Vaporwave

[LibrarIan]

I searched the forums and found no obvious references to this genre of music, so I thought I'd bring it up.

Vaporwave. Have you heard of it? If not, read up a little about this "genre" here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaporwave

I bring this up not because I enjoy the music (although some of it is oddly hypnotic and enjoyable) but because the underlying political intent of the music's creators is evidently pretty anti-consumerism, some of it hitting full-blown anti-capitalism. While I know that this goes more extreme than our purposes here, the anti-consumerism aspects and its use of 80s and 90s imagery and sound bytes to mock consumer culture is probably right up our alley. And for anyone who was paying attention to consumer culture for the past three decades or so may develop feelings of perverse nostalgia while listening to the music and watching the associated videos people produce to go along with it. I learned some interesting facts about the stuff here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WNrjWSJwf8

If you're curious, hop on YouTube and do a quick vaporwave search. I recommend starting with Macintosh Plus or James Ferraro to get your feet wet in this very, very strange world of counterculture music. You're welcome...?

[Russ]

you're a few years late ;-) but yes it is excellent. I'm always floored when people say there is no new, innovative music being made today. You just have to look a little.

[LennStar]

Oh, music. LOL. I should have avoided this thread.

I only know vapporware as this
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaporware

[LibrarIan]

^Apparently that's where the genre got its name. VaporWAVE instead of vaporWARE.

[Sparafusile]

I came in expecting music with a beat that never drops. Will definitely give it a listen tonight.

[arebelspy]

I also read this as vaporware.

Just listened to some.  Sounds like a mix of Jazz and weird 80s music.

What is new and innovative about it Russ?

[Russ]

It sounds like 80's elevator music because that's what it is, but sampled and rearranged to broadcast a message exactly the opposite of the culture that created that music in the first place. Using samples to actually say something, rather than just as a musical element (e.g. a lot of hip-hop, dance music, pop), is a very new thing as far as I know. Of course corrections are always welcome :-)

[LibrarIan]

I'm not sure it's the sound so much as the intent or drive behind the music that seems new (and even then...). The sound is nothing new in my opinion. The drive behind its creation? Probably not so new either. Artists have often created music out of other music, and they've also done so with counter cultural motivation. I only singled this genre out because of its specific anti-consumerism drive.