W. David Marx
@wdavidmarx.bsky.social
Author of Ametora, Status and Culture, and the upcoming Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century (Nov '25). Newsletter at http://culture.ghost.io. Tokyo, Japan.
Bostonians/Cantabrigians: I'm at Harvard Book Store on Wednesday November 19 with author/professor Josh Lambert to talk about my new book BLANK SPACE
www.harvard.com/event/w-davi...
www.harvard.com/event/w-davi...
November 7, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Bostonians/Cantabrigians: I'm at Harvard Book Store on Wednesday November 19 with author/professor Josh Lambert to talk about my new book BLANK SPACE
www.harvard.com/event/w-davi...
www.harvard.com/event/w-davi...
"The large numbers don’t quite mean what they used to as signals of relevance or clout, as social media has become more aged, more manipulable, and more automated by artificial intelligence."
This value shift is important for restoring cultural progress and it looks like it's happening organically
This value shift is important for restoring cultural progress and it looks like it's happening organically
my new @newyorker.com column on the allure of low follower counts and niche influencers on social media, in a time of AI and bot traffic www.newyorker.com/culture/infi...
It’s Cool to Have No Followers Now
As social media has become older, more manipulable, and more automated by artificial intelligence, flouting online popularity has gained a new cachet.
www.newyorker.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:02 PM
"The large numbers don’t quite mean what they used to as signals of relevance or clout, as social media has become more aged, more manipulable, and more automated by artificial intelligence."
This value shift is important for restoring cultural progress and it looks like it's happening organically
This value shift is important for restoring cultural progress and it looks like it's happening organically
Whom we designate as a "genius" in 2025 reveals a lot about shifts in the collective cultural values
culture.ghost.io/our-geniuses...
culture.ghost.io/our-geniuses...
Our Geniuses Define Our Times
The superlative adulation for Taylor Swift as an artistic and business genius suggests a shift in the fundamental expectations for cultural excellence in the 21st century
📣My new book Blank Space: A ...
culture.ghost.io
October 29, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Whom we designate as a "genius" in 2025 reveals a lot about shifts in the collective cultural values
culture.ghost.io/our-geniuses...
culture.ghost.io/our-geniuses...
NEW YORK BOOK LAUNCH for BLANK SPACE: Greenlight Books in Brooklyn is hosting me and special guest Emily Sundberg at SJNY because we had too many already registered for the in-store event. Grab tickets while you can!
www.eventbrite.com/e/book-event...
www.eventbrite.com/e/book-event...
Book Event: W. David Marx with Emily Sundberg at SJNY
W. David Marx, longtime culture writer, launches a revealing exploration of a quarter century of cultural stagnation.
www.eventbrite.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:48 AM
NEW YORK BOOK LAUNCH for BLANK SPACE: Greenlight Books in Brooklyn is hosting me and special guest Emily Sundberg at SJNY because we had too many already registered for the in-store event. Grab tickets while you can!
www.eventbrite.com/e/book-event...
www.eventbrite.com/e/book-event...
All of this is true, but I increasingly think the ease of non-creatives being able to flood the internet with media will lead to a massive devaluation of *all* media. (And then that likely leads to a revaluation of real life experiences.)
Hi. I wrote an essay about AI slop: How it feels like an invasive species for the internet. How its boosters describe building a future that’s devoid of craft. How frictionlessness can be nihilistic & how this stuff seems to leach part of our shared humanity out of the world. I hope you'll read it.
AI’s Invasive Species
The slop is winning.
www.theatlantic.com
October 20, 2025 at 10:59 PM
All of this is true, but I increasingly think the ease of non-creatives being able to flood the internet with media will lead to a massive devaluation of *all* media. (And then that likely leads to a revaluation of real life experiences.)
Interviewed by @jasondiamond.bsky.social for his newsletter The Melt about the English edition of Popeye:
www.getthemelt.com/p/japanese-m...
www.getthemelt.com/p/japanese-m...
Why Japan's Iconic Men's Magazine Popeye Went English For The First Time Ever
City Boys of the Western world, rejoice!
www.getthemelt.com
October 20, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Interviewed by @jasondiamond.bsky.social for his newsletter The Melt about the English edition of Popeye:
www.getthemelt.com/p/japanese-m...
www.getthemelt.com/p/japanese-m...
