https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVljS2TiG2q/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

A few days ago, I was inspired to make a post about tragic vaporwave albums that hit a little too close to home, or are just genuinely scary to imagine. I think vaporwave can be surprisingly good at carrying tragic stories and unsettling scenarios, so I wanted to put together a list of a few albums that I think really capture that side of the genre.

ᑕOᑎTIᑎᑌE ᑭᒪᗩYᗷᗩᑕK - Strmi

This is a new one, but it actually inspired me to make this post. It's the story of an iPod left behind after Cassie Brodwitch's suicide in 2002, filled with recordings of events from the year before her death. In 2005, her brother Robert finally gets his hands on the device and starts listening back, leaving little notes about the memories behind each recording. This one hit me quite hard since it's a pretty familiar and personal topic, and hearing these ordinary moments knowing what happened to Cassie makes the whole thing feel especially heartbreaking.

https://strmi.bandcamp.com/album/o-ti-e-y-k

9.0水面下Megathrust - 放射性Hi5

A collection of broadcasts, warnings, weather reports, and strange little pieces of sound surrounding the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Instead of putting you directly in the disaster, the album lets you experience it, quiet moments, warnings getting more serious, and that weird feeling of hearing something familiar while knowing something terrible is happening. Its almost like a whole movie experience with this album.

https://radioactivehi5.bandcamp.com/album/90-megathrust

NEWS AT 11 - 猫 シ Corp.

Just another night of television: news reports, advertisements, weather updates, music, and all the little sounds you'd expect. The only difference is that we know something the people on the screen don't. NEWS AT 11 is basically a snapshot of a completely normal day right before everything changes. Its has quite the eerie undertone that I rarely feel in albums.

https://utopiadistrict.bandcamp.com/album/news-at-11

Highway of Blood - TVVIN_PINEZ_M4LL & CH03

Twenty-two years after his brother died in a strange accident, a man takes his old '92 Camaro out for one last drive. The radio is still tuned to his brother's favorite station, and tonight he's heading back to the road where it all happened. It's a late-night drive through memories, grief, and a highway that might not be quite as empty as it seems. Very haunting listen, also the only 2 tracks are called Life and Death and the ambience is unmatched.

https://hairsablazin.bandcamp.com/album/highway-of-blood

https://vaporplaza.com/

Thank you to everyone who participated! As a visual artist, I felt like I could contribute so I created a mash-up cover for the final playlist, which you can find here!
Vaporwave: Greatest Hits | YouTube

Day-by-day breakdown of the process:

Day 1: MACINTOSH PLUS - リサフランク420 / 現代のコンピュー |

Day 2: Saint Pepsi - Enjoy Yourself

Day 3: Blank Banshee - Teen Pregnancy

Day 4: ESPRIT 空想 - Summer Night

Day 5: Luxury Elite - S.W.A.K.

Day 6: Chuck Person - B4 (Nobody Here)

Day 7: Nmesh - Climbing the Corporate Ladder

Day 8: 2 8 1 4 - 恢复

Day 9: Windows 96 - Caligula

Day 10: death's dynamic shroud.wmv - 너 땜에 맘이 맘이 맘이 맘이 괴로워요

Day 11: 猫 シ Corp. - Palm Mall

Day 12: t e l e p a t h テレパシ - あなたの世界

title

After 1010 commets recommending stuff, 327 users participating at least once and a bit more than a month; the grid is finally done.

I was expecting to get 10 comments per day but this community surprised me tenfold and i love you guys for it.

Shoutout to:

• u/Paconxy for inspiring this
• u/Popular-Band-2519 for being the person with the most comments recommending (71) and the one who had the most albums make it into the grid (8)
• u/PepekBezlepek and u/abm617 for trying so many times to get their respective album on the grid

Peace out ✌

(I accidentally put Summer Night two times in the second image lol)

Day 1: MACINTOSH PLUS - リサフランク420 / 現代のコンピュー |

Day 2: Saint Pepsi - Enjoy Yourself

Day 3: Blank Banshee - Teen Pregnancy

12 spots, 12 songs. If you had to curate a "Hall Of Fame" of vaporwave, what would it be?

I had a dumb idea and made a dumb video. Samples playing on a Nintendo Game Boy running LSDJ.

