This week on Tasteland we're joined by W. David Marx, an American fashion and culture writer who works and lives in Tokyo, Japan. He is the author of Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style and Status and Culture: How Our Desire for Social Rank Creates Taste, Identity, Art, Fashion, and Constant Change.

Preorder Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century

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W. David Marx

• Newsletter
• Twitter/X
• Instagram

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Timestamps

00:00:00 Subway tastes

00:02:26 There's no song of the summer

00:09:05 Skinny pants are never coming back

00:12:10 Only Fads

00:17:10 Fad consumerism culture, US vs Asia

00:21:27 The age of the double sellout

00:24:00 The 21st century crisis

00:35:49 Rich enough to not have a smartphone

00:41:25 Cultural roots of contemporary politics

00:51:04 Everyone is a marketer

00:56:37 You can't be unfamous

01:01:04 Capitalism without morality

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Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers.