A new book by Tara McPherson, entitled "Lost Constellations" is out. You may have seen her stuff on rock posters, magazines such as ELLE and Illustration Now!, DC Vertigo comics, or even advertisements for Pepsi. She also has some great toys out with Kid Robot. And lastly, small bit of trivia: Tara and I went to college together. Here's some more of her great work...
Just got my Kindle 2 from Amazon. Same great reader; but a better, sleeker design...Yes, they're biting the iPod, but I think that's OK if it looks good. Photos after the jump.
Got these limited sneakers from DC today. Collabo with UNKL. Check out the figure...pretty cool.
Got a package from SBTG this week. Sick new sneakers, limited to one of 8 hand-stitched and -painted designs. Here's a peek. Notice the zipper down the front (instead of laces) and the details along the bottom--all hand assembled by hand. Also comes with a distressed one-of-a-kind dogtag listing the production number and brand name.
Also, Mark's new line, "Dead Generals," drops January 25th. He sent me a couple shirts and stuff--dope as usual from RoyaleFam. Images can be found here:
http://www.royalefam.com/site/index.html
mike
2008 Albums of the Year. Five albums, not in any order. To paraphrase Ferris Bueller, "They are so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking them up." Click on any title to buy the album.
Fucking sensational; ten tracks of goodness. These guys know how to create a vibe, and they prove it with every note, beep, and echo on this skillfully crafted album. They do the indie synth-rock thing better than most, but are equally capable when they decide to break into '80s inspired psychedelics or 70's dance-funk. Check out "Weekend Wars," "Time To Pretend," and "The Handshake."
Crystal Castles "Crystal Castles"
One of the most unique and bizzarely exciting albums I got this year. Rick Rubin turned me onto this duo, music-maker Ethan Kath and vocalist Alice Glass. I think he described it as punk-rock dance music with distorted video-game noises. "Alice Practice" and "Untrust Us" are two standout tracks to get you started.
Amazing record, a killer debut. This year, she went from hipster name-check to singing the chorus on a Jay-Z single. Hype aside, the record is pretty incredible. She gets some comparisons to M.I.A., but there's an obvious place she bests this competitor: songs. Santogold does a lot of stylistic wandering on this record, and nails each one pretty solidly. Faves: "L.E.S. Artistes," "Shove It," "Starstruck," and "Creator."
Not much I need to say about this one. Metallica hath returned. \m/
Kings Of Leon "Only By The Night"
My friend Corey has been trying to get me into this band for years. This was the record to do it--their best album by far. A well-rounded album, smoothly traveling from dark and moody ("Closer) to uplifting ("Use Somebody") and fun ("Revelry") while maintaining an unmistakably unique and consistent sound--but Singer Caleb Followill's intense, impassioned howls take it over the top. Awesome.
Special mentions: The Roots "Rising Down," Vampire Weekend "Vampire Weekend," Lil' Wayne "Tha Carter III," Nine Inch Nails "The Slip," and Rise Against "Appeal To Reason."
Happy New Year, stay safe :)
mike
EDIT: I'm putting a video by each artist on the next page...
Merry Christmas to me :)
mike