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W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 1d

Yet again @ryanhatesthis.bsky.social of Garbage Day manages to describe the roots of our global cultural predicament in a single paragraph. This is from today's essay on the manosphere turning against Trump:

www.garbageday.email/p/the-great-...

But their blatant stupidity is why they’re so popular. It’s the uncomfortable truth underpinning pretty much everything that’s happened in pop culture — including politics — since the 2010s social media revolution. The online platforms that created our new world, run on likes and shares and comments and views, reshaped the marketplace of ideas into an attention economy. One that, like a real economy, is full of very popular garbage. And, also like a real economy, is now so vast and important that it’s virtually impossible to change it. If you want access to it, you better get comfortable making lowest-common-denominator bullshit in front of a camera. And, of course, it’s a lot easier to feel good about doing that if you’re an idiot.

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W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 2d

I think the 20th century lists tend to cluster around the point where the paradigm was formed: '67 for rock, early-70s for R&B

W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 3d

What explains the resurgent 2013 winner's list? It doesn't have a clear narrative (although interested in your ideas): Lorde, Drake, Kacey Musgraves, Haim, DJ Snake feat. Lil Jon, Paramore, Arctic Monkeys, Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus, Sky Ferreira, Jason Isbell, Alvvays

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W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 3d

There will always be some anti-recency bias in canon-building, because new things have yet to prove their long-term value, but there's also a clear bias here towards "long '90s" songs like "B.O.B." and "Get Ur Freak On" and lingering respect for the post-9/11 rock revival

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W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 3d

Then I weighted the entries (so that a #1 was worth much more than a #250), and it tells a similar story, although 2013 shows a resurgence before things collapse again

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W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 3d

I tallied the number of entries per year, and there's a steady and linear decline, with a very clear dip in the last half of the Aughts:

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W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 3d

Rolling Stone compiled a "The 250 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century" list, and while the specific inclusions are debatable, it gives a sense of the 21st century canon as it's forming.

I noticed a bias towards the early 2000s so I ran the numbers:

www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...

The 250 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century So Far

The 250 greatest songs of the 21st century so far -- from all over the musical map and every corner of the globe

www.rollingstone.com

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Reposted by W. David Marx

kiq / キク @kiq.fedibird.com.ap.brid.gy · 7d

“著者デーヴィッド・マークスにその後のアメトラについて振り返っていただきました。翻訳は『AMETORA』と同じく、奥田祐士” / “10,000部突破記念！『AMETORA』著者、デーヴィッド・マークスによる特別寄稿「執筆から10年後のアメリカントラッドと日本」｜DU BOOKS” (1 user) https://htn.to/43oZDR66fF

10,000部突破記念！『AMETORA』著者、デーヴィッド・マークスによる特別寄稿「執筆から10年後のアメリカントラッドと日本」｜DU BOOKS

現在のユニクロの世界的な躍進にまでつながる、「戦後日本の男性服飾史」をアントレプレナーやイノベーターたちに取材し、その行動原理と戦略を明らかにしつつ、スリリングな物語として描いた『AMETORA』は、日本とアメリカの奇妙な関係性にまで光をあてた文化史としても話題になりました。原著が刊行された2015年から10年の時を経て、ますます日本のファッション文化に世界的な注目が集まる今こそ、ぜひ読んでいただきたい一冊です。執筆御のファッションシーンもふまえて、著者デーヴィッド・マークスにその後のアメトラについて振り返っていただきました。翻訳は『AMETORA』と同じく、奥田祐士さんです。（DU

note.com

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W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 6d

Lefsetz called this "clickbait" but fascinating that so many of the very top songs date from The Long 20th Century (2000-2004) rather than from recent years:

www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...

The 250 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century So Far

The 250 greatest songs of the 21st century so far -- from all over the musical map and every corner of the globe

www.rollingstone.com

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W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 8d

Good discussion of this here: ‘One Battle After Another’: A Second Opinion With Van Lathan - The Ringer share.google/zQOODtbSagpB...

‘One Battle After Another’: A Second Opinion With Van Lathan - The Ringer

On a very special bonus episode of the podcast, Van Lathan joins the show and gets the chance to share his perspective on the box office debate for ‘One Battle After Another,’ share his overall though...

share.google

W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 8d

Coolness eventually trickled down to the very people it was created to devalue

dying well @thebestrevenge.info · 8d

Who is this cool to

the corgi from cowboy bebop @realqrampage.fightins.online · 8d

LMAO LOOK AT THIS PHOTOGRAPH
EVERY TIME I DO IT MAKES ME LAUGH

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W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 8d

(Impeccable comic timing that this happened right after the anti-anti-poptimists took a victory lap that they settled the poptimism debate once and for all with "Poptimism has never been a pro-pop ideology.")

W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 8d

The New Yorker: The editorial policy that Taylor Swift is incapable of making a bad album

New York Times: Album gets perfectly positive review from Jon Caramanica

Normal people: Yeah, this sucks

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W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 8d

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W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 9d

Actual music criticism in 2025: "Swift is masterly when it comes to making money."

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W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 10d

www.theguardian.com/film/2025/se...

Jezebels, race kink and Cardi B: in One Battle After Another, Black women are still stereotypes

With its hyper-sexualised Black female revolutionary and fetishised depiction of interracial relationships, Paul Thomas Anderson’s much-lauded latest raises questions about how white male directors de...

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by W. David Marx

Dave Moore @otherdavemoore.com · 11d

Thought this was pretty shaky when I wrote it (at peak Eras tour/TIME profile) but so far it's....less shaky

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W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 11d

Carl Wilson's pleasant definition of poptimism: "Taylor Swift has the potential to be rewarding and is worthy of serious critical attention."

Actual music criticism in 2025: "Taylor Swift might not be *capable* of making a bad record"

The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 11d

Taylor Swift might not be capable of making a bad record, but “The Life of a Showgirl” is at least a little bit cringe. In today’s daily newsletter, our writers discuss their initial reactions to the new album.

Taylor Swift Sounds Stuck

From the daily newsletter: our writers react to “The Life of a Showgirl.”

www.newyorker.com

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W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 11d

I know there's a lot of political news, but it'd be nice to get some hard answers on why Obama chose Charli's "365" over "360" on last year's playlist

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W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 12d

21st century culture in one paragraph:

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W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 12d

Also the nepobaby angle!

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W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 12d

Hey, the "hamster nests" made my book as a signature work of post-9/11 downtown NYC.

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W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 13d

I don't know what it's called when something is beyond art but this is that thing

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W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 13d

Oh wow I'm just noticing now that it says HOLY SHIT if read upside down. Art is WILD

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W. David Marx @wdavidmarx.bsky.social · 13d

Dan Colen's "Holy Shit (2004–06)" truly embodies the Kantian ideal of art in its inherent mysteriousness: How could the artist have even come up with such an incredible idea, let alone executed it? It's a total inimitable enigma.

gregorg @greg.org · 13d

love this for him (peter brant)

Artologica aka Michele Banks @artologica.net · 13d

🤔

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