A Timeline of #Internet Aesthetics in Music: 2009-2014

Where would we be today without witch house? One of the first internet-born sub-genres, witch house began as a joke, before becoming an accidental fad of sorts. Accompanied by spooky occult imagery and artist names with lots of unicode characters, the music was characterized by overdriven synths, reverb-drenched vocals, and chopped and screwed techniques. It's a bizarre mix, but it certainly worked when done right.

Travis Egedy, aka Pictureplane, is the originator of the name, and arguably the sound. On his debut record, a few of the tracks demonstrate the stylistic traits that later bands adopting the witch house sound also possessed. His aesthetic wasn't quite as dark, however, as those fully embracing the tag, and his name wasn't †▲‡▲†, either, but the sound was pretty much there.

Later acts like Salem and oOoOO really solidified the sub-genre as a genuine, albeit goofy movement. Witch house provided a lot of enjoyment for what it was, and to a certain degree it's a shame that it died off. It's hard to dispute its impact, though, even if interest in the movement did wane quickly.

(A.V. Club)

Synth-pop is a genre that's pretty much timeless. '80s classics are frequently revisited, and the huge sounding synth-driven pop tracks are the ones we tend to remember the most fondly. Chillwave is a genre for those astutely aware of this, but would like to somehow repackage it so as not to regurgitate the past verbatim. Flipping the sound and tropical feel into something considerably more lo-fi and psychedelic, chillwave initially showed a lot of promise with acts such as Washed Out, Toro Y Moi, and Com Truise.

The fad was one of the few internet-born genres where the aesthetic and sound felt as if they were truly in unison. It was the first of many blog-pop sub-genres to really take off, and it's easy to see why. It was colorful, hazy, and preyed incessantly on nostalgia. Unfortunately, it died not long after it took off, mostly thanks to oversaturation and a negative stigma associated with the tag.

Before long, those first associated with tag quickly moved onto new things in fear of being labeled as a gimmick. It was partly based upon gimmickry for sure, but it was at the very least a pretty cool gimmick. R.I.P. chillwave, you'll forever live in the mixtape I like to call my heart.

Lil B is hip-hop's chameleon. He's a big fan of trying new things, and when he does it's almost always interesting. But out of all of his phases, the whole BASED movement he started with 6 Kiss is probably the most influential. Rapping stream-of-conscious over airy, spaced-out beats—it's a style he became known for, and it's also a style that's launched the careers of a handful of notable producers. It could even be said that 6 Kiss birthed cloud rap to an extent.

This whole positive approach now represents half of Lil B's persona, and it's easily his most endearing half. The lyrical content and technical prowess aren't always there, but he more than makes up for it through conveying emotion as basically as possible. He's low-key one of the most influential artists of the last decade. Thanks, Based God.

Related: I Listened to Lil B for 24 Hours Straight, and This is What Happened

The other half of Lil B is his ignorant half, the half that wants to party and have a good time, the physical manifestation of an airhorn. He probably didn't change hip-hop with this side of him, but there's no denying the effect it has had on his rabid and loyal fanbase.

SWAG! SWAG!

As with witch house, vaporwave took a while to get noticed. Forums began hyping the movement with the legions of Bandcamp producers slowing down Diana Ross samples, but it was Daniel Lopatin, aka Oneohtrix Point Never, who sloppily and hastily birthed the genre with Eccojams. Released under the name Chuck Person, Eccojams was full of drugged out interpretations of garish pop, rock, and R&B songs. Employing chopped n screwed techniques with hypnotic samples, it seemed like a cool idea at first. That is, of course, until saturation occurred a few years later.

The visual aspect didn't come until much later, and Lopatin ditched the Chuck Person name before vaporwave really became a thing. Lopatin further explored the techniques he employed on Eccojams with later releases as Oneohtrix, albeit in a considerably more polished fashion. More on vaporwave later, though.

Unlike a lot of other movements or fads on this list, seapunk didn't really have much music specifically associated with it. Witch house was largely defined by its aesthetic, but seapunk was entirely aesthetic. Before anyone could pinpoint exactly what it was besides possible dolphin fetishization, the internet moved on. Rihanna and Azealia Banks allegedly adopted seapunk at various times, and Tumblr deemed it dead, because when something dumb gets popular it's just not ironically amusing anymore, apparently.

