All They Wanna Talk About is Partyin' and Fashion
Have concerts gotten worse? Plus my Tumblr Girl and Drake scholar moments đŚ
Iâm trying to decide whether the concert experience has gotten worse, especially post-2020, for three reasons: absurd price gauging, continued milking of âreunionâ, âgoodbyeâ, and âfarewellâ tours, and the warped nostalgia of seeing an artist during vs. after the peak of their popularity.
Baby, let the games begin
Although there are many moving pieces and economic factors to consider, letâs just be real: concerts are insanely expensive. T*cketmaster has proven time and time again that the status quo of events ticketing is broken and exploitative to fans. In 2018, I paid $138.00 to see Taylor Swiftâs Reputation Tour. Rep consisted of 53 shows with 2.88 million attendees and a gross revenue of $345.7 million. It was the highest-grossing tour in North America to date. This year, there were more than 4.3 million Eras Tour tickets sold at an average price of $238.95. (I think the average resale price was slightly over $1k. *Faints*) The tour has grossed $1,039,263,762 â thatâs one Billion with a B dollars â leaving its old record in the dust. And Eras is not even over. In the words of Timeâs 2023 Person of the Year, Taylor Swift, what???
Never can say goodbye
Ahhh, the Touring Industrial Complex. I have asked people in their 50s and 60s whether they anticipated that the bands from the 60s, 70s, and 80s would still be playing the same songs 30, 40, 50+ years later. They said of course not. Itâs not the artistsâ fault per se; capitalism ensures that even rockstars will be working forever. Where I draw the line is by repeatedly teasing âreunionâ, âgoodbyeâ, and âfarewellâ tours. Elton John and Cher are notorious for this. Cherâs The Farewell Tour, later dubbed the Never Can Say Goodbye Tour, lasted for THREE YEARS in 2002-2005. She would later say âHere We Go Againâ, giving almost 500 performances during her North American tour, worldwide tour, and North American residency. (Donât be surprised if she announces a tour for her new Christmas album next yearâŚ)
Obviously for anyone other than Baby Boomers, this is a nowstalgic rather than nostalgic phenomenon; I wasnât around to see The Rolling Stones or Def Leppard or Journey during their prime. (Btw the Nicstalgia episode on Nostalgia vs. Nowstalgia is coming soon!) Now Millennials are seeing artists, whose peak of popularity coincided with our coming of age, tour for a new generation. If a concert is not prohibitively expensive, weâre left to decide whether or not to see an artist based on whether we had or had not seen them in their peak (to date). I will use John Mayer and Sky Ferreira as examples here.
I just found out thereâs no such thing as the real world
I was a diehard John Mayer fan and saw the Continuum Tour twice, in 2007 and 2008. Although Room for Squares was by far his most successful album commercially, Iâd argue that Continuum era was the peak of his popularity/celebrity. I always loved seeing artists perform the deep cuts, non-singles, or even commercial failures from their then-current album. I was completely enthralled by Continuum, lucky that I could hear all of my favorite songs live. (Setlist.fm disputes my hazy memory of having heard âThe Heart of Lifeâ and âBold as Loveâ though.)
JMay went on to play the Continuum album in its entirety at MSG in 2019. I didnât go because I had no money, and after reading Jessica Simpsonâs memoir, it became really hard for me to separate the art from the artist. (Bookmark: I will be revisiting this theme in a future newsletter.) I felt a tinge of jealousy when people shared their videos from the concert on Instagram, exclaiming how rare of an opportunity this was. I saw the Continuum tour TWICE and I didnât even get to hear all of the songs?! The betrayal!!! Itâs like seeing your ex take his new girlfriend to the place he always used to take you. Tbh, I was more so disappointed knowing that even if I had gone and heard the same songs, I would probably not feel the same euphoria again. I guess thatâs how thatâs a lot of people feel about no longer being seventeen.
Everythingâs embarrassing
There arenât many artists I havenât seen that I would still like to see in concert, but Tumblr-era queen Sky Ferreira was on the list. (Sky Ferreiraâs grandma was Michael Jacksonâs hairstylist, which I think is an unusual but critical detail in her backstory.) I missed her shows in Boston in 2013 and in 2014, when she and Icona Pop opened for Miley Cyrusâs Bangerz Tour â ON MY BIRTHDAY. (Now THAT I would go back in time for!) So when Sky Ferreira went out on the road this year, I had to get a ticket. I couldnât miss the opportunity to hear Night Time, My Time in its (almost) entirety. Itâs her most recent album to date, which is funny seeing as it was released ten years ago.
It was time for my grown-up Tumblr Girl moment! (Speaking of Tumblr, I just found out this week that my Tumblr account is still active and public!!! More on that later.) I put on my all-black ensemble with a deep crimson lip, snapped a selfie in the squiggle mirror, hopped on the train, and listened to the setlist at peak volume. It warranted yet another concerned âYour Volume Should Be Turned Downâ notification that I promptly ignored. I arrived at the venue right when the doors opened so I could get a prime spot upstairs. I bought a $15 vodka soda and made a new friend. (Hi Liv!) Early arrival was key; standing in a crowd of 500+ people with no personal space â especially since I am perfect elbow-in-the-face height â is my worst nightmare. (I learned my lesson after that Snoop Dogg show.)
