Best Cities for Young Musicians 2025 + Art in Turmoil, Loneliness Novel, Erotic Cinema
A data-led ranking of city centers; making art in turmoil; a novel that foresaw loneliness; where cinema’s erotic charge went.
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Top 5 Best Cities for Young Musicians In 2025
We researched the top cities for new musicians to flock to using 6 different metrics.
In times of turmoil, where do artists find their place?
Over the last week alone we’ve seen headlines of staggering violence: Charlie Kirk killed at a campus event in Utah, stabbings in Charleston, Israeli bombings on Qatar, and even an attempted overthrow abroad. In these moments I ask this question: where are the artists?
The Loneliness Epidemic Isn’t Just Modern. One Novel Proved It Decades Ago.
Back in the day, loneliness was not an epidemic. It was a way of life. Now, we are lonelier than ever, but do we already have the cure?
Movies used to be sexy without trying, now they aren’t. What changed?
Casual eroticism that took sex as intrinsically valuable has disappeared from the movies. What made it vanish and how might it come back?
Books, Beats & Big Ideas
We are coming back from summer break strong. This week we’re stretching across worlds: baseball and pool halls, space stations and sci-fi, lofi beats and anime memories, and the challenge of reading for both work and joy.
Reading for Reading’s Sake
Balancing schoolwork with personal reading goals isn’t easy, but focus is like a muscle, it grows with practice. Small strategies and steady effort turn reading from an obligation into a lifelong skill that shapes how we think and connect with the world.
The Doctrines and Debauchery of Baseball and Pool
In Bull Durham and The Color of Money, sports are sex, success is self-discipline, and serenity is surrender.
A Short Break — And a Big Thank You
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Anatomy of a Perfect Fight Scene
There are flashy fights and there are story-driven fights. In Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, we get a fight that does both.
Docking With the Future
In comparable scenes from 2001: A Space Odyssey and Interstellar, we see how science fiction has evolved in what it holds important.
Some Thoughts on Location
Weekly Newsletter
Everything Everywhere All at Once
In 2025, it feels like we all have to be everything everywhere all at once. I know I’m not alone in feeling stretched thin. This week’s note is just a small reminder: if you’re feeling overwhelmed, you’re not the only one. Keep going. It’s worth it.
This Week’s Focus: Expansion with Intention
In creative work, and in life, there’s always pressure to grow. Add more. Do more. Be everywhere. But growth without clarity is just noise.
Weekly Newsletter
Don't Ignore Community
Community is easy to ignore, until you remember how much you need it.
Film & TV
Are We Taking Color For Granted?
Jean-Luc Godard's 10th feature film reminds us what color once meant for cinema, and just how far we've strayed from it.
Weekly Newsletter
Looking for the Next Big Thing? You Might Be Killing Your Potential.
We all do it—search for the shortcut. As a musician and writer, I constantly find myself looking for the next big thing that might launch me forward: the right person to meet, the right moment to strike, the right formula to crack success. But here’s the truth—chasing
Film & TV
Anderson's Potent Take on the Paternal Bond
One of the biggest complaints about Wes Anderson is that his films, down to their smallest detail, exude pretension. His newest film, The Phoenician Scheme (2025), is like sitting in a philosophy seminar, or perhaps more fittingly, an art history seminar, listening to privileged undergrads overanalyze the importance of an
Weekly Newsletter
Missed it? We’re building something in Austin.
🧡 The Art Newsletter: Offline ft. 44hz
Welcome to the First-Ever Austin Edition of The Art Newsletter We’re building something local. This new list is just for our Austin community — curated events, creative happenings, and real-world meetups designed to bring artists, musicians, and makers together.
How to Make a Great Title
Get right to the point or go for something poetic? Deliver the plot or try to encapsulate the themes? There are many ways a title can be effective.
Weekly Newsletter
3 ways to move forward when you’re in a rut
I spent a good amount of time this week thinking about what content I should write about within this newsletter for today, and strangely, nothing was coming to me.
Don’t Obsess Over the Tools
We have all been there before—we think we can’t finish writing that book until we get that better PC, we think we can’t make that YouTube video until we get that new camera, or in my case, we think that we can’t work on that song until we get the “best” gear or sound possible.
Film & TV
What Does “Greatest Movie of All Time” Mean, Exactly?
We have an obsession with lists and aggregated polls that crown a single film as the champion of the art form, but we think precious little about what we mean by that prestigious label.