photo manipulation & text by nacrowe

i think i am like a lot of PEOPLE in that i am constantly waking up in a MODERN WORLD i dont recognize and having a DIFFICULT TIME making heads or tails of, especially when it comes to TECHNOLOGY.  im in BUSINESS SCHOOL at the moment and try as i might to comprehend the PRACTICAL ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS as they portend to RELATED ISSUES surrounding PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, MARKETING, MANUFACTURING and SUPPLY CHAIN CONCERNS, i tend to feel like i am in a PERENNIAL GAME of catch up.

and i dont believe i am ALONE in that.  i think EVERYONE currently is coming to grips with an UNKNOWN FUTURE populated by the UNFORESEEN CONSEQUENCES of NOVEL TECHNOLOGIES like GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.  while driving to work i try to listen to VARIOUS PODCASTS including DECODER WITH NILAY PATEL, hosted by the NOTED THE VERGE FOUNDER and EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.  NILAY PATEL engages in fairly ROBUST and INFORMATIVE DISCUSSIONS with BUSINESS LEADERS and THOUGHTFUL ACADEMICS regarding the CULTURAL and ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS of EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES and their potential downstream effects on both the investor class and working stiffs like me.  i dont look at him as an ORACLE, but an INFORMED and THOUGHTFUL GUIDE on how to interpret what i am amassing otherwise on my own.

and knowing how these PEOPLE think is half the battle in BUSINESS SCHOOL to navigating CONVERSATIONS that as a FORMER SECONDARY TEACHER i have trouble on an EMOTIONAL LEVEL conducting with PEERS and PROFESSORS that seem DISCONNECTED from the GROUND-LEVEL REPERCUSSIONS of the ECONOMIC MOVES they are advocating, which often feel HEARTLESS and intensely CUTTHROAT out of CONTEXT.

so i am finding DECODER immensely HELPFUL and suggest it for ANYONE interested in SIMILAR TOPICS regarding the seemingly FRAUGHT INTERSECTION of CULTURE, BUSINESS and TECHNOLOGY.

immediately after college i worked part-time at a local NOW-DEFUNCT, CORPORATE, BIG-BOX RETAILER of all-things BOOKS, DVDs, CDs and OVERPRICED COFFEE and i had this coworker that was just the BIGGEST MUSIC SNOB ive ever met.  its FUNNY to me because i had a RADIO SHOW in college and knew PEOPLE that were very PASSIONATE about the ARTS, but the VIBE there was always one of wanting to share and learn about MUSIC.  it was like a SHARED OBSESSION.  but this DUDE was different.  it was my first REAL INTERACTION with SOMEONE that saw MUSIC as a CUDGEL that divided them from OTHERS. and the INDEPENDENT OTHER MUSIC RECORD SHOP in the EAST VILLAGE was his MECCA.  just thinking about the BANDS he championed are a VERITABLE WHOS-WHO of the ACTS promoted at OTHER MUSIC through the years such as STEREOLAB, ANIMAL COLLECTIVE, BROADCAST, APHEX TWIN, THE FLAMING LIPS, GALAXIE 500, FENNEZS, THE MAGNETIC FIELDS, CORNELIUS, NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL and so on.

now id visited OTHER MUSIC back in the day, especially when i was en route to the LEGENDARY VIDEO DESTINATION of KIM'S UNDERGROUND in nearby ST MARKS PLACE (which i had no idea was where the OTHER MUSIC OWNERS originally worked).  now i went to middle school in NIGERIA and have been FAMILIAR with some NOTABLE ACTS like FELA KUTI (along with his SONS FEMI and SEAN), LAGBAJA and KING SUNNY ADÉ, but i remember going in there and talking to a CLERK who was KNOWLEDGABLE on the SUBJECT and led me to an OBSCURE AFROBEAT COMPILATION that i still have.  i didnt find them PRETENTIOUS or SNOOTY in the least, just ridiculously WELL-INFORMED and PASSIONATE about sharing their OBSESSION, sort of like my PEERS at the RADIO STATION.

what is INTERESTING to me about the OTHER MUSIC (FACTORY 25, 2019) DOCUMENTARY, which highlights the SIGNIFICANT cultural influence the SHOP maintained within the GREATER NEW YORK CITY ARTS COMMUNITY and the VOID left by its closing in 2016, is that sense of FACE-TO-FACE, TACTILE INTERACTION and INTERPERSONAL CONNECTION that has been lost in our DIGITAL ECONOMY.  ONLINE CHATROOMS and REDDIT FORUMS have taken the place of ACTUAL CONVERSATION that used to take place at BRICK AND MORTER VENUES such as small INDEPENDENT BOOK STORES, RECORD STORES and the like.  you can see that now in the ESTRANGEMENT and ISOLATION the UNITED STATES faces as ALGORITHMICALLY-ENABLED SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS have completely dominated the public space for DISCUSSION about a myriad of issues, from ARTS and CULTURE to POLITICS.  the loss of OTHER MUSIC to the changing SPENDING HABITS of MUSIC CONSUMERS very much equates to the loss of a COMMUNITY.  and that CAUSAL OUTCOME is on full display in this DOCUMENTARY as attested by the throng of CELEBRATED MUSICIANS that participated in INTERVIEWS for this FILM, namely including the likes of  COMPOSER WILLIAM BASINSKI and CONTEMPORARY MUSICIANS KEIGO OYAMADA (CORNELIUS), JD SAMSON (LE TIGRE), JAMES CHANCE (THE CONTORTIONS), TUNDE ADEBIMPE (TV ON THE RADIO), MARTIN GORE (DEPECHE MODE), STUART BRAITHWAITE (MOGWAI), DEAN WAREHAM (GALAXIE 500), BRIAN CHASE (THE YEAH YEAH YEAHS), EZRA KOENIG (VAMPIRE WEEKEND), DANIEL KESSLER (INTERPOL), MATT BERNINGER (THE NATIONAL), REGINA SPEKTOR and DAVE PORTNER, NOAH LENNOX and BRIAN WEITZ of ANIMAL COLLECTIVE, as well as ACTORS JASON SCHWARTZMAN and BENICIO DEL TORO.

MATT BERNINGER of THE NATIONAL has a particularly POIGNANT QUIP in the DOCUMENTARY when he states that "when art gets dumber, when movies get dumber, when tv gets dumber, i think we all get dumber and meaner and shittier."  AMEN TO THAT.  the OWNERS of OTHER MUSIC wanted to be the CONSCIOUS ALTERNATIVE to TOWER RECORDS (who were literally across the street), VIRGIN MEGASTORE, CIRCUIT CITY, J&R MUSIC WORLD, SAM GOODY, BEST BUY and all the other MAJOR PLAYERS in RETAIL at the time, specializing in UNDERGROUND and ESOTERIC MUSIC.  that point of DIFFERENTIATION was their BUSINESS PLAN, their VALUE PROPOSITION, their very REASON for BEING.  and the COMMUNITY that embraced such, which yeah it included ASSHOLES like my FORMER COWORKER, molded itself in their MODEL.  i never personally felt from EXPERIENCE the PEOPLE who worked there were ELITIST.  just PASSIONATE, CURIOUS and beyond KNOWLEDGABLE.  OTHER MUSIC was basically a PUBLIC RESOURCE.  it was like a CULTURAL INSTITUTION that embodied a body of KNOWLEDGE that once dissipated into the ether after its closing was not REPLACABLE.  i remember returning from a two-year PEACE CORPS stint in ALBANIA to find that the store was gone.

still a BUMMER.  but such is CAPITALISM.

i read JON KRAKAUER's INTO THIN AIR: A PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF THE MT. EVEREST DISASTER (VILLARD, 1997) BOOK as part of a BUSINESS SCHOOL COURSE dealing with ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, specifically the COMPLEX, INTERPERSONAL DYNAMICS related to LEADERSHIP and the DECISION-MAKING PROCESS on behalf of a GROUP.  the HUBRIS and BOTCHED PROCESS that tragically resulted in eight DEATHS in 1996 on MT. EVEREST by two EXPEDITION COMPANIES (ADVENTURE CONSULTANTS and MOUNTAIN MADNESS) led respectively by ROB HALL and SCOTT FISCHER (both who likewise PERISHED) was an EXTREME CASE STUDY for similar HIERARCHAL DECISION-MAKING SCENARIOS revolving around EXECUTIVES in the CORPORATE WORLD and the PSYCHOLOGICAL HOLD such have over their CONSTITUENTS.

