Oh god, I feel like I’m going to be massacred.
K-pop
Isn’t it basically the same as back when western boybands were popular, just with more internet? I suppose I don’t quite get those, either, but it’s not that hard to figure out why these groups are so appealing to many girls and women.
That’s the thing, I don’t know
Is it something more than just Korean pop groups? Is it a fetish? This is the most I’ve thought about it honestly because some of the fans just made it nuts.
I worked at a B&N and the calls I would get for exclusive versions… 12 versions of the same album except for some trading card inside or something.
I find it bizarre but I just don’t understand
“fetish” might be a bit much, but I think the somewhat effeminate style of the men in these groups is a very welcome contrast to the kinds of male musicians who are popular with boys+men. They also heavily feature dancing, which is a lot more popular with women than men, too. And it’s probably specifically about korean groups because korea has a large boygroup+girlgroup industry and being east-asian they have a novelty-bonus (dare I say exoticism-bonus?) compared to western groups.
Fetish was the wrong word. Desirable I guess is what I meant to lead with.
You have had the longest conversation with me about k-pop. I get it a little bit more than I ever meant to.
I begrudgingly thank you lol
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The comparison with western boys bands makes sense, but it is not very flattering IMO. K-Pop is very competitive as an industry, and the artistic and technical level is miles ahead when compared to a backstreet boys or bands like that. Korean performers are world class, they have badass producers, insane music videos etc…
It’s not my jam at all but I have to admit there’s good shit in there.
K-pop is purely about looking pretty. Some of the boy bands looked pretty average but their music was decent.
I mean, there’s more to being effeminate than being really really ridiculously good-looking.
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hey, you’re valid… I’m from Korea and it’s crazy seeing how people drool over kpop nowdays. no attention for the actual good music, the korean rock and hip hop and funk and jazz and so on… just the corporate boybands.
It’s the same shit that’s popular in the US. manufactured popularity. we could talk about all the factors about how they pulled it off, but who cares, it’s a bunch of shitty music created by desperate people selling their souls to rapists who prey on modern social isolation to sell empty fantasies to the masses.
that’s the point of the music! you should be proud to dislike it. now go listen to something good, like Jaurim (자우림)
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There’s good and bad kpop, like there’s good and bad of most genres.
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Bacon was awesome before the marketing campaign. Bacon was awesome during it, and bacon remains awesome to this day.
Sorry about all the shitty bacon you’ve been fed.
I am so annoyed with bacon on burgers. Stop putting bacon on your burgers. Restaurants will go through the trouble of having some delicious house sauce or concept for the burger, and then overpower it completely by putting 4 strips of cheap ass bacon on it, what the fuck are you doing people, trust in your burger sauce why are you like this
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I don’t remember a bacon marketing campaign. Regardless, bacon/pork belly is the most delicious meat in my opinion.
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Very interesting, sounds exactly like what the diary industry does. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are both heavily connected.
For those curious, see Climate Town latest video “Dairy Is Milking America Dry”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQiLly6Z1xs
https://yewtu.be/watch?v=NQiLly6Z1xsI love nor being american so much
Taylor Swift. I actually like her music. I also understand that hardcore fans will exist for every artist. But Swifties take it to another level. I’m lowkey impressed by that fandom, but don’t get it.
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You know how people who are into Q-Anon and Pizza-gate look at strange symbols and odd numerology to find strange connections to prove whatever crazy thing they believe. Taylor Swift like to release albums, singles and tours using favorite numbers, hidden symbols and hints in her other songs. So it fits that section of the internet who love to analyze to death things to find clues. Since she is so prolific there is enough material for her to hide these Easter eggs to generate endless conspiracies about when things are released. Since she does drop hints it makes sense that people love to find them. Its like a puzzle-game mixed with a conspiracy theory mixed with a “viral marketing campaign” all in one. And instead of unraveling the fabric of democracy she release music people like.
I just saw Black Joe Lewis play last night and I know for a fact he’s a much better guitarist. But she packs stadiums and only 50 people were at his show. maybe it’s because he doesn’t show off his thighs?
I think you’re generalizing her way too much here. Her fanbase is mostly girls. They aren’t coming to see her thighs. She may not be the greatest guitarist in the world but she’s a great song writer and singer. Her Eras tour was also incredibly well done.
If she was 275 lb nobody would purchase her music. My point is not to body shame, but yeah … Don’t think for a second her look and mystique isn’t half of what is being sold to kids.
“my point isn’t to body shame” as you body shame lmao. Maybe, and this might be crazy, she writes good music. I haven’t looked at a single picture of Taylor’s thighs before buying all her music.
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Your point is fucking stupid. If she weighed more people wouldn’t buy her music? So because she dresses up she’s selling her body? And if she can’t sell her body she wouldn’t be successful. Because women aren’t successful unless they’re selling their body. Touch grass buddy. Maybe listen to T Swift while you’re at it. Unless she’s too big for you.
