Streaming as a new genre of entertainment is creating virtuosos like Sushi Dragon. It's live. It's not for everyone. But it's impressive. He does intricate stage design, stage production and performance of his own pseudo-concerts live on stream from an elaborate green screen set up. He is:
A verified Twitch partnerAn amateur stream artistAn absolute beast who live edits with 4PCs connected to devices strapped to his wrists along with voice controls and 12 camerasIn his garage, along with his car
What dubstep was to EDM Sushi Dragon is streaming. Or maybe he's more like Keith Emerson. His shows build from a goofy hangout to a kaleidoscopic crescendo of colors, riffs and references. Having much more to do with a Winamp visualizer than a video game stream, they're psychedelic musical performances soaked in the symbols of chats, memes and social networks. I'd say this is what concerts will look like like one day, except they already do.
The sound of Instagram
Instagram is not typically thought of as an audio medium. But a deeper look into the a certain strain of comedy videos that rack of hundreds of thousands of views from anonymous young creators shows that a hyper-distorted and blown out bass treatment reminiscent of Soundcloud rap has become the sound of Instagram. Think the goofy, hectic, rowdy little videos like:
ThisThisOr this
For anyone wondering what I'm talking about, Jon Caramanica of the New York Times described Soundcloud rap, the genre popularized by XXXTentacion and Lil Pump, as "low-fidelity and insistent, throbbing with distorted bass, like trap music reduced over a hot fire to its rawest component parts." Why is the sound of Instagram memes so similar? Three trends: the popularity of the Soundcloud genre itself peaked in 2017 and 2028, these videos are themselves lo-fi amateur punk expressions, and tinniness/tininess of the smartphone speaker.
Strangers singing strangers
I've written about platforms to alleviate loneliness in an age when friendships are geographically dispersed. In no new trend is that more obvious than Twitch Sings, a collaborative karaoke platform slowly being rolled out by Twitch. Like a mix of turntable.fm and Guitar Hero with one very 2019 twist: performers leave behind their parts so future users and virtually duet with the ghost of their performances, collaborating not with a live singer but a video of a live singer. The crowd is further mediated by the hundreds of screens through which they're watching the stream; not a club or bar full of people but a chat room full of people who are each alone at home. In this, you will never meet your band mate.
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