While we’re all wondering where exactly we were exposed to omicron (you were!), let’s pivot the newsletter back to some Covid Discourse. The composer Leon Michaels, who has actually spent most of his recent years producing for artists like Beyoncé and The Black Keys, has found a pandemic-era pocket of spiritual energy big enough to breathe life into a new EP for his old band, El Michaels Affair. The group describes their sound as “cinematic soul” with “the swag of the darker side of Wu Tang as well as the light hearted bounce of a cartoon theme song,” (save for the space between “light” and “hearted,” I can’t argue with any of it) and this new stuff more exploratory than anything they’ve put out before. “Cham Cham,” for example, revolves around vocals from Piya Malik — some new-new for a group that’s historically instrumental. But get in there and explore for yourself.
You know who else has had a personal renaissance lately? Amsterdam. Since that initial lockdown, the capital has been enjoying its new status as “non-tourist city,” and instead of just being like, “boy is this nice, sucks it won’t last,” they’re actively leaning into that chill new persona. The city is starting to give out grants to nonprofits who will transition tourist-oriented businesses (clog stores, waffle shops!) to businesses that actually serve locals — or to affordable housing. All of which will incidentally make Amsterdam a nicer place to visit for the class of traveler who looks for “authenticity” on the streets between identical Airbnbs. You win some, you lose some.
Today I’m sending kisses from LA, where I’m learning that all the influencers are starting to disappear after they flocked here for that hype house life. Where are they going? To New York, according to Tiffany Ferguson, herself an influencer who just put out a video essay on this migratory trend. What she explains in a half-hour is basically that the visual backdrop of LA is now out of season: like anything, it got so saturated as to become basic, and in recoil, all the 23-year-old cools are discovering the grit and sophistication of The City. That’s all very sweet and timeless, and I think it also opens an interesting question for the rest of us: Is hustle culture about to be back in? The early-stage pandemic, at least among the class of people that might end up as influencers, slowed things down and jetted folks off to wherever their vanlife* could take them (….. LA). In this new world where we’re all kind of fine getting omicron as long as it’s not bad timing, I’ll bet we push. Just a theory, check in with me on this in six months.
*jk these are different breeds of influencer
