[SIC] 307: Overlapse Architects

Volume Six, Number Forty Seven

Ben Dietz

Jul 25, 2024

The [SIC] Weekly digest of pertinent developments, compiled and published free on Thursdays to 6186 subscribers for this edition.

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Corollary Sources This Week:

Champion Weekly / Line Sheet / 1440 / The New Statesman/ Network Notes / Ben-Evans / SF/J / Public Announcement/ Taylor Lorenz’s Newsletter / The Material Review / Understanding TikTok

Contributors This Week:

Ben Pruess, James Bernardo, Piers Fawkes, Elaine Santiago, Daisy Alioto, Kate Lee, Celeste Blewitt, Molly Raskin and Iolanda Carvalho

Hi All,

I’m gonna take next week off while I figure out updates for the next volume of [SIC]. Thanks to those who contributed to the poll last week (results here):

That being the case, this week’s link total comes in at ~98x (not including the corollary sources above). LMK thoughts on this volume of links in the comments.

Among the changes will be updates to the paid [SIC] tier. One thing I need to do is promote it more, so I’ll probably play around with tactics like this one from The Melt (whose It's Time For America to Embrace The Lad post I smiled along with this week. In Jason’s words: “Choose life. Choose Oasis. Choose pre-Madonna Guy Ritchie.” ). As a paid Melt sub, today I got given three monthlong paid subscriptions to give away. Who wants em? First come first served in the commets here.

Another model I’ll look at is Dirt, whose CEO Daisy Alioto emailed to say “Wanted to highlight our latest collab! I think it's pretty novel, will run through next week...”

She’s right, it’s novel. And it’s cool. There’s even a ‘Summer of Bibliomancy” playlist

Along the same lines, Every EIC and longtime buddy Kate Lee wrote on Tuesday, too; “We just published a new piece that I thought your readers would like—an argument for vibes as a serious economic discipline, based on Evan Armstrong's review of the new book IN THIS ECONOMY? by Kyla Scanlon (who coined the term "vibecession").”

Kate’s right, too - great piece. I asked Evan to join me on [SIC] Talks for the Aug 8th edition, so get ready for that.

Last contribution before the 98x, from James in reply to my intro last week:

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

“i just got bck from a trip to jimbocho book town in tokyo, very similar, yet slightly more civilised vibes than high valley books. what a treasure trove these spots are, even in an internet world. get that deep heavy anxiety though.”

Glad you get it, too. I went book shopping again last Friday at David Zwirner, who was selling super-cheap deadstock art books to coincide with the end of their After Hours: People Who Work Here show. The books I got and my favorites from the show punctuate the sections this week (along with an issue of Broadcast, the journal from the Pioneer Works crew, speaking of staff output).

See you in a fortnight,

Ben

[SIC] 307: Overlapse Architects

The Macro Narrative

The Existential Dread of Shopping for Groceries / The Walrus
How groceries got gentrified, with Snaxshot's Andrea Hernández / The Culture Journalist Pod
The Booming Business of Shaming Young Men / Business Insider
The Pop Craveification of Breaking News. We're all learning about major events through increasingly bizarre digital formats / Taylor Lorenz’s Newsletter
How “Apple” dance creator Kelley Heyer launched the song of the summer / Embedded
But Is Brat a good album? / One Thing
As Charli XCX ascends, ‘Brat’ summer is a lesson in hype literacy / WaPo
Brat Summer: A vibe shift to playful insanity / Understanding TikTok
Harris Needs to Win Like Obama / The Atlantic
J. D. Vance Has a Point About Mountain Dew. The soft drink has long been associated with the joy and despair of white America / The Atlantic
From Piers: ‘How many aura points did I lose?’The new coolness currency has hints of Aristotle / The Guardian
Is ‘rizz’ the secret to getting ahead at work? / WSJ
Why the Democrats Lost Tech / Not Boring
AI-generated deepfakes have yet to become the huge truth catastrophe that experts warned would be coming / Axios
Google co-founder Sergey Brin is investing millions of dollars into the development of ibogaine treatments for traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivors / Fortune
Hate Your Job? Try Posting About It Online?/ Bustle
From Iolanda: And from a trend addict to another... 😉 [ Trendhunter 2025 Trend Report] / Trendhunter
From Molly: Motels Are Having a Moment / NYT
From Celeste: “Given a large portion of Melbourne and Sydney are currently escaping winter for a European summer (as they do every year), this would resonate with many reading” [The Cost Of Europe's Backlash Against Tourists] / FT

Generationations

80 years of teen beauty trends / NYT
Gen Z vs millennials: Who will win the great sock debate? / Vogue Business
From Brat Summer to Hot Rodent Men: Why Gen Z Loves a Label / The Times
Children’s luxury booms in South Korea. Parents and grandparents spoil their kids with expensive fashion products as low birth rate leads to smaller families / FT
‘Slay, serve, survive’: How gen Z is rewriting the rules of work / The Guardian

Platformations

Behind Jomboy Media’s Creator-Led Sports Platform / AdAge
Twitter has always been in the doomscrolling business, and business is booming / The Atlantic
In shock decision, Google abandons third-party cookie deprecation plans / The Drum
But actually: Google’s Opt-In Proposal Still Kills Off 3rd-Party Cookies / A Media Operator
Should skipped songs be valued less on streaming services? / Music Ally
Spotify, Stop Trying to Become a Social Media App / Wired
Would you pay to be able to quit TikTok and Instagram? You’d be surprised how many would / Nieman Lab
Behind Jomboy Media’s Creator-Led Sports Platform / AdAge
Twitter has always been in the doomscrolling business, and business is booming / The Atlantic
In shock decision, Google abandons third-party cookie deprecation plans / The Drum
But actually: Google’s Opt-In Proposal Still Kills Off 3rd-Party Cookies / A Media Operator
Should skipped songs be valued less on streaming services? / Music Ally
Spotify, Stop Trying to Become a Social Media App / Wired
Would you pay to be able to quit TikTok and Instagram? You’d be surprised how many would / Nieman Lab

