Thursday, March 06, 2014

Hipster Music Index, 2013-14

From priceonomics, the first "scientific" study of hipster musical tastes.

How was it done: (1) albums that Pitchfork likes. Data gained through analysis of Pitchfork's "best new album" section). (2) albums that are obscure (my fave band, you've probably never heard of them). "Obscurity" factor determined by seeing how many times a band is mentioned Facebook. A "hipster" band will gain less Facebook attention.

The results:

Hipster-approved: Sun Kil Moon, Fuck Buttons, The Field, and Julia Holter.

Not hipster: Daft Punk, My Bloody Valentine, and Arcade Fire did not.

Vampire Weekend's position: ambiguous. 

Read the full study, with graphs, here.

#1 most "obscure" and therefore scientifically-proven hipster artist: The Field (Axel Willner, a Swedish electronic music producer and DJ currently based in Berlin). As a Swedish-American: I am so proud.