Vaporwave diary

Vaporwave

Ever since I first heard the term Vaporwave, looked at some of the imagery that is associated with the genre and heard some of the music, I have been heavily intrigued by it. In my opinion there are no other genres out there right now where imagery and music combine so well together. In the case of James Ferraro's Far Side Virtual, the music conjures up the idea of a hyperstylized surface without any depth reminiscent of most commodities in capitalist society. Chuck Person's chop and screw take on '80s and '90s pop and R&B classics on Eccojams Vol. 1 primarily provokes a feeling of uncanny nostalgia. While Yung Bae's Bae, perhaps not completely vaporwave but nevertheless within the same realm, is simply twenty minutes of blissful, innocent joy. The following documentary explains clearly the origin of the genre and the way it will (or should) move forwards:

As the narrator mentions in the video, the strength of the genre lies for a large part in the way uncanny sounds, that reminisce mall muzak, pass through your ears as fleeting and ethereal sounds; sounds that you hear once and probably never hear again, an experience I can subscribe to. Nevertheless, what I want to do with this blogpost is bring these airy and fugitive sounds back to earth by taking a little time to reflect on what I hear. In this blogpost I will therefore annotate all the vaporwave albums I listen to, hopefully in order to get a better grip on all the intricacies and differences within the genre, while also taking the time to appreciate what is actually being made. (I will not make new entries as I do with films, but continuously update this post until it hopefully reaches something of substantial length).


Bl00dwave - U L T R A D R E A M (2015)
To me, this album conveys a midnight car drive through Japan's urban landscape where, despite the smooth surface of everything around you, you cannot escape an indeterminate feeling of incredible melancholy. Last.fm tags the artist as retrowave, which I guess make sense due to its reliance on retro vocal-jazz and R&B songs from the '80s that have been heavily slowed down, chopped up, or just generally creepified. Sometimes it includes the sound of a driving vehicle, a person browsing through different radio-stations, or the radio skipping, thus enhancing the experience of immersion in this melancholic midnight drive. All in all, an amazing and moody vaporwave album that despite its tones of melancholy also contains enough positive notes to balance out. My favorite song on here is '2 4 H O U R S', which samples Fifth of Heaven's 'Just a Little More'.

James Ferraro - Far Side Virtual

Chuck Person - Eccojams Vol. 1 (2010)

That this is a great release should come as no surprise once we know that Chuck Person, aka Daniel Lopatin, usually operates under the moniker of Oneohtrix Point Never, the ambient/plundertronics producer who has released a number of critically acclaimed albums and worked on the soundtrack of The Bling Ring. While this album is not as known as his later albums this is a crucial vaporwave release since it was one of the first ones to refashion nostalgic '80s tunes in a manner that become so ubiquitous in vaporwave nowadays. The first track of the album is a droney repitition of "hurry boy she's waiting there for you", taken from Toto's 'Africa', thereby setting the tone for the rest of the album. Uncanny, nostalgic memories of a past that we, speaking for myself here, have never fully experienced. Another highlight is the revision of JoJo's 'Too Little Too Late that transitions smoothly into Ian van Dahl's 'Castles in the Sky'. But basically every song has the same eery quality that makes this an enthralling release from start to finish.


Yung Bae - Bae


Hong Kong Express - HK


GNUSWVS - Itale Cisco Vol. 1

Windows 98の- これは魂のために

Film diary (13/04-19/04)

Polar Sea 360
While this might not be a film in its traditional sense, seeing that I write a thesis about interactive documentary, I thought it would be nice to include this project in my diary as well. It presents itself as world's first 360° documentary, which means that it is a documentary where the user is able to rotate the screen at will during the story. The story tells us about people living around the polar sea and their experience about the receding ice cap. We hear different sides of the story, because we are presented with natives recollecting about their lives 50, 60 years ago and we hear the captain and the chef of a strangly decadent cruise ship that travels the polar sea. What I found striking was that an old inuit woman did not believe that the warming of the climate could be the result of human doing, because human beings are too insignificant according to her. A younger inuit woman said she was happy with the warming of the climate, because she hopes to find trees on her soil one day. Both of these views are something you do not expect to hear and already make the project worthwhile. Besides this, I think that the option to rotate the screen suits the project very well since it really provides you with a sense of immersion in the polar landscape in a way that I have not experienced it before. There is a certain time lapsed scene of different types of weather rapidly following each other, while the image stares out over the sea. This combined with a slowly rotating screen felt really special to me. I hope more projects similar to this will be developed in the future!

