I was very excited over the weekend. But then Wonder Woman 1984 and Ghostbusters: Afterlife happened. First, 100 gecs’ "1000 gecs" was listed as album of the year by critic Jon Caramanica of the New York Times. Here was an influential music writer giving a new-feeling cultural product prominent placement in the paper of record. Those two trailers, though, dropped on Sunday and Monday like a one-two punch of nostalgia fentanyl. If you thought nostalgia culture couldn't possibly saturate our lives any more than they did in the 2010s, here, it seemed, was proof that the 2020s will be only more bloated with it. Nostalgia culture is no longer one flavor of entertainment, it is our entertainment. Our big entertainments exist just to remind us of the entertainment we loved in the past. It's easy to feel like we're stuck with this for the 2020s and with nothing new. One plausible antidote to the stuckness of nostalgia culture is to remind ourselves of something other than our favorite and fondest memories.100 gecs is a band that scavenges derided, discarded and flimsy moments from music's recent past and pounds them into dopamine.
Their music reminds the listener of things never loved in the first place. As I look back at Caramanica's description of their "armory of touchstones," ("the Technicolor, spasmodic, thrashing punk-rap of Brokencyde; the hyperdigital electro-pop-punk of 3OH!3 and Breathe Carolina; the arena-sized dubstep of Skrillex.") I realized every single influence of theirs is something I did not consciously like at the time or at least would never admit to liking at the time. But I love 100 gecs. If it's impossible to not be reminded of something, scavengers like 100 gecs at least mine and combine unloved and overlooked references and bring us to new places in the process. It's the scavengers who make me feel like something new is possible in the media and culture of the 2020s.
The shorter stuff
I'm going to guess that ticket sales numbers will never be released for the "Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" bus tour. (WSJ)
I've been curious to see how Bloomberg was going to solve the problem of their Twitter video channel's being called Tic Toc, and it looks like they swerved away from TikTok but slammed right into Quibi. (Variety)
One of the best things in the world, NTS, launched their NTS Friends patronage tier. (NTS)
Supposedly James Cameron sold the idea of Aliens to the studio by writing "Alien$" on a white board. If you want to hear this story you have to listen to Matt and Virgil from Chapo Trap House talk about Baby Yoda. (YouTube)
I was heartened to read that the Safdie Brothers were as enamored with the first two Adam Sandler comedy CD's, "They're All Gonna Laugh At You" and "What The Hell Happened To Me," as I was as kids. (NYT)
Guy Trebay calls disruption and brand activations "the dubious rhetoric of the culturally complacent." (NYT)
Alibaba founder Jack Ma is turning himself into Africa's Simon Cowell but for business. (FT)
The Irishman was very good. But The Irishman: In Conversation is a hilarious disaster that I highly recommend watching. (Netflix)
An HBO Mel Brooks documentary is the content that we need. (Vulture)
Apple TV+ has a show directed by M. Night Shyamalan and starring Rupert Grint? (Rolling Stone)
Blake Griffin is actually funny and I am rooting for his Comedy Central shows to be successful. (Deadline)
How did the Daily Mail become such an online powerhouse? By not chasing "shiny" new things...like search. (WSJ)
That one Alanis Morisette album is being turned into a relatable musical. Is this a cross between a bio-pic and a franchise remix? (NYT)
Graydon Carter's podcast recommendations contain some seriously slept on gems for the pod-heads out there: The Daily, The Rachel Maddow Show and Morning Joe. (AirMail)
We are experiencing a Mad Max: Fury Roadaissance. (Screen Crush) (Vanity Fair)