Reminds me of Mitch Therieau's brilliant essay in Drift magazine on "Vibe, Mood, Energy" in 2022 about the trajectory of those terms from origins in 60s hippie counterculture to a terms which capture the hazy, reactive appeals to intuition and 'if you know you know" on social media
I agree that "vibe" has antecedents in "zeitgeist" and "public mood," and such phrases do express something real about the changeability of public opinion, but the viral spread of "vibe shift" as a reflexive, all-purpose descriptor of politics and culture still feels like something new and different to me — itself an expression of the zeitgeist, if that makes any sense. "Zeitgeist" seems like an invitation to deeper analysis, whereas "vibe" suggests deeper analysis is not worth the effort. If we all say "vibe shift," then that ratifies "vibe shift" as a meaningful statement in and of itself.
Yeah, I think what happened in 2024, particularly during Brat Summer, was that "vibe" expanded out of popular culture to take over political discourse.
Reminds me of Mitch Therieau's brilliant essay in Drift magazine on "Vibe, Mood, Energy" in 2022 about the trajectory of those terms from origins in 60s hippie counterculture to a terms which capture the hazy, reactive appeals to intuition and 'if you know you know" on social media
“Vibe shift” just seems like the latest way to say “new zeitgeist.” Or am I missing something?
I agree that "vibe" has antecedents in "zeitgeist" and "public mood," and such phrases do express something real about the changeability of public opinion, but the viral spread of "vibe shift" as a reflexive, all-purpose descriptor of politics and culture still feels like something new and different to me — itself an expression of the zeitgeist, if that makes any sense. "Zeitgeist" seems like an invitation to deeper analysis, whereas "vibe" suggests deeper analysis is not worth the effort. If we all say "vibe shift," then that ratifies "vibe shift" as a meaningful statement in and of itself.
the origin of "vibe shift" as a phenomenon is possibly traced to the collective DIS
an arts group which began working in NYC around 2010
it's possibly helpful to note here that the Hudson estuary flows in two directions
as it seems there is a turn towards something elemental sensed in the moment described here
Yeah, I think what happened in 2024, particularly during Brat Summer, was that "vibe" expanded out of popular culture to take over political discourse.