Paul D’Amato’s Please Be Free Now photo series

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 water theatre by the British architect, Sir Nicholas Grimshaw of Grimshaw Architects, takes the form of a vertical seawater greenhouse, with the evaporators and condensers stacked vertically to maximise yield. The structure is not only a visible engine of sustainability but is also a large theatre auditorium. Read more

WE'RE WEARING

Very Cheap Bag totes are eco-friendly and made from 100 percent unbleached cotton. They’re sturdy, yet lightweight. We love them, and think you will too. So we have them for sale in our online store for less than nine dollars.

WE'RE THINKING

Presented as a tableau of vignettes, the work of UK illustrator Jody Barton is executed in a variety of techniques and mediums, yet manages to run the gamut from delicately bold watercolors, to thoroughly noir black and white ink drawings, to child-like, and endearing, colored pencil scribbles.

WE'RE READING

This odd, atmospheric animation by web artists Aaron Russ Clinger and Miltos Manetas is simple but effective, a finely rendered piece of interactive art. There are some pretty crazy things you can make the floating man do if you play around with this long enough.

Damn, ten years of playing guitar in loud rock bands, and not once did we have a slamming moshpit like this. Banging heads is so, so fun.

WE'RE LISTENING TO

There’s a world-weariness about Two Gallants frontman Adam Stephens. It reveals itself in the Tom Waits-like raspiness that permeates his gin house drawl and in the talkin’ blues narratives that he weaves around his simple acoustic fingerpicking. They are the new superstars of the West Coast scene, majestic showmen in homespun rags.

Listen to the Two Gallants track, The hand that held you down.