Blipster?!

January 28, 2007 6:44 PM

The New York Times on Being Black and IndieYou're an African American, but you prefer Bloc Party to 50 Cent. Fear not, young "blipster," you're no longer the only black guy at the indie rock show! [via]
posted by dhammond (73 comments total)

Video is A+.
posted by Alex404 at 6:57 PM on January 28, 2007

Cocker Spaniel's neat. But what if I prefer Cubanate to Bloc Party? Or Belfegore ?
posted by Smart Dalek at 7:02 PM on January 28, 2007

“And all the kids listen to indie rock,” he said. “If you ask them what’s on their iPod, its Death Cab for Cutie, the Killers.”

And this is rather funny.
posted by Alex404 at 7:05 PM on January 28, 2007

Yes, but what about being the only gay* blipster at the indie-rock show?

That Kele Okereke. Always two steps ahead of the kids.

(*warning: ConjectureFilter)
posted by mykescipark at 7:06 PM on January 28, 2007 [2 favorites]

Love the video.

BTW, I called dibs on Kele a long time ago. Sorry, fellas!
posted by wemayfreeze at 7:12 PM on January 28, 2007

Damn NY Times stealing from Ask Me:
If you're young, black and alternative who or what do you listen to?
posted by smackfu at 7:27 PM on January 28, 2007

Dammit, smackfu, that was going to be my wry clever-reference-to-site-specific-related-material comment.
posted by cortex at 7:30 PM on January 28, 2007

Watching this video is like watching TV, but On The Radio.
posted by koeselitz at 7:30 PM on January 28, 2007 [3 favorites]

koeselitz writes "Watching this video is like watching TV, but On The Radio."

Har har.
posted by mullingitover at 7:32 PM on January 28, 2007

I find this odd...the whole thing. Yes, I'm white...and I have never thought twice about black person being at an indie show. If anything it sticks out to me when the audience is all white, which is rare. Attending Fugazi shows in my formative years has made me think of shows as an open place where everyone is invited and no one is discriminated against. To all the black indie folks...I apologize on behalf of the white people that think you should be at a hip-hop show or ask you to bust a rhyme. But hey, next time De La Soul is in town, you should go...say "hi"... I'll be the white guy.
posted by cloudstastemetallic at 7:36 PM on January 28, 2007 [1 favorite]

Does this make me a brownster?
posted by liquorice at 7:59 PM on January 28, 2007

I have never thought twice about black person being at an indie show.

BINGO. Aren't we past this yet?
posted by wfc123 at 8:05 PM on January 28, 2007

Huh. I'm sorta w/ cloudstastemetallic here. I've always felt indie shows were pretty inclusive (except for maybe the indie-hipsters or something).

And the term blipster reminds me a bit of the hipublicans. Which is not to say that this sort of subculture doesn't exist, but I'd hardly rely on Urban Dictionary as a main source.
posted by timelord at 8:06 PM on January 28, 2007

Jesus did it for the frohawks
posted by KingoftheWhales at 8:10 PM on January 28, 2007

In all seriousness, though I do notice these things. Maybe it's because I'm the minority at these kind of shows and not the majority, but I do. Sure, it's just a stereotype that all black people listen to hip-hop and wear a bunch of bling, but a lot of young black people DO do that and when you're surrounded by these people and you start wearing an emo fringe and quoting The Postal Service lyrics, it kind of stands out. I've been called crazy and a white-wannabe for my music taste and dress sense. And while that's mainly from other brownies, I know white people who are surprised I don't fit into the cultural sterotype they boxed me in at first glance. Everybody's experience is different and blah, but I still think the point the article makes is valid.
posted by liquorice at 8:12 PM on January 28, 2007

mullingitover: your 'har har' is pointless without pictures.
posted by koeselitz at 8:12 PM on January 28, 2007 [1 favorite]

Didn't Bad Brains settle this already?
posted by bardic at 9:19 PM on January 28, 2007

Yeah this article is annoying, I find it hard to imagine the average young white hipster caring about race, and irritated that the author apparently thinks that having black skin makes you so "different" that you need a special word just for you.
posted by delmoi at 9:23 PM on January 28, 2007

