Ep. 22: Mass Bushwick

This week, we address the critical levels of silliness we've detected in today's culture, from the debut of Drake's adorable alter ego Anita Max Wynn to the rise of cute-forward hypewear. We theorize as to why silly ass white boys are suddenly doing dances in crews, rediscover the influence of mid-2000s ringtone rap, and canonize a new generation of digital Merry Pranksters, including Joeyy, the Laundry Day boys, Sexyy Red, and others.

Links:
Image board
The birth of Anita Max Wynn
EvanDaGreat, Maxevasi0n, Laundry Day
JerseyyJoe, Hugo Hilaire, That's My Dawg
Zack Bia and Yeat getting silly
White guys dancing to afrobeats
Chief Keef style on TikTok: one, two, three, four, five, six
"Narcofashion" Polo trend in Mexico
Playboi Carti Is in His Hello Kitty Era on “EvilJ0rdan” – Hypebeast
Anonymous Club by Shayne Oliver Resort 2024 – Vogue Runway
Creature World
BustaMove Store
Kerwin Frost x McDonalds Merch
TisaKorean silly merch also McDonalds Sprite song and Soulja Boy tribute?
Dirty Decade: Rap Music and the U.S. South 1997–2007 – Matt Miller in Southern Spaces
'Laffy Taffy': So Light, So Sugary, So Downloadable – New York Times, 2006
Rondell Conway snap rap cover story for Vibe magazine, June 2006
Hurrikane on TikTok, Y2K Dallas style in Brazil, Dallas boogie style (2009) 
9 ways Soulja Boy revolutionized today's hip hop culture – Revolt
Nettspend on Know Your Meme
Timothee Chalamet's digital footprint
Glorb – The Bottom 2 (Official Music Video) (SpongeBob AI rap?) 

Full Episode Available on Patreon <3

In search of the zeitgeist, we make our way out west to discover the spirit of Los Angeles and its enigmatic hold on our collective imagination. We analyze its patchwork urbanism, its thrilling eroticism, and its enduring associations with novelty, maximalism, and existential dread. From midcentury novelists to Y2K socialites to nouveau riche influencers of the 2010s, we draw upon a wealth of references to make sense of the city's cultural milieu and distinctive sartorial character. BONUS: Ky Newman of Emergency Intercom joins us as an expert witness to discuss the reality of the LA content creator lifestyle, the future of influencing, and the city's fashion landscape. 

Links: [Subscribe on Patreon for full LA Bibliography Masterlist!!!] 
Image board
Emergency Intercom
Ky Newman on YouTube
Ky Newman on Instagram

In this episode, we open up the yellow Kanken of history and unpack one of the most influential archetypes of the 2010s: the art hoe. We rediscover the work of the Art Hoe Collective, revisit the Tumblr art historical canon from Matisse's cutouts to Van Gogh's sunflowers, and trace the aesthetic's propagation through musicians like Mac Demarco and Tyler the Creator. We also discuss the forms in which art hoeism lives on today, from TikTok's indie teens to zillennial art world professionals. 

Links:
Image board
Art Hoe Collective in the Dazed 100
#Arthoe: the teens who kickstarted a feminist art movement – The Guardian
Amandla Stenberg: Don't Cash Crop on my Cornrows
Rex Orange County - Loving is Easy [Official Video]
Claud - Wish You Were Gay [Official Video]

This week, we investigate the recent destigmatization of theater kid energy and its resurgence in mass culture, from musical-movie adaptations to the irresistible charms of improv-trained comedians. We discuss the peak of the NBC fandom, the timelessness of "difficult" leading ladies, star factories such as SNL and NYU Tisch, the ineffability of theatrical sexuality, the rise of craft and tryhardism, and more. 

Links:
Image board
Renee Rapp on Call Her Daddy
SNL 1975 (upcoming SNL movie)
Ariana Grande - yes, and? (Official Music Video)
Audio-Visual Cocktail Party by Steven Phillips-Horst for Spike Magazine (on late night shows)
Paloma Diamond is Winning Awards Season – Vulture
Power Bottoms: The NYU classmates behind the year’s most delightfully dumb comedy – Vulture
NYU brainstorming sesh for Bottoms
Tina Fey clip that came out after we recorded this episode?!

Find exclusive episodes here <3

Full Episode Available on Patreon <3

In this emergency roundtable, we drop everything to take a walk through the streets of Paris with John Galliano, discussing the viral Margiela show that brought on a fashioncore love surge the likes of which the world has seldom seen before. We talk about the broken down babydoll effect, the emerging field of cosmetic forensics, our love for steampunk, the body shop, fashion hunchbacks, merkinis, early career Adele, despair, theatricality, and more. We celebrate the termination of the "Year of the Girl," and herald the arrival of the "Year of the Lady" ... and the Tramp. 

