[SIC] 306: Relentlessly Worthy

Volume Six, Number Forty Six

Jul 18, 2024

The [SIC] Weekly digest of pertinent developments, compiled and published free on Thursdays to 6161 subscribers for this edition.

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Also if you’re a breakfast person, Breakfast Clubbing is a [SIC] sister newsletter tracking the free, open-to-everyone breakfast events I started, now happening around the world (NYC, Portland, Milan, London, Austin, Philly, Brighton, Mexico City etc) . Everyone’s invited, especially you.

Corollary Sources this week:

1440 / Champion Weekly / Public Announcement / The New Statesman / The Daily Upside / Hustle Trends / Dealbook / Upward News / The Trend Report / Network Notes / After School / Marginal Revolution / After School / Feed Me

Contributions are invited from everyone. Send ‘em! Contribution this week from: Piers Fawkes, Kish Patel, Rob Hubbert, Matt @TheTechnorati, Isaac Dietz, Eric Korsh and Ben Pruess.

Hi All,

I went to High Valley Books to on Monday - the photos today are mostly from there. As detailed in Zach Sokol’s story that alerted me to it, it’s a magnificent mess - the kind of randomized compendium of print collateral (mags, books, collectibles) that I would expect to wallow in - but it gave me a visceral feeling of anxiety instead.

The feeling staring at the stacks was of knowing there’s something beyond amazing in them and not knowing where to start - but also not wanting to give up, for fear of missing something. It is SO awesome but SO chaotic - and I just short-circuited, basically. I highly recommend making an appointment to see Bill and his seemingly bottomless collection if you’re a print person like me, but it’s not for the faint of heart.

I came away with a reprint of Gavin Watson’s seminal coming-of-age photobook Skins, and an Anthology of The DADA Movement (my gift certificate was for father’s day after all haha) . Bill took a photo of me for the High Valley IG but I guess it wasn’t very good since it hasn’t shown up yet.

Anyway, the whole experience has me continuing to think about the shape of [SIC] to come, starting with Volume Seven in August. I’m going to do another round of subscriber culling - meaning, if you’re not opening the Weekly, I’m letting you go.

Beyond that I’m still thinking actions over. I’ll definitely shorten, definitely try to make the paid subscriber tier more valuable and more differentiated, and definitely try to get more people involved. To that end, would love your candid thoughts on some things I’m trying, via this little survey.

Feel free to elaborate in the comments, too - especially if you want multiple things, or want to suggest something different. Today’s post is approx 105 links, to give you an idea; recent editions touch 150x easily. I really appreciate the feedback. This thing is a community effort, truly.

Speaking of community efforts: [SIC] Talks alum Sam Valenti compiled a great Herb Midyear MMXXIV compilation post over the weekend, a “Bouillabaisse of 77 Herbs and spices that hitt hard" this year,” including contributions from a bunch of [SIC] homies and a generally excellent array of music people. And me. Have a look / listen.

Jeff is in there too. We didn’t talk about it, but we got into a bunch of other stuff on the Culture Club Show Half Hour yesterday. It’s here.

Fits and Starts:

Artists and Mothers kicks off their interview series with [SIC] homie Maia Ruth Lee. Brenda (Hashtag) Weischer on The New Garde. RIP AllTimers. Supreme sold to EssilorLuxottica. From Piers: “Mainly sharing for that title alone:” Midcentury modern is as American as punk rock’. Corollary: Airport Terminal As Home Decor. And speaking of long-standing good ideas, from Kish: “Deep cut for you. Umair Haque predicted Superformats in 2005” [The New Economics of Media].

Ok, now the links

Ben

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[SIC] 306: Relentlessly Worthy

