[SIC] 219: In A Mouth Kept Shut

Volume 5, Number 11

Nov 10, 2022

Meantime, enjoy. Feel free to share, too. Here’s a button:

Quartz / No Mercy, No Malice / SFJ / Lefsetz Letter / Music Redef / After School / Thingtesting / Why Is This Interesting / The Drop / Lean Luxe / Morning Consult / The Future Party / Jing Daily

Also, feel free to read this on the web instead.

Hi all,

A short intro (to a shorter-than-usual dispatch this week).

The news cycle’s been so exhausting of late that I felt myself easing up on the pedal a bit, and judging by the lighter-than-usual list of contributors this week (s/o my stalwarts Celeste and Iolanda), it feels like maybe everybody else is too.

That being said, there are still *so many* notable developments this week. Here’s the weekly digest of the ones that caught my eye.

Ben

PS: (read thru for the invites to two great book releases this week in NYC, too)

Street Pastiche

======[SIC] 219: In A Mouth Kept Shut======

Zeitgest / Gestalt

The Whole FTX story in 23 Bullets / Twitter
The collapse has left D.C.’s crypto allies skeptical of the industry / Protocol
But the ultimate impact has yet to be seen, as the trading firm’s complex web of relationships continues to unravel / Protocol
Why FTX's Crypto Implosion Poses Major Marketing Concerns / Ad Age
Elsewhere: how @RTFKT built an NFT empire/ Twitter
Gen Z VCs: How venture capital became the most coveted job in Silicon Valley / Dirt
From Celeste Blewitt: “It all comes back to the hashtag, TikTok and sharing the latest early morning routines, status and productivity. The push to share almost every part of the day on any platform is a conversation of the times" [Why Are So Many People Joining The 5AM Club?' ]/ Vogue UK
Which begs the question: Are You Actually ‘So Busy,’ or Is It ‘Toxic Productivity’? / Self
Hence? The hot new trend in weight management: high-priced, tough-love coaches / AirMail
Separately, can “fexting” help a marriage? / NYT
Business boomed on New York’s car-free streets / NYT
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is now the #1 game sold in Japan with over 10.45 million copies—Tom Nook would be proud / Quartz
Elsewhere in Tom: Myspace has more traffic than Meta’s Horizon Worlds / Seeking Alpha

World Order

The Midterm Elections Deliver a Stunning Return to the Status Quo / The New Yorker
So can these Gen Z and Millennial wonks make neoliberalism cool again? / WaPo
Corollary: 4.5 million Americans are currently working part-time jobs in addition to their full-time roles, according to the Labor Department / The Drum
The Iranian Protest Song Connecting a Revolution / KEXP

The Speculative Future

Niche eclipses mainstream in popular culture / The Drum
Ergo: Evolving social media networks / Upenn.edu
Corollary, from my UPenn classmate (and Napster CEO) Jon Vlassopoulos: How Lil Nas X Became a ‘Lighthouse’ & Where We Go From Here / Billboard
From David Bloom: Google unveiled Wordcraft, a co-writing tool powered by AI that helps users create and edit fictional stories, based on Google's advanced language models /The Verge

Pop Cultures

Welcome to the flat era of fashion / Dirt
[SIC] homie Baz Luhrmann Knows He’s the Stanley Kubrick of Confetti / New York Mag
The growing relationship between fashion and (global) football / Sprezza
For Drake, the Misogyny Is the Message / The Atlantic
Hence? “Drake’s Fans Love His Fake Promotional Tour. Vogue, Not So Much / WSJ
Corollary: 'SNL' staff writers boycott over Dave Chappelle's hosting gig / Page Six
And Related: Americans Resoundingly Say 'Nay' to Ye / Morning Consult
R&B Isn’t Dead, It’s Just Different Now / Essence
Corollary: Inside Downtown Music’s Big Pivot / Billboard
Not Pivoting: 'Meet Me in the Bathroom' is a Portal to the Early Aughts / Interview
HBO cancels Westworld / NPR
Sasha Frere-Jones and his friend Mina have a radio show called Busytown / 8BallRadio
Ditto [SIC] homie Piotr Orlov: Introducing Dada Strain Radio, S1 /
And so does art world beta-noire Jerry Gagosian and Matt C / Art Smack Podcast
While apropos of Jerry’s namesake: Rumors have been swirling of LVMH’s potential interest in acquiring blue-chip art gallery, Gagosian, both parties have flatly denied it / Robb Report
From Celeste Blewitt:' “Loved this listen into the growth of the 90s luxury brands, the co-existences of creativity and commerce and the luxury designers …” The Genesis Of The Modern Luxury Fashion Industry' / BoF Podcast
Related: Why is Ralph Lauren so good at ‘prep?’ / LA Times

