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Links: The Miracle of Big Thief

The Miracle of Big Thief (via Vulture)
Contemplating infinity, cross-country trips, and a towering double album with rock’s critical darlings.

Big Thief is arguably making the best music on the planet right now. Dating back to 2017, I don't think there is a band or artist that I've posted more about on this blog. They are really, really good and it seems like they are only getting better as they get more freedom:

"We’re a band that values exploration above product. I feel like we find the value in the work. Just building our internal muscles is more valuable to us than the end result. And I feel like that’s a really special thing because it allows for a lot of freedom. It just has to feel good to us. If no one else likes it, that’s fine. Like, we can’t control it beyond that. And if everyone likes it and we don’t feel it, then we’re going to keep going until we like it." 

What is Indie Sleaze?

Is the vibe... shifting? Suddenly, bands like The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Interpol are coming back into the cultural zeitgeist. In the last month, we've seen articles in NME, Dazed, VICE, the Guardian, The Cut, Harpers Bizarre, Vogue, Esquire, Stylist, and GQ all talking about the return of Indie Sleaze... but what is Indie Sleaze? And why are we suddenly trying to capture the vibe of the early 2000s...?

To me, it sort of feels like a bunch of us aging millennials are starting to feel irrelevant and disconnected from youth culture. The result... an engineered movement to create cultural significance by trying to recreate a feeling they we once had... listening to The Strokes, on their iPod, in their American Apparel zippy as they furiously type on their blog. Oh shit. 

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📡 SIGNALS: Stay Interested

Stay interested. The most interesting people are always the most interested. 

Keep looking... for ideas, for inspiration, for things you haven't seen yet. Your job is to collect a lot of dots. The universe's job is to help you connect them. 

For me, staying interested requires time away from your practice. You can't always be in it or you will actually lose interest. Not good! So go outside. Get away from it. Do other things. Sometimes you need to read. Sometimes you need to just wander around on the internet, collecting images. Sometimes it's running. Sometimes it's making art. In some ways, it actually feels more like maintenance. Like you're just doing the things you need to maintain the engine. That's part of it, I think. The maintenance is part of the whole thing running properly. It may feel like you are wasting time but being productive is not always about producing something. Production can only happen in the right conditions and maintenance is a big part of creating the right conditions. You can't force anything. Time is also a big part of it. Sometimes time is the only thing needed for it all to come together – for the dots to connect.

Also, do a lot of things. All at once. That's part of being interested. Have a lot of projects going on. Try a bunch of different stuff. The more stuff you do, the more dots you'll have to connect – you'll be able to draw inspiration, ideas, learnings from all the different projects you've worked on. Do more! All at once! All the time!

🌎 Links

In Search of Virgil Abloh

I spent two years trying to bottle up the genius of our greatest multihyphenate for a museum show. But only at his memorial service did I realize the full extent of his talent and influence.

Sharing Screen Shots Was Jarring and Came Off as Harassing Kim”
"I'm working on my communication," Ye wrote in the caption of his latest post about sharing private text messages with ex Kim Kardashian West about her new boyfriend, Pete Davidson, on social media.

How Stüssy Became the Chanel of Streetwear
The brand is somehow 40 years old—and, perhaps more surprisingly, making some of its most exciting clothes yet.

Supreme Appoints Tremaine Emory Creative Director
The Denim Tears founder is the streetwear juggernaut’s first major creative appointment since it was acquired by VF Corp for $2.1 billion in late 2020. Emory will work closely with Supreme founder James Jebbia, who will continue to oversee all aspects of the business.

Coachella Drops All COVID-Related Restrictions, Including Negative Tests and Masks
After revealing last fall that vaccinations would not be required for entry, the Coachella and Stagecoach festivals have further revealed that there will no longer be any COVID-related barriers to entry at all, not even negative tests. Nor will a requirement to wear masks figure into the picture when millions of selfies go out from the desert this April.

Selling Snoopy: How Peanuts Fashion Became Big Business
Gucci, Marc Jacobs, H&M, Goyard, Swatch and J.Crew are just a few of the brands that have designed apparel using art from Charles Schulz’s treasured comic strip. Between the clothing collaborations and an Apple+ content deal, the brand must learn to grow without sacrificing its original spirit.

Keep On Keeping On: How Menswear Brands Survive Or Fall
Once-mighty players such as Brooks Brothers, J. Crew, and Neiman Marcus have filed for bankruptcy in the last two years. And even before the pandemic, changing tastes forced Ralph Lauren to restructure dramatically, terminating certain lines and closing some of its most splendid stores... Why do some brands survive where others stumble and eventually fall?

Alan Watts & Wui Wei

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