Welcome back to House Lights, your one stop shop for everything you need to hear about this week in the world entertainment. As always, I'm your host, Luz Noss, joined by my beautiful and wonderful cohost Claire Donahoe. And Jack's back.
Jack:I'm back.
Claire:Back so soon.
Liz:Back so soon. And we're gonna get into the topic of brain rot today, which Jack has brought to our attention that he just really wants to talk about. You can't get this guy to stop talking about brain rot. He was
Claire:begging us.
Jack:He was not begging us.
Claire:He was watching videos before this.
Liz:He was sending us videos all week, actually.
Jack:Yeah. Sort of passively just kinda floating them
Liz:over to you. Like intentional. It was just Just
Jack:kinda floating them over to you when they showed up on my Instagram.
Claire:Yeah. Why are they showing up on your Instagram?
Liz:Yeah. This is a lot of recommended.
Jack:It's a good question. You called that a red flag earlier, Claire.
Claire:I had to explain to Jack what a beige flag was before this started, and I used red flags and green flags as a way to explain it. And then 20 seconds later, when we got back on the topic of brain rot and Jack turned his phone and showed me the football one that he said, both of us, I said this is a red flag just to help you get some perspective on
Liz:the flag. See, this one's a red flag.
Claire:So, yeah, I did.
Jack:You also had to explain a beige flag to me because I didn't know what, I didn't I didn't get the trad wife trend on my Instagram.
Claire:We did a lot of crash course trend explaining You know what? Right before this.
Liz:Before I get into my PSA, I really need you guys to talk about trad wives because I have no context for this.
Claire:So trad wives, nothing really new has happened.
Liz:I mean, I know what a trad
Jack:wife is, but,
Liz:like, I was confused. Yeah. We're gonna talk about Tradwives. I'm, like, alright.
Claire:Okay. Let me
Liz:I'll just sit here.
Claire:Tradwives, short for traditional wives. Of course. Okay. So, like, homemaking, etcetera. The reason Jack and I wanted to talk about it for a brief second is because we are in the same English class, and we recently did, something called a tutorial.
Claire:Yeah. Something called a tutorial, which is like a just like a
Jack:small popular in the UK.
Claire:It's just like a small group discussion with the professor. Yeah. And you go in with your small group one of the days to class.
Liz:Hey. That's not the definition of the word tutorial.
Claire:You read these articles and discuss them. So the articles we had to read were about Tradewives. Mhmm. So Jack and I just finished reading those, and I was already familiar with tradwebs. I did not know how they started, which is what the article was about.
Claire:Very interesting read. I'd say.
Jack:Yeah, I liked it.
Claire:Okay. But as I was already familiar with it, when they named dropped a couple of tradwebs in the articles, I was already prepared. Jack was not. So we've all heard of Ballerina Farm. Yes.
Claire:Of course. Well, yes. Of course. Well, not of course for
Jack:Jack over here.
Liz:Because that's actually what I was gonna talk. I was gonna be like, did you read the Ballerina Farm? Or The
Claire:article was not about Ballerina Farm, but Hannah Neeleman was name dropped in the article as, like, a collection of examples. And I recognized the name, and I was a little bit taken aback that I recognized it so quickly, and I was like, maybe I should get off the Internet. But Yeah. I knew. Anyway We
Liz:all read the New Yorker. Over Yeah.
Jack:We do.
Claire:Over the summer, there was an article about her published. Yes. I wished that it had been published in September so we could have done a whole house like episode. It's a bit too far gone, but I just wanted, to hear Jack's thoughts on the article primarily. We are not in the same tutorial group, so I have no idea what Jack thought about the articles.
Claire:And though we're months late to the whole ballerina farm thing exploding, exploding is an insane word to use. There's no exploding coming to light. I don't know. Ballerina farm is this Mormon woman who was a dancer at Juilliard and was the 1st pregnant ballerina because she married this dude, also Mormon, who was like, we're getting married and having babies now. Then they moved to the middle of wherever they live now, and they run a farm.
Claire:And her username is ballerina farm, and she makes these Trad wife videos. And she was one of, like, the bigger names that, like, kind of blew up as Tradwives becoming an aesthetic.
Jack:Interesting.
Liz:And
Claire:she'll, like, be cooking grilled cheese from scratch with, like, a baby on her hip. And, like, she looks so calm and happy. I'm sure you talked about this in your tutorial. Like, how it it's a lifestyle as it was
Jack:talked about in the article.
Claire:We briefly talked about aesthetics. But now it's also an aesthetic because social media has, like, really taken advantage of turning this into something and having it look a certain way. So, anyway, Ballerina Farm is just a prime example of that, and I thought it could relate to the article.
Jack:Well, I felt in my tutorial group, I it was a little interesting for me because, I'm with 3 other people who very obviously were like they have very strong opinions on trad wives and the whole trend. And I just didn't because I didn't I didn't know. Like, this entire this article, which, it's called the rise and fall of the trad wife by Sophia Elmhurst. It's a New Yorker article if anyone wants to look into it. But, yeah, that was my entire this this informed everything I know about Tradewise.
Jack:Yeah. So it was a bit interesting. I the the woman who sort of started the movement, Elena Kate Petit. Is that how you're pronouncing it? Petit?
Jack:A very interesting journey she kinda went through. She kinda, like, gave birth to this philosophy and wrote a book about it, and then social media kinda took it and, like, mangled it into this other thing. Yeah. And then by the end of it, she was kinda disillusioned by it. She doesn't really know if she can fully associate
Claire:it with it anymore. Yeah. She, like, left the movement. She even made a comment in the article. She was like, even if we move to Australia, you know, this whole thing is always gonna be tied to my name.
Claire:Mhmm. She goes social media kind of took it, and then she would get questions from people. Like, took it in a negative room or what? And turned it into what we when you think of Tradewife, like, whatever you're thinking of social media kind of, or maybe not whatever you're thinking, but I'm just assuming, like, the the aesthetic part of it. Social media took it from, like, lifestyle to aesthetic, like, connected the 2.
Claire:And she says in the article, which I just thought this was interesting. I mean, clearly let me know that I was generalizing Tradewise everywhere. But she was like, this just started because I wanted it to be an inclusive thing. I wanted other women who, you know, felt compelled to leave the same lifestyle as me have a place and community to go to. Yeah.