Yeah, I thought the article was terrible (but par for the course as far as most of the completely unncessary NYT "lifestyle" articles go). The fact that anyone in the world is defining "indie rock" by citing The Killers and Death Cab for Cutie -- both bands on major labels, not independent ones -- is more than a little stupid, embarassing, and disheartening...
posted by inoculatedcities at 9:39 PM on January 28, 2007

The issue here isn't that the indie scene doesn't accept other ethnicities -- it's that, for whatever reasons, it's largely racially homogenous and associated with white culture. Therefore, if someone of another culture joins them, they're seen as an outcast or even as betrayers of their own ethnicity. I doubt you'd notice it much if you are of the caucasian persuasion, but if you aren't, it's a bit odd.
posted by spiderskull at 10:09 PM on January 28, 2007

"“There’s a level of progress in New York in particular,” said Daphne Brooks, an associate professor of African-American studies at Princeton."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

NEW YORK PIONEERS BLACK PEOPLE LISTENING TO INDIE ROCK STOP.

do snark right here.
(Gawd, that article is written by people who don't know indie rock about rich kids who dress stylishly and happen to be black for rich kids who don't know indie rock and happen to be white).
posted by klangklangston at 10:11 PM on January 28, 2007

HEY WHAT CAN I WRITE ABOUT HEY WHAT ABOUT BLACK PEOPLE OK.
posted by jimmythefish at 10:35 PM on January 28, 2007

OMG IF THIS WRITER COMES TO LOS ANGELES I WILL TAKE HER TO DAS BUNKER AND INTRODUCE HER TO MY "BLOTHIC" AND BLINDUSTRIAL" FRIENDS AND TOTALLY BLOW HER MIND AMIRITE LOL!

Also, "Truly Indie Fans?!" The title of the article alone is condescending and offensive in more dimensions than the human brain can even conceptualize.
posted by infinitywaltz at 11:07 PM on January 28, 2007 [3 favorites]

Good post, though, don't get me wrong.
posted by infinitywaltz at 11:08 PM on January 28, 2007

The issue here isn't that the indie scene doesn't accept other ethnicities -- it's that, for whatever reasons, it's largely racially homogenous and associated with white culture.

Well, I wouldn't know since the whole concept of a "hipster" annoys me, but you could probably call my Sister one (She doesn't annoy me though!). Growing up in Iowa, the vast majority of people around us have always been white, but neither one of us ever felt like an "outsider."

In a place like New York, the majority of the population will be non-white, so if something were "associated" with white culture I guess it would be a lot more noticeable then it would here in Iowa.

But come on. My sister lives in NY now, so I'll ask her the next time I talk to her.
posted by delmoi at 11:18 PM on January 28, 2007

By the way, the average NYer is amazed that my sister is an actual Iowan then anything else. When they find out you'd think she was from Kazakhstan from the way people respond.
posted by delmoi at 11:20 PM on January 28, 2007

Or maybe it is I who stereotype white people.

*ponders*
posted by liquorice at 12:23 AM on January 29, 2007

Or MAYBE I just overthink the race issue all together (as the five of you who clicked through my profile to my blog now know - leave a comment once in a while, wouldya?).
posted by liquorice at 12:31 AM on January 29, 2007

OR it could be 3:40 in the morning and I have jet lag.

okay, i'll stop now
posted by liquorice at 12:34 AM on January 29, 2007

The term "blipster" is so demeaning. This article is crap. And I agree with delmoi — 90 percent of the people I meet, when I tell them I grew up in Oklahoma, respond with "But, but... you don't have an accent!?"
posted by Brittanie at 2:01 AM on January 29, 2007

The fact that The Cocker Spaniels aren't incredibly famous makes me question humanity.
posted by Tlogmer at 2:09 AM on January 29, 2007

Also, here's their (slash-his) new album, free to download.
posted by Tlogmer at 2:10 AM on January 29, 2007

Or maybe it is I who stereotype white people.

/continues eating mayonaisse on Wonder Bread sandwich
posted by bardic at 2:24 AM on January 29, 2007

(Though now that I'm actually listening to it, it's not nearly as good as the live stuff.)
posted by Tlogmer at 2:27 AM on January 29, 2007

The term "blipster" is so demeaning.

I agree. I'd also agree with anyone who says "If you call me a hipster because of the music I like, or indeed any reason at all, I'll hit you repeatedly in the face until you fall down and hurt yourself on the cold, hard floor". I often defend American use of language to my fellow Brits, indeed I revel in it, but "hipster" is inexcusable.
posted by vbfg at 2:31 AM on January 29, 2007

and I have never thought twice about black person being at an indie show.BINGO. Aren't we past this yet?

Didn't Bad Brains settle this already?


I remember listening to Guns n Roses and Dela La Soul back in the eighties in high school. It was great, so much good music, like an all you can eat buffet that never ended. It confused the hell outta my Black friends though, it was so insane, sad and funny. You could see the gears turning in their head as they picked through my tapes: "He's black and he's got these cool rap tapes, but then he's got this hard rock shit and he likes it. But he's black. Wait let me try this again..."

Or playing bass in a rock band in college and hearing this "Hey, can you rap something when we get to the bridge?"

Or hearing my 7 year old white stepdaughter wonder "Why don't I ever hear him rapping? He's not really black is he?"

Rinse and repeat with variations. People just have stereotypes of how certain looking folks are supposed to act, behave and do. Note that I didn't get specific in the last sentence 'cause it crosses all color and class lines. Just ask any "wigger".

So no, it's not something we're past yet, it's not something we've just never noticed because we're so openminded that we can't realize that other's might have to go through some shit or that the Huxtables or Bad Brains didn't suddenly make Black people cool and ok to everyone.

So, thanks for not noticing or not caring about black people about indie concerts. Just realize that some people do and it's an issue for them, which they then want to make an issue with the person.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:19 AM on January 29, 2007 [3 favorites]

I have never thought twice about black person being at an indie show.

BINGO. Aren't we past this yet?

Worthy sentiments all, but I go to a lot of "indie rock" (the term is outdated and often factually incorrect today but not sure how else to lump together eg Kasabian/Bloc Party/TVOTR/Postal Service/DCFC/Killers/Clap Your Hands Say Yeah/Shins/Modest Mouse/Flaming Lips/etc) shows in the DC area and the crowd is usually overwhelmingly white, and when I see a black guy or girl in the audience, I do notice, because it's unusual.

I've also been to a few (OK, not as many) majority-black-audience shows where I am in the minority, and, yeah, I get a lot of curious glances - but isn't this to be expected? The fan base of many bands tends to skew along racial lines - but where's the racism?

I guess my thought process in these situations is - common interests, common ground - less tension, more racial harmony - yay! Does this make me a Bad Person (tm)?
posted by kcds at 4:25 AM on January 29, 2007

That writer is a fucking dope. And I don't mean that in the positive, hip-hop kind of way.
posted by psmealey at 4:41 AM on January 29, 2007 [1 favorite]

That's nothing. Last night there was a black guy at a performance of compositions by Henri Dutilleux. Man, did he look lonely.
posted by Astro Zombie at 6:47 AM on January 29, 2007

Obviously this writer has never heard of Funkadelic. I'm not arguing with any particular point here, save that if you're going to write an article about black rock, you might at least want to mention the single most important (as Band of Gypsys were very short-lived) black guitar band...
posted by ob at 6:55 AM on January 29, 2007

What about Hootie? Didn't Darius Rucker blaze a trail for African-Americans in the AOR format? Where's the love for Hootie?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 6:59 AM on January 29, 2007

you're no longer the only black guy at the indie rock show!

What if you're black and into Country and Western?
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 7:13 AM on January 29, 2007

What if you're black and into Country and Western?

What, you've never heard of Ranchbone? (I have stumped Google Video and YouTube, sadly.)
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:46 AM on January 29, 2007

can we apply denigrating racial labels to other minorities? It'd be so damn helpful in reinforcing the idea of indie rock as the privilege of sheltered, spoiled, white middle class kids.

Nipster?
Hebester?
Spicster?
Flipster?

C'mon, kids, let's all get into our identity politics boxes and fracture ourselves further into tribally ethnic subtypes. That's never a bad idea.
posted by bl1nk at 7:51 AM on January 29, 2007

Let's all make an agreement to never use the word "hipster" or any derivation of it on this website ever again.

Okay?

For serious guys, this word needs to end.
posted by nathancaswell at 8:04 AM on January 29, 2007

The corpse in the library: Ranchbone-- the band Fishbone played in 'Tapeheads', right?

bl1nk: C'mon, kids, let's all get into our identity politics boxes and fracture ourselves further into tribally ethnic subtypes.

You know who likes creating identity politics boxes? Lazy journalists.
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 8:07 AM on January 29, 2007

What if you're black and into Country and Western?

For some reason, when I read this I was reminded of the Don Cheadle character in Boogie Nights.

You know what would be great? If the New York Times never, ever wrote about anything pop or edgy-pop culture related ever again.
posted by psmealey at 8:21 AM on January 29, 2007

Fuzzy Monster: yeah, what if?

Dear New York Times: urbandictionary.com is not a credible source. And the Eternals (sound) is not a hardcore band.

But good for them for talking to James Spooner. I saw him speak after a screening of his film Afropunk, and I gotta say I was really impressed by the way he gracefully defused the loaded questions tossed at him by the audience. "Why wasn't there any hip-hop in your movie?" "What's up with the horrific violence of the mosh pit?" "I noticed the sound mix was really different for the Black female voices in your movie. Was there an inherent statement in that?" "Where's the love for Hootie?"

nathancaswell: "Hip (adj.)" has been around for over a century, and "hipster" since at least the forties (via y2karl). It's not going anywhere.

I'm curious why people here would think that, since they themselves don't experience or expose racism (i.e black kids are welcome at they're favorite rock club), then it's no longer a problem and we're "past that" already. Do you really think "tribally ethnic stereotypes" and "identity politics boxes" don't apply to us white folks too?
posted by hydrophonic at 8:37 AM on January 29, 2007

Fuzzy Monster: exactly.
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:47 AM on January 29, 2007

(Whoops. That "exactly" was for the Tapeheads question. I have seen Tapeheads far too many times. Because I am a dork. Unlike everyone else here.)
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:48 AM on January 29, 2007

I'm a chavster. It's the chav version of hipster, the ultimate in cool. It's still a very indie trend though so please don't tell the NYT about it.
posted by pleeker at 8:52 AM on January 29, 2007

These "fish-out-of-water" stories are annoying not for what they say about their subject; they're annoying because they say nothing at all. Taste, in music or art or food or whatever is individual, and crowds are always demographically uneven in some way, so there's always a way to fill Times column inches with non-stories about the intersection of crowd demographics and individual taste.

Next they'll have a shocking expose on blacks who enjoy tacos.
posted by breezeway at 8:53 AM on January 29, 2007 [1 favorite]

Blacks who like tacos are nothing but Tío Tomases.
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:18 AM on January 29, 2007

Argh.
they're --> their
expose racism --> espouse racism
posted by hydrophonic at 9:35 AM on January 29, 2007

I'm curious why people here would think that, since they themselves don't experience or expose racism (i.e black kids are welcome at they're favorite rock club), then it's no longer a problem and we're "past that" already. Do you really think "tribally ethnic stereotypes" and "identity politics boxes" don't apply to us white folks too?

Who are you calling "us white folk", kemosabe?

I don't know about your music scene, but in mine, I don't go into a show conscious about the color of my skin. I'm more worried about the band name on the shirt that I'm wearing, and that's fine, because I can change that shirt if I don't like it anymore. When that's the currency of one's social structure then I'd say that it's gone past racism. Inventing an ethnic label just for the sake of highlighting difference isn't helpful in that regard.
posted by bl1nk at 9:40 AM on January 29, 2007

"You should have said, 'what a rousing game of Uno I had last night. I didn't even realize whether or not my opponents were black.'"
posted by cortex at 9:45 AM on January 29, 2007

the term is outdated and often factually incorrect today but not sure how else to lump together eg Kasabian/Bloc Party/TVOTR/Postal Service/DCFC/Killers/Clap Your Hands Say Yeah/Shins/Modest Mouse/Flaming Lips/etc

Trendy Music that you'll be embarassed to admit you liked when you grow up? :>

(seriously, among really heavy-duty music fans, this kind of stuff enters into the discussion less often than you'd imagine. I know a black guy in his mid-forties, a jazz trained drummer and disciple of Bernard 'Pretty' Purdie who can also offer you informed discourse on the various incarnations of Black Sabbath and their output [he's a 'Supernaut' man, I prefer 'War Pigs']. Best to take all the arbitrary taxonomy with several grains of salt and concentrate on what's coming out of the speakers.
posted by jonmc at 9:45 AM on January 29, 2007

ob: Maybe it's just that Funkadelic has always been ahead of their time.

Who Says a Funk Band Can't Play Rock?
posted by timelord at 11:15 AM on January 29, 2007

I'm a chavster.

So you break your wrist when you try and hit someone at the pub?
posted by Sparx at 12:10 PM on January 29, 2007 [2 favorites]

Kasabian/Bloc Party/TVOTR/Postal Service/DCFC/Killers/Clap Your Hands Say Yeah/Shins/Modest Mouse/Flaming Lips/etc

Trendy Music that you'll be embarassed to admit you liked when you grow up?

Fixed that for you.
posted by psmealey at 12:15 PM on January 29, 2007

My people! Finally we get some recognition.
posted by dame at 12:19 PM on January 29, 2007

breezeway: These "fish-out-of-water" stories are annoying not for what they say about their subject; they're annoying because they say nothing at all. Taste, in music or art or food or whatever is individual, and crowds are always demographically uneven in some way, so there's always a way to fill Times column inches with non-stories about the intersection of crowd demographics and individual taste.

This is just so much bullshit (though hi breezeway; I miss you!). When you are the only person at the indie show who isn't white or Asian, you notice. I am the whitest black person ever, and as such rarely get racial comments, but still I notice. And so do other folks. And it is something. Maybe not something huge or worth newspaper inches, but hey, it's nice to know you got peoples.
posted by dame at 12:33 PM on January 29, 2007

i spent 3 or 4 years touring with a "punk" band in the late 90's. 6 people total, 1 being black. played everything from basements in the middle of nowhere, to clubs in california with the likes of at the drive in. it was a cultural mind fuck for my friend and the more i got to know him the more i learned the screwy way people would react to him and us as a group. the 6 of us piling out of a van in the bible belt was as curious a phenomenon as some hardcore show in any city. lot's of folks didn't think anything of it, but there sure as hell were tons, that all of a sudden, were chomping at the bit that they finally had a token "friend" of another color. to me that's just as racist as the knuckleheads we'd deal with at truck stops. imho a good deal of those that thought themselves "enlightened" to another race, cause they listened to public enemy or de la soul, were just the flip side of the same racist coin. myself included by the way, i thought i was totally down cause i read all about the black panthers, malcolm x, assata shakur, etc. over the years i saw the desperation to appear culturally affluent as almost slapstick and kind of embarrassing. again, imho racism and such is totally a matter of degree's, if you've only got white friends and only dated white folks, it's a safe bet you're racist in some fashion. the kids i mention above had good intentions. but so did the kids involved in freedom summer during the civil rights movement, good intentions and totally racist. they went down to register voters and eventually completely disenfranchised communities from helping themselves by taking over the movement. racism, or any other ism for that matter, doesn't mean you're necessarily being an asshole, just ignorant, about yourself and/or another race/sex/orientation/etc. someone not embarrassed by it once they notice it or it's pointed out, is the asshole. the majority of our culture is seen thru the lens of white men (i'm one), i'm not exactly demonizing that, it's just reality and therefore the stereotypes we construct are skewed and ignorant. maybe this is totally obvious, but i mention it because i find more often then not that when i point out to someone that something they said is racist or fucked up, conversation is halted and they're aghast at the accusation, rather then realizing they're capable of fault. i guess i'm just sayin' racism and bigotry are two words too easily mixed up with one another.
posted by andywolf at 1:58 PM on January 29, 2007 [1 favorite]

oh, blipster is ridiculous
posted by andywolf at 1:59 PM on January 29, 2007

Hello, KUDU. This conversation is so boring and pointless for a reason. Prince owns all of your asses. Yet again, more proof ... *yawn*

Wake up!
posted by dagarrat at 2:13 PM on January 29, 2007

Hiya dame, long time no see. I meant that, for me, being part of the crowd has nothing to do with liking the music, and vice versa. I was probably the only unaccompanied 15 year-old at a Yo-Yo Ma show, probably the only person there under 50. One time I was the only guy at the bestiality show who wasn't a sex pervert (just a lonely freak). I guess over-50 is a demographic I could be persuaded to join. But really, what I said isn't "bullshit." It's my shit (though it could have some whaleshit thrown in for spice). And like my tastes, it has everything to do with the tunes I like and nothing to do with the people standing next to me. Am I the only lonely freak on his bandwagon?

I guess there are individuals for whom this kind of reporting is empowering; I know there are people who like the scene more than the act. I guess ___-sters are that sort. Maybe when I go to a TVOTR show, I'm one of the scant few that isn't there just because they're cool (I'm there because I'm cool, and I was high school friends with one of 'em). Maybe the Times should run an article about me. Or over-50 cello aficionados breaking into the bestiality show scene.

De gustibus freak freak freaky!
posted by breezeway at 2:53 PM on January 29, 2007

We're not a big, happy family yet. Back when At the Drive In were a young, relatively unknown band, the bouncers of a Philadelphia club threw them out. They refused to believe that a group of young Latino kids could possibly have any business being at the club, much less be a band. Guh.
posted by freshwater_pr0n at 3:08 PM on January 29, 2007

I know there are people who like the scene more than the act. I guess ___-sters are that sort.

That's the leap where you lose me. I don't think appreciating a momentary respite from (a fairly minor form of) alienation is tantamount to liking the scene better than a specific act. Wouldn't it have been nice to find a fellow teenager at the Yo-Yo Ma show? Not for any grand reason, but just because sometimes it's pleasant not to feel like a total weirdo?
posted by dame at 3:08 PM on January 29, 2007

timelord: Too true, too true.

I've also enjoyed on many an occasion, Funkadelic's guide for would-be groupies
posted by ob at 3:47 PM on January 29, 2007

Not really, dame. But I do recognize that it's just me, and I do recognize that my posts are far more didactic than I mean. I'm not a joiner, and if I love the music, I tend to listen to it with my eyes closed. (I also tend to dislike people who are too similar to me, but that's a strangeness I probably picked up living abroad, where I learned to like being a peanut in a soybean patch wherever I went).

I try to remember it's all according to taste; one thing I sometimes forget is that it's all according to how those tastes are reached, too. It's impossible to dispute not only what people like or dislike, but why they feel that way as well. That's where my criticism of this kind of article, and really most current music reviews, falls short.

To answer your question, yes and no, and maybe so, too. If the other teenager at the Yo-Yo Show was charming, and she didn't care to talk about why we were there, and if she didn't give a damn about my polyester monkey suit, and if the lady at the refreshment stand gave us both free wine, too, then yeah, I'd be psyched.

But if any of those conditions were unmet, I'd just be me, trying out for a part in the woodwork until the music started and I could close my eyes and forget anyone else was even there.
posted by breezeway at 3:48 PM on January 29, 2007

Makes sense. (Check your email.)
posted by dame at 3:55 PM on January 29, 2007

On a semi-related note, imagine this scene: it's 1991. My best friend is visiting from out of town. I'm a gangly-tall white girl, she's 5-foot-not-much. Her father offers to buy us tickets to one concert of our choice. Do we go to Nitzer Ebb or Body Count?

We choose Body Count.

You have never seen anything quite as funny as a wee tiny white girl stagediving into a crowd of giant black men twice her size. The looks on their faces were just classic.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 7:14 PM on January 29, 2007

A true story of whiteness:

When I was about sixteen I was fortunate enough to go to St. Croix with family and a friend. One day we see a poster in a music shop saying that Shabba Ranks is performing on the island that night. I had sorta heard of Shabba Ranks, so my friend and I decided to go.

Out of the crowd of 500 or so people, there were two white faces, me and my friend. I'm fairly short with dark hair, but my friend was straight-up Aryan with blonde hair and blue eyes. It was a strange feeling, and one I've thought of several times at rock shows when I've seen the single black guy. Island dancehall shows, at least back then, consisted of one guy with a Casio keyboard preset to reggae, and a long line of singers. All of the singers air-humped. It was the big move. You could tell that Shabba Ranks was the star because he was the best air-humper. Tremendous pivot. He humped the air and the microphone stand and the keyboard and the monitors at the front of the stage.

But the show was good. Until we get to the part of the show where the chorus of the song was, and I quote, "No blue eyes! No blonde hair! Black! Black! Black!" And then the crowd chanted it back. The crowd we were standing in the middle of.

Awkward.
posted by Bookhouse at 7:51 PM on January 29, 2007 [1 favorite]