Lol! The music industry has fuck all to do with music…!
I mean… pretty much anything that gets hyped. For me, hype is one of the most reliable signals that I’m not going to be into something. That said, I’ll admit that the hype itself often keeps me from even giving things a fair chance. So it’s not that I’ve disliked everything that’s been hyped, but more that the ones I did try and didn’t enjoy made me even less likely to bother with the rest.
This is me in a nutshell. The more people that tell me to participate in any thing, the less likely i am to try it. Still haven’t watched Tiger King, for example.
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It’s a really fun game. People exaggerate the “addictive” aspect because… you know… “internet”
It’s also a card game. Card games are practically synonymous with human civilization. So it already has innate appeal to a wide audience.
Y’know, while I also think it’s exaggerated, there’s definitely some truth to it. I was playing it on my phone while my friend’s kids were watching, and they incessantly tried to get me to pick opening packs over any other game mechanic.
I think it definitely does abuse that “loot box opening” dopamine pathway a little too well in a perhaps a less than healthy sort of way, even if it doesn’t cost you any real money.
So while it is a very good deck building strategy game, I totally get the reason it has the reputation it does.
Big number go up, get brain drug dose. not much more to it than that.
I don’t like that kind of game. I didn’t like Balatro. I’m more into realism and simulation though. I had no idea why all of my favourite sites couldn’t stop talking about it. Honestly, I think standards have fallen a lot further than we thought. Again though. I’m surviving until the release of Elder Scrolls 6. Balatro was never really on my radar.
We live in a world where bastion and undertale and tw3 are ‘good games’.
There are times when hype and marketing and fad take over, and nobody can see that the game is poor or ho-hum… Or in the case of undertale, pure shit.
Switch 2
Tik Tok. It’s just vine but no one is funny. How many videos of people just driving their cars with some nonsense text overlaid, like, how many hundreds of that are needed? How are you going to stand out? It’s just a way for the uncreative to take part in creativity. Which they aren’t.
Just like the fast food thing, TikTok is literally addictive. It’s the new breed of addictive tech. It’s the fentanyl of tech.
K-pop, Anime & Manga, Harry Potter (fuck JKR!), gyms, Yoga & Pilates, fashion, make up, nail polish and probably a hundred things more…
I think HP and Kpop are both quite overrated.
Anime and Manga are just media, so there are good and bad series, like anything else. It’s not worth obsessing over, or writing it off. But there are definitely shows that are worthy of some amount of hype.
Gyms are a good place to have access to various machines and weights for strength training (which is super important!) It has advantages and disadvantages compared to something like calisthenics. Yoga is a great way of moving and stretching the body, which is big for flexibility and general mobility. Especially combined with some form of strength training, it will have a huge impact on how your body feels.
Fashion, makeup, and nail polish are all about self expression. Fast fashion is bad, but fashion can mean just putting together a good outfit. It’s worth it to put a bit of effort into what you wear, and making your clothes into something that reflects you. Makeup also has a positive and negative side. On one hand, a lot of people use it (often heavily) to cover up their percoeved flaws and ‘fix’ their appearance. I think that’s unhealthy and a bit sad. But makeup is also an an art form; it turns your face into a canvas. Think winged eyeliner, glitter, colored eyeshadow or lipstick, etc. This includes nail polish. It’s an expression of creativity, an you get to look nice at the end! Even if it’s something you aren’t personally interested in, (or if you are discouraged from self ornamentation due to gender expectations) It should be clear why people enjoy these things.
The last of us games, pretty generic trope filled badly paced story. And just super meh gameplay that feels like you are walking through molasses.
Haha I have a TLOU tattoo. Hate the 2nd game though
Was it too “woke” for you?
Too miserable and not credible IMO
If the show is anything to go by, TLoU is horrifically fascist and nihilistic. The main writer is a zionist with some pretty disgusting views and his politics seep through everything in the show.
Life is strange. Just pure shit.
I finally started playing the first game on PC a few days ago… It’s not great. Story is whatever I dont really care. The actual gameplay itself is just…not fun? Clunky and imprecise.
I had the same problem with red dead 2. I don’t have the attention span to care about the characters or the story so I need solid gameplay to keep me hooked and it just wasn’t satisfying to play for the most part. Felt like I was suggesting movement controls rather than actually controlling my character. The guns all felt meh. It’s got some fun mechanics, but the bounty system was horrendous and the survival aspect is non-existent.
I have goopy goblin gamer brain as some call it. I need the gameplay to be excellent as I do not care about graphics or story. So many games have amazing graphics and legendary stories but the gameplay itself just isn’t fun enough for me to finish it.
Vinyl records.
If you’re rejecting online music streaming and wanting music in physical form, CDs look a lot more practical. CDs are smaller, less delicate, and don’t physically degrade every time you play them. CD playback hardware needs essentially zero maintenance and is crazy cheap still.
