I recently read W David Marx's article 'The Age of the Double Sell-Out' and smiled when I saw his reference to Chuck Klosterman - “The concept of ‘selling out’ — and the degree to which that notion altered the meaning and perception of almost everything is the single most nineties aspect of the nineties.”
Fast forward to fast fame and parasocial relationships in 2025 where culture is personified by vacuous profiteering. David's article reminded me of Adam Mastroianni's declaration a few years ago that pop culture has descended into an oligopoly.
It's a depressing cycle to bear witness to where creators who achieve fame only deploy it to pursue more 'commerce-for-commerce's sake'. As a coffee nerd, I remember the world of paint by numbers celebrity coffee via James Hoffman that David references: How Celebrity Coffee is Made.
