You'd probably say "that's an odd thing to say innit?". But bear with me on this one.
Truth be told, there is just too much content out there on the internet that does not serve a larger purpose than merely existing in the public eye. Art, Content, Media is supposed to instill inspiration or wonder not indifference.
The mass of content and art that is being shoved down our throats at all times is primarily designed to please an algorithm that wants to maximize the attention you give it and not serve any meaningful purpose to you as an individual.
What's a way to somewhat remedy this?
Content curation.
In an ideal world we'd have more people with taste and perspective of media and art to curate experiences, lists, blogs that contain content worth watching. I'm not claiming this is a novel idea, but its something we should do a lot more of on the mainstream internet.
If you think about it, up until the advent of hyper personalized content algorithms the media and art we consumed in the mainstream consciousness was in some form or another curation, be it by editors, media houses, television producers. This although not perfect, had so much more intent behind it. We need to bring this exact "intent" back. But this time give control to the everyday person on the internet, whom you'll trust more than a corporate media house.
This piece does not call for less creators, they are obviously the backbone of the whole "creator economy", but calls for more curation of content; careful, thoughtful and methodical picking of what to watch, read, or listen to, not just unconscious consumption.
So I'm gonna take my own advice and give you a list of ten works of media/art/books/music you really really should check out.
1. NASCAR and the Art of Revenge
This is one of my all time favorite videos to watch on youtube, it's so well made and has a great amount of watch value even if you know nothing about NASCAR or racing. Tells an awesome tale of revenge in seven parts using seven different examples that have happened in NASCAR over the years. You can so clearly see the love for the sport the author has and is a extremely well made video essay.
2. Love Exposure
Love exposure is a film that will probably make you very uncomfortable at the surface level, but if you decide to move past that it is a 4 hour long love story that deals with heavy topics like religious dogma, ultraviolence, sexual assault, perversion and its relation to society, and a million other topics. I'd recommend a devoted play through of the film without distractions. There is so much melodrama and overblown moments to induce this sort of state of trance. Million different trigger warnings, but a worth it watch.
3. To Live & Die in Space & Time
To Live & Die in Space & Time is an instrumental EP where the artists use the Saxophone, A Wind synthesizer, a Piano and few other electronics. The sounds are lush with slow tempos and unfussy and unrushed playing. This feels very ethereal and dreamlike and contains a depth of expression that is hard to quantify but easy to recognize.
4. The Sailor who fell from Grace with the Sea
The Sailor who Fell from Grace with the Sea is a novella about a group of 13 year old boys who reject the world as hypocritical and sentimental and train themselves in their image of "objectivity". The story picks speed when the mother of one of the boys falls in love with a Sailor. The book represents themes of dying masculinity, of Japanese identity after and during the Meiji period and much more.
5. Basquiat's Work Ethic
The video deconstructs what the creator believes to be a few key qualities of Jean Michel Basquiat as an artist and what the viewer can take away from it. The video has great production value and does an immaculate job covering the subject that is Basquait.
6. Long Season
Long Season is probably the best thing the Japanese Reggae dub Psychedelia Dream Pop band Fishmans have put out. It is a 35 minute long single composition. This album although not commercially very successful is a cult classic and there is nothing like it. There are parts of beautiful ambiance, old Japanese pop, dreamy nature, fun, quick pop rock, and folk. The production on this is soo good and is a very beautiful listen.
7. The Picture of Dorian Gray
Dorian Gray is the only novel Oscar Wilde ever wrote. This is a gothic horror classic fiction book with bits of dark academia. The book follows Dorian Gray and his "devil on the shoulder" Henry Wotton. The book deals with ideas of human psyche, Victorian society and its indulgences to an extent. The book has insanely good one liners and quotable lines. Heavily recommend reading Dorian Gray.
8. Hosianna Mantra
Popol Voh is a german krautrock, chamber music band. Hosianna Mantra is filled with dreamy, long, interconnected songs, that are repetitive and make you feel like youre in a cathedral listening to a choir. The album features instruments like the tamura, oboe, violin, harpsicord, piano. This is a rich musical experience and you're missing out on this if you're not listening to it already.
9. This Video has 74,121,966 Views
Tom Scott stands at the white cliffs of dover and delivers this gem of a video where he talks about the switch from an open web 2.0 in the early days to a more controlled version today, the very nature of digital creations, acceptance of entropy and the endurance of value despite impermanence. All while talking about a script that updates the title of his video.
10. Supergott (Speedy Mixes)
Speedy Mixes was a bubblegum dance pop record by a fictional bubblegum dance group Caramella Girls. Its a very fun hyper dance album and is probably the best thing to come out of Sweden (yeah not Zlatan or Volvo). This is a super fun and silly listen. Protip: Listen while working out.
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