Here’s a story about a three-word construction taken too far. Longtime Austin resident and librarian Red Wassenich called an Austin radio station in 2000 to donate during its fund drive. Why? To “keep Austin weird.” He meant: to stem the tide of encroaching un-weirdness—the corporate, the vanilla—that he foresaw as the ruination of Austin’s counterculture or the production of some reality TV pantomime. His slogan was printed on bumper stickers, T-shirts and other media. Austin’s independent business alliance adopts it. Slogan was liked. Slogan spreads.
More than a decade later, this writer attempts to sense just how far. Upon my first visit to Louisville in 2009, I was struck by the slogan’s prevalence here, knowing it originated in Austin. I learned that John Timmons, founder of Ear X-tacy, was responsible for bringing the slogan to Louisville after visiting Austin himself. I can’t resist mentioning the ultimate irony of Timmons’s appropriation now that his “weird” independent record store is dead. No one can dispute Ear X-tacy’s closure was a mournful event, nor understate how integral Timmons has been in making/keeping Louisville what it is. Still, I wonder if the word “weird” in the context in question has had its intended meaning eroded. It’s been applied to so many differently “weird” places (some arguably weird, some arguably not; see sidebar list), how could it not have? Does it still suggest the certain sociocommercial je ne sais quoi Wassenich was getting at? In any case, to borrow is to lack originality. Though I admit my own affinity for referential humor, appreciate the value of branding, and understand how effective and unifying the familiar can be, I have come to appreciate Louisville’s own particular weirdness and want Louisville to communicate its uniqueness uniquely. I fret to think of Louisville as the eager kid brother who seeks respect by mimicking the eldest. All of which is to say nothing of whether the slogan’s plea has been useful in Louisville. Ear X-tacy is dead, yes, but is it an outlier, or is it representative of the kind of trend Wassenich feared in Austin? Does the word “keep” inadvertently encourage complacency? I am reminded of a bumper sticker I saw in Portland: “Being Weird Isn’t Enough.”
Pause there for a minute. What’s “weird,” really, anyway? Let’s first expand the slogan to include official definitions (Merriam-Webster): 1. “Keep [City] of, related to, or caused by witchcraft or the supernatural” 2. “Keep [City] of strange or extraordinary character.” The second definition is approximate to what the likes of Wassenich and Timmons meant, but we know that “strange or extraordinary character” doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone, nor does it refer to local commerce per se. Now, did you know that “weird” is also a noun meaning fate, destiny, or soothsayer? To think of “weird” as such in the slogan would be to inject measures of ambition and will. “Keep [City’s] Weird” and “Keep [City’s] Weirds”, i.e. keep [city’s] destiny in mind, and keep those around who may shine a light on it.
Moreover, one would be remiss not to address rampant overuse and misuse of “weird.” One can easily think of examples (“Did you hear Christine has never watched American Idol? She’s so weird.”), I myself am guilty of misusing “weird” up to several times a day, often in a way nearly antonymic to itself. (An instance of exchange: “I saw [something completely mundane] today.” “Weird.”).With such broad usage possible, can we expect anyone, really, to know what they should keep when exhorted to keep the weird?
In any case, let’s suppose “weird” is a proper descriptor for Louisville and that ought to remain the case. Agreed? Good. The next step is to discuss what, then, is to be “kept.” And not just kept, but built upon. And not just what actually, but what symbolically. Thought about in that way, we do not (and sadly, cannot) keep Ear X-tacy, but we can keep the idea of Ear X-tacy. It may be defunct, but it remains a part of Louisville’s collective consciousness, and just because one beloved institution is defunct doesn’t mean necessarily mean that Louisville is on a steady march toward homogeneity. So what is Ear X-tacy? It is an inimitable record store, a one-of-a-kind business founded and run by someone who cares deeply about his city and doggedly impresses himself upon it. It’s also an emblem. John Timmons is himself, but also every other independent business owner, past, current, or future, who is partly responsible for Louisville’s identity. And he’s not just a business owner. He’s an artist, a musician, an author, the host of a local radio program. He’s a teenager loitering on Bardstown Road, and his name’s on a pillar in Cave Hill. He’s a drinker, a teetotaler, straight, gay, black, white, southern, northern, well-to-do, poor, and he’s all of them at the same time.
