Music Monday: Battles

Battles is an American Math Rock band that formed in New York City in 2002. The group is composed of drummer John Stanier (formerly of Tomahawk and Helmet), guitarist/keyboardist Ian Williams (formerly of Don Caballero and Storm & Stress), guitarist Dave Konopka (formerly of Lynx), and guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Tyondai Braxton (son of Avantgarde Jazz musician Anthony Braxton). All members bring their perfected math skills of past glory to Battles. Everyone but the drummer is a multi-instrumentalist. These guys are a must listen!

Pitchfork says: ” Battles may be the first band to really play with the way that 21st century software can extend and distend the sound of a rock band in real time; Mirrored moves in ways that Battles’ first two instrumental EPs–post-rock played with the locked-down seriousness of modern techno–only suggested. Early Battles shows could sound like a metal band performing Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians, and Mirrored spurns solos, favoring a caffeinated maximalism where compositions are built out of 100 microscopic parts. The guitarist/keyboardists string together tracks out of riffs that crisscross with the careful preplanning of a subway system. Each instrument on opening track “Race In”– Stanier’s military-precise massed snares, the guitars tensely climbing up and down a few notes, what sound like synthetic tubular bells– is added with the deliberate patience of a Terry Riley composition. The song feels nervously repetitive, like it’s suffering from OCD. … What makes Mirrored’s merry melodies really stand out isn’t the crazy quilt structures or needlepoint precision of the playing. It’s the frenzied gibberish of Braxton’s pitch-shifted and electronically processed vocals– a kind of ecstatic robot that’s speaking in cartoon tongues. … It’s thrilling and disorienting because the virtuosity of both man and machine means that, unlike earlier rock/techno hybrids hampered by both technically unskilled players and crude technology, Battles sound is indivisible. Battles may not be the world’s first bionic rock group, but they’ve done more to extend the idea of a flesh-and-blood band enhanced by computer technology than anyone since the late, lamented Disco Inferno.”



Battles: website | last.fm | myspace | buy music

Feb 08.10 / Music, Music Monday / No Comments

Toms Shoes

TOMS Shoes was founded on a simple premise: With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One. Using the purchasing power of individuals to benefit the greater good is TOMS is all about.

In 2006 an American traveler, Blake Mycoskie, befriended children in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS Shoes, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One. Blake returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff later that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by caring TOMS customers.

Most children in developing countries grow up barefoot. Whether at play, doing chores or just getting around, these children are at risk. Walking is often the primary mode of transportation in developing countries. Children can walk for miles to get food, water, shelter and medical help. Wearing shoes literally enables them to walk distances that aren’t possible barefoot. Wearing shoes prevents feet from getting cuts and sores on unsafe roads and from contaminated soil. Not only are these injuries painful, they also are dangerous when wounds become infected. The leading cause of disease in developing countries is soil-transmitted parasites which penetrate the skin through open sores. Wearing shoes can prevent this and the risk of amputation. Of the planet’s six billion people, four billion live in conditions inconceivable to many. Lets take a step towards a better tomorrow.

Buy your pair of TOMS Shoes today!

Feb 08.10 / Buyable, Design, Learn / No Comments

Nich Hance Mcelroy

Nich Hance Mcelroy is a professional 24 years old photographer, based in Alaska. [via]

Feb 08.10 / Photography / No Comments

Rollout: ARTIST SERIES WALLPAPER

ROLLOUT, established in 2005, is a creative studio that designs and digitally prints custom wallpapers by the square foot.

ARTIST SERIES WALLPAPER – Bring your walls to life with original artwork. Buy it here

Feb 08.10 / Buyable, Decor, Design / No Comments

The Edge House

The Edge House by Norway’s Jarmund / Vigsnæs AS Architects in Kolbotn, Norway.

The Edge House is located at Kolbotn, a suburb south of Oslo.

The client, a young couple, asked for a spectacular house on a limited budget. They had purchased a challenging site with 8 meters height difference from the access road to a plateau, and they wanted a house that “looked like you could shoot a James Bond movie in it”.

To save the plateau, the building was pushed towards the eastern perimeter of the site, suspended above the slope on slender steel columns. The entrance stair rises along the slope through the house up to the plateau.

