The excellent Longshot magazine, whose staff you’ll recognize from their day jobs at places like Gawker and The Awl, has just published its second issue. The depressingly appropriate theme is debt — and not just the financial kind. Michelle Legro, Maria Popova, and illustrator Wendy MacNaughton contributed the “Circles of Influence” map above, a sort of record of creative debt that manages to link Voltaire to Moby with only four degrees of separation and Issac Newton to J.J. Abrams in six. If you’re significantly intrigued to read more of Longshot – and you should — you can buy a print copy here or read it online and consider making a donation. [via Lapham's Quarterly]
Another week, and another slew of free and joyously legal music to listen to on the internet. This time, we take in new albums from Kate Bush, Moby (no, wait, it’s actually quite good), and Friendly Fires, as well as the new Chad VanGaalen record and a tardily streaming album from Manchester Orchestra. If you like free music –- and, let’s face it, who doesn’t? –- then this is a fine old way to start your Monday morning.
It’s been almost 20 years since Moby (aka Richard Melville Hall) started making waves in the music world, and ten albums in, he’s still causing quite a splash. This May sees the release of Moby’s latest, Destroyed, a record he describes as more contemplative than his previous efforts. It’s accompanied by his first ever photography book, also called Destroyed, the perfect visual pairing for his new (and old) music.
In our latest interactive video interview, Moby discusses both new projects. He also talks about playing hardcore music, working for animal rights, and his favorite teas in the world — and shares some not-so-nice words for Sarah Palin and friends. Click through for the full Flavorpill Interactive Interview with Moby, where you control the questions.
In a recent New York Times article, Converse announced its plans to open a recording studio for struggling bands in Williamsburg. In the same piece, media critic Douglas Rushkoff pointed out that this is “just like the great painters… in the Renaissance, when it became impossible to sustain oneself as an artist without a patron.” This inspired us at Flavorpill to look back at the evolution of brand/band connections. Follow along as we trace the history, from early merchandising debacles to the present, when brands rely on artists to create a cool cache, while bands need brands’ financial support now that the record label system has come apart at the seams.
Phonak’s Hear the World initiative is on a mission to educate people about the dangers of hearing loss and how to handle it — and it has some high-profile friends on board.
Musicians and other celebrities, including Amy Winehouse, Peter Gabriel, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jude Law, Moby, Common, and Lindsay Lohan, have lent their faces (and voices) to the campaign as Hear the World “ambassadors.” Through their endorsement, the program’s numerous offerings are being noticed on a wide scale, giving the public access to vital information, and those in need invaluable support.
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.
1. Moby, Animal Collective, and The Roots have all scored films premiering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. [via TwentyFourBit]
2. Wowza: After only three months The Jay Leno Show has had enough product mentions to top Nielsen’s list for “product placement activity” in 2009. [via Vulture]
3. In related news, Fox says Glenn Beck is not a “paid spokesman” for gold-coin seller Goldline International. They just advertise on his programs. If you have no idea what we’re talking about, watch this Daily Show clip. [via The Daily Beast]
4. Here are the promo photos for the final season of Lost. [via Pop Candy]
5. Attention holiday shoppers: The reviews for the Nook, Barnes and Noble’s Kindle killer, have been rather mixed. [via eWeek]
What’s the point of being a super popular indie band if you can’t do a little good in the world? Animal Collective stars in the new PETA ad campaigning against seal hunting in Canada and boy are they just about as cute as any seal we’ve ever seen. Brian “Geologist” Weitz, Noah “Panda Bear” Lennox, and David “Avey Tare” Portner will appear on ads everywhere helping to spread the word — indie girls, shed your fur. Good work, gents. Anybody else using their cred (or cash) for a good cause?
It’s been ten years since Moby released the phenomenal Play, and a full 20 since his career began. And while 1991′s Go got him known as the face of rave and techno, and Play put him at the forefront of electronic superstars, he means much more than a beat on a dance floor. Moby’s latest LP, Wait for Me, with its whispered heartbreak and swaths of near ambience, pretty much proves it, too.
But that’s not all Moby’s up to on stage these days. So Earplug called him to find out what fans can expect from his live show. His North American tour began last night in Baltimore. Read More »
, a record he describes as more contemplative than his previous efforts. It’s accompanied by his first ever 
, also called Destroyed, the perfect visual pairing for his new (and old) music.
