The Taste Report™: Ben Dietz

A chat with the media thinker (and my podcast co-host) on what makes great taste.

Welcome to The Taste Report™, an interview series exploring and explaining taste from people who have supremely good taste. Access the full interview by upgrading to a paid subscription.

I don’t specifically remember when

Ben Dietz

and I first connected — but I do know he was one of the first people I noticed around the newsletter world who was doing something that expressed a specific point of view, curation as an act of style.

Ben and I eventually started chatting, resulting in my joining his [SIC] Talks some time ago which kicked off a year of formal correspondence that, cut to now, has evolved into a shared podcast about cross-generational connection. Something I learned along the way — outside of the ins and outs of his zeitgeist skimming newsletter

[SIC]

, his life in Greenpoint, his morning meet-up

Breakfast Clubbing

— is Ben and I vibe because game recognizes game when it comes to taste: we both comb through culture in very similar ways. It’s hard to find people who properly match your freak.

Don’t believe me? Watch any of our podcast episodes for Hip Replacement and pay attention to the bookshelf and the fixtures and the artwork and literally everything in his frame to get bits and pieces of who he is What I’ve come to find is that Ben occupies the space of a dream uncle, a guy who lives in the big city (Check.) and has a cool media job (Check, check.) driven by an endless curiosity about and knowledge of the world (Check, check, check.). He’s a one of a kind guy! The kind of guy that we can all aspire to be — and certainly an inspiration for me, someone on the moodboard of life. But how did he get here? What are the pieces of the puzzle that assemble his taste?

As I was developing this series, I knew I wanted to chat with Ben to get a deeper understanding of how he sees. Plus, I want you all to better get to know my podcast co-host 🤭 Thus, Ben and I got to chatting, my volleying to him a few key questions to dig into what he thinks is in and out, what he is drawn to and pushed away from. We discussed manners, the modern timelessness of Billy Swan, his dislike of (and my love of) reality shows, and optimism as a vital accessory in life.

KRF: How do you define taste?

BD: Taste is the natural tendency to filter, mix and recombine the like and the unlike to approximate sublimity.

KRF: What’s a recent pic that best represents your style?

BD —

KRF: Why this image? Tell me about it.

BD: On a train to Edinburgh. Footloose and fancy free.

KRF: What’s a work of art that embodies your point of view?

BD —

KRF: What’s the story behind this piece?

BD: It’s Stephen "ESPO" Powers Please Help Me With This. Half a diptych, paired with"Sorry, Can't Handle Your Scandal" Which I sadly don’t also have.

KRF: What about a picture in your home that you think embodies your style?

BD —

KRF: And who is this lovely lady?

BD: Marcella, my wife, in our living room. With wine.

KRF: Incredible. And…I love getting another angle on where we record the podcast most weeks! Let’s say you’re having a dinner party in that space. What do you serve?

BD: East Coast Oysters on the half shell. Shucked at home, with lemon, vinegar-y barbecue sauce and horseradish. Halfway to deluxe and back again.

KRF: That sounds…incredible. Literally great taste! Do you have a signature scent?

BD: Diptyque Philosykos is the only scent I've ever loved.

KRF: It’s a classic. What are your thoughts on manners?

BD: Good manners are a given, such that manners should never be commented upon. When they are, things have gone wrong. That said, manners and taste have nothing to do with each other. One can be perfectly appointed and utterly bland. Or kept together by blind confidence and exquisite.

KRF: What’s a word you use a lot?

BD: Apropos. A great joiner of untethered thoughts.

KRF: I definitely don’t use apropos enough, mostly because I’m self-conscious that I’m not saying or using it correctly — but alas. What’s your go-to gift?

BD: Connections to others. I am a subpar gift-giver. But an accomplished connector.

KRF: That’s beautiful, actually. What’s something “in” now that you think will last?

BD: Anna Weyant's paintings. Smart, funny, expertly wrought. And too easily dismissed because of her backstory, which will be proven to be a mistake.

KRF: Who’s your favorite artist?

BD: Ed Ruscha. The greatest. Endlessly surprising, endlessly inspiring. And quite cool, to boot.

KRF: What’s a timeless song?

BD: "Don't Be Cruel" — Billy Swan's version.

KRF: What about something that’s timeless that you, say, participate in?

BD —

BD: A homemade martini at the stroke of six. In summertime, if you can manage it. London dry, with a twist.

KRF: Aspirational. Who is someone that you think has impeccable taste?

BD: Shawn Joswick, the denim designer.

KRF: What’s out?

BD: The algo. Serendipity is the greatest, and the algo is necessarily anti-serendipity at its core.

KRF: I feel like we talk about that every other week. What’s the antithesis of taste?

BD: Trying too hard. The worst thing you can be in Australia is a try-hard. That's not wrong elsewhere, either.

KRF: What’s your snobbiest take?