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Devendra Banhart

Music

The Collected Wisdom of… Devendra Banhart

By Tom Hawking on

We’re generally interested in what our favorite artists and musicians have to say about their work and life in general — especially when they give copy as good as the endearingly batshit crazy eccentric Devendra Banhart. He’s got a new record, Mala, out this week, and the interviews surrounding it have been as, um, memorable as ever. In the first of a semi-regular feature, then, we thought we’d round up some of his more idiosyncratic quotes from over the years, on a variety of topics, from the nature of the universe to why his beard wears pajamas. … Read More

Activism

Dirty Projectors, Vampire Weekend Headline Amazing Occupy Sandy Benefit Lineup

By Judy Berman on

Despite the pervasive assumption that Occupy Wall Street is defunct or irrelevant, in the weeks since Hurricane Sandy struck, the movement has mobilized countless volunteers to fill the gaps left by government agencies and larger humanitarian organizations. Now, in order to sustain its efforts, Occupy Sandy has announced a benefit concert… Read More

Music

A Selection of Glorious Songs About Facial Hair

By Tom Hawking on

Earlier in the week we celebrated the release of the new Dirty Three album by surveying a selection of artists who’ve been in two or more great bands simultaneously. But on a lighter note, as well as his membership of the Dirty Three, Grinderman, and the Bad Seeds, Warren Ellis is also known for his biblically foreboding facial hair. The untamed nature of Ellis’ beard — he once told our friends at the Quietus that beard trims were “incredibly dangerous” — is legendary, and worthy of awestruck respect. So to celebrate the arrival of Toward the Low Sun, here’s a brief selection of songs that celebrate the terrifying lows and dizzying highs of possessing facial hair. … Read More

Books

Literary Mixtape: Mowgli

By Emily Temple on

If you’ve ever wondered what your favorite literary characters might be listening to while they save the world/contemplate existence/get into trouble, or hallucinated a soundtrack to go along with your favorite novels, well, us too. But wonder no more! Here, we sneak a look at the hypothetical iPods of some of literature’s most interesting characters. What would be on the personal playlists of Holden Caulfield or Elizabeth Bennett, Huck Finn or Harry Potter, Tintin or Humbert Humbert? Something revealing, we bet. Or at least something danceable. Read on for a cozy reading soundtrack, character study, or yet another way to emulate your favorite literary hero. This week: Rudyard Kipling’s famous feral child, Mowgli. … Read More

Art

Inside the Sketchbooks of Famous Artists

By Nicole Rallis on

Whether you’re an artist or an aficionado of the arts, there’s no question that peering into the sketchbooks of lauded virtuosos is a valuable experience. They serve variously as illustrated diaries or catalogs of casual drawings, paintings, and musings — lending a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the inner thoughts of beloved artists. From a reprint of Frida Kahlo’s diary full of vibrant drawings and writings to the silkscreened lips of Andy Warhol’s portrait subjects to Tim Burton’s sketches, our roundup of adored artists’ sketchbooks is sure to give you some insight into the creative process. … Read More

Books

Literary Mixtape: Seymour Glass

By Emily Temple on

If you’ve ever wondered what your favorite literary characters might be listening to while they save the world/contemplate existence/get into trouble, or hallucinated a soundtrack to go along with your favorite novels, well, us too. But wonder no more! Here, we sneak a look at the hypothetical iPods of some of literature’s most interesting characters. What would be on the personal playlists of Holden Caulfield or Elizabeth Bennett, Huck Finn or Harry Potter, Tintin or Humbert Humbert? Something revealing, we bet. Or at least something danceable. Read on for a cozy reading soundtrack, character study, or yet another way to emulate your favorite literary hero. This week: Seymour Glass, the most mysterious Glass. … Read More

Books

Literary Mixtape: Hester Prynne

By Emily Temple on

If you’ve ever wondered what your favorite literary characters might be listening to while they save the world/contemplate existence/get into trouble, or hallucinated a soundtrack to go along with your favorite novels, well, us too. But wonder no more! Here, we sneak a look at the hypothetical iPods of some of literature’s most interesting characters. What would be on the personal playlists of Holden Caulfield or Elizabeth Bennett, Huck Finn or Harry Potter, Tintin or Humbert Humbert? Something revealing, we bet. Or at least something danceable. Read on for a cozy reading soundtrack, character study, or yet another way to emulate your favorite literary hero. This week: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s dubious heroine, Hester Prynne. … Read More

Music

Rate-a-Trailer: Joanna Newsom in ‘The Family Jams’

By Judy Berman on

The year was 2004 — a simpler time. The music? Freak folk, of course. Kevin Barker’s film The Family Jams follows the movement’s leading lights — Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart, and Vetiver’s Andy Cabic — on a US tour. If soothing psychedelia, Milk-Eyed Mender-era Newsom, guest appearances by the likes of Antony and the Johnsons, and lots of shirtless Banhart are your cup of herbal tea, you can check out a screening at Brooklyn’s reRun theater April 8th-14th. Watch the trailer after the jump. … Read More

Books

Literary Mixtape: Tintin

By Emily Temple on

If you’ve ever wondered what your favorite literary characters might be listening to while they save the world/contemplate existence/get into trouble, or hallucinated a soundtrack to go along with your favorite novels, well, us too. But wonder no more! Here, we sneak a look at the hypothetical iPods of some of literature’s most interesting characters. What would be on the personal playlists of Holden Caulfield or Elizabeth Bennett, Huck Finn or Harry Potter, Tintin or Humbert Humbert? Something revealing, we bet. Or at least something danceable. Read on for a cozy reading soundtrack, character study, or yet another way to emulate your favorite literary hero. This week: Tintin, boy reporter for Le Petit Vingtième. … Read More

Music

Devendra Banhart Debuts Vintage Doodling

By Margaret Eby on

This week, freak folk musician and all-around weirdo Devendra Banhart debuted a collection of visual art, Seja Marginal Seja Heró, at AS IF gallery in Morningside Heights. Banhart has been painting and drawing for as long as he has been recording; his album covers feature collages, paintings, and drawings that Banhart did himself. The pieces on display at AS IF are in the same vein of his album art: intricate line drawings, splotchy painting, and mantras repeated in Banhart’s unruly scrawl. They look like absent-minded doodles, an effect enhanced by the lined-notebook paper Banhart uses as canvas. The show runs until November 27th, but you can see images from the show without leaving your chair. Just click on through the jump. … Read More