Why don't hipsters like Bilbao?

I've known several foreigners in the time I've been living here that just don't like Bilbao. Most are the usual culture-shocked, inexperienced travellers that don't like it simply because it's not home. A couple came to Bilbao after having visited other parts of Spain and were disappointed to find that the north of Spain completely lacks, for lack of a better term, bulls, flamenco and olé.

But there have have been others, who were not simply victims of homesickness or not reading their guidebooks properly, but who nonetheless couldn't really get into Bilbao. And if you ask me, it's because they were hipsters.

Don't ask me to define what a hipster is. Every written definition of a modern-day hipster I've read has some parts I agree with and others I don't. Official definitions aside, if you know what a hipster is, you know one when you see one. And though lots of urban young adults, myself included, may enjoy one or two examples of supposedly hipster behaviour (micro-brews and bikes, anyone?), there's a critical mass of lifestyle, appearance and attitudinal factors that, if you possess enough of them, push you into hipster territory.

In my opinion, irony is what makes or breaks a hipster. Ironically ugly haircuts/facial hair/glasses/clothes. Ironically crashing old-man dive bars and the like, half-laughing at the regulars. Ironically drinking disgusting PBR. Irony implying here a distance or lack of a sincere engagement with your surroundings; even if the concert's great I'm not going to dance. Social events and artistic happenings that are uber-hip, but no one seems really into it.

Irony makes or breaks a hipster, and irony, or lack thereof, is why hipsters don't like Bilbao. Bilbao is a sincere city, in its people, music scene and social life. Ironically ugly clothes here are just considered, well, just plain ugly. (American Apparel wouldn't stand a chance in Bilbao.) Though the late nineties rocker aesthetic is alive and well here, when you see some dude rocking headbanger hair and a plaid shirt it's because he's really into the music and lifestyle associated with that style. The metrosexual look, a mainstay of the look of the moderno (as they're called here) doesn't go over very well here either. A few select bars and events aside, the nightlife is decidedly sincere -- drinking to a traditional rock soundtrack, or dancing to a pop/house soundtrack about sums it up. Bilbainos are rockeros, and I think the metaphor of a balls-out 80's rock band, feeling every guitar riff and ever word of their lyrics, à la Springsteen or something, is an apt one to describe the city. Shoe-gazing, twiddly Casios and pretending you don't care just don't cut it here. Though there are some hipsters floating around Bilbao, the city's just not big enough to create a hipster subculture.

Call it a traditional city, but I personally find this refreshing. As I've said, I definitely partake in some hipster-like activities, but the level of irony encountered on a daily basis in the Mile-End neighbourhood of Montreal was getting a bit much for me, so I'm happy to revel in the sincerity of Bilbao for a while. And for those that aren't, there's always Berlin or London...