HIPSTER RUNOFF

[MP3]
Washed Out Amor Fati

Washed Out is launching his sophomore album cycle, and this is the second MP3 that he has brought 2 the public after "Eyes Be Closed." Every1 is basically trying 2 determine whether or not this song is chillwave, and if the chillwave genre still lives on, or if perhaps we can no longer Feel_it_all_around.

This song seemed chill, but also kinda dreamie. I wonder how well this album is going 2 on p4k. Does it sound innovative and trendy, or is p4k gonna 'execute' Washed Out as a blog-hit-wonder?

Sorta just feeling nostalgic 4 the days when I just started vibing 2 chillwave. I really felt that I was a truly chill bro at that time. But now I am less bro and less chill, forced 2 grow up and accept responsibilities.

Can Washed Out get a 10.0?
Do u think he should have named his album 'not so chill any more' so he wouldnt have had 2 answer lame questions from lamestream jounalists?
Will this album perform well critically and commercially?
Do u like this song better than his last?
Will he fall victim 2 the MGMT curse?
MGMT : Washed Out :: KIDS : Feel It All Around

Washed Out

Buzzband

Washed Out is the hit chillwave project of indie hunk Ernest Greene.

Lists: Members of Washed Out, chillwave, 2k9 buzzbands, 2k11 buzzbands

Read more>>>>

Tyler the Creator is a horrorcore indie buzz rapper whose 15 blog posts of buzz totally died just died soon after his record came out bc he barely broke the 8.0 barrier. Anyways, he has some Formspring, which is basically a tool that u can use to cyberbully people who hate themselves and want people to ask them mean questions so they can give snarky, strong, empowering replies 'to the haters.' For some reason, outlets like the NYTimes and P4k are really into glorifying his social media presences but I have seen 14 year old tweens with more compelling misguided online presences. Some1 asked him "do you like chillwave like Toro y moi, Neon indian, Panda bear kinda stuff ?"

I would have expected him to respond with something involving words/phrases like "nigga", "fagg*t", or "suck mah dick", but instead, he claimed that Toro Y Moi is not a member of the chillwave genre. Really would have expected him to say "That is some wack ass faggot nigga shit and all of dem can ess my dee."

What do u think of his statement?
Is he standing up for Toro Y Moi??
Is it bad 2 be a chillwaver?
Does he think his horrorcore rap is more valuable to indie society than chillwave?
Does this mean that he thinks Neon Indian and Panda Bear are chillwave?
Is Tyler the Creator still relevant?
Do u feel sad abt ppl with active formsprings?
Who is still a chillwaver?
Is chillwave dead?

Tyler, The Creator

Alternative Celebrity

Tyler is a teenage producer, rapper, and the leader of an experimental lofi shock-rap crew called Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All.

Lists: rappers, blipsters, Odd Future

Read more>>>>

Toro Y Moi

Buzzband

Toro Y Moi is a chillwave bro who hit the 2k10 album "Causers of This."

Lists: chillwave, blipsters, 2k11 buzzbands, 2k10 buzzbands

Read more>>>>

Many industry insiders were wondering if the indiesphere would 'turn its back' on Panda Bear or commit to another 3-10 years of Panda Bear as a relevant artist. However, it seems like after this tepid/lukewarm 8.5 score from Pitchfork, we can confirm that 'markets are cooling' on Panda Bear. Many Panda stockholders are looking to unload their shares in this once valuable bear before the AnCo buzz bubble completely bursts. The popular indie site bestowed a 'Best New Music' label upon the album, but decided to use the review as an opportunity to launch a full-scale attack on Panda Bear's 'crappy' chillwave imitators and by-products.

The highlight of the interview was the part where they called him the KING OF CHILLWAVE NATION.

Lennox has found himself the unwitting king of the chillwave nation, hero to a whole generation of underground kids drawn to his mix of heavy reverb, sun-woozy synths, droning kraut-surf-ambient-pop songs, high childlike voice, and psychedelic-cum-nostalgic sleeve art.

In addition, they made it clear that chillwave artists can't actually sing, but Panda Bear can.

Unlike many chillwave and dream-pop artists (and Spacemen 3), Lennox is blessed with the ability to actually sing, and he knows enough about crafting harmonies to do more than vaguely nod in the direction of 60s pop.

Do yall think Panda Bear was the original 'bro who couldn't sing but convinced ppl he had a good voice'?

Then they talk about how Panda Bear's audience just wants him to keep 'writing the hits' like BROS and COMFY IN NAUTICA. Then they said that every crappy chillwaver who wants to be Panda Bear sux and could never achieve anything close 2 TOMBOY:

The trouble with recording a ramshackle epic like Person Pitch is that you set up a portion of your audience to expect the next album to be at least as grand in both scope and design. There are certainly no obvious peaks on Tomboy like "Bros" or "Good Girl/Carrots", where the 12-minute lengths announced them as attention-demanding stand-outs. So Tomboy's smoothness will likely be mildly divisive among Lennox's fans. Many might have hoped that Lennox would have recorded something less accessible to separate him from the beach-obsessed glut of bedroom pop. But the scaling back on Tomboy in no way represents a scaling back of ambition on Lennox's part. In a way, what he's pulled off here is even more difficult. He's condensed the sprawl and stylistic shifts of Person Pitch into seemingly tidy songs. The fact that he's able to make music that's both otherworldly and familiar-on-first-listen is something that all of his followers would like to achieve, and very few have the chops or inventiveness to pull off.

Do u buy into the take that 'Panda Bear made a complex record that not all of us can appreciate', or do u think it is more challenging for an artist to make an album that every1 can appreciate [via Michael Jackson]?
Do u think Avey Tare is pissed that his solo album only got a 7.9? [link]

Did Pitchfork 'pan' Panda Bear's TOMBOY or did they 'give it a free pass' [via alternative tenure]?
Is Panda Bear the #1 album of 2k11?
Do u think this review was just an attack on CHILLWAVE NATION?
R U a member of CHILLWAVE NATION?
Did it deserve 'at least' an 8.6?
R u unloading ur stock in Panda Bear?
Is TOMBOY a 'flop', 'a success' or 'chill'?
Is TOMBOY 'overrated', 'underrated' or 'rated rated'?

