[SIC] 189: Weird Place Now

Volume 4, Number 31

Apr 22, 2022

But you CAN pay, if you want to. Go right ahead. I’m into it. Monthly or yearly, or founding support (which includes a dinner at my house, if you’re in / can get to NYC). Other benefits that’d persuade you? Suggest ‘em. I’m open.

Feel free to share, too

High, all.

Writing from a plane again, forgive the pun. Yesterday’s 420 “holiday” weighed on my mind this week, wondering how / if I had to include something. I’m not a stoner and find the whole 420 rigamarole tedious, but I do get it and think it’s important as a cultural code. Hence my dilemma.

Fortunately, Zach Sokol resolved things for me, writing, “Wanted to let you know I dropped a new project today called CASH ONLY. It’s a publication/newsletter that features interviews with interesting people about all things 420 — what sort of weed they like to smoke, how they like to smoke it, and what they like to do once stoned.”

Thanks Zach. Looks great so far. And thanks also to a true all-star crew of contributors this week. Here’s looking at you, Iolanda, Ricky, David, Matt, Alexia, Piers and Celeste.

Beyond those thanks (and to all of you for reading and sharing), I’m late sending, so without delay; the links.

Thru the rental car window.

======[SIC] 189: Weird Place Now =======

The World

Yishan Wong, former CEO of Reddit, posted an epic Twitter thread on how everyone wants ‘free speech’ on social until they see how hundreds of millions of people actually behave and realise there’s no choice but to start setting rules. This isn’t about ‘silencing opposing views’. / Twitter via Ben-Evans
FBI compiled 83 pages of internet slang / Input Mag via Protocol
Corollary: What hacking AOL taught a generation of programmers / Readme-github via Public Announcement
Case in point? Chris Anderson's interview with Elon Musk is about space exploration, EV batteries, smart robots and stuff / Twitter via Protocol
More interviewing: Transcript, video, and audio of Tyler Cowen’s inter with econo-star Thomas Piketty / Marginal Revolution
And Tyler’s pod appearance with Bari Weiss / Apple
Photographer Edward Burtynsky on his Ukrainian heritage and our 'predator species running amok'
Also amok? A.I. Is Mastering Language. Should We Trust What It Says? / The New York Times
Relevant question, because it’s damn hard to make AI fair and unbiased, apparently / Recode
Also biased: TayLo introduces us to the woman behind Libs of TikTok, secretly fueling the right's outrage machine / WaPo
Related: never heard the term “Norks” before (and not sure how to feel about it), but per Ben Evans, their newest state-sponsored mission is hacking the hell out of crypto / via Ben-Evans
Related: How WALL-E Predicted the Future / Bloomberg
If charged on the global average power grid, the 4.5-ton Hummer EV is worse for the climate than many small cars that burn gas. / via Future of Transportation
Corollary: The summer of revenge travel is coming. No one can afford it. / WaPo
Hence: Toxic Positivity / Dirt

Trends

[SIC] homie Troy Young (sort of) coins the term “full composability” in this long, dense, DEEP edition of ‘People vs. Algorithms” that you should definitely read at least once, IMO. / People vs. Alorithms
Gen Z spends an average of 7.2 hours a day watching something, but what they’re watching changes throughout the day: TikTok or Reels in the morning, YouTube during the day, And a streamer like Netflix or Hulu in the evening / LA Times via Future Party
The Rise and Fall of Cultural Appropriation / Kirby-Ferguson-Youtube via Public Announcement
Oh hey guys, The Woke Corporation Is Dead. Good . / NYMag via The Trend Report
And, booze? The End of Alcohol / Wired
And “new” music?! TikTok Is Blurring the Lines Between 'New' and 'Old' Music. / Billboard
Hence, Drake "may stream more than all of the recordings released before 1980 combined" / Billboard via Music Redef
While unhelpfully, TikTok's Most Addictive Design Features Are Being Cloned Across the Internet / The Information
And Americans are drowning in spam / Axios

Style

Ana Andjelic on the new new menswear / Sociology of Business
Hence: fashion is finding its weird again / The FACE via PSFK
From Ricky Engelberg: “Blast from the past” [fave skateshop KCDC gets a Nike Dunk] / Sneaker News
A Top-Down View of the Sneaker Economy / Front Office Sports
The best-selling clothing items in Roblox are simple black items, jeans and crop tops, T-shirts with pictures of cats on them. / Digiday
Which explains Calvin Klein’s New Strategy: Don’t Market the Dream, Market What Sells / Vogue Business
Unrelated, from Piers Fawkes: How Women in Bolivia skateboard to Honor Their Indigenous Roots / Coolhunting

The Arts

Kenny Schachter on the Slowdown Pod talks Taking the Art World to Task / The Slowdown
While TikToker Clare Brown flips the script on European artists, exposing racial and gender biases embedded in art history. / Hyperallergic
Related: Art Criticism as a Way to Live / Hyperallergic
Is Snapchat Paving The Way For Art In The Metaverse? / Social Media Insider
In Plato’s Closet, artist and [SIC] Homie Timothy Hull gestures to the opportunities for creative play that looking backward can pose. / Hyperallergic
Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Personal Art Collection Is Up for Auction / Hyperallergic

