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**Guest** · 07-09-2008, 21:35

Feeling incredibly unhip

Personally, I have never quite recovered from the 'I am now old' feeling gained when, two years ago, asking a class of young teenagers, 'Who's Luke Skywalker's father?', and, rather than them answering 'Darth Vader', like any self-respecting over-25-year-old, they all said 'Annakin'. Had to do a doubletake before I realised that they were much more familiar with the recent SW films than the old ones ...

**West End Zuma** · 08-09-2008, 07:02

Feeling incredibly unhip

It happens when youngsters call me "sir". Not in the polite as you're serving a customer sense, but in the attitude to old geezer sense. Still, at least they're respecting they're elders--erm, I guess.

**Kowalski** · 08-09-2008, 07:23

Feeling incredibly unhip

When I went to a club in Liverpool last year.

I first went there 8 years ago and felt "part of it", last time I just felt awkward.

**ian.64** · 08-09-2008, 07:37

Feeling incredibly unhip

God, I'm the King Of Unhip, basically because there's almost some reference to an object/person/song/etc. that has me bamboozled on a daily basis. For instance, I was at work and the conversation around me got round to stating that a particular singer they were on about was okay, but 'she ain't no Leona Lewis'.

Who? A soul diva from America? An artist going solo?

Nope, eventually they told Muggins that it was an X-Factor entrant made good.

I'd never heard about her, and still remain oblivious to any of her subsequent achievements.

**Rogin the Armchair fan** · 08-09-2008, 07:45

Feeling incredibly unhip

She's this year's Robson Green.

Simon Cowell will have found another one by next year. Anyone remember Will Young?

**ian.64** · 08-09-2008, 07:49

Feeling incredibly unhip

Anyone remember Will Young?

Yes, I do. Barely. And I find the belief in some circles that the shallow, vacuum-creating vessel that is Simon Cowell can be perceived to be a cultural overlord of maximum influence to be a fraudulent and depressing one.

**Spearmint Rhino** · 08-09-2008, 08:01

Feeling incredibly unhip

Antonio Gramsci wrote:

I picked up the Sunday Indy today. Can't get it at home - thought I would have a look, especially since now I can say I actually *know* an Indy writer (I'm an insider, me!).

So, read SR's column and utterly failed to catch a single reference or allusion in the whole piece. I don't think it's because anyone he's writing about is particularly avant-garde; I think I'm just too old and stupid and caught up in the mundanities of my profession to know the first thing about music anymore.

This is in no way a knock on SR - the communication gap is entirely on my end. I'm used to being made to feel unhip by my 11 year-old. But this was different. This was worse.

What has made you feel old and unhip lately?

Well, to be fair, you are Amer... um, Canad... um, North American, aren't you? And I was writing about two very new, up-and-coming British indie acts. So it's not surprising that you were a bit baffled, really.

**Etienne** · 08-09-2008, 08:23

Feeling incredibly unhip

I'm not sure whether it constitutes unhip, but my "I just wasn't made for these times" moment over the weekend was when I saw a programme scheduled called Celine and genuinely was surprised to find it was about Celine Dion and not Louis-Ferdinand C�line.

**Kowalski** · 08-09-2008, 08:35

Feeling incredibly unhip

One sign you're unhip is speaking English correctly, none of this "I was like; Oh my god!!!!! Then they were like; Random!!!"

**Gerontophile** · 08-09-2008, 09:03

Feeling incredibly unhip

What is this word 'quality' (as in good), and when did the youngsters start using it?

**E10 Rifle** · 08-09-2008, 09:07

Feeling incredibly unhip

People have been using "quality" like that for as long as I can remember, in That London.

**Pietro Paolo Virdis** · 08-09-2008, 09:20

Feeling incredibly unhip

The less I know about all these Cowell puppets, "up and coming" acts, fashion trends, TV show everybody's following, and what kind of dog is currently most popular among celeb's in Hollywood, the more hip I feel.

