Vaporwave IS weirdly comforting. I'll give it that.

I feel like all music is escapism because all art is an expression of the emotions that we cannot outwardly express for whatever reason, and therefore an escape. That is why music is so powerful, oldies radio stations exist to trigger the same sort of phenomenon in older people. It doesn't surprise me that a generation that has such awful childhoods (from my experience talking with people around my age) that now they are adults they wish to engage in aspects of their lives that they feel they miss through nostalgia, or in some other respect try to correct via changing the world around them in some specific way

I think "walking in the mall with your headphones on and mall soft playing" sounds like the opposite of "going into local park with atmospheric black metal playing to feel like being lost in a forest" but also weirdly similar

I was expecting a conclusion like “This entire genre’s existence could be better served and replaced with Spotify coming with a built in eq/fx filter for ‘crappy mall speaker’ duh!” But instead got a “please go touch grass, call your mom, or something sometimes? And leave the AirPods at home just once!!” Nice.

When there's a demand for both nostalgia and escapism, the stability of society might be in trouble.

Vaporwave strikes me as the audio version of liminal spaces.

I wasn't prepared for that Canada Dry commercial right as i was taking a sip of some crisp, refreshing Canada Dry

I like the video overall. Very well put together with a cohesive message. However, I do have one contention. Actually, it's more of a point of clarification rather than a contention. Nostalgia means that someone is being immersed in something they fondly remember from the past. However, with vaporwave and other ambient music tracks mentioned in this video, many of the people listening to it aren't actually old enough to remember any of the specific places or environments the music is trying to invoke. I am 21 and many of my friends who listen to this genre aren't even old enough to remember 9/11. So something like a mall in the 1990s is completely alien to them. Despite this, they still find the music comforting and alluring. I think the reason for this is because of our collective idealized memory of the 80s and 90s. Some of it is probably born from simply looking at the past with rose-tinted glasses, but an equal amount of it is probably that the past WAS better in a lot of ways. The world moved slower, you didn't have to worry about things like "canceling" or "Socialism", you could just live your life unplugged from the never-ending hellscape that is the world wide web. It doesn't take a genius to recognize how destructive the internet has been to the development of Gen Z, and if I am being honest, I think that everyone in our generation knows how bad it is as well. The modern world could best be described as currently in a state of "hyperrealism". With no religion, community, or culture to give us purpose and bind us together, the only thing we can do is scream into the void on the internet all day. It is for that reason that Vaporwave and other music that invokes the past is so alluring. Even if we haven't experienced it, those old commercials, sounds, and environments remind us of a time when the world was more real and genuine. A time when you didn't have to constantly be plugged into the internet, a time when you met with people in real life and not online, a time when we weren't constantly bombarded with every catastrophe and evil deed being committed in the world at every waking moment. The internet has forever changed the world, whether that is for better or for worse remains to be seen, but at the moment, it appears to be very much for the worse. When we are accelerating towards destruction in an increasingly absurd world, is it really weird that young adults might look fondly to a time when things were simpler?

Annndddd now ill have moe shop stuck in my head for the rest of the day, thanks

Not a vaporwave enthusiast but I discovered the genre from an underground hardcore/metalcore band fromjoy :): these guys nailed the intensity of breakdowns with an almost ps2 aesthetic to add the vibe. Definitely check these guys out 👍

vaporwave is like if the boards of canada became a genre of music.

While I would say some of the info you provide has been regurgitated elsewhere, I really enjoy the way you present it, it feels like a fresh, uncensored angle. You're a great creator and honestly one that I actually would consider subscribing to on Patreon.

Early Swans is proto-vaporwave for blue collar work

I think Vapor wave is aesthetically great and gives me a feeling of a world that existed long before me. I don't listen to it much as I find it a bit to relaxing, a bit too much like background music. Not super engaging, but I think that's a big part of the genre. Great take on the scene and the genre, haven't heard anyone talk about it, in this way.

I love the fact that your first four examples (mall, supermarket, news, office job) can all be found just within the discography of 猫 シ Corp Also your opinion of News At 11 is harsh and somewhat rude, honestly. As a New Yorker, particularly one who personally knows several New Yorkers who also love that album, you have no idea what it means to a lot of us to have an album that posits a version of that day that went on like any other.