Panda Bear

Buzzband, Alternative Celebrity

Panda Bear is a member of Animal Collective. He wrote the hit album "Person Pitch" but failed to deliver in 2k10 with TOMBOY.

Lists: Members of Animal Collective, indie hunks, cool dads

Read more>>>>

Pitchfork Media

Company, Blog

Pitchfork is a popular indie blogzine that does reviews and gets mad hits.

Lists: blogs and magazines

Read more>>>>

Yesterday, Pitchfork Media, a popular indie reviews site 'panned the fuck' out of the latest Radiohead album [link], giving it a lackluster 7.9, which is basically like a 5.0 (adjusted for buzz inflation). It seems like they have returned to 'giving out 8.4s' to overperforming albums by artists that might be prolific (Toro Y Moi) but on the other end, might just be buzz flameouts (Best Coast, WAVVES).

Many experts projected this album to get between a 7.9 to an 8.7. Do yall <3 this album, or do u miss the vintage Chaz pure chillwaves of 'Causers of This'?

Anyways, for some reason the reviewer 'refused 2 use the word chillwave.' Maybe they are just in denial abt the prevailing story lines of the Neon Indian, Washed Out, and Toro Y Moi albums being 'Is this chillwave or not?' Or maybe just sad that 'glo-fi' didn't catch on.

Here is a paragraph where they talk abt the chillwave lifestyle without saying chillwave.

When Chaz Bundick sang, "I found a job I do it fine/ Not what I want but still I try," on "Blessa", it became Causers of This' most-quoted lyric for obvious reasons. Not only can all of us relate to that sentiment at some point in our lives, but it also drew a direct line between the escapism of home-made electro-pop and the lives of most of the people creating it. Talk about Hipstamatic prints, Ariel Pink, and surfing all you want, but y'know, it's also the economy, stupid. Now, I've never shared a cubicle with Bundick, but that kind of resignation is completely at odds with his work ethic as Toro Y Moi, given the steady stream of remixes and side projects he's released in the time since. Just over a year later, he's already the first of the A-listers from this scene to release a follow-up. But if he was feeling any pressure to validate himself and his peers, Underneath the Pine doesn't show it. The album may be too lyrically opaque to have a line as bloggable as "Blessa"'s, but it's a far richer and more accomplished whole, and it makes a strong case for Bundick as an artist with scope, ambition, and a firm grasp of how to balance the two.

'escapism of home-made electro pop'
'Hipstamatic prints, Ariel Pink, and surfing'
'first on the list of A-listers from this scene'

Cmon bro... Just say 'chillwave lifestyle', broski. Really let down the criticism community by not directly confronting the main chillwave issue.

Here is another part where they list every chillwave buzzband, admit that they are grouped together in a genre, but still don't drop the term 'chillwave.'

Because Toro Y Moi is so closely linked with the likes of Neon Indian, Washed Out, and Memory Tapes, it's tempting to read into the success of Underneath the Pine as some predictor of those bands' collective staying power, or a direction others might take. But Bundick seems to be following nothing but his own internal compass.

Feel like the author of this review should have followed his own internal compass right to the chillest chillwaves, riding chillwaves and not being afraid of the chill water and waves crashing in2 his face.

Will Pitchfork avoid using the word 'chillwave' in the Neon Indian and Washed Out album reviews?
Is there a 'movement' by the blogluminati 2 kill chillwave?
Is chillwave dying?
Is it fair to these artists 2 ask 'are they still chillwave?' or does it take away from the discussion abt the quality of their albums?
What are some creative ways to say 'chillwave' without actually saying it?
-lofi bedroom pop
-spaced out bliss electro
-diy home recorded fuzz core
-South Carolinian-inspired post-pop
-wavewavewavewavewhoa
-floating in vibes
-post-Ariel Pink pop
-Music 4 alt 20somethings

///PART OF THE CHILLWAVE NEVER DIES/////

Did Toro Y Moi deserve an 8.4? Is he on his way to an 'above 9.0 career' or has he reached his ceiling?

Toro Y Moi

Buzzband

Toro Y Moi is a chillwave bro who hit the 2k10 album "Causers of This."

Lists: chillwave, blipsters, 2k11 buzzbands, 2k10 buzzbands

Read more>>>>

Pitchfork Media

Company, Blog

Pitchfork is a popular indie blogzine that does reviews and gets mad hits.

Lists: blogs and magazines

Read more>>>>

Memory Tapes wrote a few buzzworthy songs back in 2k9, I think one of them was called "Surfin", and he was sort of lumped into the whole 'chillwave movement' before Washed Out & Toro Y Moi [via the South Carolina chillwave scene] really 'gained steam.' Basically only Neon Indian and Memory Tapes 'existed' as the sample population and the song "Surfin" sorta sounded chillwavey, but then he released more mp3s and it was all kinda zonked out and the live performances were kinda weird, and I'm not sure who even likes it, I think ppl are just like 'he sounds like chillwave' even though Meme Tapes isn't really chillwave.

What do u think of the new MP3?
Can TOMBOY save 2k11 or what?

[MP3]
Memory Tapes - TODAY IS OUR LIFE

Was Memory Tapes ever chillwave?
Will Mem Tapes be a '2k11 player' or is he doomed 2 be 'just a bedroom musician'?
Can Memory Tapes 'become the next Ariel Pink' in 10 years?
Should he be 'kicked out' of abusing the 'chillwave' genre label during his interviews?
Who are your favourite B and C list chillwave buzzbands?
Is Memory Tapes 'relevant'/do u enjoy the music?
Do yall miss 'Surfin'?

