Jeeven Singh is already at the afterparty
If there’s a cultural moment happening, odds are Jeeven Singh has RSVP’d “yes” before the invite was even designed.
He’s the type of friend you see tagged in last night’s gig photos, this morning’s exhibition opening and somehow at a cafe meeting before you’ve finished your Coco Pops. A brand strategist guy – most recently Ksubi and Depop before that – Jeeves has a sixth sense for where the cool stuff lives and how it works.
Reading his COMMPRESS: MediaDiet is like being stuck in an ongoing conversation with Jeeven and all the things he loves. He’ll happily deep dive into the mechanics of a brand story, the layers behind a track or the psychology of why a piece of design makes you feel something you can’t quite name. And he’ll do it without losing the joy of discovery, even when the discovery is a cursed NBA reel or bank-breaking vintage tee.
A dear SKMG friend, Jeeven is everywhere, all the time, and never phoning it in. Unless he’s literally phoning you from somewhere enviable asking when you’ll be there… as though you knew the event was on in the first place.
It only took him two months to write this, so it better be worth it.
Wake up
I jam a podcast in my ears first thing as I brush my teeth. My headphones aren’t wired. The podcast is probably How Long Gone. It’s labelled a “bro-cast” but it’s much more than that... trust me, bro. They’ve nailed the art of conversation and have self-labelled the podcast as dumb content for smart people. I like that. Their list of guests is as diverse as it is impressive and I’d do a disservice listing them out so, go have a look for yourself. But before you do, think a healthy dose of magazine editors, chefs, artists, stylists, photographers and creatives from around the world.
Then, as I’m consuming my morning coffee, I’ll fang it over to Substack and check for a new newsletter. Jonah Weiner is a true garm philosopher and doles out wisdom on mindsets and ways of living like it’s a deck of cards. He has a truly singular style of writing and I have been put onto A LOT from this newsletter.
You should also check out for similarly unique penmanship, covering the design and home decor worlds. Seriously. Good.
Morning
My work is currently wherever I need to be or feel the most productive, whether that be at home or elsewhere! If I’m driving – which is most days – I’m listening to music, and my Spotify “daylist” has dubbed this morning “2020s haunting Thursday early morning”. Apt. Outside of allowing the algo to do its thing, I will also have a quick peruse of Nina, which is a new-ish independent music platform with insane curation and guestlists; I have discovered a lot of new artists through here and it’s particularly useful if you’re looking for music adjacent to artists or genres that are already on heavy rotation.
Hearing Things is another spot for music discovery I keep finding myself returning to: a music blog run by some ex-Pitchfork / The Fader writers. Great spot to get some nuanced recs and thoughtful music editorial.
If it’s a Tuesday morning, I'm starting the new Otherworld podcast episode for the week. Do you believe in gnomes? Highly recommend for even the most sceptical of you out there. Jack Wagner approaches the unexplained with a really grounding and relatable perspective. Have recommended it to my most cynical friends and I’d say a touch over half of them have continued to listen. Not bad.
Afternoon
My afternoons purely depend on scheduled meetings or wherever I feel like I’ll be most productive that day (which can be at home, the library or, dare I say it, the pub). I have about 32 tabs open as I type this and I feel like this is the baseline. This is the real me. The foundation of my tab wasteland consists of a mix of Gmail, Airmail articles, postage tracking, Google slides and sale sections of various online clothes peddlers. Phone-wise, if you know me you can ask me about my screen time directly. This is not public info.
Evening
For some reason I tend to lean into some of the more heads-y reading as we approach bedtime. By the time we hit evening I am light years ahead of you.
is a phenomenal newsletter by Ana Andjelic, one of the best brand builders out there. Strongly recommend her two books on branding and culture.
’s 8Ball is a great newsletter on trends, culture and tech; I’ll usually check this in the evenings. I’ll also transition into some of the more “online” culture focused newsletters around this time too... and Doomscroll by lord Josh Citarella are great reads respectively.
There is a lot of scrolling going on as my penultimate activity before bed time (remember: Mr Huberman told us that blue lights are bad):
sabukaru posts and articles usually stop me dead in my tracks.
Lots of obscure NBA reels and memes.
A couple saves on vintage tees I’ll never be able to afford.
Then reading before bed. It will either be a book (currently Graydon Carter’s memoir, When the Going is Good) or one of a bunch of publications I’ve overfilled my increasingly confined living space with: 032c, POPEYE, PIN-UP, KALEIDOSCOPE, Apartamento... you get the picture.
Jeeven’s Picks & Recs
SCREEN TIME: Redacted, for your own safety.
SUBSCRIBED TO: Outside of what I’ve already mentioned: (Emily Sundberg),
, , , , Bret Easton Ellis podcast, Brad Troemel, , Cold Pod, Nymphet Alumi.SOMETHING I WANT YOU TO READ: The autobiography of Gucci Mane.
SOMETHING I WANT YOU TO LISTEN TO: CC Dust.
AN UNEXPECTED GOOGLE SEARCH: Lismore Speedway open times.
INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT I’M LOVING RIGHT NOW: @halfpast.noon
A LINK WORTH FORWARDING: archive.is – the new 12 foot ladder.