"But in a contrary motion, the freaks provide a motive for the preps and the burnouts to absorb freak characteristics -- which is how bohemian ideas get pulled into the mainstream, and why freak groups periodically disappear."
This is a central point in Leland's History of Hip book but seems to run into a paradox. If the mainstream is continuously, progressively absorbing the miscegnating, individualistic, detached, experimenting spirit of hipdom (or bohemian freakdom)won't that eventually nullify this kind of opposition altogether? Or, I mean, there will always be haircut social markers like "eating acid" or "synthesizers" but, following this line of thinking, won't bohemia eventually run out of "ideas" to give to the mainstream?
My first thought ab your Elvis comment is how he is an example of a vector between those "deep" and "cultural" class distinctions. But I'm sure I'm only channeling indistinctly Marcus's take in Mystery Train.
what if the "freaks" are all out?
This is a central point in Leland's History of Hip book but seems to run into a paradox. If the mainstream is continuously, progressively absorbing the miscegnating, individualistic, detached, experimenting spirit of hipdom (or bohemian freakdom)won't that eventually nullify this kind of opposition altogether? Or, I mean, there will always be haircut social markers like "eating acid" or "synthesizers" but, following this line of thinking, won't bohemia eventually run out of "ideas" to give to the mainstream?
My first thought ab your Elvis comment is how he is an example of a vector between those "deep" and "cultural" class distinctions. But I'm sure I'm only channeling indistinctly Marcus's take in Mystery Train.