Who is OFFICIALLY in the chillwave genre (A-List, B-List, and C-List)?
Who will be a chillwaver when 2k11 is 'said and done'?

Memory Tapes

Buzzband

Memory Tapes is a fallen chillwave band.

Lists: chillwave, 2k9 buzzbands

Read more>>>>

I just read some article that is entitled "Leave Chillwave Alone" that is by some authentic music journalist named Simon Reynolds. From what I understand, he is a pre-blog era music journalist who is even famous enough 2 have his own wikipedia page. Anyways, the article tries to talk abt Pitchfork Media, Altered Zones [link], and Ariel Pink and chillwave, and how 'the WhOLe MuSiC sCeNe iS a ClUsTeRFuCk!'

First he talked abt how Pitchfork Media's Altered Zones website is for lofi 20somethings who have only experienced music discovery on the internet, and have ended up in an altered zone of reality where 'bedroom musicians' are perceived as authentic, even thought it might all be 'bloggy blog bullshit.'

Founded by people whose formative musical experiences occurred before the Internet really took off, Pitchfork retains an attachment to notions like "importance" and "significance," along with such related pre-Web concepts as the geographically located scene, the gig as a privileged site where the community forms around a band, et al. But the Zones generation, artists and listeners alike, have never really known a time when music wasn't enmeshed with the Web. They have only a tenuous sense that music is something you pay for, and a much-diminished investment in live performance. In the '80s and '90s, Amerindie fans typically withheld judgment on a band's worth until they saw them "deliver" live. But when the Web is your primary new-music portal, live performance fades in importance. In the Zones, buzz bands are rarely bands as such: More often, they're just a guy in a bedroom.

Do yall chill out on Altered Zones, streaming some krappie lofi sample based wave mp3s?
Is Altered Zones going 2 become 'bigger than Pitchfork' when P4k 'goes mainstream'?
Is there a zone that is darker/rawer than Altie Zonies?

Then there is a 'setup' paragraph abt how Ariel Pink's hit 2k10 album was kinda lofi, but at the same time, kinda hi-fi. Ariel Pink is 'the king of lofi' basically or something.

Ironically, just as a legion of one-man bands emerged brandishing pre-faded sounds, Pink returned after a five-year silence with 2010's Before Today, an album recorded with a proper band, in a proper studio, and—in this realm, almost unheard of—with a proper producer. On songs like "Can't Hear My Eyes" and "Round and Round" (Pazz's #8 single, and Pitchfork's #1), Pink stripped away his trademark reverb-haze to reveal the formal perfection of his song structures in all their intricacy and ingenuity. As the title hinted, the album harked back to a lost golden age, approximately bookended by Rumours and Synchronicity, of professionally crafted, crisply produced pop-rock. That is to say, the very slickness and adultness that the lo-fi indie tradition originally defined itself against.

So I guess they are saying like "Ariel was ahead of his time, but now that the micromacrogenre is popular again, he returned 2 his throne."

Anyways, then the journalist bro starts talking about chillwave. He says he wishes 'glo-fi' had caught on as the name of the hit 2k9 genre.

I wish glo-fi had caught on as the name for the genre spawned off those three Pink albums (a sound that Before Today ultimately leaves behind), since it at least captures something of their gloss and mess. But "chillwave" seems to be what we're saddled with, a term coined as a joke and wielded most energetically as a brick bat. For 2010 wasn't the Year of Chillwave so much as the Year of Chillwave Backlash, a flurry of jibes almost as formularized as detractors make out the music to be: obligatory reference to Hipstamatic + snigger at the name + invocation of nostalgia as a priori Bad Thing = entire region of music dismissed.

Is this paragraph totally irrelevant bc he didn't name Carles as 'the inventor of chillwave'?
Was there a huge chillwave backlash in 2k10?
Why does every1 think that chillwave is a 'joke'?
Do u feel 'saddled with' chillwave?
Will chillwave last 4evr?

Anyways, the rest of the article goes on to name a bunch of other bands, genres, and other music criticismy techniques 2 sound all 'smart' and stuff. Then it 'closes up', saying that chillwave is an effing lie because Ariel Pink chose 2 go mnstrm, and all of the 'bullshit chillwave artists' that think he is authentic need to re-evaluate their long-term strategies: Do they want to chase the idea of being a 'respected lofi God' or do they wanna go mnstrm and sell tons of records 2 cool dads & impressionable alt tweens who 'trust tastemaking blogs' [via the NPRs].

This scene is about being engulfed and enthused, carried along by the currents of the new. Drifting not sifting. Before Today made the Top Tens of most of the blogs that make up this restless circuit, but, one senses, mostly out of sentimental loyalty to the forefather. Signed to a big label, touring to promote his big album, praised and profiled by big magazines, Pink no longer really belongs to the underground. Whether that now puts him in limbo, and whether any of his chill-dren (the most promising, Toro Y Moi and Neon Indian, both add Daft Punk to the mix) will follow him there, remains to be seen.

Does this bro h8 blogs, Ariel Pink, and chillwave?
Do u think 'glo-fi' is a 'kewl' genre name?
Is chillwave way more chill than glo-fi?
Is this piece of journalism 'authentic' + 'eye opening' [via 60 Minutes/Dateline NBC]?
Does Carles & HIPSTER RUNOFF deserve 2 be mentioned in any article abt chillwave, due to the fact that Carles 'invented' chillwave?
Has Ariel Pink 'sold out hard' ?
If 2k9 was the Year of the Chillwave, 2k10 was the Year of the Chillwave Backlash, does that mean that 2k11 will be the year of the Chillwave ____________?
a) death
b) Renaissance
c) Reconstruction
d) Golden Age
e) Depression
f) War
g) Famine
h) Tsunami
i) Tornado
j) Thaw
k) BIG FREEZE [via local news weather coverage]
l) holocaust
m) ______________ CHOOSE UR OWN RESPONSE

"I brought chillwave into this world, and I can take it out."
-Carles, losing relevancy, holding on 2 the past

Ariel Pink

Alternative Celebrity, Buzzband

Ariel Pink is a 'lofi genius/wizard/mastermind' who has transitioned his brand to 'relevant indie buzzband status' in 2k10.