The Macro Narrative

It’s the Summer of the Quiet Vacation. Don’t Tell the Boss / WSJ
Because? from Piers: It’s not just you. Your coworkers really are getting more annoying / Fast Company
No really, It’s not just you: The internet is really weird right now / Slate
So … The changes in vibes — why did they happen? / Marginal Revolution
Case in point… Trump was almost assassinated. Why aren't we talking about it more?/ Monologue
IE: You May Not Realize It Yet, But You’re Already Forgetting About The Trump Shooting / Garbage Day
It’s coz: The Internet’s Brain-Rot Era is Instantly converting even the most harrowing news events into misleading tidbits and gleefully empty jokes / The New Yorker
Hence: Young people are convinced that the White House replaced President Joe Biden with AI during an interview on Morning Joe / Daily Dot
Meanwhile Morning Joe was pulled off the air on Mondayn due to concern that the hosts would say something “inappropriate” about the assassination attempt / CNN
So let’s think about How Culture Got Stupid / The Free Press
Maybe it’s that Congress Accidentally Legalized Weed Six Years Ago / The Atlantic
Or?! The decline and fall of Hooters. A dispatch from the last vestige of pre-internet America / The New Statesman
Either way, The New Golden Age of Pro Wrestling Is Here / The Melt
Corollary, from Piers: “If we need evidence of massive consumption change here it is… Britain sees low-alcohol beer sales boom during Euros soccer championship / CNBC
And Pernod Ricard is selling off a portfolio of wine brands to focus on spirits and champagne as people drink less vino / CNN
And Young Women with Eating Disorders Feel the Pull of Energy Drinks/ WSJ
At least? Euro 2024 beer price may have saved grocery inflation/ Sky News
Or it was Desperately seeking Swiftflation. Tay Tay keeps Britain on target, maybe
Either way, from Matt: Protests will spread if European cities don’t address overtourism, says UNESCO / CNBC
Related: Can the French Lead the EU into the Future? / YT
Meantime,Sweden Paying Grandparents to Babysit / Marginal Revolution
Important bc UN says the world’s population will peak in 2080 / The Future Party
Meantime, The pool industry in the US is shrinking / Sherwood
So…. Scientists are exploring an audacious idea to cool the planet: making clouds brighter / WITI
Corollary? Philadelphia’s airport got (actual) snow during a heatwave. The National Weather Service recorded the peculiar pattern over the weekend / QZ
So bookmark The Climate Zone, an interactive map showing how the climate is expected to evolve / The Pudding
Because …. The MAGA Plan to End Free Weather Reports / The Atlantic
Related: How JD Vance and the Trump Era Shaped Hollywood / Frieze
And The President Who Hates the United States. Revisiting the prophecy that was Selina Meyer / Frieze
Brat Summer: Is the Long Era of Clean Living Finally Over? The Guardian
A rejoinder, per Kyle: “the Brat era is over imo and this expansive interview with Charli feels like a fitting end.” Charli xcx Forever / Resident Advisor
Irrespective, Are We Becoming Too Domesticated? Colonel Sanders was a wild man. / The Lindy Newsletter
Speaking of trends, from Rob: “SLOP. Or more specifically, “the dastardly duo of slop and algorithms.” [Make the Internet Fun Again] / Not Boring
Hence: “Just put the fries in the bag bro” is the “worst insult you could get hit with in 2024.” / Dexerto
And: Those new Strava jockey service sector jobs / Channel News Asia

Generationations

We have entered the age of the “Rap-O baby” / Dazed
Meantime, The Broccoli Perm Became the Definitive Zoomer Hairstyle / GQ
Corollary: The Millennial Effect: How millennials got the reputation of being "cringe" online / Cocomocoe
And from Celeste: “The ever present discussion of ownership and provenance … when artefacts, pieces of art and even stories are recovered from hundreds of years ago. [What Happened When We Found Medieval Swords In The Attic] / FT

Platformations

It’s The End of ‘Unfiltered’ TikTok / BoF
Speaking of filters, YouTube Music now lets you search for songs by humming, singing or playing a tune / Music Business Worldwide
Related: Why longer videos are becoming more commonplace on YouTube / Digiday
Corollary: Nvidia, Anthropic, Apple, and Salesforce have trained their systems on copyrighted YouTube videos / The Future Party
And Record labels are suing Verizon over $2bn over ‘hundreds of thousands’ of copyright infringements/ Music Business Worldwide
Elsewhere: 'We're watching the war': Tubi hits growth spurt, but isn't part of the streaming wars/ Digiday
While noplace, a mashup of Twitter and Myspace for Gen Z, hits No. 1 on the App Store / TechCrunch

