SLOW LEARNER

micro genres and the internet

2011-02-21T18:32:00.000-08:00

Over the past few years the amount of people making music in their bedroom and finding a captive audience solely through tools available on the internet has blown up significantly. The process of discovery and taste making has quickly shifted online in the past decade (as most information has) with the rise of music blogging and the monolithic Pitchfork Music, but lately whole genres of music are being created almost exclusively online. Specifically, the rise of the slightly stupid sounding "Witch House" or "Grave Wave".

Witch House

SALEM

oOoOO

M△S▴C△RA - The Five Wounds from Video Horror Show on Vimeo.

M△S▴C△RA

This is just a small sample of the more successful groups from this genre. Salem in particular acts as the standard bearer for a quickly growing and splintered genre. What really seems to connect all these groups sonically is broad cultural plundering of sounds, specifically the Chopped and Screwed movement from Houston in the late 90's, early oughts. The highly revered DJ Screw is best known for remixing rap and r&b tracks with distinctly slowed down vocals and trebly percussion. This paired well with what seemed to be Houston's drug of choice at the time, codeine cough syrup (purple drank). Also, lots of weed.

DJ Screw

Swishahouse

SALEM

These influences are recontextualized into dark and atmospeheric tracks paying homage to early industrial acts such as Throbbing Gristle and Caberet Volatire as well as early Goth bands such as the Cure and Cocteau Twins and even early Shoegaze acts like My Bloody Valentine, Ride, and Catherine Wheel.

Cocteau Twins

Throbbing Gristle

Ride

What attracts me to this music most is the immaterial nature of the whole thing. Save for one band, none of these groups really tour. In fact, many of these bands don't even exist outside of a tumblr and soundcloud account. Almost all of them have an unintelligible name and remain anonymous, choosing to post appropriated images on their blogs and as their album art. What's more, as soon as a loose grouping of these artists were labeled as witch house, hundreds of groups sprung up to jump on the band wagon and than dozens more came along to damn them as posers and the definition of the genre as inaccurate. This happened within the span of, more or less, a year. In that time, SALEM released a highly anticipated and critically praised album, the New York Times wrote an article on the genre, and then it became bloated and sort of died. Now you can find groups making simillar music under the banner of many "new" genres such as, grave wave, drag, screw gaze, etc and so forth.

This article, at its best, is an extremely broad impression of a genre that is willfully obscure and physically inaccessible. If you'd like to investigate further, here is a list of links and band names

Michael Jordan Pog (Platinum Edition)

Cosmotropia de Xam (video collagist)

SPACE MADNESS

2009-08-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

Ren and Stimpy - Space Madness

I'm amazed Ren and Stimpy was marketed as a kids show. John K created such mastefully crafted vulgarity, it would seem Adult Swim was conceived for the sole purpose of somehow recreating his absurdist gross out humor. It's hard to pick a favorite episode, but Space Madness is way up there.

JUGALO FEST 2K9 TRAILER

2009-07-22T15:31:00.000-07:00

A whole decade of children from poor, alcoholic, midwestern families gathering together and celebrating their love for clown makeup and inexpensive soda. Hilarious and crushingly depressing all at once.

KIT REAM - ALL THAT I AM

2009-07-20T19:13:00.001-07:00

Download Here

No way you're finding this outside of gemm or goodwill, so download it. Kit Ream is, according to legend, an heir to the Nabisco cookie fortune. He also spent a decade taking acid followed by a decade of taking lithium (I might have made this up, but it makes since after the first listen). Lots of Rhodes piano and saxophone while Kit deadpans some of the most godawful lyrics you've ever heard. It's great though! In lieu of a wiki, Waxidermy has a great article breaking down the album here.

ANDREW WK GREAT MAN or GREATEST MAN?

2009-07-18T19:20:00.000-07:00

Mr. WK may as well be the greatest person to ever live. Periodically I will post proof of this bold statement. It's hard to believe that a Fox News show like "Red Eye" would invite Andrew WK on, let alone have Pink Eyes from the band Fucked Up as a regular guest. Big ups to the one show on Fox News throwing hipster scum a bone while Rupert Murdoch fucks journalistic integrity in the ass.

SUN ARAW - HEAVY DEEDS

2009-07-16T19:37:00.000-07:00

Download Sun Araw - Heavy Deeds

Up for grabs is the title track from Sun Araw's latest on Not Not Fun. It's one of the better weed jams so far this summer. Lots of looping funk riffs oozing over each other while hazy vocals and organ pierce through the murk. Pretty rad.

THEE OH SEES - TIDAL WAVE 7"

2009-07-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

download here

Thee Oh Sees make impossibly catchy San Francisco 60's psych pop. I've been playing the A Side of this record quite a bit lately and thought I'd share. I think it is still in print, though supplies are low! If you like it, buy it.

WILL SWEENEY

2009-06-02T15:41:00.000-07:00

BIRDY NAM NAM - THE PARACHUTE ENDING - CLIP OFFICIEL

One of my favorite illustrators, Will Sweeney animated this video. The song takes a few pages from the Justice playbook (notice the Goblin sample first thing) and isn't terribly remarkable. The video is ridiculous though. Sweeney's comic book made of weed style looks awesome animated. I really hope to see more moving pictures from this dude.

