So yes, weirdcore, and traumacore… Apparently these are things, so I’m going to throw out a couple of cut & paste definitions because I don’t want to fuck this up.

WEIRDCORE: Weirdcore is an online aesthetic and art movement centered around amateur or low-quality photography and/or digital graphics that have been constructed or edited to convey feelings of confusion, disorientation, alienation, and nostalgia or anemoia.

TRAUMACORE: Traumacore is a type of imagery that delves into the themes of abuse and trauma (particularly sexual trauma or CSA), though it’s not strictly limited to physical or sexual abuse. Mental, emotional, and spiritual abuse are also common themes as it pertains to traumacore. It often draws heavily on childlike and angelic themes, done so as a means to try and reclaim their innocence, with Sanrio characters being a major theme.

You know what? This is going to require more reading for me but in the meantime, what does the music sound like? Well, if this particular mix and a few others are a valid indicator then it’s a twisted dubplate twist on ambient or vaporwave. It’s heavy (as in lethargic), plodding, and melancholic. It’s kind of a mess, but definitely compelling. But hell, I’m weird, and I’ve had trauma, so let’s see if any of this resonates in any way.

And don’t get fuckety or messed up about it. This isn’t research so much as it’s curiosity. It’s not academic and you won’t see me writing any papers on it. Don’t expect explanations and answers. Don’t expect my conclusions on it. You’ve got the links so you can figure it out on your own. I’m definitely curious enough to muck about with the ideas but it’s really as much about the curiosity that such things exist as it is about what exactly these things are.

Maybe. You may get more on this from me. It depends on just how compelling it turns out to be. Thing is, and this is important, one of the biggest mistakes that a person can make with their healing, or even their life in general, is being led to believe that all their pain, suffering, discomfort, trauma, alienation, dissociation… any of that… makes them special in some way. Or believing that anyone cares in the slightest. And worse of all that there’s some reward at the end. Or even an explanation or meaning. It just is and it’s not unique in any way.

Then you may even come to find out that what you thought was sacrifice was never sacrifice to begin with, because it’s not sacrifice if you perform something expecting some kind of reward or validation. It was just folly. And that’s not stoicism on my part, or even skepticism. It’s just a point of fact. Your trauma is just your journey and it becomes even harder if you think at any point that some meaning will reveal itself, or that there is any compensation. Life is just life and your feelings about any of it are your own. The Universe by and large doesn’t care. Herzog said it in a slightly different concept, but nature and the universe are monumentally indifferent to the presence of man.

The same sun that gives life to all things and makes them grow is the same sun that will make them wither and die and turn to dust. Life is easier when you accept that you just are.

Google the word folly.

Of course these last couple paragraphs come off like a rant, and a judgement of weirdcore and traumacore, but they’re not. It’s just a tangent. I don’t know enough about any of this stuff to know what the people who are into it are feeling about themselves or their groups… or even if they identify at all as a group! The existence of these aesthetics as entities does give me some… concern… though. Like aw man, I hope you’re not going down this path because it’s going to lead to disappointment more profound than you can imagine. Please don’t believe there are answers, beyond coming to the conclusion that there are no answers to be found, and coming to peace with that. One thing about life that I’ve come to understand, for example, is that the best and worst things that ever happened to me were entirely unconnected to any action or choice on my part. They were just about random great or horrible luck. The world is very strange and random that way, and everyone gets some of both in various portions and balances.

Anyway, the music. It’s engaging enough… There’s a balance of strange and familiar. Nothing goes exactly where you expect it might go. It’s all just a little off-kilter. I’ll take it.

Tracklist:

• |0:00 – 2:28| clairo – how did i ever
• |2:28 – 4:54| uhhhhhh – framed// slowed + pitched
• |4:54 – 7:17| kesha – your love is my drug// slowed?
• |7:17 – 11:16| øfdream – thelema// slowed and bass boosted
• |11:16 – 15:59| plenka – no// slowed + reverb
• |15:59 – 18:58| nice boys – temporex
• |18:58 – 26:23| portwave – nightmare// slowed
• |26:23 – 31:14| closer – nuages
• |31:14 – 35:00| synthwave goose – blade runner 2049
• |35:00 – 39:16| the neighborhood – daddy issues// (remix) slowed + reverb
• |39:16 – 42:34| sitcom – still life
• |42:34 – 46:30| plenka – closed// slowed