Stylistics

On unveils sprayable trainer made with textile "there's not even a word for" / Dezeen
While over the Alps, Adidas raises guidance again as Q2 sales surge / Retail Dive
Not selling, just suing: Nike has sued The Shoe Surgeon for $60 million in damages for infringing on its copyright / Hypebeast
Corollary, in ‘man bites dog’ type news, Skechers is suing LL Bean for allegedly stealing two of its design patents / Reuters
From Ben: adidas reimagines the Stan Smith as a cycling shoe / Footwear News
From Iolanda: Lewis Hamilton has guest designed a winter collection for Dior Men / Wallpaper
The Euros may be over, but fashion’s football fever lives on / Vogue Business
Why ‘tenniscore’ is here to stay / Jing Daily
RC Outdoor Supply is a new line from Reese Cooper x PacSun / RC Outdoor Supply
The Secret to Sézane’s Success / Town & Country
The Ultimate Cultural Artifact. Creation, consumption, and the complex meaning of merch / Vik’s Busy Corner

Culturations

Jesse checks in with Portrait of the Author. An Archival Post and a Few Current Reading Notes / Apology
While Errol Morris talks about truth, documentary filmmaking, and AI / Nieman Lab
From Isaac: Tricker's Cabin: The Oral & Visual History of Online Ceramics is the final project from Funk and Ross under the original Online Ceramics banner
The next Frida Kahlo? Exhibition lifts the lid on legacy of Leonora Carrington / The Art Newspaper
A Look Inside Yoshitomo Nara's Mid-Career Survey at Guggenheim Bilbao / Hypebeast
Why Native Artists Are Reclaiming the Whirling Log, suppressed for decades by a market that conflated it with the Nazi insignia / Hyperallergic
Oscar Murillo to hand visitors the brush in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall / The Art Newspaper
Richard Moore On Skateboarding, Art, And Retinitis Pigmentosa. Moore is a skateboarder and artist who lives in Melbourne. He also happens to be blind / Monster Children
Jenny Holzer grapples with the post-internet world she helped inspire / The Art Newspaper
The vibrant black market for artwork stolen from the walls of Taco Bell / Semafor
The Techno DJs and producers shaping the genre’s next wave / Soundcloud

Technopolis

“Using This iPod For 30 Days Changed My Life” A thoughtful take on why having a finite, offline music library to enjoy deepens connection with the music itself / YT
There’s a Market for ‘Dumb Technology’ - and it’s Young People/ Morning Consult
The Hong Kong government is making its own version of ChatGPT / Semafor
From Celeste: What Messing With Chatbots Tells Us About The Future Of AI / NY Mag
From Iolanda: What is AI? - Everyone thinks they know but no one can agree. And that’s a problem / MIT Technology Review
Ergo: Good FT story on just how premature the EU AI regulation was / FT
But: Dude, where's my AI revenue? AI's money-making promise will take much longer to materialize than today's investment frenzy suggests/ Axios
And corollary: Where is the big museum blockbuster on AI? / The Art Newspaper

Media-tions

Taboola – the adtech company known for placing clickbait-style ads at the bottom of articles – has teamed up with Apple / The Drum
Motorsport Network Aims to Capitalize on F1 Fervor / AdWeek
And New York Magazine’s The Cut will publish its first magazine this fall / BoF
The Daily Mail Group has held talks recently about buying the Skimm / Semafor
Meantime BDG Lays Off Staff, Consolidates Parenting and Lifestyle Portfolios, is also delaying Nylon's recently relaunched print magazine / AdWeek
And BuzzFeed is the reason it can’t sell “Hot Ones” / Defector

Market / Influence

Skate, sound and Sacré-Coeur. How Vans found the perfect recipe for cultural relevance / Sociology of Business
Because? Culture Marketing Is Marketing / Creative Brief
Ergo: Louis Vuitton: Building brand loyalty via cultural investment / Jing Daily
And Luxury Brands Are Investing in China’s Art Scene / BoF
Corollary from Iolanda: “if there is a scientific framing to marketing, however, it is likely to be quantum" Quantum Advertising / WARC
From Eric: “Postsecret - was new to me which is part of the point [ Postsecret unlocks GenZ for marketers who don’t have a clue]” / LinkedIn

Eats, Drinks and Ephemera

Breaking down every penny in the cost of martinis in five US cities/ Morning Brew
So… Let’s appreciate anchovies / NYT
Who Wants To Sit At A Communal Table? “A lot more Americans than you might think.” / The Atlantic

The Natural (?!) World

Dogs identify people suffering from PTSD with 90% accuracy / Good News Network
Africa has a “sky island” rainforest with dozens of new species / QZ
And finally, From Celeste: “An intriguing insight into the art of mathematical equations, data sets, laws and formulas and how they are utilised in the everyday.” [The Mysterious Maths At Work In The Tour De France] / BBC