Stylistics

From Molly: Social media shows are fashion’s new advertising opportunity / Vogue Business
Are Fashion Brands Capitalizing on Your Brainrot? / Hypebeast
From Molly: Meme tattoos and the rise of post-ironic body art / Dazed
From ‘Celeste: Jersey, Superyachts And Tax Savings' / Tatler
‘EssilorLuxottica’s $1.5B Supreme deal a huge gamble’ / Jing Daily
The Bizarre Fantasy of John Galliano Returning to Dior / Back Row
Why Are Brands Rushing to Use Deadstock Materials? / Field Mag
Perfectly Imperfect: Emma Chamberlain / Perfectly Imperfect

Culturations

From Molly: How lore became pop’s hottest summer accessory / The FACE
I saw Twisters in 4DX. Twisting, shouting, and getting misted with Glen Powell / One Thing
Michael Bay is bringing Skibidi Toilet to Hollywood / Tube Filter
The Slow, Painful Death of the SoCal Entertainment Ecosystem / An Honest Broker
From Celeste: “Winning success for the Love Island machine. Fascinating to see how this version of reality has grown and grown globally. 'Love Island USA Finds Its Magic Formula For Success' / NYT
From Molly: Chappell Roan Booked a Tour. Then She Blew Up. / NYT
‘I Am Not Part of the Social World’: Jerry Saltz on the Strange Life of an Art Critic / Cultured
Can You Spend 10 Minutes With One Painting? Test Your Focus / NYT
The Talks Talks to Tyler Mitchell / The Talks
How Commercial Photography Sold Modernism / Hyperallergic
How Cassettes and Tape-Trading Shaped Hip-Hop’s Early Years / Spin
Why don’t straight men read novels? / Dazed
Writing A Nü Metal Song in 2024 / The Unskippables

Technopolis

Apple is working on a flip phone / The Information
From Geoff: Delivery drones are getting bigger — much bigger / Axios
Also Drones are cops now / Axios
McKinsey’s 2024 tech trends report / McKinsey
From Molly: On TikTok, True Crime Survivors Take Control / NYT
Why “Sorry, I don’t know” is sometimes the best answer. WaPO’s technology chief on its first AI chatbot / Nieman Lab
Artificial intelligence isn’t a good argument for basic income / Vox

Media-tions

From Iolanda: From PwC "Perspectives from the Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2024–2028 --- Seizing growth opportunities in a dynamic ecosystem" / PWC
Reddit gets sporty with splashy industry deals / Quartz
Cultural historian and [SIC] homie W David Marx about the appeal of Japanese magazines, from Popeye to Brutus / Monocle Pod

Market / Influence

As influencer marketing grows, so do micro-influencer rates / Digiday
The CMO-CIO alliance will define the future of marketing / AdAge
Mtn Dew Reintroduces Itself Behind a Tough Talking, Fur-Coat Wearing ‘Mountain Dude’ / AdAge
From Ben: “In celebration of art, sport and community, Rosewood is teaming up with art and social change platform THE SKATEROOM on an immersive exhibition at the iconic Hotel de Crillon.” / Rosewood
From Celeste: “In comparison to say the Lulu Lemon and Ralph Lauren hauls in this NYT piece, the Australians organizing the Australian team haul perhaps needs a glow up - how many keep cups does one require?! 'Olympians Are Getting Loads And Loads Of Gear' “ / NYT
France faces glut of unwanted Olympics tickets / FT
Overstock.com is back from the dead / CNN
Nike Is in Trouble. Can the Olympics Save It? / Newsweek
From Molly: From Tenniscore to Olympic Pride, Here’s Why We Can’t Quit the Lacoste Polo / Cultured
‘Advergames’: how games platform Roblox became a corporate marketing playground / The Guardian

Eats, Drinks and Ephemera

A 420-page book about McDonald’s localizations around the world called McAtlas is available for pre-order / McAtlas
Behind Viral Food Brands: Do Trends Matter in CPG Design? / Hubspot Blog
The Country Where You can Buy Meat Grown in a Lab / NYT
Where 3 a.m. is prime time: The Fulton Fish Market / NYT
NoLiTa bound any second: the Sydney Sling is Australia’s now-est go-to cocktail / Semafor
Giant pineapple cement mixer promotes Oatly and Malibu collab / The Drum
Investigating nature's Ozempic: "Oatzempic." / Airmail
Pharma companies are rushing to get the next generation of weight-loss drugs to market / Semafor
Hims & Hers could ‘upend the healthcare industry,’/ Quartz

The Natural (?!) World

So much ice is melting on Earth that it’s changing how quickly our planet spins / Quartz
But at least? Bull sharks are thriving in the warming waterer of the Gulf of Mexico / Semafor
From Gordon: Not Afraid of Sharks? Well, Now They’re on Cocaine.
The Weirdness of Ferns / Why is This Interesting
Why Is It So Easy to Buy a Human Skull Online? / Hyperallergic
Sunday was the hottest day ever recorded on Earth, scientists say / WaPo
Meanwhile Americans are flocking to Texas: 9 of the 10 fastest-growing U.S. cities / CNBC
From Elaine: Do we ever connect our strength to our feet? For a Strong Body, You Need Strong Feet / NYT
Do Drummers Live Longer? And can listeners also enhance their health through rhythm? / An Honest Broker