Claire:And then ironically, it's now become what we know it today through social media as a very, like, exclusive thing. And you kind of have to look a certain way. It's very the videos are filmed a certain way. There's never any emotion. There's rarely any music or anything.
Liz:You know,
Claire:you think about you think of, like, Nora Smith. Like, she's in this clean kitchen. She looks perfect. There's not she's baking, and there's nothing on her hand somehow. The whole thing, it's just very orchestrated.
Claire:And then you hear the kids laughing in the background. Okay. Hannah Newman of Ballerina Farm has, I believe, 9 or 10 children. Yeah. They would be poking each other in the eye in the background.
Claire:There's absolutely no way. And then she's just smiling, making bread out of seemingly nothing. Yep. Her story is crazy because they're actually loaded. And her husband's father owns, I wanna say It's
Liz:like Boeing or something. Yeah. Like a jet company.
Claire:And And
Liz:I don't think it's Boeing.
Claire:They, like, live but but they, like, live off the land.
Jack:And Oh, I've heard of these people.
Claire:It's kind of yeah.
Jack:I I sort of remember this now. Yeah.
Claire:It's presented to you in a very specific way. And the originator of the trend in this article had kind of said, like, on the record, I didn't want it to get to this point.
Liz:Mhmm.
Claire:Like, it's not supposed to be about what you look like. It's not supposed to be even if you're in, like, a heterosexual relationship or not. Because she said she had people reach out to her and she was like, oh my god. I'm horrified that you think you have to fulfill this, like, ultra feminine aesthetic and, like, only
Liz:only gay. When you think about trad wife, you really do think about, like, Mormonism. And you think about, oh, you know what I'm saying? Like, it's very tied.
Claire:It's like a condition thing almost where she was trying to say it's like something you choose, which is the example of, like, ironically, modern day feminism as, like, I perceive it. Yeah. If a woman wants to be homemaker, that's her choice. Whereas I think now when I think of Tradewise, I think of someone that was, like, conditioned to believe you had to do it, which
Liz:is kinda different. That's kinda how people took ballerina form and, like, ran with it. They were like, she, you know, was forced to give up her dream of being a ballerina and, you know, her husband sucks and gets her, like, aprons as gifts instead of, like, her dream to go to another country. And, like, I've definitely fell into that sort of, like, narrative for sure where I was like, they ruined her they ruined her dreams, but it's also like
Claire:but Maybe or maybe she chose it. I mean, we don't know.
Liz:Chose and wanted to
Claire:And that's hard to tell with social media. Sorry. You were gonna say something, and I
Liz:just cut
Claire:you off.
Jack:Well, no. I was just gonna say prior to her, sort of getting those messages, that was actually what brought her down to Earth because she was very much part of this, like, social media image that happened. There's a part where she writes about or she talks about rather. She would post videos wearing, like, t shirt and jeans.
Claire:This is the founder?
Jack:Oh, yeah. Yeah. Okay. Petite or however her name is pronounced. She would post videos wearing, like, t shirt and jeans and those wouldn't get engagement.
Jack:So she very much fed into, like, the, the Internet definition of, like, her her lifestyle, which was, you know, dressing all modestly with the dread and, you know, of course, that would that's what would drive the engagement. So very interesting stuff.
Claire:So will you be looking into Tradewives now that you know a little bit more about it?
Jack:I don't is it still, like are people still talking about it on the Internet?
Liz:Smith frees
Claire:People are talking about Nara Smith.
Jack:Okay.
Liz:She freaks
Jack:I might. I don't really I just kinda, like, watch what
Liz:I'm Yeah.
Claire:I can't picture you really, like, going down this rabbit hole.
Liz:There's so many parodies of, like, Nara Smith and, like, her husband where they're, like, just constantly, like, touching each other and, like, constantly just, like, making out on, like, camera, and then she's like, is it making a quiche? Her voice
Claire:is stuck. Yeah. And, like, the it the whole thing is it's I don't know. The way it's sold to you, like, it's just eerie enough that you're, like, off put, but not enough that you don't wanna scroll away.
Jack:Right.
Claire:You're, like, almost comforted by it, but
Liz:I don't know. I'm not comforted. I'm just, like
Jack:I don't know.
Liz:It's so elusive, the life that they lead, where I'm just, like, I'm not quite sure who you are, and I don't think that this is real. And then
Jack:I just keep scrolling. Yeah.
Claire:Such a yes. Such I
Liz:just in such cases.
Claire:I just want them to take the phone away from, like, it's facing them cooking and just show, like, the rest of their lives. Yeah.
Liz:They wanna see it.
Claire:Kids, like, like, like, beating each other or something.
Jack:Thinking on the walls.
Claire:Yeah. Seriously. Anyway
Liz:Yeah.
Claire:Any other thoughts on what your tutorial group discussed with trad wives?
Jack:No. We I mean, we went very, English student mode. I'm not sure I could recount a lot of the stuff that you're talking about.
Liz:Just Yeah. I'm glad that the English department's making its way into. Yeah.
Jack:Thank you, MSU English department.
Claire:We're doing important work over here, everyone.
Liz:Anyways, none of that. Yeah. I just I just had to, like, I had my own side tangent just really quick. This is something that I was dealing with last night, and I just wanna do, like, a PSA for any of the anybody anybody out there listening, like, one person. But, anyways, like, it may seem comforting to sort of listen to music, with the vibe that you're in.
Liz:Because I if you're someone that, like, is listening to music, like, all the time, like, I am never I feel like not consuming music throughout the day. Mhmm. Unless, of course, I'm, like, doing something. But usually when I'm doing something, I'm listening to music, whatever. I was feeling kind of upset last night.
Liz:I I was a bit I was upset, and so I I made a playlist called instant criers because I was like, you know, I just kind of want, like, a, like, a vibe that because, like, when you're sad, you don't really wanna listen to, like, happy music, so you're like, oh, there's this, like I feel like this weird psychological disconnect. Don't do that. Don't listen to more sad music when you're already feeling sad. It's going to make it worse. And I don't know how many times I have to tell myself that, so I thought that's I just wanted to put it on the record today so I could listen back to myself and be like, you don't need to listen to this.
Liz:It's it's going to make you feel worse. I was just wondering if you guys had, those experiences as well.
Jack:I disagree wholeheartedly.
Claire:With having those experiences or that it will make you feel worse?
