Another Mother!

Moog. Drummer From Another Mother. Want!

The Mother Lode

I have been intrigued by sound synthesis since I was a kid and I'm always excited to see new synthesizers, especially when they come from the likes of Moog Music, who have just revealed their new tabletop semi-modular module, the Mother-32. This modern piece of technology is a throw-back to the modular synthesizers of the 1960's and 1970's, but in the popular Eurorack format that seems to be dominating the current synthesizer world. It has a built in sequencer, so no external keyboard is necessary though it does have MIDI in and a MIDI to CV converter. There are 32 patch points, so the sonic possibilities are seemingly endless. The modules can even be mounted up to three high with additional hardware available through Moog to expand the sound even further. The price is also pretty decent for Moog equipment, at only $679. The two-tier rack is only $59 and the three-tier rack is $79. Moog is even making their own 60p Eurorack cases, sans power supply, for only $99! There's your bargain right there!

Tan The Man

Tan can be bland, it can be boring. It can be vanilla. But vanilla can be delicious. It can add a lot of character to a dish. Tan can do the same thing to an outfit.



For example, one rendition of tan is camel hair, as in this Golden Fleece® Single-Breasted Polo Coat from Brooks Brothers. I like Brooks Brothers, I really like their style, and this camel hair coat is no exception. Unfortunately, my wallet does not like their price. My wallet weeps when it sees prices in the four digits. For something a little more wallet-friendly, check out Jos. A. Bank's full length camel hair topcoat. I'm pretty sure the quality and construction won't match up to the Brooks Brothers version, but your wallet doesn't need to know that.



Tan can also mean khaki. Or is it the other way around? Khaki is a loan word from Hindustani meaning soil-colored. Khaki can mean adventure. It can represent English military abroad. When your adventures are of the pushed-four-wheel variety, but you still want to keep it khaki, these Vans' V56 Standard Inglewood Pants will definitely do the trick. Get it, do the trick, because you do tricks on a skateboard. Did you see what I did just there? Anyway, these standard fit khakis feature cotton and elastane construction for some give and stretch with your pop and flick.



If gleaming the cube isn't in your bag of tricks, but you still want to keep it cool in tan, you can't go wrong with a fresh pair of Tims. Everyone from construction workers to hip-hop moguls rocks Timberland boots. Alright, maybe just those two demographics. But Timberland boots can be stylish, too. Like the two shades of tan on these Abington Boothbay Chukka Boots. Try saying that three times fast! These chukka boots aren't exactly what you might think of when you think of Tims, but they are quite styley and would look great with a nice brown wool suit, tan sports coat and jeans, or the above mentioned camel hair coat and khaki pants. Any way you rock it, tan is the man!

Back In Black

Black is always versatile. It goes with everything. It looks great sleek and shiny or matte and stealthy. It can be warm or cool, like jazz. Razz-a-matazz. What was I talking about again. Oh, yeah, shiny black goodness.



Like this Limited Ed. Dr. Martens x Alpha Industries MA-1 flight jacket available at Selfridges & Co. If you hadn't noticed, I'm a huge fan of Alpha Industries and their quality outerwear. I have a couple of their jackets, one being a hooded MA-1, which is exceptionally warm and comfortable in the cold winter months. This MA-1 might not get you through the winter, but it will definitely get you through fall in style. Pair it with some shiny black patent leather Doc Martens 1460's or classic Vintage 1460's, spike up your mohawk, and you are ready to do some of that old moon stompin'!



If you aren't into the militaristic punk aesthetic, something a little more subtle, like this stark black Wool Topcoat by Polo, might be more up your alley. This luxuriously expensive topcoat was fashioned in a Northern Italian mill founded in the early 1900s. The blackness is so saturated, no light can escape from this coat.



Of course, if you are not into looking like a total douche, you might want to consider something more Normcore, like this darker-than-dark Interlock Mock-Turtleneck by L.L. Bean. L.L. Bean is the height of Normcore fashion, and what could be more Normcore than reppin' the O.G. Steve Jobs (R.I.P.) in his traditional mock-neck style. Just right for the cooler weather this time of year; not too loose, not too tight. Just Normcore right!

Nature's First Green Is Gold

Her hardest hue to hold. Gold and green is such a nice color combination, especially when it is a gold watch with a green face.



For the ultimate in luxury, nothing really tops a Rolex, and this gold and green GMT Master II is an excellent and beautiful example. Sure Patek Phillipe is the absolute top-of-the-pops when it comes to watches, but Rolex is luxury that, if you can afford it, you would actually be willing to wear around in public. The Rolex GMT Master II features a 31 jewel movement, is 18k gold, has a ceramic rotating bezel, and is water-resistant down to 100 meters. It also features a date bubble and an independently adjustable 12-hour hand for multiple time-zone use. And for only $26,495.00, what a bargain!



