Back to Seattle after three years away, and not much has changed. The economy is worse and rents are down, but it’s basically the same as I left it. Except for the sports stadiums, of course. I joked with friends about going back to recharge my “cynicism batteries” among Seattle’s notoriously disaffected and angst-ridden population, not knowing at the time that I would end up doing so whether I intended to or not.
I spent most of my time on Capital Hill, which once seemed kind of hip in an alternative, anti-establishment way. Gay couples strolling hand-in-hand, lots of tattoos and piercings, colorful hair and friendly people all held a certain anti-cool appeal for me when I lived there following my stint as a student in Tokyo.
This time around, though, the friendly charm was still there, but the strongest impressions I had as I looked around was that Seattle really has a problem with Being Cool. It manifests itself in what I think of as the Anti-Cool Ethos, the adherents of which work as hard as they can to minimize any visual component–hair, dress, gait, etc.–that might be considered attractive or “cool” in the mainstream, popular sense of the word. As a consequence men crop their hair to half an inch or shave it off altogether, women eschew completely, ear piercings with quarter-sized grommets are common, and the only acceptable colors for clothing are blue-jean blue, black and gray.
What’s more, the Anti-Cool aesthetic is de riguer no matter what people happen to be doing; shopping for used clothes, having a drink, dining in an upscale restaurant, or working on the car. I kept trying to figure out why looking attractive or classy could be such a bad thing, and why theme parties seemed to be the only place you could wear a suit or a nice dress or even, say, primary colors.
I suppose the easy answer is that Seattlites pride themselves on being above all “that,” choosing instead to invest their time/money/energy in more meaningful preoccupations, while at the same time rejecting social and commercial pressure to conform or follow trends or consume the “right” things. Old Navy and Nike may be well represented downtown, but the anti-cool would never shop there. I appreciate that, of course, but I think they’ve gotten a bit carried away. Take a look at San Francisco, for example, and you’ll find no shortage of stylish and attractive people who somehow manage to avoid the consumer drone stereotype so despised by Seattlites.
Tokyo is the same way, and it’s what I’ve grown accustomed to these three years. Frankly, I like to wear a suit and tie and enjoy dinner at a fine restaurant, or spend an afternoon strolling around Harajuku and sipping white wine at a sidewalk cafe in something other than jeans or cutoffs. I like watching people pass to and fro on the sidewalk in front of me, stylin’ without guilt in that imitable Tokyo Style which now enjoys the full attention of all of Asia and much of the rest of the world as well. In other words, I appreciate fashion, and I like seeing people dress cool. In Seattle the only cool (as in cool cool, not anti-cool cool) and stylish people I saw were either gay or Asian or both. Go figure. And what does that say about me, then? I guess I must be Asian.
Anyway, the grungy charm for which Seattle is perhaps best known (after Starbucks, of course) was lost on me this time around, and I was able to confirm with certainty where I really want to be right now. Thankfully, I’m already here.
But it was, all things considered, a good week. I spent time with friends and shopped and hung out in cafes and enjoyed a bit of Bumbershoot, the largest annual music festival there. Modest Mouse performed a listless afternoon set that would have benefitted from about 50 more decibels, and I finally got to see Blonde Redhead live for the first time. (Kazu Makino is HOT!) We also spent some time out on a friends almost-yacht, tooling around Lakes Union and Washington, even veering over to gawk at Bill Gates’ palacial pad.
Many of my friends seem to have settled down a bit since we met last, which i probably to be expected now that we’re all thirtysomething. Were I still in Seattle I might as well, but Tokyo has a way of keeping you, I dunno, restless. Anyway, everyone seems well, and that makes me happy.
I’m particularly indebted to long-time friend Michelle for putting me up (putting up with me?) and showing me a wonderful, nostalgic time in Seattle. Thanks to you others as well–Lea, George, Chris, Neil, Justin, Troy, Carmel, Matt, Jenn, Jess, Pat, Barbara and even Tyrone–for hanging out and other kindnesses. Till next time…