This strategy avoids costly blasting, hiding the technical connections in the stair. It saves at the same time the existing characteristics of the site, creating a dramatic interplay between volume and site. The entrance condition and the experience from the inside attempts to underline this interplay.

The compact interior is horizontally organized around the cut for the entrance stair. Bedrooms and bathrooms are effectively organized along a corridor.

The main structure is steel, with a polished concrete floor slab. The interior is clad in Birch plywood, the exterior in naturally colored fiber cement boards.

Photography: Ivan Brodey, Nils Petter Dale | Found via Comtemporist

Feb 08.10 / Architecture / No Comments

Whitney Smith Pottery

Check out more of Whitney’s great stuff here.

Feb 08.10 / Buyable, Decor, Design / No Comments

Katie Lee

Katie Lee is from Los Angeles, CA.

[via artists wanted]

Feb 08.10 / Photography / No Comments

Couples

Couples by reclarkgable from Madrid, Spain.

Feb 08.10 / Photography / No Comments

Weekend Round Up

Last FM Top 8 of the Week for Fonda LaShay. This week was full of some great music! Found a new band called Angus & Julia Stone, I really have enjoyed their folkie tunes this week.

Make sure to check out the Valentine’s Day Gift Guide Part 1 and Part 2.

If you’re still looking for more Valentines Idea, Consider the “____ of the Month Club“. They have tea, hot sauce, beer, wine, neckties, salsa.. pretty much – they cover it all! DEAN & DELUCA Heart S’Mores are a great find, check them out here. And if you have a skeptic, try this or this. :)

This Weeks…

Music Monday: The Uglysuit
Wishlist Wednesday: The Randomness
Fashion Friday: Stripes
Popular Post: Joshua Scott

Link Love

Books above the doorway are my fave by You Are My Fave
Tip of My Tongue: Find that word you can’t remeber
Shawl Collar Skirtsuit: This has to be the steal of the month!
Crystal Cave: Mother Nature is soo cool!
I’m a designer and… great collection of one-liners.
Wear Pallets: Color Coded Clothes, it is great!

Feb 06.10 / Weekend Round Up / 1 Comment

Valentines Day | Pt 2

1. RSVP Jade Pumps | $70 | buy it here | 2. Tonal Elastic Bracelet Set| $5.80 | buy it here | 3. Every Occasion Party Dress | $24.80 | buy it here | 4. Mesh Floral Tights | $6.80 | buy it here | Grand Flower Headband | $5.80 | buy it here



1. 2-IN-1 REVERSIBLE LEATHER BELT | $40 | buy it here | 2. Seven Round Screw Design Onyx Cufflinks | $48 | buy it here | 3. ASOS Tailoring Stripe Suit | $140 | buy it here | 4. Plain Red Tie | $11 | buy it here | 5. Trever Loafers | $100 | buy it here



1. Love Pajamas | $35 | buy it here | 2. Girls’ sequin heart tee | $32 | buy it here | 3. Girl’s Apron | $25 | buy it here | 4. LOVE Letter Studs | $3.80 | buy it here | 5. Just Shine Bath & Body | $6 | buy it here



1. Neat Card | $2.50 | buy it here | 2. You Turn Me On Card | $4 | buy it here | 3. Love Your Fellow As Yourself T-shirt | $14 | buy it here | 4. U COMPLETE ME | free/DIY | get it here | 5. All You Need is Love | £30 | buy it here



1. Less Than Three Babydoll | $19 | buy it here | 2. <3 Ring | $45 | buy it here | 3. ASCII Heart Necklace | $150 | buy it here



1. Organic Orange Vodka | $?? | buy it here | 2. Organic Dark Chocolate with Cherry | $2 | buy it here | 3. Organic 2007 Cotes du Ventoux | $11 | buy it here | 4. One Dozen Organic Crown Majesty Roses | $50 | buy it here | 5. One Dozen Organic Ganache | $30 | buy it here



1. USB Drive “Mix Tape” | $20 | buy it here | 2. Love Paperweight | $70 | buy it here | 3. Come Closer Pillow | $330 | buy it here | 4. Mini Candy Heart Pillows – Set of 6 | $30 | buy it here | 5. Godiva Chocolate Cupcakes | $30 | buy it here

Make sure to check out Valentines Part 1 here!

Feb 05.10 / Buyable, Decor, Fashion, Holiday / No Comments