The Weekly Roundup (week of 4.1)

juicy drama in the nyc media world

1. “Menswear is … a spindly glory hole that, if you dare jam your dick in, tickles for a second but mostly makes you feel broke and sad”

So this past week, a popular newsletter called

Deez Links

started a limited series called “Hate Reads”. It’s a collection of anonymously written screeds by prominent internet writers. They wrote with great ferocity when partaking in this endeavor and I’m assuming they wrote these pieces intending to dish scalding hot takes so provocative, so transgressive, that they demanded writing under a pseudonym.

What you ended up with were milquetoast takes we’ve heard a million times and indirect insults/transgressions against people within the NYC media scene. The article in question sneak disses

Blackbird Spyplane

in some absurd, cowardly attempt to smear his name, but like many people do in this day and age, uses political and moral scolding as a trojan horse for blatant careerism. The only thing worthy of a pseudonym, in this case, was for that reason. They attacked someone they probably knew in real life and didn’t want to face the music. Why? Who knows, all I know is that Jonah Weiner can actually flesh out ideas and cogent thoughts without having to rely on rhetorical tricks and wit to launder half-baked ideas and opinions through.

This particular essay also started on the wrong foot by erroneously suggesting that Bennie Safdie showed up to the independent film awards dressed in an earnest portrayal of his own fashion taste when he was very clearly in character as Dougie from The Curse. There are lots of other points I can make about this piece, namely that what the author truly hates is the mainstreaming and democratization of fashion. The internet made it accessible for everyone, and now the kids in the suburbs can catch on to trends a few months late, rather than years after the fact. Check out my comment on the article for a more full take. I did however agree with the last paragraph about people trending towards an “anti-algorithm” stance on taste, which I wrote about in my last essay several months ago…

What I will say about the “Hate Reads” series is that it has been very successful at driving engagement and discussion. How Long Gone even talked about it in their latest episode! Anyway, check out the article and see how much it makes your blood boil.

2. ‘Carefluencers’ Are Helping Older Loved Ones, and Posting About It

On TikTok and Instagram, people are sharing what it’s like to take care of relatives who have reached their final years.

There’s no limit to what people will do for money and attention is there? Read here.

3. The Buzz on Boat Shoes

The category of footwear created when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president is being reinterpreted and rediscovered.

If enough of you pay for this newsletter, one day I can afford the Visvim Wallace Deck shoes :) We’re a long long long way from there though. Read here.

4. GABBRIETTE BECHTEL IS ON THE HUNT

The throughline of influence between these stories and Gabbriette’s own aesthetic may be as sharp as her signature pencil-thin eyebrows, but she’s more than just the Internet’s favorite “goth girl.” Throughout every twist and turn, she’s moved between worlds with ease. From breaking out as the lead singer of Nasty Cherry — a girl group formed X Factor–style by Charli XCX complete with a Netflix docuseries — through to a pivot to viral cooking video queen when the pandemic broke up the band, she’s kept her more than 700,000 Instagram and 360,000 TikTok followers on lock.

Read here.