the STORY is TRAGIC, but those INTERPERSONAL DYNAMICS are a FASCINATING TOPIC that is RELEVANT to COUNTLESS WORKPLACE SITUATIONS with ASYMMETRICAL POWER DYNAMICS. the SUMMIT OF MT. EVEREST is TREACHEROUS with DRAMATIC, UNEXPECTED WEATHER SHIFTS leaving CLIMBERS VULNERABLE nearly at all times throughout the trek.  so being with a KNOWLEDGABLE GUIDE who understands the RISKS involved and when turning back is the CORRECT CALL is literally a matter of LIFE and DEATH in this EXTREME ENVIRONMENT.  with the COMPANIES headed by HALL and FISCHER there were ACTUAL GUARANTEES of making it to the top with a customer-base that was no physically up to snuff.  their CONFIDENCE being so HIGH, they didnt bring the ADEQUATE EQUIPMENT that would drive up COSTS as well as add more WEIGHT to the haul.  you can probably see where this is going.  anything can happen at the SUMMIT and those EXTRA THINGS like OXYGEN TANKS, PROPER CLOTHING and LONG-RAGE WALKIE TALKIES are what will increase the chance of SURVIVAL should you be stuck up there near the SUMMIT for an UNANTICIPATED, EXTENDED PERIOD of time.  HALL and FISCHER basically pushed the ISSUE, as they had done with SUCCESS on PREVIOUS OUTINGS with their RESPECTIVE COMPANIES, and ultimate PAID THE PRICE along with those entrusted in their care.  both were in essence blinded by their PAST SUCCESS and naively UNPREPARED for possible CONTINGENCIES that they openly DISREGARDED, an UNFORTUNATE and TRAGIC HUBRIS to say the least.

where is the RESPONSIBILITY?  does any of it lie with the CONSUMERS of HALL and FISCHER who were sold an UNREALISTIC EXPECTATION of traversing the SUMMIT OF MT. EVEREST despite not being in PHYSICAL FIT SHAPE or armed with the PROPER SURVIVAL KNOW-HOW of most EXPERIENCED MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS?  should they have known better?  its DIFFICULT to assess BLAME because it feels like all involved are CULPABLE.  and the UNWILLINGNESS to question AUTHORITY based on an ASYMMETRY of EXPERIENCE, HIERARCHY, KNOWLEDGE and being FINANCIALLY, PERSONALLY and PROFESSIONALLY tied to a certain UNREALISTIC OUTCOME IMPERILED and even DOOMED many in that expedition. 

the PARALLELS to an EVERYDAY WORKING ENVIRONMENT where the RISKS are much less EXTREME, but no less DEAR nonetheless in terms of FINANCIAL CONSEQUENCES, are OBVIOUS.  refusing to say something when you see something puts EVERYONE, even the LEADERSHIP, at RISK.  and business is a STRUCTURE  or ORGANIZATION created in a sense to manage RISK.  and if the CULTURE does not permit INFORMATION traveling in a BOTTOM-UP DIRECTION then pushing the ISSUE so to speak is even more IMPERATIVE and CRITICAL.  KRAKAUER was a member of the expedition and saw people raise issues with HALL and FISCHER only to be rebuffed outright.  that information if properly handled could have saved lives.

like i said before, its an INTRIGUING set of CIRCUMSTANCES from an ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR PERSPECTIVE.  i find myself thinking of these ISSUES every time i go to work or think about my former teaching career and questioning my own CULPABILITY in ultimately acquiescing to TERRIBLE PLANS made by ADMINISTRATIONS that negatively affected STUDENT OUTCOMES.  no doubt i had a LEARNED HELPLESSNESS based on many of the same FACTORS (HIERARCHY, EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE, FINANCES, etc) that affect my BEHAVIOR.  what i could have done differently is SOMETHING i still think about long after with no EASY ANSWERS, even in retrospect.

INTO THIN AIR is a CONSEQUENTIAL BOOK that goes well beyond its IMMEDIATE SUBJECT MATTER in MOUNTAINEERING and deep dives into the PSYCHOLOGY of GROUP DYNAMICS and how such lead us to our own PERIL despite our better COLLECTIVE INTENTIONS.  most definitely a BOOK worth checking out.

i remember a few weeks after i moved to YOKOHAMA in the summer of 2015 i made the MUCH-ANTICIPATED, SHORT TREK over to the SHIBUYA SECTION of TOKYO and found their flagship BEHEMOTH TOWER RECORDS LOCATION in all its NINE-STORY GLORY.  it was a little less than a decade since they had CLOSED their stateside doors in 2006 and felt very much like a WELCOME BLAST FROM THE PAST.  almost immediately i came to realize how much had been LOST in the INTERIM and was BEYOND NOSTALGIA into a SLIGHT FEELING of PTSD. 

when i lived in WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS during my freshman and sophomore years of boarding school, my EMOTIONAL, SPIRITUAL and PSYCHOLOGICAL RESPITE was talking to the KNOWLEDGEABLE CLERKS at the nearby INDEPENDENT GREENFIELD RECORDS.  same with the DIMPLE RECORDS LOCATION in CITRUS HEIGHTS during my senior year in CALIFORNIA.  my junior year in KUWAIT was TERRIBLE, probably because they didnt have a RECORD STORE (plus everything would have been BANNED regardless).  it was at these LOCAL SHOPS that assisted me in my EXPLORATION of TRIP HOP, ALTERNATIVE METAL, DREAM POP, BEBOP JAZZ, POST PUNK, AMBIENT MUSIC, PSYCH ROCK, MINIMALISM, SHOEGAZE, KRAUTROCK, DEATH METAL and CLASSIC HIP HOP during my years where i was forming my TASTES and SELF-IDENTITY.  even now in NEW JERSEY there is a whole slew of INDEPENDENT RECORD STORES like STATION 1 BOOKS AND MUSIC in POMPTON LAKES, VINYL ADDICTION in NORTH ARLIINGTON, REVILLA GROOVES AND GEAR in MILLTOWN and the LONGSTANDING PREX in PRINCETON that cater to a COMMUNITY and actively support one another, never mind GENERATION RECORDS in GREENWICH VILLAGE, ACADEMY RECORDS in NEARBY BROOKLYN and the much BELOVED, long-since DEPARTED NYC INSTITUTIONS like KIM'S VIDEO, BLEEKER BOB'S and OTHER MUSIC.  returning to NEW JERSEY, the VOID left by the CLOSING of VINTAGE VINYL of FORDS in 2021, arguably the BEST RECORD STORE in the state which effectively serviced the NEARBY RUTGERS UNIVERSITY CROWD, is something very much still felt years later.  well beyond just the INVENTORY, the COMMUNITY has largely it PROMOTED has DISSIPATED in the AFTERMATH.

this is a whole longwinded way of saying that i understand the VOID left when an IMPACTFUL and much-BELOVED CULTURAL INSTITUTION like a RECORD STORE goes OUT OF BUSINESS, as was the case with SAN FRANCISCO's LONG-STANDING AQUARIUS RECORDS in 2016.  not only were they at the LITERAL INTERSECTION of countless AVANT-GARDE CULTURAL MOVEMENTS going back to its FOUNDING in 1969, from PROG ROCK to KRAUTROCK to PUNK ROCK and beyond, but they also were the CULTURAL AMBASSADORS of such.  the recent DOCUMENTARY IT CAME FROM AQUARIUS RECORDS (THE SCOURGE PRODUCTIONS, 2022) follows the HISTORY and IMPACT of the STORE, throughout its VARIOUS INCARNATIONS, GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS and lineage of OWNERS (in a TRADITION of passing such down from EMPLOYEE to EMPLOYEE).  the through line is an ARTISTIC COMMITMENT to the promotion of INDEPENDENT ARTISTS as curated throughout their STORE, which reached an apex with their MUCH-CITED and RESPECTED E-MAIL NEWSLETTER which LOVINGLY promoted ARTISTS with REVIEWS and RECOMMENDATIONS. 

a sort of PITCHFORK before such existed.

the FILM begins with the INNER ORBIT of that COMMUNITY, the OWNERS and FORMER EMPLOYEES, and then ASTUTELY expands to the MUSIC COMMUNITY they served and finally the other STORES INTERNATIONALLY that NETWORKED with them and took their E-MAIL NEWSLETTER as a VERITABLE GODSEND of what NEW RELEASES were worth ORDERING. 

the PROBLEM is that the MARKET had SHIFTED.

i feel like IT CAME FROM AQUARIUS RECORDS is part of a RECENT TRADITION of DOCUMENTARIES that look back at what has been DISCARDED and LOST to HISTORY with the CONTINUOUS forward momentum of MODERN TECHNOLOGY making our MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS evermore POWERFUL yet paradoxically ISOLATING us from each other along that same EXPONENTIAL CURVE.  yes, it is TRUE that these types of STORES literally at their most BASIC sold highly OBSCURE VINYL RECORDS to a local NICHE AUDIENCE.  that was their BUSINESS PLAN.  their function to the SOCIETY though was not as an ELEVATED CULTURAL GATEKEEPER (like say PITCHFORK), but rather a COMMUNITY RESOURCE and MUCH-NEEDED MEETING-PLACE where LIKE-MINDED INDIVIDUALS could talk about FILM, MUSIC, ART and IDEAS with KNOWLEDGABLE STAFF who could turn them on to RECORDING ARTISTS hitherto UNKNOWN and UNDER-APPRECIATED.  that sort of EYE-TO-EYE, TANGIBLE INTERACTION cannot be REPLICATED by a LOGARITHMICALLY-GENERATED PLAYLIST or ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.  that HUMAN TOUCH and CAPACITY for CONNECTION is what made AQUARIUS RECORDS such a BELOVED CULTURAL INSTITUTION for decades and is why it is so SORELY-MISSED by the BROADER BAY AREA COMMUNITY.

the FILM mentions but doesnt dive into the CHANGING LOCAL DEMOGRAPHICS and POLITICS of GENTRIFICATION APPARENT in SAN FRANCISCO, much as it also is in NYC, that spurred the FINANCIAL DECLINE of AQUARIUS RECORDS, only to state that with CHANGE comes OPPORTUNITY and that the STORE ran its course.  but that doesnt mean that such CHANGE is for the BETTER.  its all about what we VALUE as a COMMUNITY.  obviously JAPAN places a PREMIUM on INSTITUTIONS like TOWER RECORDS and the PHYSICAL MANUFACTURING, DISTRIBUTING and SELLING of PHYSICAL MEDIA, and is why they have LEGAL POLICIES that ensure such can persist.  if only AMERICANS had such CONSENSUS and FAR-RANGING VISION.  maybe then we wouldnt be SLAVES to APPLE, SPOTIFY and the like.