Media Happenings

How to 'Quiet Quit' Twitter / Wired
Apropos: To Fix Social Media, Give Us a Reason to Behave / The Information
Except???? Twitter says user growth has picked up since Elon Musk took over / FT
Corollary: Laid Off by Twitter, Then Tweeting About It / NYT
Twitter's ad problem is Elon Musk / Vox
Related, from Iolanda Carvalho: “Unless you have a "no Musk" policy, this one is good... 😉 [ Five lessons on how not to do pricing from Elon Musk’s Twitter] / Marketing Week
Meanwhile Meta's foundation is crumbling / Axios
But 'I Got This Wrong' Wasn't the Apology We Needed From Big Tech / Bloomberg
Why music supervisors are clashing with Netflix / LA Times
Axios Is Building Toward An Even Revenue Split Between Ads And Subscriptions / AdExchanger
And The Washington Post Is Using Politics to Find Younger Audiences on TikTok / AdWeek
How the buy-side of the ad industry is now defining 'premium' content / Digiday

Market-ations

From Iolanda Carvalho: Trending trends / GWI
TikTok names ex-NBA CMO as global head of marketing. Kate Jhaveri assumes the position most recently held by [SIC] homie Nick Tran. / Ad Age
Speaking of [SIC] homies, s/o Lululemon brand chief Nikki Neuburger. Lulu didn’t change activewear, it changed apparel / Retail Dive
Can Resale Fix Fashion's Sustainability Crisis? / Hypebeast
Salesforce is introducing the NFT Cloud will allow users to buy and sell NFTs and the commerce cloud enables customers to start selling through TikTok / Inside
Kleenex told people to stop using its name wrong / Quartz
Supreme is officially entering China as part of Dover Street Market’s expanded new Beijing emporium / WWD
Wellness made chaotic: ITV-backed Woo launches marketplace for Gen Z / It’s Nice That
Inside Kanye West's Yeezy: Abrupt Firings, Alleged Nazi Inspiration and 'Pure Chaos' / Rolling Stone
adidas Top Marketer Explains Why It Took Time to Respond to Kanye Antisemitism Controversy / AdWeek
adidas can reinvent Yeezy. The sneaker line might make a return after the Ye break up as the German company says it’s the sole owner of the IP and designs
But Kayne West’s Self-Destruction Should Scare Luxury Brands / Jing Daily
99% of fast-fashion is discarded in developing countries
FIFA Hopes World Cup Fans Want to Buy Metaverse Merch. Instead of flying to Qatar, fans can "fly" to visit a digital replica stadium and buy digital soccer scarves / Bloomberg

Superficial Interest

The Sesame Street of Art History / Hyperallergic
Science Has a Nasty Photoshopping Problem / NYT
The National Park Service asks you not to lick the psychedelic toads / NYT

Food / Drink

NYC taxi drivers reveal best stops for food and more in viral TikTok series / NY Post
Why collectors are sniffing out Japanese whisky, (and how to tell your Yoichi from your Yamazaki / Christies
The Wholesome Whimsy of Reddit’s Bread Stapling Enthusiasts / Bon Appetit
Eric Ripert on Finding Compassion in Life and the Kitchen Through Buddhism / The Slowdown
Chocolate is having a moment / CNN
Weed for dinner: Adventurous chefs are cooking with cannabis / NYT

Useful Diversions

NYC, Sunday: highly recommend you go to [SIC] Talks alum and my Culture Club Show ride-or-die Ruba Abu-Nimah’s signing at Dover Street Market (see flyer) and connect with her and the legendary John Jay . The book is EXCELLENT and you should get one, too. / IG

NYC Friday - meet me at OG [SIC] homie Erik Foss’s signing at Mast Books (See flyer) / IG

it’s all interwoven.