Remember when a McCartney interview seemed special?
Why so-called "abundance" diminishes the cultural impact of "content", "creators" and access.
I was listening to an interview with Paul McCartney this morning on ‘The Rest is History’ although I could just as easily have caught him on ‘The Rest is Entertainment’ too.
Having been a public figure for around six decades, there’s not much we don’t know about him, and not much more he has to say, but it struck me that an interview with Sir Paul used to be a momentous thing, the sort of thing that the BBC would promo for weeks if he was appearing on Parkinson, and which would be broadcast at prime time on a Saturday night. This morning it just popped up on my feed.
Later that morning, as I was driving my daughter to her gymnastics class, an old Beck song came on the radio from his 1994 ‘Mellow Gold’ album and it struck me how unusual and raw it sounded, and how challenging it would have been to make back then, and how that combination of originality and effort made it such a significant release. Yet, just a couple of weeks ago, he released an EP of cover versions on Spotify. It’s fine. I don’t really care.
All this so-called “abundance” of “content”, “creators” and access decreases its cultural value and impact. For instance, there are currently scores of new releases on Netflix, Amazon, and Apple featuring the biggest movie stars in the world, and I really couldn’t care less. I’ve never heard of any of them, I’ve not read a review anywhere nor do I know anyone who has seen, or has any interest in seeing, them.
In real life, every city I visit here in Asia has malls next to malls featuring whole floors of Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Rolex, etc. How can any of these brands be truly luxurious if they are as common as H&M and Uniqlo? They can’t, but growth is the only model we know so make more we must!
Why unlimited growth is cancerous
Every Silicon Valley-style tech company promises, and in a tiny number of cases delivers, 1,000x returns on investment. Consequently, every company is expected to do the same or have their stock dumped in favour of the latest widget startup - but the most basic lesson of economics is that the more you have of something, the less it’s worth. Now, extrapolate this out to AI: once it is in or behind everything, its value must surely plummet and that seems like a massive risk for investors who are already several trillion dollars in the hole with no other business model emerging than subscriptions or ads.
You’d think, with its supposed superhuman intelligence, AI might have come up with a more original business model than subs or ads but, seeing as its job is to pull the most predictable next word from its memory banks, it makes sense that the only idea it can come up with is an old one currently being adopted by everyone from Open AI to BMW, who are pushing forward with their ‘features-as-a-service’ “innovation” despite the scandal over their subscription powered heated seats in 2022 .
This new economy, where we own nothing but pay for the same thing over and over and over again without ever building equity in it is completely unsustainable, increases inequality by creating an ownership class and a subscribership class, and destroys the pre-loved market because you can’t sell something that you never actually owned. I honestly think we are just a few short years away from subscription homes, which will be like rental homes but with every facility, from the aircon to the appliances, supplied as an additional subscription service direct from the manufacturer who will offer landlords the hardware for free for the chance to make monthly money from their tenants for life. We will end up in a situation where people with a kettle will not be able to make a cup of tea because, even though they paid their rent and utilities, they failed to hand their data and money over to Tefal for access to boiled water!
What’s the cure?
So, what can we do right now? This is beyond the control of politicians, who are constantly threatened about meddling in the alleged “free market”, (which is actually a corporate socialist market where private industry is propped up by public money, but more on that another time). I think we have to go analogue; buy records and CDs that ask for no data and require a one-time only payment (preferably in cash), for total ownership. Buy books, gift books, loan books, and DVDs too. Write letters that Google cannot read. Big tech HATES consumers doing anything they cannot track or monetise. You don’t have to give up your phone, but you don’t have to use it for every damn thing, in fact you’ll enjoy everything more if you don’t. (I just went back to FiloFax because I can’t bear starting every day staring at a screen!).
Abundance is the enemy of value, which would be fine if it applied to food and shelter and basic human necessities - but it never does. In the rentier economy I choose to value those things that make LIFE richer, NOT shareholders.
To Do List
My recommendations for new things to read, watch, look at, listen to and do this week:
Purveyors of “slow culture” Softerfields are back with another vinyl listening party on 22nd May, this time in Joo Chiat Road and featuring music from the late 80s Shibuya scene. I had a great time at their last event and met some brilliant people so think about it: https://www.softerfields.com/gatherings.
Unfortunately I won’t be at said listening party because I already bought my tickets to watch L’Etranger (The Stranger) at Alliance Francaise on the same night. The trailer for the film based on the book by philosopher Albert Camus looks achingly French so bring your beret, your Gauloise and your sense of existential futility: https://alliancefrancaise.org.sg/events/the-stranger-2026-05-22-5390/register.
On the 27th local record emporium Bizarro Market has organised Bizarro Bazaar at Filmhouse.sg, featuring pre-loved records from local vendors AND a screening of 90s cult classic Empire Records - can’t wait!
Finally, Singaporean alt-rock 3-piece Gnaw have released their debut E.P. of raucous fuzz on Spotify and Bandcamp and it’s a blast!
Right, that’ll do ya! Cheers, Nx