Bi-Weekly-ish newsletter #46 w/ Versace Jeans Couture π¨π, Taghi's Tangled Tunes π΅π°π, U2's Sphere ππΆ, Lex x Mark's Meta-Verse ππ€, and TMF's Timeless Treasures πΊπ€π°
Dear reader, tune in
Edition forty-six begins
Fall whispers within.
1. Versace's Vibrant Vision
Breaking Buzzwords, Building Brilliance
Kicking off this edition of the bi-weekly-ish newsletter with a Versace Jeans Couture commercial/content thingy that caught my eye.Β
Creative production studio BRAVΓ has injected life into Versace Jeans Couture's Fall-Winter 2023 collection by showcasing the essence of artists during an artist residency in Belgrade, Serbia.
Although I'm not the biggest fan of campaigns built around an amalgamation of buzzwords and descriptors like "the intertwining of art, life, fashion, passion, vision, and creativity," this one struck a chord as it disrupts the usual narrative and offers an unexpectedly coherent portrayal of these often-overused terms.Β
Take a look. It's well worth it.Β
2. Taghi's Tangled Tunes
Music, Money, and the Marengo Mystery Tour
An in-depth investigation by Follow the Money and RTL Nieuws unveils that the 22-year-old son of Ridouan Taghi, the Dutch crime lord who was arrested last summer in Dubai at the Netherlands' request, has set up a record label releasing music of Dutch rappers like Boef and Lijpe. Taghi Senior is the main suspect in the Marengo process/ The case involves about a third of the EU's cocaine trafficking and several murders and attempted murders on journalists and lawyers, some of which occurred in a torture chamber.
The label, not so subtly named El Chapo Productions, is suspected of laundering money through streaming platforms like Spotify and YouTube. According to the report, the label has produced music videos in Dubai, featuring luxury Lamborghinisβheightening its allure while possibly now incriminating the people involved. One of these videos, Boef's "Lauw," has been viewed 38 million times and, as per my calculations, has generated approximately β¬152,000 in revenue. Far from enough for laundering a drug dynasty's fortune, but it's a start nonetheless and an excellent way to make your daddy proud.Β
An intricate story that intersects crime, the music business, and law enforcement in a unique way. If you want to know more, read the full article here.
3.Β U2's Sphere's Sonic Spectacle
Dazzling Dynamics of Dome and Display
My enthusiasm for U2, especially its frontman Bono, has been... well, minimal. His paradoxical, tax-avoiding style of globe-trotting philanthropy, coupled with a spammy, pre-installed copy of the horrible "Songs of Innocence" on my then-brand-new iPhone 6, just doesn't work for me. But hey, everybody deserves a second chance (or, in their case, a 3rd, 4th, and 5th chance) to amaze. With last week's footage that emerged from shows they gave at the newly opened Sphere, it seems they did.
The Sphere is Las Vegas's new super draw: a $2.3 billion mega-structure music venue with an 18,000 capacity. It's built around the largest LED screen ever, shaped like a dome, with an approximate surface area of 15,000 square meters housing 268,435,456 pixels. It also boasts a ridiculous 167,000 speakers, including one in each seat.
In a Variety article, U2's creative director Willie Williams had something interesting to say about working with the medium as a starting point:
"With all the big stuff I've done for U2 and anyone else, we don't start with the equipment; we start with the idea. Then we figure out what we need to realize that idea, and sometimes it involves big video, sometimes it doesn't. Whereas here, the only given we had going in was the buildingβa building that didn't yet exist and, in fact, isn't finished now.Β
So it was odd starting a show with hardware and a space rather than the other way around."
Based on the images that surfaced last week (and the one linked below), this is definitely a show I'd love to attend and would gladly pay a ticket price upwards of $1,400 to see. If only someone would invite me to be a judge for their awards in Las Vegas (looking at you LIA's).
4. Lex x Mark's Meta-Verse MeetΒ
Building a Bridge Between Real and Uber-Reel
Another thing I've been skeptical about is the buzz surrounding the metaverse and VR. However, after witnessing the recent podcast between Mark Zuckerberg and Lex Fridman, I'm considering a change of heart. The pair held their conversation entirely within the metaverse, and it was no ordinary digital meet-up. These weren't the legless, Nintendo Wii-esque avatars that Meta unveiled last year; these were digital doppelgΓ€ngers capable of mimicking nuanced facial expressions and body language.
Fridman himself said the experience was transformative, providing an "incredible" sense of presence and intimacy. "It genuinely felt like we were conversing face-to-face," he enthused.
The dialogue offers a deep dive into Meta's grand vision of melding AI with virtual and augmented reality to construct the 'metaverse.' What caught my attention the most was the first nine minutes of the podcast, which essentially serves as a status report on the current state of this tech. It led me to reconsider whether dismissing the metaverse as hopeless was premature. Check it out for yourself; I think you'll agree.
5. TMF's Timeless TreasuresΒ
The Vault of Vibrant Vintage Videos
TMF (The Music Factory) was the Dutch equivalent of MTV during a time when MTV actually showcased music videos. Launched in 1995, the channel began with a concentration on mainstream pop and dance, gradually diversifying its repertoire in the late '90s and early 2000s. Despite its evolution, TMF couldn't fend off the digital tsunami led by platforms like YouTube, which offered music videos at the click of a button.
Recently, a stockpile of TMF content has resurfaced on that same YouTube, serving as an incredible time capsule. This archive features interviews and live performances from the channel's prime.
The YouTube channel is a vault of '90s gold, offering a mix with the likes of Craig David, Cypress Hill, Metallica, Oasis, and Dog Eat Dog to scratch that '90s nostalgia itch. Included below is an interview by Sylvana Simons, a TV presenter who later turned politician, chatting with baby Justin Timberlake and other, some corn-rowed, members of NSYNC. Very good stuff.
Thanks for making it all the way done here. Hope you enjoyed and rememberβ¦
If we can walk together!
Why can't we rock together?
Marcel