Lists: Producers, drug users, lofi, indie hunks, Californians

Read more>>>>

Altered Zones

Blog

Altered Zones is a lofi mp3 discovery blog created by Pitchfork Media. It is rlly, rlly alt/underground/lofi.

Lists: Pitchfork writers, lofi, chillwave, blogs and magazines

Read more>>>>

Pitchfork Media

Company, Blog

Pitchfork is a popular indie blogzine that does reviews and gets mad hits.

Lists: blogs and magazines

Read more>>>>

Trying so hard
2 ride the slutwave
getting huge implants
tig ol bitties

utilizing them as 'life preservers'
and/or conceptual 'floaties'
That help my body 2 stay afloat
in this big, beautiful ocean of life.

tig bitties
perfect body
no worries in life
except riding chillwaves

Staying young 4evr
Nvr gonna die
always will be mad beautiful.

Just want to be part of a celebrity couple
have a hit show on the MTV network

'dear lord'
Need to motorboat those huge, firm breasteses
Stick my 'peen' between them
Feel 'alive'/erect 4 the first time in a long time.

Want to ride chillwaves
utilizing implant life preservers
so worried abt the death of chillwave
but maybe it will stay alive forever
if we < embed > flotation devices within our bodies

Do yall think Heidi Montag looks 'more alt' / 'more beautiful' than she used 2?

Would yall rather ride slutwaves or chillwaves with her?

From what I understand, high resolution digital photography is 'mad overrated', and modern humans associate 'vintage looking photographs' with authenticity. Many buzzbands choose not to utilize a hi-res photo, and instead choose to go 'lofi' because it makes their brand look authentic before u can even stream an MP3.

Do u like bands who have album art/mp3 photos that look 'vintage'?
Is it more alt to look like ur from the past instead of from the future?
Do buzzbands need to 'give up' on trying to inspire listeners to feel like they are entering nostalgic zones?

This is basically the 'thesis' of the article. Most other sentences attempt to explain what particular album covers look like + what 'aesthetic' they achieve:

A lot of indie artists lately have felt something similar, it seems. Artists who sound about as different from each other as Vampire Weekend and the Dum Dum Girls have embraced the look and feel of old, amateur photography, often featuring images of childhood and family. Stuart McLamb of the Love Language found a great image of his mother-- literally beaming in the unintended glare of a too-hot flash at night, and thought it the perfect album cover.

Wonder if I still need to go to design school, or if I can just browse indie blogs to learn abt modern bloggable aesthetics.

Wonder if bands are going to have to stop using vintage photogs in case their 'go mainstream' and some old lady from the 1940s decides to sue them for using her polaroid.

Here is some paragraph where the writer talks about 'getting turned on' when he first saw the Contra album cover because his peen 'gets hard' 2 vintage photographs:

Last September, a photo of a girl with a blank expression and a popped collar appeared online without any context. A few people assumed it was a viral ad, but most were drawn to it for reasons they couldn't quite place. Some combination of the girl's wide-eyed, deer-in-the-headlights stare, the Polo logo on her shirt, her slightly open mouth, the pinkish tone, and muted palette of the photograph suggested it was a "found" picture, or maybe a long-forgotten entry into Andy Warhol's Polaroid series. As it happened, the photo turned out to be the cover art for Vampire Weekend's second album. A few months later, an equally evocative, slightly older, and more private seeming snapshot of a woman, caught off guard while getting something from her closet, adorned the cover of the Dum Dum Girls' first LP I Will Be. As with the Contra photo, the questions arose quickly:Why her? Who is she? Why this photo?

Do u miss the Contra 'viral marketing' era?
Sad it turned out this way [via h8ing Kirsten Kennis].
Maybe there is a 'high legal risk' associated with stealing photos from the past.

R u 'bored' when u see another lofi photograph on an album cover? Does it make u think the album is gonna 'be awesome' [via inspiring nostalgic images of youth], or do most albums with lofi art end up 'blowing'?

Album art has long been a crucial multimedia component of popular music-- often the first image we associate with the sounds, its representational role makes it inherently evocative, a symbol

Here is some other 'deep' analysis sentence:

...these photographs echo back through the past few decades of indie and DIY culture as it intersects with amateur and art-world photography, changes in technologies, and shifting ideas of public and private. The evocative quality of an image presented without context, it turns out, makes for a interesting dialogue point between indie's aesthetic past and present.

Sigh.... H8 our evolving society. Wish we could just live in our ideal vision of the future, but never forget the chill vibes of the past...
H8 how technology makes information/mp3s more accessible, but 'cheapens' moments that we once thought were meaningful.

Here is some paragraph where they drop the terms 'chillwave' and 'Animal Collective' just to get u interested.

The music Greene and a handful of others are making has been called "chillwave," an appropriate coinage for humid, groovy stoner tunes, which surf the tides of lengthy afternoons and evoke the dreamlike feeling of melting into the earth under an unforgiving sun. Greene shaped Washed Out's vibe after relocating from South Carolina, moving back in with his parents, and getting married. In other words, he's evoking through his music and album art photography the quiet domestic life of the 2009-2010 indie/DIY creative class-- think Animal Collective's "My Girls", "Bluish", and "Brothersport".

Here's some other paragraph that says 'chillwave' like 100x:

And most of all, we hang. Greene's good friend, South Carolinian chillwave exemplar Chaz Bundick records as Toro Y Moi. The cover of his EP Leave Everywhere features a photograph of Bundick fueling up at a truckstop, taken with a disposable camera by his friend Christy. A bit later, when Christy discovered her friend was using her snapshot as an album cover, she took to her blog and posted a wonderful little evocation of chillwave, not as a type of music per se, but a specific lifestyle that merges real-life obligations with the desire to stay deliriously young. "Chillwave is when you're at a South Carolina beach with friends and while wading in the ocean far, far from the shore someone asks 'we need to head back soon?' And you have work in the morning, an 8 a.m. meeting maybe, but you emulate the quiet ripple of the tide and you say 'naw, we'll make it back,' and you're right. You do make it back. And you even have time to wince for a photo your friend takes with a disposable camera at the gas station, and you're so chill you'll even put that crappy photo on the cover of your 7" record people still call 'chillwave' the very next summer, and it looks good."

Is chillwave photography 'authentic'?
Can u call some1 holding a DSLR at a relevant show a 'n00b'?

Anyways, they go on to claim that gorilla vs bear invented the lofi aesthetic, both in terms of mp3s AND jpgs. Wonder if bands feel pressured 2 use a vintage photograph to get blggd abt on a visually stunning lofi blog:

The market for, say, out of focus M.I.A. Polaroids might be smaller than that for high-end photo-pit SLR images, and for Gorilla vs. Bear's Chris Cantalini, that's sort of the point. He respects professional photogs with nice cameras, but has no desire to compete with them. He lets the camera do a lot of the work for him-- he positions his subjects in particular locales and then relies on Polaroid's notoriously fickle relationship to light and color to do the rest. As a result, the pinkish hues, white borders, and "matte sides" of indie artists revealed by instant photography have come to define his blog's visual aesthetic. It fits perfectly with the music he most prominently features on his site, as well: a sort of ahistorical lo-fi that purposefully sounds out of time.

Wonder if gorillavsbear-core is not just a 'lofi' brand of music, but also a lofi photography aesthetic. When indie music dies, wonder if GVB will be 'the most important aesthetic designer' in the entire history of indie. [link]

Might just move to the Suburbs and chill with the Arcade Fire, creating a nostalgic image with the Adobe Creative Suite.

Getting kind of bored posting all of these excerpts. Kinda one of those articles that says a bunch of 'interesting sounding statements' and ur waiting for something 'revolutionary' 2 be said, but then u realize it is just about chillwave photography, and ur just like 'oh ya. Don't rlly even care. Shoulda just read the headline' and then kept searching p4k 4 new buzzbands:

Should I go to my local thrift store to search for rare vintage cameras, or should I just download the Hipstamatic app on my iPhone? Just want my images to look all lofi.

It also makes sense that tech capitalists would figure out a way to make digital photos look just like the snapshots your mother pulls out when you come to visit. Hipstamatic-- based directly off of the legendarily cheap, and long discontinued Instamatic-- is one of the most popular apps ever created for the iPhone. For $1.99, every photo you take can look a hell of a lot like it was taken in 1978-- the faded colors, the unpredictable light patterns, even the slightly askew border. When fleeting moments of our everyday lives are now more than ever before seen as fodder for extracting, showcasing, and archiving for others-- we are all Jandek-- it makes so much sense that we'd want these moments to appear as authentic and hip as possible. Amateur photography, meet pre-distressed jeans and iMovie's grain-and-flicker filter.

S000 crazy how we live in a modern world with hi-resolution cameras, but

Anyways, I guess the theme of the article is basically 'photographs represent memories. Indie album covers are photographs that represent moments frozen in time, kinda like pictures.'

It seems only natural then, that as technologies have helped render privacy and artistic mystique ever-rarer, and at the same time made it easier than ever to make and release music, that artists would look to the synthetic nostalgia of old photographs. It's right there in the DNA of so much indie music itself, really: taking the mundane facts of everyday life and reframing them as evocative shared memories.

Do u think bands need to quit with the lofi photograph album art bullshit?
Do u just want to live a life of leisure without any modern technology, just capturing moments with vintage cameras?
Should I ask my parents for a DSLR or for a rare polaroid camera?
Is the layout of the blog ALTERED ZONES the 'crowning achievement' of the modern lofi indie design aesthetic?

Should Gorilla Vs Bear 'sue the fuck' out of Alt Zones [via Kirsten Kennis]?
Should Pitchfork just make their blog a series of scanned writings + pictures just to look 'more authentic'?
Has technology 'ruined' photography/the internet/the indie buzz scene?
Do u feel like u 'get' indie more than ever after reading this article?
Are chillwavers/gorillavsbearcorers the 'future' of indie?
Is photography 'overrated' as an art?
Should more bands make GIF album covers?
Did Anco 'transcend' the album art discussion?
What is ur favourite album cover of all time?
Was it 'vintage' or 'commissioned art'?
Should Mountain Dew make a 'vintage' can 2 appeal 2 alts [via the blogosphere]?

In an interview with Sirius XMU, Neon Indian's Alan Palomo is pressured by some 'shock jock' to talk more abt chillwave. It seems like every artist who was 'unfairly bundled' in2 the chillwave genre has to answer 5-10 questions per day abt their chillwave existence. Even when they go to McDonalds to buy a cheesyburger, the human behind the counter probs asks them 'what's the deal with chillwave? U want extra cheese on that burger?'

The interviewer bro goes on to 'pan' Carles, calling him a ball buster. He goes on to say that Carles is a 'shitty journalist' and should 'stay the fuck away from scene.' Should Carles 'quit' being a blogjournalist?

STREAM: CHILLWAVE INTERVIEW

R u relieved that Carles is still credited as having invented 'chillwave'?
Do u h8 the
Do u remember the time he baited Best Coast into 'talking mad shit' abt Carles / the HIPSTER RUNOFF brand? [link]
Is 'radio' still 'relevant' [via satellites]?
Does Neon Indian/Washed Out 'h8' Carles 4 ruining their lives'/artistic existence?

