OFF-TOPIC — VOL.3
Art, craft, culture, and everything in between.
OFF-TOPIC is a monthly (occasionally more frequent) newsletter for art, craft, culture, and everything in between.
This past month has been all about staying inspired. Inspiration isn’t hard to find these days, but cutting through the overwhelming flood of stuff to spot great work takes me more effort than ever. For this edition, I’ll be sharing a few raw thoughts and great finds between the sea of sameness and greatness.
Too Long. Too Short. Just Right. We’re living in a world of extremes. On one side, bloated, never-ending content. Three-hour movies. Or TV shows that could have just been movies. Podcasts especially fall into the “more is more” trap. Hours of conversation, a hundred hot takes, and you walk away wondering what you learned. Books that feel like stretched blog posts. On the other side, a relentless push toward brevity. Snappy 10-second clips. 2-minute reads... etc.
We’ve gotten good at producing more, but not always better. Somewhere in the middle, between too much and too little, lives the sweet spot🍬, the 90-minute film, the 4-track EP that says everything it needs to.
Speaking of books📚, I know I’m not the first to discover Creativity, Inc., but it lives up to the praise. Seeing the world a bit differently after finishing a book, that’s the kind of high I chase. Creativity, Inc. left me with something I’ll carry for a long time…
”Essential to creativity: a culture that protects the new.”
That one line sums up what I want to build with people, with projects, with community. A space that protects the vulnerable, beginning stages of an idea. That doesn’t rush to scale or polish before things are ready.Lately, I’ve been rewatching 🎞️Mad Men, and honestly, it’s still dead-on. So many of the struggles in creative work haven’t changed. Watching it now, in the age of AI and automation, I wonder… is this just another cycle? Or is something fundamental shifting this time? We’ve been here before, fearing the new, worrying that it’ll replace the old. We adapt. We evolve. But part of me feels this era is different. Faster. More uncertain. Maybe even more brutal.
And yet, shows like Mad Men remind me that the creative process has always been unpredictable, uncomfortable, and human.
”The job has never been about having the answers. It’s always been about being willing to work without them.”100 years of history in 100 films. Someone said, "I wonder what the next 100 films over the next 100 years will be." And honestly, that got me curious too. I wonder what form and shape they’ll take 📽️.
The world through the lens of ADHD. I love a good web 👨🏻💻 experiment, especially when it touches on something most of us have experienced or know people are going through.
TERRA is the garden 🪑chair you grow yourself. Perfect. Because we all need to go outside, touch grass, and sit down. It’s that simple.
Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist Present… Alfredo: The Movie. From now on, every great artist should announce their album with a short film🍿, beautifully shot by Nicholas Walker.
From the streets to the clubs. Great piece on the origins of the 🥁Plastikman logo.
Kit👕 launches have evolved from simple lookbooks to full-blown films. What once tied into major tournaments or boots has shifted… the shirt is now the hero. It’s more than merch, it’s the most sacred form of ownership in football culture. Some examples are recent drops from clubs like PSG, Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs, and many more. It’s a trend that has been building for years, pushing creativity and hype to new heights.
Not gonna lie, really into the design of the Nothing🎧Headphone (1). Been using the Nothing Ear (a) for a while too, easily the best-looking, best-sounding, and most comfortable fit I’ve had, especially for the price. It’s an insane value.
I’ve noticed more and more products are being designed specifically with 🖨️ 3D printing in mind. I like this trend.
To me, Goldlink is one of those rare artists 🎤 who never miss. Everything he puts out feels deliberate and like a new step forward in his evolution. His latest album, ENOCH, is just further proof of that.
Loving the new visual identity for 📷 Sigma by Stockholm Design Lab
The best take on originality ✨ I’ve come across and stayed with me for over a decade. Alan Palomo said it best. Taking one thing and spinning it into an endless stream of new ideas.
Sublime.app is another “second brain” 🧠 a place to save, organise, and create with all the things that inspire you. There are a lot of similar tools out there. My Mind, Savee, Are.na, Cosmos… and it can feel a bit too much. But they are still one of the rare corners of the internet that feel good to visit.
Signing off 💤 with some words from two of my favourite artists, a filmmaker and a music producer.
“Follow the fun.”
Jordan Peele“Art cannot and should not be contained and restrained by algorithms.”
DāM FunKAnd last but not least, here’s a fun 📹 music video I created in collaboration with Zeynep Oğuz for my new track under my alias, released on my indie label.
Fade out, fade in next time!
That’s a wrap from me. Hit me with your faves and recs if you’ve got any!
If this felt good to read, it might feel better to share it with others. 🙏