For those who may not have as deep pockets, Zumies has you covered with a couple of more affordable, exclusive green and gold watches. First is the Nixon Sentry SS (pictured above). This watch is also water-resistant down to 100 meters, has a day and date window, and a Japanese quartz movement. Pretty spiffy for $250! Not as nice as a Rolex, but who has almost 27 grand to drop on a watch? That's more than my house is worth!* Zumies also has an exclusive Nixon Cannon watch in the gold and green colorway for a hundred bucks less!



If you are looking for something that is fun, cheap, but still looks like a million bucks, Zumies has you covered with this non-exclusive but still attractive Nixon Time Teller in gold and green. It's less than $100, which means most folks won't have a problem with wearing this as their daily go-to watch. Which means you can look snazzy every day of the year!

*Ed. note: I live in a van, down by the river.

Holiday Red

Red is one of the colors of the fast approaching holiday season. It seems to begin earlier and earlier every year, and it is creeping right around the corner. It isn't even Halloween yet and there are Christmas decorations in stores already. Anyway, before I go off on a rant, here are some of my favorite red items for the upcoming holiday season:



They might not keep you especially warm during the winter months, but your engine should when you are drifting in these red hot Puma Ferrari Drift Cats. These Ferrari-branded kicks will keep you looking hot on or off the track with a full grain leather upper, cushioned mid-sole and rounded driver's heel.



Red pants have been big this year, so why not pick up these fiery Moleskin Five-Pocket Pants from Ralph Lauren's Purple Label. Oh, I know why, because they are $450! How many moles had to die to make these pants?! I hope it was worth it! They better be the absolute most comfortable pants ever for that price!



If neither of these items are up your alley, maybe you would just prefer a simple red hooded sweatshirt. Perfect for keeping warm while looking cool, this fleece zip-up red hooded sweatshirt from Hanes is my idea of perfection. Simple, warm, fleece, Hanes, cheap, it's got a lot going for it. Or if you prefer to blow some real dough on a hoodie, you could always get this one from Ralph Lauren!

Dress Blues

Like I said in my last post, it's starting to get cold out there. And one of my favorite pieces of fall/winter wear is the Navy pea coat. The pea coats origins date back to at least the 1720's, and my favorite pea coat comes from one of the originators of all things military fashion, Alpha Industries.



Their Navy peacoat comes in several styles and colors, but I prefer mine in navy blue and in the Ahoy Pea Coat style (pictured above). With a 100% wool shell and polyester satin lining and fill, this coat will keep you nice and toasty and dry in the coming chilly months ahead. Alpha Industries also features the less expensive USN Pea Coat and the very affordable Captain Pea Coat.



You can also get a nice looking, middle-of-the-road pea coat from Uniqlo, that won't be quite as nice as the Alpha Industries varieties, but will still probably do you good for a fall a two. It's a wool-poly-nylon blend, to make it lighter, but that reduction in weight will probably also result in a reduction in warmth, so this coat might not make it as winter wear.



If you are looking for an even less expensive (and probably not nearly as well constructed) pea coat, Old Navy has you covered. It is Old Navy, so the quality and details can't be compared to that of Alpha Industries, and it probably isn't even as sturdy as the Uniqlo coat, but it looks decent for the price!

Winter Whites

Winter is just around the corner, so here are some dope kicks to keep you looking right in white all throughout the cold rainy season that is on its way.



First off, Converse has these fly white-out rubber All Star highs. Waterproof rubber with a gusseted tongue to keep the rain out and French terry lining to keep your toes warm.



Next up are these fine all-white Vans Xtuff Sk8-Hi Reissues. With a weatherproof Xtuff upper and a contrasting tan leather lining, these kicks would bring some class to any winter get-up.



And lastly, a little more on the fancy-dancer tip, are these practically all-white Nike Barkley Posite Max bombs. Somehow (probably the hefty price tag), these are still in stock in quite a few sizes. The Barkley Posite Max's are not the most popular sneaker, but I think they look fly and they are definitely comfy. I like the all white with Carolina blue accents and the cut-out stars are a nice touch. These would definitely keep you looking right on the court or anywhere else this winter.

The Thing That Makes The Soundtrack To Your Dreams

Moog has unveiled their new synth, the "affordable" "entry-level" but of course ridiculously amazing Sub Phatty. I want it so bad! At $1099, it is still out of reach for a poor boy like me. I can dream though, can't I? And the Sub Phatty will be playing the soundtrack to that dream. Until the day I can afford a real Moog, I will have to settle for Animoog on my iPhone.

Hello Kitty!

