[SIC] 204: Gossiper Scandal Monger

Volume 4 Number 48

Aug 04, 2022

Paid subscribers now get an additional [SIC] Sundays newsletter. And founding supporters get invited to a series of dinners at my house in NYC. Next one’s in September.

Feel free to share, too.

Hi all,

Dirt’s pieces this week interviewing with the show Industry’s costume designer about Pierpont & Co. grails prompted me to tune in, only to discover the ‘desk’ has choice words about a newsletter that goes on too long… i felt that. A digest, as Eric on the show says, is meant to be digestible…

Maybe I should take that to heart. Brevity is the soul of wit as they say, and this newsletter is anything but brief. But then again, as [SIC] Talks alum Matt Klein says it best with this passage from his latest Zine post, the fourth part in [A_Framework_To: Find Overlooked & De-bias Trends] “Only with friction, daringness and originality, can we analyze the sharp edges and fringes of culture that have influence. The weak, the uncomfortable and the complex help color our picture of the future.”

Besides, as superstar contributor Celestee Blewitt notes, it’s “intriguing to read how the brain is hardwired, what it takes and how the mind can trip up and begin speaking another language before the person has even realised,” per this BBC piece [How Our Brains Cope With Speaking More Than One Language]

Here’s one way: the FT on how listening to uninterrupted noise helped millions to focus. Continuous music streams are designed for the extremely online, people seeking not silence but peace.

As a corollary, some listening material to accompany your review this week. First: [SIC] homie David Blue’s new Music for networking mix. Not a lot of vocals, so good for talking + listening on Soundcloud

Or, put on [SIC] homie and Warp Records label boss Stephen Christian live from Atlantis Records / Mixcloud

Then there’s ‘Shake The Foundations: Militant Funk & The Post-Punk Dancefloor 1978-1984’, all selected by the one and only Bill Brewster on Spotify via Motive Unknown

And lastly, from Rob Hubbert: there’s this “Fucking Great” [Fred Again… | Boiler Room] / YouTube

Thanks for the tunes, guys. And thanks Piers, Iolanda, Celeste and Zach for contributions this week!

Now, the deluge:

80s Eastern Europe came back to Greenpoint this week, for some film shoot or another…

======[SIC] 204: Gossiper Scandal Monger=====

The World

As Neom’s 100-Mile-long citymakes headlines around the world, here is a roundup of ten futuristic cities set to be built around the world / Dezeen
Meanwhile, says the FT: Saudi’s Neom is dystopia portrayed as Utopia. Hermetically sealed in its 500m-high mirrored walls, its huge carbon footprint makes it anything but a city of the future / FT
On that note: The federal government is doling out $5 billion to states to build a nationwide network of highway charging stations intended to get people to buy more electric vehicles / Axios
Related: What if the suburbs were just a first draft? Key Quote: “Remote work, the arrival of home-owning millennials, and other forces can be an opportunity to remake them for the better” / Vox via Future of Transportation
Speaking of millennials: How millennials made $5 trillion in 2 years / Axios
Hence: despite fewer job openings, Americans keep quitting at record rates / Quartz
A "Bitcoin City" of sorts is flourishing in the tourist sections of Honduras. Bitcoin Valley is a project that is training local companies to adopt cryptocurrencies. (Reuters via The Drop
But Can Innovation Trump a Bear Market? / NFT Now via This Week in Web3
Either way, somebody seem to be giving it a try: a jump in the use of Adderall is leading to supply disruptions. / Bloomberg
Related: nevermind the Amazon x One Medical deal. America’s actual pulse is reflected here; as Dollar General ramps up its healthcare focus / Grocery Dive
Ergo: Sexy dollar store stocks thrive, besting tech. Dollar Tree up 68.6% over the last year, Dollar General up 236% over the last five / VICE via After School
The Spanish government’s plan to save energy this summer? Workers should ditch their neckties / Quartz
Elsewhere: wearable fans keep Japanese pets cool in the heat, And jellied water keeps Japanese humans cool, too / Quartz
Too many options for addressing climate change could be a problem / Protocol
Let’s limit then! Sex pods: Like covid pods, but for monkeypox / Quartz
Meanwhile, the US has a wave of thefts of toiletries from pharmacies by gangs of Amazon re-sellers/ CNN via Ben-Evans
And a brand-new, $588-million bridge in Los Angeles has been forced to close several times due to crashes and social media stunts / Axios
It’s the olds? Everyone says Gen Z and Millennials are addicted to screens, but boomers and Gen X may be just as bad. WSJ via Future Party

