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Longing for Lo-fi: Glimpsing Back Through Technology
It’s late at night. Every now and then, a lone car drives by under my window, down the street. The faint sound of tires on wet asphalt is like soothing white noise. I am reminded that the world goes on, despite my efforts to stay up late. To stay awake until that specific moment where time seems to halt. A GIF from Hey Arnold fills my monitor screen as I am writing some notes down on paper. I always thought Arnold’s bedroom was amazing, with the large skylight and elevated sleeping area.
In the here and today there are many attempts to recreate spaces of comfort. The lo-fi community should be considered one of them. Through the numerous nostalgic references and relaxing beats of lo-fi, we retrieve a glimpse of what was once our home—be it real or imaginary.
Not to state that we all take a trip down memory lane while listening to lo-fi, not at all actually. When we look at the live chat that accompanies these streams, we are often confronted with people talking about their workload. Those discussing an upcoming deadline are often met with encouraging and supportive comments that they can do it, they can go that extra mile.
One might say that Longing for Lo-fi equals longing for the homely. This book-length essay looks at internet culture through the lens of psychoanalysis, semiotics and critical theory, in an attempt to lay the feeling of comfort bare.
In the here and today there are many attempts to recreate spaces of comfort. The lo-fi community should be considered one of them. Through the numerous nostalgic references and relaxing beats of lo-fi, we retrieve a glimpse of what was once our home—be it real or imaginary.
Not to state that we all take a trip down memory lane while listening to lo-fi, not at all actually. When we look at the live chat that accompanies these streams, we are often confronted with people talking about their workload. Those discussing an upcoming deadline are often met with encouraging and supportive comments that they can do it, they can go that extra mile.
One might say that Longing for Lo-fi equals longing for the homely. This book-length essay looks at internet culture through the lens of psychoanalysis, semiotics and critical theory, in an attempt to lay the feeling of comfort bare.
153 pages, Paperback
Published June 18, 2024
3 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 13, 2024
hmmm.. it's giving "this could've been a web essay vibes". but i thought it was really interesting because of how it engaged with media theory and capitalism theory,, especially with all the references to post-fordism! blade runner 2049, avatar the last airbender, and lofi girl are also referenced liberally. sometimes felt a little wordy and ambiguous, but otherwise an interesting exploration of the role of music/nostalgia in a postmodern world.
December 2, 2025
What are we really looking back on? If we use enough semiotic and aesthetic signifiers, the trappings of what we think we remember, can we fake it and escape back to someplace else? Was it ever even there in the first place, or are we trying to engineer a false escape?
They’re valid questions, as the past becomes currency, and is never even allowed to become ‘past.' They are instead stripped for parts and repurposed into other commodities, sold for money, attention, solace.
In a moment when the analog and the lo-fi have a potential to provide a tangible thing to grab on to something real, be it music, photography, artwork, what have you… what does it mean to approximate that with the digital? What I liked about this work is the roads it got me thinking and traveling down. Maybe it could have been an essay, but it’s a gorgeous book and I hope at least some of you would read it and think it through.
They’re valid questions, as the past becomes currency, and is never even allowed to become ‘past.' They are instead stripped for parts and repurposed into other commodities, sold for money, attention, solace.
In a moment when the analog and the lo-fi have a potential to provide a tangible thing to grab on to something real, be it music, photography, artwork, what have you… what does it mean to approximate that with the digital? What I liked about this work is the roads it got me thinking and traveling down. Maybe it could have been an essay, but it’s a gorgeous book and I hope at least some of you would read it and think it through.
October 14, 2024
This could have been a Slate essay but it has pretty colors
April 13, 2024
A deep dive into why the internet and nostolgia makes us feel so special. Lofi girl plays in the background as we speak.
February 10, 2025
Not the most in depth but a solid introspective look on Lo Fi music
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews