Community Vertigo

As the leaves turn brown and the fall equinox approaches, we reminisce on the infamous brat summer that spawned from Charli xcx’s 6th studio album, BRAT. We determine if BRAT has a place in the alleged “Indie Sleaze” revival, condemn toxic stan culture’s war on artistry, and applaud Charli’s panache for marketing. Will a U.S. presidential campaign and cultural phenomenon give BRAT the push that gets Charli back to the Grammys? Could a remix album lead us to a brat autumn? Join us in exploration of this lime green-colored, club-infused era.Links:Spotify PlaylistCharli xcx, “BRAT” (Google)TikTok CollectionFind us:⁠Instagram⁠⁠TikTok⁠Watch ⁠this episode⁠ on YouTubeTimestamps:Intro 00:00Indie sleaze 01:03Album cover & toxic stan culture 09:41Vibes & themes 17:09Marketing 21:51360 music video 25:29Charli & the mainstream 28:19Kamala 30:21Brat summer to brat autumn 33:47Qs 40:46 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityvertigo.substack.com

This week, we dive into the extensive transformation that Instagram underwent in the year 2016. Starting off with the infamous makeup trends that defined the era, we discuss Kylie Jenner Lip Kits and James Charles’ bold eyebrows. We ponder the “Instagram Baddie” and how influencers shaped 2016’s “Girlboss Feminism." Listen along as we dissect how the birth of the algorithm and Instagram Stories contributed to the platform’s commercialization, and advertisements being found at every swipe and scroll. Is social media still social?Links:Pinterest BoardAshley Reed, “The Rise and Rise of Instagram in 2016” (Medium)Mike Isaac, “Instagram Takes a Page From Snapchat, and Takes Aim at It, Too” (New York Times)Taylor Loren, “Instagram Year in Review: Top Trends from 2016” (Later.com)Find us:⁠Instagram⁠⁠TikTok⁠Watch ⁠this episode⁠ on YouTubeTimestamps:Intro 00:002016 Makeup 01:312016 Fashion 08:19Instagram Stories 11:58The Algorithm & Commercialization 14:55App-Hopping Influencers 22:252016 Election & White Girlboss Feminism 23:14Blogging 25:17What did we post? 25:28Instagram Themes & Old Trends 28:06Outro 31:01 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityvertigo.substack.com

If you’ve ever dressed as a musician to see them in concert, dutifully sewn metal band patches onto a "battle jacket," or decorated a cowboy hat to wear to a show, you’ll feel personally seen by this episode. This week, we discuss modern trends in concert fashion and how the threads we choose to brandish can display our fandom. Through the lens of pop and metal culture, we converse about early displays of fan merchandise and debate which fan base may have originated the cowboy hat decorating trend. Most importantly, we ask the age-old question: Are you a poser for wearing a band t-shirt to a gig? We shall see…Links:Pinterest BoardCarrie Brownstein, “Concert Outfits: A Brief History” (NPR)Lauren Alex O’Hagan, “'My Musical Armor': Exploring Metalhead Identity through the Battle Jacket” (Taylor & Francis Online)Madeleine Schulz, “Did the arena tour kill festival fashion?” (Vogue Business)Find us:⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠TikTok⁠YouTubeTimestamps:Intro 00:00Did the arena tour kill festival fashion? 00:17Fan-Artist-Fan Connection 01:48Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour 02:44Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts Tour 05:17Carrie Brownstein’s “Concert Outfits: A Brief History” 06:02Early Concert Fashion and Fan Merchandise During Beatlemania 08:52Madonna Lookalike Contest 11:13Chappell Roan’s Concert Themes 12:15Battle Jackets in Metal Culture 13:13Cowboy Hats 16:23Band T-Shirts 21:42Are you a poser for wearing a band t-shirt to a gig? 23:39Rave Culture 26:14What artist do you own the most merch for? 27:17Outro 28:35 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityvertigo.substack.com

