VIDEO
Rabbits (2002) - one of the best things i have ever seen. it feels like its targeted directly to my sensibilities and is just dripping in atmosphere. apparently Lynch filmed it in his backyard and got noise complaints from his neighbours
People - transfixing piece to watch, especially if you let yourself stare blankly in between the eyes. edited by hand by the creator.
There are 48 regular polyhedra - fun geometry vid about fucked up shapes. sometimes i put it on for friends like a baby sensory video its good
Interstices - the music for this video is Steve Reich's piano phase, which is a piece that actually stands on its own really well. the full work is about 20 minutes long and never fails to put me into a creative mindset. anyway i just like this video i think it's neat
YOURLOCALBREADMAN (channel)
- beautifully edited and creative videos about life in 'the void' among other things. older works were more atmospheric but new stuff uses worldbuilding more
Mind Control Made Easy - educational vid for prospective cult leaders. part of the intro got popular as some instagram trend a while ago i think
Outside In - learn how to turn a sphere inside out in classic 90s style
Baphometkun (channel) - i don't remember if this channel started before or during the big 'dreamcore' craze a while ago but it's very much along those lines in a lot of places. the editing is well done and i like the stories they work with. got hit pretty bad when youtube auto-shortsified all sub minute videos but any blocker extension can fix that
Night Mind (channel) - ooky spooky internet explained channel. does a lot of work to highlight and uplift smaller creators in the community. his older videos can be spotty quality wise but it beats a lot of similar channels
Boisvert (channel) - personally i'm obsessed with the style of this guy's work. the feeling of the works is so specific and strong there's really nothing like combing thru a video or drawing from the creator
Ergodic Literature - very thorough video about ergodic literature, the whole channel is mostly very well done reviews and explorations. also uses little digital fingerpuppets to illustrate things its funny
WRITING
Locus Solus by Raymond Roussel - i remember very clearly when i picked this book up in one of those ratty old secondhand book stores. i think i was just interested in the cover and got it cuz it was cheap. originally written in 1914 in french, the translation i read was old enough to still have that 'old book writing' in it. it's definitely dated but it's one of my favorite books, and influenced a lot of the art i was making when i first read it through.
Larry Marder's BEANWORLD - I first read this book at around 8 or 9 in the local library, and i would probably go so far as to credit it with at least half of my artistic foundation, then and now. truly truly a unique experience, from the art to the world to the stories. one day i'll make art like this
The Nesting Place by Emily Carroll - woims :)
The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk - very dense book about trauma and the relationship between body and mind. fascinating ideas and a lot of talk about the field as it developed
Fathoms by Rebecca Giggs - variations on the theme of cultural relationships to whales. everything from whaling to whalefall to 'pr' species for the conservation movement
Girl's Last Tour by Tsukumizu - one of the first manga i ever read, and the first anime, back in 2019 or so. beautiful worldbuilding and character work, with focus on the ways people can choose to live after apocalypse
Rust and Humus by Lucas Roussel - mindblowingly good worldbuilding project. i can't express how good the design work of this thing is. staggeringly beautiful and creative at every turn. so so many fucked up beasties
Dr Cataclysm by Mortis Ghost - gorgeous and very funny little comic series. the story it tells is very sweet and it's filled with the wonderful style and voice of Mortis Ghost. I particularly love the roundness of everyone's ships.
GAMES
SWOLLEN TO BURSTING UNTIL I AM DISAPPEARING ON PURPOSE - a deeply personal, extremely compelling game about delivering the mail and wearing lots of outfits. the music is incredible, and the dev is currently working on an album ost. one of those games that must be experienced firsthand, alone, with lots of time to think about it
Window Pane Membrane (dev) - i really enjoy all the games from this dev, and their work is always extremely creative. thematically varied but always with a 'core' that is emblematic of their games
Yames (dev) - extremely visually striking and visceral games, probably most known for discover my body. i love the writing and the way it always shows so clearly how the characters see the things around them
Kitty Horrorshow (dev) - extremely good horror dev knowm best for Anatomy, which inspired many extremely good works about fucked up houses. her writing is just filled with tangible imagery mostly of bugs and meat and infection. she's able to touch on a tone of casual misery that i really admire
Haraiva/Cecile Richards (dev) - magic with bitsy, among other things. beautiful games about loss, and love, and movement. i come back to several of their games fairly often
Modus Interactive (dev) - although all of their work is well made and worth looking into my personal favorite of theirs is the Shaderlab, which i spend a lot of time just being inside of. modus interactive really nails atmosphere in every way they decide to present it
DOMINO CLUB (collective) - artist collective that makes lots of jams and many many many games worth looking into
SOUL VOID - beautiful game with gorgeous art and writing. the dev is extremely creative and makes lots of false game mockups
Therapy with Dr Albert Kruger - deeply stylish game about some totally normal therapy. the writing fits into a larger world canon from some of the dev's other work
Victim Doll (from DOMINO CLUB) - extremely well written. a little nsfw
Shape of the World - textless game about climbing a mountain and planting seeds. the music is delicious and you can really fling yourself around with some of the monuments
corru.observer - impressively coded game in a similar style to terminal00. fantastic worldbuilding and character writing, its heartwrenching in a lot of places. the visuals are very funny contrasted with what i first thought they were going to be
Manifold Garden - fun little puzzle game about infinite space. makes my head hurt its good
Fe - i really like the world of this game and the way that it feels to interact with it. the progression is nicely done and the collectibles are annoying to find but still nice. the low poly style appeals to me
InnerSpace - extremely cool game about being a little airplane in a world of inside out earths. confusing at first but very pretty and a lot of fun to play around in
MISC
Diet Tea Other Cola - musical artist of the louder variety. i really enjoy the way he uses vocals and samples. i also used to watch him stream on twitch but he doesnt do that anymore
Stefan Visan - sculpture artist who makes fantastic moving masks among other things
Sinnykitt - makes lots of very stylish art of weird cats and dying soldiers
It's 5:57 AM - i dunno how he does it, but he does it well and it's cool
Tosca Opera - delicious album. all of toscas work is really good but this is my favorite, i really enjoy the samples they chose
Susumu Hirasawa - The Man Climbing The Hologram - beautifully done album with no low notes. very similar to his work on the paprika ost which might be why i like it so much