How to survive the weight of an entire industry trying to convince you that you're inadequate • Buttondown

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Not why would you want to make art. Everybody makes art. Or at least everyone was born making art. I mean why would you want to do it without feeling stupid and/or inadequate? That’s my favorite way to make art. But let’s talk about something else and then circle back to that. Let’s talk about Der Kommissar. Der Kommissar is an incredibly catchy song that came out in December of 1981. It’s by Falco, an Austrian new wave pop star of the era. It reached #22 on the US charts, and #1 on the Austrian charts, which shouldn’t be a surprise. And if you’re of a certain age, you heard it at least 10 times a day when it came out. You also saw the video on MTV a lot because that’s how often they played it—a lot. The song is tangentially about the surveillance state, authoritarianism , and youthful defiance, which… sure. It’s also incredibly stupid. The video, which features Falco in front of a green screen lip-syncing to the song while being chased by cop cars, is even stupider. And I love it. The

May 28, 2025 How to survive the weight of an entire industry trying to convince you that you're inadequate How do I make art without feeling stupid and/or inadequate? Look at all this evidence of humanity! If you enjoy the newsletter gimme $2 . This week’s question comes to us from DB: How do I make art without feeling stupid and/or inadequate? Why would you want to? Not why would you want to make art. Everybody makes art. Or at least everyone was born making art . I mean why would you want to do it without feeling stupid and/or inadequate? That’s my favorite way to make art. But let’s talk ab

How to survive the weight of an entire industry trying to convince you that you're inadequate • Buttondown

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