Ep. 120: Frasurbane

Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration  This episode was recorded live at Mouse Arts and Letters Club in celebration of the 3rd anniversary of Silent Generation! Nathan and Sebastien were joined by listeners, friends of the pod, and former guests who asked them questions about the podcast, Chicago, urbanism, art, architecture, aesthetics, and their personal lives.   Links: Mouse Arts and Letters Club   Artwork: Photo by thirtyfivezoe   Recorded on 10/23/2026

Frasurbane is a consumer aesthetic popular from the late-1980s to mid-1990s best exemplified by the 1993 sitcom Frasier. It was first identified by CARI co-founder Evan Collins, who jokingly coined the term “Frasurebane” by combining “Frasier” and “urbane" in 2018. Since then, Frasurbane has been overshadowed by “louder” consumer aesthetics like Utopian Scholastic and Global Village Coffeehouse, but is it as dull as it is perceived to be?  On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan and Sebastien begin by discussing why the aesthetic first emerged: baby boomers aged and became refined, yuppies expanded their tastes beyond what was considered “highbrow,” and the early 1990s recession caused neutral colors to surge in popularity. They then identify the elements of Frasurbane (sepia tones, serif fonts, academic motifs, references to the humanities, and surrealist imagery) and use them to examine the TV show Frasier. The episode concludes with a discussion about how the music video for Parasite by Melody English is the sole example of “Neo-Frasurbane.”   Links: Pinterest Board: https://www.pinterest.com/silentgeneration/frasurbane/  Frasurbane CARI Page Frasurbane Are.na Page Frasurbane Aesthetics Wiki Page  Frasurbane: An Aesthetic We All Once Knew But Probably Forgot - Em’s Wild World 'Frasurbane' Is the New 90s Decor Trend Based on... the Show 'Frasier'? by Mary Frances Knapp Frasier: Apartment Tour [CG Tour] Frasier Crane the OG of MLS r/malelivingspace Frasier: A Cultural History by By Joseph J. Darowski and Kate Darowski Premodernism/ modernism/ postmodernism floating duck meme Let's end this once and for all. Which ornament was most worthy of Frasier's apartment? The Chihuly glass sculpture or the 'Froggy' statue? Public Art: A Return to Ornament by Carol Diehl “Parasite” by Melody English MELODY ENGLISH - House of Ornament  Global Village Coffeehouse Facebook Group - First Ever Post Ep. 72: Utopian Scholastic Ep. 73: Normcore w/ Solana Artwork: Photo by William Whitehurst   Record on 10/26/2026

Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration  The term “transplant” refers to domestic migrants who move to major cities from small towns and suburbs. Closely related terms like “yuppie,” “PMC,” and “gentrifier” suggest high salaries, but the term “transplant” is indifferent to wealth, getting applied to anyone viewed as an outsider by locals. Failing to immediately integrate into their newfound communities, transplants quickly form bonds with one another and create their own “transplant culture.” But what does “transplant culture” look like?  On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan and Sebastien begin by identifying several important components of transplant culture: city subreddits, localisms, meetup groups, neighborhood nicknames, and urbanism. Particular focus is paid to Jeppson's Malört and Red Hot Ranch, with the two pointing to them as evidence of transplants’ propensity to overstate the importance of most local traditions to local culture. Nathan then coins the term “neighborhood classism” to describe the prejudice that transplants feel toward people who live in non-transplant neighborhoods. The episode rounds out with a survey of the most popular transplant neighborhoods in Chicago (Lincoln Park, Lake View, West Loop, and Wrigleyville) followed by a discussion about “nashvillification.”   Links: Transplant - Urban Dictionary What we really mean when we call someone a "transplant" by Cece Xie HEY CHICAGO - There is a difference between being a transplant and having grown up in the suburbs Chicago Party Aunt - Twitter Chicago Party Aunt Tweets How ‘Chicago Party Aunt’ made the jump from Twitter to Netflix by Zach Long Searching for Local Identity in “The Bear” and “Chicago Party Aunt” by Ryan Zickgraf How Swedish Malort Became Chicago's Mascot Bitter Drink by Melissa McEwen How Jeppson’s Malört became Chicago’s drink by Adriana Cardona-Maguigad Malört’s unlikely rise from a joke to Chicago’s drink by Adriana Cardona-Maguigad Why is Malört such a cultural thing in Chicago? malort.com Dollar Store Vernacular - CARI Chicago neighborhood names but if a transplant came up with them Artist dreams up 'A New Yorker's Guide to Chicago' by Blanca Rios  A New Yorker’s Guide to Chicago A New Yorker’s Guide to Los Angeles A New Yorker's guide to DC A New Yorker's guide to SF People when they find out you don’t live in the “cool young” part of town ‘I Could Really See Myself Living Here,’ Says Woman in Most Expensive Neighborhood of City She’s Visiting. Why Does Wrigleyville look like Nashville? By Emily Mack Nashville-ification of Wrigleyville by citycastchicago on IG Ep. 87: Civil Servant Culture Ep. 119: Yuppies 2 w/ Dylan Gottlieb   Artwork: Federales Tacos & Tequila - Fulton Market, Chicago   Recorded on 10/5/2026