BLINK THREE TIMES WHEN YOU FEEL IT KICKING IN…This week, we come to the consensus that the pop girlies are entering their ‘wellness eras.’ Gone are the hedonistic exploits and glamor of their prime; and welcome the newly-reformed, stripped-back songstress, complete with a bare face, neutral clothing, and an aura of calmness that looks too good to be true. Looking towards Kacey Musgraves’ Deeper Well, Ariana Grande’s eternal sunshine, Dua Lipa’s forthcoming Radical Optimism, and more, we trace the roots of ‘pop wellness’ to country and folk, give Lorde’s Solar Power the flowers it deserves, and discuss how girlboss-era feminism may be responsible for the inevitable shift from pop stardom to granola girl-chic.Links:Spotify PlaylistPinterest BoardChristine A. Kelly, “Singing Out Between Tradition and Rebellion: Folk Music, Folk Womanhood, and American Feminism in an Era of Social Change, 1954-1985” (Fordham University)Chris Richards, “Kacey Musgraves made a wellness lifestyle album that isn’t Goop-core” (Washington Post)Chris Willman, Lorde’s ‘Solar Power’ Finds a Once-Dark Star Tripping the Daylight Fantastic: Album Review” (Variety)Nina Raemont, “A Year Later: In Defense of Lorde's ‘Solar Power’” (Substack)Albums Referenced:Ariana Grande, eternal sunshine (Google)Dua Lipa, Radical Optimism (Google)Kacey Musgraves, Deeper Well (Google)Lorde, Solar Power (Google)Miley Cyrus, Endless Summer Vacation (Google)Outro Audio: @billzremix on YouTubeFind us:⁠Instagram⁠⁠TikTok⁠Watch ⁠this episode⁠ on YouTubeTimestamps:Intro 00:00What’s a Wellness Album? 00:18Hedonism vs. Wellness 03:19Lorde’s Solar Power 04:13Ariana Grande’s eternal sunshine 09:25Retreat From the Mainstream 11:36Pop Star Goes Country 12:27Singer-Songwriters & Folk Music 14:20Kacey Musgraves’ Deeper Well 20:32Dua Lipa’s Radical Optimism 25:00Miley Cyrus’ Endless Summer Vacation 29:25Wellness Album Favorites 30:06Outro 31:07 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityvertigo.substack.com

Tierney has called this emergency meeting to address the pervasiveness of AI. We discuss the ways that AI is affecting kids’ development, our perceptions of ourselves, aesthetically, and the potential removal of our autonomy. With the prevalence of AI-generated music, images, and artificial conversations online, we’re forced to ask: Is there an ‘end-goal’ for this technology? Or, are STEM bros just jealous of creative people? Links:TikTok CollectionTeachers Reddit Threads: Kids don’t know how to read??Why don’t they know how to use computers?Mika Koivisto and Simone Grassini, “Best humans still outperform artificial intelligence in a creative divergent thinking task” (National Library of Medicine)Kish Lal, “The Uncanny New Generation of Filters Uses Machine Learning GAN Technology to Regenerate Every Pixel on a Face” (Dazed)Aisha Malik, “TikTok is experimenting with a feature that uses AI to create songs based on prompts” (Tech Crunch) Ava Sasani, “As AI tools get smarter, they’re growing more covertly racist, experts find” (The Guardian)Find us:⁠Instagram⁠⁠TikTok⁠YouTubeTimestamps:Intro 00:00Children and Technology 00:46AI Face Filters on TikTok 03:45AI Bandwagoning 07:19Racism in AI 11:00The Creative Economy vs. AI 13:19AI Music 17:27Deepfakes 21:12Overconsumption 27:51Corporate Social Media 28:52Outro 30:19 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityvertigo.substack.com