IT CAME FROM AQUARIUS RECORDS is an ESSENTIAL FILM and a topic of PARAMOUNT CULTURAL and ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE.  highly recommended.

im kind of fascinated by this movie.  even just the fact that it exists.

on one level the shamelessly UNAPOLOGETIC PRODUCT PLACEMENT HAGIOGRAPHY that is AIR (AMAZON MGM, 2023) is basically the ultimate UNDERDOG STORY of how an UNDERPERFORMING (and patently UNCOOL) NIKE BRAND successfully REPOSITIONED itself against COMPETITORS CONVERSE and ADIDAS in the mid 1980s.   NIKE was a BASIC RUNNING SHOE company POPULAR at colleges that through the UNLIKELY PURSUANCE of a MAJOR SHOE DEAL with newly drafted ROOKIE BASKETBALL PLAYER MICHAEL JORDAN utterly transformed itself and the FUNDAMENTAL TRAJECTORY of SPORTS HISTORY, including its INTERPLAY with COMMERCE and CULTURE to date.  it is not hyperbole to state that this SPECIFIC DEAL made NIKE an absolute BEHEMOTH in the ATHLETIC FOOTWEAR and APPAREL MARKET, effectively dominating the CONVERSATION and influencing how ATHLETES are deified in the BROADER CULTURE for decades.  so i get that WHOLE PERSPECTIVE.

but on another level this film is more about LABOR EXPLOITATION and how the SHOE and APPAREL INDUSTRY caved in to the CONTRACT DEMANDS JORDAN out of sheer GREED, whose MOTHER DELORIS fought for him to get a PERCENTAGE of all future GLOBAL SALES of anything produced by NIKE with his name on it.  such was a TRANSFORMATIONAL AGREEMENT was an ABSOLUTE GAME-CHANGER that all SUBSEQUENT ATHLETES have benefited from.  in fact, witnessing the process that the JORDAN family went through when being courted by firms is one of the more INTRIGUING ASPECTS of the film, especially regarding CONVERSE who at the time had sponsored both LARRY BIRD and MAGIC JOHNSON.  they essentially viewed JORDAN as being on that tier of ATHLETICISM such that he was WORTHY of wearing their SHOES.  NIKE in turn had a PITCH that JORDAN was a SINGULAR ATHLETE destined for GREATNESS and that his PERSONALIZED LINE of PERFORMANCE BASKETBALL SHOES, the AIR JORDAN MODEL, should reflect such.  they were SPECIAL because he wore them, not the other way around as had been the PITCH from CONVERSE and ADIDAS.  that REALIGNMENT of the RELATIONSHIP, both in STYLE and SUBSTANCE, can be seen in the personalized SIGNATURE SNEAKERS of COUNTLESS BASKETBALL PLAYERS in the intervening years since on various BRANDS, such as KOBE BRYANT (NIKE / ADIDAS), LEBRON JAMES (NIKE), ALLEN IVERSON (REEBOK), LAMELO BALL (PUMA), DAMIAN LILLARD (ADIDAS), CHRIS PAUL (JORDAN BRAND), STEPHEN CURRY (UNDER ARMOUR), GRANT HILL (FILA), KAWHI LEONARD (NEW BALANCE), JA MORANT (NIKE), DWAYNE WADE (JORDAN BRAND / LI-NING), DERRICK ROSE (ADIDAS), AARON GORDON (361 DEGREES), CHARLES BARKLEY (NIKE), JAYSON TATUM (JORDAN BRAND), SHAQUILLE O'NEIL (REEBOK), SCOOT HENDERSON (PUMA), KLAY THOMPSON (ANTA), ZION WILLIAMSON (JORDAN BRAND), DONOVAN MITCHELL (ADIDAS), KYRIE IRVING (NIKE / ANTA), RUSSELL WESTBROOK (JORDAN BRAND), KEVIN DURANT (NIKE), ATHONY EDWARDS (ADIDAS), PAUL GEORGE (NIKE), SPENCER DINWIDDIE (361 DEGREES), JAMES HARDEN (ADIDAS), SHAWN KEMP (REEBOK), GORDON HAYWARD (ANTA), DEVIN BOOKER (NIKE), TRAE YOUNG (ADIDAS), LUCA DONCIC (JORDAN BRAND) and GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO (NIKE) among others.  and that is before even mentioning the HUGE EXPANSION into SPONSORED ENTERTAINERS in the intervening years including PHARRELL WILLIAMS (ADIDAS / LOUS VUITTON), KANYE WEST (NIKE / ADIDAS), RIHANNA (PUMA), KENDRICK LAMAR (CONVERSE), TRAVIS SCOTT (NIKE), CARDI B (REEBOK), DONALD GLOBER (NEW BALANCE), MEGAN THEE STALLION (NIKE), SELENA GOMEZ (PUMA), BILLIE EILISH (NIKE), J BALVIN (JORDAN BRAND), TYLER THE CREATOR (CONVERSE), BEYONCE (ADIDAS), GIGI HADID (REEBOK), BAD BUNNY (ADIDAS), DUA LIPA (PUMA), PUSHA T (ADIDAS) and DRAKE (NIKE).

the film is supposedly based on NIKE CO-FOUNDER PHIL KNIGHT's memoir SHOE DOG (SCRIBNER, 2016), which is INTERESTING since such was explicitly about his pre-JORDAN EXPERIENCE with the company, building it up gradually from a REGIONAL ASICS IMPORTER and DISTRIBUTOR for their ONITSUKA BRAND called BLUE RIBBON SPORTS to a PRIVATE, then PUBLICLY-TRADED company that specialized in RUNNING SHOES and APPAREL.  the book recounts how FRAUGHT those early years were, both from a LEGAL and a FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE.  the doubling down, tripling down, quadrupling down on DEBT in order for the firm to SURVIVE just showcases how IMPERFECT a PROCESS it is building a company to even a NOMINAL PRESENCE in a COMPETITIVE INDUSTRY and how UNSTEADY and PRECARIOUS such as a POSITION is.  it really is amazing that this "adaptation" of sorts addresses the one thing that is omitted from SHOE DOG, which is the JORDAN DEAL and the financial windfall that came with it.  obviously that NARRATIVE centers around the efforts of his MARKETING EXECUTIVES, namely SONNY VACCARO, and not KNIGHT himself, who was a MINOR (if not highly CONSEQUENTIAL) PARTICIPANT.  given the ELEVATED STATUS of the AIR JORDAN and many of its later ITERATIONS in POPULAR CULTURE, where such is commonly fetishized as a LUXURY item INDEPENDENT of its former function as an OUTDATED PERFORMANCE BASKETBALL SNEAKER, it makes total sense why the book was optioned to speak on an ISSUE it never addressed in print.

which is CRAZY.  entertaining film from both a CINEMATIC and a strictly BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE.  i wonder how much of it is actually TRUE.

it is FASCINATING to consider BUSINESSES and INDUSTRIES whose INNOVATIONS have transformed and put a LONG-LASTING stamp on CULTURE as we know it and take completely for granted.  i immediately think of MASSIVE, ICONIC INDUSTRIES related to TRAVEL (trains, planes and automobiles), CONSUMER GOODS (television, electric kitchen appliances, etc.), CINEMA and INFRASTRUCTURE (highways, bridges, tunnels) that largely defined MODERNITY in a post-WORLD WAR II AMERICA and its then-BOOMING economy. 


