I truly think that most modern music journalism sucks. There’s an argument to be made that it has always sucked. Perhaps the act of limiting an artform that is as open to interpretation as music to a page full of words is doomed to always become vapid slop. Not to mention the vast majority of journalism is ripe with sensationalisation that is rapidly increasing as publications struggle to garner the attention of the modern world, all thanks to ads, shoutout IDIOTEQ. I agree with all of this to an extent, but maybe sensationalisation isn’t always bad, maybe music is an artform that needs to be exaggerated to create emotion separate from what is already provided through the sound.
That is a sentiment I work with almost everyday whilst writing and creating videos for the Coolea channel. Since its inception I’ve been able to garner 180,000 subscribers, all whilst ruffling plenty of feathers. I have actually been covered by this lovely publication twice. One for my take on the state of modern hardcore, and the other my video on the influence of Deftones on the modern generation. The latter, I presented as “Deftones and Its Consequences on Society” with obvious referencing to Ted Kaczynski, The Unabomber.
Upon first viewing the thumbnails and titles for these videos, they seem like memes, or jokes, and that’s because they originally were, but before I explain what that even means with any more depth, first I’ll begrudgingly talk about my journey on the platform, and how I reached the workflow and thought process I do today.
Originally, I presented subgenres of metal and other brands of alternative music in a way that was easily digestible to the chronically online audience, fast paced editing, minimal information, awful microphone, sentences that occasionally went on for way too long, some of it hasn’t changed to this very day. Somehow it immediately garnered attention.
As I evolved as a writer and more importantly developed my knowledge in regards to all aspects of music and culture, I felt as if that wasn’t enough.
My goal morphed from simply creating videos on topics that I found interesting, to attempting to present takes and perspectives on music that I hadn’t seen regurgitated countless times, all packaged in a way that would actually reach the increasingly distracted modern audience. At times I have succeeded, sometimes I’ve fallen flat on my face, and most of the time, the reaction has been split entirely down the middle, you should see my comment section.
A lot of people online would refer to me and my perspective as a joke, which does make sense, as that is actually where I get a lot of my ideas. They do say that there’s some truth to every joke.
Let’s return to the Deftones Unabomber Manifesto hybrid video I touched on earlier. During that period I often found myself at local pub gigs, the type where most of the musicians would be too young to be even let through the door if it wasn’t for the fact they were on the bill.
I enjoyed many of these bands, but I couldn’t help but notice the obvious Deftones influence within each of their sounds, it almost became a pattern, the riffs, the effects, even the way in which the bands dressed.
I jokingly said to my friend “this is Deftones and its consequences upon society”. I found the quote in itself funny, and the act of editing Ted Kaczynski to look like the modern goth girl was even funnier. So I had the title and the thumbnail, the next step was actually figuring out if there was any truth to the thesis.
That is where research comes in, god forbid. I typically scramble through web browsers in an attempt to find any information or articles that may back up the point, that is all then organised into a very disorganised Google Document. As I research I tend to actually finalise the point I want to make in the video, if there is no point, the video is simply scrapped.
I find the most important aspects of the research is usually the history.
When making observations about any band or piece of culture in the modern day, they always link back to something in the past. I often get accused of being an “old thing good, new thing bad” kind of person, but that is far from the truth.
In reality I find that modern music is in an incredibly good place, primarily due to the breaking down of barriers of entry that came in the form of the traditional record label system of the past.
We’re getting off topic here slightly, the point I am trying to make is, you can often back up modern observations by having an understanding of the history. The observation aspect is simply that, an observation, I can have as many studies, factoids or case studies as I want, but none of that means anything if the point I am trying to make isn’t something that is recognised by other people within various scenes in the modern day.
I suppose that is something I have on my side due to my youth, alongside attempting to be active within the scenes I discuss, I am able to research whilst just simply living my life.
So yeah, to sum it up in simple terms, my methodology for writing basically comes from an observation in the form of a joke or meme, which I then need to attempt to back up into a video essay that is at least somewhat defensible in terms of research and reasoning.
That is where the editing comes in. I use a lot of memes. Fast paced short form slop that is placed in sections where typical YouTubers would use live footage or B-Roll. I’m not sure what to say for my reasoning other than I just find it funny, sometimes the memes will loosely relate to what I’m saying, sometimes it’s a video I found amusing a few minutes before I reached that section in the edit.
Although the editing is primarily done for my own amusement, I do believe it’s a huge reason as to why my channel has gained the limited success it has.
Many grifting influencers online will claim we live in an attention economy, I agree that to be the case, the only thing is, this valuable attention is diminishing at a rapid pace.
I truly believe the next Bourdain or Thompson could be writing incredible observations on a website somewhere, but even if they were found no one would be bothered to read past the first few words. That is why I believe this type of framing to be almost essential. Everyone clickbaits, it would be facetious to claim I don’t do the exact same thing, but I believe that with me you know what you’re getting when you click.
So yeah, that is basically what I do and how I do it.
When Karol originally suggested I do a profile piece for my first article here on IDIOTEQ, I wasn’t sure how to frame it in a way that was interesting outside of, “I research, I write, I edit”, so I hope some form of commentary on how jokes and dumb observations and flourish into fully fledged ideas was somewhat interesting.
Whether you like me, dislike me, have heard of me, or have no clue who I am, I encourage the same.
Support journalism you find interesting in the same way you support music, passion projects like IDIOTEQ are hard to come by, and will always be essential within the overarching discussion of music.
Wyświetl ten post na Instagramie
Coolea is a UK-based YouTuber and electronic musician sitting at over 180,000 subscribers, posting music documentaries and video essays on genres, scenes, and the culture around them. His “An Ignorant Guide To” series — comedic crash-courses through styles and movements — runs alongside longer documentary pieces and broader culture takes like the Ted Kaczynski-themed video on Deftones’ influence over modern heavy music. These days he presents from a cave built out of foam and cardboard, a step on from the goblin-in-wizard-robes avatar that became something of a calling card on the channel’s earlier videos. The editing leans hard into memes and second-long cuts dropped where a typical YouTube essayist would slot in B-roll. IDIOTEQ has previously covered his takes on modern hardcore and the Deftones piece referenced above.
Channel: youtube.com/@coolea Instagram: @cooleayt Store: coolea.store
