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There’s this thread of the tangible, the touchable, the feelable in today’s dispatch. The joy of playing- something, anything- in the real world, in the rain, in the heat; the weirdness of touching a hundred kilos of hair ; the intimacy of listening to music sans devices.
But there is also, erm, a Tiktok trend on Rothko (yeah, don’t ask), and glimpses of Raygun (remember her?), a list of made-up words for our tech-consumed lives, and a deep, meaningful question- why can no one make a ‘Friends’ for Gen Z? (Maybe no one should try?).
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Cheers,
Shakey
No Phones please, we’re Indie: Phoebe Bridgers leading with scarcity
Curated/Cuts: Sachin Tendulkar joy & a Hairball Attack
Rothko Tok: Modern art, modern trends?
➕ · Vocab for tech lives · Raygun returns · Friends for Gen Z? ·
1. No Phones Please, I’m Indie
Last week I gushed ever so slightly about watching a classic movie in Singapore’s oldest theatre. Some of that joy came from the film itself, much also came from the real-world, tangible feel to it.
I recalled then hearing about what Phoebe Bridgers did recently. The indie darling American singer-songwriter was the most awarded person at the 2024 Grammys, then announced a hiatus that continued for about two years.
In early May this year, a flyer appeared in Roswell, New Mexico- no, it was not about aliens and was definitely not an AI generated slop flyer. It was a surprise, and secret, show being performed by Bridgers the very next day, at a small venue which had to field calls enquiring if this was all legit. Tickets were first come, first served; sold at the venue, on the day of the show.
“No cellphones,
smart watches, smart glasses, cameras, or recording devices allowed.”
Roswell was the beginning. Bridgers played around multiple venues in coming weeks- all usually small, all announced the day of or just before, via flyers or posters fans had to be lucky to spot (or be sent online), and all the shows banned phones, plonking them in Yondr pouches*. The string of gigs, all working with the same framework, led up to a ‘big’ show.
Madison Square Gardens, no less, the NYC arena. Except this show too was announced mere days before, with tickets in the absurdly low $1-$20 range. Sponsored by Tidal, all proceeds went to a charity, this was still a small show (18,000 attended), the approach was still intimate, and yes, phones were still banned.
As with the other gigs, Bridgers played new material here too. Material which was not being posted instantly online for fans to gush or moan over. In fact, even pens, pencils, notebooks were nudged away (incorrect, misleading lyrics had been reported from previous gigs).
Variety’s show report said, “As the show began, the objective almost seemed to be less about preventing premature publicity for the many unreleased songs she performed than evoking a long-gone era that most of the audience never experienced: a time when an artist could road-test new material without it being available to millions within seconds, and audience members could see a concert without having their view obscured or completely blocked by multiple people taking video they probably never will watch.” ^
Her last album was back in 2020, her last show was in 2023 (opening for Taylor Swift), and as an album as part of ‘boygenius’ leading up to those Grammys.
I truly wish every concert was like that, having now experienced it.
_fan Chase Williams on the no phones policy ^
A popular singer doing a small show is not new in itself. But in a time when pop culture discovery and marketing are so often associated with the hammer not the chisel- maximising eyeballs, putting everything out there, clipping, oversharing, still ‘going viral’... in such a time, choosing scarcity can be a bit rare, a bit brave, a bit smart, and conversely a bit obvious, but often a combination of all.
And I don’t doubt these gigs would have been a bit challenging for some of the audience, in parts, as it might well have been for Phoebe herself. But there is something to be said about a show that is being performed for those who are there, not with one eye on impressing the vast millions on the internet. (What’s clippable, what will work as a reel or short? What is a fun ‘moment’?) And that something applies to both artist and fan- have you never wished to watch a performance with your vision not peppered with endlessly recording hand held devices? To be part of a “temporarily Luddite crowd”, watching a performance that imbued “every song with a campfire warmth conducive to the setting, as if tens of thousands of us just stumbled across an impromptu jam session.” ^
I know that appeals to me.
* The day after the MSG show, June 5, she announced The Lost Tour across the US and Europe- her first solo tour since 2023. The tour too will be phone-free. Its already sold out in the US & UK.