what WRITER IAN S. PORT (VILLAGE VOICE, ROLLING STONE) in his FANTASTIC THE BIRTH OF LOUD: LEO FENDER, LES PAUL, AND THE GUITAR PIONEERING RIVALRY THAT SHAPED ROCK 'N' ROLL (SCRIBNER, 2019) book is make a COMPELLING argument for the inclusion of the SOLIDBODY ELECTRIC GUITAR, CONCEIVED, MANUFACTURED and MARKETED in the 1940s along such DEFINING INNOVATIONS.  chief among said reasoning is that the advent of such, epitomized by the rivalry of MANUFACTURERS FENDER and GIBSON, whose PRODUCT INNOVATIONS regarding such still underpin MUSIC CULTURE more than 75 years later.  but what i find truly CAPTIVATING is not how these INSTRUMENTS and PRODUCTS influenced CONTEMPORARY music, but rather how their birth was in a totally different pre-ROCK N ROLL CULTURAL ERA and that, as a BUSINESS PROPOSITION, were attempts at addressing the needs and wants of a cadre of MUSICIANS DIFFERENT and FOREIGN to what we may now recognize.  FENDER MODELS like the TELECASTER and STRATOCASTER, as well as the GIBSON LES PAUL and SG MODELS, long sustaining icons of MODERN CULTURE through MULTIPLE generations to the PRESENT, are counterintuitively ANACHRONISMS from an absolutely BYGONE era.

and i think that last part is lost on people.  for all intents and purposes, those first few MASS-PRODUCED SOLIDBODY GUITARS ENGINEERED, MARKETED and MANUFACTURED primarily by FENDER and GIBSON (although GRETSCH, DANELECTRO, GUILD, RICKENBACKER, EPIPHONE, D'ANGELICO, HARMONY and KAY among others as well) have varied differently in terms of specs since their inception, which is beyond REMARKABLE.  the INDUSTRY DISRUPTOR was absolutely LEO FENDER and his SMALL operation out of SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA who built MODERATELY-PRICED INSTRUMENTS with a MODULAR DESIGN (neck and body were joined via screws) aimed initially at both HOBBYIST and WORKING PROFESSIONAL SEGMENTS.  this was in contrast to GIBSON, who made their REFINED LES PAUL MODEL aimed exclusively at PROFESSIONALS in response to the success of the relatively SPARE and BASIC TELECASTER MODEL, who chose to make SOLID-BODIED INSTRUMENTS that were in the tradition of their HOLLOW-BODIED ACOUSTIC MODELS that had a decidedly OLD-WORLD EUROPEAN ARTISAN and LUTHIER tradition about them.  a MODULAR SYSTEM OF PRODUCTION like FENDER's was in essence an insult to their heritage.  the two companies couldnt be more different in terms of PRODUCTION PHILOSOPHY or the SEGMENTS they went after.  

this difference brought their SOLID-BODIED INSTRUMENTS on SEPARATE paths.  the TELECASTER, and its follow-up answer to the LES PAUL - the likewise CURVY and more ERGONOMICALLY-DESIGNED STRATOCASTER, with its more MODEST pricing were wildly SUCCESSFUL and available to all levels of PLAYERS while the ICONIC LES PAUL SINGLE CUTAWAY MODEL died out in 1960 after an eight-year run due to DWINDLING sales.  it was just too EXPENSIVE for the market at that point.

it was only after the BRITISH INVASION (which interestingly via THE BEATLES was an initial boom for ORANGE COUNTY CROSSTOWN RIVAL RICKENBACKER) garnered AMERICAN POPULAR INTEREST in RHTHYM & BLUES (i.e. ROCK N ROLL).  subsequently FORMER YARDBIRDS GUITARIST ERIC CLAPTON resurrecting the LES PAUL MODEL in the eyes of the AMERICAN CONSUMER with the sounds he generated on the debut BLUES BREAKERS WITH ERIC CLAPTON (DECCA, 1966) album by JOHN MAYALL & THE BLUES BREAKERS.  for UPCOMING BRITISH GUITARISTS like ROBERT FRIPP, JIMMY PAGE and the like the LES PAUL instantaneously became de rigeur for SUSTAIN, TOUCH-SENSITIVITY and just SHEER TONE.  the FENDER MODELS in their eyes were considered toys until a then-UNKNOWN JIMMY HENDRIX blew away CREAM while sitting in with them at an early 1966 gig and made everyone reconsider such.  in essence several SEMINAL AMERICAN and BRITISH BLUES-based ROCK N ROLL MUSICIANS created in the PUBLIC CONSCIOUSNESS both brands as valid options for EXPRESSIVE sonic artistry at LOUD volumes.  gone were the days of the ACOUSTIC GUITAR as an ACCOMPANYING INSTRUMENT, it now held sway on center stage.

given that history, LEO FENDER originally geared his GUITARS and AMPLIFIERS towards TOURING COUNTRY MUSICIANS of the 1940s from the SOUTHWEST (who were likewise entertaining recent CALIFORNIA IMMIGRANTS from the DUST BOWL) who had reliability and feedback issues.  along with PAUL BIGSBY, who LEO FENDER based some of his early MODELS on his template upon, they did such well at a COMPETITIVE price point.  GIBSON saw their DEMOGRAPHIC in the JAZZ and BIG BAND music of post-war CROONERS like BING CROSBY and FRANK SINATRA.  LES PAUL himself was an AMBITIOUS MUSICIAN, COMPOSER and AUDIO ENGINEER whose work with second-wife MARY FORD gave him the profile to have GIBSON wish to attach his name to their already designed PRODUCT.  that the sonic needs of that GENERATION of POST-WAR MUSICIANS found a sanctuary in the CULTURE and GENERATIONS of MUSICIANS thereafter is EXTRAORDINARY to the point of being UNBELIEVABLE.

its a narrative about a SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS PROPOSITION that is UNRIVALED in my estimation.  none of the individual MAJOR PLAYERS, not LEO FENDER or LES PAUL or TED MCCARTY or DON RANDALL or PAUL BIGSBY or SETH LOVER had any clue about how said BUSINESS DECISIONS and PRODUCT INNOVATIONS made in a specific HISTORICAL and CULTURAL CONTEXT to address a nominally SMALL MARKET SEGMENT would blossom and reverberate down the decades and in effect transform the sound of AMERICAN music through the rest of the 20th century and well into the next.

the POIGNANT graphic novel OIL AND WATER (FANTAGRAPHICS, 2011) which examines the CUMULATIVE DESTRUCTION of both HURRICANE KATRINA in 2005 and the DEEPWATER HORIZON oil spill in 2010 on the ECONOMY, ECOSYSTEM and WAY-OF-LIFE of NEW ORLEANS and the surrounding marshes and wetlands of the bayou is a COLLABORATIVE effort between JOURNALIST STEVE DUIN of THE OREGONIAN and ILLUSTRATOR SHANNON WHEELER of THE NEW YORKER.  its narrative centers around a group of WELL-MEANING ACADEMICS, OFFICIALS and REPORTERS from OREGON who visited the LOUISIANA COAST in august 2010 in the immediate aftermath of the DEEPWATER HORIZON CALAMITY (which ended in september 2010) to bear witness to the DEVASTATION as well as document the response.

what becomes all-too OBVIOUS in the midst of this cataloguing is the MONUMENTAL scale of the PROBLEM and the ABJECT FUTILITY in both attempting to repair the DAMAGE and addressing the GREED that spurred it into being in the first place, not just by BRITISH PETROLEUM, but by the greater POLITICAL and BUSINESS INTERESTS of the REGION over GENERATIONS.  the FRUSTRATING INTRACTABILITY of the PROBLEM is just STUPEFYING and our COLLECTIVE CULPABILITY in incentivizing such  CAVALIER risk-taking is clear as day.  this will prove to be a continuing ENVIRONMENTAL SCOURGE for GENERATIONS to come as the unleashed oil continues to silently adversely affect FRAGILE WILDLIFE ECOSYSTEMS.

i believe DUIN and WHEELER made an ADROIT decision in presenting this material through the first-hand accounts of not only the visiting OREGONIANS, but also the local RESIDENTS and FISHERMAN who lived through both DISASTERS.  in this manner you get an outside and inside perspective on the depths of how these NATURAL and MAN-MADE CALAMITIES profoundly alter WAYS-OF-LIFE and LOCAL CULTURE that previously spanned GENERATIONS.  you also get the sense that we are all SUSCEPTIBLE to such given the changing state of the climate that is rooted in our collective INSATIABLE ADDICTION to fossil fuels.  in LOUISIANA, that MASSIVE REVENUE generated by the PETROLEUM INDUSTRY is the root of the PROBLEM and there are no easy solutions.

walking away from this graphic novel, it just feels like and INDICTMENT on humanity's INABILITY to find balance with the NATURAL WORLD.  we extract RESOURCES and create value for our SHAREHOLDERS, but at who's expense?  our own and the VOICELESS future generations that have to wade through this SHIT.  and oil if you live near the DELTA.  OIL AND WATER is a MISERABLE but POIGNANT graphic novel well worth checking out.

i mean the title says it all.  THE HAÇIENDA: HOW NOT TO RUN A CLUB (SIMON & SCHUSTER, 2009) book by LEGENDARY JOY DIVISION / NEW ORDER bassist PETER HOOK goes into excruciating detail about the MISMANAGEMENT and horrendously BAD DEAL-MAKING at the heart of one of the most CELEBRATED NIGHTCLUBS of all-time. 