This week’s episode of Silent Generation revisits the subject of one of our most popular episodes: yuppies. These are the “young urban professionals” who flooded into finance, law, and politics during the 1980s. While the original episode on yuppies (Ep. 116: Yuppies) offered a comprehensive analysis of yuppie fashion, it neglected to address other important signifiers of yuppie taste like jogging and fine dining.  To dive deeper into the topic, Nathan interviews college professor and historian Dylan Gottlieb about his recent book Yuppies: The Bankers, Lawyers, Joggers, and Gourmands Who Conquered New York. Nathan begins by asking Dylan about the inspiration behind the book and the story behind the “yuppie couple” featured on the cover. Dylan then offers insights into why deregulation (rather than individual greed) was responsible for the emergence of yuppies, why yuppies drew parallels between their arduous careers and the marathons that they ran, and why fine dining became such an important way for yuppies to express their identity and status.   Links: Yuppies: The Bankers, Lawyers, Joggers, and Gourmands Who Conquered New York by Dylan Gottlieb Dylan Gottlieb’s Website Dylan Gottlieb’s Twitter Making Cents Podcast Artwork: Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko and Daryl Hannah as Darien Taylor in Wall Street (1987) from The Style of Wall Street by Victor Besnard   Recorded on 9/18/2026

On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Sebastien interviews Nathan about his most recent trip to Brazil. Nathan begins by sharing his impressions of São Paulo’s metro system and of the nearby railroad town of Paranapiacaba. He then details his time in Curitiba, where he rode the city’s bus rapid transit system, took the Serra Verde Express to Morretes, and saw capybaras in Parque Barigui. He concludes by sharing his insights into Florianópolis, a picturesque capital city in the south of Brazil, where he went on a disastrous hike.   Links: Silent Generation 3rd Anniversary Party: https://partiful.com/e/0s2nRB7Xgo99JPjMnd5m?   Artwork: São Paulo, 1970 by Cartorama   Recorded on 9/15/2026

Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration   What does it mean to “settle down”? What is the difference between “settling down” and “committing”? Does the phrase “settling down” have negative connotations, and do those negative connotations come from men? Do men fear “settling” down more than women? How does “settling down” differ between straight men and gay men? Why do so few gay men struggle to find partners, let alone get married? Are fewer and fewer people achieving these milestones because of structural reasons, or because they don’t actually want to? On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan is joined by a listener named Sam to try and answer these questions.    Links: Sam’s Instagram Ever Heard of the Taxi Cab Theory? Here's the Research That Backs It Up by Sydney Meister The Epidemic of Gay Loneliness by Michael Hobbes   Artwork: The mystery of the gay wedding photos   Recorded on 8/9/2026