16-megapixel camera, 3.4-inch touchscreen, TV tuner, it's waterproof, and best of all, it is Hello Kitty themed! Ridiculousness. Unfortunately for anyone Stateside, you can only get it in Japan. The SoftBank 007SH KT. It's waterproof! Why aren't all cellphones waterproof? What if you see someone fall down the stairs and you piss yourself you are laughing so hard and your phone electrocutes your nuts?! Not with this Hello Kitty bad boy. No nut zapping when you pee yourself here! So let the good times flow. I have gotten way off topic here. The phone. Pretty sweet.

I Think Your Jeans Are Full

Yeah, that's right, Huggies has released a Limited Ed. jeans-colored diaper, for your extra hip baby. Seriously? Limited edition diaper jeans. Has it really come to this, people? Are people so worried about the coolness of their babies that they have to put them in diaper jeans? Aren't those pajama jeans bad enough? And don't people usually put little pants on their babies over the diaper anyway? So most of the time, no one will even know that the little squirt is wearing diaper jeans. Oh, but you will know. And you know, those plain white diapers or the ones with little duckies and bunnies, those are for squares. The hipsters need diaper jeans for their kids. Do they come in skinny black?

iPad 2

I'm glad that I didn't have to buy my iPad, that I got one for work, because now that the iPad 2 is coming out next week, I am going to have to start saving for real!

Su-Su-Studio!

This post is a nice book-end to my last post about ReBirth being released for the iPad. Alesis, makers of all sorts of music products, has just announced the new StudioDock Pro Audio Dock for the iPad at the 2011 NAMM Show! This ridiculous little piece of hardware is a beautifully designed dock for the iPad that adds a variety of input and output options that were sorely missed by musicians using the iPad for production and performance. According to Alesis' website:

The StudioDock is the first device that enables anyone with an iPad to create, produce, and perform music with virtually any pro audio gear or instruments. The StudioDock is a universal docking station specifically designed for the iPad, and it gives musicians, recording engineers, and music producers the connectivity they need to create and perform with iPad. Connect all your pro audio gear to virtually any app in the App Store with the StudioDock.

The device features two combination XLR and 1/4-inch inputs (each with its own gain control and switchable phantom power for condenser microphones), MIDI in, MIDI out, USB MIDI, 1/4-inch footswitch input, two 1/4-inch outs plus 1/4-inch headphone out, and video output. With this little dock, your iPad basically becomes a touch-screen recording studio, or touch-screen performance controller, or touch-screen instrument controller, or really whatever sort of touch-screen musical device you would like (assuming there is an app for that).

I can just see myself, up in the club, sippin' on some syzurp, jamming out some ReBirth through the PA, with my keyboard and guitar runnning through my iPad. Sounds like a good time to me. So far, there is no word on Alesis' site on pricing or release date, but I expect this right around the time the iPad 2 is released, so your guess is as good as mine!

Rebirthed

Well, they have gone and done it. Propellerhead Software has released ReBirth for the iPad. My favorite software synthesizer/drum machine/techno micro composer is now available on my favorite device. I have been rocking on ReBirth since the late 1990's, and now, what I used to spend hours sitting in front of my desktop machine plotting away at, I can carry around with me to any gig I want. Sure, it has been out for the iPhone/iPod touch for a while now, but with an entirely redesigned interface for the much more touchable iPad, it is finally the music making device I have always desired. It comes with all of the bells and whistles of the original software, the two 303's, the 808, the 909, plus all of the distortion, delay and other effects. It also has mod support and comes with five original user mods. This is the multi-touch, music production tool that I always dreamed of, and now it is here.

Festival Of Lights

Hanukkah is fast approaching, with its early appearance this year (December 1-9), and I am already getting excited! Being a Jew, I don't have to wait until the end of December to receive (and give, of course) presents. So I am already making my wish list. At the top of it is an 11-inch MacBook Air, but since that is a dream that will most likely have to be deferred, I have a few other choices. The Native Shoes Fitzsimmons, size 12 in Academy Blue or Bottle Cap Gray, for example. Or the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 Digital Micro Four Thirds Camera in either black or red (which won't actually be available in the good ol' US of A until January, but I will take a rain check). Or an Alpha Industries N-2B Shortwaist Parka [pictured above], XL in Replica Blue. Or a Republic Bike Aristotle CRMO custom fixie bike. Or a Tokidoki x Marvel Comics skateboard deck [pictured below]. Or maybe just a hug! That's all I really need. Happy Hanukkah everybody!