for its part, the MANCHESTER venue THE HAÇIENDA out of dumb genius or FINANCIAL NECESSITY (one person was less costly then putting up a whole band), is credited with elevating the figure of the DJ in the 1980s to a pedestal they still hold in MODERN DANCE CULTURE to date.  inspired by the inclusive underground dance venues like the DANCETERIA in NEW YORK, THE HAÇIENDA sought to establish a similar void in BRITISH culture.  what is interesting is that it took nearly a decade and the melding of sorts with another DANCE CULTURE, that of the party isle of IBIZA, with its use of a new DRUG called ECSTASY, that saw the emergence of ACID HOUSE under its own watch and became the epicenter of a WORLD-WIDE DANCE PHENOMENON from roughly 1988-1990.

the narrative HOOK presents is one where NEW ORDER and its label FACTORY RECORDS basically stumbled into one CULTURAL SUCCESS after another despite their combined efforts to the contrary.  from the start, THE HAÇIENDA made NO FINANCIAL SENSE and its INSATIABLE need for CASH INFUSION throughout its history OVER-LEVERAGED all INVESTORS involved, including the band members themselves who were liable for any OUTSTANDING DEBT.  not NEW ORDER was overly concerned or involved enough in the day-to-day to see what a drain the operation was on their bottom line.  they lived in a COCOONED ALTERNATIVE REALITY with little interest or regard for the combined extracurriculars of manager ROB GRETTON and label head TONY WILSON, for them the venue was a clubhouse of sorts where they could hang out when back home in MANCHESTER from tour or recording.

like everything FACTORY-related, the whole enterprise was more of an ASPIRATIONAL ART PROJECT than a CALCULATED BUSINESS OPERATION.  as HOOK's other books about JOY DIVISION and NEW ORDER will attest, this naive modus operandi basically carried over to all BUSINESS ASPECTS of their career as guided by GRETTON and WILSON.  so much with THE HAÇIENDA was wrong from the get go.  the BUILDING itself with its high ceilings and rooftop was not conducive to a NIGHTCLUB in terms of SOUND or ATMOSPHERE.  FACTORY brought in a designer who OVERSPENT on the interior design.  they OVERPAID for a CRAPPY sound system.  OVERPAID for bands.  took out LOP-SIDED BAD LOANS.   made BAD BUSINESS DEALS with vendors and contractors.  the list is NEVER-ENDING.  but somehow  eventually nearly a decade in, it all worked despite itself.

until it didnt.

after the peak years of THE HAÇIENDA and the MADCHESTER scene, LOCAL GANG interest reared its head due to the money made on PARTY DRUGS and basically infiltrated the scene, which led to VIOLENCE and AGGRESSION that winnowed away regulars and provided OPPORTUNITIES for EMERGING rival VENUES to exploit.  the book is written in sequential year-to-year chapters with figures about REVENUES and EXPENDITURES as well as notes regarding event calendars and FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES for the coming year included in the mix.  you can see how it all financially spiraled out of control as well as the dominance of regular DJs over time.  it really is a REMARKABLE top-down look at a BUSINESS VENTURE that stayed afloat in spite of itself.

the question i keep coming back to in my mind is what would have happened if THE HAÇIENDA was actually run well throughout its run.  would it have been more PROFITABLE?  its GLOBAL  CULTURAL IMPACT more sustained?  could it possibly have been more successful?  somehow i doubt it.  the rolling SHAMBOLIC nature of the FINANCIAL ARCHITECTURE that propelled the VENUE had an energy all its own and the conspiring players in the midst all played a part in its success and eventual downfall.  despite everything, the long-defunct VENUE today is a BRITISH LANDMARK that still has an IMMENSE CULTURAL CACHE attached to it.  for a FAMOUS BUSINESS FAILURE, and it was surely that, it oxymoronically sure was a CULTURAL SUCCESS for the ages.  it is part of the ENDURING MYTHOLOGY of JOY DIVISION, NEW ORDER, FACTORY RECORDS and by extension MANCHESTER itself, just as much as OLD TRAFFORD or FREE TRADE HALL.

in the modern age of streaming and platforms like SPOTIFY there is now incontrovertible proof that HIP HOP is the leading cultural force and has been for more than a generation.  one aspect of driving culture results in an outsized influence over economic trends and makes such the focus of the INVESTMENT CLASS seeking to monetize relationships through ENDORSEMENTS, PARTNERSHIPS and INNUMERABLE PRODUCTS.  according to ABC NEWS, conservative estimates have HIP HOP generating $10 billion a year in annual revenue.  in today's environment, the idea of a PHARRELL WILLIAMS signature shoe line rather than that of an athlete is nothing particularly out of the ordinary.  as JAY-Z once adroitly quipped on the KANYE WEST track "DIAMONDS FROM SIERRA LEONE (REMIX)" off of LATE REGISTRATION (DEF JAM / ROC-A-FELLA, 2005), "im not a businessman, im a business, man."

but that was not always the case.

THE BIG PAYBACK: THE HISTORY OF THE BUSINESS OF HIP-HOP (NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY, 2011) examines the HUMBLE BEGINNINGS of how rap established itself as a culture and then as a business throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s.  these were AMOEBIC INCREMENTAL steps that saw NYC community parties in the park evolve into late hour terrestrial radio programs to small business record label entrepreneurship and so on.  what is REMARKABLE is the extent to which major players and gate keepers at every turn were reticent to be involved due to an UNPROVEN track record that was largely based on SYSTEMATIC RACISM.  looking back the immense untapped market throughout the early period is OBVIOUS, but it took to time for CORPORATE AMERICA to understand and buy-in.  case in point from the book is the example of COCA-COLA who were reserved about associating its main brand with a black athlete, so they took their side product in SPRITE (who at the time was a secondary market competitor to 7-UP) and ran a campaign with recent LOS ANGELES LAKER phenomenon KOBE BRYANT.  it was massively successful and the continued relationship between SPRITE and black rappers/athletes continues unabated to present.  

my favorite example of BLACK ENTREPRENEURSHIP and gaming the system from THE BIG PAYBACK is the WU-TANG CLAN, who signed a record as a collective to LOUD RECORDS but had a clause in their contract that such did not cover individual members.  this allowed members to sign with different label such as METHOD MAN with DEF JAM, OL' DIRTY BASTARD with ELEKTRA, GHOSTFACE KILLAH with EPIC, GZA with WARNER BROS, RAEKWON with RCA and so on.  that effectively meant that the whole industry had a piece of the WU-TANG CLAN pie and collectively promoted it accordingly.  just incredibly business savvy and genius in a manner that THE CLASH and countless ROCK N ROLL bands ripped-off by extended, exploitative contracts would probably be crying and seething with jealousy over.

another thread in this book is the extent to which BLACK ENTREPRENEURSHIP was underpinned by another UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY GROUP that saw their ARTISTIC and ECONOMIC POTENTIAL and nurtured such.  for generations there has been much interplay and mutual support between the black and jewish communities, especially in NYC going back to JAZZ age.  from producers like RICK RUBIN (BEASTIE BOYS, LL COOL J, RUN-DMC, JAY-Z, EMINEM, KANYE WEST) to managers and executives like STEVE RIFKIND (MOBB DEEP, BIG PUN, WU-TANG CLAN, DAVID BANNER), there is a deep mutual admiration and partnership at play that is largely UNHERALDED and UNSPOKEN.  such a relationship makes the anti-semitism from KANYE WEST, NICK CANNON, JAY-Z, 21 SAVAGE and even going way back to SCARFACE, ICE CUBE and PUBLIC ENEMY's PROFESSOR GRIFF a bizarre aberration that denies the SUPPORTIVE, MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL nature of such.  its hard to stomach especially after reading this book.

if you are interesting in the business and economic underpinnings of HIP HOP and how a culture infiltrated and dominated the mainstream from seemingly nowhere than THE BIG PAYBACK is well-worth investigation.  i found it FASCINATING, having read it years before my current path pursuing an MBA.  it goes to show that if marketed well, CORPORATE AMERICA will follow suit on any LUCRATIVE opportunity no matter how OUTRAGEOUS or seemingly UNPROVEN. 

