About

Merzbow copypasta (also known as "copypasta-core", "merzbow, boredoms" or "THAT copypasta") is a facetious list of obscure, underground, outsider, cult and experimental music artists that began circulating in online circles dedicated to music discourse in the mid-to-late 2010s, the earliest variant of the copypasta does not include the "Nice I like" at the beginning, that was added later on as a secondary layer to the joke, as the copypasta would usually be shared when someone (typically a normie) states their kind of music taste, only to be bombarded with a wall of "literally who" artists, that most normal people have never heard of.

Origin

The merzbow copypasta is believed to have originated on the infamous online imageboard 4chan, particularly on /mu/ a music board infamous for it's love of challenging, experimental and avant-garde music, with it's "essentials" list containing albums that would be considered "inaccessible" by the standards of the general public. On March 16th, 2016 an anonymous 4chan user started a thread on /mu/ regarding "poseurcore". Poseurcore was a slew of experimental artists dubbed popular amongst 4chan users, usually teenagers around the age of 16-24 dubbed "avant-teens" who pretended to like them in order to seem intellectual, on this very thread another anonymous 4channer replied with a list of artists he deemed fit into the "poseurcore" umbrella, the list was identical to what would become the merzbow copypasta.

However, it is unknown if this really was the very first instance of the copypasta or if this user was even the person to originate it, but 2016 seems to be the earliest year in which any trace of the meme can be found online.The merzbow copypasta is also similar to other /mu/ copypasta memes like "the Doors greentext" or Steve Albini's "For less than the cost of a Big Mac…" but has somehow expanded past the board itself and onto sites like RateYourMusic, Twitter, Reddit, Instagram, TikTok, Tumblr and YouTube.

Nice I like Merzbow, Boredoms, Gerogerigegege, Coil, Throbbing Gristle, Whitehouse, Nurse with Wound, Einstürzende Neubauten, Brainbombs, Egor Letov, Death in June, Current 93, La Monte Young, Moondog, Lou Harrison, Henry Cowell, Luigi Russolo, Popol Vuh, Fishmans, Jean Jacques Perrey, Les Rallizes Dénudés, Rainbow Caroliner, Taj Mahal Travellers, Fushitsusha, Peter Brötzmann, John Cage, Scott Walker, Unwound, Dead, Frank Zappa, Morton Feldman, Captain Beefheart, Pharoah Sanders, Albert Ayler, Ornette Coleman, Alice Coltrane, Arnold Schoenberg, Pierre Boulez, György Ligeti, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Nang Nang, Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, Nara Leão, Basic Channel, Raymond Scott, Delia Derbyshire, Daphne Oram, Noah Howard, Terry Riley, Peter Sotos, Lula Côrtes e Zé Ramalho, Boyd Rice, Mahmoud Ahmed, Henry Flynt, Kazumoto Endo, David Tudor, Aporea, Half Japanese, Mega Banton, Secret Chiefs 3, Keiji Haino, Ramleh, Otomo Yoshihide, John Zorn, Joe Meek, Robbie Basho, Phil Spector, Faxed Head, Harry Partch, Wesley Willis, Fred Frith, The Residents, Sun Ra, Sun City Girls, Hans Krüsi, Royal Trux, Jandek, Yat-Kha, Loren Mazzacane Connors, Pärson Sound, The Dead C, Comus, Cromagnon, Eliane Radigue, Arthur Doyle, Shizuka, The Red Krayola, Henry Cow, Magma, Opus Avantra, Pan.Thy.Monium., Murmuüre, Ksiezyc, Gong, Cukor Bila Smert', cLOUDDEAD, Muslimgauze and Kaoru Abe.

Another variation of the copypasta includes a spoof on the "don't let the spirit of rock die" copypasta.

