Are You an Indie-Yuppie?
filed in Humor, Newsworthy on May.20, 2005
This quiz is from the print edition of the New York Post. They didn’t post it on their website, so I’m including it here. You’re welcome.
The quiz accompanied an article that you can find here, but to read it, you’ll have to register first. To save you the trouble, I’ll try to explain.
Indie yuppies are a certain breed of hipster.. They try to keep up with indie music and not-so-mainstream fashion trends, while remaining ambitious in their careers. The NYPost article is called “Rebel with a 401K.” That pretty much sums it up.
Anyway, here’s the quiz, thanks to the 15 Minute Hipster. Add up every “yes” answer. Your score will tell you if you fit the indie yuppie mold.
- Do you own a “vintage” T-shirt purchased at Urban Outfitters?
- Have you been “on the list” at a rock show at least once in the past month?
- Are your white iPod earbuds a source of pride?
- Do you know what “grime” is?
- Have you ever done a Web search to find the name of a song used in a VW ad?
- Do you have a Gmail account?
- Did “Garden State” speak to you as no other film ever has?
- Do you own at least one white belt?
- Do you have a fully articulated stance on Bright Eyes?
- Do you regularly read Paste, the NME, and/or The New Yorker?
- Do you have a TiVo?
- If yes, do you have a season pass to one or more of the following: “The O.C.,” “Best Week Ever,” “Gilmore Girls,” “Britney & Kevin: Chaotic”?
- Have you ever paid more than $50 for one pair of jeans?
- Do you have a blog?
- Are you confused as to whether or not it’s OK to like Coldplay?
Scoring
- 0-5: Borderline. You have yet to realize that even hipsters enjoy that Kelly Clarkson single.
- 5-10: On the verge, although you really, truly hate the Arcade Fire.
- 10-15: The epitome of indie-yuppiedom - but we won’t tell anyone about your trust fund.
In case you’re curious - I scored an 8. I’m “on the verge.”
But, I do like the Arcade Fire. Funeral is badass.
May 20th, 2005
I hit a 7. And Funeral is badass — indie-yuppie or not.
May 20th, 2005
Thanks for the link!
May 20th, 2005
I got a 3. But doesn’t everyone have Gmail and a blog? And TiVo is standard equipment. I fail to see the indie correlation there.
May 20th, 2005
Man, this is really only for indie adults. Indie kids don’t shop at Urban Outfitters. We’re too busy wasting all our cash at a record store. Not a CD store–that wouldn’t be indie enough.
Oh, and questions 7 and 15 are frickin’ awesome.
May 20th, 2005
Right on, Dave. I think our scores are fair. Indie yuppie enough to be in-the-know, but not enough to become elitist.
You got it, 15. Your blog rocks.
Maine, you’re right to a certain extent. I’m sure the far majority of my readers have a blog and an i-pod, and most probably have a Gmail account…. Oh shit, I feel like going on a tangent now. Okay, if any of you don’t have G-mail, you’re missing out. You get a ton of server space, so you never have to throw any mail away. And since you can do a quick Google search of your e-mails, you never have to sort any mail. You just leave that shit in your inbox and search for it later if you want to. It’s awesome.
Okay, moving on… Yeah, G-Fry, that’s true. Some of the questions require you to simply be “indie,” but others require you to actually have some expendable income (like i-pods, TiVo, and $28 t-shirts). I think the whole indie yuppie label is a way for former indie kids to say, “Yeah, I’m a yuppie, but I’m still cool, I swear!”
May 20th, 2005
I got a 6.
Labels are for soupcans dammit.
May 20th, 2005
“Labels are for soupcans.” That’s genius, Mimi.
May 21st, 2005
i’m a 2… I am not a number, I am a free man.
May 21st, 2005
Only scored a 5…phew. I survived.
Though I agree that a blog, gmail, and a TiVo are just par for the course these days.
May 21st, 2005
I scored a 4. And I don’t even have gmail or TiVo!
May 21st, 2005
C’mon, Trav, 2? I’ve got to take you to Urban Outfitters sometime.
Good call, Josh.