Sometimes there's no dealing with some events mate. So it's understandable

I like to listen to mallsoft and other vaporwav e mixes when im doing boring repetitive tasks or other tasks where im likely to get bored and my mind will wander too much if i don’t listen to something…idk it really helps me stay focused

I always appreciate a vaporwave documentary

Canada Dry is the ONLY ginger ale that has actual ginger in it.

I am always pumped to watch some more greymads. I ADORE your content, your videos fill me with more joy then any cookie cutter content farm or any short form video ever could and I mean that. People like you are why I love KZfaq in the first place…. EDIT: sorry if I sound like a fanboy but MAN, it just feels so good to see a youtuber that actually cares about quality for once

Went from retro-future to Vaporwave. Fun stuff.

2814's Birth of A New Day converted me to being a vaporwave fan, what a fucking legendary record.

I’d love to get an album retrospective on ‘Dirt’ by Alice in Chains

Ironically 90% of the people who say vaporwave is "nostalgic" never lived in the 80s or early 90s. The word nostalgia may be the most wrongly overused word in the English language these days.

I get what you're trying to say, it is a good video. But as a producer who has worked in these genres, it's not supposed to be straightforward music. It's Sound Art. Like how noise music is. The newer waves of Post-Vaporwave producers now highlight the fact that vaporwave is a description and showcase of the melancholic feelings of nostalgia and escapism. That is the entire point. It is not ultra specific, that I'll disagree on. They are concept records. They carry heavy humanistic themes that are otherwise out of body. It is more anti-music than anything and that is more or less the appeal, which has sadly been taken advantage of. If you want music within this lane that is actually good but still hones in these ideas, look at slushwave. That's my fav. Thank you for your time to the person who reads this.

I would have liked Jazz if they just didn't spoil it with the saxophone. 😾

A bad vaporwave alblum would probaly be eccojams a shamless cash grab that does NOT deserve to be called "the first vaporwave alblum"

You definitely have a great point about nostalgia as escapism. It allows people to disengage with the present and use media as a shield from introspection. Modern vaporwave exemplifies this perfectly and I think you laid that out really well. But I do think the last 20-ish years have brought in the modern cynical corporatist slop in a way that highlights some of the genuine artistic merit of some '00s media. I think that's why '00s nostalgia has come much earlier and in a sense a more genuine way than before. I see a much bigger focus on mediums, styles and aesthetics, reclaiming what was later deemed "cringe" or "outdated" instead of appealing to specific widely-beloved brands or properties like that of 80s and 90s nostalgia culture. (Not that there isn't the modern Hot Topics or CoD reboots of the world) Now I see a lot of art inspired by that '00s media not disingenuously or as nostalgia bait, but as an honest derivative and exploration of styles and mediums abandoned during the '10s. Even if nostalgia is or can also be an element of that art. Sometimes even from the original creators of the '00s media. I guess it all depends on whether invoking nostalgia is the primary objective or if it just comes with exploring certain ideas.

Great video, great conclusion!

I'm not sure what you were going for here. Its a good description of Mallsoft and Vaporwave. But it seems you let some biases get in the way. I understand why for most people the concept is something that wears thin after a few albums. But many others and I still get the same experience every time. Even if it doesnt hit quite as hard as it did in 2017. You also did say it yourself. Vaporwave isn't about listening to a specific track or album because the song was so good. Its entirely about capturing a feeling, almost more than music. Hence why I almost exclusively listen to it as background or sleep music. Its why I can name a ton of Vaporwave albums, but only like three individual songs. Some people just dont get it I guess. And thats fine. I would just suggest approaching it from a different mind set. Not to enjoy it, but just to understand it better. Also, I really dont think addiction to ambient music is a very widespread problem. Just saying.

I still get nostalgic when I go in my local IKEA

Um. Vaporwave itself is a lot older than 2010... Or do mean the group Vaporwave?...

Can you please tell me which remix of "Saffron" (by MF DOOM) is used in your video at 13:24?

What's the music that you use for your Madison Gray intro? It sounds like it's from a Playstation horror game or something.

mall soft makes me want to explore an abandoned mall.

