This week, we are joined by music journalist Kieran Press-Reynolds, author of a recent Pitchfork feature about a current in music he is calling “Shitpost Modernism,” emblematized by auteurist hip-hip absurdists like RXK Nephew and TisaKorean, bathroom humor-loving jazz ensembles like Spilly Cave, various SpongeBob-imitating MCs, and, of course, 100 Gecs. You can think of it as Gen Z’s answer to 2010s outsiders like James Ferraro and Yung Lean, but blown up as a widescreen generational sensibility—and defined by a predilection for joyful nihilism, caterwauling vocals, and extra deep-fried memes. We discuss how these artists (and music meme pages like Hyperpop Daily and Underground Sound) are using internet attention-hacking to drum up excitement in a post-journalism world, how mainstream/underground distinctions have been supplanted by relative degrees of virality, and the thrill of living in an era where the weirdest stuff travels the farthest.
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