Could it be for nostalgia? But I’ve seen people younger than peak vinyl get into music on records. They wouldn’t have any nostalgia for vinyl.
Is it for the sound quality? But I’ve seen chiptune albums available on records! It would be truer to the music to load it onto a real Game Boy or something.
I like vinyl for it being big enough to be somewhat like a poster. I’m hoping to eventually gave a vinyl wall when I have my own place
I’m 30 so CDs were well and truly widespread during my formative years so it’s not nostalgia for me
The reason I like vinyl is how slow and deliberate it is compared to other mediums. If I want to play a record I have a limited curated selection which I purchased with a specific use case. These are all played in my living room and are generally slower and relaxing type music. If I want to play a record I will need to start at the beginning and typically commit to hearing the entire thing in its entirety. Each side I have to choose to continue which slows down the process. I can’t skip ahead to the songs I like and it doesn’t automatically play anything once its done. Its slow and has a large physical object which I enjoy.
If I used CDs I could skip to whatever song I like or have it automatically play the next CD. With a multi-disc changer I wouldn’t have to choose what I want to hear each time. I have CDs which I use in my car for a different use case which is to listen to when the radio is being annoying.
This exactly.
It’s the ceremonial steps that precedes the listening experience that adds flavour to the enjoyment.
If I want to just listen music and do other things I just use Apple Music + AirPods/Soundbar, but if I want to listen a certain album and make the experience more active, I use the record player.
My music collection on vinyl is curated since each album involves a higher cost.
There is also my fascination on analog things, I have an automatic turntable and love the orchestra of mechanical sounds from all the internal components.
Edit: Forgot to mention that on streaming platforms sometimes the only version available is a remastered version that was rereleased on CD that fucked the dynamic range during the loudness war or is an edit of the original one.
It’s the ceremonial steps that precedes the listening experience that adds flavour to the enjoyment.
Exactly. Its a ritual for the listening experience. If I had to add up the hours of listening to Vinyl vs streaming, streaming would win hands down. But I love the vinyl when I use it which is usually an experience. We do a lot of vinyl around the holidays since we spend a lot of time in my living room relaxing. Which adds to the experience
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The reason the people choose vinyl is because of its limitations. CD has a larger dynamic range, but because it’s fully digital, producers can abuse that fact and make an extremely loud and dynamically compressed record and the CD will play just fine.
If you tried doing that on vinyl, the needle would fly off the record. So thanks to this physical limitation, people who produce for vinyl are forced to make a quieter, more dynamic record. It’s less fatiguing on the ears, and if you want a louder record, you can simply turn up the volume.
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Thank you for being the voice of reason.
This is untrue. CD’s have a much larger dynamic range; 96dB compared to ~70dB, depending on how the record was pressed.
The reason why people say vinyl is more dynamic than CD is because producers are forced to make vinyl records more dynamic, so that the needle doesn’t fly off the record. With CDs there’s no such limitation, allowing people to make the album as loud and dynamically compressed as they like.
Edit: I should also mention that the 44.1kHz sampling rate of a CD is enough to produce a perfect analog waveform all the way up to 22.05kHz, which as you know is beyond the limit of human hearing. If produced correctly, a CD will always sound better than vinyl. Problem is that CDs often aren’t produced properly.
Because you don’t have to factor in needle skipping, you can produce a loud record that distorts, either because you want to be the loudest song in the listener’s music collection, or that you simply don’t know/don’t care about proper dynamics.
The distorted bass you’re talking about is not because of the limitations of CD, but simply because the CD version was not produced/mastered correctly. Like I said, the sampling rate of CDs are high enough to reproduce a perfect analog waveform every time.
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Jellyfin vs Plex vs Kodi
People get really into the one they choose and upset when other people make a different choice. But it’s not a competition, use whatever makes you happy 🤘
Absolutely do use whatever makes you happy, but that is a false equivalence. Plex just updated their license to allow them to track your content consumption and sell that data to whomever they want…
asparagus
Jungle pee!
Fast food.
I’m not saying there’s exactly “hype” but it seems to have a permanent grasp on the minds of chronic users.
In 2025, with our knowledge of nutrition, people are still denying that it’s basically hot candy disguised as food… people are still arguing that it’s nutritional enough that is okay to eat.
No, it’s the equivalent of cigarettes. Stop eating that shit, recognize it for what it is: addictive poison.
In the same way that sugar/candy is physically addictive, fast food has been proven to have the same physiological effects. It’s literally an addiction.
Yep, and that’s why users go berserk typically when I point out that it’s basically hot addictive candy, not food.
Addicts go nuts when you tell them they can’t or shouldn’t have their medicine.
Souls games.
Ed Sheeran.
In-N-Out.
Celebrities
I couldn’t care less about any of them, I don’t understand why people follow them on social media or read gossip about their love lives.
Makes zero sense to me