Is this a re-upload?

Great video!

I remember not getting vaporwave until I watch frankjavcee video on the subject and watch a bunch of Simpsons wave vidoe the point that I understand it and made me on of the oddball genre

Thanks for another great video on a fascinating topic/genre! May I ask your thoughts and opinions if any about Ludovico Technique last album 'Haunted People' that I HAD TO buy last week after I stumbled on it through spotify, really ground breaking material imo 🤯 And I dig your stuff a lot too, I bought your disco on BC last year and I think you have him beat on the lyrics department but all the rest is just next freakin' level (even if he has access to more professional resources obv so not to compare apples and oranges, but he really mastered his craft to near perfection I think!)

i love Moe Shop and never had any idea it was related to vaporwave

banger

News at 11 is pretty okay yourr just a baby lol Also you just dont get it it seems.

My senior portfolio was vaporware and it was so cringe

I make vaporwave does that mean I’m cursed

cara seu canal é muito maneiro

lost me at “chuck pierson”

Man I could listen to you talk all day and all night. 🥰 thank you, Mads. 😘

gaymads

Great soundtrack for some backrooms level 😮

Nostalgia* You forgot to fix the word lmao

😮

gay guitar pickers don't turn me on.

Didn’t you already talk about this? 😁

Veeperwesve

I feel like vapor wave is still s sub genre of ambient. and honestly I disagree with the point about the dilate audio dampening, Is black metal ruined due to its recording quality, or any metal genre ruined due to heavy distortion, no thats what makes it a unique genre that's a primary part of its identity and without the over head speaker sound it would be just another forgettable "lo-fi hip hop to relax and study too" track. I listen to a lot of music, a lot of which id consider some form of ambient music, because to me music is really the sound and "vibe" that carry's it, if a song is only good for its lyrics its just poetry, but being able to convey the emotion in its sound it is far more powerful than song with a mid background track thats saying even the most beautiful words. I know not everyone will agree with this and thats ok but that is what I truely value in music, I think this is why many people (myself included) really enjoy a good soundtrack, its not there to outloud tell you how to feel, it's makes you feel a certian way. same goes for classical music. I just think that vaporwave Is very good at making you feel a cetian way and thats what I appreciate about it.

Funny how many New Yorkers love news at 11. Offended on others behaf much?

Late stage capitalism took my lizard milk, also are you a budget pad chennington?

never really got the hype for vaporwave honestly.

honestly I really like vaporwave stuff but a lot of mallsoft is really dumb

Talk about creed

I used to be a really big fan of your videos, but I feel like a lot of your takes/topics have gotten really negative and pessimistic just for the sake of it, especially this one. News at 11 clearly serves as a larger art piece that is meant to encapsulate an esoteric sense of escapism beyond just being a "bland and boring collection of lazy songs". The whole point is that it's meant to be a glimpse into a "what if" scenario where 9/11's tragedy went unperformed. It's not just for "shock value" or notoriety, it's meant to convey emotion and represent a lot of values/themes that vaporwave as a subculture was built off of, including a yearning for a pre-9/11 American society. Even if you don't like the album for it's most basic values or for being a representation of escapism, it's not fair to misrepresent it as a cheap attempt for attention by capitalizing on 9/11.

I think this video could've been done better if you didn't repeat your stance over and over again, and actually described why you say what you say in more depth. It's like you read that book by Grafton Tanner, but instead of making those arguments you just say that nostalgia is a type of consumer escapism over and over again.

Here’s an idea that’s the peak of capitalism: A Christmas grocery store album…just have Mariah Carey, Wham and Paul McCartney (murdering the concept of holiday music…”Simply haaaavvvviiiinnnnnggggg…” ding dong indeed!) played at just a high enough volume to be noticeable and soul crushing to employees combined with the sound of an elderly woman trying to pay by check at the register, a security guard who couldn’t pass a physical to get into the armed forces berate a “suspected shoplifter” and a woman screaming at the deli counter that her cheese was sliced 1/64th of an inch too thick. Add some barcode beeps and a man crying that the checkout lady said “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” and presto the fifth circle of Hell.

Eh, I've always been more of a Synthwave guy. Vaporwave has always come across to me as a meme and the people that make it as pretentious.

