[SIC] 342: Parallel Parable

Vol 7, No. 32: [SIC] Talks with Mo Diggs. 🦿HIP REPLACEMENT 🦿with Byron Stewart. The Printed Matter Benefit Sales. An apology. And a lot of Links, like normal.

Apr 18, 2025

[SIC] Weekly is a digest of developments. It's intended to be read linearly, as you would a bulleted list. Feel no compunction to open every item in a new tab. 

This digest was sent free on 4/17/25 to 7383 subscribers. Original source is cited. Corollary sources are listed at the end of each digest.

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Special thanks this week for stories: Ben Young, Molly Raskin, Celeste Blewitt and Piers Fawkes. Comments, Questions and Contributions are invited from everyone.

Oh hi,

I have done a bad job as a newsletter guy this week.

I’ve missed two paid posts in a row, apologies (free subs, upgrade, and motivate me!).

I’ve been late to send (comment, lmk what time you want to receive [SIC]). And I’ve been indulgent (over 150x links this week).

Sorry, all.

I’ve been a better interviewer: my [SIC] Talks #99 chat with the Substacker Mo Diggs, whose Cross Current is the kind of big-brained IYKYK culture analysis and critiques that I can’t even aspire to, much less pretend to deliver, but which I love.

And the new 🦿HIP REPLACEMENT 🦿 (Ep.6 with Byron Stewart) and my co-host

Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick

gets to ‘what the kids are listening to’ in a way I’m happier with.

Which is just to say: I’m aware that I’m disappointing you. I’ll do better. I think. Encouragements not necessary. But welcome. (comment, like, do I have to beg?!)

Anyway, to try and make up for my deficits I’m doing something different with the imagery in this week’s edition. Normally (since I am theoretically monetizing this output) all images are my own. This week I’m trying to add a little energy to the Printed Matter’s Spring Benefit Sale, which is live on Artsy right now, and includes a lot of affordable (relative to contemporary art) work.

Artists (beyond the ones included today) who’ve contributed work include Marina Abramović, Nicole Eisenman, Shepard Fairey, Kim Gordon, Wade Guyton, Roni Horn, Sterling Ruby, Cindy Sherman, Stephen Shore, Kiki Smith, Hank Willis Thomas and Dustin Yellin, among many others. A real who’s who, in other words.

I’m gonna try and support, and I’ll love it if you do do. Top image is by Tauba Auerbach - all others credited below, with links to the bid site. And worst case, enjoy the *actually good* imagery this week as you peruse.

Ben

[SIC] Talks #99: Mo Diggs

Great conversation last night with Mo, who I’d never met prior, but whose posts like “:There Has Been a Drought of Cultural Greatness For Most of the 21st Century So Far laying out how “Human Mediocrity Will Pave the Way For AI Supremacy” have been cited in [SIC[ frequently. Among the things we discussed:

More people now go to the Coachella for the “experience” than for the music / Variety
Coachella’s Growing Subcultures: The Festival Beyond the Music / Variety
The Internet Enters Its Age of Aquarius. On AI’s psychedelic edge, science is spiraling back towards its mystical origins, driven by a counterculture that’s not after free love so much as fatter profits / Spike Art
Will Quantum Computing Lead to the Next Renaissance in Art? / Artnet
it was revealed by The Verge that OpenAI is building a social network/ The Verge
Facebook Is Just Craigslist Now / The Atlantic
Not discussed but pertinent: James Kirkham’s The New Cultural Infrastructure / Linkedin
Is This the Dominant Personality Type of Our Time? Or how we all became Clint Eastwood / The Honest Broker