You say Merzbow, I say Justin Bieber. You say Boredoms, I say Katy Perry. You say Gerogerigegege, I say Skrillex. You say Coil, I say Lady Gaga. You say Throbbing Gristle, I say Black Eyed Peas. You say Whitehouse, I say Taylor Swift. You say Nurse With Wound, I say Bruno Mars. You say Einstürzende Neubauten, I say Maroon 5. You say Brainbombs, I say Drake. You say Egor Letov, I say One Direction. You say Death in June, I say LMFAO. You say Current 93, I say Beyonce. You say La Monte Young, I say Carly Rae Jepsen. You say Moondog, I say Kelly Clarkson. You say Lou Harrison, I say Coldplay. You say Henry Cowell, I say PSY. You say Luigi Russolo, I say Imagine Dragons. You say Popol Vuh, I say Lana Del Ray. You say Fishmans, I say Ellie Goulding. You say Jean Jacques Perrey, I say P!nk. You say Les Rallizes Dénudés, I say Owl City. You say Rainbow Caroliner, I say Carrie Underwood. You say Taj Mahal Travellers, I say Christina Aguilera. You say Fushitsusha, I say Ariana Grande. You say Peter Brötzmann, I say Rihanna. You say John Cage, I say Jennifer Lopez. You say Scott Walker, I say Ed Sheeran. You say Unwound, I say Mumford & Sons. You say Dead, I say Tyga. You say Frank Zappa, I say Shakira. You say Morton Feldman, I say Macklemore. You say Captain Beefheart, I say Big Time Rush. You say Pharoah Sanders, I say Akon. You say Albert Ayler, I say Foster the People. You say Ornette Coleman, I say The Weeknd. You say Alice Coltrane, I say Panic! at the Disco. You say Arnold Schoenberg, I say Florida Georgia Line. You say Pierre Boulez, I say Big Sean. You say György Ligeti, I say Gym Class Heroes. You say Karlheinz Stockhausen, I say Miley Cyrus. You say Nang Nang, I say The Lumineers. You say Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, I say Jay-Z. You say Nara Leão, I say Charlie Puth. You say Basic Channel, I say Mac Miller. You say Raymond Scott, I say Twenty One Pilots. You say Delia Derbyshire, I say Harry Styles. You say Daphne Oram, I say Charli XCX. You say Noah Howard, I say BTS. You say Terry Riley, I say Iggy Azalea. You say Peter Sotos, I say John Legend. You say Lula Côrtes e Zé Ramalho, I say OneRepublic. You say Boyd Rice, I say Migos. You say Mahmoud Ahmed, I say Logic. You say Henry Flynt, I say Bastille. You say Kazumoto Endo, I say Five Seconds of Summer. You say David Tudor, I say Pentatonix. You say Aporea, I say The Chainsmokers. You say Half Japanese, I say Fall Out Boy. You say Mega Banton, I say David Guetta. You say Secret Chiefs 3, I say Greta Van Fleet. You say Keiji Haino, I say Alicia Keys. You say Ramleh, I say Kanye West. You say Otomo Yoshihide, I say T-Pain. You say John Zorn, I say Lizzo. You say Joe Meek, I say WALK THE MOON. You say Robbie Basho, I say Cardi B. You say Phil Spector, I say EXO. You say Faxed Head, I say Solange. You say Harry Partch, I say Lil Nas X. You say Wesley Willis, I say Disclosure. You say Fred Frith, I say Sam Smith. You say The Residents, I say Michael Buble. You say Sun Ra, I say Paramore. You say Sun City Girls, I say Linkin Park. You say Hans Krüsi, I say Florence + The Machine. You say Royal Trux, I say Rascal Flatts. You say Jandek, I say Eminem. You say Yat-Kha, I say Chance the Rapper. You say Loren Mazzacane Connors, I say Mariah Carey. You say Pärson Sound, I say Snoop Dogg. You say The Dead C, I say Adele. You say Comus, I say Shawn Mendes. You say Cromagnon, I say Chris Brown. You say Eliane Radigue, I say Camilla Cabello. You say Arthur Doyle, I say Halsey. You say Shizuka, I say The 1975. You say The Red Krayola, I say Billie Eilish. You say Henry Cow, I say A$AP Rocky. You say Magma, I say Dua Lipa. You say Opus Avantra, I say Kendrick Lamar. You say Pan.Thy.Monium., I say Nicki Minaj. You say Murmuüre, I say Madonna. You say Ksiezyc, I say Britney Spears. You say Gong, I say Post Malone. You say Cukor Bila Smert', I say Jonas Brothers. You say cLOUDDEAD, I say shut the -- up. You say Muslimgauze, I SCREAM pop music!! You say Kaoru Abe, I punch you in the face.

92% of teenagers have turned to Avant Garde and Noise. If you are part of the 8% that still listen to real music, copy and paste this message to another 5 videos. DON'T LET THE SPIRIT OF POP DIE!