Okay Eddie, this is ridiculous. I’m sending you a Gmail invite, whether you want it or not. And you’ve gotta get TiVo or DVR. It is totally worth it, if only for the instant replays. Ex: “Holy shit, did Constantine just wiggle his tongue at the camera suggestively? Damn, play that back again, that was disgusting.”
May 23rd, 2005
No shirt from Urban outfitters. The days of being on “the list” are long gone. I own a mini iPod and periodically dance in my apartment like the commercials, but do not sport the white earbuds. (I’m buying one of these: http://www.peterkinne.com/) Grime, as in grease? I never did have to do a search since one of my favorite compilations to come out of my CD Exchange were songs used in commercials, but oh what a sad day it was to hear Stereolab on a VW commercial. Yay for Gmail. Uh, Garden State was pretty good, but did make me feel like an old hipster. No, but I’ve been meaning to purchase one. Yes, Bright Eyes are slowly topping the charts for me. Paste ok, but NME and The New Yorker are so old school. No, TiVo, but how I would love it. Not applicable. I’ll stop myself from buying a $50 pair of jeans, but not 50 bucks worth of music that I might get tired of in a month. No, blog. Oh wait, JJ did make me one called “Julie’s House of Sausage.” I guess yes, since I’m on the fence about Coldplay.
Total score = 3
May 23rd, 2005
Damn, J-Mo, I’m shocked. You are waaay indie. Maybe you’re just to indie for this quiz.
Here’s how I count up your score:
Gmail - 1
Paste - 1
Bright Eyes - 1
Blog - 1
Coldplay - 1
That’s 5, and I”d give you another point for the I-pod mini. Boo-yah!
BTW, grime is a type of UK rap/hip-hop with lots of bass. Think Dizzee Rascal. And J-Mo, you’d better get crackin on that blog. Slacker.
May 27th, 2005
Soylent Green is people!
I’m off to take my SOMA
May 29th, 2005
Hmmm… You have an odd website, Joey. None of the links were working for me. Maybe that’s intentional.
May 31st, 2005
7 for me…I’m happy with that. #15 describes a current predicament as well as it can be described
May 31st, 2005
Yeah, that one fit me pretty well too, Frank. It kind of sucks that I feel like I have to justify whether or not I like a band, but it’s true. At least it’s true when I’m on the fence. There are other times when I don’t factor in what others might think. Like Modest Mouse, a band that has become extremely popular. Their popularity doesn’t sway me, because the music is incredible.
July 16th, 2005
Scored a 10, almost tipping indie yuppiedom…with a “rebel yell”, and agree Arcade Fire is badass. Your site is great by the way, got the link from your comment on my blog.
July 16th, 2005
Highest score so far, CC.
September 17th, 2005
i didn’t have to read a word past the headline before thinking god yes.
i know because i stuck my head in a new “gallery” run by anarcho-leftist teens in my town one night on my way home from my (rewarding in two ways) job, hoping for cool. it sucked, so i left fast, and they called me a “fucking yuppie” on my way out. boohoo, the anarcho-leftist teens hate me. i still like better music than they do.
September 17th, 2005
but i only get a six. still more indie than yuppie, i hope.
September 17th, 2005
Yeah, that’s the problem with this quiz… If you get a high score you could say “Cool, I’m indie”… or “Shit, I’m a yuppie.”
I guess it’s a glass half full/half empty kinda thing.
October 13th, 2005
yuppies suck big fucking ass and anyone who is a yuppie should die a horrible slow death, while i watch and roast hotdogs over a slow fire. fuck all yuppies and anything they do or are connected to.
October 13th, 2005
Now that’s one of the funniest comments I’ve ever read. I like your enthusiasm and energy. But I don’t get it.
You hate yuppies - okay I understand that much. But perhaps you’re missing something.
Yuppie is short for young urban professional, meaning a young person living in a city who has a profession.
I guess you’re saying that all young people who live in the city should be jobless. Or maybe all city dwellers with jobs should be old. Or all young people with jobs should live in the suburbs.
Oh now I get it. All young people belong in the suburbs. That makes sense.