Clothing trends come and go faster than a super-cute fashion-week freebie. But the prominent leather impresarios behind Billykirk simply aren’t interested. Partnering with the Pennsylvania Dutch, brothers Chris and Kirk Bray create a line of handmade leather products that are simultaneously cosmopolitan and relics of a classic age. Yes, they’ve got a store in Lower […]
If there’s a more surprising convergence of cultures, I’d like to see it. Indie elitists (and a fair number of electronic music aficionados as well) have seized Konono No.1, whisking the decades-old act from their home in Congo. Of course, I’m not as surprised as the group’s members must be. For years Konono No.1 have […]
General Assembly cofounder Matthew Brimer may call himself an “instigator of mischief,” but his hijinks are more computer club than class clown. Before he was a superintendent of an edu-tech empire (alongside cofounders Jake Schwartz, Adam Pritzker, and Brad Hargreaves), he was just a struggling student navigating the choppy waters of his first failure. No […]
When it comes to Dr. David Rock, the word “scientist” isn’t entirely adequate. The better descriptor is “evangelist.” With a striking Australian accent and a carnival barker’s ability to work the room (albeit one more TED talk than boardwalk), he’s a natural acolyte for the ability of science to improve the way we work. The […]
Drenched, nervous, fingers frenzied. The morning’s approach lends a frantic energy, an inexorable hunger for an end to this ruin. Stretched across the good and bad sides of anger and hate, caught inside some strange body, some insomniac’s shadowy skin, I press myself hard, against the full weight of the approaching sun. Please Lord; don’t […]
Even within the complex, persona-driven world of hip-hop, Talib Kweli is something of an enigma. He came up with progressive hip-hop act Black Star, shunning the bling mentality of other MCs for message-driven music extolling the social and intellectual ascendancy of African Americans. But, since striking out on his own, he’s engaged in a constant […]
Chris Rock hits hard and takes no prisoners. Unencumbered and unrelenting, Rock’s outrageously forthright brand of comedy levels potshots at white America, black America, the rich, the poor and, in the end, leaves everyone both a bit insulted and a bit amused. Now, after success in stand-up and on TV, Rock sets his sights on […]
Nothing’s more satisfying in life than out-gunning a pack of unrepentant music elitists. Of course, you have to do your homework first (after all, it’s pretty easy to get flustered when music nerds start jaw-boning on needlessly obscure albums). After the jump we offer ammunition and eight off-the-radar but mainstream-accessible albums that non-nerds can listen […]
Whether wryly declaring himself an “Orgasm Addict” or subverting cultural taboos with bi-curious electro anthem “Homospaien,” Buzzcocks frontman Pete Shelley has always steeped his art in deviant subtext. Some 30+ years after its release, the Buzzcocks’ Singes Going Steady stands next to The Clash’s London Calling and the Sex Pistols’ Nevermind the Bullocks as one […]
Kids know him as Harry Potter’s pal Nearly Headless Nick, but back in the day John Cleese used to be in, like, this thing called Monty Python. This month we’ve got a 20th-anniversary DVD of “Monty Python’s Meaning of Life,” an earlier venture into cinematic near-headlessness. Shall we keep being funny, or shut up and […]