In part two of our Rockstar Girlfriend series, we branch off from “I’m with the Band” and discuss the groupies that followed: the hair metal girlies of the 80s, the it-girls of the 2000s, the MySpace scene queens, & more. We question where & why the downfall of groupie-dom occurred, and how the modern-day iterations of the so-called “Rockstar Girlfriend” aesthetic may or may not suffice.Links:Spotify PlaylistPinterest BoardTikTok CollectionAlexa Chung, “It” (Google)Alexa Chung, “Muse Collection Interview | ALEXACHUNG” (YouTube)Pamela Des Barres, “I’m with the Band” (Google)Pamela Des Barres, “Let’s Spend the Night Together” (Google)Pubali Dasgupta, “The troubling life of Lori Maddox, the 'baby groupie' of the stars” (Far Out)Thea De Gallier, “‘I wouldn’t want this for anybody’s daughter’: will #MeToo kill off the rock'n'roll groupie?” (The Guardian)Find us:⁠Instagram⁠⁠TikTok⁠YouTubeTimestamps:Intro 00:00Baby Groupies 00:16‘80s & ‘90s Groupie Culture 07:10The Girlfriend is the Rockstar 10:27The House Bunny Interlude 18:09Rockstar Girlfriend Aesthetic 18:49Scene Queens of MySpace 25:17Muse vs. Groupie 29:28K-pop Fansites 36:27Devon Lee Carlson 40:45Outro 43:39 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityvertigo.substack.com

This week, we tackle a trope that is very near & dear to our hearts (for better or for worse): the “Rockstar Girlfriend.” In the first of our two-part episode, we discuss the history of groupie-dom, led by Paulina’s insistence that the group consult *the* sacred text, Pamela Des Barres’ “I’m with the Band.” We reminisce on fangirls’ roots in Beatlemania and the heyday of LA groupie culture, debate our fixations on tortured artists, and dissect how misogyny and controversy led to the groupie’s demise. Links:Spotify PlaylistPinterest BoardTikTok CollectionAlexa Chung, “It” (Google)Joli Jensen, “Fandom as Pathology: The Consequences of Characterization” (PDF)Mayrav Estrin, “Why Have We Fetishized the Tortured Artist? My Thoughts Post Sam Levinson's ‘The Idol’” (Cinephile Princess)Pamela Des Barres, “I’m with the Band” (Google)Sadie King, “Where Did All the Groupies Go? The Rise and Fall of the Good-Time Girls of Rock” (Strand)Find us:⁠Instagram⁠⁠TikTok⁠YouTube Timestamps:Intro 00:00When Did We Hear About “Rockstar Girlfriends” & “Groupies”? 00:42What’s a Groupie? 03:29The Emergence of Groupies 07:31Misogynistic Backlash 09:50Pamela Des Barres’ “I’m with the Band” 11:55The Tortured Artist 15:56What’s the Fixation with Tortured Artists? 17:50Humanizing Rockstars 25:43The Former Accessibility of Rockstars 27:53Rock ‘n’ Roll Divorce 32:56The Extinction of Groupies 35:28A Groupie’s Lifestyle Aspirations & Aesthetic 37:26The Pain of Loving Artists 43:54What Band Would We Be Groupies For? 45:49Who Are Our Favorite Beatles? 47:29Outro 49:52 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityvertigo.substack.com

On this week’s girlpodcast, we’re just girls talking about our girldinners, girlblogging, girlmath, the girlification of food and, well, everything. We discuss how the act of ‘girlblogging’ has conquered a niche sector of the internet, the uncanny cuteness of ‘girldinners,’ the predicament of ‘girlmath,’ and how we endorse ‘balletcore’ as the future of 2024. Tie a bow onto your headphones for this one!Links:Spotify PlaylistPinterest BoardTikTok CollectionLetterboxd ListAJ Willingham, “‘Girl math’ was a fun social media joke. Then it got complicated” (CNN)Biz Sherbert, “Intimacy and the Machine: Slouching Towards Girlblogging,” (Various Artists)Hannah Jackson, “What Ballerinas Really Think of Balletcore” (Vogue)Madeline, “'Girl Math' Explained” (BuzzFeed)Merlyn Miller, “Please Don't Gender My Dinner” (Food & Wine)Find us:⁠Instagram⁠⁠TikTok⁠YouTubeTimestamps:Intro 00:00Coquette 00:08Girlbloggers— Empowering or Toxic? 03:57Girl Dinner 15:37Sacrificing Femininity to Display Strength 23:47Ribbon Tying on Food 27:45Girl Math 32:10Gendered Trends 35:51Balletcore 37:27Outro 49:50 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityvertigo.substack.com

We’re celebrating the New Year (and our last episode of 2023!) by dissecting none other than the Indie Sleaze revival. We discuss the various fashion trends that encapsulate the era, the music that soundtracked it, modern-day depictions of wannabe hedonism, and Alexa Chung finally gets her flowers.Links:⁠Spotify Playlist⁠Pinterest Board⁠TikTok Collection⁠Alexa Chung, “⁠Alexa Chung on the unpolished appeal of Indie Sleaze⁠” (Financial Times)Alexa Chung, “⁠It⁠” (Google)Arielle Richards, “⁠The Indie Sleaze ‘Revival’ Isn’t Real - It’s Just An Echo Chamber⁠” (Vice)El Hunt, “⁠How ’00s indie sleaze made a massive comeback⁠” (NME)Luke Morgan Britton, “⁠The Strokes on The Killers rivalry⁠” (NME)Find us:⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠Watch ⁠⁠this episode⁠⁠ on YouTube Timestamps:Intro 00:00Indie Sleaze Revival 01:27The Trashy Party Girl 14:372014 Tumblr Era vs. Indie Sleaze 17:23The Apolitical Nature of Indie Sleaze 23:32Music of the Indie Sleaze Era 25:25American Apparel 32:38Indie Sleaze Media 36:08The Strokes vs. The Killers 43:48Is there an indie sleaze revival? 45:40Bev Review 48:42Outro 50:15 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityvertigo.substack.com

This week, we dive into parody media, discussing the likes of the Wayans brothers, Mel Brooks, and Austin Powers. We differentiate ‘parody’ and ‘satire’, discuss the cult-like fanbases (and haters) of parody films, and how YouTube and meme culture may have oversaturated the genre. Links:TikTok CollectionLetterboxd ListReddit ThreadAmber Rawlings, “Has meme culture killed the parody film?” (Little White Lies)Hiff, “Comedy Horror Movies: The Embodiments of ‘Camp’ Are Here to Stay”(Hiff)Jade Swann, “Satire, Parody & Spoof” (Study.com)JM Maher, “Why Were Parody Movies So Popular in the 2000s?” (Movieweb)Karen Pike, “Bitextual Pleasures: Camp, Parody, and the Fantastic Film” (LFQ)Luke Edley, “Satire vs Parody” (Thanet Writers)Find us:⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠TikTok⁠YouTube Timestamps:Intro 00:00Parody, Satire, & Spoof 01:59Parody Films 04:11YouTube Parodies and Spoofs 15:26Seriousness is a Target for Parody 17:49TikTok Parodies 21:31SNL Parodies 23:43We Need to Use “Parody” Again 24:45Parody and Camp 26:10Parodies We Want to See 30:10Outro 30:55 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityvertigo.substack.com

If you grew up watching 'Grown Ups' or SNL, or listening to the Foo Fighters and Creed on the way to school, then you'll understand just how formative 'Dadcore' really is. Inspired by Adam Sandler's enviable wardrobe, we dissect how Dadcore came to be, how it's an antithesis to the 'clean girl' aesthetic and the world of microtrends, & finding comfort in dad rock.Links:⁠Spotify PlaylistPinterest BoardJerry Portwood, ⁠“Saturday Night Live And The Dacore Revolution”⁠ (Fatherly)Lauren Sharkey, ⁠"How dadcore won over fashion"⁠ (The Book of Man)Tayler Adigun, ⁠“Why Adam Sandler is Tiktok’s unlikely fashion muse”⁠ (Yahoo)Find us:⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠TikTok⁠YouTubeTimestamps:Intro 00:00Defining Dadcore 00:17Grown Ups 03:24Phil Dunphy 05:45Dadcore v. Blokette and Clean Girl 06:22Ready to Rock ‘n’ Roll? 07:41Normcore to Dadcore 08:04Fashion Through the Decades 09:54The Irritations of Microtrends 11:33The Empowerment of Baggy Clothing 16:38Dad Rock 17:55DILF Fan Accounts on TikTok 22:03Momcore? 24:24The Objectification of Men Online 26:12Confining Ourselves to Aesthetics 28:36Outro 30:19 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityvertigo.substack.com