Jack:That it makes you feel I mean, I'm not gonna say that, like, it that makes you feel worse or whatever or not make Go
Liz:ahead, Jack. Whatever.
Jack:I just think I mean, because you said don't do it. I think, for me, at least, listening to sad music when I'm sad or I mean, for me, because I I don't I don't listen to music as much as you do. I don't have headphones, unfortunately. Which is something I've learned. It's just real.
Jack:It's it's a very temporary issue. It's getting fixed soon, guy. Claire, you don't have to look at me
Liz:like that.
Claire:That's like
Liz:shit. That's like crazy.
Jack:It'll it'll get it'll get fixed, guys.
Claire:Send money to the state news so we can
Jack:find I don't listen. Headphones. I don't listen. I I am
Liz:What happened?
Jack:Walking through the day. It's, it's a number of I I I never really did Bluetooth headphones.
Liz:And then
Claire:my so old school.
Jack:My charger port is, like, pretty broken right now, so I need to get that fixed. So until I get that fixed, I just I'm kinda just going through the day without me. I listen to music. If I'm home alone, I'll play music usually, out loud. Anyway, I think when we listen to, like, sad music or, like, for me, like, I watch sad movies when I'm sad because I think it validates those sad feelings, you know.
Claire:Yeah. And because you're an English major.
Jack:Sure. Yeah. No. You're not
Liz:in the territory.
Jack:I I just yeah. I think it validates those feelings, and I think I'm I'm never gonna be more upset than I was, before, but I I I feel like I might be more in touch with those sad feelings if I watch. Like, Manchester by the Sea
Liz:is a good one. Oh, that is a good one.
Jack:That's a good one. I always go to that one.
Liz:I hardly cried when I saw that movie. I've never seen that.
Jack:Comfort movies that are a little bit sad. Beginners. I don't know if you guys have heard of it. It was sad.
Liz:It's a
Jack:very, like, melancholic movie. Like, half of it is, like, super, like, feel good, you know, happy, and then, you know, there's some a lot of sad components of it, but I like to go to that one too. That's my take on
Liz:it, though. No. And you're saying, I don't think you're wrong. I think personally for, like, me, though, like, it just makes me feel like I'm like, you know why you're sad? Because you keep listening to sad things.
Jack:Sure.
Liz:Yeah. And, like, then so it's like, maybe you could turn on some happy music, but then I'm, like, mad because I'm like, I don't feel happy right now. I can't listen to happy music. I don't know.
Claire:Yeah. I think I'm in the middle of both of your answers. I agree with you. Like, I will usually turn to sad music.
Liz:That's what I'm saying. Like, I do too, but it's like, but I shouldn't do that.
Claire:But then, eventually, you kind of have to cut yourself off. Like, there's a distinct I don't know. Like, feel what you need to feel, but you'll kind of hit a point where you
Jack:know it's self pity.
Claire:You need to
Liz:stop so true.
Claire:And force yourself to listen to something. Yeah. I actually have a little story about this, which is kind of ridiculous. I probably told you this, Liz, but I don't know. So a couple long many months ago, I don't know.
Liz:Many moons ago.
Claire:I was in a place of nearly exclusively listening to sad music. Oh. And I was like, it was helpful at first, and then it was just me exclusively listening to sad music. But I told myself, okay. Well, if this helps you cry it out, you need to do it, but also we can't do this all day long.
Claire:So I developed this strange ritual that ended up sticking, and I would let myself cry it out. And then I'm, like, well, I have to go grocery shopping. I have to do my day.
Liz:Yeah.
Claire:So I would immediately wipe tears and put on sticky by Drake.
Liz:Oh, yes.
Claire:And I would make myself listen to the whole thing and, like, like, stand up. Like, I couldn't be sitting. I would have to stand up. And just, like, headphones on, I would force myself to listen to the whole song. And if you've ever heard
Liz:the song standing? Well, I kinda do
Claire:a little a little dance, but I couldn't just be, like, sitting in my bed crying type of thing. Right. And if you've ever heard Sticky by Drake, you know that it's not even a great song, really.
Jack:No.
Claire:The beat is just, like No. Just, you know, preppy enough. Not preppy. You know what I mean.
Jack:Peppy.
Claire:The song itself is not great. Not even close to one of my favorites really, but for some reason, it worked. And then it became one of those things, like I don't know if this is the right term, but, like, the Pavlov That
Liz:was a dog. Pavlov, dog.
Claire:I would literally I would literally be I have a sad moment, and I would cry. And then before I even put the headphones on, I would start to do the. That's the opening, obviously. But Nice. To.
Claire:But, yeah, I know to Drake, it's I can admit this now because it's been many, many, many months, and I don't feel as embarrassed. I don't feel embarrassed. It worked. It actually made me feel better because by the end of sticky, I was ready to, like, leave my room and reenter the world. So all that to say, you can have both.
Jack:You can have both.
Claire:There also came a time after those many months of listening to exclusively sad music where I kind of had to make a a new I not kind of. I had to make a new playlist, and I remember calling it better for my brain, and I made myself listen to that. I had to reach for that first
Liz:because That's a good
Claire:I needed a break. And sometimes someone else has to hold an intervention for you and take you out of it. But in that case, fortunately, I was able to be like Claire.
Liz:Maybe that's that's the advice that You people should take. So maybe a better free brain.
Claire:Why did I leave with sticky? You don't need to listen to sticky to feel better. I think you should have to listen
Liz:to sticky. Oh, do you
Claire:know what else does the job? Hot wings from the real soundtrack.
Liz:And that's That's a good one. I can't remember. Transformative.
Claire:But, yeah, put on an upbeat song, but also let yourself cry it out. You can have both, and you should make a sad playlist, but you should also consider making a doesn't even have to be happy. It can be like r and b. It can be a slower song, but not as, like Well depressing as Waiting Room by Phoebe Bridgeman.
Liz:When I when I had this when I had What? When I had this realization about the playlist, I ended up putting on instead of happy music because, like like I said, that's making me, like, angry. I put on I put on jazz.
Claire:Yes.
Liz:So it's, like, kind of in the middle, like, no old lyrics sort of thing.
Jack:You can enjoy it.
Claire:Think about too hard. Yeah.
