I have found that the soundtrack from The X-Files is my all-time ambient music of choice for focusing on working. That raw Yamaha DX7 mood, that electronic bass that reminds me of Beverly Hills Cop, the rainy quality... nothing beats it.

Which vaporwave albums have a sound that is closest to Mark Snow's soundtrack for the The X-Files? I usually go for either 2814 (which is more like "vaporwave adjecent") or Vangelis' The City (not vaporwave at all), and Fornax Void. Any suggestions?

🛒🛒🛒🛒🛒
🥕🥒🫛🍆🧅🍅🥜🧄
슈퍼마켓Yes! We’re Open
식료품groceries
Special Edition Cassette Box Set [N64]
My Pet Flamingo
[Legends 003]
🥕🥒🫛🍆🧅🍅🥜🧄
🛒🛒🛒🛒🛒

copies still available over at My Pet Flamingo!

out now in digital floppy disk and floppy disk art set

Also found at https://youtu.be/Cegkwf1z70U

Also on bandcamp: http://usgolf95.bandcamp.com

I hope you guys get a kick out of this. More in the works.

Take it or groove it

The Slow Fade of the Vaporwave Dream: The End of the Barber Beats Genre

In the ever-evolving landscape of online music, genres flicker into existence with a sudden burst of creativity, burn brightly in a niche community, and often fade just as quickly. The "barber beats" genre, a peculiar and hypnotic offshoot of vaporwave, is a prime example of this lifecycle. Born from the digital detritus of late-night infomercials, elevator muzak, and lo-fi hypnagogic loops, barber beats carved out a unique space with its oppressive, yet oddly comforting, repetition. It was a genre defined by its scarcity of melody and abundance of atmosphere—a soundtrack for an unsettling, perpetual waiting room. Yet, as with all things fleeting, the genre's heyday seems to have passed, and its decline marks not just the end of a musical movement, but a broader shift in the digital aesthetic that spawned it.

The very essence of barber beats was a distillation of vaporwave's core tenets. Where classic vaporwave distorted and slowed down corporate jingles and smooth jazz to critique consumerism, barber beats took this deconstruction to an extreme. It stripped away melody and structure, leaving only the disembodied echoes of a sonic past. The characteristic loop, often a few seconds long, created a sense of temporal stasis, a sonic liminal space that was both captivating and unnerving. Artists like [Editor's Note: I'll avoid naming specific real-world artists to keep the essay more evergreen and conceptual, but imagine artists who were foundational to the genre] built entire albums from this minimalist palette, cultivating a loyal following that found comfort in the genre's hypnotic emptiness. It was a sound that didn't just accompany passive listening; it enveloped the listener in a static, dreamlike state, mirroring the feeling of being lost in the endless scroll of a bygone internet.

However, the genre's very strength—its uncompromising minimalism—was also its ultimate weakness. By design, barber beats offered little room for evolution or growth. Unlike genres that can branch out and fuse with others, barber beats was a cul-de-sac. Its strict stylistic confines meant that a new artist could only iterate on an established formula, not reinvent it. The shock and novelty of the first few releases, with their jarring loops and unsettling repetition, could not be sustained. As more and more creators entered the space, the well of unique, evocative loops began to run dry. What was once an experimental and subversive sound became predictable, losing its edge and its mystique. The aesthetic, once a clever subversion of a consumerist utopia, devolved into a caricature of itself.

Furthermore, the decline of barber beats is inextricably linked to the broader evolution of vaporwave itself. The vaporwave community has moved on, embracing new subgenres that are more dynamic and accessible. Future funk, mallsoft, and even the more melodic forms of classic vaporwave have found wider audiences because they offer a greater variety of sonic textures and emotional experiences. They provide a space for both casual listening and deep immersion, something that barber beats, with its almost confrontational lack of musicality, could never fully achieve. The internet's attention span, as fast and furious as ever, has already latched onto the next fleeting trend, leaving the hypnotic loops of the barber beats era behind. The digital ghost that once haunted the empty corridors of the genre has moved on to a new, more vibrant domain.

In conclusion, the end of the barber beats genre is a microcosm of the digital music scene's relentless cycle of birth, growth, and decay. It was a genre that pushed the boundaries of what could be considered music, creating an aural experience that was both deeply specific and universally unsettling. Its decline was not a failure of its artists, but an inevitable consequence of its own success and its restrictive nature. As the once-vibrant community of creators and listeners disperses, the aural fragments of barber beats are left to gather dust in the forgotten corners of the internet, a silent, static monument to a peculiar and beautiful moment in the history of online sound.

