Our friend Chuck Anderson over at NoPattern just gave his site a nice new facelift. New projects, new products, a new book and lots of delicious eye candy. Go check it out, seriously.

We couldn't think of a better way to kick it off our ACL coverage than by letting you in on Austin's little secret, Ghostland Observatory. The inventive partnership of electronic and rock is brought to us by front man Aaron Behrens and producer / drummer Thomas Turner. Seeing Ghostland live is simply amazing and the pig tailed Behrens and silver-caped Thomas grab you from the get go, hitting you with beats that would have even those without a pulse dancing. Their albums Delete.Delete.I.Eat.Meat and Paparazzi Lighting deliver an array of sounds and are both not to be missed. Delivering just the right mix of electronics, synthesizers, guitars, drums, and vocals, Ghostland Observatory will definitely be the undiscovered gem of ACL 2006 so go brush up on their sound at Trashy Moped Records. We can't wait for this one!

That's right ACL is literally right around the corner, September 15–17, so to get you ready for the upcoming festival we'll be highlighting the big, the small, the known, and the yet to be discovered of this years performers. Not only that, but we'll make sure to throw in some information on how to make the weekend a little more comfortable, where to go when the sun goes down, and festival updates. Even if you can't make it to the shows it's still worth taking a listen to some of these amazing acts. We hope you're as excited as we are and check in daily for updates!

Last week our good friend The Columnist had a chance to meet the Creative Director and Graphic Designer Etienne Mineur at his Paris studio. In 2000, Etienne, along with some good friends founded Incandescence Creative Studio which has since become one of the premier studios in France. Mainly working for the web, he's known for being the mind behind the Issey Miyake web site for six years now and has recently done work for Renault, the Robin d'Esbly website, and John Maeda. On top of all the creative activity Etienne runs his own blog chalk full of graphic design, multimedia, and animation. Check out The Columnist for the full article and don't miss Incandescence online portfolio which screams talent!