Trends

Crypto's cursed week: Robinhood fined, Coinbase investigated, hackers steal millions / The Drum
‘Big tech’ buys hundreds of startups, but what are they, what does it mean for competition and does it mean for the broader market? How many more Instagrams are there, and how many DAOs? / Ben-Evans
Because, for instance: even though super apps are super popular in China, the American market may not really have a place for them, b/c of inherent differences between the tech industry in both countries / The Future Party
And the real promise of DAO governance might be forking: using governance to get people to disagree and through the process, discover subcommunities where they're aligned and create their own version of a project / Not Boring
More ‘forking’ (harrrrr): A 1,232-SWIPER POLL that [SIC] Talks alum Casey Lewis calls “A fascinating, if harrowing, look at dating in 2022 via more than a thousand current and former app users “/ The Cut via After School
Tinder is dropping plans for the metaverse or virtual currency, per to Match Group CEO’s letter to shareholders. It’ll focus on subscriptions / Protocol
The shroom market is thriving b/c of decriminalization / Rave New World
More tripping: Atlas Obscura is projecting its total 2022 revenue will be 3x 2021, thanks in part to travel advertisers' increasing spend / Digiday
Hence, over the past 18 months, JP Morgan has slowly acquired the moving parts to launch a full-suite travel business / Daily Upside
While back at home, is the conversation pit officially back? / NYT via Lean Luxe

Style

From Celeste Blewitt: “An interesting take on marketing, social media and outfits going viral … there's a move towards making bolder statements and seeing how far that is taken through social media platforms, branding and marketing” [Brad Pitt's Skirt Has A Business Agenda] / WSJ
The Crypto Collapse Has Flooded the Market With Rolex and Patek / Bloomberg via Morning Consult
Fave CPH shop Wood Wood’s new design team gets the Vogue Scandinavia look-see / Vogue Scandinavia
While Bode and Green River Project launch an NYC bar.
Based in Chinatown, very wood-heavy, inconspicuous and tiny / NYT via Lean Luxe
And s/o to [SIC] homie Carlos Quirarte and partners for this reminder of New York City’s Foremost Vibe Curators / Vanity Fair
On the other hand (ie not vibey at all): Heineken gets into the sneaker game in collab with the Sneaker Surgeon for “Heinekicks” (and the results are HEINE-OUS) / The Drum
Jane Fonda on Her New H&M Collaboration, the Legacy of Her Iconic VHS Workout, and Feeling Youthful in Her 80s/ Vogue via Morning Consult

The Arts

First Botticelli, now Boccioni: eco activists glue themselves to Futurist sculpture in Milan / The Art Newspaper
The best art books for summer 2022—as recommended by artists, curators, museum directors and dealers / The Art Newspaper
Autofictionist stars Tao Lin & Jordan Castro talk “Infinite Novel Theory” / The Paris Review via Perfectly Imperfect
Paper Magazine’s Kim Hastreiter on the Alleged Podcast from June
And Alleged’s Aaron Rose is fire-saling some killer cultural artifacts ([SIC] acquired two tees and will be back for more) / aaronrose.co
While buddies Brian Anderson talks to Ed Templeton about skateboarding, art, queerness and radness / Zero Nine
Mattel x Murakami team up for the Uno Artiste Series / Mattel
And painter Lucien Smith gets Perfectly Imperfect with Films He Shared With Kanye, Learning To Code, Going For A Bike Ride, and more / Perfectly Imperfect