HIP HOP is a case in point.

the informative graphic novel HYPER-CAPITALISM (THE NEW PRESS, 2018) by cartoonist LARRY GONICK and PSYCHOLOGY professor TIM KASSER is essentially an exhaustive breakdown of the extent to which INTRINSIC VALUES (such as appeals to SOCIAL JUSTICE, CREATIVITY, connection to NATURE / COMMUNITY) are INCOMPATIBLE with the prevailing ethos of the modern corporate system we all inhabit.  this graphic novel very much gets at the heart of what makes MODERN CAPITALISM such a PERNICIOUS threat to GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY efforts as well as the stability of communities and the general well-being of its inhabitants.  corporations in particular are terrible neighbors who, by design, have an insatiable need to seek and ultimately leverage various COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES (regarding RESOURCES, LABOR, TECHNOLOGY, etc.) in order to appease shareholders and exploit stakeholders in the process.  the drawings are targeted and delineate numerous complicated strategies, postures and procedures (with regards to the culpability of the CONSUMER, GOVERNMENT, LEGAL SYSTEM and BUSINESS OWNERS) in a succinct and efficient manner.  the effectiveness of these panels is pretty staggering and is really a testament to how talented and knowledgable both GONICK and KASSER are as a team.

but its all so DEPRESSING and just OVERWHELMING.

such is why the pair decided to have write a second section of the book that outlined how various practices (at both the consumer and business level) can ward off the DESTRUCTIVE elements of CAPITALISM and reinvigorate communities and social congruity.  making purchases (and long-term investments) based on HUMANISTIC VALUES and participating in local communal efforts (FARMER'S MARKETS, TIME BANKS, LIBRARIES, etc.) keeps the immense influence and power of capital at the local level.  and that is basically they key to transforming what the author refers to as "HYPER-CAPITALISM", you have to alter it from the inside out.  by changing how you interact with the system you are in essence transforming it to something that is more HUMANISTIC and in line with INTRINSIC VALUES  that better everyone.

or so that is the central thesis.  i feel that MATERIALISM will not change and that people will forever be mindlessly subject to the GREEDY, PERNICIOUS whims of coordinated corporate ADVERTISING, LOBBYING and LEGAL efforts.  i dont see a communal change in our CONSCIOUSNESS as AMERICANS, which is essentially built on RACIST, MATERIALISTIC and unapologetically NARCISSISTIC framework devoted to the idea of the INDIVIDUAL.

the antidote to this DEVASTATING situation is a seemingly QUIXOTIC dream that i share but dont see coming true.  we are doomed.  our individual and collective desires are doing us in.

pretty much since i had the thought of pursuing an MBA a few years ago i have been a fairly regular listener of the bi-weekly PIVOT podcast (VOX MEDIA, 2018-present) hosted by VETERAN tech journalist KARA SWISHER (formerly of THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL and THE WASHINGTON POST) and NYU MARKETING professor SCOTT GALLOWAY which mainly deals with technology and market trends.  since taking classes i have found that the regular terminology and concepts they apply to their analysis has been deeply helpful in my coming to speed with BUSINESS thinking and jargon in general.

SWISHER has a long history of being a THOUGHTFUL yet doggedly POINTED and EFFECTIVE interlocutor who often confronts (and even interrupts) her interview subjects when they drift towards platitudes and hazy language to obfuscate from responsibility.  these subjects are very often powerful, rich white men.  as a proud lesbian, her very identity grants her an edge as she is not affected by the often retrograde gender prescriptions favored by this WASPY, elitist demographic.  she comes off supremely CONFIDENT and prepared and a SWISHER interview is INFORMATIVE and frequently NEWSWORTHY because of the respect she commands.  my only gripe is her apparent blind spot surrounding ELON MUSK, of whom she often comes across as an apologist at best and an enabler at worst.  her opinion and influence carries weight beyond her economic weight and she knows this.  i was surprised that it took MUSK recently making bad trans jokes as CEO of TWITTER to get her triggered regarding his awful influence on culture and politics.  but i respect her and her opinion so im sure she'll come to a conclusion that is ENLIGHTENED and well thought-out.

which brings me to GALLOWAY, who at times seems like a stand-in for the mentality of these creeps.  i dont wish to totally repudiate the man, as i often find his market analysis INSIGHTFUL and ability to think through complicated corporate policy issues rather POIGNANT.  even for a layman like me who is wading through these same waters currently in BUSINESS SCHOOL, GALLOWAY is someone who can walk me through an issue from a board-member or CEO, CFO, COO, CIO's perspective.  i think where i deviate from him is when he branches out from his area of expertise, MARKETING, and starts opining about issues related to MASCULINITY, relationships and especially ETHICS.  my issues is that he comes off DETACHED, CLUELESS and overly PEDANTIC in his observations.  it is beyond eye-rolling to hear him give advice about issues surrounding PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY and MORALITY in general when he is constantly attempting to middle path his way through politics during the pre and post TRUMP era (currently supports MEHMET OZ for senator in PENNSYLVANIA), attended the WORLD CUP in RUSSIA and is planning to do so again in QATAR (where 6,500 migrant workers have perished constructing said facilities and infrastructure under INHUMANE conditions), as well as the fact that he currently relocated to LONDON to give his family a "world perspective."  as if the UNITED KINGDOM represents global culture.  maybe to a NAIVE AMERICAN.  it all just points to how SMALL and MYOPIC the dude's worldview is and his blatant disregard for anything resembling PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY.  he's basically the perfect avatar for AMERICAN CAPITALISM bar none. 

i just find it a little aggravating to hear GALLOWAY lecture the next generation when he is far far from perfect.  with SWISHER i dont have that issue as she seems swayed by facts and relevant life work experience, there is a gravitas to her positions.  GALLOWAY and his beyond LAME "dog" persona just comes off as DESPERATE and attention-seeking as he HOPELESS attempts to position himself as a modern "thought leader."  i think he would be better served if he'd just stick to his MARKET ANALYSIS and lay off the HUBRIS and EGOISM just a little.  nothing wrong with a little HUMILITY from time to time.  here's a suggestion: maybe start traveling to all those developing nations that that hedge fund you used to run and those boards you used to sit on exploited to high hell.  instead of living comfortably in the decomposing corpse of past conquests and colonial influence that is LONDON.  you could gain some perspective by spending time WEST AFRICA, SOUTHEAST ASIA or maybe even SOUTH AMERICA.  i have lived in all three (plus EASTERN EUROPE) and it was beyond TRANSFORMATIVE.  it maybe even get you to rethink half of those demonstrably ILL-INFORMED opinions you have about AMERICA's supposedly benevolent hegemonic global impact impact and the true beneficiaries of MARKET CAPITALISM. 

or maybe you'll continue to ignore such externalities all the same.  i just thought given your intelligence and your accomplishments you'd know better.

there is evil and then there is SACKLER FAMILY evil.

EMPIRE OF PAIN: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE SACKLER DYNASTY (DOUBLEDAY, 2021) by PATRICK RADDEN KEEFE is a cautionary journey into the depraved depths of boundless GREED that marked the IMMORAL behavior of the SACKLER FAMILY and the pharmaceutical business, PURDUE PHARMA, that they owned and operated over three generations.  this operation was so successful in its peddling of addictive opioids in part due to the BRAZEN nature of their incapacity to showcase HUMAN EMPATHY or any SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY to their fellow man, instead hiding behind a fig leaf of false LIBERTARIAN-inspired dogma that is all to apparent in similar MORALLY CORRUPT CAPITALIST ENTERPRISES (i.e. tobacco and firearms).

but the outrage i felt reading this book is not limited to the SACKLER FAMILY and their unethical marketing of OXYCONTIN (and VALIUM before it) for widespread, common use.  its tentacles went much further into the the very heart of the CORRUPT INCENTIVE STRUCTURES that are the basis of our federal LEGAL, POLITICAL and MEDICAL systems.  every system failed.  multiple times.  it seemed that the whole capitalist system enabled this company to reek PHYSICAL, MORAL and PSYCHIC DESTRUCTION on the most DESPERATE and VULNERABLE elements of our society and profited unimaginably.  and its not even a DEMOCRAT or REPUBLICAN issue, since everyone has blood on their hands over multiple administrations of inactivity.  that and members of each have taken money from them and/or worked  on their behalf (MARY JO WHITE and ERIC HOLDER of the OBAMA ADMINISTRATION to name only two prominent PURDUE PHARMA attorneys).

what also made EMPIRE OF PAIN so compelling, aside from its flawless construction as it expertly unveiled layers of interweaving depths of CORRUPT BUSINESS PRACTICES and IMMORAL BEHAVIOR over generations and geography, is how it is just as much concerned with the appearance and presentation of POWER and INFLUENCE.  these ill-gotten gains were seemingly symbolically laundered through the name rights of institutes and galleries associated with numerous prestigious museums (THE MET, LOUVRE, TATE MODERN, NATIONAL GALLERY in LONDON, BROOKLYN MUSEUM, SMITHSONIAN, GUGGENHEIM, BRITISH MUSEUM and the AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY) and universities (HARVARD, COLUMBIA, OXFORD, NYU, TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY, YALE, CORNELL and TUFTS).  this "philanthropy" was a bid for immortality and a fraudulent display of MAGNANIMITY for cultural and educational concerns that was really based in basic, primordial instincts towards POWER and INFLUENCE.  the fact that these institutions allowed such to happen just shows the vacuous nature of their INFLUENCE-PEDDLING to begin with.  nobody is spared in this narrative.

well, actually there are a few heroes.  namely the artist NAN GOLDIN who utilized her unfortunate experience with OXYCONTIN and its community of survivors to chasten and call out the SACKLER FAMILY and those institutions that enabled them.  her leadership is one of COURAGE and DEFIANCE and all those enabled virtues devoid from any member of the SACKLER FAMILY.  there is also MASSACHUSETTS ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY and her NEW YORK counterpart LETITIA JAMES, as well as attorneys from across the country who tirelessly went after the family members themselves, even after the shell-game involved with the BANKRUPTCY COURT shenanigans of PURDUE PHARMA.  their efforts are honorable and well within the scope of the public trust that defines their position.