Although Iâve been to many concerts with multigenerational fans, it was my first time being at a show with an audience comprised of two generations with shared nostalgia: those who were 13-year-olds on Tumblr in 2013 and those who were 23-year-olds on Tumblr in 2013. I was obviously in the âolderâ cohort. So although I donât identify as âoldâ or âelderâ by any means, I found my ability to enjoy the evening slightly inhibited by logistics (namely that I no longer have a walking-distance commute from concert venues). I tried not to feel cranky as it got later and later into the night, especially as I missed my train back home by ~30 seconds. Shake Shack had closed four minutes prior to my arrival, leaving me parched for the rest of the evening under the trainâs unrelenting fluorescent overhead lights.
I wondered if I wouldâve not let the inconveniences bother me had I seen Sky Ferreira in 2013. Would it have just been another night out in my leather jacket, black skinny jeans, smudged eyeliner, and combat boots? I then quickly realized that thereâs no use in trying to channel my ten-years-ago self. Sheâs too far away. She wasnât more carefree or happy. Was I really trying to romanticize 2013 just because I was a little tired??? Hell no. Sky Ferreiraâs songs I heard the other night actually resonate with me more now, because I have perspective and hindsight I didnât have then. So overall, Iâm glad I saw her when I did. (Just like it was 1000% worth it seeing Dashboard Confessional play my AIM away message song and Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness play my MySpace song ~15 years after their release.)
Ya gotta trust the timing of your life!!!!! Plus, only in the year 2023 could I witness the absolutely DIVINE Caroline Polachek, bop around to a Charli XCX x AG Cook B2B DJ set, have a Ryan Cabrera meet and greet, AND scream-sing Sky Ferreiraâs â24 Hoursâ and âI Blame Myselfâ within a 5-month span. What a time to be alive! (Yes that was a segue to talk about DrakeâŚ)
In this issue:
đż More on the Physical Media Renaissance⢠Nicstalgia episode
đ My Social Media Ruins Everything presentation at the SIXPOSIUM
đ A Sky Ferreira cover song that (indirectly) links back to Drake lol
And happy Lenny Kravitz season to all who celebrate.
đ The Latest on Nicstalgia
ICYMI, this was the first presentation-format episode of Nicstalgia! Think of it as a YouTube deep dive meets TikTok PowerPoint night. I talk about six key acquisition considerations in my retro tech thrifting process: consumption, media ephemerality, perceived value, circular economy, friction, and taste. Enjoy this episode on YouTube for the full effect. Like it? Please share it! đ I am working on a few more episodes in this format and will resume with some more interviews in the new year. I read a statistic once that 90% of podcasts donât make it to 10 episodes, and here we are at 51! Wow! I really love presenting, and Iâm having a lot of fun with this. If there are any particular topics you are interested in seeing, please leave a comment below.
đ Social Media Ruins Everything 6ď¸âŁ
Had the best time presenting at the SIXPOSIUM, the first-ever academic conference focused on the field of Drake Studies đŚ I also made a book called SOCIAL MEDIA RUINS EVERYTHING, a play on Drakeâs poetry book, featuring lyrics we unironically used as FB album names & IG captions. I 100% earnestly had a Facebook album in 2010 called âAll They Wanna Talk About is Partyin' and Fashionâ, which was very a specifically, aptly titled album for a college fashion major.
Huge thank you to Ruby for this opportunity!!!!! It was definitely my most fulfilling moment of 2023. (If you missed Ruby on Nicstalgia recently, catch up here!)
All of the presentations were amazing!!!! Check them out:
⢠An information theoretic characterization of Drakeâs lyrics by Reese Richardson
⢠Drake as babygirl by Anna Gorham
⢠It Is Highly Unlikely That This One Will Ever Be For You by Sarah Chefka
⢠Young Angel and Young Lion: Drake as myth by Jaime B
And of course, Social Media Ruins Everything ⤾ď¸
đż And We Danced All Night To The Best Song Ever
Song of the week:
âVoices Carryâ by Sky Ferreira, an unreleased (to-date) cover of the âTil Tuesday song. I did NOT know that Aimee Mann was the lead singer of âTil Tuesday! (Before my time.) I had only heard of the song because Degrassi named its episodes â for the first ten seasons â after 80s songs. (Voices Carry is the one where Craig famously trashes his hotel room. The line Aubrey Graham says, âAre you drunk?â reminds me of Drakeâs âMarvinâs RoomââŚ.âAre you drunk right now?â lol why am I like thisâŚ)
Anyway! Skyâs synth-heavy production makes her voice a really natural fit for 80s songs. The message of âVoices Carryâ breaks my heart, but itâs a song I really like and enjoyed hearing live.
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