Entertainment + IP

The Cruel and Arrogant Gaze of Nathan Fielder’s “The Rehearsal” / The New Yorker via Public Announcement
Conversely? 'I Think You Should Leave' Is an Emmy-Nominated Meme Machine / THR via Morning Consult
Lena Dunham talks “Sharp Stick” In this candid interview with Brooklyn Magazine./ BK Mag
Inside Westworld’s spooky robot flesh suit / Vulture via Lean Luxe
This Bullwackies documentary from 1981 makes clear that essential roots reggae was being made right here in New York / YouTube via SF/J
British band Muse will release their next album as a limited-edition NFT on Polygon-powered platform Serenade / Decrypt
Is old music really exploding on TikTok, or has our definition of ‘catalog’ become outdated? / Music Business Worldwide via Motive Unknown
3D printing is revolutionizing Hollywood / Protocol
Not entertainment but interesting corollary: Cheaper 3D Printing Uses Little Nozzles and a 'Slicer' A new method 3D-prints large and complex parts more cheaply than current methods / Futurity via Morning Consult

Platforms & Influencers

The Tao of TikTok / The Future Does Not Fit in the Containers of the Past
And Even though they call Twitter a “hellsite,” it turns out that people really like “the bird app” / Fast Company via Future Party
Related: Elon Musk’s antics turn fans and would-be buyers against Tesla’s electric vehicles / Bloomberg via Dealbook
Meanwhile, BeReal Gets Real Roasted With Memes / Hyperallergic
How new memes like ‘Little Miss’ rekindle old challenges for brands / Ad Age
Could Snap be behind this year’s Pokémon Go? Snap is getting into the AR gaming space with a game in which players have to use their phones to find and capture AR ghosts around them / The Verge
Subscriptions have made gaming on an iPhone fun again / The Verge via Morning Consult
Hence: TikTok has partnered with game developers for an original series of “mini-games.”/ Front Office Sports
And Kim Jones has designed skins and a virtual vintage car for Dior’s gaming debut / Vogue Business
Though that doesn’t change the fact that after two years of record growth, the game industry is trending downward / Protocol
Meanwhile, the latest video game controller isn't plastic. It's your face / WaPo via Morning Consult
From Piers Fawkes: “Forever young, beautiful and scandal-free: The rise of South Korea's virtual influencers.” Key Quote: The growing popularity of hyper-realistic "virtual" influencers is sparking debate over the future of advertising -- and South Korea's demanding beauty standards / CNN
Instagram’s reverse Brexit: Instagram head Adam Mosseri to relocate to London / FT
Meta has been quietly testing a new livestreaming platform called Super that would allow users to host livestreams and earn revenue. Meanwhile, Facebook is shutting down its live shopping program to focus on Reels / Business Insider
And Insta is paying media companies to post Reels / Digiday via Nieman Lab
But who’s winning the short-form video war? This video from The Wall Street Journal compares Shorts, Reels and TikTok videos / WSJ via Protocol

Marketing & Advertising

How Claire’s is marketing to ‘Zalpha’, the Gen Z and Gen Alpha combo / Ad Age
Related: after organic success on TikTok, more DTC brands are diversifying their budgets / Digiday
And brands (especially in beauty, fashion, and food and beverage) are spending more of their social media marketing on user-generated content — cheaper, lo-fi reviews from micro-influencers / Future Party
Elsewhere, podcast guests are paying up to $50,000 to appear on popular shows / Bloomberg via Nieman Lab
South African telecommunications network Vodacom placed ads on navigation app Waze to warn drivers about car-jacking hotspots / Contagious
While Doja Cat’s masterclass in brand deals stems from the mind-blowing “insight” that she *likes* the brands she’s partnered with / The Future Party
Streamers Have Fallen for Digital Product Placement, but Buyers Aren't Yet Sold / Adweek via Morning Consult
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and the $130bn beauty boom. The model/ businesswoman on how skincare became the brand extension of choice / FT
England victory heralds commercial breakthrough for women’s footballs / FT
Nike doubled its investment in women’s football products / Front Office Sports
And Nike Training Club adds workout classes for athletes with disabilities / Engadget via Retail Innovation Week
Related: Tiffany & Co. is creating a vision for 'inclusive luxury' with a program supporting Black designers and students. / Insider via Morning Consult
But Agencies Have an Ageism Problem / Adweek via Morning Consult

