Latest

Sep
20

Links on Culture for September

Beer cooler status symbols, wet putty cars, and how #oldmoney isn't very Old Money The last few months
4 min read
Sep
02

21st Century Culture: Boring or Static? (Or both?)

Whether the 21st century ecosystem of pop culture is suffering from stasis is a separate question from whether its output
5 min read
Aug
22

My New Book: Status and Culture

A sneak peek into my new book that links individuals’ fundamental desire for social status to the formation of taste,
4 min read
Jul
21

Notes on Our Tasteless Era

Recent journalism, criticism, and social media posts suggest a surge in bad taste across art, fashion, and media. What does
7 min read
Jun
23

Vanilla, Peaches, and All the Other Lesser Smells

The scientific search for fundamental human taste preferences is commendable but our "evolutionary instincts" can't explain
4 min read
Jun
08

The Sociology of John Mayer’s Outfit Guidance

John Mayer's "point-system" for balanced creative dress reveals a few key realities about how culture works
4 min read
May
26

Future Sounds: Cheap Gear and Easy Samples

Does the democratization of electronic music tools change how we hear the sounds? Like many others in the late 1990s,
5 min read
May
11

Art versus commerce in the NFT Era

With no more "art for art's sake" nor "selling out," we have landed upon
5 min read
Apr
28

Notes on The Nineties

Thoughts on Chuck Klosterman's The Nineties: A Book and the lived experience of the Nineties, a particular decade
6 min read
Apr
01

What is Culture? Part Seven: Summary and Bibliography

Wrapping everything up, with a few clarifications and some suggestions for further reading We started with a near-impossible mission: Define
3 min read