Way Down In This Subculture

The Pixies are providing the soundtrack to this blog post. I don’t know how you’ll react to this, but when I learned about this subculture it felt like a trip down the rabbit hole.

I start my new job in two weeks. Two weeks from tomorrow. I needed a break, so Randy and I decided a few days with our mountain friends was in order. It’s always a good time. Always. It’s rare that we spend time with our mountain friends and I don’t learn something awesome.

We were hanging out on Friday night and my friend starts asking me if I’ve heard of a phenomenon where people have this brain orgasm from listening to whispering sounds and then she said it started with an ‘A’ or something.

Mountain girl: ALS! It’s ALS.

Me: What does Lou Gehrig’s disease have to do with whispering brain orgasms?

Mountain girl: Maybe it’s not ALS.

Full disclosure: I was challenged to participate in the ALS ice bucket challenge. I did not dump ice water over my head. The reason I didn’t is because I don’t want to dump ice water over my head. I’m very impressed how much money was raised by the ice bucket challenge, but I still don’t want to dump ice water on my head. 

We started googling some phrases and found what we were looking for. ASMR. Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response.

shuddering

We spent way too many hours watching youtube videos that people made of them whispering and cooing and making crinkling noises for ASMR people to listen to and…well…I assume they shudder. Supposedly, it’s not sexual in nature at all, but if you watch those videos long enough, you’re gonna start feeling dirty.

It’s possible I felt a mild pull toward some of the sounds I heard on the videos, but not enough to put headphones on and ‘really’ listen. I swear. 

I’m not 100% sure what people get from this. What I am assuming is they get that goosebumpy feeling you get when someone breaths on your neck or whispers in your ear, but they just feel it in a big bad way.

Wouldn’t that be the fucking shit? Finally learn how to control my anxiety and it’s because I identify with the ASMR people. 

There are so many different types of videos. The girl with paper happy new year hat was so oddly compelling, she goes by Heather Feather. And the dude in the batman suit. Holy hell. I also don’t get the gas mask looking bird suit and why he talks like Zorro. Remember though, I just found out about ASMR and it’s possible I was under the influence at the time.

Okay, I don’t even LIKE it when people whisper in my ear, it’s a bad shuddery feeling, not a good one. I’m very nearly sure that is true. 

In any case, it was the theme for the entire week end. We made a lot of ‘SK’ sounds. (It’s an ASMR thing..you wouldn’t understand). 

I don’t know how many people experience ASMR, but enough that some of those videos have over 7 million page views, so I suspect it’s a pretty big subculture.

I knew absolutely nothing of this subculture of people. How many other bizarre subcultures are out there?

In addition to educational, my weekend was very relaxing. We spent much time in front a fire and stayed a day longer than we planned. My friends have a little guest cabin near their cabin, which is where we stay. Mountain girl said that we leave the guest cabin too neat and that she wanted us to leave a mess so that she knows we were there.

Randy and I feel that picking up after ourselves meets the minimum requirements one expects of house guests, but we hate to disappoint, so we gathered up sticks and left her a message.

wewerehere

Okay..hit me with your weird stuff. I was so immersed in this ASMR stuff this weekend that I forgot to be anxious about my new job. I’m going to have to move on to the next thing. I know you know something weird. I have two weeks to get through. Distract me.

In the meantime, I think I’ll go find Randy’s big cushy 1970s headphones and relax. 

63 Thoughts.

  1. I think I ‘ve seen that before. It was probably from The “Learning” Channel, which unfortunately make sense.

    I don’t know if this will happen for everyone else, but the ad leading into “Heather Feather” and her gentle…noises…is a war on allergies with artillery and bombs featuring plants and medication. Soothing!

    Any post that starts out with The Pixies works for me. That does more for me that that crinkle paper crap.

  2. What I got from this is ‘People are too fucking weird”. That being said, I definitely have some stories I could tell that would put me in the “too fucking weird” category. But I can’t bring myself to share them here. Let’s just say that one of them involved a very large woman, a naked midget on a stool, and a whip. That should be enough to get your imagination working. 🙂

  3. Never heard of it either. Sometimes I think I’ve lived a VERY sheltered life. Of course my kids usually clue me in on things. Can’t think of specifics at the moment though. I just got back from the grocery store and am STARVING but holy hell there’s nothing to eat, gotta fix it all now! Boy did I just get sidetracked. Anyway, it’s funny, but not really, how my kids teach their parents new words, trends, etc. Come to think about it, I don’t mind my sheltered life.

