The internet is teeming with references to The Simpsons, and now a brilliant new sub-genre of music and video art called Simpsonwave has spawned, combining some of our favourite moments from the long-running television series with some super-chill tunes and VHS-style video effects.
The grounds for Simpsonwave (which is usually stylised as ＳＩＭＰＳＯＮＷＡＶＥ) were laid in October 2015, when Vine user Spicster posted a clip from the Simpsons episode ‘Bart On The Road’ and overlaid the video with the song Resonance by lo-fi electronic outfit Home. The Vine (below) has since been watched over 22.5 million times.
https://vine.co/v/eYrrPU2wbul
An extended version of Spicster’s vine was later posted to YouTube, before internet artists and meme lords everywhere began to mash up glitched-out clips from The Simpsons with music by artists like Blank Banshee and Macintosh Plus, leading to some beautiful results.
Here are some of our favourite ＳＩＭＰＳＯＮＷＡＶＥ creations:
Simpsonwave is an offshoot of vaporwave, a genre of electronic music in which samples of retro elevator music are remixed to parody pop music, accompanied by aesthetics which play with ideas of consumerism and technology.
While most Simpsonwave videos feature pretty laid-back vaporwave and chillwave tracks from established artists, some have also included songs by acts like M83, Dead Or Alive and Aussie acts Tame Impala and Gotye.
For example, here’s Tame Impala’s track Nangs put up against that time Homer became a monorail driver…
Simpsonwave has an obvious emotional sincerity, which is amplified through its choice of nostalgic Simpsons clips and throwback VHS aesthetics. It mocks American pop culture, just like The Simpsons television show does, but it’s tearing at our heartstrings while it does it.
If you’re keen to learn more about the magical world of Simpsonwave, catch FrankJavCee’s no-bullshit video explaining how you can make your own S I M P S O N W A V E videos, below.
Aside from spawning the brilliance that is Simpsonwave, The Simpsons also inspired the world’s first-ever Ned Flanders-themed metal band Okilly Dokilly to launch their musical career last year.
Thanks for everything, Simpsons.
Watch: HOW TO ＳＩＭＰＳＯＮＷＡＶＥ
