Anonymous
7/23/2025, 7:12:39 PM No.127146026
I understand this album better than literally any of you.
Replies:
Thread 127146026 - /mu/ [Archived: 25 hours ago]
Anonymous
7/23/2025, 7:15:42 PM No.127146059
Opening track is pretty good but otherwise it’s whatever
Anonymous
7/23/2025, 7:36:16 PM No.127146339
>>127146060
First off we have to crush a few myths.
Far Side Virtual is not "vaporwave." It was meant to sound contemporary, not retro, and was made specifically to be thrown away instead of preserved, which is the antithesis of that whole movement. It's only associated with vapor because of the label it was released on.
Second, the "drastic tonal shift" people allude to when talking about this album is a falsehood. Ignoring the one track that is literally lo-fi hypnagogic pop, many of the songs still have chord progressions and synthesizers found in Ferraro's past work. In fact, FSV could be considered something of a sequel to previous albums like iAsia or Pixarni, and the more directionless songs explore ideas that go as far back as Clear.
Most importantly though, is the pretentious way both James Ferraro and journalists talk up the album. It's not about hyperreality, post-structuralism or any of that bullshit. Keep in mind this guy is a musical troll. The album is no different from KFC City, in that it's a fake world constructed by him that's then given a soundtrack. James even said himself that he views it as a continuation of his noise work, and that holds true when you consider how much of FSV relies on tinny, high frequency instruments and takes a wall of sound approach. All of the societal impact talk was just him taking the piss with interviewers, and they took the bait without even realizing the irony of glazing a glorified collection of ringtones.
First off we have to crush a few myths.
Far Side Virtual is not "vaporwave." It was meant to sound contemporary, not retro, and was made specifically to be thrown away instead of preserved, which is the antithesis of that whole movement. It's only associated with vapor because of the label it was released on.
Second, the "drastic tonal shift" people allude to when talking about this album is a falsehood. Ignoring the one track that is literally lo-fi hypnagogic pop, many of the songs still have chord progressions and synthesizers found in Ferraro's past work. In fact, FSV could be considered something of a sequel to previous albums like iAsia or Pixarni, and the more directionless songs explore ideas that go as far back as Clear.
Most importantly though, is the pretentious way both James Ferraro and journalists talk up the album. It's not about hyperreality, post-structuralism or any of that bullshit. Keep in mind this guy is a musical troll. The album is no different from KFC City, in that it's a fake world constructed by him that's then given a soundtrack. James even said himself that he views it as a continuation of his noise work, and that holds true when you consider how much of FSV relies on tinny, high frequency instruments and takes a wall of sound approach. All of the societal impact talk was just him taking the piss with interviewers, and they took the bait without even realizing the irony of glazing a glorified collection of ringtones.
Replies:
Anonymous
7/23/2025, 7:39:08 PM No.127146384
>>127146339
I knew all of this already.
I knew all of this already.
Anonymous
7/23/2025, 8:09:25 PM No.127146718
>>127146026 (OP)
thats how i feel about a lot of internet music in the same vein as this. the co-opting of these movements into le aesthetic palm tree frutiger aero japanese text vibe bullshit kills me.
thats how i feel about a lot of internet music in the same vein as this. the co-opting of these movements into le aesthetic palm tree frutiger aero japanese text vibe bullshit kills me.
Anonymous
7/23/2025, 8:30:09 PM No.127146956
>>127146339
I read your post and you don't understand this album better than me. People overanalyse the intention too much without focusing on the actual music.
I read your post and you don't understand this album better than me. People overanalyse the intention too much without focusing on the actual music.
Replies:
Anonymous
7/23/2025, 8:52:17 PM No.127147270
Replies:
Anonymous
7/23/2025, 8:59:49 PM No.127147344
>>127147270
this thing has a 3.3 on rym
this thing has a 3.3 on rym
Anonymous
7/23/2025, 9:27:36 PM No.127147709
bags makes me flip out
Anonymous
7/23/2025, 9:32:31 PM No.127147780
>>127146339
Tldr fuck off fag
Tldr fuck off fag
Anonymous
7/23/2025, 9:37:42 PM No.127147853
Le ringtone muzak xD so conceptual, my wife's boyfriend love it!!!
