Strands of Genius: NOW: Cars are $50k Now (wtf), A Lot More Music, Quantizing
Plus: zef by die antwoord
WRITING FROM | Chattanooga, TN
WORKING ON | getting over colds
LOOKING AHEAD
Nov 5 - Dec 21 | Chattanooga, TN
Dec 21 - Jan 2 | Isla Mujeres, MX
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
Well, the weather finally turned and we both got sick. Boo. Not covid, just some respiratory illness we tend to call a cold, because we get them more in winter. This happens when the weather turns according to mature married women who tell stories, but it’s not because being cold makes you more likely to get ill, per se. They have done loads of research on that. The original thinking was to do with being inside more causing more transmission, although recent research suggests it’s because cold air mitigates our nose’s ability to to stop pathogens at a molecular level. Regardless, stay warm and eat/drink soup, now’s the time.
Also - happy thanksgiving! There is a sign on a church near us that currently says giving thanks isn’t a day it’s a lifestyle, which makes it sound like marketing for the next LuluemonlegginspumpkinspiceStanleyCrocs.
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
Erin&Eric, Maddie&Paulie, jaguar, Ren, Conor Price, Pete&Bas, leaves, hedonic barbells, resistance bands, resistance, habitus, zef, pizza, homemade soup, lasagne soup, Below Deck, Trainspotting2, Life of Brian, The Portable Door, vodka sauce.
Thanks for reading. If you didn’t hiya you won’t see this but we love you anyway.
:: THE LINKS ::
CARS ARE $50K NOW
CNN suggests that the next time you go to buy a car it could be a bit of a shock since the average new car price paid in USA is now $50k. That seems like a lot? Now, no one needs to buy a new car, they tend to immediately depreciate in value as ‘soon as you leave the lot’ but still this is an interesting example of how confusing the emerging economy will be. The middle class has been hollowed out, regardless of how you measure it, and that means that market is changing in response, moving the lower bands into value and pushing the upper bands into luxury. Bigger, more expensive cars make companies more money so they have decided to just make those. “You’d be hard pressed to find anything under $30,000 from an American automaker. They’re hacking away at models altogether, and basic trim levels, which are no longer the bulk of the business. They’re raising the floor prices.” (CNN)
MORE MUSIC PER DAY 2024 THAN IN THE YEAR 1989
“More music is being released today (in a single day) than was released in the calendar year of 1989”. It boggles the mind but is likely to spike up to approx infinity when all the AIs are unleashed. “More of that music is being done by artists themselves, meaning there's even more demand for music production software”. Infinite content, finite audience….
HT Alex @ Contagious (MusicRadar)
MEASURING THE UNMEASURABLE
Faris gave this 30min talk at the ARF conference on measuring/predicting creative effectiveness in the age of AI. He makes various jokes that don’t land as well as he hoped and also considers some of the epistemological potholes he sees in the predictive quantizing of creativity. So, something for everyone there. (Youtube)
Want to chat, comment, question, compliment?
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:: zef side:die antwoord ::
die antwoord are fascinating and an incredible example of how powerful creative ideas can carry in the modern world. The first time you saw one of their videos - especially the two peak bangers baby on fire and i fink you freaky - you knew something was HAPPENING. The new documentary, partially by their daughter, is art directed by Roger Ballen, a surrealist photographer who inspires their visual work. It’s all very weird and beautiful.
If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
rockON,
faris & rosie | your friends over at geniussteals.co
(still want more? @faris is still “tweeting” while @rosieyakob prefers instagram stories)
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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. We have a distributed team ourselves, an accounting team is based in Tennessee where our company is registered, our admin extraordinaire is based in Playa del Carmen, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)