r/Vaporwave Best of 2020

Explicit content warning

03/01/21 • 41 min

Night Clerk Radio: Haunted Music Reviews

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Each yeah, the vaporwave subreddit (r/vaporwave), compiles a list of their favorite albums of the year. For this episode, we checked out the "Best of 2020" albums and listened to as many of them as possible. We discuss our personal favorites from the list, but in reality they're all worth checking out.

Full Best of 2020 List

Albums Discussed

常夏 by desert sand feels warm at night
high society by luxury elite
O'discordia by w i n t e r q u i l t
Wii Fit HD Remaster by US Golf 95

Shout-Outs

Destination Spa by DATAGIRL
GAIA by Blank Banshee
喚起 by gh0st
Midnight Store by Donor Lens
Thank You For Holding by Various Artists
1989 by haircuts for men
ΩMEGA MALL X by Limousine
liteware by FM Skyline

Credits

Music by: 2Mello
Artwork by: Patsy McDowell
Ross on Twitter
Birk on Twitter
Night Clerk Radio on Twitter
Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon

News: The Night Clerk Radio Patreon is now live. You can check it out and support us at:

https://www.patreon.com/nightclerkradio

You'll get bonus episodes, access to our community Discord, and much more as the Patreon continues to grow!

Full Best of 2020 List

Albums Discussed

常夏 by desert sand feels warm at night
high society by luxury elite
O'discordia by w i n t e r q u i l t
Wii Fit HD Remaster by US Golf 95

Shout-Outs

Credits

Music by: 2Mello
Artwork by: Patsy McDowell
Ross on Twitter
Birk on Twitter
Night Clerk Radio on Twitter
Support Night Clerk Radio on Patreon

Previous Episode

Vaporwave and the Hyperreal

Hyperreality, a term coined by Jean Baudrillard, is the point at which the real can no longer be easily distinguished from fiction or simulation including simulations of realities that do not exist known as simulacra. The connection to vaporwave, a genre of music which seeks to induce nostalgia for eras that never existed, is immediately apparent.

On this topic episode we briefly introduce some of the ideas behind Baudrillard's hyperreality and discuss how we think they can be applied to vaporwave and its aesthetic goals.

Reading List
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Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard
America by Jean Baudrillard
Faith in Fakes: Travels in Hyperreality by Umberto Eco, William Weaver

Additional Resources
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Baudrillard and Vaporwave: A Remixed Nostalgia
Culture Jamming: Hacking, Slashing, and Sniping in the Empire of Signs
Rick Roderick on Baudrillard - Fatal Strategies
Episode 124 ... Simulacra and Simulation on Philosophize This!
American Psycho, Baudrillard and the Postmodern Condition
Don’t Worry, These Gangly-armed Cartoons Are Here to Protect You From Big Tech
Comment: Vaporwave and the pop-art of the virtual plaza
Comment: “Distroid” – the muscular music of hi-DEF doom

Credits
--------
Music by: 2Mello
Artwork by: Patsy McDowell
Ross on Twitter
Birk on Twitter
Follow Night Clerk Radio on Twitter for updates

Next Episode

Exploring Concept Albums from HDK

Reminder: Our patreon is up! https://www.patreon.com/nightclerkradio

Heimat Der Katastrophe (HDK) is a DIY label managed by an artist collective in Milan. They produce a wide range of albums from genres described as "ambient punk, minimal-synth, dungeon-drone, wartime music and post-nuclear wave." On this episode, we discuss two of their recent releases: a classic dungeon synth album and a soundtrack for an Italian sci-fi tv-movie that never existed.