RIGHT BRAIN MUSINGS: ISSUE #1.

Keeping up with the speed of culture has always been my thing. God knows I put in enough scrolling hours to see, hear and read pretty much everything that’s out there. This week, I have to admit, my fitness was put to the test.

It began with NY Fashion Week, followed by the dog-eat-cat debate, Taylor’s endorsement, the VMA’s, and winding down the week we had the 9/11 remembrances, and today, I guess the West has declared war on Russia ?

It seems these days we pack a month of events into every week. Admittedly I never even had the time to consider Melania’s dramatic conspiracy theory about her husband’s attempted assassination.

While I passed on NYFashion week events because “I just don’t have anything to wear”, I am pretty excited by the appointments of Sarah Burton as the new Creative Director of Givenchy, and Haider Ackermann at Tom Ford. I think they’re both out-of-the-box hires and indicative of fashion brands needing to refresh their stories. (See also Zac Posen now at Gap and Old Navy.)

I did attend the VMA’s held at the UBS Stadium out on Long Island. The last VMA’s I attended were around 2003 at Radio City Music Hall, and to be completely honest, I had no idea the VMA’s or MTV were even still a thing. Do they still make music videos? Where do people watch them? Vimeo ? Youtube? (Note to self, watch more music videos. One even.)

I have a Gen Z daughter, so I'm pretty up to speed on the Drake / Kendrick Lamar feud, and all summer I listened to Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan, so I felt pretty confident that I was down with what the kids were into...or so I thought.

What struck me about the venue was the absence of brands. The UBS Stadium is home to the Islanders, a hockey team, and I guess UBS has it all sewn up. Every food stall was unbranded. One was called CHICKEN, another PIZZA, another PRETZELS. The only visible branding was UBS, the Islanders, and of course the VMA’s. Fascinating that with 17 000 happy GenZees all in one place, there was such a stark absence of brands. Is this the strategy of the future - to reach the youth, less is more ?

With my unbranded cocktail and pretzel, I settled into my seat genuinely excited to immerse myself in the music culture of today. I sensed every kid around was whispering, “who brought their Dad?”

The host came out and it was Megan Thee Stallion. (I believe I’m getting the Thee right?) I had certainly heard her name before but I’m not sure why she’s famous. Does it matter ? It turns out the packed stadium adore her, so she must be doing something right.

Next up was Eminem and of course I go way back with Em to Slim Shady and Nine Mile, so I was all over it.

And then things started to get a tad confusing.

A young woman named, ummm, I forget now, bounced onto the stage. She performed a song that sounded like Sabrina meets Taylor but I knew enough that she was neither. The crowd went wild.

Next up a gender fluid performer I hadn’t heard of, and again the crowd seem to love they more than God. I had no way of knowing who these acts were, and the idea of tapping any one of the screaming kids around me on the shoulder and saying “excuse me, who is this?”, was admittedly too humiliating for me.

My God what has happened to popular music ? I used to work in the music industry, I used to know my way around these parts. But now it seems anyone with an impressive tiktok following is up on stage emulating someone else.

Sure enough, Sabrina Carpenter exploded onto the stage and I jumped to my feet to show the kids I was still hip to pop culture. I am actually a big fan.

Taylor Swift was awarded the evening’s first MoonPerson. (Not MoonMan anymore for obvious reasons.) Taylor ascended the stage to screams I hadn’t heard since the Beatles.

In her acceptance speech she said all the right things. She cheered on her collaborators. She honored 9/11 and she reminded every fan over 18 to register and vote. Back in the early days, the VMA’s were the platform for artists to behave badly. There was the infamous Eminem and Moby feud in 2002 with shade thrown from the stage. In 2003 Madonna made out with Britney and Christina on stage. In 2009, Kanye rudely interrupted Taylor’s win, to proclaim the award belonged to Beyonce?. How times have changed, the most controversial moment this year was Taylor encouraging 18yr olds to register and vote.

It’s such a softer, kinder, time in music. Artists today talk about inclusivity and acceptance, peace and tolerance and generally seem to spend more time inspiring the youth and less time shocking them. It’s a beautiful thing.

And so the show went on for me, one “guess who?” performer after the next. The sheer talent on stage, the production values, backstage crews and professionalism to pull this all off, and the joy it brought all these kids struck me as something we never have to worry about AI replacing.

At one point a female performer was playing the piano with her back to me, and she was so good that for a minute it crossed my mind it was Carol King. Of course it wasn’t. Carol King is 82 and probably in bed someplace right now.

To my relief a couple of familiar names popped up, DJ Khalid, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom. God bless, they’re still killing it.

And then a young man took the stage, and I thought maybe it was Harry Styles, but on closer inspection it was not, although the kid was dressed like Harry. (I have kept up on Harry’s fashion choices.) It was Shawn Mendes. Yes it had to be Shawn!!! I was so proud of myself that I bravely engaged with the kid sitting next to me and I said, “Oh wow, Shawn Mendes eh !!!” She replied, “no it’s Jesse Murph.” Turns out Jess is pretty amazing.

My evening at the VMAs left me both exhilarated and introspective. In a world where culture is now moving at speeds faster than any of us can safely consume, the show was a vivid reminder to me of the enduring power of live performance and its ability to connect us across generational divides. And being in a stadium with thousands of passionate humans united in such a joyful experience will always be more inspiring and awesome to witness than any new brand or technology developments.

As we wind down this week, and prep ourselves for next, (oh God give me strength),perhaps what we need isn't just more hours in the day, or this exhausting pressure on ourselves to keep up, but maybe a willingness to occasionally pause, watch, and listen, allowing ourselves to be surprised and delighted by the new and the unfamiliar. Either that, or scroll faster baby, faster !!