bill wurtz discography

for a long, long time, I've wanted to write about this man and to let people know that he exists. he's changed my life in profound ways, from college applications to the way I text and write (all lowercase). however, writing about him remains as puzzling as watching his videos. his videos cover every and all topics, which makes it hard to condense it into words, and sometimes condensing it into words isn't even the point, but just to experience it first hand.

1. discovering bill wurtz

I don't remember when was the first time I watch a bill wurtz video, nor do I remeber which one was the first bill wurtz video that I watched. however, a rough estimation would be around 2019 or earlier when I was in 8th or 9th grade. it was a time when your instagram feed mostly consists of things you follow and not ramdom reels, and your youtube wasn't flooded with ads and shorts as it is today. I spent a good 4-6 hours a day on youtube with lots of creators, but the one I still remember today is pewdiepie and bill wurtz. I grew out of pewdiepie eventually, but bill wurtz content and philosophy stayed with me.

I keep coming back to history of the entire world, i guess a bunch of times. I have never seen anything like it before. around the same time or earlier, I also discovered this website which features all wikipedia portals. his video really had me thinking about what happened before us and what comes after. some time later, I came across more memes and diagrams that helped me realize stuff.

map of science (and everything else)

2. history of the entire world, i guess

there's a lot to know out there, but things, more often than not, often follow this pattern, that we are same same but different. by same same, I mean that we are all fundamentally the same thing. you and the person next to you are all made of cells, which are made of molecules and atoms and quarks and stuff. with every shifting domain in the history of knowledge, you change the unit (from quarks to particles to atoms to cells to humans to societies). by different, it means that subtle differences in the ways we are arranged, whether spatially in space (shout out to enantiomers), in dna sequences, or in life events that shape who we are today, and how we interact with one another and the social hierarchy. nothing is really invented, everything has always aready (toujours déjà) been there, we just slowly discover them as we evolve as a species. and all this crazy process is wrapped up within one another like a little baozi. the smallest thing we start out with is also in the same class of thing also the biggest thing we end up with (quark and the universe). 

existence precedes essence, there is a stronger tendency to have something rather than nothing. and things don't happen the way it should happen, but rather the way it is likely to happen. whatever is possible will happen. that's why useless things exist.

sometimes, in waking consciousness, I think about how many people living without knowing about this truth and why racism, ageism, and all things -ism still exist.

3. stream of consciousness

I treat bill wurtz content as catharsis. watching bill wurtz triggers wonderment within you. sometimes, watching his videos also feels like being on drugs, lsd, or having adhd.

the cool thing about bill wurtz songs is how it's simultaneously nothing and everything at the same time. most of his content are not targetted towards anyone, so it speaks to everyone who knows the language. it feels very existential, liminal, empty, yet fulfilling at the same time. it is the same as what I think about liminal photography. I think about this all the time when I think about anti discrimination movies. personally, I don't find them very helpful. you don't make people feel better by showing them in the worst light, but by showing something other than themselves. similarly, you don't make people forget about race, or age, or gender and see things that matter more by keep showing them the things that reinforce who they are, but by pointing them things to that bring them together as a human collective and promote social harmony. I mean look at the comment section of his videos. a bunch of people wondering together, and I think it's a beautiful thing.

bill wurtz content is also meant to be watched in a pretty specific kind of way, at least that's what I think. it's not the same if you just listen to the audio without the video. the video serves as a crutch for the jingles that aids and enhances them.

other than his videos, other stream of consciousness contents that he has are his notes

4. the music industry and the creative process

although there is not one way to do art, bill wurtz might as well be my next favorite model for a musician. if you're a musician, then writing music and creating art should be your priority. his content is very inclusive as you don't have to deal with any paywall to listen to his music. he also doesn't rank his fans by making them buy merch or going to concertsor anything (although you can here). he's amazingly self-sufficient, doesn't give a damn about rankings, awards or diagnostics.

in a note, he once said: 

rule 1: there is no rules.

I've been applying this rule to my life for as long as I've known it. I judge myself less for not working and allow myself more flexibility to do whatever the fuck I want to.

wurtz doesn't monetize interactions with him. in fact, he favors it! although wurtz doesn't post videos or posts on social media too often these days, his questions page on his website remains active and is updated daily. his website also influenced me to have this website. although social media is convenient, having your own website feels much better and gives you far more authority and agency than having a substack, letterboxd, or wix website. it is all your own.

in an interview, bill also encouraged us to try shorter things as we get started with creating things. he dislikes album as he believes songs are better by themselves.

his art is raw, genuine, and has no bullshit in it. if you listen to him long enough, you'll see that he has beauty.

closing remarks

unlike other artists, I can't say that I've listened to all of his songs, for there are a lot more songs, notes, and videos on his website. however, I can say that I did the minimum of watching all his videos for around 3 times, as this is my third attempt trying to write about him.

reading this alone shouldn't replace the experience of going through (all) his content by yourself, which I would highly recommend if you need to kill time in a more coherent and less doomscrolling kinda way. and if you do enjoy his content, send him a message, and welcome to the club.