Go Native

Native Shoes, a relatively new (founded in 2009, but I just heard about them) footwear company out of Vancouver, BC, but made in China of all places, has got some of the coolest shoes I have seen recently. Their shoes are made from injection-molded EVA and are all one piece, making them extremely light and flexible. It also makes them very easy to clean and supposedly comfortable. They look like Crocs, if Crocs were at all stylish. My favorites, their Fitzsimmons hiking boots [pictured above] look like they would be very useful for the upcoming cold winter months. The Millers are reminiscent of the classic Vans Authentic kicks, the Corrados are nice, mid-top chukkas, and the Jeffersons are rips of low-top Chuck Taylor All Stars. All of them, except the Fitzsimmons, are slip-ons, which would be nice in the spring and summer months. Because the shoes are made in China and are one-piece injection-molded, they are relatively inexpensive. Check out their stockist list for where you can get them in your area. Or you can just get them online at Zappos.

Update: I got a pair of Fitzsimmons in Academy Blue for myself and a pair of Millers in Torch Red for Anne and they are both great shoes! They are so light and comfortable. They are really good looking and eye-catching and they seem to be very easy to clean. I am interested to see how they will wear over time, but right now they look great. And I am amazed by how light they are. Going from my Vasque Sundowners, which are about the heaviest boots I have ever worn, to the Fitzsimmons is like a revelation! I feel like I am floating, which is helped along by the soft, bouncy soles. I am quite happy with these boots and will probably get myself a pair of Millers to rock when it gets warm out again.

Native Shoes Miller

Native Shoes Corrado

Native Shoes Jefferson

Rare Air

Two new MacBook Air models: 11-inch and 13-inch. SSD, multi-touch, instant on, new App Store, new iLife 11, etc. FTW!!! I want!!!

Coolest Bikes Ever!

Alright, here is one reason I wish I stilled lived in LA. Not that I could afford one of them, but I think that Derringer Cycles makes probably the coolest bikes I have ever seen! Based on board track racer bikes from around the turn of the 20th century, these bikes feature a 4-stroke gas engine along with their regular pedal power. With the size and weight of these bikes, they can get up to 180 miles per gallon. That's nearly 360 miles on the 1.8 gallon tank. And they have pedals, in case you would rather use human power than gas power. With all of the hills here in Chapel Hill, the gas engine would come in real handy. Each Derringer is custom built for it's owner. Rather than stocking them, they prefer to consult with a customer first, then build one that reflects their personal taste and style. So they don't come cheap! I'm not sure how much their custom-built bikes cost, there are no prices on their website, but they have made a special Limited Ed. model for Equinox Fitness Clubs that'll run ya' $2300! And that one doesn't even have an engine in it. I like the brown one pictured above, with it's matching engine color and very useful saddlebags, or the spicy pumpkin orange one, with it's classic white tires, pictured below. Those would be real nice to ride to work in the lovely fall weather. I wonder if they ship from LA to NC?

We Wood, Wood You?

I am a big fan of watches, especially those that are unique. And I can't think of any more unique watches than these wooden watches from WeWood. I'm not sure how waterproof these watches are, I probably wouldn't take them diving, or even in the shower, but they are beautiful, sustainable, hypo-allergenic, and free of toxic chemicals. They are made from reclaimed wooden flooring and for each watch purchased, a tree is planted. You can't get any better than that. And they aren't priced out of reach for your average joe watch collector at only $119 each. My favorite is the Black Crono (pictured above, center), crafted from ebony, "a tree that the greeks called 'fruit of the gods' and it was used as an antidote for poisons. Even today it is believed that this wood is able to ward off evil spirits." Sounds pretty good to me!

Update: I got my Black Crono yesterday and it is pretty damn sweet! I like all but two things about it. Those being: 1) the clasp is really difficult to open. It is nice that it stays closed so tightly, I am not afraid of it falling off of my wrist, but it would also be nice if I didn't have to use a screwdriver to pry it open when I want to take it off. And 2) the analog and digital times are not at all in sync. The analog is slightly faster than the digital, so they get a little off from each other as the day goes by. This is annoying and, after a while, I can see them being very far off from one another. I keep having to reset the digital time to be aligned to the analog side. Maybe I will just keep the digital side set to the stopwatch and not use it for telling time. Other than those two things, I really like the watch. It looks beautiful, it is light and fits my wrist well, and I really like the blue indiglo light. I would give it a 7.5 out of 10 on my scale of coolness.

Something To Do Tonight

If you are in the Carrboro, NC area (which I now am), there is something that looks like it will be fun and toy/art related going on tonight. Tonight is the re-opening of Wootini at their new gallery space (not in Carr Mill Mall anymore) along with the opening of the Wootini Gallery Roadshow, featuring works of art by the likes of Steff Bomb, Fish McGill, CHema Skandal (apparently the "H" is capitalized, this is not a typo), Mike Ski, Evoker, Shawnimals, and other people with equally ridiculous names. There will probably be music, possibly by Family, and maybe even some beer or wine or other drinkies for the folkies. And of course, they got toys! Anne is going to a wine tasting, but I prefer an art opening, so this is where I will be. Maybe not from 7-11pm, but at some point.