the sad part about EMPIRE OF PAIN is that you are hoping that this constant craven display of INHUMANITY over many generations in one family is an anomaly in our system, a blip, but deep down we all know that this isnt the case.  in fact, PURDUE PHARMA and their EXPLOITATIVE shell-game of an operation is our system.  their bending and subordination of our LEGAL, FINANCIAL, POLITICAL and JUDICIAL structures to seek their needs and not the publics is as AMERICAN as BASEBALL or JAZZ. 

this book really made me reflect on my own individual responsibility in the enabling of these types of structures and practices.  the clothes i wear, the car i drive and the food i consume are all made available through unsustainable and exploitative practices on my behalf.  i dont know how we exit our COMPLICITY as passive consumers within this complex system which seeks to generate consumer and investor value at the expense of limited resources and undervalued labor.

it just feels like this level of EXPLOITATION is bound to happen again and again on repeat because the incentives are there at every level to perpetuate such.  again, seemingly we are all COMPLICIT.  i just dont see this changing.  ever.  it is like JELLO BIAFRA riff on the PATRICK HENRY slogan which sums up our collective ADDICTION to CONSUMER CULTURE, damn the consequences, "give me convenience or give me death."

this is an excellent book, probably the best thing ive read since starting this blog a few years back.  absolutely highly recommended.

growing up through the mid-90s in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, specifically the then-conservative enclave of ORANGE COUNTY, i was made more than well-aware of BRAND-conscious peers that went past brands like NIKE and sported surf and skate related labels like BILLABONG, O'NEILL, VANS, QUICKSILVER, RUSTY and OCEAN PACIFIC as well as other lifestyle firms like STUSSY, MOSSIMO, CROSS COLOURS, NO FEAR among countless others.

it is one of those interesting things about my upbringing that my family left SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA for NIGERIA in 1996, right when clothes was becoming a thing.  a demarcator of identity.  living in AFRICA killed that instinct (outside of basketball shoes!) where you were witness to those who had very little.  it made this all feel very... small and insignificant.

in reading THIS IS NOT A T-SHIRT: A BRAND, A CULTURE, A COMMUNITY - A LIFE IN STREETWEAR (MCD, 2019) by BOBBY KIM, a.k.a. BOBBY HUNDREDS, of THE HUNDREDS fame, it became apparent that streetwear and fashion for him as a creator was less about exclusivity and more about expression.  i didn't realize it beforehand, but all those labels i grew up on were run and started almost exclusively by white men.  streetwear from THE HUNDREDS and its competitors was very much about penetrating the fashion and garment industry and gaining marketshare for a more diverse and inclusive set of designers.  KIM is a lifelong CALIFORNIAN, HARDCORE PUNK kid, former LAW student and the son of KOREAN immigrants, which makes the rise of the label he co-created that much more interesting as it exemplifies a progression of AMERICAN culture writ large.  the segment THE HUNDREDS brand satiates is as diverse as KIM himself.

which is kinda the point.

the label in many ways is an outgrowth of his personality and more specifically his blog.  THE HUNDREDS was early to blogging and utilized such to contextualize their collections and transform the product being marketed as a psychic extension of their obsessions, hobbies and COMMUNITY.  the blog essentially founded a community and it is that relationship with this COMMUNITY which is at the heart of this memoir. 

what is KIM's relationship to his audience?  what does he own them?  does he allow them, or the idea of them, to lead his decision-making on future collections?  or is his task to lead them deeper down an explored and deeply-shared sense of COMMUNITY based on similar obsessions, perspectives and viewpoints. 

its an interesting dynamic that ive become interested in since starting my MBA recently, that of how one runs a business while leading an authentic existence.  not exploiting either labor or your customers when all incentive and reward structures suggest otherwise.  what ive taken from KIM's example is keeping ownership and financial control close and being realistic about potential risks and opportunities and how those will affect the standing of your brand.  it may be that KIM has a unique perspective given his label's longstanding brand equity based on the transparency and interplay of his blog and social media with his COMMUNITY.  as long as that relationship is intact and relevant to his consumers, it would seem the brand has a shot at continued viability.

but in the end it is not about a t-shirt, a brand or even KIM himself, it is about the COMMUNITY being fostered.  and that is pretty cool.  i never felt that from wearing a BILLABONG shirt back as a 12 year old.  if anything SKATE and SURF culture came of as exclusive rather than inclusive.

very interesting BUSINESS memoir i'll be thinking of for quite some time.  well worth checking out.

so im taking a course at the moment on SUPPLY CHAIN management and recently there was a focus in the text about how corporations have a decision matrix that includes shareholders, specifically the wider societal and environmental impact of their operations.  LET MY PEOPLE GO SURFING: THE EDUCATION OF RELUCTANT BUSINESSMAN (PENGUIN, 2005) written by PATAGONIA founder YVON CHOUNINARD basically calls bullshit on that whole notion.  he makes his position very clear that corporations were originally created and continually maintained to limit the liability of their actions on a finite global ecosystem.  by definition their objective and reason for being is to create efficiencies within the SUPPLY CHAIN, PRODUCTION and DISTRIBUTION of products and maximize profit.  full stop.

anything else is just marketing and corporate propaganda.

which brings me to this interesting book about the history, philosophy and multi-pronged environmental efforts of the privately-owned benefit corporation PATAGONIA, INC and its multi-pronged in-house subsidiaries that produce everything from food, clothing to even surf boards.  a cynic could argue that this book is a clever piece of propaganda aimed at convincing customers of the moral superiority of the PATAGONIA brand and its environmental efforts, which could justify the relatively high price of their products.  for the record when i was a PEACE CORPS volunteer stationed in the bitterly cold northern mountainous region of ALBANIA bordering KOSOVO, i brought with me both shell jacket and a micro-puff jacket by the company that kept me warm.  so if i have a bias, there it is.  thats all i own by them and i still have both years later.

but as company propaganda goes, this book is really less a hagiography of the founder and his company and more a manual about how to go about innovating a business in a way that makes business sense.  to me that is the core of this book and its intent.  if anything, CHOUNINARD is attempting to proselytize future entrepreneur's to consider the real cost of their company and consider how to make them more environmentally sustainable.  the example provided repeatedly throughout this book (which comprehensively goes over everything from their company philosophy on PRODUCT DESIGN and PRODUCTION to DISTRIBUTION, MARKETING, HUMAN RESOURCING and MANAGEMENT among other topics) is the risky switch the company made to organic content in the mid 1990s.  sourcing this material was more costly to the company and required more intensive labor on behalf of the farmers, but those initial costs proved profitable long term and exerted less strain on the environment (turns out not using all those industrial chemicals and pesticides makes the soil more healthy and more productive, who knew?).  CHOUNINARD claims that the cost of innovating his SUPPLY CHAIN in the short term was immense but was a sound business decision long term, even if the consumer 1) didn't notice the switch and 2) according to marketing research didn't care.

my takeaway from this book is that there is a hidden cost to SUPPLY CHAIN decisions that most companies, especially corporations working at scale, dont consider in part because they are not forced to.  their goal is to be profitable.  everything else is a externality.  unfortunately this cycle of production and mindless consumerism as a means of insuring perpetual economic growth is a fantasy. 

worse yet it is suicide.

CHOUNINARD doesnt claim to have all the answers.  his company pollutes and creates waste, but the culture he created is fighting the good fight from the inside.  it is attempting to setup the infrastructure to reduce waste by sourcing materials responsibly, seeking better work environments (including on-site child care), creating empowering specialized programs for workers of foreign mills and factories and instituting policies such as allowing customers to return long-worn products for repair.  the list goes on.

probably most celebrated is their 1% FOR THE PLANET commitment whereby they pledged 1% of total sales to preservation and restoration of the environment.  this is done through contributions to small local advocacy groups, not institutionalized groups and foundations which large overhead.  they have committed nearly $90 million over the course of the company's history.

even if you are a cynic, that type of putting your money where your mouth is makes you take notice and they are encouraging others to make a stand and joing the effort.  so in essence this book is not CHOUNINARD celebrating his efforts, it is him providing context and concrete strategies for his competitors to do the same.  which is innately honorable.  so kudos for him

i just dont think corporate AMERICA is going to change.  ever.  the efforts and contents of this book is outside their mindset.  outside their interest.  we are a planet of finite resources and they will suck it dry like the vampires they are.  we are all doomed.​

its interesting to consider that all FORTUNE 500 companies began once as a startup.  even a monolithic, globally dominant, seemingly omnipresent, iconic brand such as NIKE.  as of 2020 the company is conservatively estimated to be worth $32 BILLION, but at one point  it germinated as a "crazy idea" by STANFORD BUSINESS grad and former UNIVERSITY OF OREGON letterman long-distance runner PHIL KNIGHT.  SHOE DOG (SIMON & SCHUSTER, 2016) is his memoir and explains the uneven trajectory of NIKE from its inception to its public IPO in 1980.