When I was a teen, we called that type of stuff "muzak" or "elevator music" 😝. We would keep our Walkman on our ears to avoid it's syrupy sound at all cost. It's wild that 30 years later people would seek out to voluntarily listen to that 😳! Maybe its different if you didn't live the 80s 🤔? That said, I enjoy greatly synthwave, outrun and darksynth styles. It sounds to me like someone finally resumed what was brilliantly started in the early 80s and brutally stopped by hip hop and r'n'b. It's like synth based music came to its senses again, with new instruments and engineering added. It's truly heartwarming. (old geezer advice : listen to Paris-France-Transit 's "Child", Kim Wilde' s "View From A Bridge" and "Kids In America" Alan Parsons Project 's "Lucifer" and "Mamagama"... you'll see what I mean 😁)

I appreciate your use of video/audio clips in these videos! Really helps add to the context. I understand the risks of copyright strikes and all that stuff that make most people stray away from using clips, so I appreciate you using them for the sake of education! I get more out of your videos versus most other music KZfaqrs. v a p o r w a v e i s d e a d

I do enjoy some vaporwave and future funk but mallsoft and all its off-shoots are really boring, to me. I get the whole simulation/atmosphere of a grocery store but I don't see myself listening to that regularly. Great video tho! Also I find Pad Chennington kinda annoying every time he talks about music outside his comfort zone (that Machinegirl video... sheesh)

i have to agree with the video's conclusion. escapism is laughfably easy to fall for. i've been there many times, not exactly with vaporwave/simillar genras, but ambience and specyfic metal music. in times of hardship i usually defaulted to just listening to something, imagining various scenarious, instead of doing anything. and making some actual progress with myself or others around me. i have this one friend that i was almost obssesed with, for some time. she would have become the centerpiece of my stupid fantasy. i've always imagined her with me, in so many different situations, growing closer. instead of just, you know, texting her and inviting her over. said fantasy was so much easier, because i had ultimate control then. something i severely lacked in real life, for many reasons. it culminated when she ultimately left the country and moved. looking back at it now, it wasn't that big of a deal, we've going along just fine talking over DC or hanging out few times a year when she visits. but then, it was such a huge blow for me. i was with her the final night. and i soon began obsessing over every detail. i've listened to ambiences of rain, because it was raining that very day. the songs i was listening to on my way home were on repeat all the time. i obssesed over every word, every minor sight. i've written so many poems and done a few pieces of art. i was insufferable, when i think about it now. imagine your friend trying to show you their art and its just.. the same nostalgic rabling, over and over again. the peak of all of this was the one song i have assosiated with her completely. i haven't listened to it in such a long time, but it's still a #1 in my all-time spotify rankings. it's just absurd. how many new, cool songs have i missed listening to this one for hours on end? and how much cool experiences i could have if i just got out of this cycle? i lowkey regret this period in my life, but well, what can you do. at least im doing much better now! sorry for such a personal confession, i just thought it was vaguly related and maybe could help somebody understand it better. thanks for reading all of it!

I genuinely don't get this whole fetishization of nostalgia and the whole "We have to go back" attitude that a lot of people online share. We all look fondly on good memories from our childhood but wanting to physically go BACK to a specific place in a specific period in time just seems like a bit much. Sure, life can fucking suck sometimes, and there's been a lot of times when I just wanted to give up, but I've learned so much in my teenhood and adulthood and I have so many things in my life right now that I don't want to give up. As much as I enjoyed my childhood, I don't want to actually go back.

im not usually one to judge taste in music, but everything played in this video from the mallsoft chapter onwards is some of the most dogshit music ive heard in my entire life and i imagine people who frequently listen to it have about one complete thought per day. this video gives me a whole new appreciation for top 40 slop

Vaporwave has like 3 good songs until it all sounds like the same. The whole nostalgia shit is just annoying and has ruined more than one medium. I get the same feeling when a generic low polygon indie horror game gets made for the millionth time. When something unique gets released, is easy to make and becomes popular, you get thousands of carbon copies that try to emulate the same thing over and over again. Same can be said for LoFi.

Yippee new video!

Is this a re-upload?