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At the end of each year I make a "predictions" list for the next. I used to work in trend forecasting, but only share this on my tiny private account for fun. I love tracking patterns across pop culture, which is generally categorized as brain rot. I find pop culture to be a pure resource for tracking anthropological trends & patterns. This is a great hobby. I have favorite paparazzi pictures like when Hillary Duff was proposed to & immediately went in for what looked like a blow job. That's a great one. Jonah Hill holding his iced coffee lid as the actual cup of coffee falls to the ground, also great & relatable. Similarly to reality TV, having an appreciation for pop culture in general deserves more credit.
Sep 19, 2024
I think I am on board with your assessment @ACTUALLYASLEEP
Four reasons:
* stylistic diversity: punk was born and commercialized at one end, hip hop at the other. We take this for granted today but at the time the jaggedness of going from the Clash to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, the Treacherous Three, and ESG (all of whom they collaborated with at one point) was exhilarating. The sheer confluence of everything was unprecedented.
* MTV as a cultural force: I mean, it was called Music Television 😉 and this was its finest hour. The assumption was that music mattered more than everything else, otherwise why would you watch it?
* legacy icons: Prince, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Bruce, Bowie. I could go on. You may not like them all but you’ve gotta respect the bodies of work over decades.
* the roots of indie culture were born then: bands like R.E.M., Husker Du, Replacements, the Smiths and a million others were blazing a trail (radio, live DIY tours, etc) that created “College Rock” and ultimately indie and here we are today staring in awe at what they made from scratch.
The Reagan era sucked to live through but a lot of great music came out of the struggle.
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Mar 14, 2025
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