THE GONZ

2009-06-02T15:31:00.000-07:00

One of the radder dudes alive

ME A FAKE JAMAICAN ME SMOKE COCCAINE

2009-05-26T21:07:00.000-07:00

Major Lazer "Zumbie" ft. Andy Milonakis

LOOK More YouTube

2009-05-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

YouTube is a lot of different things to a bunch of different people. Personally, it's a cute cat video depository. For others, it's a new medium unto itself. The past two years or so, a lot of youtube compositions/collages have started to show up. While I'm sure there are a few people who could regurgitate a four page statement on the signifigance of these compositions, superficially, they serve as a novel explotation of my favorite place for kitten vids.
check it out

OH GOD NO

2009-05-23T09:59:00.001-07:00

CINELLI BMX?!

2009-05-10T11:50:00.001-07:00

Apparently Cinelli made a bmx at some point.
Pretty rad, but that's all I really know about it.

TIM AND ERIC MMMMEGAMIXXXXXX

2009-05-06T20:45:00.001-07:00

I recommend watching this.

Blank Dogs

2009-04-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

As insanely prolific as Mr. Blank Dog is, I think this is his first pro video. I could be totally wrong, but I don't feel like trolling youtube for proof. Whoever made the video probably gets down on some Guy Maddin.

A BLOG EVEN BETTER THAN MINE

2009-04-06T18:37:00.000-07:00

OBSIDIAN OBELISK !!!!!

2009-04-02T09:01:00.000-07:00

ANOTHER VIDEO!

2009-03-26T07:49:00.000-07:00

I really like the beginning of this song. The prelude right before the singing starts sounds ridiculous over the speakers at work. Otherwise, this is one of the dudes from Grizzly Bear, his bro, and features various Grizzly Bear dudes at various points. This IS a Grizzly Bear album, pretty much.
Oh yeah, Patrick Daughters directed this. He's like the David LaChapelle of Starbucks indie rock.

KENNETH ANGER, BAD DUDE

2009-03-21T19:48:00.000-07:00

Probably pretty obvious that Anger is into the occult. Love his use of light and space. Up until "The Rise of Lucifer" his films always feel like something you can hold in your hands. Also, Mick Jagger scored the whole thing and makes a cameo with Marianne Faithful at the 5:09 mark of part II.

BIKE SAFETY IS SOMETHING THAT IS IMPORTANT

2009-03-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

Posting nonstop youtube videos is sort of a copout, but bicycle safety is IMPORTANT.

TURTLE RAPES SHOE

2009-03-12T12:00:00.001-07:00

NO IDEA WHAT THIS MEANS

2009-03-08T17:54:00.000-07:00

Joseph Beuys could do whatever he wanted. Herron needs a Beuys-style lecture class backed up by a horrible kraut-pop band.

Barry McGee for Lance Armstrong

2009-03-08T12:32:00.000-07:00

Livestrong has kicked off some sort of art thing to fight cancer and what have you. A whole mess of Madones are going to get fresh paint from pro art dudes for a traveling exhibit. The first two come courtesy of Barry McGee(pictured above) and low brow hard-on of the moment, KAWS. The KAWS version looks like shit, but the McGee bike is ridiculous. His signature characters are obvious, but the "old road bike you found in your grandparents garage" paint scheme is brilliant. Defintely takes a sense of humor to take the whip of choice for spandex-clad dentists and make it look like your first ten speed.

C86

2009-03-08T06:37:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Bobaka has NME's infamous C86 mixtape available, in it's entirety, for download. Good way to put the internet's boner for The Pains of Being Pure at Heart into context.

EMERALDS - WHAT HAPPENED

2009-03-04T07:27:00.000-08:00

Emeralds make incredibly good drone-y ambient music. The focus is on 70's-80's synths stretching melody out to the edge of recognition. The near exclusive use of dated electronics tints everything with a warm naivety. Makes you want to curl up with a good bong on the couch. I'd throw up a single track, but the album really works best as a whole. Check out Emeralds-What Happened.

TGIF

2009-03-03T12:01:00.000-08:00

TGIF from Austin Dickson on Vimeo.

2009-02-26T09:42:00.000-08:00

In lieu of another Knife album ever being made ever again, we get Fever Ray!! The new album is really good, but it's like diet Knife.

ANGRY YOUTH COMIX

2009-02-24T09:38:00.001-08:00

(click on the comic to see the whole thing)
If you read Vice, you're already familiar with Johnny Ryan. If not, the strip above pretty much summarizes it. More shit humor in gag strip form at Angry Youth Comix.

Rad Things

2009-02-22T12:57:00.001-08:00

Just don't join yr local krustdogg tallbike gang on it...

Andy Milonakis Channeling Fela Kuti

2009-02-02T14:33:00.000-08:00

I guess this is for Diplo and Switch's new dancehall project, Major Lazer. Can't deny the humor of an overweight manchild novelty act lending vocals to what will no doubt be the club jam of 2009.

I TOO Have a Blog

2009-02-01T10:18:00.000-08:00

Wavves takes the shit-fi production elements that've been getting around lately and smooths them out with surf rock stylez. The So Bored 7" sold out pretty quick, so those who missed out (most of us) can check it out here.

Wavves - So Bored 7" - New Turks (2009)

(oh yeah, this isn't the so bored cover. I think it's from the self titled lp, which you can still buy.)