Rural Dictionary

Tribe

Tribe list that I stole from a C4 site:
SMART URBAN
Smart Urbans always attempt to look immaculate. Perfectly ironed clothes, polished shoes, trainers that look brand new, manicured nails and neat hair. Smart urbans are epitomised by The Streets' signing The Mitchell Brothers, who mix Brit casual and classic hip hop, wearing black Stan Smiths (Adidas trainers which, in black, look like shoes), Fred Perry, Aquascutum, shirts and trousers. Boxfresh and Apple are popular brands. Musically, tastes are fairly varied and could easily include The Streets, Kano, Coldplay and Jay-Z.

GET PAID CREW
Young men and women who have been inspired by self-generated music successes like MC Sway, who has been quoted saying he doesn't believe in the dole and that people should get on their bikes and get a job. Tribe members don't just make music; they're just as likely to start a valet business as produce a tune. Get paid crew members are self-motivated young people from a possibly disadvantaged background who want to better themselves. Big fans of business studies courses.

MOSHERS
Enduring tribe of those into metal, rock and heavy indie. Currently particularly keen on mixing up newer and older variants on metal - so old bands like Black Sabbath and Metallica as well as newer ones like System Of A Down and Lost Prophets. Big on festivals such as Download. There is a massive online community, mainly due to this being the only way to listen to those bands that never get played on the radio. Big on filesharing. Black clothing, leather, studs, band T-shirts, long hair with virtually no brand affiliations.

GRUNGERS
Tribe whose ideology centres on Kurt Cobain. It requires little in the way of fashion effort to be in this tribe -.battered jeans, baggy jumpers (sleeves pulled down with holes through which thumbs are poked), Doc Martens or Converse are de rigeur. Shoulder length bleached hair, or scruffy, longish locks. Nirvana T-shirts. Grungers also show great loyalty to their musical equipment favouring brands such as Ibanez or Gibson guitars and Marshall amps. Music preferences still include old favourites such as Nirvana, Mudhoney, Dinosaur Jnr, Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth and Soundgarden.

EMO KIDS
Emo stands for emotional. Visually, emo kids are somewhere between a metaller and an indie kid. Black clothes are teamed with kitsch, brighter/cutesy things. Labels that few Emos will be seen without are Claire's Accessories, Punkyfish, Vans and Atticus Clothings (Blink 182's own clothing line). Bands are mostly American and musically accomplished. It's part hardcore punk, part melodic indie. Bands include Nightmare Of You, Fall Out Boy, Alkaline Trio, Funeral For A Friend and, at a push, Biffy Clyro.

MIC MASSIVE
Wannabe MCs and producers and, in many cases, those who're no longer wannabes as they've got something started. Passionate about music, about bedroom production and the DIY ethos, making music, animation and film at home on their PCs. Members come from all racial backgrounds. Key artists: The Newham Generals, Murkle Camp, N.A.S.T.Y. Crew, More Fire Crew, Heartless Crew, Terror Danjah, JME, Wiley. Very much about the UK scene. Also into hip hop, but the classic American 'street' perennials: Jay-Z, Nas and Dr Dre.

BHANGRAMUFFINS
Second-generation, British-born Asians, usually from Sikh backgrounds (but can also be Hindu or Muslim). Mostly, they're born into inner city or urban environments, their hybrid Asian and black street styles and attitudes a result of growing up in Asian communities closely situated next to their black British neighbours. Clothes wise, bhangramuffins wear a distinctive blend of designer labels and bright colours. Iceberg History, D&G and Nike are key brands as is gold jewellery. Hair is worn heavily styled and music tastes range from mainstream American hip hop through to Jamaican dancehall, homegrown British grime and hardcore bhangra.

TRACKIES
Trackies are mic massives aspirants. While they like the style of that group they don't make music or have such a clearly defined passion for music. The trackies tribe also includes middle class kids who are into the music and the scene but don't take on the garb - there might be a nod to the look but not the whole hog. These trackies mix street slang with a middle class accent. The boys are the same as the mic massive, wearing tracksuit bottoms, large white T-shirts and box-fresh trainers. The girls, however, are more dressed up than their mic massive counterparts - sneaking in more make-up, jewellery and feminine clothes. The stars of the mic massive - Kano, Sway, Klashnekoff - reign supreme along with mainstream hip hop and, to a lesser extent, R&B.