Night and the City (3,5*)
While this is a good film-noir, I feel it lacks a little bit of everything to be a true classic. The story is about a young hustler who "just wants to be someone" and scams his way around town to become the most important wrestling promoter in town. Obviously, doing this gives him a lot of enemies which eventually leads to his demise. The cinematography is good and the black and white chiaroscuro is nice, but not as spectacular as in The Third Man. The rise-and-inevitable-fall narrative is appealing, and probably the best asset of the film, but has been done better in other noirs. The protagonist, played by Richard Widmark, is cool, but not as remarkable as a Burt Lancaster or Humphrey Bogart. The acting in general is actually quite poor in this film. Negative as this all may sound, this was actually an entertaining watch that is recommended for everyone who loves the dark and eerie quality of film noir. Additionally, RYM made me find out about the term film gris which apparently is a subgenre of film noir where the boundary between good and bad is blurred. Seems like an appropriate term for this film, because every character in this film has something likeable and evil about them, even the woman who seems to love Widmark forever betrays him in the end.

Film diary (06/04-12/04)

Mauvais Sang (4*)
Watching this from the balcony of De Nieuwe Anita, on wooden chairs, and with a guy next to me who literally was on his phone for the entire film while producing disgustingly slimy coughs might not have been the optimal setting for watching this film. Nevertheless, this mysteriously beautiful piece of art sucked me in right from the start. Technically, the film is about Denis Lavant, in another amazing role, who has to steal a deadly virus for a bunch of thugs and about his love (amour fou, as Jeffrey calls it) for the girlfriend of the prime thug. Primarily though, I feel that it is an ensemble of great, mesmerizing, and unconventional scenes. What stood out for me was the parachuting scene which displays Lavant's incredible physical capabilities and some beautifully serene shots. And obviously, the scene where Lavant dances to Bowie's 'Modern Love' should also be mentioned. However, about halfway through the movie lost a lot of its initial momentum and I had to force myself to stay focused, which was unfortunate. Nevertheless, the occasional great scene and the magnificent use of primary colors (primarily blue and red, therefore reminding me of Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut) made for a thrilling watch. After the screening someone noted that perhaps, by the time Carax made Holy Motors, he had realized that he was more proficient in creating weird and unique scenes rather than an entire film, thus explaining the setup of that film. Definitely makes sense to me.

Gamer (3,5*)
Despite often being classified as a B-movie, for obvious reasons (poor acting, over-the-top action scenes, an excessive amount of gore, unnecessary tits), this film has much going for it. In short, one could classify this as a dystopian science fiction film and the premise is that there is one company which has been able to find a way to make mind control possible and uses that in order to create games where people pay to control other people. The first one they created is a lot like The Sims (although a lot more sexual, which I guess is inevitable when people get full control to play out their fantasies). Afterwards, a FPS game in the vein of Call of Duty is created. This is where we find the protagonist of our story, played by Gerard Butler, who is controlled by a seventeen year old kid. Eventually, with the help of a hacker organization led by Ludacris, Butler finds away to turn off his mind control and eventually kill the evil boss of the mind-control company. All in all, I think the film is a clever commentary on the way life is becoming increasingly 'gameificated' and spectacular. A contemporary version of Debord's Society of the Spectacle perhaps? Besides that, despite the fact this might be a B-movie, the way it is shot is crazy at times. Weird angles, unconventional editing, a very polished and a game-like colour scheme all contribute to that. It seems like the directors have a particular vision of contemporary society and know how to convey that in a filmic language that is both entertaining and engaging. 

Superbad (4*)
What can I say? This must be the gazillionth time I have seen this film, but it remains really funny, particularly after a couple of drinks. Despite the fact that is your typical American high-school comedy that is completely fixated at losing virginity, excessive drinking, and the word dick, the constant flow of one-liners and funny situations just make this a really entertaining film("Prepare to be fucked by the long dick of the law", "Do you know what kinds of food are shaped like dicks? The best kind!", etc). Besides that, the cast is top notch: Michael Cera and Jonah Hill, who I think is at his funniest in this film, are a hilarious duo; the same goes for Bill Hader and Seth Rogan; and on top of that there is McLovin to steal a couple of laughs. What I think is usually overlooked about this film is that the soundtrack is also completely on-point. From the funky opening scene to the ending with Curtis Mayfield, everything has a certain style to it which fits the film very well. My hunch is that director Greg Mottolo has a nose for what kind of music works well in combination with the story that he tells, because the soundtrack of his next film, Adventureland (in essence also a teen flick), despite being completely different, was equally amazing and on-point. In any case, this is probably my #1 guilty pleasure.