Entertainment + IP

Noticing fewer megahits on TikTok? You’re not alone. Here’s what’s happening Billboard/ via After School
Backstage with Charli XCX / The FACE
Related: artists like Latto, Vince Staples, and Doechii are persuading listeners to rethink the way music genres can be interpreted / Wired
From David Bloom: “An interesting recent study on what causes one-hit wonders is given more weight when researchers ponder what it takes to be MORE than one-hit wonders, with a strategy of explore, then exploit”/ Future Party
While from Iolanda Carvalho: Head of Riot Games Music, Toa Dunn, on the Future of Virtual Music Groups. Key Quote: “As technology is constantly evolving and the younger audience is becoming more accepting of new digital experiences, only time will tell where we can really take this.” / Virtual Humans dot Org
So far, tho, it’s just Slipknot creating the "Knotverse" to host concerts, sell NFTs and provide metal fans a social outlet. / Inside
Corollary: Why We Remember Music and Forget Everything Else / Time via Motive Unknown
Nude dude: Meet Elden Ring’s first celebrity/folk hero / Polygon
Corollary, from Matt O’Mara: “New one for you [The Superman Complex]” / Apple

Platforms & Influencers

The hottest trend on Tiktok? In-depth analysis / Vox via After School
Snoop Dogg is launching a streaming service / Billboard via The Future Party
Meanwhile, Microsoft Is Building An Ad Platform For Xbox Games / Mediapost
And Epic Games is building a new creator marketplace – with music playing a key role / Music Business Worldwide via Motive Unknown
Related: only 12% of full-time creators make over $50k a year / TechCrunch via After School
Elsewhere, whatsApp is planning to launch a Communities feature utilizing the app’s end-to-end encryption / The Hustle

Marketing & Advertising

A continually updated list of how brands are using NFTs/ AdAge
Brands are building cartoon universes with cute mascots and characters / Thingtesting
To wit?: Focus Features is hiding a role-playing game within "Fortnite" to promote Robert Eggers' new viking revenge film, "The Northman" / IndieWire
While, from Alexia Bonatsos, canned coffee company Taika gave fans early access to mint their NFT today (4/21) at 12pm PT / Taika
Horizon Commits Up To 15% Of Its Upfront To 'Alternate Currency' Deals / Mediapost
A Downtick Is Coming for Online Advertising / WSJ
Because? DTC brands are shifting ad spend from Facebook to print catalogs / Glossy via PSFK
More ‘brands as everything;’ New Balance built a state-of-the-art facility to combine sports, music, fashion, and entertainment including a 50,000-seat concert space and beer hall). / Hypebeast via Future Party
Meanwhile, Lululemon is launching a membership program that will provide exclusive access to products, events and classes / CNBC
And Microsoft’s hottest new product is . . . a wok / Fast Company via PSFK
Tesla won the Super Bowl on the strength of its competitors’ ads / Front Office Sports
And Seth Rogen's cannabis brand has collectible packaging meant to turn the brand’s product packaging into something that can be reused over time / Houseplant via Retail Innovation Week

Media Business

Legendary rock mag CREEM is relaunching / Twitter
While Dazed is launching a club that offers…well, I’m not quite sure / Dazeddigital via After School
Quartz Is Right To Get Rid of Its Paywall says A Media Operator / Substack
Speaking of … More digital media companies want to go public. Can their newsrooms survive? / Nieman Lab
Because… “An immediate drop in content”: A new study shows what happens when big companies take over local news / Nieman Lab

Metaverse & Web3

The Recount is distributing a news show through Twitch / The Rebooting
Founder of Moonbirds/Proof Collective Kevin Rose on what makes Moonbirds already successful and what’s to come / Mirror via The Drop
Corollary: A real good explainer on why DeFi projects keep getting hacked / The Verge via Garbage Day

Food & Drink

[SIC] homies Desus & Mero reviewing fast food fish sandwiches is well worth the fifteen minutes it requires / YouTube via Ruby Dispatch
Why Is Kellogg’s Diner Selling Food Under 18 Different Restaurant Names on Delivery Apps? Welcome to the wonderfully convoluted, incredibly lucrative world of ‘virtual restaurants’ / Eater via After School

Miscellany

Civics for the Culture is Gen Z's Schoolhouse Rock / via After School
From Celeste Blewitt: “This is great and off-beat, a fabulous discussion into naming objects … the nostalgia and sentiment behind naming an object. 'Naming Objects Is The Opposite Of Objective Consumption’” /Atlantic

Things to Do

77BoaDrum’s / Black Dice OG / fave artist / [SIC] homie Hisham Baroocha’s part of something rad at Noguchi Museum / IG
Peter Saul’s Lasting Influence on the Art World Is the Theme of a New Group Exhibition / Featuring work by George Condo, Allison Zuckerman, Robert Colescott and more / Hypebeast
Holy rabbithole: Ghostly’s artist directory might as well be college for anyone interested in the music / art axis of emerging culture in the last 20 years. Click anywhere and see where it takes you. It’ll be someplace interesting. / Ghostly