Links:
Maison Margiela Spring 2024 Couture – Vogue Runway
Maison Margiela Artisanal Collection 2024 – Full Show on YouTube
Maison Margiela’s Couture Collection Will Go Down in Fashion History – Cathy Horyn for The Cut
Osman Ahmed's Instagram Caption
Interview with Luc Bruyère

To mog, or not to mog ... This week, we take a trip to the Mogwarts School of Profound Self-Improvement to check in on the next generation of looksmaxxers and their charismatic leader, Kareem Shami. We discuss key figures of the male beauty pantheon—male models Jordan Barrett, Chico Lachowski, and Sean O'Pry— and discover what they represent to young men today. We also dive into the dark history of looksmaxxing, from the Legend of Zyzz to the alleged crimes of orthotropic madman Dr. Mike Mew.

Links:
Image board
Young Men Seek Answers to an Age-Old Question: How to Be Hot – New York Times
Mogwarts Official Website
Kareem Shami aka @syrianpsycho on TikTok
Inside Jordan Barrett And Fernando Casablancas’s Celebration Of Love In Ibiza – Vogue
Dr. Mike Mew Tribunal – The Guardian
More Dr. Mew evidence – BBC
Mikhaila Peterson interview with Dr. Mike Mew
Weston A. Price research overview (see "Our Children" section)
The Legend of Zyzz video essay
"full looksmaxxing playist" on YouTube

Find exclusive episodes here <3

In our first episode of the new year, we discuss the infiltration of Mormon culture into the online mainstream, from the highly engaging TikToks of Nara Smith to the reign of the Stanley Cup and the alchemical innovations that fill them. Why are there so many Mormon influencers? Since when do Mormons have kind of cool style? How is Lucky Blue Smith eating so much every day? We dive into snarky subreddits, genealogical archives, and obscure theological sources to bring you the answers; Sam also introduces her Class to Crass spectrum to make sense of Mormon content. 

Links:
Image board
Nara Smith on TikTok
Taylor Frankie Paul on TikTok
Why So Many of Your Favorite Beauty Personalities Are Mormon – Allure
Influencer culture and LDS theology – The Christian Century
Polygamy Chic Tumblr
FLDS Hair Tutorial
Polygamist Hair – Huffington Post
Ex-Mormon Subreddit
Identify pioneer principles, apply them in modern times – LDS Church News
Pioneer Principles: Your Heritage – Latter-Day Soprano
Mormon history in the pioneer age: the mob assassination of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Wars, Brigham Young's wagon train
Mormonism and the color white – LDSLiving
The Granite Mountain Records Vault in Salt Lake City
Building Mormonism: History and Controversy in the Architecture of the Latter-day Saints – Art in America
Mormonism, Empathy, and Aesthetics – Beholding the Body
Toward a Mormon Aesthetic – Brigham Young University
Rational Faiths: Keeping Mormonism Weird

Full Episode Available on Patreon <3
Welcome to the Nymphies! In this inaugural ceremony, we honor 2023's greatest achievements in fashion and culture with awards from us at the Nymphet Alumni Academy of Arts and Sciences, including categories such as Biggest Fashion Faux Pas, Most Camp, and Best "Core," and culminating in the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. We offer exclusive access to our careful deliberation process, which features extended discussions of Chris Pine's street style, tooth gems, eco-terrorism, Keith Lee, and more.

This week, we investigate the emergence of TikTok Shop, exploring its bizarre interface and offerings as representative of a new era of e-commerce and consumer psychology. We discuss the redefinition of the “small business,” the vulgarity of commerce as content, and strategies of pathological guerilla marketing. We also take a stroll through the Shop ourselves to observe the “gyatt pajamas,” chamoy pickle kits, and pheromone oils that are sweeping the nation. 

TikTok’s official Shop press release

TikTok Shop in the New York Times

Chamoy pickle kit explainer

Dr. Candice Lin on Zheng Xiangxiang

FV Makeup foundation videos

China Too Cool: Vernacular Innovations and Aesthetic Discontinuity of China – Yijing Zhou

UX in China: More Is More, Super Apps, and Community - Yuan Qing Lim (Config 2022)

Livestream Shopping Is Not Going to Take Over E-Commerce – Forbes

Twitter as a Payment Processor – Financial Times

Indonesia’s TikTok Shop Ban – Financial Times

Teens Selling on TikTok Shop – NBC, Financial Times

TikTok Shop’s Snail Mucin Dupe Problem – Wired 

Ho ho ho!! We Three Queens arrive to you with our hearts full of cheer and our sleigh stocked with the greatest gift of all … knowledge!! In our very first Christmas special, we discuss the visual language of the holiday season, from the scourge of minimalist Christmas decor to the history of department store spectacles. Joined by ghosts of Christmas Past, including the original Coca-Cola-sanctioned Santa Claus, Thomas Kinkade, and Jack Skellington, we also make our predictions for theoretical Christmas aesthetics to come. 

Image board

Kim Kardashian’s Minimalist Christmas Decor

Minimalist Nativity Sets

Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas Art

Joan Didion on Thomas Kinkade

A History of the Department Store – BBC

History of Christmas Catalogs

Santa’s New York Roots – NYPL

Christmas Drawings for the Human Race (1890) – Thomas Nast

Haddon Sundblom and the Coca-Cola Santas

Why Hollywood films, Christmas music and jazz are so intertwined – Jazz FM

Brenda Lee’s Comeback – New York Times

Vogue’s Christmas Archive