I stumbled upon the 33 1/3 books series purely by accident. I was in an independent bookstore looking for a good magazine to kill some time, and there they were: stacked in a neat line, their spines calling out to me. Meat is Murder, Unknown Pleasures, One Step Beyond… Those familiar phrases, which made perfect sense on my CD rack, seemed gleefully out of context in this environment. Or were they? Published by Continuum Books, the 33 1/3 series redefines the concept of a classic book. With upwards of 50 titles going deep into albums from Sonic Youth to Slayer, 33 1/3 doesn’t discriminate: Let’s Talk About Love (A Journey to the End of Taste) examines the essence of Celine Dion, and is one of the series’ bestsellers. I picked up the pocket-sized Pixies and Joy Division books, and would gladly return for Magnetic Fields and My Bloody Valentine.

In this digital age where liner notes are a thing of antiquity, words fail to convey how sublime and subversive an entire paperback book about one’s favorite album truly is. The books are also well-written and compelling stories. Once I’m done with my favorites, I’ll venture off into new territory. You can order the 33 1/3 series at Continuum’s website for $10.95 each here.The books have a dedicated blog where submissions for 2009 titles just ended. Potentials include everything from Jane’s Addiction to Young Jeezy. Somewhere out there, a Klaus Nomi fan is stoked.

We miss arcades. Mainly because they were a great place for scoping hot guys and eating massive amounts of sugar. But now, we can relive those moments — home decor style — with Surface Tension’s HangUP Arcade Coat Hooks. The wall-mountable organizer comes on the sneaker-clad heels of their modern arcade table and allows you to show off your geekiness without looking like a total nerd. Though the standard designs feature four sticks and the 3-player or 4-player button, but you can choose from a variety of colors and 1 and 2-player buttons are available options as are a variety of backdrops if black walnut is just not your thing.

via Technabob

We’ve covered a lot of graffiti artist doing a lot of amazing things, but Knitta Please is one for the books (blogs?). Magda Sayeg began the graffiti group three and a half years ago to tag with knits instead of spray paint. Sort of a grandma friendly version of graffiti. For the past three and a half years they’ve been everywhere: Paris, a brick on the great wall of China, New York, El Savador, San Francisco and most recently in Mexico City where the team wrapped a freakin bus! Check out this video from MexicanReporter.com interviewing her as she puts the final stitches in place for a knitting that covered the entire autobus. We can’t help but to think, “stitch your heart out Christo and Jean Claude.” Check out their gallery of travels and projects. They’ve also stocked some T-shirts to bring out your inter Knitta.

While we have yet to see if Biggie biopic is any good, but we can count on the soundtrack. In addition to the basic hits (Kick in the Door, Hypnotize, etc.), the disc includes a bunch of B.I.G.’s old features, making it a decent selection. What really makes it worth picking up are the original demo tracks that were yet unreleased. If you’ve seen the old freestyle video, you know how raw this MC was when he was young. Hopefully Notorious will do his story justice.

Of the many incredibly well-done aspect of AMC’s Mad Men, the original score for each episode is yet another component of the aunthenticity and quality of this breakout show. You’ll quickly recognize the closer, RJD2’s “A Beautiful Mine”, which serves as the opening theme. The journey to it, however, will have scenes and moods flashing in your head. Even if you’ve never seen the show, the smooth flute solos and swinging riffs will have you bobbing your head. The man behind the score is David Carbonara, who we’ve never heard of only because he works only on music for film and television. He’s certainly caught our attention this time.

In one of the stranger albums I’ve had a chance to preview, Antony and the Johnsons is oddly appealing and soothing once you get past the eeriness of it all. Wikipedia categorizes the group — which is really a solo act with an accompaniment — as chamber pop and dark cabaret. It certainly is dark. The Mercury Prize-winning act out of NYC is made up of six musicians, with Antony Hegarty as vocalist. His voice is surprisingly high-pitched and combined with the promotional art, reminds me of a Dracula musical. I know that may sound unappealing but give this album a listen and I promise you’ll be as impressed as I am with the beautiful music and production quality. The Crying Light drops next Tuesday. If you pre-order the album, you will get free access to the MP3 downloads. Pretty cool incentive if you ask me.

When looking good and doing good come together, we at Josh Spear are happy. In this case, this feel goodness is being brought to you by a fictional character and her store. In 1998, Ben Sander conceived of Brini Maxwell, a British woman who is “part Doris Day, part Mary Tyler Moore,” and had her share retro domestic knowledge via an NYC cable access show – which was picked up for a time by the Style Network. And recently, Ben had the idea to have Maxwell launch her own company, Felix Populi.

Coasters, aprons, and dishtowels produced by Felix Populi are mostly available in cheery, bold colors. However, the fictional Brit has also designed a mod-inspired line of pillows that features the designs of a rotary phone, a VW bug, an LP, and the face of Maxwell herself. Even better, each month Felix Populi gives 10 percent of their profits to charity. This month, it’s MANNA, a Philly-based organization that delivers food to those who have life-threatening illnesses. So shop happy.