SKATERS
Skaters are one of the few tribes to be defined by something other than music. A younger hybrid which lies in between skaters and metallers are 'big short kids' who are under 20, live outside of urban areas, are very passionate about bands no-one else has heard of, wear big shorts, chains and have piercings. Music tastes include British hip hop/breakbeat like Roots Manuva, Infinite Livez, Ty, Adam Freeland, Evil9, Plump DJs. Also listens to indie, grunge and punk, electro, trance and metal. In cities, baggy jeans and T-shirts with caps are being replaced with skinny jeans and jackets in a rewind to the original look of skate innovators Dogtown's Z-Boys. Big on skateboarding brands like Spitfire Wheels and decks made by Heroin Skateboards.

INDIEKIDS
Broad catch-all tribe who are passionate about guitar music. Prevalent since The Strokes arrived and awoke indie kids from their rave-era slumber. It's not hugely snobby - bands are 'allowed' widespread critical acclaim and frequently hit the charts. A confident, energetic and enthusiastic tribe. Music preferences include Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Arctic Monkeys, Libertines, The Strokes, Dirty Pretty Things, The Killers, Belle & Sebastian, Bright Eyes through to Super Furry Animals, Beck, Kasabian, Babyshambles and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. For fashion, Converse and skinny jeans, fringes, pointed boots. Clothes are second-hand not vintage.

RUDE BWOYS
Because of their tendency to hang out outdoors, rude bwoys are very visible in relation to the actual size of the tribe. Rude bwoys are keen to express what wealth they have. Cars - or bikes if they're too young to drive - are important and public transport is avoided at all costs. The boys are similar to the trackies, mic massives and townies, but more exaggerated in style. The girls tend to wear tight, bright-coloured clothing from shops like Morgan, Moschino and Versace, have heavily styled hair, wear lots of jewellery and have manicured or artificial nails. Musically, look to Beanie Man, Elephant Man, Vybz Kartel. Ragga, bashment and dancehall are important.

INDIE SCENESTERS
Indie scenesters are people who want to be ahead of the crowd and are willing to invest time and effort into the paraphernalia and detail of their sub-culture. Scenesters don't mind bands achieving mainstream success but prefer them before the masses cotton on. There is significant role reversal in the indie scenester tribe. Boys can be 'peacocky' - flash or glamorous - and girls describe going out to 'nab themselves a pretty indie boy'. Musically, they go for bands such as The Klaxons, Gravy Train, Pink Grease, The Knife, Spank Rock and Shit Disco. The look has remained unchanged for the last few years - skinny jeans, Converse, stripes, angular haircuts, Americana T-shirts.

NEW TECHIES
Young, smart and technologically savvy, new techies have morphed from geek to gatekeeper. Now, the new techie is a genuine rebel, and one who understands that the transfer of information is power. New techies define themselves by their interaction with technology and disseminating the resulting CDs, online magazines and DVDs with their friends. Obviously a fan of technology products (Apple, Vaio, Motorola) plus airport cards and so on. Downloading and file-sharing have primacy over music and fashion for this group - new distribution channels through which they can disseminate information to their friends are at the heart of this tribe's status. Knowledge is power? Old school. Distribution of knowledge is real power.

TOWNIES
This tribe forms the mass of the UK and the place most people start before they join a tribe. The core of the British population. Townies are relatively diverse in entertainment choices but stick to mainstream options. 'Consensus music' like R'n'B, pop and mainstream hip hop. Fashion wise, Ben Sherman, Ted Baker, FCUK. Most Townie preferences are mainstream and fairly commercial. Bit like a watered-down version of the trendies, wearing fake Ugg boots and high-street glam. Think Cat Deeley. Townies think most other tribes are a bit weird.

CLUBBERS
Young people for whom a social life is a priority and for whom club culture is pivotal. The remains of superclub culture dominates with rave era DJs like Darren Emerson or Tim Deluxe still at the helm. The uniform hasn't changed much: army pants, big pockets, Mahari-shi, Topman, Bench and Diesel for boys, and dresses, skirts and heels from Miss Sixty, Lipsy, Topshop or Schuh for girls. Still havin' it - but only on the weekend.

