Lil Yachty’s new song flips a Maggie Rogers classic; Gene Gallagher is charting his own course; Pitchfork calls Miley Cyrus’s latest release, out today, a “concept album without a concept”; and I have a short letter for you today because I’m feeling a little spent, as evidenced by my typo in yesterday’s subject line. (A keyboarding error or a cry for help? We’ll never know!).

EVERYTHING MILLENNIAL IS COOL AGAIN, nyt
Young generations are reviving peak millennial trends, like wired headphones, JNCO jeans, Sex and the City, and, most staggeringly, Bumpits. Once mocked for their cringe factor, these millennial aesthetics are cultural currency again, reshaped through TikTok, irony, and nostalgia. I’m not sure if this makes me feel redeemed or just old.

WHAT IS AURA FARMING, AND IS IT COOL OR CRINGE?, theguardian
“Aura farming,” the latest buzzword among Gen Z and Gen Alpha, describes deliberately cultivating a cool, mysterious presence, whether “by striking a cool pose, or performing great feats of coolness — a strike when you go bowling, flawlessly landing rubbish in the bin from 5 metres away, or completing a new personal best at the gym.” The phrase borrows from gaming slang, where “farming” means grinding for rewards. As The Guardian notes, aura farming can quickly veer into cringe if done too obviously (“where there is cool, there is also cringe”).

HOW THE GEN Z TAKEOVER IS CHANGING THE NBA, theringer
The 2025 NBA playoffs mark a generational turning point, with stars like Tyrese Haliburton and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ushering in the league’s “first zoomer champion in league history.” Gen Z players, raised online, are highly self-aware and fluent in internet culture (Haliburton joked about “aura farming” in a postgame presser), which shapes how they connect with fans and handle pressure. As social media strategist David Brickley notes, “That one like, that one comment can literally buy you a lifetime of fandom.”

THE STANLEY CUP’S VIRAL MOMENT MAY BE WANING. A NEW BRAND CHIEF HAS A PLAN., wsj
What happens when your brand goes viral among young consumers, and then those young consumers all move on? Stanley and Drunk Elephant are both finding out. Stanley’s 40-ounce tumblers became a Gen Z status symbol, while Drunk Elephant rode the Sephora tween craze to a short-lived boom. But sustaining that kind of hype is impossible, and Drunk Elephant alienated its millennial base while also failing to build loyalty with Gen Alpha. Stanley, meanwhile, is trying to take a different approach by expanding internationally, launching new categories like protein shakers, and aligning with niche celebrities. Still, it’s not going to be easy — Piper Sandler’s latest teen survey named Stanley the No. 2 “fashion trend on its way out.”

One last thought:

@ellavniiHave to sit here for a second and reflect

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