Hey r/vaporwave!

I wrote a theatre piece based in a dying shopping mall, with themes of nostalgia, attachment, and what it means to live a fake life. DM for the link if interested, or scan the QR!

if so, anyone have it?

one of my top 10 albums. in the market for it but more generally it would just be cool to see it in someones collection.

hey y'all - this week (this is a bi-weekly podcast called Vapor_Eon) I kicked things off with a mashup of future funk/rally house and went into some vapor flavored Atmospheric Jungle and mellowed out into some vaporwave. I hope you enjoy the ebb and flow I was throwing down.

🌸 Tracklist:

1. Corrout – Dreams
2. Gorgon City – 5AM At Bagleys (Extended Mix)
3. CLOUDER – WITH YOU
4. ZARG – Like This
5. Chipzel – did u leave ur brain at home
6. Luno J – So Long
7. Corrout – Carpet
8. Jelly BonBon, Mr. Wax – Matcha Music (10 year anniversary)
9. Satin Sheets – RETURN
10. XENNON & SHIBUYA 64 – Judanest Overworld
11. JumpGlxtch – The Diamonds
12. JumpGlxtch – (TOONAMI)
13. simvlacrvm & i9incher – Crystal Chaser
14. Pizza Hotline – DUALSHOCK
15. Starjunk95 スタージャンク95 – Ocean Memory Unit
16. Miles DeVoe – Heaven, Baby
17. psychoangel – void//core
18. ERRx – new save file
19. Ari Gumora – Toonami 2008
20. alyzea – crystal settings
21. metaroom – .ANGEL
22. ookiiani – Everybody Anybody (3D BLAST Remix)
23. Pizza Hotline x Shirobon – Mei Ling
24. Starjunk95 & Yung Bae – Rally Girl 2000
25. Jimi Needles – Feel Good Rock
26. The Future Shape Of Sound – Toe The Line (Mista Trick Remix)
27. haircuts for men – フェザー級 (hfm barber chop edit)
28. The Toxic Avenger – I Never Knew
29. CYBEREALITYライフ – DIAGONALZ CORP. ショッピングモール
30. Pastel Beach – Mana Potion
31. Unknown Caller – Moonbeam
32. Pool House Ltd. – Y2K - Main Strip (Tape Edit)
33. TUPPERWAVE – Blue Sky
34. Blank Banshee – Dreamcast
35. t e l e p a t h テレパシー能力者 – 部屋の向こうから
36. 情報デスクVIRTUAL – PRISM CORP不可能な生き物
37. Windows96 – Visions II
38. bl00dwave – lay down
39. Mikel & GameChops – Legend of Zelda
40. Penthouse Suite – Patio Party
41. StriveAU – ｉｓ ｔｈｅｒｅ ｓｏｍｅｔｈｉｎｇ ｗｒｏｎｇ ｗｉｔｈ ｍｅ
42. AMBASSADOR CLASS – Farewells
43. Niveum – Persecution
44. ED. – The Grand Mac
45. Sparkly Night – Hey DJ!
46. Various Artists – Beerlover - DREAMING OF YOU
47. Desired – Wake Up
48. DR. GABBA – Bluverb
49. Tui, Ren Carter – Gates
50. AshZone – Mirage
51. nuphory – pump the beat
52. DR. GABBA – Acid Heart
53. Cardigan (VIP) – Cardigan (VIP)
54. Montee – 98 Sunset
55. Frode, Lasse Boie – Sirens
56. Reese – Where Have You Been
57. Sammy Virji, Issey Cross – Nostalgia
58. Groove Armada, Declan Knapp – Superstylin’
59. NOTION, Unknown T, D38 – TENTEN (Extended Mix)

I did new masterings and mixes, to make it more atmospheric.

This new release came out a couple days ago. Release notes ostensibly name the creators: "Created by: Mad Mystic & Moon-Eyed Ren. Additional contributions from: Rhinestone Yokozuna, Dubstar Demon, Bamboo Princess, Obeah Man, Alishan Lonely Star, Reticula, & Lyra." But who knows if those are real people or fictitious or alias?

It sounds pretty nice. A 35 minute track, and a 38 minute "version". Some light vapor-reggae sounds, drones, flute sounds, voice. Meditative.