On October 19, 2019, I coined the phrase Zero-Touch Cultural Product to discuss Kanye West's upswing at that time. My theory is that on a long enough timeline, all cultural products will dissolve into thin air. Fashion has slipped through our fingers like sand. The only interesting things happening in that section of culture are things you cannot touch. Style is expressed through content, not clothing. The timeline to total Zero-Touch was drastically sped up this week. If there's one thing to know about, it's Beeple. Everyone is talking about Clubhouse, but everyone on Clubhouse is talking about NFT's. Because Beeple, an artist whose medium is less important than his vernacular, which is Tumblr-native, is the first artist to ever have a wholly-digital auction at Christie's. So how will these rich guys with extra millions to burn own something they can't touch? Through something called an NFT, an acronym you will be sick of by March. A Stupefy guarantee. Non-fungible tokens are blockchain-powered signatures that ensure the piece of digital content you own is the one the artist declares is the original and authentic edition.
Beeple hit an inflection point through auctions on Nifty Gateway that generated $3.5 million. Then Bitcoin hit $50K and everyone needed something to believe in and talk about on Clubhouse and Discord servers. Now everyone wants in on NFT's. Yesterday I listened to funk legend Bootsy Collins talk about NFT's and this morning I listened to MC Hammer talk about NFT's. Strap in! Later this week we'll talk about NBA Top Shot.
Shit you don't need to know
The ludicrously stupid Snyder Cut trailer. (Twitter)
Anything that's "big with Harry Potter fans." (NYT)
The McDonald's collaboration with Tay Keith. For those who want to dress like a deck. (Instagram)
The Jon Stewart packet. (Reddit)
Shit you need to know
Everyone's talking about Adam Curtis and he was on Red Scare. The Specials needle drop is only 2:55 in. (YouTube)
Showtime's Tekashi 6ix9ine documentary "Supervillain" comes out on Sunday night. (Showtime)
Scorsese in Harper's being "elitist." (Harper's)
Kyle Chayka on negation. (NYTMag)
M.H. Miller on KAWS. (NYTMag)