TRENDIES
Now almost anyone can be fashionable thanks to the speed with which trends fly off the catwalk and into high street stores. It's all about vintage for trendies. One-off pieces are key, combined with staples from Topshop, New Look, Primark and H&M, and designer goods which are increasingly pitched as realistic options for trendies like Acne, Sass and Bide, See by Chloe, Sonia and Folk. Fashion heroes are Gwen Stefani, Karen 0 and Kate Moss. Musically, trendies like whatever is fashionable and tend to like things in the period just prior to their first hit and the release of their second album. Likes stretch from better known acts such as The Kooks, Franz Ferdinand to pre-breakthrough acts like The Gossip and Datarock. This once exclusive tribe is storming through Topshop and taking over the world.

CHAVS
Now notorious, chavs make up one of the UK's largest social groups. Likes include car cruises where you show off your highly customised cars, or at least look at others' cars; hanging around parks or shopping centres, drinking; house parties; Sony PlayStation, football. Heroes include pop bands with role models they can associate with - 50 Cent, Pussycat Dolls, Girls Aloud; one-off hits such as David "The Hoff" Hasslehoff and Crazy Frog. Boys often have an ear pieced, very short hair or skinhead. Girls go for gold hooped earrings and scraped back ponytails. Mobile phones are not an accessory - they're a necessity.

SUPERFANS
Superfans place their favourite band over everything. Superfans get heavily involved in supporting and promoting the band at an early stage (joining street teams, creating fansites etc) in the hope that they will be recognised by the band as being their 'superfan' and therefore gain status as the band's success grows and eventually be rewarded with guestlist status, back stage passes, invites to video shoots, parties, exclusive previews of new material etc. Superfans often believe the band have changed/saved their lives. A superfan doesn't just have to be music-orientated, it could concern a sports club, or even just a celebrity.

NATHAN BARLEYS
Nathan Barleys are a cartoon version of the trendy and are largely male (though female barleys certainly exist). They have a deep need to be ahead of the game and like to think of themselves as trendsetters rather than followers. Nathan Barleys are solely into the underground. Once something becomes mainstream it's ditched. The current look for a nathan barley is a pair of first edition Jordan 5s in a limited-edition Japanese colour-way, paired with some Levi's 501XX 'big E' jeans and a Bernard Willheim and Nike collaboration tracksuit top - though, chances are, by the time you've clicked to the next tribe this may have changed to a country-style tweed three piece. For the girls: holding out for Topshop's forthcoming collection with Kate Moss and High Street takes on Sass & Bide, Christian Louboutin, plus one-offs. Obviously, the nathan barley likes gadgets and will have the latest camera phone or laptop within minutes of it being available. Has had an iPod since 2002, but currently prefers to buck the trend and dig out an 80s Walkman.

MYSPACERS
Myspace is a music orientated profiling/networking website with ever-increasing millions of users. Emos, indies (particularly scenesters) and goths are predominant by far. Profiles include elaborate page design, with video streams of their favourite bands; a list of friends going into the hundreds - although many of which are fellow myspacers, unknown to the individual in real life; a lengthy list of bands, name checked religiously, perhaps even alphabetically. Profile photos are flattering, taken from artistic angles and complete with interesting lighting. Myspacers aspire to be scenesters but must make do with adding band profiles to their 'friends' list. Users compete to obsess over the most underground bands - Lily Allen, Test Icicles, Arctic Monkeys and The Rakes owe their success to the unwavering support of band-championing Myspacers. Anyone who is considered a half decent Myspacer has a digital camera and knows how to use it!

BLINGERS
Blingers prefer to consume rather than create; living for the weekend before returning to respectable, if run-of-the-mill, jobs. Highly influenced by celebs. Blingers are ambitious in terms of career and while entertainment and media would be a number one choice, in reality they work in many different kinds of jobs. Musical preferences might include R Kelly, Ludacris, Cris Brown Party and gangster hip hop and R’n’B. Very US-led. Clothes are all about accessible excess - Nike, mix of sportswear ad designer wear; lots of jewellery, Jacob the Jeweller and Rolex watches (fake of course), US hip hop clothing offshoots, especially anything favoured by Jay-Z or 50 Cent.

(Tribe list taken from channel 4 website)

by Beckzorz April 12, 2007

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