Yeah I like JLC as the godfather of halogencore. Thinking about it more there's also a clear divide between its antecedents in British fiction/movies, where the point is about a rot caused by age and stagnation (and often signaled by scenes taking place in old buildings whose functionality has been obliterated by repurposing or decay), and its full flourishing in the US, where the point is rather the shoddiness of the present - thus the halogen, drop ceilings, cubicles etc - things built quickly not to last.