16 people unsubscribed. 

Yet 119 subscribed. 

44 readers' sent me to spam. 

96.8% of you opened me up on a desktop. 

AND

91% clicked on new artists more than any other link.

 

This would imply an appetite for new discoveries. It would imply a curiosity that is essential to push the creative envelope. 

 

(Y)our appetite for new artists is critical. As some of you will remember from a previous edition of this letter, I shared an interview between Derek Thompson and Chris Dalla Riva where Chris stated ‘that we are living at a time where less new music is being listened to by teenagers than ever before.’ 

 

Isn't that sad? Why is this?

 

Surely our job now is to begin to stagnate, turn 45, and begin the slow physical and mental decay; one begins dreaming of slippers and sherry at 46, and at 47, going to bed at 9 o'clock seems so appealing, we opt for that over foreplay. And it's the job of our teenage kids to resent our apathy, decaying smell, and general everything-ness about us. I thought this was understood; I was briefed to make my kids detest me so they would leave the house as soon as possible. Is 13 really too young to live on your own? My great-grandad had already been working for nine years at 13, had seven children, fought three wars, and was on his fourth set of dentures.

 

I'm doing my part; my kids physically gag at the notion of 2 weeks in Italy with mum and dad, my son plays Dutch Hip Hop and Central Cee to annoy me, and my daughter can only communicate in 15-second Tik Tok-style screenplays, which are near incomprehensible to me. If I were being scored on teenage resentment, I'd get 10/10.

 

What the fuck are the rest of you doing? Come on! Why are your kids listening to Rick Astley and The Cure with you? Are you trying to be liked? Are you being cool, mum and dad? 

 

If you can't do this for your kids, do it for the creative industry. If you don't up your resentment game, the Rolling Stones might still be touring when my kids retire. No one wants that. 

 

The fact is that money (your money) has moved from being a mere creative lubricant to being the creator economy's motor. And the motor is on autopilot set to ‘average’ for everything, not just music, but film, TV, fashion, and art. Bankers bought up back catalogues, and back catalogues don't have egos, Tik Tok is the music industry, and our teenagers live on Tik Tok. 

 

Teenagers are listening to less new music because we (the adult supervision) sold out. We created creative convenience machines (Spotify, YouTube, Tik Tok, Amazon etc.), and we, as parents, pay for them as well (family sharing accounts on Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, mobile phone subscriptions and 1GB internet in every room of the house. 

 

We can't stop bankers from investing in Bob Dylan and private museums only showing Warhol and Banksy, but we can do one thing: 

 

 

My top tip for this any given Sunday is to cancel the family Spotify plan, the Netflix plan, the HBO, Mubi, ShowTime, TMobile and Vodafone gigafuckinnet whatever plan. Kick the teenagers off the internet and make those little bastards go out there and find their own stuff. If they had to pay for it with their hard-earned pocket money, they would never be listening to Barbie girl! * 

 

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This newsletter is brought to you by Everatti. Rolling Art. 

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🧁 = (cupcake) Treat brain – easy to consume

🦪 = (oyster) More challenging - not for everyone

💩 = (shit) A special icon for just one mention this week.

 

🧁

Can you imagine me dancing? Had I been born in 1914 in England, I would have danced routinely at the weekend like everybody else. However, in the 60s and 70s, men in the UK were taught not to dance. It simply wasn't manly.  Dance your way home is a joyous captivating journey, really well written, with great references throughout to dance, culture, and language. It made me really consider the value of dancing. Still considering… 

 

🧁

You might recall a while back, I talked about scarcity and secrecy. We dug into that more and produced a report with CoMatter called Network Counter Culture. You can download it here for free. 

 

🦪

Not a new film. 2013 but something rediscovered recently. This film ponders suffering and celebrates beauty and meaning. 

🧁

Wine. France. Japan and a strange competition to inherit the world's greatest wine cellar. 

 

🧁

It is never too late. Simon du Pury started Dj'ing in his 60s and believed that he could make a move from Auctioneer to DJ because of his ability to read the room. (skip the intro and move straight to the interview)

🧁

Am I late to the game? I didn't know that Dua Lipa was as curious as she is, that she had a book club and ran a podcast and a blog, and…she's good. I have tried not to mention Barbie (don't bother) or Oppenheimer (which you should see); however, in this episode of Dua Lipa: At your service, she interviews Barbie director Greta Gerwig (Nov, 2022). It's worth a listen, as is her interview with Pedro Almodovar.

💩

With a title like this, how can you not be intrigued? This is a very serious true crime series.

 

🧁

Kaili Smith. Kailis's ability to create hauntingly accurate and intense portraits is impressive. As he begins a stint at the RijksAkademie, we can expect to see great things from this young artist.

🧁

Alvin Armstrong. Ex-Coast Guard, 15 hours a day Alice Neel inspired painter. Love his work. 

 

🧁

One year in. €600,000 was distributed in grants to 26 grantees after seven months of research and a ton of work by 12 jurors to select emerging artists and organisations across Europe to assist. 

You can download the report here. 

 

🧁

Kusta isn't longer an emerging artist but was one of the first artists we ever featured on WeTransfer and the now-defunct Kuvva. Kustas' work is so vibrant I think every single one of you would love one of his rugs. 

 

That's it. Cheerio.