at STANFORD a young KNIGHT developed a business plan for a self-described crazy idea of his that saw an opening for JAPAN to dominate the global footwear industry much as it had done with consumer electronics.  this was due to heavy government subsidies that gave them an unmatched advantage in the global marketplace.  KNIGHT thought that if he could become a stateside distributor for a major JAPANESE player than he could take on ADIDAS' dominance as the premier shoemaker.   on a lark he went to JAPAN, having never traveled abroad and convinced ONITSUKA to let his "company" BLUE RIBBON SPORTS serve as a distributor.  the name was made up on the spot during his meeting with them in KOBE.

long story short, KNIGHT and his assembled team of misfits did very well selling them stateside and built up their market over more than half a decade.  this despite maxing out creditors and leveraging everything over and over again to promote growth.  it was a slow rise with potentially deficits around the corner always set to sink the fledgling company. 

at some point they had a suspicion and later learned that they were about to be cut out and replaced as ONITSUKA's distributor.  the NIKE line of football cleats they initially made were meant as a hedging bet against losing ONITSUKA.  the name NIKE, the SWOOSH and other legendary corporate iconography where made on the fly out of necessity in short order with no time to rethink such.  that alone is quite stunning given how much image and the promotion of such thereof is synonymous with the brand.  KNIGHT throughout the book consistently complains about advertising and doesnt see a need for it.  again, just a staggeringly insightful comment given their famous brand identity and long-established mass market appeal promoted by one of the most successful advertising campaigns of all time (its a real pity he doesnt get into how "JUST DO IT" came about, was looking forward to learning about that).

after lawsuits with various entities NIKE goes public and the next corporate phase begins.  it is during that phase we have all the well known athlete tie-ins (MICHAEL JORDAN, TIGER WOODS, SERENA WILLIAMS, CRISTIANO RONALDO, KOBE BRYANT, MIA HAMM, ANDRE AGASSI, LEBRON JAMES, NEYMAR, SIMONE BILES, CARL LEWIS, KEVIN DURANT, JACKIE JOYNER-KERSEE, etc.) with the exception of running legend STEVE PREFONTAINE who was very much a part of the initial and identity of of the nascent company in its early development.

what i took from this memoir is the amount of continual sacrifice it takes to establish a viable company in a competitive field from scratch.  learning about the early history of NIKE almost felt like the reading of a gambling addict, someone who routinely bet the house and survived.  the perseverance and focus of KNIGHT is quite remarkable.  i also learned that a brand identity can be far removed from the company itself, as few people in the early staff were able to run.  in fact the major players, aside from KNIGHT, included the morbidly obese, chain smokers and even a paraplegic.  what they shared was a vision and a faith in their leadership, a faith in KNIGHT that at times he did not share himself but willed himself through.

obviously there is the issue of outsourcing production to ASIA, specifically JAPAN then TAIWAN and later CHINA, which has dogged their corporate image over the years.  KNIGHT does address such but through the lens of how the company has raised factory conditions from their previous levels of cleanliness and overall sanitariness.  its a hard sell that i wasnt totally convinced of, partly having myself been to places like CAMBODIA where AMERICA companies employ textile factories that have subhuman working conditions.  that argument falls on jaded ears im sorry to say.

my thought is that such is the limit of MARKET CAPITALISM, which beholds itself to the stockholder and the god of profit, not our better angels.  despite how well intentioned his pronouncements of his familiarity with the precepts of BUDDHISM are throughout this memoir, it is as if he forget the basic tenet of RIGHT OCCUPATION.  the idea being that it is a moral imperative to conduct work that does not cause others to suffer.  just saying.

like i said before, this book is not the story of MICHAEL JORDAN or other famous endorsees of NIKE, it is about the early struggle of the company to survive.  arguably that is a more interesting phase in the trajectory of its life as a firm.  KNIGHT Is a gifted writer with many well-constructed running analogies for business concepts that i will remember and carry forward.  if learning about what makes a company work and prosper and survive financial, political and competitive obstacles to flourish than this is a great book to consider.  if you are interested in the history and evolution of footwear specifically, than this is probably not the book for you.  the fact that they are selling shoes is largely inconsequential in the narrative presented outside of KNIGHT's appreciation for RUNNING and the similarities regarding the task-obsessed mentality of both an athlete and a business owner.

i thought it was a compelling story and look forward to seeing the film as it was recently optioned with participation from KNIGHT himself.  should be an interesting biopic.

ZUCKED: WAKING UP TO THE FACEBOOK CATASTROPHE (PENGUIN, 2020) is a warning against a dystopian future currently under development whereby various SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISTS like AMAZON, GOOGLE, MICROSOFT and yes, FACEBOOK, are monitoring your online and offline activities in real time and employing behavior modification at scale. 

that last part is the real kicker. 

the idea that your emotions and behavior can be modified as well as everyone else collectively on the site.  to the common end user of a SOCIAL MEDIA platform (TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK) there is an assumption that site is neutral, which is not true.  seamless and invisible proprietary algorithms are constantly A/B-ing content to build a more complete psychological profile of the user that is in turn utilized to sell ads to advertisers.  essentially the USER IS THE PRODUCT.  persuasive technology such as AUTOPLAY/ENDLESS FEEDS, VARIABLE REWARDS, SOCIAL VALIDATION LOOPS and even outright PROPAGANDA is utilized to manipulate you to spend more time on the platform. as the author points out, these "web 2.0 startups focused their technology on the weakest elements of human psychology.  They set out to create habits, evolved habits into addictions, and laid the ground work for giant fortunes."
​
the risk of such on the individual level is that PREFERENCE BUBBLES are established which consist of content and like-minded groups suggested by the algorithm and the reinforce biases and limit conflicting content, effectively creating a self-imposed STOCKHOLM SYNDROME.  these PREFERENCE BUBBLES metastasize into FILTER BUBBLES which a dedicated user is often not even cognizant of, their skewed reality no turning into its own TRUMAN SHOW-esque alternative reality.

at scale on a societal level these  FILTER BUBBLES are corrosive to national unity and democratic ideals.  these networks incentivize extreme positions as such lead to further engagement and the real-world consequences include ethnic and political violence as well as DOMESTIC TERRORISM.  it's a harsh dystopian reality we are being lead into with no real choice in the matter.  as ZUCKED points out, only "the data consumers give up often accounts for 1 percent" of their total data.  that means your search engine searches over time is nothing compare what the SURVEILLANCE CAPITALIST apparatus purchases off of third-parties and monitors utilizing various products throughout the web.  it is fascinating and disturbing.

but let me back up for a sec.

the author, ROGER MCNAMEE, is a noted VENTURE CAPITALIST who was an advisor to MARK ZUCKERBERG in the years prior to FACEBOOK's IPO as he was being bid upon by then-competitors like YAHOO.

as much as ZUCKED focuses on the overreach of SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM and the climatic global, political, cultural and social destabilization that such has wrought, it is also equally focused on the ethos that emerged in post-2000 SILICON VALLEY that informed its trajectory.

in essence the tech community in the 2000s benefited from almost 30+ years of innovation that was tempered only by the limitations of the available technological infrastructure (bandwidth, processing power, storage, memory).  in the 2000s these obstacles were effectively limitless.  before these limitations meant that software developers and engineers had to be elegant, clever and efficient in how they wrote code.  in the 2000s you had what is known as the "lean startup" model whereby you could present an ever evolving product and address issues as they emerge via user feedback.  most emerging technologies utilized this cost effective model at the time.  effectively it meant that little forethought was put into the possible future ramifications of new technologies and potential complications.  

along with this new business model were the dual reinforcing ideologies of LIBERTARIANISM and NEOLIBERLAISM. 

LIBERTARIANISM is the idea that there should be minimal intervention by the state in the market and private matters.  this political stance promoted the idea of the good of the individual over that of the group and essentially absolved the adherent from responsibility from disruptions rooted in their greed.  it also promoted a false notion of a MERITOCRACY, that leaders in the SILICON VALLEY were successful and in positions of power due to their own intellect and strategery and not (more likely) inherited wealth or connections.  LIBERTARIANISM allowed many white men to promote a FALSE FEEDBACK LOOP that justified conformity and a homogenous workplace along ethnic and gender lines.

related to LIBERTARIANISM is the economic belief system known as NEOLIBERALISM (ubiquitous in both parties since REAGAN ADMINISTRATION), which advocates that markets should replace government as the rule setter of economic activity.  you can probably see where this is heading.  adherents to NEOLIBERALISM believe as a matter of principle that tech companies (with unmitigated economic, social, cultural, political and psychological influence and power never before seen in the history of mankind) are the sole rightful bearers of policing their own industry.  for the most part (EUROPE being the exception) these SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISTS have been allowed to continue unabated from antitrust regulation.

it is a major problem.

luckily books such as this are adding to the chorus of criticism by researchers and academics that hopefully will counter commonly held LIBERTARIAN and NEOLIBERAL stances that were based on a past outdated, pre-digital model of the economy.  DEREGULATION was a mistake and we are bearing the fruit of such now.

riveting book that really shook my understanding of myself and my relationship to technology and society.  well worth your time to check out and read.