Welcome to my new series “le tastemaker”, a personal revolt against microtrends, Mark Zuckerberg (and his corny gold chain, boxy tee rebrand), and the slow death of delight. I’m calling it ‘le tastemaker’ as a partial homage to the French, the original tastemakers, and an indicator of their dwindling cultural influence. Move over Frenchies - I’m taking over!!! I cannot stand another regurgitation of white flowy blouses, blue jeans, and red flats as peak fashion. Nor can I stand anymore nihilism than what already pervades our truly hellish timeline. If you’re a francophile, get off my page. I mean that.
Taste is the long, lost art of the 2010s and beyond. We have algorithms on Spotify spoon feeding us Taylor Swift’s diluted abstractions of other artists’ work like we are baby birds and I have had enough! Today I am here to say I AM NOT A BABY BIRD. I will not be unnecessarily outraged scrolling through TikTok because it keeps me on there longer anymore! I am overwhelmed and drained by WayFair furniture, Amazon recommendations and Alex Warren. I am here to say that I have taste and I am using it to give people unsolicited opinions.
This is why I will be treating this series like a tumblr page: think essays and books I’ve enjoyed reading, cool music, cool people and things that are just plain good!
Without further ado, here are my small joys in a stupid world for the week 7/31:
#1) TOMATO TOAST!!!
This is an imperative. We are in the thick of summer. You are LOSING time to bite into the momentary salvation that is toasted sourdough bread, with a large slather of mayo, thick sliced tomatoes and a motherlode of Maldon’s sea salt over top.
The days don’t stop coming, but knowing that I get to taste that perfect combo of salty acid every morning makes getting out of bed worth it.
#2) Socks by Black Country, New Road
This song is singular. It merges twang, folky string sounds with unexpectedly dissonant sax and orchestral build ups. Its like Dijon meets Big Thief meets Fiona Apple meets Radiohead. I’ve never heard anything like it and it completely delighted and distracted me for a too short 6 minutes. The whole album is amazing, though, so don’t stop there!
#3) Memoir of a Snail by Adam Elliot
Let me just start with a brief interjection: long form content is the antidote to the bleak, notification ridden, attention economy. Put your phone down and read a book. Go for a walk, delight in the shadows on the ground from the light shining over the leaves! I forget how much we as humans crave being tickled and how essential that is to surviving in a productivity hellscape. Consider this your formal reminder.
Which brings me to Memoir of a Snail. Without giving too much away, the story follows Grace, a clay misfit who wears a very strange looking snail hat, as she recounts her tragic life up until the present day. There are moments that rip your heart out, leaving you exposed to the horrible tragedy and grief of loss and loneliness and melancholy and just when you think you can’t take anymore, Adam Elliot shows you another pair of clay boobs.
It is tender and weird in a way that helps you hold the sad and I love it. I felt, and still feel, changed by the brilliant showcase of tragedy and resilience that binds us weak, sad little humans together. Watch it! Laugh! Cry! Go for a walk! Walk into the sea and never come back! I don’t know. But something about stop motion snails really captures the human condition (see: Marcel the Shell with Shoes On).
That’s it for now! Hang in there and see you next week.