Jack:Yeah. Yeah. I I definitely with the sad exclusively listening to sad music. I definitely did that with movies for a while. I remember there was a a stretch
Liz:Strategy after
Jack:a stretch of time where I I think the last four movies I had watched was, Manchester by the Sea, Shame, and Schindler's List. Woah. And then another one, which was also pretty sad, but I'm blanking on right now.
Liz:La La Land. Woah.
Jack:That one's sorta upbeat, though.
Liz:Not the ending.
Claire:Yeah. It's it's upbeat because they're singing.
Jack:Mhmm. Yeah.
Liz:There's jazz.
Claire:And then it's sad anyway.
Jack:But I do have to know, what were the what were the songs? Like, what what artists were you listening to in your sad music phase?
Claire:Phoebe Bridgers. Obviously. Lizzie McAlpine.
Jack:Mhmm.
Claire:Adrian Lenker.
Jack:Never heard of?
Claire:Woah. Okay. Gracie Abrams.
Jack:Yeah. Mhmm.
Claire:Matt Maltese.
Liz:I like say some Matt Maltese.
Claire:I like Matt Maltese all year round, though, no matter the mood. Sure. Trying to think. It'll come to me. But those were, like, the big players.
Claire:It was just a lot of waiting room by Phoebe Bridgers.
Liz:It's a lot. It's a lot.
Claire:Just a lot.
Liz:I would just like to
Claire:Yeah. Just I it would it would end, and I would repeat it.
Liz:Moon song. Actually crazy.
Jack:I know that one. Yeah.
Liz:Moon song is on my instant prayers.
Jack:I have a claw machine. I I think it's from
Liz:the I
Jack:saw the TV glow.
Liz:It's Oh, okay. Yeah.
Jack:The entire soundtrack is great. Yeah. You're sad.
Liz:No. I, I second the Liz McAlpine. I'm gonna add Mitski to your list.
Jack:Yep. That's a great one.
Liz:That's a those are some fun triers.
Claire:Oh, Lucy Dacus.
Liz:Okay. Okay. Sure.
Claire:Yeah. This is
Liz:I was also saying Phoebe Bridgers.
Claire:Don't look at how many playlists I have. Everyone always makes fun of that.
Liz:I I think it's great.
Claire:They don't delete.
Liz:Jack was saying that he's not a playlist person.
Jack:Not a playlist guy.
Claire:Place. Don't I'm not looking. I don't care. He's like, I don't care.
Liz:I'm kidding.
Jack:Yeah. No. I'm not a playlist guy. More of an album guy. Oh, okay.
Jack:Yeah.
Liz:PJ was saying that he's an album guy.
Jack:Oh, really?
Liz:Mhmm. Yeah.
Jack:I didn't know that.
Liz:He, like, sits down and, like, tries to, like, listen to 1 album a day or something, which is crazy.
Claire:That is crazy.
Liz:Because he's on our sports desk.
Jack:He's a cool guy.
Liz:Well, genius. Well, he was just here. Oh, yeah. No. Yeah.
Jack:For anyone who doesn't. Anyone just join us.
Liz:He was just one of our good good buddies.
Jack:Yeah. He's a cool guy. Alright.
Claire:Oh, also Jake Minch. Shout out Jake Minch.
Liz:Jake Minch.
Claire:Love that guy. His songs are gut wrench.
Jack:Ginger Minch. Okay.
Claire:And on that note like
Liz:me and Jackson, the other day, were going Ginger Minch. But watch RuPaul RuPaul's Drag Race.
Jack:She's not my favorite.
Liz:No. She's not. Jinkx Monsoon is way better. Mhmm. Anything that Ginger Minch can do, Jinkx
Jack:the one I was really into. Detox. Yep.
Liz:Detox. And I'm more of an Alaska. But, you know, Alaska talks, they were like a little
Jack:Detox if you're watching.
Liz:Love you. Nice job, Detox. Anyways, let's get into what we were actually gonna talk about today.
Jack:Brain rot.
Liz:Which is brain rot. Jack's been asking to do this forever, but anyway
Jack:Yeah. So, it's actually funny because I was actually, like, half joking when I brought it up. And then, yesterday or the other day, I figured out we're were actually doing this for real. And I was like,
Liz:oh, yeah. Sending them to me in purple. You were
Claire:banging on the door of the podcast room.
Liz:Let me come back. Yeah.
Jack:So I guess we should start off with a definition then, please.
Liz:Well, I wrote Jack needs to introduce this. From Wikipedia, what I have right here. Wonderful. And I'll just
Jack:read it out. It's setting. Brain rot or Wikipedia, what I have right here. Wonderful. And I'll just read it out.
Jack:It's Very fitting.
Claire:Brain rot or
Liz:brain rot. It's spelled both as 2 words and one word. Is a
Jack:colloquial term used to describe Internet content deemed to be of low quality or value or the negative psychological and cognitive effects caused by exposure to it. The term also refers to excessive use of digital media, especially short form entertainment, which may affect cognitive health such as result such as resulting in a reduced attention span or impaired mental functioning and is mainly associated with Gen a, generation alpha who is post Post post Gen z. 20 2010, 20 Okay. I don't know.
Liz:Whenever whenever Gen z stalks.
Claire:And according to Wikipedia, this was coined at 2,007, which I have a hard time believing.
Liz:Which is crazy.
Jack:I I could believe that because I think back then was when you started to see, like, I don't even know how to describe it, the rise in, like, memes that just, like, don't make sense.
Claire:Right. But they were still called memes.
Jack:But we could still find yeah.
Claire:Well, it
Liz:the funniest thing was I was actually thinking about this the other day because I don't even know. Someone brought up, like, a meme costume or something. I was like, yeah. In high school, in band camp, we had a meme day where which is just, like, so band camp.
Jack:100%. Yeah.
Liz:And I was, like, where I I wasn't as into themes as I am now, but, like so I just, like, taped pictures to my shirt. And one of them, like, most of them were not memes. They were just random pictures that I found funny, and one of them was just, like, spaghetti in a vase.
Jack:Okay.
Liz:And that was, like and I'm, like, that's so brain rot. So it's, like, okay. Because, like, I think of brain rot now, and I think of, like, Scooby toilet rims or whatever. Let's just rip
Claire:the Band Aid off. The toilet rims. Get into the list.
Liz:Toilet rims. Yeah. And, but I think that but you're right. Brain rot has has been a lot around a lot longer, and we saw that with, like, Vine and stuff too, I think. Yeah.
