Outside the Bubble: A Spring Fling Roundup

It’s been three days since Spring Fling ’11 was announced, and campus reactions have been varied, running the gamut from excitement to disappointment to confusion to  “HOW THE F%@& DO YOU PRONOUNCE WAVVES!!!!” (Yes: it totally rhymes with Travis.)

“Spring Fling committee, you suck,” wrote one shoutboxer—hopefully trolling. “No one wants to listen to any of those acts/bands. Other schools get REAL artists like Drake and Ludacris.” Which reminds me of the anonymous Brown sophomore who responded to hir school’s lineup announcement with:

I have never even heard of TV on the Radio, so they must have great “indie cred.” Sometimes I wish they’d book a band I actually listened to, but that would be too mainstream for Brown’s hipsters.

How do we compare? Here’s a glimpse at other schools’ Spring Fling equivalents and their “REAL artists.” [Not included: Drake, Ludacris.] Some are excellent. Some are, um—not. I’d take Ghostface and Walkmen over Flo Rida and O.A.R., but that’s just, like, my opinion, man. We  collaborated with our friends at Brown’s Blog Daily Herald to bring you this handy matrix guide:

And below, a slightly more extensive list I’ve compiled, with links to lineup announcements. No, it’s not exhaustive. Yes, it’s funny as hell that Das Racist is now touring the Ivy League. Feel free to add more lineups in the comments.

22 thoughts on “Outside the Bubble: A Spring Fling Roundup”

  1. ugh

    half of your music taste is good the other half is stupid. just cause you haven’t heard of the Scholars or don’t dig nas don’t mean they’re lame. come on now

  8. try2hard

    To think that we are on the same awesome level as Vandy is ridiculous. To think we’re less “hipster” is even more ridiculous. The National, Kid Cudi, Public Enemy do not scream “Hipster.” How could Snoop Dogg not be awesome?

    What’s the criteria. We have Of Montreal-apparently not cool b-cuz its all Spring 2009. But then we have Wesleyan which is like Spring 1999 – now that’s awesome. Is there like a bell curve of awesomeness?

    What self-respecting judge would judge on Hipster-ness? It’s neither self-aware irony, nor legitimate. It’s pure stupid. Yes, pure stupid is the insult you get, because it’s all that this p.o.s judgment is worth. Honestly wtf does hipster mean anymore. Hipster is so Spring, oh, 2007 (which I guess = lame (?))

  10. SomeoneWhoKnowsMusic

    The fact that the Blue Scholars are in both the hipster and lame column is insulting. Whoever determined that position should be shot and never allowed to write for Wesleying again. They get automatic awesome points for NOT being mainstream trash and are the opposite of hipster. Whoever put them in their position has clearly never listened to their music and further don’t know shit about music in general. If the Blue Scholar’s placement isn’t evidence enough, placing Kid Cudi, Nas, and Damien Marley in the lame half as well more than suffices. If you want to listen to good, intelligent rap that doesn’t revolve around how many people the artist has killed or how many millions of dollars he’s made, check them out. I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

  12. Sinbad the Stoner

    public enemy at vanderbilt? real radical black nationalism, chuck.

    -Nah its cool, take those white kids who like to pretend it’s still slavery times money

  13. Jason Shatz '14

    I must be living under a rock. To be frank, I’ve never really checked out any of these folks! (I’ve only heard or seen their names in recent months, and I’ve only heard O.A.R. thanks to an old bassist/guitarist friend.)

  15. Bob

    yeah vandy got the best one. but fuck that the blue scholars are awesome. just because they are not mainstream doesn’t make them bad. they are also not hipster whatsoever. but i guess that’s what you get when you have a continuum from “mainstream” to “hipster”

    1. cribbles

      Ten years ago the continuum would have run from mainstream to “alternative,” or “underground,” or “lesser-known.” Now it’s “hipster,” not a remark on the status of the band itself but on the people who are perceived to listen to it, and a judgment on the motivations behind their taste.

      I know we all grew up in the 90s, in the age of Seinfeld and postmodernity and irony and hyper-inward looking self-reflection, but this word, “hipster,” has got to go. It would be even nicer if we could all collectively stop caring about what other people do as a group — like it matters at all — but I guess that’s too much to ask for.

        1. cribbles

          I wasn’t critiquing the poster above me. If he hadn’t brought it up, I would have done so away.

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