The Eight Principles of Fun

WE'RE SUPPORTING

“Black ink warlock” Justin Bartlett has done some of my favorite metal album covers of late, such as the one for Bohemian Grove’s Age of Retrogression and Pentemple’s self-titled record. His outsider-ish style reminds me a bit of the work of Rudimentary Peni frontman, Nick Blinko, but he has much more sophisticated sense of design and layout. Read more

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

This mini-museum is right next to that shining fortress of New York’s MOMA and always has interesting shows, is never crowded, and the works are sure to inspire you. The Folk Art Museum is best known for putting now-popular outsider artist Henry Darger under a huge spotlight. And they’re showing some of his masterpieces yet again. Don’t miss it! Read more

WE'RE WEARING

When my uber-creative and slightly eccentric twin brother announced one day that chainmail would be making a return, it only confirmed that he’d missed out on the fashion genes. But after checking out the fingerless chainmail glove in Toby Jones’ new collection — My hands are tied — it now appears he had a legitimate vision. Working a look straight out of a Mad Max scene, Jones’ designs will have us accessorizing in true post-apocalyptic style, using everyday objects as adornment. But you don’t need to be cruising around town in a black Interceptor to appreciate them. Be your own character with chain swinging padlocks and multi-purpose shoelaces. It’s about time you got your hands into something different.

WE'RE THINKING

John Lennon was right, these are ’strange days indeed’. Mind you, he also claimed to have seen ‘a UFO over New York’ and ‘Nazis in the bathroom, just below the stairs’, so he may not have been the most reliable witness. Read more

WE'RE READING

Breakbeat duo, Evil Nine’s new album, They Live!, is one of the standout releases of the year. They Live! is powerful second album after 2005’s, You Can Be Special Too, its gruesome lyrics paying homage to all those misunderstood zombies out there. The duo — Automatom and Pardytron — compiled a Secret Playlist for us, writing about their eight favourite songs right now. Their first selection? Why, Toto’s Africa, of course [listen below]: ‘The epitome of smooth music, words can’t express how much this song rules! When the synths come in and the drums echo in the night, I’[m immediately transported back to my youth. Some people might say this is a guilty pleasure, but I don't feel no guilt. I just stick it on and bask in their mellow might'. Read the rest of the Evil Nine Secret Playlist.

Oh, ok, so now I’ve seen it all. Or perhaps, in this case, I’m not seeing enough. Japanese game shows are so much fun. Seriously.

WE'RE LISTENING TO

The nice thing about black metal is that it’s so hard for it to be co-opted. Between its often extreme ideologies and its inherently abrasive sound, it’s hard to imagine anyone trying to sell you a pair of sneakers with it. Even as some bands like Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth have wormed their way into the mainstream, the vast majority of black metal fans and bands out there are happy to stay in the filthy pits of the underground. Read more