Liz:Which is also short form content.
Claire:Yeah. I think it's kind of lost. And this is what we were pre podcasting podcast about. We were talking about. Now I am of the belief.
Claire:I don't think Brain Rot in 2024 is funny. I think, like, vines used to be funny or, like, spaghetti in a vase. Like, the the more memes. I think spaghetti in
Liz:a vase.
Claire:It has shaped or it's been, like, reshaped into just someone playing subway surfers while someone else makes slime while there's a song playing and a loud crashing sound, and also there's a story time happening in the background. Oh, but don't worry because you're gonna watch 5 seconds of it and scroll because your brain just needs that.
Liz:I don't think Did I find that funny? It is hilarious. It is hilarious.
Claire:It's just interesting that they call it short form entertainment because, in my opinion, at least 80% of the brain rot content I've come across is not entertaining.
Jack:Mhmm.
Claire:I'm watching it, and I don't know why. Yeah. It's confusing.
Jack:It's stimulating.
Liz:Well, yes. Well, it might Stimulating. I
Claire:think it's I do scrolling.
Liz:There is, like, there's, like, real brain rot that's, like, the subway surfers plus the, like, Reddit story time Yeah.
Claire:That. That's what I
Liz:jumping on Minecraft things or whatever. And it's like but I feel like there's also a sub I don't know. Like, a subcontent area of, like, ironic brain rot that has taken all of those things where, like, people are genuinely trying to reduce your attention span on TikTok and, like, generally trying to, like, pull you in with these, like, cheap tricks, and then they turn that into a joke. And that's funny.
Claire:Yeah. The mockery. The muffin.
Jack:Which it's become its own, but it's still brain rot. You know? Like, because it's funny. It's just funny this time. You know?
Jack:It's brain rot, but it's funny. And, yeah, I I think what's really interesting for me at least, is how we see this just kinda like manifest in society. I'm I'm currently writing a story on on the decline of the humanities. And this thing I keep seeing popping popping up in all these articles I'm reading is professors and teachers, they're just saying, like, kids don't read anymore. Kids can't, like, pay attention for more than just, like, 5 second because that's you know, this is the stuff, younger people are ingesting on social media, wherever else, stuff like that.
Jack:Yeah. And we're just talking about that earlier about how the differences between, like, people our age, you know, doing doing this kind of stuff or, like, laughing at this kind of stuff versus people, like, in Gen Alpha, like, like, my brother, my sister who are a lot younger. You have a younger brother
Claire:Yeah. Who is helping me come up with the list that we'll get into as I stare at it and wanna puke.
Jack:But I think younger people, like, they're a lot more drawn to, like, this, like, the original brain rot, I guess, if we can call it. And then when you see people our age sort of using the exact same vocabulary or the exact same jokes, it's it's it's ironic, but it sounds exactly the same to someone who might be, like, on the outside. You know?
Liz:Right. Yeah.
Claire:That's a good point. I would also like to say that when we were talking about this earlier, Jack actually looked me in the eye and said, well, when people my age say it.
Jack:I didn't mean to like that.
Claire:Okay. So am I 50 or so?
Jack:Well well, I'm in our age.
Liz:But
Claire:Well, just wanted to say.
Liz:It's a We're almost
Claire:the same age. Mhmm. Kind of. Anyway
Liz:yeah. Let's talk about the list.
Claire:Yeah. So with that
Jack:Oh, yeah.
Claire:Oh. Oh, I was gonna say it really quick. In the same English class that we are talking about Tradwives in, we did an article earlier in the year. If you do you remember the one about, like, people saying kids don't read as much?
Jack:Yeah.
Claire:And in class? Yeah.
Liz:Is that the way? That's what
Jack:I was talking about. Yeah.
Claire:Oh, you're using a Solana article for you?
Jack:I am using a Solana article. Aw.
Claire:You'll have to tell her. Our professor just learned that Jack works for the state news.
Liz:Finally. She's a
Claire:very big fan.
Jack:She's a big fan.
Claire:A very big fan of the state news.
Liz:Mhmm. Is she excited for you? Yeah. I
Jack:think so. Yeah.
Liz:It's cool.
Claire:Yes. She's
Jack:gonna yeah. We yeah. We've talked about it. She doesn't know Claire unless you've told her that you were I
Claire:did not tell her.
Liz:I kinda wish I was in this English class.
Jack:It's a great class.
Claire:She's awesome.
Jack:Love it.
Liz:To watch, like, planet of the apes and, like, big.
Jack:We did watch planet of the apes.
Claire:Yeah. Great. This has been a great class. Mhmm. Take 3 62 with Cara Solano.
Liz:Yeah. And that's an official state news opinion. Endorsed. Endorsed. Endorsed.
Liz:He has like, endorsement. I'm just, like, look at that. I'm I'm looking at our Google Doc, and this just says crashing sounds. And it's Yeah. So Yeah.
Liz:Let's get into this list. Sorry. I
Jack:didn't see this until
Claire:So that
Jack:told them just now.
Claire:Crashing sound woah. Crash shit. My god. Crashing sounds.
Liz:The brain rot's hitting.
Jack:It's yeah. It's crucial to the brain rot.
Claire:And intense stimuli Mhmm. 100%. The list you're both looking at is just what I thought brain rot was. So it's crashing sounds, intense stimuli, almost old sounding.
Liz:I don't get that.
Claire:Like, the the sound quality bad? Was per yes. Just bad. Purposefully, like, staticky. Mhmm.
Claire:Just enough that you notice it, but not enough that you don't hate it. Right. It's not funny. And
Jack:That seems a bit personal.
Liz:I think that that's personal.
Claire:And it's overstimulating. By
Jack:Jenny Overstimulating.
Claire:Not only is it intense stimuli, I also wrote that it's overstimulating. Mhmm. And then beneath that, I have a list a quick list of many of the most popular ones and the ones that my brother had to teach me who's a freshman in high school. So
Jack:Yeah. Let's get
Claire:into it.
Liz:Let's get it.
Jack:First one, oil up.
Claire:I still don't understand why. I don't get that one. That was on a a graphic that Jack actually included.
Jack:Yeah. So apparently, this is a brain rot term, oil up. I I I vaguely had remember seeing this. I don't know what it means. That
Liz:is a bottle of oil.