Another loose term that really only applied to a couple of acts, cloud rap had a lot of potential. It shot off into two distinct directions: the commercialization of that blunted spectral sound by A$AP Rocky, and the drifty atmospherics of Main Attrakionz. It proved to be successful for quite a bit, but then Rocky collabed with Skrillex and ruined everyone's fun. But hey, at least Main Attrakionz continue to put out strong material, however lowkey they've gotten since first floating on to the scene.

Kitty Pryde (now just Kitty) arrived on the scene in 2012 with the inconspicuous "Okay Cupid," and she really proved that anyone can rap. That's not a diss or anything, because she's actually had some brilliant output since her debut, showing a lot of growth along the way, but she did open the doors quite a bit. Who would've thought that a rapper with a cute, laid-back rapping style could be successful? Probably the same people that believed in Das Racist from the moment they came out with the ridiculous "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell."

But really, the importance of Kitty probably comes down to her bringing a softer, more relaxed, and unashamedly cute, almost flirtatious vibe to her delivery. A lot of female rappers are pressured into fitting into the normal hip-hop stereotypes, and Kitty rejects that in favour of offering a perspective that's actually unique to the genre.

If Kitty opened the doors for hip-hop, then Yung Lean removed the hinges and made entry free for everyone. The saddest rapper in the world (after Drake), Yung Lean and the Sadboys are here to stay. Gaining a large and loyal fanbase across the world, the Swedish rapper is probably the most polarizing internet-born artist currently out. His space-age beats thud like a mammoth-sized alien interpretation of the current state of hip-hop, and you're either on board or you're not.

His internet-friendly aesthetic borrows a lot from vaporwave, but it fleshes it out with a focus on numerology and early '00s fashion. It's retro-futuristic, but not in the traditional sense. Initially having him green-screened over videos of Pokémon Stadium, his bizarre and surreal aesthetic has grown into something weirder and weirder with each video. His lo-fi Based God-inspired videos have been replaced with videos of aliens destroying cities, and him rapping in a cave next to a My Little Pony plushie.

There's no telling where he's headed next, but there's always the guarantee that it'll be really fucking weird. Post-modernism, post-irony; call it whatever you want, just save your hate for something that's worth getting mad about.

Vaporwave, despite being an incredibly niche sub-genre, continues to thrive on forums and on Bandcamp. Demand for it has remained strong, largely thanks to an evolving sound, and the undeniably odd aesthetic. Marble statues, Japanese text, old computers, and dated corporate logos make up fully formed visual aspect of the scene. Producers have been taking the chopped and screwed approach of the genre's early days into more interesting directions, too.

After the release of Macintosh Plus' now infamous Floral Shoppe, artists such as Blank Banshee and Form & Shape have melded vaporwave's faded sound with innovative hip-hop production. Of course, other artists have been doing the same with other genres, and it's yielded some interesting results too. It may be too late for vaporwave to truly redeem itself, but damn if it isn't trying its hardest.

If you were confused by Spooky Black's odd debut video, then you're not alone. A ghostly figure sulking through the snow with a du-rag and a gold chain, letting out angelic tones across spectral instrumental beds: Spooky Black  is a unique character. The music seems genuine, but the videos are really anything but. It should provide a disconnect, but it doesn't. He's one of the most confusing figures to stem from the murkier corners of the internet, but there's no denying his talent.

He can really write a song with slick melodies, and his vocals almost always effortlessly glide over the production he works with. It's exciting to think of where he'll be heading next, so here's hoping he keeps at it. Maybe he's just laughing at us, or maybe he's just really good at grabbing our attention; either way, he's a super interesting and smart dude.

PC Music is an independent label that's been gaining traction for quite a while now, but things have really picked up as late thanks to involvement from XL Recordings. PC Music feels like the culmination of a lot of the internet fads, neatly packaged into an easily digestible whole. It's weird and twisted future pop that's heavily indebted to the past. Wildly inventive, PC Music's output is brilliant at reigniting our faith in garish pop music.

Alongside a prominent J-pop influence, PC Music's artists incorporate stylistic choices that range from childish through alien, maximalist, over-polished, and truly experimental. It's not for everyone, but the almost saccharine sound and uncanny valley aesthetic make PC Music more than just a fad.

Related: PC Music and the Future of Pop