F or Flagpole's first-ever fashion piece, we will be
acquainting you Athens newcomers with a few of the
subcultures attached to our alternative scene. You may
not realize it yet, but the Georgia Theatre serves as a
hedge, blockading the crowded fratmosphere of east downtown
from the more casual way of life to the west. Nearly all Athens
"alts" found in the western pocket of downtown can be sepa
rated into one of three categories: the New Earth Dubstep Bro,
the Athens Hipster Youth and the Townie.
THE NEW EARTH DUBSTEP BRO
The "dubstep" part of the name is mostly a misnomer. The
New Earth Dubstep Bro actually only knows American dubstep
and has never heard of garage, two-step, footwork or Hyperdub
Records. Most confusingly, the New Earth Dubstep Bro, like
crabcore, consists of countless dubious sub-subgenres. That
spaced-out, strung-out kid clutching his 898-page Phish
Companion—the unabridged second edition, of course—could
actually be a Coastal Georgia Heady Bro, a Fratty Phishhead
or a Bassnectar Basshead. Other regional varieties include the
Glowstick Girl, the Hippie Chick, the Sorostiroo (Sorositutes
who dress like they're at Bonnaroo), Lesbians with Flock of
Seagulls Haircuts, Lesbians That Look Like Justin Bieber, the
Trustafarian, Deemster Blastoff Junkies, the Dready Bro, the
Yup, aggressive party promoters and—most important to the
scene—that loud guy and his sketchy girlfriend/assistant who
screams "Acid, Rolls, DMT" at passersby (no one knows this
kid's name).
For the Dubstep Bro, Stoner terms like "dank” and "heady"
can actually describe anything that is, in effect, "good."
Their home decor may or may not consist of an assortment of
designer tapestries but definitely features a very prominent
framed collection of ephemera from all the music festivals,
311 at Lakewood Amphitheatre summers and Phish three-night
stands that an upper-middle-class allowance allows.
FAVORITE BANDS: Shpongle, Disco Biscuits, STS9, Grateful Dead,
Sublime with Rome, Pepper, anyone who can "mash-up."
LOOKS FORWARD TO: Scoring "molly," selling drugs to Gregg
Gillis, finding discarded glow sticks, birthday for 42 Degrees
discount, making it off the wait-list for Bonnaroo WET crew.
CLOTHING: Post-MGMT headbands, glow sticks, face paint,
cargo shorts, flip- flops. Chacos, boat shoes, tie-dye,
The Fratty Phishead with his natural partner, the Soristiroo.
backwards-fitted flat bill caps, hemp, drug-rug ponchos,
floor-length flowy dresses, Mountain Hardware jackets,
kandi bracelets, dreads.
CONCLUSION: For the Dubstep Bro, the past is the future, as the
glories of the hippie movement fuel the desire for sexual/
psychedelic/musical freedom, as well as frumpy wardrobe
choices. At the same time, most of these kids are too young
to have lived through '90s rave culture, so things that are
no-nos in major EDM markets—garbage-like glow sticks,
teddy bears and candy rave bracelets—are all too prevalent.
ATHENS HIPSTER YOUTH
With the exception of post-Greek life "fashion girts,"
the Athens Hipster Youth is at least two years BWB (behind
Williamsburg). Nevertheless, the Athens Hipster Youth, who can
be found at various twee-ish 40 Watt shows furiously wiping
off their underage handstamps, represent the avant-garde of
the Athens fashion scene.
While the Athens Hipster Youth crowd consists of mostly
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20 FLAGPOLE.COM • AUGUST 17, 2011