**G-Man** · 08-09-2008, 10:51

Feeling incredibly unhip

As a cool cat I usually dig the groovy scene, Daddy-O, but I do feel my age when I try to abbreviate words in text messages and get the codes so wrong that my youngers laugh at me. And then they laugh at me some more when I meticulously spell ever word correctly, except "l8er". And amusement gives way to pity when I point out that it is actually quicker to type the letters a and t than clicking furiously on the 8 key.

**Lucia Lanigan** · 08-09-2008, 12:26

Feeling incredibly unhip

I have never experienced this feeling.

**hobbes** · 08-09-2008, 12:34

Feeling incredibly unhip

Me neither. That's because LL, we ain't down with the kids. We are the kids.

**Mumpo** · 08-09-2008, 12:41

Feeling incredibly unhip

The older I get, the hipper I get.

**Ray de Galles** · 08-09-2008, 12:42

Feeling incredibly unhip

Rogin the Armchair Fan wrote:

She's this year's Robson Green.

Simon Cowell will have found another one by next year. Anyone remember Will Young?

Will Young has actually still got a quite decent career, he's broken away from the usual talent show winner's path & choices and released a few good singles.

Leona Lewis' success far exceeds any other UK talent show winner that I can think of (including Girls Aloud) and, again, bucks the trend of these acts having a 6-12 month sell by date.

**Spearmint Rhino** · 08-09-2008, 12:46

Feeling incredibly unhip

Isn't the whole Leona Lewis thing just based on one song, though?

She's the Phyllis Nelson of the Noughties.

**Anton Gramscescu** · 08-09-2008, 12:55

Feeling incredibly unhip

Fuck. More references I can't understand.

I'm so unhip it's amazing my trousers aren't constantly falling down.

**Ray de Galles** · 08-09-2008, 12:56

Feeling incredibly unhip

Spearmint Rhino wrote:

Isn't the whole Leona Lewis thing just based on one song, though?

She's the Phyllis Nelson of the Noughties.

Well, she's already had one more significant song than most talent show winners, i.e. two.

It's definitely all about 'Bleeding Love' so far but nearly 5 million worldwide sales of one album (and doing so over a year after winning the competition not in the immeadiate aftermath) is a significant difference from the norm.

**Lucia Lanigan** · 08-09-2008, 13:06

Feeling incredibly unhip

it's amazing my trousers aren't constantly falling down.

You're so unhip if you think that would be a bad thing

**evilC** · 08-09-2008, 13:25

Feeling incredibly unhip

Pietro Paolo Virdis wrote:

The less I know about all these Cowell puppets, "up and coming" acts, fashion trends, TV show everybody's following, and what kind of dog is currently most popular among celeb's in Hollywood, the more hip I feel.

I feel like this too (although I might go "awwww - doggy!" at a pic of a celeb with a dog).

A couple of years back, I was talking to some mates of a friend's daughter (then 18) and, since they seemed dressed a bit like fans of goth/industrial/metal, I started trying to engage them in conversation about some of the bands of that ilk I liked, back in the day - my 'heyday', that is. I was a bit surprised when they hadn't heard of any of any of the bands I mentioned, but was absolutely mortified when one of them got up to put some music on and their choice was some of the blandest, mildest, lank-haired guitar 'indie' I'd ever heard. I was so stunned (and disappointed) that I left the room! Bloody kids - you can't even live vicariously through them these days!

Since then, I've come to the conclusion that most kids are shit and I don't want to be 'down with them' anyway.

**Lucia Lanigan** · 08-09-2008, 13:47

Feeling incredibly unhip

You're probably right.

Actually, I did have one of these moments last night. I want to stop straightening my hair (it's naturally curly) before the chemicals make it all fall out - it's actually started to thin at the crown this last couple of months, which is nuts cause I'm not due to go bald. Now, the only living male in public life with remotely acceptable curly hair is fashion designer Gareth Pugh, responsible for outlandish creations such as those worn by Roisin Murphy:

So I thought I'd search for a picture of him to foist on my hairdresser, and I got drawn into his world. I mean, I like to make the effort with clothes once in a while, but I'd never do any of this. I reckon he's having a much better time than I am.

**evilC** · 08-09-2008, 14:07

Feeling incredibly unhip

Relax, Leo - it'll be fine.

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