Replies:
Anonymous
7/23/2025, 9:42:13 PM No.127147921
Anonymous
7/23/2025, 9:48:03 PM No.127147990
>>127146339
Interesting
Interesting
Anonymous
7/23/2025, 9:57:46 PM No.127148108
>>127147208
>Explain the music
There are two things happening in Far Side Virtual: Maximalist loops that are constantly adding/removing layers to fuck with the listener's perception, and progressive electronic suites that occasionally devolve back into the overcompressed muzak. It's functionally modern classical, but it distinctly relies on preset sound banks and vintage percussion alongside the symphonic aspects to evoke a kitschy mood. Almost every song works by introducing a single idea, and having it be maintained as a motif while everything warps around it: A good example is the piano in Green Foot Printing, or the sitar in Sim. Sometimes the wrong note is played or a rhythm falls out of sync, which in contrast to the MIDI vocals and text to speech gives a somewhat human quality to everything.
One of the biggest themes in the album is how modern technology allows us to quickly find whatever we need, hence why you hear the Skype sound used alongside sweeping layered synths and crescendos that go as far as to peak the mix. Similarly, a lot of the fake instruments will occasionally perform "solos" that just end up sounding like note spam, such as at the end of Global Lunch or the beginning of Bags. This intersection of music with rapid tech reaches its peak in Google Poeises, where a constant fast-forward effect interrupts an otherwise normal ambient buildup, so it can get to the good part already.
It's also worth noting that the reason everything sounds clean and sterile is because Ferraro wanted to gently critique the rise of alarmism about climate change at the time. This is reflected in the track titles, and you can hear him experimenting more with that idea in both Rerex albums (not the remaster though, stay far away from that shit.)
Also worth noting that Condo Pets on this album is different from the eponymous EP, and that the whole "epic ringtone album" concept was done not once but twice with FUKU-TONE and Eco-Savage Suite, as evil vs. good.
>Explain the music
There are two things happening in Far Side Virtual: Maximalist loops that are constantly adding/removing layers to fuck with the listener's perception, and progressive electronic suites that occasionally devolve back into the overcompressed muzak. It's functionally modern classical, but it distinctly relies on preset sound banks and vintage percussion alongside the symphonic aspects to evoke a kitschy mood. Almost every song works by introducing a single idea, and having it be maintained as a motif while everything warps around it: A good example is the piano in Green Foot Printing, or the sitar in Sim. Sometimes the wrong note is played or a rhythm falls out of sync, which in contrast to the MIDI vocals and text to speech gives a somewhat human quality to everything.
One of the biggest themes in the album is how modern technology allows us to quickly find whatever we need, hence why you hear the Skype sound used alongside sweeping layered synths and crescendos that go as far as to peak the mix. Similarly, a lot of the fake instruments will occasionally perform "solos" that just end up sounding like note spam, such as at the end of Global Lunch or the beginning of Bags. This intersection of music with rapid tech reaches its peak in Google Poeises, where a constant fast-forward effect interrupts an otherwise normal ambient buildup, so it can get to the good part already.
It's also worth noting that the reason everything sounds clean and sterile is because Ferraro wanted to gently critique the rise of alarmism about climate change at the time. This is reflected in the track titles, and you can hear him experimenting more with that idea in both Rerex albums (not the remaster though, stay far away from that shit.)
Also worth noting that Condo Pets on this album is different from the eponymous EP, and that the whole "epic ringtone album" concept was done not once but twice with FUKU-TONE and Eco-Savage Suite, as evil vs. good.
Anonymous
7/23/2025, 10:15:22 PM No.127148314
Ferraro is the Andy Kaufman of music