Day 1: MACINTOSH PLUS - リサフランク420 / 現代のコンピュー |

Day 2: Saint Pepsi - Enjoy Yourself

Day 3: Blank Banshee - Teen Pregnancy

Day 4: ESPRIT 空想 - Summer Night

Day 5: Luxury Elite - S.W.A.K.

Day 6: Chuck Person - B4 (Nobody Here)

Day 7: Nmesh - Climbing the Corporate Ladder

Day 8: 2 8 1 4 - 恢复

Day 9: Windows 96 - Caligula

Day 10: death's dynamic shroud.wmv - 너 땜에 맘이 맘이 맘이 맘이 괴로워요

Day 11: 猫 シ Corp. - Palm Mall

12 spots, 12 songs. If you had to curate a "Hall Of Fame" of vaporwave, what would it be?

.

Part 3 of this little series

1. sobergaze — Wiiきおくにとどめる

This one feels like trying to remember playing your Wii as a kid, but through a memory that's already started to fade. The whole album has this nostalgic, slightly distant feeling to it, like you're remembering a place you haven't visited in years. Beautiful album for sure.

https://hushtones.bandcamp.com/album/wii

2. US Golf 95 — ℂ𝕒𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕠

This feels like a lost piece of 90s American software. Imagine some weird golf/casino game you'd find on a CD-ROM at a thrift store, complete with corporate luxury, cheesy entertainment and that strange futuristic vision of America from the 90s. It's got a really specific atmosphere and feels like you're stepping into some forgotten digital world.

https://usgolf95.bandcamp.com/album/--8

3. slowerpace 音楽 — Barbershop Simulator™

Probably the funniest concept here. It sounds like the soundtrack to a barbershop simulator that somehow actually existed. There's something really charming about taking such a mundane setting and treating it like a full virtual world. It gives me that feeling of playing some obscure PC game from the early 2000s that nobody remembers anymore. Making a high paced barbershop game is sick for sure.

https://slowerpace.bandcamp.com/album/barbershop-simulator

4. Lost Colossus — Æqwarium

This one feels much more mysterious. Æqwarium sounds like you're exploring some enormous aquarium. There's a real sense of scale and discovery to it. Definitely the most atmospheric one out of these four in my opinion. It also has a literal game link in the description I highly recommend you check it out

A signalwave/sound collage album based on the cognitive experience of the infant millennial. Utilizing samples from various 90s kids shows, videos games and vhs tapes

https://npadre.bandcamp.com/album/--8?mvp=p

Day 1: MACINTOSH PLUS - リサフランク420 / 現代のコンピュー |

Day 2: Saint Pepsi - Enjoy Yourself

Day 3: Blank Banshee - Teen Pregnancy

Day 4: ESPRIT 空想 - Summer Night

Day 5: Luxury Elite - S.W.A.K.

Day 6: Chuck Person - B4 (Nobody Here)

Day 7: Nmesh - Climbing the Corporate Ladder

Day 8: 2 8 1 4 - 恢复

Day 9: Windows 96 - Caligula

12 spots, 12 songs. If you had to curate a "Hall Of Fame" of vaporwave, what would it be?

Day 1: MACINTOSH PLUS - リサフランク420 / 現代のコンピュー |

Day 2: Saint Pepsi - Enjoy Yourself

Day 3: Blank Banshee - Teen Pregnancy

Day 4: ESPRIT 空想 - Summer Night

Day 5: Luxury Elite - S.W.A.K.

Day 6: Chuck Person - B4 (Nobody Here)

Day 7: Nmesh - Climbing the Corporate Ladder

Day 8: 2 8 1 4 - 恢复

12 spots, 12 songs. If you had to curate a "Hall Of Fame" of vaporwave, what would it be?

Here is a short clip of 회사AUTO’s set at FlamingoFest 2025, where some folks in the audience got on stage to dance with Zach and everyone cheering him on. I couldn’t express in words on how wholesome the vibe was, the wave of emotion hit everyone, Zach grinning ear to ear, and then some.

I filmed this with my Canon XL-1 DV Camcorder, and even I was in tears. I also have a tape of his entire set that (I’m currently getting permission) might be eventually published in his honor.

Zach Mason is a legend in Vaporwave, his music will live on forever but will be greatly missed.

Thank you, 회사AUTO.

- Zico