There’s no telling how our top-secret-industry-ninja-spies landed this one on our desk, but we have been listening to The Shins‘ new album, ‘Wincing the Night Away’ all afternoon, and it’s safe to say we’re in love with it. There are definitely remnants of the sound we heard in ‘Chutes Too Narrow,’ but there is a matured natural progression present in ‘Wincing the Night Away’ that shows us that the Shins are at the top of their game. Lyrically, the album is top-notch, and several songs provide a beat-laden, almost-experimental sound that simultaneously sustains and impresses the ear. ‘Phantom Limb’ is a stunner of a song and will be the first single to be released– that should be sometime next week, so keep an ear out. Other favorite tracks of ours are ‘Sleeping Lessons’ for it’s distant, xylophone-based background and ‘Sea Legs,’ for its Beck-esque beat. Look for this album to make a big splash when it’s released in full on January 23rd by Sub Pop Records. It is my estimation that this album will springboard The Shins to the top– and I will definitely be buying the album to show my support.

When it comes to music, most of us now deal solely with digital-only formats: mp3, mp4, wav, acc, and the like (CD’s are even becoming obsolete), but the people at Experimental Jetset do not want all of the old music formats to be forever-forgotton. That’s why they formed the Lost Formats Preservation Society in the year 2000. The Society currently houses 64 formats– mini disc, cassette tape, 4 track, SyJet, VecTrex, Travan, and the list goes on. I have to admit, I had never heard of 90% of these formats; that’s probably why it was so fun for me peruse the list. Which music format will bring the list up to 65? I am interested in your (our readers’) ideas.

Via thetripwire

If you’re like me, you don’t have the stomach for cheesy holiday greeting cards. It’s one thing to receive such a card, but it’s an entirely different proposition to send one. You all are familiar with the cards to which I am referring. Potion Brand is coming to the rescue this year with high quality, enviro-friendly, and design savvy greeting cards (if you remember we also suggested Potion Brand a couple of years ago). They offer standard cards in 3 unique series’ (box of 12 is $18, with some gift tags included), or you can get custom with your cards, applying your own message to one of Potion’s various design templates. These cards will not only settle your design-discriminating stomach, but are also sure to impress those on your holiday mailing list.

As soon as the ‘Clint Eastwood’ video came out in 2001, I was impressed by the Gorillaz– in my mind, they really are the pioneers of the visual integration of digital arts into the musical landscape. The Gorillaz are, to me, one of the more enigmatic musical groups out there. Until I took a look at their new biography ‘Rise of the Ogre‘ — and was exposed to the human personalities behind 2D, Murdoc Niccals, Noodle, and Russel Hobbs — I thought of the group as a mere bunch of cartoon characters, frequently backed-up by the likes of Del Tha Funkee Homosapien. Now that I have an understanding of the ‘guts’ behind the animation, I have a deeper and more appreciative regard for the Gorillaz. If you have a Gorillaz fan on your holiday gift list, pick them up a copy of this book online.

Zoom In Zoom Out, the latest book from the folks at Victionary, explores design from a couple of different perspectives to create what appears to be a seriously hot book. They went through works from what they thought to be the best contemporary designs, and divided them into three parts: Design, Concept, Format and Visual impact. From editorial, identity, promotion and package design standpoints– this book was built to inspire; it’s 288 pages representing the work of literally dozens of artists worldwide.

The guys (and gals) at JB Classics Lab never seize to amaze me. Perforated leather, synthetic pony hair uppers, carrot orange contrast stitching, brown tumble nubuck leather panels and a super-soft leather lining. This is a part of the Casual SDM Series, just in time for the holidays– JB says this pair was influenced by the native basket weaves where the hounds tooth pattern originates, and I can almost hear the sleigh bells ring looking at them. As usual, these puppies (hound dogs rather) are individually hand numbered, and limited to 120 pairs worldwide.

Viteo Outdoors is an Austrian outdoor furniture design and manufacturing company. They make some great stuff. But one design that really stood out to us was their garden hose powered inverted shower. Designed by Danny Venlet, the shower sits on the ground and shoots water up 4 meters in the air. It’s like a super-bidet! You activate the water stream by stepping on a little button in the middle of the unit. Our kid brother Micah, who is responsible for this great find, wonders ‘how do you wash your hair?’ Micah, the only answer I can give you is: headstand. But as cumbersome as a thorough wash and condition may be, one of these inverted showers would be great for rinsing off after a dip in the pool on a hot summer day.