What Is 'Plutonium Jazz' And Is It Real? The Banned 1940s Music Genre Explained

TikTok is a very audio-centric social media platform, so when an exciting new sound becomes popular, users are always quick to latch onto it. Recently, TikTokers have been all about an old purported genre of jazz called plutonium jazz that was allegedly banned for giving radiation poisoning to musicians and listeners. But is it true? Here's what you need to know.

What Is 'Plutonium Jazz?'

On July 18th, 2024, TikToker @businesstechnoinstitute posted a video consisting of what appears to be the Wikipedia page for "Plutonium Jazz." The page claims that plutonium jazz was a genre that was popular in the 1940s. Purportedly, it's jazz music in which artists try and match the beats of their bass instruments to the clicking of a Geiger counter. A Geiger counter, for those unaware, measures radiation levels.

The article goes on to claim that plutonium jazz was banned after artists and concert attendees got radiation poisoning. The video, which gained over 1.7 million views in four days, is set to an example of the genre, which consists of a bass guitar wildly playing overtop of Geiger counter clicking. So, is any of this even real?

Is 'Plutonium Jazz' Real?

You may be disappointed (or relieved) to learn that plutonium jazz does not, in fact, exist. The Wikipedia page shown by the TikToker is fake and so is the music created to accompany the video. Plutonium jazz is just an invention by the TikToker meant to troll unsuspecting users and seemingly, it's working.

Since going viral, the video has caused a spike in Google searches for the term "plutonium jazz." It's also inspired at least one Reddit user to post the fake Wikipedia page to the site, seemingly believing it to be a real genre, along with a viral repost of the original video to X. Since then, the TikToker has continued to post meme videos about plutonium jazz and other TikTokers are also getting in on the fun.

For the full history of plutonium jazz, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.