It’s the Friday before a 3-day weekend for most of us, so there’s a good chance you’re waiting out the clock today, ready for that HR email letting you free early. You certainly don’t feel like working, so here’s some recommendations our guys put together to keep you distracted.
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Listen
“Honeycomb” and “Gotham” – Early song releases from Animal Collective’s next outing. [SC]
Aw Yeah Podcast – An off-shoot of Word Balloon, the long-running comic book podcast hosted by John Siuntres, Aw Yeah is a window into the lives of cartoonists Art Baltazar and Franco, the creators behind Patrick the Wolf Boy and Tiny Titans. It’s ostensibly about comics, but the pair, along with co-host Siuntres, are just as likely to end up talking about Art’s love for day-time talk show host Wendy Williams, Planet of the Apes, and the lives of celebrities from the 70s. It’s worth subscribing for the oddball comedy alone, but the inside knowledge on the making and business of comics makes it invaluable listening for anyone interested in the medium. [AB]
“Drowning on Sullivan Street” – True story from “The Moth Radio Hour” about what New York means to one carpenter. [EM]
Europe by ‘Allo Darlin – ‘Allo Darlin’s self-titled first album was full of great singles, but suffered when it leaned too much on frontwoman Elizabeth Morris’s ukelele. Their follow-up, Europe, is a lot broader but with the same C86 throw-back pop sensibility. The songs bounce and shuffle along, but the highlight is always Morris, who incidentally played in twee-pop icon Amelia Fletcher’s newest band Tender Trap for a while, and her sweet, melancholy vocals. “Capricornia” and “Some People Say” are standouts, but the whole album is great. It’s only available digitally for now, but a physical relase is upcoming. [AB]
KCRW Online – Great radio station out of California. They also have a dynamite iPad app. [NV]
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Read
One Fish, New Fish – Great New Yorker article following Ozzie Guillen around the new Marlins Park. It’s a hilarious look at MLB’s tackiest team—hilarious, that is, unless you’re a Marlins fan. [NV]
Newbury & Hobbes Stories – George Mann writes a series of books that are steampunk meets Sherlock Holmes. These are a few free short stories set in that world. [SC]
Bianca, the Covert Toronto Escort With a Day Job – Semi-regular column on McSweeney’s Internet Tendency–the title says it all. [EM]
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Watch
Gilbert Gottfried Reads Fifty Shades of Grey – “Holy shit, this is hot.” [MB]
Old Jews Telling Jokes – Pretty much exactly what it sounds like. [EM]
Ken Burns: On Story – Because 1+1=3 really does make a good story. [MV]
Awake – New NBC show. Avaialable online. “Two Dreams. One Reality.” And Lucius Malfoy. [NV]
X-Men: First Class – A relatively under-the-radar installment in the X-Men movie pantheon, and maybe the best of all of them. It’s playing on HBO this month. [NV]
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Play
Cards Against Humanity – This card game is basically Apples to Apples for the morally corrupt. It’s awesome–the C4 editors will be playing it on our weekend retreats. [SC]
Paper – iPad app that simulates Moleskine notebooks. Works well, and the free pen it comes with is the best one anyway. [NV]
Fez - Indie game for XBLA. Plays like a cool retro platformer at first, but have a notebook handy because it has surprisingly deeper layers that will test your aptitude for philology. [SC]
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Eat
Inn at the Crossroads – Want to eat like a nerd? This book creates recipes for meals mentioned in the Game of Thrones books. [SC]
The Drunken Moogle – Double down on that nerdiness by making these tasty-looking cocktails inspired by video games, books, and comics. I plan on making a “Metal Blade” soon. [SC]
Hotdogs – Obviously. [SC]
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NBC cancelled Awake, which is a real shame. The season/series finale was on last night. It kind of provided some closure, even if it didn’t make a whole lot of sense.