I suppose I should have seen this coming, what with every band on earth seemingly copping some sort of animal-inspired name. Animal Collective, Modest Mouse, Mouse on Mars Sparklehorse, Band of Horses, Horse Feathers, We are Wolves, Wolf Parade, Wolf Eyes, AIDS Wolf and Wolfmother. And I’m sure there are about two dozen other animal bands I’m leaving out (Sheep Feathers, Sheepmother, We Are All Brainless Sheep). However, I can’t say that I expected the trend to cross over to the world of hipster fashion. But it has. Apparently.

You see last Saturday night, I made it out to the Jensen Rec Center in Echo Park to see a DJ set from Ninja Tune hip-hop instrumentalist, Blockhead. But instead of being soothed by his entrancing down-tempo breakbeats, I was aghast at the site of a man standing next to me with a large parrot perched on his left shoulder. He wasn’t talking to anyone really. Not even the parrot. Which I feel was a bit disappointing because if you have a parrot, you might as well get some mileage out of it and engage it in conversation. If nothing else to blow the minds of the crowd when he answers back. Did Polly want a cracker? I’m not sure. And truth be told, I would’ve liked to know.

Did parrot-man prophesize a new trend in hipster circles, with every hipster bringing some sort of strange animal accessory to the table? I wasn’t sure. However, I knew that if this was the case than I’d definitely be rocking a vest made of real gorilla chest. Or at the very least a sweater made from authentic Irish setter. What can I say, it’s just my C. Montgomery Burns steez.

No it wasn’t until Monday night during an outstanding Knitting Factory set from the Parson Redheads (to be reviewed tomorrow), when I realized how far this trend had gone.

A Horse is a Horse, of course, of course, And no one can talk to a horse, of course, that is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mr. Hipster

You see for the duration of the bill, I was baffled by the sight of a hipster rocking out while wearing a horse outfit. Now in my mind, there are three reasons to wear a horse costume in public. 1) It’s Halloween 2) You Lost a bet 3) You’re at the Kentucky Derby. If you aren’t involved in any of those three activities than you shouldn’t be wearing a horse outfit. Period. I’m not sure what’s going on in the world of hipsters, though I can’t say I’m not intrigued.

Now I have nothing wrong with horses. I liked Mr. Ed, I liked The Horse Whisperer (not really), I even liked the Canadian mountie show, Due South. But donning the finest of equine fashion doesn’t make sense on any level.I imagine it’d be pretty difficult to pick-up a hipette while wearing a horse outfit, though I imagine one can make all sorts of dirty jokes about how well-endowed they are.

So it seems that dressing up like Black Beauty is in this Fall. Sure, beards, blazers and glasses will always be in fashion, but what to wear when you’re going out for the night on the town and want to impress others with your satorial flair? Look to the horse, my friends. Look to the horse. Of course.

Download:
The Doors: “Horse Latitudes” from Strange Days (left-click)

PJ Harvey: “Horses in My Dream” from Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea (left-click)

The Round-Up

First off, Go vote for Gerard Vs.Bear who is currently nominated for a Plug Award for Music Blog of the Year. Seriously. Do it.

Apparently, the Ghostface/MF Doom album is actually going to happen, according to this update on the Wu’s Homepage.No release date has been set.

Advanced Theory details exactly how advanced Val Kilmer is. The answer: very much so. Apparently, Kilmer is collaborating with Lou Reed on an album.

This post from Skeet on Mischa proves why he might be the most dead-on blogger out there. In just a few hundred words, he declares Spencer Krug the best songwriter of his generation, the Knife overrated, and predicts the future of Kevin Federline. While still finding time to make Jim Jones references.

Speaking of Jimmy, Ian Cohen delivers a predictably excellent review of Hustler’s POME.

Stylus gets Pharoahe Monch to sit down for an interview.

Go to Floodwatch Music to get an incredible mixtape featuring vintage Meth, Red, Afu-Ra, Big Pun, Jeru the Damaja, among many others.

If you’re into mixtapes, add the Foundtrack to your bookmarks, a new website that posts free and mixtapes every month. This month features tracks from everyone ranging from The Shins, Benoit Pioulard, and J Dilla.

Don’t know how many of my readers have read John Updike’s brilliant and rather disturbing Rabbit Run book. But either way go to NY/NZ to read a hilariously accurate account of its many strengths and weaknesses.

And last but definitely not least, find time to check for 33 Jones, an always entertaining hip-hop blog that has been killing it of late.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 15th, 2006 at 2:36 am and is filed under It Got Weird, Didn't It?. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.