Exploring the lost charm behind 'vibe coding' and the disappearance of DEV's beloved Music Monday, with a skeptical yet hopeful look at AI in dev culture and how to reclaim your coding groove.

🎧 Where Did the "Vibe" in Vibe Coding Go? And What Happened to Music Monday?

Hey coder friend! Ever feel like something’s missing in the art of coding lately? You’re not alone. Let's dive into the fading “vibe” of coding culture, the perks and pitfalls of AI helping us code, and a quick trip down memory lane featuring DEV’s once-loved Music Monday.

🤔 The Curious Case of Vibe Coding: Where’s the Magic?

If you ask around, you’ll find lots of buzz about “vibe coding” these days, but spoiler alert: the real vibe is MIA. What exactly was this elusive vibe?

Coding used to be a journey — a ritual more than a race.

You tweaked your editor theme to feel just right.
Keyboard shortcuts were your secret weapon.
Your desk setup was sacred (or you said “heck yeah” to being a digital nomad).
Playlists? Oh, they set the mood to get into that coveted flow state.

This vibe was all about productive procrastination, the art of lazy exploration, and not rushing blindly into the abyss. It’s that sweet spot where coding felt like play, inspiration was endless, and the journey was the destination.

🎵 Fun fact: Music Monday sessions on DEV were a big part of fostering this vibe. But more on that later!

🎶 So... What Happened to DEV’s Music Monday?

Remember those legendary Music Monday threads? They were little celebrations — a place to share tunes, discover fresh beats, and bond over the soundtrack to our coding lives.

Sadly, Music Monday has gone a bit quiet. Has the topic run dry? Not on this side!

I’ve been curating retro-inspired Spotify playlists like “more fun to compute” and “Commodore Night Shift in the Rain” featuring everything from Kraftwerk’s synth magic to Jean-Michel Jarre’s endless electronic vibes.

Plus, there’s my fresh “Astro Black Coding Vibes” playlist to keep the groove alive!

Music Monday might be snoozing, but the love for good coding tunes definitely isn’t.

🤖 AI & Coding: The Good, The Bad, and The Chatty

AI is that office newcomer everyone’s talking about. But here’s the truth: I’m not all-in, and I’m skeptical of the hype around large language model assistants. Still, AI tools sneak into my workflow — despite their quirks — so here’s my take:

AI shines brightest when you’re new

If you’re just dipping your toes into a tech stack or programming language, AI can be your speedy sidekick, offering boilerplate code or quick overviews. It’s like having a (sometimes flawed) sensei who points you in the right direction.

But beware – they're chatty and sometimes flaky

These AI assistants (looking at you, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Cursor, and friends) rarely spill their full secrets upfront. You have to poke, prod, and clarify again and again. They might forget context, misunderstand your ask, or simply hallucinate nonsense.

Think of them as a hyperactive intern on caffeine—helpful but chaotic. Don’t rely on them for mission-critical decisions without a solid human check.

Tools I prefer over full-blown AI assistants

Sometimes, simple and specific is best. Tools like Grammarly, DeepL Write, and Google Translate quietly boost my writing game without stealing the show. Similarly, using linters to lint (duh!) and refactoring tools to refactor keeps things solid and predictable.

Senior dev advice:

If you’re seasoned, sometimes it’s faster to skim docs & craft your own quick proof-of-concept than wrestling an AI bot for trustworthy output. Trust your gut, not just code bots.

🧰 Testing the AI Waters: My Recent Adventures

Here’s a quick rundown of my recent AI tool escapades:

Claude: Too resource-hungry and crashes often on my laptop. Verdict: nope.
Le Chat (Mistral): Cute name, solid multilingual, but no standout magic yet.
Perplexity: Another promising alternative but still early days.
Windsurf: Nice AI-focused editor, but broke working code repeatedly. Bye!
Cursor: Clunky Astro support, sketchy GitHub permissions, and unclear value. Hard pass.
Copilot: Initially shrugged it off, but might give it another shot after installing official VS Code.
JetBrains AI: Handy for quick completions and answers but context-limited. Sometimes distracts more than helps.
ChatGPT: Getting wordy and ad-like, intentionally holding back info to lure you back. Has it peaked? Maybe.
Google Gemini: Still catching up, but for coding tasks, it’s a winner! Generates solid code and helpful hints with no install fuss.

(Oh, and a hilarious moment: Gemini remembered my made-up persona "Jengo Stone," my imaginary Kenyan-German half-brother—AI with imagination! 😄 )

⚡ Reclaiming the Vibe & Boosting Productivity

For me, productivity means cutting out noise and struggle without killing excitement and challenge.

So, I ditched Cursor and Windsurf, dusted off PhpStorm, queued up Hunor Márton Borbély´s Astro talk from React Berlin, and hit play on my “Astro Black Coding Vibes” playlist while coding with Gemini and JetBrains AI.

This is my kind of "vibe coding": focused, inspired, and just the right amount of chill.

💬 Final Thoughts

Coding isn’t just about output; it’s about the experience, the community vibe, and yes, the soundtrack too.

AI is a tool—not a replacement—for your creativity and skill. Use it wisely, tune your workspace to fit your flow, and keep sharing those playlists and coding vibes.

Want to bring back Music Monday or vibe coding culture? Start that convo, spin those tunes, and share your flow hacks!

Helpful links to keep the vibe alive:

Happy coding, and may your vibe be ever strong! 🎉