Finally, think about all the stuff, the DNA, of Louisville: its landscape, its infrastructure, its architecture, its culture, its history. Think about what, if vanquished, could never be replaced, and whether that means it’s worth holding onto.
All that said, is it enough to urge uniqueness with a borrowed slogan, borrowed by a handful of other American cities? Or ought something endemic to Louisville, a quality that you simply will not find anywhere else you go, be evoked? And would that evocation stand to spur more “weird” activity than its predecessor, “Keep Louisville Weird”? Who’s to say? But at least it would stand to be original. I hope you’ll forgive me some off-the-cuff suggestions. As a quid pro quo, if you have any suggestions for a new Louisville slogan, submit it to The Paper’s editorial board. Without further ado:
“Proof of Concept”
A reference to liquor and originality.
“Spirit Undistilled”
Or something like it.
“Get Up and Get Down”
This is a spin on Louisville being dubbed the northernmost southern city and the southernmost northern city, and it suggests a very fun place indeed.
“Rise Fall City”
or “Fall City Rising” or “Falls City Rises” Plays on Louisville’s longtime nickname “Fall City” or “Falls City.” Each obviously is intended to suggest progress.
“Of Course You’re in Louisville”
A couple levels: “of course,” because where else would you want to be? Or “of course,” because Louisville is unique.
“What Happens in Vegas is Welcome in Louisville”
This is not a serious suggestion, and I realize it makes me a hypocrite.
“Keep Louisville Louisville”
Also an appropriation, but since Louisville’s already been branded with the slogan, it’s not a wild re-brand to tweak one word. And it celebrates its uniqueness.
–Patrick Bourland
In addition to everything you›ve just read, read this list – its entries are all a web search away – and use it to help you decide to what extent keeping the slogan “Keep Louisville Weird” keeps Louisville weird, and what that even means. Keep in mind, it is a partial list, whose taxonomy includes the official, the unofficial, the practical, the self-serious, the self-effacing, the tongue-in-cheek, the sarcastic, the inane. What binds each entry together, of course, is allusion, intended or not—allusion to that which only Austin can claim: what collectively we agree is the original “[Verb City Adjective].”
Reading the list may become monotonous. But keep reading, Louisville.
Keep Portland Weird.
Keep Eugene Weird.
Keep Seattle Weird.
Keep Santa Cruz Weird.
Keep Berkeley Weird.
Keep Boulder Weird.
Keep Missoula Weird.
Keep Madison Weird.
Keep Asheville Weird.
Keep Fayetteville Weird.
Keep Tampa Weird.
Keep Erie Weird.
Keep St. Joe Weird.
Keep Kutztown Weird.
Keep Vermont Weird.
Keep Louisville Weird.
Keep Louisville Gonzo.
Keep Indianapolis Beautiful.
Keep Phoenix Beautiful.
Keep Santa Fe Beautiful.
Keep Las Cruces Beautiful.
Keep Albuquerque Beautiful.
Keep Los Angeles Beautiful.
Keep Detroit Beautiful.
Keep Atlanta Beautiful.
Keep Columbus Beautiful.
Keep countless other cities beautiful.
Keep Reno Dirty.
Make Cincinnati Weird.
(Make?) Keep Cleveland Boring.
Keep Dayton Alive.
Keep Albany Boring.
Keep Davis Boring.
Keep Charlottesville Sustainable.
Stay Classy, San Diego.
Keep Savannah Strange.
Keep Knoxville Scruffy.
Keep Durham Disreputable.
Keep Charlotte Starched.
Keep New Orleans Fonky.
Keep Dallas Pretentious.
Keep St. Louis [Tobacco-] Free.
Keep Toronto Reading.
Keep Chicago Working.
Keep Vancouver Spectacular.
Keep Vancouver Normal.
Make Austin Normal.
Keep Salem Lame.
Keep San Antonio Lame.
Keep Tulsa Lame.
Keep Lexington Lame.
Keep Denver Competitive.
Keep Pittsburgh Moving.
Keep Portland Wired.
Keep Portland Beered.
Keep Portland Beard.
Keep Austin Beer’d.
Keep Austin Beard.
Keep Denton Beard.
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