Gretsch, the music company that started in 1883 as a small shop in Brooklyn, New York, has grown into a powerhouse of instrument production over the past 130 years. Now, to celebrate its anniversary, the company has announced two new limited-edition instruments, along with a slate of new additions to its catalog.
Culture
I only want you to love me: Miles Aldridge’s Stepford sexuality
Photographer Miles Aldridge poses women in traditional roles. Secretary, socialite, stay-at-home mom — you’ll see all of these portrayed in his work. But looking deeper you notice that something is deeply, horribly wrong. These women, while engaged in what might be enjoyable activities, all possess the dull stare of living mannequins.
Tool to release Opiate special edition for EP’s 21st anniversary
Tool has announced a special-edition reissue of its debut EP, Opiate, for the album’s 21st anniversary on March 26, 2013. Named after the famed Karl Marx quote, the original album was released in 1992 on Zoo Entertainment.
“Hollywood Dooom”: Wild GIF-iti art for Thom Yorke’s Atoms for Peace
Atoms for Peace: Amok (XL, 2/26/13)
With super-group Atoms for Peace dropping its debut album yesterday, it’s fitting to stop and take a look at the LP’s excellent artwork.
Designed by longtime Radiohead collaborator Stanley Donwood, it shows Los Angeles suffering meteoric doom. And as part of the promotion for the record, XL Recordings commissioned one crazy GIF-iti piece by artist INSA over its Los Angeles office.
Coffee with…Will Oldham / Bonnie “Prince” Billy
This content appears in ALARM #40. Subscribe here to get your copy!
Will Oldham loves coffee. Will Oldham loves coffee so much that he has his own Kona Rose Coffee (Bonny Billy) blend available through Drag City. Bonnie “Prince” Billy himself gives us the scoop on his favorite pairings and guilty pleasures.
Gear: Verellen Amplifiers’ Meatsmoke preamp pedal
On a quest for a more explosive sound at a less perilous price, Helms Alee guitarist Ben Verellen designed the Meatsmoke preamp, delivering an overdrive boost for bass or guitar via a pedal format.
Down’s Phil Anselmo announces Housecore Horror Film Festival
Heavy metal has always paired well with horror. The album covers, the lyrical content, the feeding of celebrities to your god on stage (thanks, GWAR!) — it all lends itself to an image of fear and darkness. Well, Phil Anselmo of Down and Pantera is taking things to their logical conclusion.
Audible color, expounded: Chromatic contributor David Metcalfe presents “Visual Music 101”
A contributor to our book Chromatic: The Crossroads of Color and Music, David Metcalfe is a researcher into the relationship between tone and color. If you’re in Chicago, don’t miss his talk “Visual Music 101” this Sunday, February 17, at the Spudnik Press Annex.
Watch insane strobe and LED effects set to Norwegian art-metal band KILLL
Featured in our book Chromatic: The Crossroads of Color and Music along with member and über-collagist / visual artist Are Mokkelbost (who also records as Single Unit), KILLL is/was a live-only art-metal project from Oslo that must be experienced in person. Now, chances are that you haven’t been to Oslo, so you’ll have to make due with this, an excerpt recorded at the band’s final show on September 13, 2012.