Film diary (30/03-05/04)

Zoolander (3*)

While watching America's Next Top Model with my roommate I asked her whether she was stoked for Zoolander 2 which is supposedly coming out next year. Turns out she has not even seen the original Zoolander, so obviously there was no other choice than watching that again. This was the second time I watched the film and afterwards I was surprised to find that I rated it very low after the first time, because I really enjoyed watching it now. Definitely the funniest role of Ben Stiller I've seen. The constant pouting and the occasional magnificence of 'Blue Steel' definitely make this a comedic performance of excellent quality. Granted, the humor borders on juvenile at times, but I think it succeeds in not getting too corny which is something the film definitely should be praised for. The pre-walk off scene where Derek and Hansel face each other directly for the first time is definitely the high light of the film for me.

Office Space (3*)
Another film watched with my roommate and another one that I've already seen before. However, whereas I definitely rated the previous one too low after the first watch, I may have overestimated this one a little bit. I remember this as being very hilarious, but it did not do the same for me this time. Nevertheless, as a big fan of Dilbert and the Dutch '9 tot 5' comics, this film cannot do much wrong. The film's humour drives on recognizable situations with an absurd twist, dead-pan dryness and the comedic highlights of this film are the moments where mundane scenes are juxtaposed with gangster music. And in all fairness, these are all things that I enjoy. Nevertheless, I think there were opportunities for more comedy and unfortunately, story-wise this is not too exciting. Therefore, if we could just watch and enjoy the printer scene again, that would be great.

Beau Travail (4*)

After having seen Claire Denis' latest film Les Salauds last year and thorougly enjoying this enigmatic thriller I got intrigued in the rest of her work. I was already aware of the existence of Beau Travail, but for some reason I never got to watching it. I've considered it, but there was always something that would convince me not to. However, after hearing my friend speak so passionately about the film I finally decided this morning I should give it a go. I am very glad that I did, because like Les Salauds this film is another enigmatic, mysterious, yet beautifully shot piece of work. There is a weak narrative thread about an army commander who, for no obvious reason, hates one of his new recruits and plots against him which results in almost taking his life. However, what makes this film particularly special for me were the beautiful landscapes, the unique way the film depicts male bodies, and Dennis Lavant's incredible acting performance. Throughout the film he convincingly plays someone who's trying his hardest to supress his emotions, therefore making the seemingly inappropriate, where the army commander dances very expressively to 'Rhythm of the the Night', extra powerful. The exaggerated physical movements of the dancing are a way of finally releasing all the tension that has been building inside of him. All in all I would say that 'haptic' would be an appropriate description of the film.

 

35 Rhums (4*)

As a result of the beauty of Beau Travail I knew the next film I would be watching was going to be another film by Claire Denis. 35 Rhums follows the relation between an immigrant father and daughter living in Paris and their relations with neighbours, colleagues, friends, etc. What I enjoyed about the film was the incredible tenderness with which the story is told. A tenderness that resides in simple gestures and looks, but also the narration of the story. The film never explicitly presents you with narrative clues, but only hints at past events, unresolved feelings, and future directions. By the end of the film I'm still not sure what exactly the deal is with everyone involved, but by then the unfolding events have completely absorbed me and made me feel for and with the characters. Ultimately, I think this is a story about resolving past conflicts in order to move on and the pain that sometimes brings. That is why it is interesting that the father is a metro-driver (a mode of transport that can only move in a fixed path), while during the end where things are starting to get resolved, he drives a car (a mode of transport which allows more freedom). There were, however, a couple of loose ends in the film which I think could've been worked out better, or perhaps just left out (e.g. student protests or the guy who sends Jo flowers). There is a also an interesting hint at France's colonial past, another past conflict that needs resolving. Whereas Beau Travail is about (mostly white) French people habitating in Africa, this film is about Africans living in France. What I appreciate is that in both films this is never the main focus of the film, but sort of oozes through the actions unfolding on screen. I think Ranciere would agree that this mode of address is more politically efficient than a direct confrontation with facts and images of misery would have been. In any case, I thoroughly enjoyed this heart-warming picture. And oh my God, there's just something about Denis and portraying sensuality and tenderness in dance scenes. I can't get enough of it!