Claire:No. Wait.
Liz:I'm seeing it.
Claire:Let's guess. You just okay.
Jack:Okay. Oiled up is slang term that means drunk or intoxicated. Oh, okay. Okay. Oh,
Liz:I see that. Okay.
Jack:Yeah. I think we should move on.
Claire:Yeah. I don't like it.
Jack:Of course, the next one is the titular riz, which I think we all know is, short for charisma, which,
Liz:I feel like that one has made more rounds than a lot of these other competitors.
Jack:That might be the most popular. Riz. Yeah. And that sort of refers to, I guess, just talking talking to people that Yeah.
Claire:Have a game Just like flirting.
Liz:Yeah. Flirting. Flirting.
Jack:That's what I was getting.
Liz:Baby Gronk just raised up, let me die.
Jack:That's another one. Yeah. We have a
Liz:The the characters of brain rot
Jack:who Baby Gronk is a character of brain rot, I believe.
Liz:I don't get who he is. So
Jack:he was just like this kid, and it's actually it is a little sad kinda. He's this kid who, like, plays flag football. And he somehow made his rounds on the Internet, doing something, some some gimmick. You know? That's the Internet.
Jack:And It's
Liz:the Internet for
Jack:you. Exactly. And, his dad, I feel I I think kinda just, like, took the persona he had kinda gotten, and really just, like, made him into, like, a product.
Liz:And he Oh.
Jack:He's all over now. Like, he go he meets all these celebrities and stuff, and he's doing all this thing. Like, he's kind of a meme now and but it's it is a little sad, but it's also
Claire:Like, he was exploited.
Jack:Yeah. Very much so. But and he's he's kinda too young to I mean, it's a tale you see over and over again. People being young people being exploited by, like, parents Yeah. Yeah.
Liz:For the
Jack:sake of, like, social media.
Liz:Well, it's so much easier now because I think when we used to think of, like, old child actors, like, there was a lot of laws around, like, I don't know, like, Disney Channel production and stuff like that. But, like, now, like, parents can just do whatever.
Claire:Even that. On the Internet. Yeah. And they're vloggers too. Like Yeah.
Claire:We could get into that Yeah. Forever and ever. Wait. Is this the We Bring the Boom?
Jack:No. That's that's that's different. That's those are
Claire:the Costco Those
Liz:are the Costco boys. That's a
Jack:little separate. Too much to sort through. Characters. I don't even know
Liz:Are they part of Brain Rock?
Jack:I don't think you can call them.
Liz:Kinda like Twitter humor.
Jack:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Next up, someone wrote what the Sigma?
Liz:Someone. Nice, Claire. I don't really I mean, it's just like a
Jack:I mean, the the Sigma is, like, the newest, Ubermensch, I guess, kinda garnered to pitch. What? Oh, it's like like Nietzsche's philosophy of, like, the Uber mentioned stuff or the overman or whatever, just kinda like shaped into to fit the Internet Internet Right. Terms and stuff like that. That's my interpretation of Sigma.
Jack:I don't know what what the Sigma came from.
Claire:I think it's a dis. Like, you say it to someone as
Liz:Like, what what
Jack:I didn't know that. I I've I've
Claire:It's like sigma is the negative opposite of, like, alpha. So if you say what the sigma, you're kind of like you're but why would frame it as a question?
Liz:See, when I'm looking at this picture here, it's just a picture of Squidward, so that gives me nothing. Yeah.
Jack:I think the original meme was just Squidward saying it. But I think English also has this, like, fun fun thing to it where you can just kinda, like, put any word after what the and it makes sense.
Liz:Yeah.
Jack:Like, what the f, what you know? Yeah. Like, it it that's not what that word means. Like, it doesn't make sense, but, like, we do it anyway.
Liz:Right. Right.
Jack:Actually, there's a word for I when I was in France, there was a a a linguist or, someone studying linguistics, and he he had he had been telling me there there's, like, a name for that that in language, and I actually find that really fascinating. Yeah. So that that that might be my favorite on the brain rot on the brain rot list, actually.
Liz:I know what mine is.
Jack:What's yours?
Liz:I we haven't gotten to it yet.
Claire:Okay. Oh, wait. Beta. A beta, ma'am.
Jack:Sigma is above alpha. Oh.
Liz:Yeah. Wait. What? No. I thought wait.
Jack:No. It's like it's
Liz:I thought Sigma was it's, like, separate
Jack:You are so detached from, like, everything.
Claire:You're mister cool guy. It's, like, kinda what this
Liz:is saying. You're the lone
Claire:wolf, actually. Exactly. Okay. The lone wolf or someone who prefers their own company versus that of a crowd. But I feel like people are saying what the sigma as a diss, which makes me think they should be saying what the beta.
Claire:I sound like I'm 45. I'm not even I feel like this
Liz:podcast is really aging up. I
Claire:of course, I am.
Jack:Yeah. Yes. Saying.
Liz:I think it's I think it's just funny because wait. Wait. Funny. And a
Jack:funny voice.
Claire:Cannot be the title of the episode, what the sigma in the house looks.
Jack:Anyway, we'll we'll get away from that one. Oh my god. We got mewing, which
Liz:I did know this one. I
Jack:don't think was a bra I I think it was a real thing that had been turned into an into, like, a brain rot thing. I I feel like this was, like, an actual thing where if, like, you know, you you put your the tongue to the roof of your mouth for, like, an extended period of time, it does actually, like, have an effect on it.
Claire:People were actually doing it.
Jack:Yeah. It was, like, a medical thing that, like, had been, like, acknowledged. But, yeah, I think it kinda got turned into a meme of just, like
Liz:This is one that my mother who teaches middle schoolers actually brought up to to me recently. She was
Jack:like Oh, really?
Liz:Kids keep using mewing, and I'm not quite sure. And I was like, mom,
Claire:you gotta Listen to houselets.
Jack:And then sort of a subterm or I guess the umbrella term to mewing would be mogging. What? Mogging is when this is so awful. I feel like I I don't know. This anyway, mogging is when you're When
Liz:a kid's his age, you say.
Claire:I'll use it as a We don't get it because we're your seniors.
Jack:If you're if you're in a crowd of people and you are, like, way more attractive than everyone else in that crowd of people, then you are mocking those people.
Liz:Oh, okay.
