Chemical Brothers: Push the Button

by Ari Bendersky

The Chemical Brothers have always been hip – that goes without saying. But sometimes their music was a little irritating and somewhat too bombastic. Again, not saying they weren’t grounbreaking, but you know...

But now with the release of Push the Button, the Chems again push ahead of the pack – so much in fact, they got Q-Tip to sing on their funky, Middle Eastern-tinged single, “Galvanize.” But they didn’t stop there. They got Tim Burgess, former front man for the Charlatans, to add vocals to the ultra-sexy “The Boxer.” And then in an oh-my-god-are-you-kidding-me move, Kele Okereke from the much buzzed about UK post-punkers Bloc Party joins the fun on “Believe.” Overall, they softened their sometimes-obnoxious computer loops, went back to their old school hip-hop and funkified roots and came out with a straight-up party album, with an obvious exception: the angelic “Close Your Eyes,” which adds the right touch of sweetness to balance things out.

Hayat Benchenaa Radio Alarm Clock

by Carol T Chung

Hayat Benchenaa, where have you been all my life?? Hayat has created a radio alarm clock that puts my four devices to shame. This is how it works. When the alrarm is set the Sfera dims and the music fades as you fall asleep. When it goes off in the morning, you have to reach up and tap it to activate the snooze. Then the Sfera rises and after 10 minutes goes off again, which causes you to rise up out of bed even more to activate the snooze. This process is repeated until the Sfera reaches the ceiling, which forces you to get up and pull it down to deactivate it.

via core77

Kidrobot x Nike x Barneys

by Josh Rubin

Just when I start to become the slightest bit jaded about the whole collaboration - quick strike - limited edition thing, something new and exciting surfaces to restore my faith. This time it's a hot little 3 way: Nike, Kidrobot and Barney's. Both colorways have a finish that makes them look like they're straight off a vinyl doll. Details after the jump.

Nike Air Max 180 Fun Pack

by Josh Rubin

Nike is relaunching the 1991 Air Max 180 and to celebrate they're offering a limited number of customers the opportunity to design their own pair using the Nike iD system. There are 11 days left and it's rumored that only 20 pairs are sold each day. Also, while the customized pair costs $85, you also have to purchase a White Label original T-shirt for $65 for your order to be qualified. Lots of rules, but worth it none-the-less. Check out the site because even if you can't buy a pair today, you can play with the customizer.

Thanks Phill!

Target: Design for All

by Josh Rubin

Design for All, you must go watch it right away. It's a brilliant illustration of what design is. Target's manifesto and promise is that you're going to love living by design. Lots of us already do, but there are so many people out there who don't get it. This spot sums it up perfectly as Target continues to make good design accessible to a larger audience.

Thanks to Arjan for pointing out that the soundtrack is Say Something New by The Concretes from Sweden.

The Thought Project

by Josh Spear

Danish thinker Simon Høegsberg conducted a social experiment over the course of 3 months where he stopped 150 strangers on the streets of Copenhagen and New York City and asked them what they were thinking about the second before he stopped them. He recorded exactly what they told him, and took pictures. The Thought Project is at the very least creatively entertaining, but I'm a bit moved by the resulting pictures and truely honest thought pattern stories.

+d 3D Frame

by Carol T Chung

+ d is a Japanese design company. They're the ones that make those nifty sentimental animal rubber bands that you can use and throw away like normal rubber bands, but don't want to cause they're just so gosh darn cute! They also have this 3D frame that allows you to display your three dimensional memories like shells, baby teeth, or whatever weird things you just can't bear to throw out. You can grab it at Compact Impact and throw in those animal rubber bands too while your at it.

The Spacebox

by Josh Spear

This looks like a cheap version of the Compact Design Living space we saw a few months ago. A crane stacks these guys 3 units high, each unit is complete with a kitchen, shower, and toilet. They look almost Japanese in design, like a capsule hotel. I wonder if these will become popular; maybe in small creative communites in Rotterdamn where they were designed.

via MoCoLoCo

MC Lars: Joker or Superstar?

by Ari Bendersky

MC Lars, who went to Stanford University (but seems somehow connected to Scandinavia – he even has a song called “Straight Outta Stockholm”), is a little bit hip hop and a little bit pop rock (think Donny and Marie if they had emerged in 2005. No? Ok, I wasn’t buying it either). He’s as white as they come, but manages to rhyme pretty well, name-checking every pop culture reference you can think of – and not just tabloid fodder. He talks about TV, movies, gadgets. He even samples the Scorpions’ “Rock You Like a Hurricane” while rapping “Oh snap you know this track is fly/So get crunked up and don’t ask why.” Genius songwriting. No really.

The jury’s still out on this one, but if for nothing else, it’s fun to listen to his “post-punk laptop rap” and laugh your booty off.