Cool Hunting

The Kiss Off
Though they formed last year in Brooklyn, The Kiss Off could easily pass as Manchester natives from the early '80s. The band was founded by guitarist Adam De Rosa and bassist Nathan Lithgow, who lay distorted melodies over catchy drumming and synth drones. Sam Tyndall's vocals complete the band, which sounds something like a better-produced Joy Division or a more brooding Franz Ferdinand. The...

Simone Pace
This video joins Simone Pace, best known as one-third of Blonde Redhead, on one of his vintage Italian motorcycles, from an East Village garage, across the Brooklyn bridge, to the band's recording studio. Simone shares some of the design elements that make him a fan of Motoguzzis, offers some insight on Blonde Redhead's music and tells the story of the first time he played...

Modeselektor
Long the de facto home of techno music, it's no surprise that Berlin is bursting at the seams with electronic music. But it is a rare feat when one of these artists transcends the club scene like Modeselektor. A staple of the German capital's underground party circuit dating back to the mid-'90s, the group produces a genre-straddling brand of glitchy beats that are equal...

Holiday Playlist 2007
Le Loup: The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium General Assembly A weird mixture of banjos, percussion and computer sounds Le Loup creates an experimental sound that's still fun listening. Based on Sam Simkoff's original cheap recordings of a hodge-podge of inexpensive instruments, such as toy glockenspiels and an old banjo, and recorded using the microphone and recording software included with...

Nat Russell T-Shirts
Oakland-based artist Nat Russell's t-shirts for Mollusk Surf Shop showcase his increasingly recognizable style. My favorites include "Sea Kat" featuring his signature pipe-smoking lion motif, the "Kyle" shirt which has a wavy-bearded man that bears an unintentional resemblance to musician Kyle Field of Little Wings and "Totally Stoked" one of three new designs for women available in two colors. All shirts are printed on...

Andrew Kuo: No Lifeguard on Duty
NYC-based artist Andrew Kuo's obsessive charts that analyze musical events have been popping up in the New York Times' music section for the last couple of months. His latest graphic representation that appeared there over the weekend takes on this summer's series of concerts at Brooklyn's McCarren pool and is by far his most nerdy yet.Diagrams represent his own sets of quirky data ("My...