Jack:But mewing is a method of mocking. You know? That's how it
Liz:feels all the time to be me. It's mogging. So bad. That's so crazy. I think it comes from, like, 4 chan culture.
Liz:Yeah. Self hate and dissing other people.
Jack:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 100%.
Liz:Wow.
Jack:Moving on. Next one is Gat.
Liz:Yeah. This is my favorite one.
Jack:Gat.
Liz:I use gat actually,
Claire:I need to take these off.
Jack:Like, Which is a, derived from goddamn, you know, or goddamn like gat. You know?
Liz:Yeah.
Jack:So Yeah. But then it kinda turned into a bit of a, what, adjective now? Like, it it's all of it.
Liz:Isn't it? Well, yeah. You can use gaffer. I thought it was now, like, sort of a noun for talking about, like, ass.
Jack:Yeah. It is. Yeah.
Liz:A 100 Okay. Okay.
Claire:Why is it spelled like, Wyatt with a g?
Liz:Because that's how you say it.
Jack:That's how you say, like,
Claire:gee, you know. Oh, of course.
Jack:And, actually But
Liz:then, like, I own I've also seen, like, people say giat to, like, describe a woman as well.
Jack:Yeah. Yeah.
Liz:So, like, I don't really I thought it was, like Which is different from. Did you already explain that's, like, god goddamn? Yeah.
Jack:Yeah. But you brought up Taylor brought up a good point earlier about how and I think this is a great example about how a lot of these terms, a lot of the brain route stuff is just like old slang kinda rebranded. Mhmm.
Liz:And I
Jack:think there's a great example of that. It's just it's just a slang, but just kinda, like, presented as, like, this new thing or, like, this Yeah.
Claire:With a slightly new
Liz:Exactly. Know there are some words that have never existed, like skibbity, like toilet, like, toilet riffs. Skibbity. Like, I don't understand, like, skibbity, like, doesn't make any sense.
Jack:Actually next on our list.
Liz:So Yes.
Jack:Great segue. Love that. Thank you. It's almost like Skibbity? Been doing this
Liz:a while. Oh, yeah.
Jack:Skip I don't even know. I think that came from, like was it Gary's mod? I feel like I don't know. It came from some, like, video game, and it was literally just like heads and toilets.
Liz:It's an animation.
Jack:An animation.
Liz:Made with the software.
Claire:Yeah. I hate this one.
Jack:And I don't even that's another one of those words that, like, really, I don't think has any meaning anymore. People just, like, say it.
Liz:Skibbity.
Jack:Like Yeah. Like skibbity.
Claire:Well, they say skibbity before wait. I feel like it's
Liz:like, you're only using it with other brain rot words. Like, you're never just saying Skibbity.
Claire:This says it has no inherent meaning. Yeah. It says you just
Liz:put it before a word. Anything?
Claire:The word is often used to start a joke in conversation or to reference absurd slang culture. Skibbity is a Gen Alpha slang term that can mean cool, bad, or dumb depending on the context.
Jack:This is from the AI overview when you Google things on Google.
Liz:Thanks, AI overview.
Jack:Thank you, AI overview.
Claire:Used as a wacky adjective.
Jack:A wacky adjective. What's the name of this
Liz:pro air?
Jack:Wacky adjective that you can just kinda, like, throw into your sense.
Liz:Skibbity. Wait. So you're describing something as skibbity? It's not like its own thing?
Jack:You could.
Claire:It's a lawless word. It has no lawless word. Liquid. It just takes shape with whatever
Liz:you Okay. You're so skibbity.
Jack:You're so skibbity.
Claire:But does that mean you're so cool, bad, or dumb?
Jack:I don't know.
Claire:Only one of those is awesome. Sound
Jack:Yeah. Or if
Liz:you You're so phantom tags. That's the next one.
Jack:Exactly. Which
Liz:is my second question.
Jack:That's awesome. Which
Claire:I just learned this one as well.
Jack:So that one, yeah, I I I sorta it's I forgot whose stream it is. It's either, like
Claire:You know it. I'm just kidding. It's someone who's
Jack:trying to
Liz:know it.
Jack:Streamer, lives in a house with this other guy who I guess goes by Phantom. And whenever the first guy had food, this guy would come in and say phantom tax, and he would take it. He would take the food. That's what I've heard from my younger siblings when they explained it to me.
Claire:Phantom tax means stealing food.
Jack:It's this yeah.
Claire:Okay. Yeah.
Jack:But I don't I've never heard anyone actually go, like, phantom tax and then, like, take food.
Liz:I saw it. I'm sure you're in your boat. Wild wings. Oh, okay.
Claire:And that would be the place. Yeah. That would be the place. Who? Jake, I
Liz:I don't AJ took food right off your plate and said phantom text.
Claire:This happened to you?
Jack:I must have not been
Liz:You got phantom text.
Jack:Yeah. No. It
Claire:I thought you met a different table.
Jack:No. He's he's certainly tapped in with the with the brain rot terms. Terms.
Claire:He's certainly
Liz:tapped in with the with the brain rot terms. He's certainly tapped in with the is the outside state news.
Jack:I mean Care. I think, like, what, like, an hour ago, he he he used huzz.
Liz:Oh, okay.
Jack:Again, ironically, but No.
Liz:He just used And
Jack:that that is another great segue into
Claire:the next word. Hus. Hus,
Jack:which is an abbreviation for a group of women.
Liz:And Derogatory. Is it derogatory?
Jack:It says derogatory as, like, saying, like, shoddy or, like, the h word. Yeah. You
Liz:know? Hose.
Claire:Hose. Yes.
Liz:I don't know
Jack:if we can swear on.
Liz:Oh, I mean, we said we talked about Stupid Hoe by Nicki Minaj.
Jack:Oh, okay. Worst.
Liz:Yeah. I love that song. Claire hates that song. Why? She put it on the worst song for her.
Claire:Just like brain rot.
Liz:I think
Claire:There's a bunch of crashing sounds, Claire's clapping. She's making a, like, whistling noise in her mouth for a full minute and a half. Oh. And then she just repeats stupid hope. And the music video could be a brain rot video.
Jack:I think that song made it on a watch mojo top ten worst songs. So
Claire:Oh. So I have huge
Liz:amount of watch mojo.
Jack:I'm wondering if maybe player watched watch mojo before.
