Welcome to Sizzer’s substack. Culture moves quickly these days and if you don’t know where it’s at or where it’s headed there’s a chance you’ll get left behind. We’re here to help you stay alert and maybe find a few new favourite things along the way.
HOW DRUNK ARE YOUR CIGARETTES?
It might not surprise you that TikTok’s latest musical obsession is a country song, but wait till you hear it. According to Shaad D’Souza at the NYT:
“The viral “10 Drunk Cigarettes” is plasticky, poppy, alien and seemingly A.I.-assisted. Its lyrics advocate for a carefree, resolutely American way of life, although they replace Nashville standards like beers and Bibles with cigarettes and copious amounts of cocaine, and find humor (and plenty of shock value) in their clash of saccharine femininity and unbridled nihilism.
Part of the incredible success of Girly Girl’s songs is that they tap into a very online humour du jour with jokes about vaping, voices notes, drugs and trauma and how those things relate to “girlhood.”
EUSEXUA HAS ARRIVED
“What is EUSEXUA? The title of FKA Twigs‘ upcoming full-length studio album isn’t a word that can be found in the pages of any dictionary. But the musician has laid out the full definition of the term in an artsy teaser trailer ahead of the record’s release.
Eu-sex-ua, pronounced /yo͞oˈ seks yo͞oˈ ä/, is an adjective used to describe an all-consuming, euphoric emotion. “Eusexua is like a feeling of ‘I’m that bitch,'” one person in the album trailer explains. The minute-long clip is a montage of eccentric, model-like figures exploring their own definition of the Twigs term. “Eusexua takes over who you are,” another adds. Someone else likens the feeling to “shimmering rose petals on my skin,” while others explain how Eusexua can be a shared emotional experience.”
Check out the astonishing video to experience Eusexua yourself!
ARTIFICIAL EMBRACES
Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick recently wrote about the AI Fantasy Factory trend in his newsletter ‘The Trend Report.’ and a few weeks ago he shared a new AI, Luma Dream Machine. He say’s: “If you spend time on Tik Tok you might have seen the creations by the “Luma Dream Machine” app, which allowed deceased relatives, their younger selves, or any variation of “impossible” persons to “hug it out” with those they love. A grandmother creeps out of her living room and into the arms of her grandaughter. A dad hugs his daughter in her cap and gown. “This is so precious,” another person writes of another grandmother and grandaughter. “When you find an app that lets you hug your Nonie on your wedding day,” a caption reads as the images of a bridal granddaughter and grandmother turn toward each other, grinning. Sure, it’s cute to see a dead relative act out a fantasy to appease one’s mourning — but what happens when the video ends?” It’s an AI fantasy world, where AI is about semi-materializing your imagination instead of giving you actual solutions.
THE UNDETECTABLE ERA
“What comes after the Instagram face? Something much more terrifying, we’ve entered the undetectable era say cosmetic surgeons referencing the rise of treatments that are aging people backwards. We’re living in a time in which cosmetic procedures are growing at record breaking speeds with increasingly younger crowds seeking after age preventative treatments and the undetectable era might take this further, letting those who can, naturally rejuvenate their faces without falling prey to the homogenous instagram face of fillers and filters. While many celebrate this new era of stealth cosmetics others are scared about how it might affect our views on beauty and aging. But what the undetectable era conceals recent cultural works are using horror to express loud and clear. As seen in highly anticipated films like ‘The Substance’ which uses gore to explore themes of bodily control and ageism and experimental fashion shows like Rohan Mirza’s “Nuketown” which enlisted prosthetics to reflect on the decay of the body for the sake of digital images. Body horror is having a moment sparking discussions about the growing commodification of the self.”
A FINAL ACT
“Re-shaping electronic production in her own guise, SOPHIE left behind numerous sketches, and almost-finished tracks. Her family, together with Transgressive and Future Classic, have moved to complete this album. Out now, ‘SOPHIE’ features a raft of collaborations, including Kim Petras, Doss, Hannah Diamond, Bibi Bourelly, and many other others. Each song has a special place in the lives of those who worked on it; Hannah Diamond recorded ‘Always And Forever’ during the 2020 lockdown, and said – “It ended up being the last ever day that I saw her in person.” Released a day early as a special surprise for fans, ‘SOPHIE’ is on streaming now, and will be available on double vinyl.”