We’re not sure exactly what’s behind the recent nail art explosion, but as long as it continues to produce amazing pop-culture tributes on a tiny, personal scale, it has our attention. Last week, we brought you the blood-flecked fingertips of a Dexter groupie and some Arrested Development Mr. Banana Grabber press-ons in our roundup of amazing TV-inspired nails. Before that, we went highbrow with literary nail art paying tribute to everyone from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Harry Potter. Now, nail art superfans, are you ready to rock ‘n’ roll? Today’s haul of musician-inspired nail art includes a dazzling riff on David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane, a set of crazy Nicki Minaj claws, and even a perfectly executed Daniel Johnston manicure.
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No matter your parents’ political persuasion, hip-hop can be a hard sell when it comes to co-opting the stereo at home — liberally inclined parents will complain about the genre’s perceived misogyny, glorification of crime, and naughty language, while conservatives will rant and rave about… well, basically the exact same things, albeit for different reasons. Still, with the release of The Roots’ undun this week, we got to thinking about hip-hop that can help change — or at least — challenge these broad conceptions. Here’s a few of our picks. If your parents aren’t quite ready to embraced the Based God quite yet, you can get them started with the records you’ll find after the jump. Read More »
Had he lived, Tupac Shakur would have celebrated his 40th birthday this summer. It’s interesting to contemplate what a grizzled Tupac would sound like; The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, Shakur’s first posthumously released album, introduced his darker side, a sinister, new sound that, unfortunately, never got the chance to evolve. While the rapper is now notorious for his posthumous albums, having released nine since his death in 1996, The Don Killuminati puts most of Shakur’s early discography to shame.
While it’s true that posthumous albums can be exploitative, pushed onto the market by opportunistic handlers and record labels (ahem, Michael), they can also can be legitimate contributions to an artist’s discography and true gifts to their fans. Now, in hopes that chatter about new material from the late Amy Winehouse will add up to more than just an attempt to cash in, we’ve collected 15 great records that gave dearly departed musicians new life.
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Happy week after Thanksgiving. If you’re like us, you might still be a little groggy from all that stuffing and pecan pie, so it’s probably time to get up and do some moving. We have a playlist this week that makes getting back on task as painless as possible, thanks to danceable, new tracks from Hercules and Love Affair and Jenocide, not to mention a new offering from PJ Harvey. Celebrate our 50th mixtape by right clicking + save as on individual tracks — or scroll to the bottom and download the whole thing at once.
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Say what you will about the glitch-hop gang, but SoCal’s experimental beatmakers are riding a wave the likes of which hasn’t been seen since trip-hop’s mid-’90s ascent. And while lines can easily be traced between Flying Lotus and producers like Ras G, Samiyam, and Take, there are just as many less-easily categorized MIDI warriors bashing the android rhythms out.
Chief among them is Jason Chung, who continues to sling bangers and mash under the name Nosaj Thing. While plenty of folks assume he’s yet another Fly Lo disciple, you’d be better off filing his music alongside Burial, Plaid, Black Dog, or even good ol’ J.S. Bach. On Chung’s Alpha Pup release, Drift, impressionist classical nuances share space with brittle percussion and drum rhythms. The Danny Elfman fan and former music-store employee chatted up our sister publication Earplug, explaining how he was inspired by The Smell, what it’s like to roll with Flying Lotus, and what the chat room beatmaking scene is all about.
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