Is Anyone Cool Anymore?
On Charli xcx's 'The Death of Cool'
Charli xcx writes on Substack now. A few celebrities made their writing debut here recently. Even Lizzo! Lizzo doesn’t interest me. Too big. But Charli xcx is a good writer.
To get this out of the way — yes, I think Charli xcx is quite talented. I heard Charli’s music while being out but never listened with intent. I was turned off to Brat because it became a meme.
After Trump won, it felt like enough time had passed to give Brat a listen. I’m unashamed to admit: it’s really good.
Charli recently published The Death of Cool — which had to be clicked. It’s a very alluring title. I wondered if she would write about how far the Brat meme got away from her in contrast to the vibe of the album. In my opinion, she acknowledged this without saying it.
“The more time passed from the album release the more and more bastardized the representations of the album became. These representations were replicated and reproduced and deemed as truthful. This is when I feel that things become broad, things become passé, things become boring.”
But this post isn’t about Brat. It’s about a word that shouldn’t be defined. Something is either cool or it isn’t. Someone is either cool or they’re not. Most people know the difference instinctively. The most we can definitely say is that once something tries to be cool, it ceases to be so. Just like trying to define it.
But Charli’s post made me wonder — is coolness dead? What’s fascinating now? Who has allure now? It’s hard for me to come up with a list. I’ve lived through some very cool eras where cool people and cool things were ubiquitous in comparison to now.
Why is it so hard to find? Is it due to the mass production of everything? The financial acquisition of the small and innovative by the large and powerful? The lack of quality in everything from clothes to customer service?
Is it the memeification of lifestyles? The internet that everyone is addicted to? Why be a cool person when you could post a picture of Patrick Bateman eating a fig on the coast of Sardinia saying “we’re so back”? Thousands of people might actually believe you are cool. Does this fill the void for both parties?