Anyways, sometimes u just gotta accept that as a blog, ppl are gonna hate u. Might just tweet at all my h8rs/give out their phone numbers.

Feeling relieved that Neon Indian 'debuted a new song.' We really needed this 1 after the great buzz drought of 2k10. Sufjy really let us down. Pandy lets us down every week. Really feel like I might put all of my buzz hopes + expectations behind Neon Indian 2k11.

[MP3]
Neon Indian I Really Didn't Need You Anyway (Live Sirius XMU Session)

Will this song 'save' 2k10/2k11?
Is this 'the first relevant mp3 of 2k11'?
Is this mp3 'breaking away from the chillwave genre'?
Did chillwave ever exist?
Will it take 2.5 albums for chillwave artists to evolve beyond chillwave/for uninspired local journalists 2 stop asking abt 'chillwave'?
Did Carles invent chillwave?
Does Carles 'bust balls' or 'eat dicks'?
What would Neon Indian/Washed Out/Toro Y Moi's careers be like without a 'loaded' genre term?
Do all indie/chilwave musicians h8 Carles/the HIPSTER RUNOFF brand?
Did I really need yall anyways [via not taking acid with yall]?

Alan Palomo

Alternative Celebrity

Alan Palomo is the 'frontman' of Neon Indian.

Lists: Texans, Members of Neon Indian, indie minorities, indie hunks, chillwave, 2k11 buzzbands, 2k9 buzzbands

Read more>>>>

Artists are under immense pressure to 'use social media + technology' to give fans a unique experience and an opportunity to connect with their brand. Last night, Washed Out, aka Ernest Greene participated in some 'live video chat' where he was on webcam answering questions, and a bunch of alts popped up on webcam to ask him stuff.

The fans seems 'jacked up', in disbelief. They couldn't believe they were talking to one of today's most relevant indie stars.
Fans asked him a bunch of generic stuff. "What gear do u use?" "Where do u find ur samples?" "When's ur next album coming out?" "I'm 17 years old so I can't get into your show, but I am ur biggest fan. Can u let me in?"

Eventually, every1 started asking him questions about chillwave.  Ernest basically would answer with "chillwave is chill.  Genre names are okay, whatever.  Making some new material that is probably more alt/authentic than chillwave, but doesn't completely piss on my chillwave roots."

Ernie was pretty chill, just being a webcamming bro. Didn't do anything crazy like 'show skin' or 'take out his erect penis' [via chatroulette]. Was a chill time, but then his 'internet got disconnected' and tons of alts were sad/pissed. Not sure if he 'stormed out' and just pretended it didn't work because he got tired of it.

Do u wish u had webcammed with Washed Out? What would u have asked him? Do these Washed Out fans seem authentic?

Should artists use webcamming + social media, or should they just chill & make music
What indie superstar do u want to webcam with?
Do u want to webcam with Carles / Panda Bear / Avey Tare / Ezra Batmanglij?
Would u 'pay big money' to see WAVVES + Best Coast webcam?
R u worried about the next phase of chillwave?
Will chillwave evolve?
Is Washed Out going to release 'the album of 2k11'?
Can Washed Out 'make the leap' while Panda Bear is 'on the ropes'?

Washed Out

Buzzband

Washed Out is the hit chillwave project of indie hunk Ernest Greene.

Lists: Members of Washed Out, chillwave, 2k9 buzzbands, 2k11 buzzbands

Read more>>>>

It seems like 'sex and violence' are the only things that keep people's attention in the modern world, so u have to applaud Toro Y Moi for just 'going 4 it' with his new video that features some altbaguette getting brutally murdered. Not sure if it is just some zany dream sequence, but honestly could have gone for some brief nudity in this video. Kept waiting for it. Seems chill that he rode the violentwave, but probably shoulda rode it harder. Go 'darker.' Sorta like the movie Our Eyes Are Wide Shut, Yall.

Do u think this video is 'mad authentic', or did u 'want something more' out of it?
Is this video 'MTV-ready', or just for 'assholes who read indie blogs'?

For the video to Toro Y Moi's latest single "Low Shoulder" the directors Elisha Smith-Leverock and Chris Murdoch have drawn inspiration from everything over pulp magazines and Cinderella to sploshing and mono-brows. It's a nod to Italo-horror flics form the 70ies and 80ies. It features an appearance by 60ies it-girl Daphne Sherman, wife of the legendary mod taylor Ben Sherman, who stars as a demented ballroom dancing reject/ waitress.

"According to Chaz the song was written for his girlfriend asking her to not fall asleep whilst driving. We based the video on the idea of this sleep-deprived girl calling at a roadside diner for a coffee. Next thing you know she's semi-conscious and experiencing some really weird sh**"

Low Shoulder was shot in studio and on location at the Marina Cafe on Mare Street, Hackney on a budget of £300.

Not sure how 2 convert £ to $. Seems like some sort of foreign 'savage'/Third World currency. If I had to guess, I would say that this video cost $3,000,000.

Do indie music video directors need to 'step it up' with their concept pitches?
Is M.I.A.'s "Born Free" the most authentic/buzzworthy music video of 2k10?
Should Toro Y Moi kill more gingers + show more tits & cock?
R u turned on by altbaguettes?
Has Toro Y Moi established himself as the #1 chillwaver?
Will chillwave die in 2k11? Did chillwave die in 2k9?
Will AnCo write a song called "Eff U, Chillwave"?

In a recent interview with Pitchfork, Avey Tare, the "John Lennon of Animal Collective" had numerous insightful insights about the status of his solo record, and the state of his popular band The Animal Collective. It seems like this interview was 'hella controversial', since he opened up on topics like

a) the Panda Bear vs. Avey Tare war
b) The Future of AnCo
c) The controversy / mystery behind Deakin's departure from the band
d) his thoughts on chillwave

First, he went ahead and said, 'no, we don't want anything to do with that chillwave shit.' Cant believe the interviewer 'had the balls' to ask him about chillwave. Not sure if this is a 'brilliant' question, or an entry lev question:

Pitchfork: There seem to be a lot of "bedroom" artists that have taken Merriweather as a sort of jumping-off point for their own ideas. Have you investigated that scene at all? I guess the rough term for it would be "chillwave," but the music obviously is a little more broader and less easy to corral than that. Do you have any thoughts about that scene? Anybody in particular you listen to?

