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 »
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 »
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Indiscriminate, random insanity in music videos is never a bad thing, and this week’s batch of music videos offer up plenty of eyebrow-raising WTF moments, both hilarious and horrifying. You’ll try to figure out the prerequisites for summoning your favorite musician if it’s as fun as it is to find Moby, want to join LCD Soundsystem even if it means going through the hazing, and wonder just what exactly Devendra Banhart’s sex life is like behind closed doors (on second thought, that one might not be at the top of your list). Also, this week includes the debut of our nomination for the best music video so far this year: Editors’ “Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool,” an intensely wrought animation epic with overt but non-intrusive social symbolism/commentary. After the jump, view all of our picks for best music videos of the past week, and let us know in the comments section if you agree.
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With most of the music world’s eyes trained on the live performances at the South by Southwest Festival this week, you might think that it would have been difficult to come up with a handful of cool, new videos for you to check out. Not so, which is great news for those of us who didn’t make it to Austin (cough, cough). After the jump, check out the latest offerings from Devendra Banhart, Hot Chip, Lykke Li, Gus Gus, and that crazy Fat Boy Slim/David Byrne collaboration project that’s all about Imelda Marcos.
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In honor of National Beard Month (and Movember, though we’re focusing on actual beards — get your mustachioed fix here), men all over the US are growing out their facial hair. Since we can’t grow our collective beards on the internet, we are celebrating with our list of the fifteen scariest (and famous!) beards of all time — not that we’re pogonophobes! Oh no, more like geniophobes.
For your listening pleasure as you peruse, please download “Beard Lust” by Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head.
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