What Wednesday #31
Today I’m a fanboy for Apple, *NSYNC, and awkward family games.
What Wednesday is where I talk about what I’m watching, reading, playing, etc, because for some reason I think you’ll find that interesting. If you have recommendations, I’d love to hear them :)
What I’m Hearing: Apple AirPods (Apple)
Disclaimer: I’m a big Apple fanboy. I’ve been a devotee to the fruit company ever since my first iPhone nearly ten years ago (minus a brief dalliance with Android, which turned out to be a big mistake). We’re an all Mac household, with iPhones, iPads, Apple TVs, and MacBooks. But even I knew that they had a rough 2016: no headphone jack in the iPhone 7 (though the my 7 Plus is my favorite phone yet), iPad stagnation, and the new MacBook Pro battery issues. Enter: the AirPods.
Though Apple technically squeaked them out before the end of 2016, they’ve been incredibly difficult to get so far. Selling them quicker than they can make them, I finally got my pair a few weeks ago. And I have to say, they’re my favorite new Apple product since my first iPhone almost ten years ago.
Apple is at its best when it nails the “it just works” aspect of its products so well, it feels like actual magic. Bluetooth has been one of those things that so much tech is: on paper, it’s great, but in reality, it sucks. Dropouts, disconnects, and terrible quality rule the day. Fortunately, with their tight integration of software and hardware, Apple was able to make some big improvements. You can go on any number of websites to get the full picture, so I’ll just say they’ve been a joy to use, with a generally rock solid connection, good battery life, great build quality, and excellent integration with Apple products. And I can’t understate how awesome it is to not have wires of any kind. It’s one of those things that will be standard someday — can you imagine having holograms, but needing to first plug your headphones into your floating supercomputer?
If you want a glimpse of the future, and are willing to shell a fair bit of cash — though they’re cheaper than almost every other fully wireless headphones — good luck finding a pair.
What I’m Also Hearing: 90s Pop (Spotify)
I find pop music supremely interesting, so I’ve been loving the book I talked about last week, The Song Machine, a look inside how pop music is made. The chapter I read last night was right in my wheelhouse: 90s pop music. Specifically, boy bands and Britney Spears. Their bubblegum pop is fascinating for a number of reasons. First, their bright, happy music came on the heels of one of the most cynical musical styles ever, grunge, proving that pop culture moves back and forth between family friendly and moral debauchery. Miley Cyrus is not the end game. Second, most of the biggest hits originated from the same Swedish production house, from the same supremely talented super-producers, who were the first to combine R&B with pop. And last, the music is incredibly well produced and sophisticated: the main super-producer, Max Martin, who’s still making music for superstars like Taylor Swift and Katy Perry, is a classically trained musical savant, with years of advanced musical theory under his belt.
A couple of tidbits: Bon Jovi’s big 2000 hit “It’s My Life” was co-written by the same producers behind Britney Spears and *NSYNC; the line “Hit me baby one more time” was supposed to mean “call me” as in “hit me up”, but the Swedish songwriters messed up the saying; and the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC were managed and run by the same people, but they weren’t told about it until much later. The guy behind Backstreet Boys, Lou Pearlman, figured it would only be a matter of time before a competitor copied their style, so he did it himself with *NSYNC. Needless to say, both bands got pretty pissed at him when they figured it out. He also cheated them out of millions of dollars. He’s in jail now. Good times.
And one last thing I finally got listening to the song “Larger Than Life” years later: it’s total fan service. The chorus “Every time we’re down, you can make it right/And that makes you larger than life” is meant to make their teenage girl fans feel like they’re individually important to the band. The boys see you in the crowd, and your buying their CDs and merch basically keeps them alive. And while that’s manipulative and creepy on its own, this line is the real kicker:
They’re basically saying they wish they could hook up with their teens fans. CREEPY! But, also kind of amazing that such a “wholesome” act would be so brazenly predatory. Ah, the 90s. I miss your hiding sexuality behind “family friendly” sugary pop. Today’s pop music is just too honest.
The book comes with Spotify playlists for each chapter. This one was particularly amazing to listen to driving around today…though I did turn down the volume anytime I pulled up next to someone. They don’t call ’em guilty pleasures for nothing. Feel free to enjoy from the safety of your own home. #NoJudgement
What I’m Playing: HYPERtheticals: 50 Questions for Insane Conversations (Amazon)
Not for the faint of heart, this card game is designed to create crazy conversations, which it does pretty effectively. Won shrewdly at a dirty Santa party by yours truly — I’m a ruthless stealer of gifts — this game has proven to be quite the gem. In a large enough group, each question can create 15+ minutes of discussion/argument. For example, if you have to resort to cannibalism, which do you eat first: babies or the elderly? Yeah, good times.
The questions are written by Chuck Klosterman, one of my favorite writers on pop culture. A frequent collaborator with famous sports writer and failed TV personality, Bill Simmons, Klosterman’s books are as strange and discussion provoking as this game. I’ve greatly enjoyed the books of his that I’ve read, and this game really is no different.
Here’s one of the highlights from playing over the weekend with my family: you’re in the “honesty room” with your parents, where they have to answer 100% truthfully to any question. What do you ask them? Needless to say, answering this question around my parents was…interesting.
Great to play with medium to large groups. If there are big age differences and/or familial relationships involved, maybe do some screening of questions ahead of time. If you’re cool with things getting weird, pick it up. You’re gonna have a great time.
