This week’s podcast looks at the world of “lofi hip-hop”, which is an odd choice of a genre title if you are familiar with classic hip-hop. This Frankensound is born of the Internet era.
If you’ve spent any good amount of time on YouTube, chances are you’ve come across this style yourself. You may be guilty of listening to it or possibly being a fan that hides out at your desk listening to it while you get lots of work done.
Don’t worry, it’s ok. No one’s judging you because they’re too concerned about how they themselves appear to others. The disappointing reality of this era.
Anyways after listening back to this episode I think I am more conflicted about this style of music than before I produced it. On one hand it represents everything that music should be - easy to make with plenty of listeners to receive the work. On the other hand it’s god awful. Even the people who love it can probably admit it. In the same way that we like corny movies that we know are corny.
So join me in being conflicted by listening to this week’s episode on lofi hiphop.
I am hosting a free fireside chat this week on Thursday night, Toronto time.
The topic of this chat is to launch the audiobook version of This Book Will be a Failure, which I wrote in the thick of the pandemic this year.
Back to the podcast, do you like the style of lofi hip-hop or do you want to flush it down the toilet like your child’s goldfish that they promised would take care of but completely failed at doing so?
You might criticize me for using such strong language there, but keep in mind that if we don’t curb bad trends in music early on, we will have more groups like Hanson re-emerge every decade, who took shape as the Jonas Brothers in their last reincarnation.
Some random thoughts I’ve had this week:
It’s less work to do boring things like go to bed early, eat a healthy lunch or get your tasks done when you say you will. It saves you the pointless agony of regret after you eat a tray of sushi to yourself or in the case of lack of sleep having a day filled with bad decisions.
The samurai chooses death. A modern-day interpretation of this phrase is to throw yourself into the fire that challenges you to grow.
What’s the most important thing you can work on in the next 20 minutes, in the area that’s most important to you?
An enjoyable quick read: The plan to make Madrid livable for the people who actually live there (link)
I wrote this email on a Saturday night, so by the time it arrives in your inbox I should be on the second hole of golf.
I will be hungry by the time this round ends as I have only a hard boiled egg ready before I leave, so it’s guaranteed that I will be eating a Sunday Bagel™️ by noon.
Support your local businesses and grab a bagel while you’re out doing that. Thanks for reading, sending you my best.
Elliott “Big Poppy” Fienberg
I was very fascinated by the "re-emergence of Muzak" and fall to the hype around the Arstechnica's "How old, ambient, Japanese music became a smash hit on YouTube", and still haven't had the time to listen to all the things that came through this one article. :)
(and I would really, really like our politicians to accept a plan for Sofia similar to the one for Madrid, but unfortunately, many of the decisions are very unpopular and really hard when political rating is on the table)