10 Ways to Stay Hip

A weekly reference on cultural production to keep your mind fresh and your limbs loose.

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


Ooh, Friday the 13th. Time for scary electro jams, spooky Icelandic singer ladies, and…situation comedies!

mojo-photo-aqua.jpg 10. Getting ready to go see “Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters”
Mostly just being amused by the Chronicle’s baffled (yet admirably open-minded) review of the thing today.

mojo-photo-glass.jpg 9. The Glass – “Come Alive” (mp3)
The NYC electro duo comes back with a more mainstream sound reminiscent of Tiga and fellow New Yorkers The Rapture. Grab an mp3 of it (and a cool DJ set from them) at Spinner here

mojo-cover-brighteyes.jpg 8. Cover art for Bright Eyes Cassadaga, new album on Saddle Creek
Yes, fine, it’s Omaha’s finest singer-songwriter with a more “Americana” style album. Whatever. But duuude, check out this cover art, it’s all like black and white static, but you pull out the included magic view screen, and it turns into pictures of crazy stuff! How do they do that?

mojo-cover-djaxel.jpg 7. DJ AxelBreakin’ the Law (self-released album)
LA’s Peter Axelrad has quietly become one of the most consistent mash-up producers out there, with flawless and crowd-pleasing DJ sets; this collection of tracks is augmented by brilliant, Sgt. Peppers-inspired cover art

mojo-cover-bjork.jpg 6. Bjork“Earth Intruders” (from the forthcoming album Volta, out May 7 on Atlantic)
This Timbaland-produced single underwhelmed me at first, but after a week of hearing it around town, it’s wormed its way into my brain. With its clompy drums and space-alien perspective, it’s oddly similar both sonically and lyrically to Bjork’s first solo single, “Human Behavior,” and almost equally charming

mojo-cover-klaxons.JPG 5. Klaxons – “Golden Skans” (from Myths of the Near Future on Geffen) (listen on their MySpace page)
Brits call this the “new rave,” or, God forbid, the “nu rave,” but this track is slightly more mellow than others on the London three-piece’s new full length, and showcases their real songwriting talents

4. Will Arnett on “30 Rock” (Last night, NBC)
Yeah. Touch the peacock. You’re a peacock.

mojo-photo-maddecent.jpg 3. DiploMad Decent Podcast #13
The Philly DJ’s diverse tastes can sometimes make for awkward sets, but this hour-long mix for Australia’s Triple-J radio combines electro, hip-hop, Brazilian favela, and Baltimore beats into an eclectic celebration of great music

mojo-photo-nihon.jpg 2. Nihon Restaurant, San Francisco
Despite loving their sister restaurant, Tsunami, over on Divis, I resisted trying Nihon, since high-end whiskey really isn’t my thing. But last night I got off work at like 10:30pm and I was starving, so I stumbled over to 14th and Folsom, walked right in and sat down at the bar, and proceeded to have the best Manhattan I’ve ever had, and then generous piles of top-notch sushi snacks, and not too pricey. Any after-10pm food in SF is something to cheer about; late-night eats this good are a life-saver

mojo-photo-josh.jpg 1. Queens of the Stone Age – “3s & 7s” (from the forthcoming album Era Vulgaris on Interscope, out early July I think?)
I probably shouldn’t even be writing about this. The Interscope peeps came in and played us this track from Josh Homme and co yesterday, and then took the CD back — we can’t even have an advance of the thing yet, it’s so hot. But I can’t resist, because it’s so freakin’ awesome. Possibly one of their best singles ever, it’s instantly accessible, with the trademark screaming Queens riffs, and I ache — ache! — to hear it more

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate