Scenester

Recently, i overheard some indie kids bitching about how this and that person’s such a “Scenester” and it made me think if i actually had something to do with that term. Of course, i’m not that narcissistic to think i actually invented it but if memory serves me right no one locally pre-mid 90s ever used it in a sarcastic, negative way.

So, just what is a “Scenester anyway? According to the dictionary it’s “a person associated or immersed in a particular fashionable culture scene”. Close… but in my book, it’s someone who associates him/herself to just about ANY scene. Art, Music, Literary, Film, Dance, High Society, Politics, he’s/she’s there. A Scenester knows the key people or pretends to know and try his/her very best to show they’re down with the homies. Nothing wrong to be well rounded and interested in different things for sure but a Scenester is a different beast, much like a pesky mosquito that won’t go away, an irritating fixture to places, things and events that you will want to avoid, eventually. There are levels of tolerance, yes. Some you can still take but most are really out to get their 15 minutes of fame at all costs.

A Scenester also loves being photographed and being in broadsheets as well as the “right’ magazines and publications. Fashion, lifestyle, teen, street, gadget, car etc. magazines, you name it, you’re bound to come across a Scenester in the back pages where they have pictures from various events. A Scenester also loves to namedrop and most especially the “it” names from the respective scenes. So basically, a Scenester is both a leech and a social climber, just slightly hipper. This to me is the definition of what a Scenester is in the local setting.

The other kind of Scenester was a quartely, risographed fanzine of sorts ( yes, honorable fanzine expert, we didn’t know the aesthetics of the fanzine cottage industry then but who cares?). Anyway it was a geeky, psychotic, feeble attempt at literature and ahead of its time ranting vehicle, originally as companion bible to Consortium goers. It definitely raised eyebrows but was destined to disappear instantly due to lack of funds, until, then stranger, turned good friend Kristo Babbler (his nom de plume) offered to rescue it from its impending doom and (gasp!) actually published the zine for his Focal Publishing House much to the delight of its writers, a mixed bunch of people tied together by music, film, watches and quality footwear.

That was a very exciting time, loads of coffee and alcohol, allnighters, good and bad ideas, midnight snacks, ego clashes, personal differences and lots of love in a Melrose Place kind of way. Alas, some people took it way seriously and things went sour. As they say nothing good lasts forever. Yours truly started it and named it The Scenester, inspired by the many attention seekers of the day and the many horrible parties and events that gave birth to Scenesters more than a decade ago.

To commemorate its short yet glorious existence in the mid 90s, here are cover samples in their magnificent monochromatic, cheap-ass style.

If you enjoyed that. Imagine the content.