  4. Whispering brain orgasms? Didn’t they open for Primus on New Years Eve a few years ago? Do they smoke anything special to help them achieve this state?
    I’m not going to be much help on the subculture thing. The best subculture I know of you’re already in: the Bloggess’ comment section. All of my other favorite subcultures are either extinct (like the Rilo Kiley fan community at RiloKiley.net) or far too frustrating to help with one’s anxiety (like being a liberal) so I hope someone else comes up with something to help you out.

  5. Hunh, I thought I was relatively enlightened, but this is new to me. I do listen to a sound machine that helps me sleep through the night…maybe it’s giving me multiple brain orgasms? Anyway, try some searches on Ayahuasca… apparently people are doing it to ease anxiety, heal deep hidden wounds, etc. I saw a documentary that showed veterans and abuse survivors suffering from PTSD trying it…

      • I’m not sure if it falls under the weird category, the anxiety-reducing category, or a sublime combination. It’s definitely different…

  6. It’s just bizarre you ‘talking’ about this here because only last week the lady I work with told me about ASMR and I watched a lady folding towels – I wasn’t sure whether I was supposed to pay attention to the towel folding or just listen to her talking. Apparently I’m supposed to listen to her talking (whispering ?) and it should relax me and help me sleep. Personally I can’t see that happening – mainly because when I can’t sleep the last thing I think of googling is ASMR and trying to find the towel folding lady (although now I know I can find a whole bunch of other people but still not sure I’m going to give it a go because apparently the blue light from a computer doesn’t help you sleep anyway !!!)
    No white goods painting this weekend ?
    Glad you stayed an extra day and I hope that this is a good week for you !
    Me xox

  7. So glad you are back. I thought the aliens had taken you! Weird shit? Hmm, well no one I voted for got elected in our municipal elections but that wasn’t weird, just normal for me. I am such an outlier.

    I am going to go google this brain orgasm thing. Sounds too good to be true, but then so do real orgasms, and they rock!

  8. I was curious, I clicked on Heather Feather. I had to stop as soon as she made those crinkling noises because that shit irritates the snot out of me. So I guess that means I don’t have ASMR.

  9. You now have the distinction of telling me something I absolutely have never heard of before and at this age, that’s a feat. I mean. Seriously? I’ll be looking at those videos. Sounds fascinating.

  10. what the what?? I guess nothing should surprise me at this point in my life, but whispering brain orgasms? Of course, I must google this immediately. There goes my morning. Thanks, Michelle. hahaha

  11. I think I love you. We can listen to the Pixies together, but don’t count on the whispering or crackling paper anytime soon. Off I go to google brain orgasms… (even that sounds dirty!)

  12. Ha ha ha, yeah that’s a new one on me, which is saying something.
    I could raise more than a few eyebrows with some weird subcultures I’m more than a little aware of from my years as a musician…..but probably not on here
    🙂

  13. Oh furries for sure. Although probably everyone knows that one by now. If you are forced to google it and find out then I am sorry in advance. Very very sorry.

  14. Oh, I heard about this. On NPR or something, I think. I wonder if my kid has it, or some sort of hearing sensitivity thing. He has this weird thing with crinkling paper.

    I’m excited about your new job, but bummed you’re leaving Priscilla. I’ll miss her.

    Working from home, here. You’re kind of my watercooler.

  15. True story: A couple of years ago when I worked in a hospital, I couldn’t access support groups via the hospital’s internet for people who had lost limbs because the firewall blocked it. Who knew stumps (that’s the politically incorrect term) were fetish objects.

  16. True story: A couple of years ago when I worked in a hospital, I couldn’t access support groups via the hospital’s internet for people who had lost limbs because the firewall blocked it. Who knew stumps (that’s the politically incorrect term) were fetish objects.

  17. I’ve never heard of whispering brain orgasms. I HAVE heard about spontaneous orgasms. Apparently there are people out there who just have orgasms at any old random time – all by themselves. I can see how that might be annoying if you are presenting at an important corporate meeting or if you were meeting the President or something – but overall, I’m not sure it would be a bad thing!

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