[SIC] 342: Parallel Parable

Image: Alejandro Cardenas

Diet Gestalt

Can You Really Fight Populism With Populism? / The Atlantic
Cause, like: The zeitgeist keeps shifting. Who's up and who's down / The Pursuit of Happiness
Up, then Down: Katy Perry’s comically brief journey on Jeff Bezos’s rocket flopped in the public eye as hard as her last album / Hyperallergic
Related, from Molly: One Giant Stunt for Womankind / NYT
And: In Space, No One Can Hear You Girlboss / Pitchfork
Also on the way ‘up:’ The Vatican is seeking sainthood for Antoni Gaudí, the architect behind Barcelona’s Sagrada Família church / Semafor
And an options trader known as “Captain Condor” amassed a social media following that can move markets. (WSJ)
Corollary to that: The Strange Link Between Trump’s Tariffs and Incel Ideology. A vocal contingent of incel-adjacent men on X have embraced Trump’s tariffs as a way to economically disempower women / Vox
Another from Molly: “could it really be so simple:” The Cure to Male Loneliness Is Befriending Your Wife’s Friends’ Husbands / GQ
On that note: What Porn Taught a Generation of Women. It colored our ambitions, our sense of self, our relationships, our bodies, our work, and our art / The Atlantic
And on that note: Can We Stop Kids From Watching Porn? / The Atlantic
Apropos of ‘watching’: [SIC] Talks Alum Chris Black on Couchella. “Coachella is now livestreamed on YouTube, so this year I could watch it from my couch in New York City and not encounter sweaty teens on drugs looking for their campsite or a bathroom” / Pulling Weeds
Related, fellow [SIC] Talks alum Alyssa Vingan asked Is Coachella Worth Going Into Debt For? ...especially when all of your faves are paid to be there? / The New Garde
But, like, Who Can Even Afford Coachella Anymore? / The Cut
Umm, maybe the Young People [who] are making up to $36k renting their T-shirts and Speakers? / Wired
From Molly: Recession Indicators Are Everywhere / The New Yorker
And yet: Fyre Fest 2 is cancelled / Variety
Hence: money dysmorphia. Key Quote: “My general heuristic is the more people talk about "the economy" the worse it is.” / 8Ball
Rare Lego sets have soared in value. Thieves have noticed / NYT
Ergo: Doomsday as a Business Model. The "prepper" industry is thriving as Americans stockpile for disaster / NYT

Image: Roe Ethridge

Techno-logs

AI uses a lot of power, but it’s also helping produce it / WSJ
Harvard Business Review reveals that GenAI is no longer a productivity tool; it's an intimate companion
Autoamputation Flow. How AI Is Changing Human Nature / Contraptions
Speaking of changes: Users now spend more time messaging on WhatsApp than scrolling Facebook or Instagram / The Information
Also, people are using ChatGPT to do reverse location searches from photos / TechCrunch
Interview with Martin Casado of A16Z on the state of competition in LLMs / Spotify
Corollary: Interesting interview with James Cameron on the use of AI in movie production and special effects. One insight - the copyright violation test should be on the output, not the input / YouTube
Related: How PSFK Built Service Buddy An AI Tool That Protects Consumers from Getting Ripped Off / PSFK
And Musician Benn Jordan has developed a “poison pill” sound that ruins AI music generators when scraped / The Verge
Apropos of poison: Controversial internet forum 4chan has been hacked / TechCrunch
Elsewhere: How Dairy Robots 🤖 Are Changing Work for Cows 🐮 and Farmers 👩‍🌾 Everyone’s happier when robots do everything / Spectrum-ieee-org
Walmart has introduced a generative AI tool that can help the retailer determine fashion trends and pivot its manufacturing in record time / Axios

Image: Alfredo Jaar

Trenzz

Piper Sandler’s spring 2025 survey reveals some fascinating trends in footwear, athleisure, and big-box shopping destinations / Piper Sandler
The “underconsumption trend” — which predates the current financial rollercoaster — is taking off / Bloomberg
Hence: “trashcore” is taking over young Hollywood / WSJ
Meantime, UCLA grads created a ‘high-angle’ photo booth — and Gen Z is obsessed / LA Times
Related to that: Discord's face scanning age checks 'start of a bigger shift'"Will it become the norm in the UK? Honestly, yes, probably." / BBC
Ergo: Welcome to the future of appearance / Vogue Business
So, from Piers: Can You Love Beauty in 2025 If You Hate Needles? / Hypebae
Corollary: How the conservative era will change beauty standards / Vogue Business
But?! What will our teeth look like in 2045? / Vogue Business
Especially since: The rise of the ‘it’ shake. The latest accessory being brandished by twenty-somethings is not a designer bag — it’s a made-to-order protein drink in a branded cup / HTSI
Which explains the Travis Scott line of health shots / Highsnobiety
Corollary: New evidence that Health Goth will never die / 032C
Apropos of $$$ baseball caps: Beige is color of money / NYT

Image: Andrew Kuo

Places and Spaces

Introducing our next group of New York City’s very own risk takers, an armor-clad gaggle of fighters. Gladiators NYC fight primarily in Central Park / Byline
Elsewhere in NYC: 'Congestion pricing is working': MTA says tolls keeping 82k drivers a day out of Manhattan / Gothamist
And elsewhere, generally: The Toronto Accent Is Real. It’s been called an act and “the worst accent in the world.” / The Walrus
Also from Toronto: The 24-minute movie of the year. Bobby De Keyzer the young swagged-out skating legend on his mini-masterpiece / Blackbird Spyplane
Corollary to that: Tristan Martinez’ Waiting Room. Skateboarding, fireworks, and wind / Monster Children
More ‘air:’ Paris said au revoir to cars. Air pollution maps reveal a dramatic change. Air pollution fell substantially as the city restricted car traffic and made way for parks and bike lanes / WaPo
While Zeihan says Spain’s Economy Is Booming / YT
Closer to home: How Bentonville Arkansas became an epicenter of the cycling world / NYT
While: Melbourne’s creative rat race breeds design-led offbeat brands / It’s Nice That
Apropos of racing: If you aren’t the running kind, maybe you’d prefer a racket club. These nine clubs have become communities in their respective cities / Hypebae

Image: Maia Ruth Lee

Designs

Umm, What is Bold Minimalism, the new trend sweeping the design world?. After minimalism and maximalism, what comes next in graphic design? Minimal maximalism, of course/ Creative Bloq
Maybe, from Molly: it’s What Comes After Beauty Branding's Bold Font Boom / BoF
Tip: consult The People’s Graphic Design Archive / People GD Archive
IRL: The Coachella of chairs. 5 of earth's top designers on the best work from Milan's Salone del Mobile / Blackbird Spyplane
Related: Duck Ragu Makes The Mirrors You Want / Monster Children
Corollary, from PIers: “What happened to design for all?, he asks, hoping for some forgiveness for his transgressions too” "I was shocked" by dominance of luxury brands in Milan says Philippe Starck / Dezeen
Speaking of reappraisals? Lina Ghotmeh on Ruin and Regeneration in Architecture / The Slowdown
While unrelated, Anti-modernist architecture group declares Simmons Hall at MIT “America's ugliest building" / Dezeen

Image: Lee Mary Manning

Wearables

An unconventional fashion show is coming to a Bushwick roller rink / Gothamist
Corollary? from Celeste: 'Walton Goggin's Low-Rise Skinny Jeans Are Partying Like It's 2011' (GQ)
Which is not considered in: What to Wear When You Hit 40 / Mr. Porter
Corollary of trying hard, from Celeste: 'Is The Sloane Ranger Silk Scarf The Ultimate Spring Power Move? / Tatler
Can Shein survive Trump’s trade war? / Jing Daily
Because? Shein faces fresh tariff squeeze – but believes its tech-first model can weather the storm / The Drum
Meantime, American shoppers flock to Chinese apps. As US-China trade tensions mount, Americans turn to Chinese platforms like DHgate, Taobao, and Shein for luxury lookalikes at rock-bottom prices / Jing Daily
While ‘Trade War TikTok’ Takes Aim at Luxury. Chinese creators claiming to manufacture for luxury brands have gone viral on the platform, offering cut-price ‘dupes’ in response to Trump’s punitive tariffs on the country / BoF
But?! The truth behind China’s ‘luxury tell-all’ / Jing Daily
Speaking of luxury: Birkin-maker Hermès unseated the empire of ritz as the world’s most valuable luxury company yesterday after a sour sales update triggered LVMH’s worst sell-off since 2020 / CNBC
Apropos of that: INTRODUCING JANE'S LAW.: As a discussion of luxury grows longer, the probability of a focus on the Hermès Birkin bag approaches one / NEMESIS
Case in point, today’s Group Chat Episode / Spotify
Meantime, Luxury waits for the US kitten-heeled mule to drop. LVMH’s reported figures don’t yet reflect much of a softening in the American market / FT
On the topic of heels: What Happened to the High Heel? / BoF
Maybe they clogs now?! Balenciaga and orthopaedic brand Scholl team up for ‘Frankenshoe’ hybrid / The Guardian
Related: Nike's Latest Unlikely Brand Collab? TikTok-Inspired Kool-Aid Sneakers / AdWeek

Image: Adam Pendleton

A.R.T.S

Is the art market coming to the end of the age of eternal growth? / The Art Newspaper
To that question: Art Market Reality Check: Crisis or Opportunity? / Jerry Gogosian
And : The Guggenheim’s ‘Kiss of Death’: How a Career High Can Spell a Market Low / Artnet
Corollary?! Every night Anna Weyant goes to sleep, she thinks, “This will be the night I get murdered.” / Interview
On the topic: The Giant Women Who Stomped on Art World Invisibility / Hyperallergic
Not sure this qualifies: Cj Hendry Pokes Fun at Jeff Koons with Balloon-Inspired Exhibition with 50 oversized installations. Visitors can explore themes of joy and nostalgia while enjoying limited edition prints and quirky merchandise / Hype Art
More serious: The Story of Surrealism Isn’t Whole Without Gala Dalí / Hyperallergic
Also high-minded: What Is Classical Music? The term is applied to radically different compositions across more than 1,000 years of history. We need a better definition / The Atlantic
Also search for definition: In pursuit of a viral, five-year-old compact camera / The Verge
Corollary: The Greatest Motorcycle Photo Ever / LIFE
Speaking of flicks: Photographer Deana Lawson is leading an immersive, week-long workshop in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico June 22-29 and you can apply to be a part of it / Workshop de Allende
And: OPENING TOMORROW: Carrie Mae Weems: The Heart of the Matter / Aperture
Also opening tomorrow: Rhizome World Opening Fri, April 18 at WSA 61 Water St., NYC 6pm
Unrelated: What’s a David Wojnarowicz Artwork Doing on the Poster for Ari Aster’s New Film? / Artnet
And: A London Graffiti Art Show Was Shut Down Because of… Graffiti / Artnet