Claire:I didn't. I did look up horrible songs and listen to them, and it was a excruciating process, but they did it for house lights.
Liz:You've already been caught. It's okay.
Jack:We appreciate your
Liz:We appreciate your honesty. But I would just I just wanna talk about that there's also different, like, variations of us Yeah. Or us then, which was explained horribly through a TikTok that me and Claire Lawrence
Claire:were So my brother taught me, and then he said there's lots of variations, texted them to me, and did not elaborate. So we turned to TikTok, which provided a subpar example. So let's run through them.
Jack:Yeah. Fuzz. That was the freshman one.
Claire:Freshman huzz.
Jack:So awful. That's actually the worst thing. Freshman huzz. Yep.
Claire:Or you could say what the fuzz Apparently. Which
Liz:I don't those are too
Claire:far. That. Very different.
Jack:I don't get that. Yeah.
Claire:Chuzz. I don't remember Chuz.
Liz:Chuz. Oh. I remember Gruzz.
Jack:Gruzz was old people. Yeah. Old people.
Claire:Elderly people. Yes.
Jack:Bruzz, which is like your homies.
Claire:Your bros.
Jack:Your bros.
Liz:That one makes sense.
Claire:Oh, fuzz was for thugs. But according to the person making the TikTok, thug is too hard to say. It's it's too much in the mouth, I guess. That's literally what he said.
Jack:The same thing.
Claire:So fuzz is just easier. What is spuzz? Spuzz.
Liz:I feel like I don't remember that one. That's the thing with these, like, brain rot words. They just, like, they come in, and then it's just straight out. And I'm like, that's the fuzz. I
Jack:think I can make something up, and it'd be just as good as it gets.
Liz:Spaghetti. Spaghetti in a vase. Spuzz. Spaghetti. Here you go.
Jack:Spuzz slang.
Claire:Well, no. I don't know.
Jack:We got nothing on Google. AI overview did not help us this time. Yeah. Dang it.
Liz:We're anti AI here at Sadie's.
Claire:This says it's
Jack:Yeah.
Liz:Just kidding. Love AI.
Claire:Oh. All of these are bad.
Jack:Yeah. These are not right.
Claire:These are, like, politically incorrect.
Liz:Wow. Anyways, do we have any sort of final thoughts on brain rot, or has our brain been too rotten?
Claire:I think it's gonna start melting.
Jack:So I'd
Liz:say yeah. I honestly can't think of it. I'm just, like, picturing the memes that Jack was sending me.
Jack:I'm brain rotting just talking about it.
Liz:No. Like, I think that I've said, like, way too many words that, like, have no meaning. Like, the fact that all of these words, you're like, you can just use them for whatever. I'm like
Jack:I would love to have a takeaway of, like, what does it say about our relationship to aesthetics? But, honestly, I don't even know
Claire:Yeah.
Liz:I think they wrote down, like, all these, like, interesting questions. Like, what does Internet humor entail, and Do you have to be chronically online? Like Mhmm. No. Because it means nothing.
Jack:It means Yeah. I'm sure someday, we'll have research on it that and it it'll say something about our society right now. But as of right now
Liz:Do you think the future of memes is brain rotted, or do you think we'll return brain rotted
Claire:since, like, MLG
Liz:was funny,
Jack:I think. But we could turn the ship around and stop playing Minecraft in the back of every single video. Oh. No.
Liz:I like it.
Claire:Okay. We should keep doing
Liz:that. One of
Claire:these questions I do want to address really quickly. Do we have a favorite brain rot meme? Oh. I just also feel like this whole podcast episode would send, like The Victorian child? Yeah.
Claire:Into a panic or or even just, like, anyone. I don't know.
Jack:Mhmm.
Liz:The maybe the, the the gross.
Jack:My grandfather. Yes.
Liz:An activist. Yeah. I don't I don't
Jack:know if this is Brainrot, but the Wojags, I think those are funny.
Claire:Yeah. I agree.
Jack:I because they're they're all, like, characters of, like, a type of person, and I love them. And you can use them in, like, different and I I think as a cartoonist, I appreciate them a lot more because
Liz:a
Jack:lot of the times, it's just, like, stupid, but I think there's I'll I'll see some that are, like, very clever actually, and they, like, describe something and then yeah. So I I I do like those because I think they're the least brain rot out of all the brain rot. You know?
Claire:Those to me feel closer to a meme. Like, those ones that are, like, they don't know that I'm
Jack:Or even just, like, straight saturation.
Claire:Blah blah blah. You
Liz:know? Yeah.
Jack:Like, I think, like and we have some pictures pulled up. I don't know if we can get them up on the screen, but, these are all very, like, these are saturation of, like, real people, like, you know, probably. Right. So that that's why I like it.
Liz:I, I don't have, like, a specific anything for you, but, like Mhmm. I am, like, a baby with, like, a sensory video when I watch, like, the videos that do have, like, crash sound. Cocomelon? Co yeah. It's like Cocomelon for me, really.
Liz:So I'm actually part of the problem, so I'm gonna let Claire answer.
Jack:Go ahead, Claire.
Claire:Mine was gonna be
Jack:The Wojeks?
Claire:The Wojeks. Yeah. Just because they remind me of memes, and I feel like they're often also not videos. And if it is a BrainRock video, I guess sometimes maybe one sudden crash sound, which is, like, the punch line. But if the whole video is just a bunch of sounds, it's bad Uh-huh.
Claire:And not funny, and I must scroll.
Jack:Yeah. You mentioned earlier, like, the one where the guy is standing in the corner of the party. Yeah.
Claire:That's that's Wojak. No? Guy.
Jack:He's like, they don't know him. Whatever.
Liz:Yeah.
Jack:I like that one.
Liz:Nice. Alright, guys. Thanks for watching this episode. I hope that you come back after
Claire:Yeah. Next week, we're gonna read Shakespeare.
Liz:And,
Jack:we're gonna
Liz:read We're talking about bold literature. Yeah.
Claire:No screens.
Jack:It is gonna be a seminar.
Liz:I hope you guys get to unplug after watching this podcast.
Jack:Go read a book.
Claire:Go read.
Liz:Please. Go for it. Videos.
Jack:Go for it.
Claire:And don't wear headphones.
Jack:Reconnect with nature.
Liz:Yeah. Yeah. Bye, guys. Bye.