Curation Is King

Modern aspiration is not about having money to buy things, but having taste to know what to buy.

This shift towards a global sameness, driven by digital platforms' algorithms, challenges the very notion of personal taste. As these platforms prioritize content or products that resonate on a mass scale, they nudge us toward a homogenized cultural landscape. The result is a world where diversity of thought and creativity often gets drowned out by... See more

All of which raises another set of questions, about art rather than morals. Which is a better measure of an artwork, its quality on average or its peaks? How should ambition be weighed against execution, jolting insight against missteps, the good against the bad?

Watch streams and playthroughs: Ashley Bardhan recently argued that watching a video game isn’t so different from playing it. I agree. This guidance won’t surprise anyone under the age of 30. But many gamers in the millennial demographic (or older) have yet to make a habit of watching streams on Twitch or playthroughs on YouTube. If this is your

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As T Bone Burnett once said, “Major labels figured out that catering to people who don’t need music in their lives makes them more money.” Passive streaming is a prime example—when music plays in the background at shops, hairdressers, or when Spotify keeps going after you’ve fallen asleep. Major labels don’t pay for these streams but heavily invest... See more

"There has never been more TV to watch. At any given time, you can stream shows old and new from platforms as wide-ranging as Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, Peacock, and Amazon Prime, or you can indulge in a more niche service like Shudder (for horror fans) or Acorn (for British programming). If you find yourself paralyzed by the sheer wealth of content,... See more

An almost-funny tragedy is decimating basically every artistic industry: there are too many things. Too many movies, too many shows, way too many songs and books and videos and email newsletters.