I enjoyed "One Battle After Another" ending with Geese's "Cobra" rather than just doing the cheap trick of tapping into 20th century classic rock to add emotional punch
October 19, 2025 at 11:03 PM
I enjoyed "One Battle After Another" ending with Geese's "Cobra" rather than just doing the cheap trick of tapping into 20th century classic rock to add emotional punch
Yet again @ryanhatesthis.bsky.social of Garbage Day manages to describe the roots of our global cultural predicament in a single paragraph. This is from today's essay on the manosphere turning against Trump:
www.garbageday.email/p/the-great-...
www.garbageday.email/p/the-great-...
October 13, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Yet again @ryanhatesthis.bsky.social of Garbage Day manages to describe the roots of our global cultural predicament in a single paragraph. This is from today's essay on the manosphere turning against Trump:
www.garbageday.email/p/the-great-...
www.garbageday.email/p/the-great-...
Rolling Stone compiled a "The 250 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century" list, and while the specific inclusions are debatable, it gives a sense of the 21st century canon as it's forming.
I noticed a bias towards the early 2000s so I ran the numbers:
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
I noticed a bias towards the early 2000s so I ran the numbers:
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
The 250 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century So Far
The 250 greatest songs of the 21st century so far -- from all over the musical map and every corner of the globe
www.rollingstone.com
October 12, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Rolling Stone compiled a "The 250 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century" list, and while the specific inclusions are debatable, it gives a sense of the 21st century canon as it's forming.
I noticed a bias towards the early 2000s so I ran the numbers:
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
I noticed a bias towards the early 2000s so I ran the numbers:
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
Reposted by W. David Marx
“著者デーヴィッド・マークスにその後のアメトラについて振り返っていただきました。翻訳は『AMETORA』と同じく、奥田祐士” / “10,000部突破記念！『AMETORA』著者、デーヴィッド・マークスによる特別寄稿「執筆から10年後のアメリカントラッドと日本」｜DU BOOKS” (1 user) https://htn.to/43oZDR66fF
10,000部突破記念！『AMETORA』著者、デーヴィッド・マークスによる特別寄稿「執筆から10年後のアメリカントラッドと日本」｜DU BOOKS
現在のユニクロの世界的な躍進にまでつながる、「戦後日本の男性服飾史」をアントレプレナーやイノベーターたちに取材し、その行動原理と戦略を明らかにしつつ、スリリングな物語として描いた『AMETORA』は、日本とアメリカの奇妙な関係性にまで光をあてた文化史としても話題になりました。原著が刊行された2015年から10年の時を経て、ますます日本のファッション文化に世界的な注目が集まる今こそ、ぜひ読んでいただきたい一冊です。執筆御のファッションシーンもふまえて、著者デーヴィッド・マークスにその後のアメトラについて振り返っていただきました。翻訳は『AMETORA』と同じく、奥田祐士さんです。（DU
note.com
October 7, 2025 at 3:42 PM
“著者デーヴィッド・マークスにその後のアメトラについて振り返っていただきました。翻訳は『AMETORA』と同じく、奥田祐士” / “10,000部突破記念！『AMETORA』著者、デーヴィッド・マークスによる特別寄稿「執筆から10年後のアメリカントラッドと日本」｜DU BOOKS” (1 user) https://htn.to/43oZDR66fF
Lefsetz called this "clickbait" but fascinating that so many of the very top songs date from The Long 20th Century (2000-2004) rather than from recent years:
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
The 250 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century So Far
The 250 greatest songs of the 21st century so far -- from all over the musical map and every corner of the globe
www.rollingstone.com
October 9, 2025 at 6:47 AM
Lefsetz called this "clickbait" but fascinating that so many of the very top songs date from The Long 20th Century (2000-2004) rather than from recent years:
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
Coolness eventually trickled down to the very people it was created to devalue
Who is this cool to
LMAO LOOK AT THIS PHOTOGRAPH
EVERY TIME I DO IT MAKES ME LAUGH
EVERY TIME I DO IT MAKES ME LAUGH
October 7, 2025 at 12:42 AM
Coolness eventually trickled down to the very people it was created to devalue
Reposted by W. David Marx
Thought this was pretty shaky when I wrote it (at peak Eras tour/TIME profile) but so far it's....less shaky
October 4, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Thought this was pretty shaky when I wrote it (at peak Eras tour/TIME profile) but so far it's....less shaky
Carl Wilson's pleasant definition of poptimism: "Taylor Swift has the potential to be rewarding and is worthy of serious critical attention."
