Along with a distinctive style, music is a large part of the hipster subculture. Ever since the original hipsters started from jazz musicians and fans, music has continued to be the essence of this group. When the 1940s hipsters looked to the African American communities for inspiration, they saw the importance of music in a subculture (Arsel). Music is a way for people to express themselves and often a group’s beliefs and values are conveyed through their music preferences. Today hipsters enjoy indie, rock, and singer/songwriter music instead of jazz. Some modern artists include White Stripes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and The Rapture. Hipsters seem to enjoy styles of music that are far from the mainstream. They are known to listen to obscure bands that no one has ever heard of from independent labels that no one knows about (Lanham 12). Hipsters like to discover new music and bands before the rest of the world. When a style of music begins to become more mainstream, hipsters move on and find something less familiar. A hipsters "pride comes from knowing, and deciding, what’s cool in advance of the rest of the world” (Grief).