AT: I don't really know a lot of it. I don't know what goes under the "chillwave" moniker. Sometimes I hear that it's stuff Ariel Pink influenced. When I hear stuff that's supposed to be "chillwave," it sounds really like 80s or new balearic, Italian prog, Goblin soundtrack kind of stuff. I try and listen to a lot of stuff that's out there right now. I feel like I heard a lot of sweet tracks this year. In terms of what feels to me like "bedroom," homegrown stuff, Teengirl Fantasy to me right now stands out as something I'm really super psyched on. I'd gotten their EP last year online and just jammed it a lot. Totally feeling that.

Did u write an EP in ur bedroom after hearing Merriweather Post Pavillion? Do u think Avey Tare 'respects' chillwave artists, or does he think they are 'full of shit'? Do u wanna vibe out to the Goblin soundtrack, riding the Golbin wave?

Anyways, then the interviewer asks him about the new Panda Bear record, TOMBOY, and Avey is all like, "I don't talk to that mother fucker--how the fuck should I know what he does? U think I wipe his ass for him?"

Pitchfork: Do you think Panda Bear's Person Pitch follow-up, Tomboy, is going to come out this year?

AT: I can't say. I have no idea. I think the reason I held back so long on saying anything about my record coming out is just, I know sometimes when you're like, "Okay." You just jump the gun. You're like, "All right, I'm gonna have this record ready and this is when it should come out." I always want to be really, really sure. I've always wanted to be that way with Animal Collective stuff. It's been like, "Let's not say this record's gonna come out until I'm out of the studio." You know what I mean? In the case of Noah's record, as far as I know, he's not even done recording.

Also he said Geologist had a baby, so An Co will probably tour less since they are 'homebodies.'

Pitchfork: Animal Collective's rise has been pretty meteoric in the past three years. Is that part of the reason why you guys are taking a little time off from touring right now? Was it all too much at one point?

AT: It wasn't really a strain. We all talk a lot about how we miss touring right now. We love playing live, but primarily we enjoy hanging out with each other, we enjoy hanging out with our crew, the people who go on tour with us. We're old friends, like a tight knit community. For our personality types, and the fact that we're essentially homebodies, we just felt like we were getting pulled away too much from being grounded and being able to move forward and think about new stuff. Brian just had a kid, actually, last week. Noah just had a baby recently. We knew that was coming. The most touring we've ever done for a record was for Merriweather. I don't think we'll ever be a band that will just tour and tour and tour. We'll probably tour less now, honestly.

Congrats Geo Bro! U gotta press release that shit, releasing pix of ur baby so the blogosphere can be happy 4 u. Sad u hid that shit from us. Will pay 'top dollar' for pix of Geologist Jr & Panda Bear Jr & Panda Bear III.

Really hope AnCo live show tickets are like $60 each now so that the low-end fans will be 'priced out.' Glad I am growing older and have more discretionary buzzband income.

Anyways, then the interviewer 'has the balls' to ask him to tell what happened to Deakin, and why he quit/was thrown out of the group for a while.

Pitchfork: Deakin [Josh Dibb] helped you produce Down There, and I saw you guys DJ at [Queens art museum] PS1 earlier this summer. It seems like he's coming back into the fold with Animal Collective.

AT: He's been doing a lot with us the past few years, especially working on Oddsac, honing his recording skills a lot. It's always a "time and place" thing for us. We don't really have a lot of concrete plans right now for what we're doing next. We know we wanna start working on new material early next year. Josh has definitely been out of touring for a while, but we're taking a break from touring right now and really don't have any plans as to when we're gonna tour next, so it's hard to say if he will or won't be on it. It's up to him too. [laughs]

Pitchfork: It's been a little vague, but can you explain why Josh took off time from the band, or is that a personal thing?

AT: It's not that it's hard to talk about. I don't think it's really my place. I think it would be more his decision. It was his decision and it was a group decision. It was just, recording post-Feels into Strawberry Jam-- it was a very transitional time for all of us, with Noah [Lennox, Panda Bear] having a kid and us working on having to travel around to start writing a lot in Lisbon and the U.S. I think it was just harder for Josh to really keep his feet on the ground. He just wanted to step away for a while. That's the best way I could put it.

Seems like Avey was, 'Listen bro. Stay out of our fucking business. We're humans 2. Stop treating me like I'm some sort of Win BUtler indie idol. I'm just an Avey Tare.'

Ultimately, it seems like Avey Tare gave this 'tell all' interview in order 2 get 'more buzz' for his album. It seems clear that it is his goal to outsell Panda Bear + win over the critics by giving them more info. By giving more bloggable bits in interviews, critics will see him as a valuable long term resource who they don't wanna 'isolate/piss off.'

Does Avey Tare h8 Panda Bear?
Does Avey Tare h8 bullshit chillwave artists?
Will we ever know the truth about Deakin? Maybe when he has to promote his own album?
Will Geologist Jr. pix ever 'surface'?
Is Animal Collective 'more authentic' than any chillwave artist?
Does AnCo have to 'trash' chillwave to make sure their brand is preserved?
Will chillwave evolve into 'the new AnCo', or will both brands 'go down the shitter'?

Animal Collective

Buzzband

Animal Collective is the definitive band of the Era of Internet Indie Music Discovery.

Lists: received above a 9 from Pitchfork, Members of Animal Collective, critical darlings, cool dads, alternative tenure

Read more>>>>

Avey Tare

Alternative Celebrity, Buzzband

Avey Tare is the lead singer of Animal Collective who wants to prove he is more important than Panda Bear by writing better songs than him.