Actual music criticism in 2025: "Taylor Swift might not be *capable* of making a bad record"
Actual music criticism in 2025: "Taylor Swift might not be *capable* of making a bad record"
Taylor Swift might not be capable of making a bad record, but “The Life of a Showgirl” is at least a little bit cringe. In today’s daily newsletter, our writers discuss their initial reactions to the new album.
Taylor Swift Sounds Stuck
From the daily newsletter: our writers react to “The Life of a Showgirl.”
www.newyorker.com
October 3, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Carl Wilson's pleasant definition of poptimism: "Taylor Swift has the potential to be rewarding and is worthy of serious critical attention."
Actual music criticism in 2025: "Taylor Swift might not be *capable* of making a bad record"
Actual music criticism in 2025: "Taylor Swift might not be *capable* of making a bad record"
I know there's a lot of political news, but it'd be nice to get some hard answers on why Obama chose Charli's "365" over "360" on last year's playlist
October 3, 2025 at 1:11 PM
I know there's a lot of political news, but it'd be nice to get some hard answers on why Obama chose Charli's "365" over "360" on last year's playlist
21st century culture in one paragraph:
October 2, 2025 at 10:11 PM
21st century culture in one paragraph:
Dan Colen's "Holy Shit (2004–06)" truly embodies the Kantian ideal of art in its inherent mysteriousness: How could the artist have even come up with such an incredible idea, let alone executed it? It's a total inimitable enigma.
love this for him (peter brant)
🤔
October 2, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Dan Colen's "Holy Shit (2004–06)" truly embodies the Kantian ideal of art in its inherent mysteriousness: How could the artist have even come up with such an incredible idea, let alone executed it? It's a total inimitable enigma.
A clear value shift in films about Jordan Belfort's fraudulent brokerage Stratton Oakmont:
Boiler Room (2000): the moral dilemma of ripping people off
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013): the jubilation of ripping people off, because it's more noble to have been rich once than to have stayed poor
Boiler Room (2000): the moral dilemma of ripping people off
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013): the jubilation of ripping people off, because it's more noble to have been rich once than to have stayed poor
September 30, 2025 at 12:05 AM
A clear value shift in films about Jordan Belfort's fraudulent brokerage Stratton Oakmont:
Boiler Room (2000): the moral dilemma of ripping people off
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013): the jubilation of ripping people off, because it's more noble to have been rich once than to have stayed poor
Boiler Room (2000): the moral dilemma of ripping people off
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013): the jubilation of ripping people off, because it's more noble to have been rich once than to have stayed poor
There would be no debate about poptimism if it followed Carl Wilson's definition: "Poptimism posited that all kinds of music have the potential to be rewarding and are worthy of serious critical attention, including the music on the pop charts."
This makes me a poptimist.
slate.com/culture/2025...
This makes me a poptimist.
slate.com/culture/2025...
Grumps Blame It for Everything From the Rise of Taylor to the Fall of Pitchfork. They Don’t Even Understand It.
Criticism’s most abused straw man.
slate.com
September 28, 2025 at 10:51 PM
There would be no debate about poptimism if it followed Carl Wilson's definition: "Poptimism posited that all kinds of music have the potential to be rewarding and are worthy of serious critical attention, including the music on the pop charts."
This makes me a poptimist.
slate.com/culture/2025...
This makes me a poptimist.
slate.com/culture/2025...
Incredibly depressing that "promoting the enduring artistic qualities of complexity, ambiguity, and innovation" can only be understood as "snobbery," which denotes "taste discrimination by people with status anxiety."
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
In an era of AI slop and mid TV, is it time for cultural snobbery to make a comeback?
The lowbrow dominates culture and anyone who questions the status quo is dismissed as an elitist killjoy. But with bland algorithmic content on the rise, perhaps we consumers should start taking our a...
www.theguardian.com
September 28, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Incredibly depressing that "promoting the enduring artistic qualities of complexity, ambiguity, and innovation" can only be understood as "snobbery," which denotes "taste discrimination by people with status anxiety."
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
Hmm, appreciate the shout-out by @carlzoilus.bsky.social but not sure this is actually my point. There was a long stream of innovative *pop culture* in previous decades and it seems good to continue to encourage creators of pop culture to aim towards innovation for the good of the total ecosystem
September 24, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Hmm, appreciate the shout-out by @carlzoilus.bsky.social but not sure this is actually my point. There was a long stream of innovative *pop culture* in previous decades and it seems good to continue to encourage creators of pop culture to aim towards innovation for the good of the total ecosystem