Over the course of the 19th century, the field of landscape architecture emerged as the practice of gardening became increasingly professionalized. The first person to call themselves a “landscape architect” and popularize the term in the United States remains the only landscape architect that most Americans know by name: Frederick Law Olmsted. Unbeknownst to many, his career was heavily intertwined with the English-American landscape architect Calvert Vaux, with the two having collaborated on many of America’s most famous parks. On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan and Sebastien begin by examining two of Olmsted and Vaux’s most well-known projects: Central Park and the Buffalo Parks System. They then compare the development around Golden Gate Park to Central Park, debating the degree to which the development surrounding urban parks factors into their greatness. Next they detail how Park Avenue in New York City once sported 56 feet of greenspace for pedestrians, only for it to get whittled down to 20 feet to accommodate car traffic in the late 1920s. The episode concludes with a deep dive into the Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, with an examination of two of his modernist landscapes: the Copacabana Promenade and the Edmundo Cavanelas Residence.    Links: Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/silentgeneration/landscape-architecture/ Frederick Law Olmsted | Designing America The Seven S’s of Olmsted Design by Dr. Charles E. Beveridge Photograph of 2nd Ave and 42nd St in NYC in 1861 Stunning pictures that show how Central Park has drastically changed since the 1980s by   Asta Thrastardottir Just how bad was Central Park in the 1970s? About Buffalo Park System - Olmsted Network Buffalo: Delaware Park - Segregation by Design Comparing Golden Gate Park to Other Major Urban Parks by Tessa McLean Casting Shade on Shadows: S.F. Supervisor Targets a Favorite Tool for Blocking Housing by Io Yeh Gilman San Francisco Family Zoning Plan - San Francisco Planning New York City Wants to Bring More Park to Park Avenue by John Surico Park Avenue’s Park Is Coming Back. Partially. Eventually. by Christopher Bonanos Manhattan's Park Avenue would look more like a park under plan pushed by Mamdani by Liam Quigley Mayor Mamdani Unveils Design Concepts to Put the ‘Park’ Back in Park Avenue Landscape Film, Roberto Burle Marx (2018) Revisiting the Constructed Edens of Roberto Burle Marx by Holland Cotter Re-Thinking Roberto Burle Marx by Edward J. Sullivan The Full Brazilian by Isabela Ono Brazilian Artist Roberto Burle Marx’s Most Mesmerizing Gardens by Madeleine Luckel The History of the Copacabana Sidewalk: From Its Origin in Portugal to Burle Marx's Intervention by Nicolás Valencia The Battle for Central Park by Hoog The Cultural Landscape Foundation The Full Brazilian by Isabela Ono   Artwork: City Park in Peine, Germany in 1960   Recorded on 8/17/2026

National Park Service Rustic, also known as “parkitecture,” was the dominant architectural style of national parks from roughly 1916 to 1942. Many early examples of the “rustic” style were commissioned by private railroad companies, such as the Fred Harvey company, in order to lure tourists out west to fledgling national parks. The style came to be characterized by harmony with the natural environment, locally sourced materials, and vernacular features. On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan and Sebastien begin by synopsizing the early history of the National Park Service. They then discuss famous examples of National Park Service Rustic such as the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone, Desert View Watchtower in the Grand Canyon, and the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite. Particular attention is paid to the work of Mary Colter, one of the first female architects, who is notable for designing her buildings to harmonize with both the natural environment and the cultural heritage of the places she built them. The episode concludes with an examination of how car-oriented development caused the National Park Service to abandon the style after WWII.    Links: Pinterest Board: https://www.pinterest.com/silentgeneration/national-park-service-rustic/  Old Faithful Inn Architecture in the Parks: A National Historic Landmark Theme Study: Old Faithful Inn Inside Yellowstone's Old Faithful Inn Inside Yellowstone’s Old Faithful Inn — “The Beginning of Rustic Architecture in National Parks” by Kate Daniel Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter Mary Colter and Her Buildings at Grand Canyon Mary Colter's Bright Angel Lodge Mary Colter and the Grand Canyon - Parkography Podcast Mary Colter: The forgotten architect of the US Southwest by Erin Van Rheenen Mary Colter, Builder Upon the Red Earth by Virginia Grattan Mary Colter’s ”Geologic Fireplace” The Architect Behind Parkitecture by Teresa Bitler Building History: Mary E. J. Colter at Grand Canyon - Linda Reeder On The Trail: Grand Canyon Architecture Tracing the Yosemite Valley Railroad Post Cards Related to the Yosemite Valley Railroad Parkitecture: A Rustic Back-to-Nature Architectural Aesthetic 19: Parkitecture and Historic Hotels - Exploring the National Parks US national parks told to remove signs on mistreatment of Native Americans, climate, Wash Post reports - Reuters America’s National Parks at 100 (2016)   Artwork: Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite NP, 1960   Recorded on 8/7/2026

Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration  Shoegaze is a subgenre of rock and roll that first emerged in the British Isles in the late 1980s. The term was coined by Andy Ross, a British music executive, who observed shoegaze artists “shoegazing” (looking down at their feet to play with guitar pedals) during a 1991 show in London. Interest in the subgenre peaked shortly thereafter with the release of My Bloody Valentine’s sophomore album Loveless, and shoegaze effectively died by 1994. Despite the subgenre’s brief initial popularity, shoegaze has experienced a revival every subsequent decade, leaving modern listeners to question what makes its sound so enduring. On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan and Sebastien begin by detailing shoegaze’s early influences (Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound technique, ‘60s psychedelic rock, and new wave) before describing what the subgenre actually sounds like. With that context established, they then discuss the music of Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, and Gleemer. The episode rounds out with an examination of “zoomergaze” (the newest revival of shoegaze) to try and answer the question of what makes the subgenre so appealing to Gen Z.    Links: Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4YijO72un5g7jh3qMt98ft Shoegaze Classics Spotify Playlist Shoegaze: a Beginner's Guide by Ella Fraser-Thoms Feedback, Distortion, an Exploration of Sound: A Brief History of Shoegaze - Underground England Rock for Dreamers: History and Transcendence of the Shoegaze Music Genre - Sound of Life The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time - Pitchfork 124 - Simon Reynolds on Shoegaze, My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins, Sonic Youth, Pavement & More - Music Maps Podcast Simon Reynolds - Still in a Dream of Shoegaze, Slackers, and the Reinvention of Rock, 1984-1994 - C86 Show - Indie Pop Shoegaze as an Aesthetic “Venus in Furs” by the Velvet Underground by Erich Kuersten “Relentless Wall of Sound”: Nadine Shah Describes her Favourite Velvet Underground Track by Kelly Murphy History & Impact Of The Wall Of Sound Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound”: The Technique That Changed Music Forever by Nathan Fields Hunting Phil Spector - Homicide: Los Angeles (2024) Cocteau Twins - History Unpacking the Unique Sound of Cocteau Twins - Stained Glass Stories  Why Does Gen Z LOVE Shoegaze? by Kelsie x The Yellow Button  From Shoegaze to Zoomer Gaze: the Evolution of a Gen Z Musical Phenomenon by Whynow   Artwork: Slowdive - 3 old live acts (1991-1993)   Recorded on 7/27/2026

Beginning in the mid-1990s, developers began building new low-density housing developments on the edge of major metropolitan areas: exurbs. These communities were even further from the city center, had even lower population densities, and were even more car dependent than typical American suburbs. Perplexingly, they leaned into their semi-rural character and became hotbeds of rightwing extremism as detailed by David Masciotra in Exurbia Now. But why? On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan and Sebastien examine how the built environment influences the political leanings of exurbia. They begin by listing the common characteristics of exurbs before detailing how late stage white flight, longer commute times, and megachurches made them more conservative. They then examine the exurbs of Illinois and Texas, paying particular attention to Prosper, TX. The episode concludes with a discussion about why exurbs are growing and the degree to which “environmental determinism” can account for exurban rightwing extremism.   Links: Suburbs: A Very Short Introduction by Carl Abbott List of exurbs in the United States List of edge cities "Exurbia": Democracy's Newest Battleground | David Masciotra | TMR Exurbia Now: The Battleground of American Democracy by David Masciotra The Exurban Dream vs. The American Dream by David Masciotra The Exurbs: The Suburban/Rural Transition Zone by Pete Sanders Exurbs: America's Biggest Housing Trend You Haven't Heard Of by Justin Klawans The ‘Great Reshuffling’ Is Shifting Wealth to the Exurbs by Laura Forman The Surprising Politics of Sidewalks by Eleanor Cummins Proper, Texas - Texas Escapes Is Prosper On a Path to Prosperity, Or Is it Lost in Suburban Limbo? by Peter Simek Texas Leads U.S. in New-Home Construction, Census Data Finds by Joe Edwards America’s Fastest-Growing Cities Are in the Exurbs by Jon Kamp, Paul Overberg, and  Max Rust A great exurban surge is reshaping America by Russell Contreras Millennials are Fleeing Cities in Favor of Exurbs - Upzoned Podcast Boomburbs, Exurbs, Edge Cities, Mega/Meta Cities, Oh My!’ How Politics Poisoned the Evangelical Church by Tim Alberta The Metro Framing Urbanists Didn’t Know They Needed by Pete Saunders It’s not just cities–suburbs and exurbs need to adopt and implement climate plans too by Megumi Tamura and Joseph W. Kane   Artwork: Prosper, TX by Trong Nguyen, licensed through Adobe Stock.   Recorded on 7/10/2026