-mouth campaign" playing up to the hipster sense of irony. No evidence of this "word-of-mouth marketing campaign" is cited other than other articles repeating the same thing while relishing the irony of an anti-conformist, anti-corporate subculture being seduced by corporate marketing.
A hipster may choose to drink PBR because their friends drink PBR: not much different from any social group that has their favorite beers such as Budweiser or Guinness. If everyone in a group agrees on a brand of beer, it's easier to buy a 12-pack or a case for a party that no one will bitch and moan about.
The most important reason hipsters drink PBR is economic. Hipsters are generally people from a middle-class upbringing who are involved in the local indie music scene. What that should tell you is that they hold aesthetics above affluence. Having a lesser drive towards affluence, they tend to not make much money. Being middle class tells you they're advantaged enough to not have to drink the cheapest form of alcohol available like bums and welfare cases. PBR is the beer of choice of people who have enough money see a band at a bar, but not enough to waste it on upgrading their beer while they're there. It is in fact the drink of choice for white bar patrons living above poverty conditions with a limited disposable income, at least in the South.
Tennessee Rounders - 2007-01-12 - Pabst Blue Ribbon [128kbps vbr]
In the South, PBR is the cheapest beer you can get in most bars. It's also the cheapest non-light, non-ice brewed beer you can get at just about any gas station, aside from Milwaukee's Best which sux. This doesn't have as much to do with customer demand as it does with Pabst Brewing Company's pricing and distribution. Bar owners there don't sell it because customers demand it, they sell it because customers there tend to go to bars that offer cheap beer and PBR has chosen to cater to that market.
It shouldn't be surprising that traveling indie bands playing in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, artists, and liberal arts majors who move to New York and live on a tight budget while starting their careers would bring their preference in beer with them. In New York, PBR is expensive, like all beer, so it's particularly hard for people there to understand why hipsters drink it, but it's still usually one dollar cheaper in bars than other beers. Aside from saving a buck, it's better to ask specifically for a PBR than to ask for "the cheapest beer you have" in front of a girl you may want to bone later.
I just wanted to clear all that up because it's kind of sad to see the same rant repeated by different people about "hipsters" and their "trends" and the irony of their "ironic" beers. You can go on believing that the trend started with PBR's marketing team showing up at drug parties and dingey rock venues telling people that PBR is ironic, but drinking PBR has less to do with irony and some vaporous "word-of-mouth marketing campaign" and more with economics and Pabst's distribution model. There's people that drink PBR based solely on the brand's cultural cache while imbuing it with an aura of irony, but is that act any worse than criticizing it based solely on the brand's cultural cache while imbuing it with an aura of irony?
October 15, 2009
MEGHAN McCAIN MIGHT DELETE HER TWITTER
Meghan McCain, daughter of John McCain, posted this picture on twitter showing off her book, got called a slut, and is now considering deleting her twitter profile. Here are the relevant tweets in chronological order:
McCainBlogette so I took a fun picture not thinking anything about what I was wearing but apparently anything other than a pantsuit I am a slut, this is 18 hours, 28 minutes ago
McCainBlogette why I have been considering deleting my twitter account, what once was fun now just seems like a vessel for harassment 18 hours, 28 minutes ago
McCainBlogette I am going to take some more time to think about it but seriously I was just trying to be funny with the book and that I'm a dork staying in 18 hours, 27 minutes ago
McCainBlogette when I am alone in my apartment, I wear tank tops and sweat pants, I had no idea this makes me a "slut", I can't even tell you how hurt I am 18 hours, 13 minutes ago
McCainBlogette ok I am getting the fuck off twitter, promise not to delete my account until I sleep on it, thank you for the nice words supporters 18 hours, 11 minutes ago
McCainBlogette I do want to apologize to anyone that was offended by my twitpic, I have clearly made a huge mistake and am sorry 2 those that are offended. 18 hours, 2 minutes ago
UPDATE (04:04PM EST): She will not be deleting her twitter, treating this as a learning experience instead.
McCainBlogette I would like to thank my family and friends for their support. This has been an embarrassing experience but also a learning one. I will not 19 minutes ago
McCainBlogette be deleting my twitter account but I will be more careful in the future about my use with the medium. 18 minutes ago
UPDATE (2009-12-01 04:07AM EST): She said a few more things about it but I lost interest in blogging about it. Sorry if you think this entry would've benefited from being more comprehensive.
October 11, 2009
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