Media Business

Life after cookies leaves ad industry in chaos / Axios
Interestingly related: Apple is building a demand-side platform. Til now, Apple has given the impression that it doesn’t like online advertising /Digiday
The Smiths’ news startup Semafor takes shape as the economic backdrop darkens / FT
Ergo: The Economist’s Tom Standage has essential advice for journalists: understand how your company makes money / The Economist via The Rebooting
Hence? How Outside Magazine failed to unionize/ Poynter via Nieman Lab
And why Digiday is experimenting with NFTs / Digiday
And Web3 publishing platform Mirror launched subscriptions/ Forefront
B/c newsletters aren’t news. But they’re not going away / Vox via Nieman Lab
Elsewhere, Vimeo’s new interactive video magazine lets users “choose their own adventure” / It’s Nice That
Also not going away: Creem Returns. The trailblazing rock magazine is returning as quarterly print and website. Big shout out (again) to [SIC] homies John Martin, Fred Pessaro and co for this / Vanity Fair

Metaverse & Web3

Big s/o also to [SIC] Talks album Ruba Abu-Nimah: Tiffany and Co entered Web3 with “NFTiff”, an NFT that offers a limited-edition run of 250 custom IRL pendants to owners of Cryptopunks for 30 ETH / Twitter
Hence: Redeem-and-retain NFTs are the future of luxury goods / Medium via Forefront
A textbook publisher wants to turn its e-books into NFTs so it can profit from secondhand sales / Bloomberg via Nieman Lab
Ergo: It’s time to rethink the purpose of NFTs. Many brands treat NFTs simply as collectible products. They can be so much more than that / The Drum
Largely because nearly 75% of retailers are planning to accept payments with cryptocurrencies in the next two years / CNBC via Inside Cryptocurrency
Solana is opening a physical store in New York City called Solana Spaces, which will essentially be the Apple Store of the crypto world / Future Party
But if we can have IRL metaverse stores, why can’t we have legs in the metaverse? / Quartz
And what will our Metaverse future look like? / Zima Red
From Iolanda Carvalho: Everything you always wanted to know about it 😉 [What Is the Metaverse] / Reed Smith
Web3 Breakdowns: Jarrod Dicker Investing in Passion / Apple Podcasts via This Week in Web3
Another from Iolanda: “I don't like web3 material that we can't download... its paradoxical... 😉 but, hey, it's a good one!” [ How Web3 can rewrite some of the rules of marketing] / We Are Social

Food & Drink

Viva La Vichy! The Best Sparkling Waters in the World / FT
[SIC] Talks alum and Wm. Brown major domo Matt Hranek live vlogs now-and-then spirits with vintage Campari and Beefeater/ IG
Tito’s vodka spoofs hard seltzer craze by selling empty can to let consumers make canned cocktails with the brand’s “vodka-flavored vodka.” / Retail Wit
The horror!! Hershey said it won’t be able to meet demand for candy this Halloween / BBC via Morning Brew

Miscellany

Books are vinyl albums now / Zogblog via PSFK
Five fascinating archives for learning about design history / It’s Nice That
Can artificial intelligence really help us talk to the animals?/ The Guardian
After Cards Against Humanity, a new generation of conversational card games is here / Thingtesting
A map of GPS jamming round the world / GPS Jam via Ben-Evans
The best hotel pools in the world / Mens Journal via Elevator
An ICBM silo in Nebraska for sale. No garage / Zillow via Ben-Evans

Things to Do

S/o Zach Sokol: pre-order a copy of Sex Mag #13 (on stands Sept 1), including folks like Drain Gang, [SIC] Talks alums @gutes and @thecobrasnake, former [SIC] colleague and “Uncah Jams” costumery queen Miyako Bellizi and more.
Build a computer with your kids / CNN via Axios
Hyperallergic’s concise New York Art Guide for August 2022 /Hyperallergic
For those in the Hamptons: go see GREENER GRASS curated by David Kennedy Cutler and featuring [SIC] fave artists like Henry Glavin and Hilary Pecis among an intergenerational mix of figurative painters. The Opening Reception is Saturday August 6, 4 - 6 pm / Halsey McKay
Fave outdoor brand Snow Peak is doing their annual weekend of camping, fun activities and moments of connection at The Snow Peak Way in Tygh Valley, Oregon, September 23rd – 25th/ Snow Peak
PSFK’s The Influencer Marketing Landscape: A Playbook - Tues 8/16 at noon ET is free and a noble use of 20 minutes / PSFK

Book of the Week:

Predictable, maybe. But no less indelible. Great collection.