Image Alec Soth

ENTS, ENTS, ENTS

From Celeste: “The exclusivity deals alone are another game playing move” Coachella And The Changing Music Festival Hierarchy' / The Town With Matt Belloni
Corollary: HorsegiirL Is Half-Human, Half-Horse and a Full Musician. How She Went from the Farm to Coachella / People
More conversation: The Talks Talked to David Cronenberg / The Talks
And The Steff Yotka Interview with Throwing Fits / Spotify
Elsewhere: How Public ‘Finsta’ Accounts Became the New Album Rollout Method / Rolling Stone
And From Celeste: 'How The Masters Entered It's Content Creator Era' (Town & Country)
On that note: PGA Tour Will Emulate MLB Pitch Clock in Push to Speed Up Golf / Front Office Sports
Speaking of taking a long time: Britbox's mesmerising 14-hour ad shows the history of filmmaking techniques in a single take / Creative Bloq
Art vs. Cinema: What’s the Difference for Filmmakers? / Frieze
Diego Marcon’s Films Conjure a Familiar, Grotesque World. An artist whose film work revels in the futile, horrifying and absurdly humorous / Frieze
Also absurd: 1 in 5 songs uploaded to French streaming platform Deezer are AI-generated / Reuters
But like hey, AI: Do you [even] know what phonk is? — If you don't, maybe you should / Pitchfork
No? Try listening to The 15 Coolest Internet Radio Stations Around the World / Paste
Unrelated: SLOANE CROSLEY'S LOVE/HATE LIST. 40 Things Sloane Crosley Loves and Hates / Dream Baby Press

Image: Ed Templeton

Incluencers / Promosters

We hold influencers to an impossible standard. It is unsustainable / The Drum
And so: Two documentaries explore the dangers of being an influencer as a child / NYT
Corollary: Digiday+ Research Briefing: A look at the potential of Gen X and baby boomer influencers / Digiday
Hence: How brand sponsorship is being rewritten in 2025 / The Drum
Case in point: Brands, creators hold their own NewFronts-style sales pitches to win over more ad dollars / Digiday
And Why brands and agencies are putting AI chiefs in their C-Suites / Digiday
But, like, what Is a Chief Marketing Officer, Anyway?
Publicis Group CEO says advertisers are pacing, not panicking. Publicis CEO eyes growth even as the ground shifts / Digiday
While: Executives at large organizations are struggling with how to implement AI effectively, while their employees are already using ChatGPT daily Inverting the Adoption Curve / BRXND Dispatch
Cause, like: The real AI challenge for WPP isn’t scale, it’s control / Digiday
On the topic of control: Costco appears to be benefiting from consumer backlash against Target's DEI pullback, as Target's foot traffic continues to decline while Costco thrives / Fast Company
Speaking of groceries, from Ben: “This is a fun campaign from New Zealand - Vogels, a beloved bread in NZ, they made travel fashion that integrated the loaves, to make it easier for people to take them with them” / IG
Corollary: How J.C. Penney’s new brand positioning is subverting consumer expectations / Retail Dive

Image: Farah Al-Qasimi

Media-tors

CNN’s Mark Thompson: ‘Our entire industry is going through a revolution’. Media executive plans to launch a ‘suite’ of digital subscription services to arrest long-term decline in cable / FT
Ergo? David Zaslav’s Shaky Hollywood Empire / New York Magazine
And “Quartz is now a zombie brand” / NiemanLab
But like, What Was Quartz? / Zach Seward
Also : Who Wants to Run Vanity Fair? Everyone? Anyone? / NYT

Caloric Sustenance

Guess What Kind of Cooking Oil Is Tariff-Proof? Seed oils are about to get their revenge / The Atlantic
Only a small portion of the city’s restaurants have applied for permits for dining structures under new regulations / NYT
The Wegmans restaurant is imminent, and it sounds amazing? / Grub Street
Also amazing: Le Creuset, which recently turned 100, has inspired generations of home cooks — and obsessive collectors / NYT

Emma Kohlmann

Flotsam AND Jetsam

The Inexplicably Fascinating Secret World of Thomasson. “Thomasson: noun \ to-ma-son \ a preserved architectural relic which serves no purpose” / Messy Nessy
Also useless: These techno-utopians want to colonize the sea / NYT
Related: Scientists are dosing zebrafish with ayahuasca / Doubleblind
Also! These vegetables are for smoking drugs! / The Strategist
There Are Two Types of Dishwasher People / The Atlantic
But there are 2,143 species of mushrooms (and counting) in New York City, a land of abundance / NYT