* Her new album, The Lost Weekend, released in August and has been variously called “a vividly cathartic body of work”^ , where “dissociation from celebrity becomes part of the record’s subject”, while it “refuses to convert pain into spectacle,”^ and “fulfills the grand architecture of a high-profile comeback, but it also returns to the hushed, bedroom setting her music has always invited.” ^
* So what is Yondr?
It was mentioned in many of the Bridger reports, and its the third time I have encountered it in recent times. Since it hasn’t come to Asia, i figured i would share. Yondr pouches are where you lock away your device. Magnetic, can be opened only outside the phone-free zone, by tapping it on a magnetic base. It is intended to “create phone-free spaces where genuine connection, focus, and creativity can flourish in the absence of technology.”
Freedom from the devices that freed us.
It’s weird not having a phone, isn’t it?
I love it. I appreciate you allowing this to be an internet-free zone.
_Phoebe Bridgers during her MSG show.
2. Curated/Cuts
· Attack of the Endorphin ·
A fun, upbeat ad for TenXU, Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar’s sportswear brand, which prefers endorphins over adrenaline, and wants us to nod in agreement that “You don’t have to be the best in the world to feel on top of the world.” (Is that a cheeky Nike-esque font I see overlaid by the bright yellow TenXU text?). Their main push though is “Never Stop Playing”, which reminded me briefly of this campaign that also used the same phrase.
In some ways, it feels familiar- the kind of rhythmic, real, raucous spot you might expect from anything sports in India. Led by music & montage, a diverse cast, joy and passion and verve, with earwomy track and deft editing. But this kind of familiar ≠ dull, or derivative; and the splashes of mixed media feel are a nice touch. I enjoyed it, especially the little pause with muttered complaints for ‘scooter stopped play’!
Footloose Films · Director Indrashish Mukherjee · Producers Kedhhar Barrve & Pallavi Singh · Music Subhajit Mukherjee · Editor Abhimanyu Chaudhary ·
Brand Karan Arora · Karthik Gurumurthy ·
· Attack of The Tumblehair ·
A giant hairball appeared in NYC. It rolled around town. People stared. A haircare brand smiled. All sounds about right for NYC?
‘Prestige’ haircare brand K18 & Uncommon Creative Studio teamed up to take an obscure and slightly absurd stat and wrap it- pun intended- into a stunt. The 167 billion hairs New Yorkers lose to shedding, apparently, were all rolled up into this kinda gross, kinda cute, hair monster thingy.
That’s right- a 10-foot-tall hairball that somehow isn’t as disgusting as it should be. As with everything else, people wondered if this was AI (of course)- but its not. All real hair, all real weirdness.
Oh, and the ball didn’t just roam aimlessly, it ended up at a Sephora, for a ‘K18 Hair Longevity Lab’.
Someone on Linkedin called it filthy and friendly at the same time. Indeed.
· CDs Lauren Cooper · Cara Johnson ·
Uncommon Studio · Sam Shepherd · Nils Leonard ·
3. Rothko Tok
Rothko is having a moment on Tiktok. Yes, you don’t need to re-read that.
Not maybe what the abstract master aspired to in the mid 20th century with his colour field paintings, but hey- his spirit might just take the attention. Gen Z tiktokers have shaped some ‘main-character energy’ around his work, turning his paintings into outfits, profile types, dating jokes, musings… even nail polish.
Or at least, attempting to.
One take said, “Gen Z has grown up surrounded by so many images, ads and screens that visual stimulation is already ‘at capacity.’ Rothko leaves the viewer room to decide what to see and feel.”
Others reckoned it was just a tiktok trend, creators hopping on it without the slightest understanding of Rothko or his vision, another example of trends and expression that are ephemeral and eventually shorn of any real value.
I am not sure I care enough to decide which one.
➕Quick Hits
Why can’t anyone make a ‘Friends’ for Gen Z?
The BBC tries to decode this, though rather blandly. You could also argue the question itself misses the point of today’s content consumption scene.Botiquette, baggravation, dickovers.
Stuart Heritage draws up a list of terms to help us navigate the frustrations of our “tech hellscape” lives. Or at least, these words might leave us venting slightly more articulately?Remember the Raygun story?
The gloriously messy Olympics incident of an Aussie break dancer whose inept performance in Paris 2024 brought on shame, smiles, disparagement and indulgence? Netflix did a docu on it, and Melissa Hoyer tells us why its being many things at the same time.