Lists: Members of Animal Collective, indie hunks, college educated, 2k10 buzzbands

Read more>>>>

Feeling it all around
an altbro in the summer
headband + sunglasses + long hair
wind blowing in my face, windows down

Moustache + soul patch
Shit eating grin

I am driving to a local Chili's to meet with a group of my closest friends
but if I had my way
I would drive my Toyota Chillmobile
right on to a chillwave

ride the waves for a while
then take a deep dive into the conceptual ocean
hearing nothing but the drones of deep sea Panda Bears

Swim back up to the surface, lungs about to implode
Create a bong out of a snorkel mask
Get 'mad danked' on some Great Bro-rrier Reefer

Spend the rest of the day chilling on the best coast, watching the wavves
listening to summer beach jams, conjuring up nostalgic images of youth
and/or nostalgic images of the 50s/60s/70s/80s/90s

But as for now
I am just a bro
vlogging in his car
Feeling shit all around

Some bros feel things as they are and 'chill'
Great bros feel things all around and say 'mad chill'

If u could take a road trip any where in the universe, both physical + conceptual locations, were would yall drive 2?

Washed Out

Buzzband

Washed Out is the hit chillwave project of indie hunk Ernest Greene.

Lists: Members of Washed Out, chillwave, 2k9 buzzbands, 2k11 buzzbands

Read more>>>>

I remember when the festival bro was first invented, he represented a simpler, chiller bro in an Incubus/raver kind of way [link]. It seems like the modern festival bro might be more of a bloggy bro--a hyperconnected bro with high level opinions on indie music who ventures out into the real world several times per year for relevant shows and music festivals. He 'creates his own merch', making it clear that he 'gets' the 'scene', hopefully looking to attract the attention of an entry level blog reader lil slut who giggles at his shirt. If that plan doesn't pan out, 'being blogged about by a festival blogger' seems like a 'decent consolation prize' [via getting to share it in your facebook feed.'

This bro seems to be 'Crazy For You' about Chillwave, the popular post indie genre which garnered critical acclaim in 2k9. Pitchfork Music Festival showcased chillwave artists Washed Out, Neon Indian, and Pavement. It seems like this bro was 'repping hard', just wanting "less chill" and more "wave."

Not sure if his shirt might have been 'anti-chillwave' though. Kinda confused now. Just want to know what this bro is all about to see if we are into the same vibes/walls of sounds.

Have yall ever made ur own shirt?
What type of shirt would u make?
What should the official chillwave shirt say?
Can 'wave' be a genre of music, or can it only be a genre suffix?
Does Pitchfork Music Festival seem like it is filled with chill bros?
Do u still ride chillwaves or what? R u worried about chillwave in 2k11?

It has been just over a year since chillwave was 'invented' / was 'born' via the indie ether. It seems like Ernest Greene is just throwing down a chill on stage, playing some hit tunes, feeling it all around. Tank top seems like a chill ass way to beat the heat. Chilling with his Macbook Pro + Midi controller, just vibing, feeling shit all the fuck around.

Seems to be 'killing it'. Wasn't there, but watched a youtube of it.

Do yall think this seems like a chill show?
Does he need to 'add a guitar to his live set' like Panda Bear?
How does it feel to see 'chillwave grow up' and fight for relevancy in front of maltstream music festival crowds?
How can Washed Out take his live brand 2 the next level?
Do u want 2 vibe out at a Washed Out show?
Does he seem like a chill bro?
Do u think indie/chillwave/conceptual artists are 'bullshit' because they 'don't play real instruments', or does appreciating them mean that u truly 'get' modern sound art?
Can chillwave 'compete' in the 2k11 indie armsrace?

Washed Out

Buzzband

Washed Out is the hit chillwave project of indie hunk Ernest Greene.

Lists: Members of Washed Out, chillwave, 2k9 buzzbands, 2k11 buzzbands

Read more>>>>

Video might not be viewable in ur RSS Reader

Washed Out bro (aka Ernest Greene) is a chill bro from South Carolina who is one of the pioneers of 'the chillwave movement', one of the most important genres of music of the modern world. He made an MP3 for Adult Swim's record label / marketing project [link], then they made this additional video interview to create more branded web content that would get more 'blog buzz.'

He takes us on a chill tour of some lake in Georgia, where he is living and 'recording a new album.' We get to go on a motorboat, a rope swing, to some authentic hot dog joint, and even . He seems like a chill Southern bro, just lounging at the lake, jumping off stuff and splish splashing, riding waves. Wonder if he will get a jet ski with his next round of indie $$$$$.

He talks about important themes like 'isolation', giving us hope that we don't have to be a 'Brooklyn-based' buzzband in order to break thru and become a relevant indie artist. Always thought that 'the indie press' only took u seriously if you listed 'Brooklyn' as ur home in ur myspace profile.

Do u wish u could chill with Ernest Greene at his lake house?
Did he make enough indie $$$ to buy a 'beach house' [via lake house]?
Will chillwave 'last forever' or will the chillwave artists 'break away' from the genre?
Is Washed Out the most talented chillwaver, or will Toro Y Moi 'break out'?
Whose chillwave stock is the highest/lowest? Who would yall invest in?
Should I move 2 Georgia/South Carolina 2 'get in touch with Mother Indie'?
If I live on a lake instead of in Brooklyn, will I become a better artist?
Is 'driving a boat' more authentic than 'relying on public transportation'?

Washed Out

Buzzband

Washed Out is the hit chillwave project of indie hunk Ernest Greene.

Lists: Members of Washed Out, chillwave, 2k9 buzzbands, 2k11 buzzbands

Read more>>>>

Ernest Greene

Alternative Celebrity

Ernest Greene is the 'frontman' of the hit chillwave project Washed Out.

Lists: Members of Washed Out, indie hunks, college educated

Read more>>>>