"Lofi" as it is understood nowadays is more about background music that aims not to be distracting when working/studying. Basically lofi == "lofi (to study to)".

Trip-hop like Portishead does it, while it is "low fidelity" (as in it uses warm tones, crackling, record scratching, etc), it is not lofi, in the same way that Sabaton is Rock but not Rock&Roll.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Wow, I never thought I was so old as to be out of touch. To me, “lo-fi” without the “lo-fi hip hop” specification is really, like, rock/indie rock, but literally with lo-fidelity recording. It’s like a punk practice that was put into use for rock or indie rock, sometime in the early-to-late 2000s.

Think early white stripes, the growlers (their first album or so anyway), king khan & the BBQ show, maybe The Babies could fit into this category.

But “lofi beats”/“lofi hip hop” is a separate designation. But it needs the “hip hop” modifier because “lo-fi” existed before the YouTube playlist of simple, relaxing beats to study to thing.

So, I guess what I’m saying is, “these damn kids don’t know what lofi even is anymore. With their YouTubes and their handheld nintendos—dress them up all you want! I know a game boy when I see one!”

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I'm a young millennial and I'm with you.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I imagine doing homework undistracted while Unkle's Warstories or Portishead's Dummy are playing. Or how DJ Shadow would fit on the same shelf as this one tired anime girl with her studying hip-hop beats. It's a bit of a stretch to put them together, if not for a dozen of neutral songs in their discographies.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I used to study to DJ Shadow all the time.