Like read sort-of-recent back issues of Wired magazine. The newish layout STILL sucks and its written more and more like an in-flight magazine. But at least its an in-flight magazine I like. Some highlights.
- They have a one-pager on Curtis Roads - pioneer of the now quaint but still cool microsound. He has a funny quote I disagree with (but still find funny.) "The ravers create some beautiful sounds, but they don't have a narrative."
- They have a blurb on Santogold who I kept hearing about so much I had to check out. Thumbs down. Gwen Stefani meets M.I.A. - with less personality than either. "I run the streets and I break up houses." Not with baltimore-house-meets-grime-in-an-old-folks-home production you aren't.
- They also, strangely, feature Dizzee Rascal's Maths + English which is like a year old or so? I shouldn't look to Wired for new music, but this is a bit odd. Anyway. I hadn't checked out this record yet and their mention prompted me to (so maybe i SHOULD be looking to them for new music. yikes!) Its a solid record. His 2003 "Boy in Da Corner" record released on Matador is nearly without par when I'm pissed, cleaning my shop, and/or over-caffeinated. So I can't expect it to live up to that. And it doesn't. But at first listen is decent.
- They talk about the success of Leinad Zeraus's "badger-the-blogger" marketing techniques he used when pimping his book "Daemon." Not just Joi Ito and Stewart Brand but also 10 of my friends have also told me to read it. So I just put it on my Amazon Wish List (But I'll check Myopic first.). This Wired article, though, is required reading for anybody who is doing interesting things and wants the world to know. In summary... Pimp it your friends, pimp it to your sort-of friends, and pimp it to people who are "famous on the internet."
- Dr. Dre has a pair of branded $399 headphones manufactured by the choads at Monster Cable called "Beats". Nothing says "I'm a wanna-be rap producer" like a pair of Dr Dre Headphones. Zzzzzz...
- They have an article on Amazon's Cloud Computing infrastructure they offer via Amazon Services. I tried reading this article 3 times and gave up - even though it's something I'm really interested in. Maybe I need to be at work to be in the right mindset for this one.
- A decent infographic on various cognitive enhancers and their downsides. I hadn't considered that Adderall can be addictive. They also debunk Ginkgo Biloba, Ginseng, and Gotu Kola - but give some creedence to the efficacy B Vitamins and Huperzine A.
- A very cool write up on Errol Morris!!!! He's doing a documentary on the Abu Ghraib photos called "Standard Operating Procedure. Looks to be awesome. Brings up some really interesting aspects of that whole situation. And mentions that Susan Sontag was the first to figure out that the photos are "crafted" by the participants in the photos - they aren't just some random photos that happened to be laying around. His movie "Fog of War" blew me completely away. I'm looking forward to this one!!!!
- and, finally, a scary article on Manhattan's "Defense Perimeter" - a surveilance system under construction that is going to make London's system look like a webcam.