When used ironically, used by young artists (teens-30) to refer to work that will convince 30-40 year
old money people that it will
appeal to young people; not necessarily what the young artist or his/her young audience wants, but what the
money people feel they should want.
"How's the
mural on the
coffeehouse wall coming?"
"
The backer drove in from the suburbs and said it wasn't hip enough, so now I've got to put in a bunch of oldstyle stuff so he'll think it'll appeal to young people."
The band is young, intellectual, and hip=a 40-year-old rock critic can't fit into their jeans, but gets their inside jokes, and would have loved them when he was twenty.
Publisher (who is fifty) to a roomful of 20 year old writers and editors: we've got to remake
the mag into something hip that will appeal to 20 somethings. Writer (after he goes): So is hip the new lame? Editor: No, hip is what we'd like if we liked what he'd like us to like.