There's truly nothing that has unified the internet quite like the Irish Renaissance has. We're letting it linger this week by discussing the roots of the culture's obsession with the Irish, from fixations on Irish actors and musicians; to aspirations of a cottagecore lifestyle that the Irish seem to perfect. If you're Irish, tap in!Links:Spotify PlaylistTikTok CollectionFind us:⁠Instagram⁠⁠TikTok⁠YouTubeTimestamps:Intro 00:00The Irish Boyfriend 01:05Niall Horan 09:04Americans and European Ancestry 15:21Hozier 17:47The Cranberries 19:07Inhaler 20:21Fontaines D.C. 27:42Cillian Murphy 29:32Paul Mescal 35:09Saoirse Ronan 37:16Why Ireland? 38:01Outro 40:48 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityvertigo.substack.com

This week, we reminisce on mall culture and what once was: eating Cinnabon, going to Claire's, Justice, & Hollister, romanticizing the act of loitering, and more. We talk about the history of American malls, their subsequent demise, and how TikTok shop is responsible. Third-wave mall culture is just glorified amusement parks, and we're mad about it!Links: Pinterest Board⁠Avery Hartmans, ⁠"The rise and fall of the American shopping mall"⁠ (Insider)Candace Davison, ⁠⁠"If Malls Are Dying, Why Are We Still So Obsessed with Them?"⁠⁠ (PureWow)Eva Rothenberg, ⁠"The US mall is not dying"⁠ (CNN)Find us:⁠Instagram⁠⁠TikTok⁠YouTubeTimestamps:Intro 00:00A Brief History of the American Mall 00:42Is the Mall Dying? 04:28The Mall in Culture 05:02Online Shopping Killed the Mall 07:45Clothing Stores 13:28The Mall's Representation in Media 18:28Stealing 21:35Rainforest Cafe 22:01Symbol of Teenage Independence 25:18Third-wave Mall Culture 27:06Hobby Stores and Mall Kiosks 29:03Mall Concerts 29:53Paulina's Celebrity Encounter 31:41Al and Online Shopping 33:01Mall Food 34:37Claire's vs. Justice 35:21Outro 38:20 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityvertigo.substack.com

Happy Halloween! This week, we’re talking horror films: the genre’s queer roots, female villains reclaiming their bodies, and how American Horror Story altered our brain chemistries, for better or for worse. Links:⁠Spotify Playlist⁠⁠Horror Recs⁠ (Letterboxd)Julia Kristeva, ⁠"Approaching Abjection"⁠ (JSTOR)Julia Métraux, ⁠"The Very Human Appeal of ‘American Horror Story"⁠ (JSTOR)Find us: ⁠Instagram⁠⁠TikTok⁠YouTubeTimestamps:Intro 00:00Our Favorite Horror Films 00:17Horror and Queerness 04:20Scream Queens 07:00American Horror Story 9:25Autonomy and Horror 19:03Low Budget and Indie 22:11The Working Man’s Genre 25:15What are we afraid of? 28:30Horror Tropes 33:03Outro 34:58 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityvertigo.substack.com

To introduce you to Community Vertigo, we discuss a topic that has plagued our minds for over a decade: the YA dystopia trend of the 2010s. Led by The Big Three—Divergent, The Hunger Games, and The Maze Runner—we dive into the aesthetics that this era afforded us, how the series’ heroines taught us not to be like other girls, and how we were basically consuming horror-lite throughout our formative years.Links:⁠Spotify PlaylistPinterest Board⁠Collage Graphics⁠Harper Bullard, "How Netflix Changed the World of Book Adaptation"⁠Find us:⁠Instagram⁠⁠TikTok⁠YouTubeTimestamps:Intro 00:00Divergent 06:11The Dystopian "It Girl" 11:51The Hunger Games 13:03The Influence on Fashion 20:30BuzzFeed Personality Quizzes 22:10Depressed Baddie Core 23:11The Maze Runner 24:46Tumblr, Shipping, and Fan Fiction 32:21Screencaps and Vine Edits 35:54Torture Media 36:38Current YA Media 42:50The Future of Book Adaptations 44:44Dystopia and the Saw Franchise 46:04What Would We Like to See? 50:51Outro 54:01 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityvertigo.substack.com

Find us: @CommunityVertigo⁠Instagram⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠Watch ⁠this episode on YouTube This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityvertigo.substack.com