A Guide to Children’s Culture for Adults Out of Touch With Reality: What Is Enyacore?
This week it’s a hodgepodge of youth trendlets. I’m looking at the amazing resurgence of the slightly enigmatic ’90s singer-songwriter, the pioneering use of “deep off-key” voices, and the popular “de-influence” trend where online viewers are urged not to buy things.
“Enyacore” takes over – but what is it?
Are you old enough to remember Enya? In 1989, the Irish singer-songwriter had a hit with her ethereal anthem ” Orinoco Flow ” and she continued to release quiet, almost contemporary tunes such as ” Only Time ” into the 1990s. Recently, children are becoming more and more familiar with her music and style. Enya joins Kate Bush and Fleetwood Mac in the pantheon of old, slightly gothic icons that TikTok is targeting. Enyacore is all about puffy sleeves, velvet and a cool, dreamy, almost Ren-Faire vibe. It’s similar to “whimsigoth” but a little more mature. Enya, like Kate Bush, does not tour. Her real name is Eithne Ni Braonain. She lives in the castle by the sea pictured above, which is the atmosphere: aloof, artistic, cautious and intellectual. I can only hope that next time the kids rediscover the Cocteau twins . They are like Enya with harder guitars.
Meme of the week: Presidents play video games
Deploying artificial intelligence in the form of “deep fakes” can undermine our democracy by destroying any possibility of verifying everything anyone has ever said, done or experienced, but at the same time, you can do something really funny. TikTok video with him! In honor of President’s Day weekend, let me share the latest upcoming video meme template: a video of US presidents playing video games with each other, complete with artificial intelligence voices that sound frighteningly accurate and realistic. You have Obama dropping in at the beginning of Drake to play Modern Warfare 2 , Trump chiding Biden for spending all his time shooting down balloons , and even George W. Bush showing up with a jet to provide overwhelming firepower. that no one asked for. I’m glad kids are using their freedom of speech while they still have it.
The dangers of breaking up online
The end of a romantic relationship has always been difficult, but when a couple on the rocks is very influential on the Internet, things get infinitely worse. Felix Lengyel (@xQc) and Samantha Lopez (@AdeptTheBest) are streamers who got together in 2017. The following year, they broke the news to the most important people: their millions of Twitch followers. From there, the ups and downs of their relatively tumultuous relationship have inspired fans to endlessly analyze and comment on them. But now they’re breaking up, and it’s getting worse. There’s a court case looking into their marital status (are they in a common-law relationship?) and the court system looking into financial implications and various gag orders.
This would all be complicated and sad if it were private, but these two are (sort of) public figures, which is why fans are scrutinizing court documents and old videos. Everyone speaks their mind, takes sides, and threatens with death (of course) on matters that are none of their business. Celebrity breakups are nothing new, but hiring a PR guy to explain things to the tabloid press seems quirky compared to a breakup where your fans are right in front of you all the time and your fame is based on interacting with them. . In other words, it’s a mess.
De-influencers advise TikTokers not to spend money
Considering the number of videos on TikTok that exist to promote products in a slightly behind-the-scenes way, “de-influence” is a welcome trend. These are videos, usually about cosmetics and personal care, in which the creators tell people what products not to buy, whether it’s because they’re too expensive, poor quality, or otherwise. The “de-influence” hashtag has over 179 million views and is full of videos like this, which eviscerates various TikTok fashion products , and this, which offers alternatives to Dior products that won’t empty your wallet.
“What we often see in marketing that is deeply integrated with pop culture is a constant pendulum of trend and counter-trend; ebb and flow, so that when one consumer opinion becomes extreme, there is a natural course correction to move the other way and towards the “middle,” Wharton School professor Americus Reed II told the Huffington Post .
Viral Video of the Week: How does the Sidewinder rocket work?
If you’ve been following the news lately, you know that an American F-16 jet was shot down—something—over Lake Huron by a sidewinder missile. If you were to ask, “What is a sidewinder rocket really? How it works? Why did we need two of them to shoot down what we shot down?” Fortunately, YouTuber SmarterEveryDay has the answers to your questions. Anyway, some of them. In the article “How does the Sidewinder rocket work?” we’ll take a look at the incredibly expensive rocket systems we pay for, detailing how their gyro guidance system works, how they launch, how they explode, and more. Unfortunately, this youtuber doesn’t provide any details about what was in the air, what we needed to blow up with a couple of $400,000 rockets, so I’ll go ahead and assume “enemy spaceship” until I know otherwise.