Remember when the Friend pendant reveal trailer was released a year ago and the general reaction was "Is this a Black Mirror parody?" People could not comprehend wearing a small device that hears and sees everything you do all day and you can talk to it. Myself included among those raising an eyebrow.

Well, the device is now available to order. $129 one time fee, no subscription. That's the headline.

This Fortune article has more insight about Friend founder Avi Schiffman but most of the press coverage I've* seen is actually with Adam Lisagor of Sandwich video. For example, this episode of the Primary Technology podcast interviews Lisagor and trailer director Kailee McGee about the tech itself, the trailer, the vitriolic backlash and this genre of device in general. This was posted a year ago but I'm just now enjoying it.

Only recently have I come to think of this kind of device less as "a device" and more about "AI companions." I don't even know how I feel about any AI companion! It's a slippery zone for sure. But this is all brand new, so there will be pitfalls and there will be leaps in advancements. It's fascinating to say the least. I'm very much looking forward to a proper review of the device and living with it for a little bit.

* I'm biased in where I look. I know there's plenty of other coverage

Social media has watered down the "Internet" to a handful of sites hellbent on keeping you from going anywhere outside of that experience. But don't let that trick you into thinking there isn't some wild and enjoyable and wildly enjoyable websites still awaiting you perusal!

Emergence is one such destination. Aesthetically, it's absolutely stunning - an other worldly vibe akin to Fantastic Planet or Skyway Man. Sci-fi meets folk with deep, rich, traditions. The Shop has a slightly different vibe - a real world version of the prior aesthetic. It all works together very nicely.

The content could be boiled down to "art gallery" but that's kind of missing the point. There's a history being told here through the various tapestries - each enjoyed on a new level if you take time to read the supporting info that goes with each.

The story behind it all is enjoyable to unwind and contemplate for awhile. I urge you to read the Story page and heavily consider the artworks intro - which serves as a great reminder that tapestry threads make up a larger whole of which they are unaware. Even better said:

No matter how great you become, you will never know the pattern you are forming.

Back in 2023, Minneapolis band 12RODS reformed after a long hiatus. Possibly controversial as none of the original members aside from singer/ songwriter Ryan Olcott were part of the reformation but a new EP that same year was well received.

Along with that EP, the band has continuously been releasing their old demos over ensuing years. As a longtime fan, being able to hear the bones of the songs that I've loved for decades is a real treat. These Block Rockin' Demos are from 1998; when the band began work on their 2000 album Separation Anxieties. If you've not heard the proper record, go treat yourself - it's a delight. Then come back to these demos and appreciate how fully realized many of them were and how far many of them became.

It seems the new incarnation of 12RODS has already Come to an end - with Olcott citing difficulties within the band and commenting: "ive poured out enough. Dont really see any reason or incentives that I should do more." Heavy!

It's a shame that the new incarnation may be over but I'm appreciative that they have shared so much of themselves and their process along the way.

Back in 2023, I mentioned some Bandcamp alternatives I was researching after BC was acquired by Songtradr (and laid off loads of the staff, least we forget). Two of the three platforms in that post have gone from early beta to open access and continue to grow - namely Ampwall and nina. The third, Sone, was always a bit of a mystery to me.

Recently, they relaunched their Sone website and have provided a little clarity. I think. According to the site, Sone is both a physical space - a venue, a print studio, and meetup spot - and a community publishing website. I take this to mean they make the software for tone (more on that in a moment), as well as host a place online discussion and highlight people using their software.

Tone is an "open source, artist & listener owned music listening service." It is very much still in development but seems to be like an Ampwall or Bandcamp but with a focus on supporting artists through streaming. An idea that many independent thinkers (myself included) believe is the obvious way forward. I often cite this as the User Centric Payment System aka Fan Powered Royalties. Two ideas that Deezer and Soundcloud have floated in the past but I've no idea how successful they were (I am guessing, not very).

Very long story short - Sone updated their site. It's a glimpse into what they've got planned. Tone seems a little further off but I am still in the Discord for both of these and they are still very much active. A labor of love to this scale takes a long time. I think they're closer than ever now.

I mentioned Shrunken Elvis just the other day - a psychedelic instrumental trio by way of Spencer Cullum, Rich Ruth and Sean Thompson. They recently posted this Hologram Session performance and it is a wonderful listen. I know personally that these three artists are incredibly talented making music on their own, seeing them making it together is entrancing.

Interface Love is a repository of graphics and fascinating interactions from a range of movies, games and TV shows; broken down into discrete elements. For instance, there's a ton of examples from Alien but you can peruse the Navigation UI, the Countdown UI or Analysis UI. All fantastic.

The movie subjects are many of the expected topics - Blade Runner, Total Recall, Prometheus, Fifth Element, 2001, et al but the degree in which each is documented and presented is quite pleasing, not to mention inspiring.

I think much of this content was posted 2015-2018 but I think it's safe to say it's all pretty timeless futurism.

Some reading for you, in the tech zone.

• Fascism For First Time Founders - an excellent run down on why tech founders believe they need to support Trump's views and why that is flat out wrong. The myth that democracy and regulation are net negatives is clearly dispelled here. I assume articles like this are preaching to the choir of my readership but it's such a great feeling to have difficult issues articulated so clearly and sensibly. Send this to everyone you know. via Davis.
• Could HTTP 402 be the Future of the Web? - nice video about the 402 Status Code and how it may end up being a massively useful filter for AI scraping / AI browsers as we hurdle into the future. This is further explained by Cloudflare's Pay Per Crawl - which I also suggest you read.
• Gabe Newell on AI programming effectiveness - apparently Valve's founder Gabe Newell is a bit of an elusive interview. Seems he broke his silence to talk to a YouTube channel with 30 subscribers (now 1.2k). You love to see it! He had many great insights about AI, programming and the intersection of the two. This quote is particularly enjoyable for a discussion among friends:

  "I think the more you understand what underlies these current tools, the more effective you are at taking advantage of them," Newell says of AI. "But I think we'll be in this funny situation where people who don't know how to program who use AI to scaffold their programming abilities will become more effective developers of value than people who've been programming for a decade."

• World’s most advanced bionic arm can crawl around on its own - this one little quote sums it up nicely: The device uses wireless EMG electrodes called MyoPods that sit on top of an amputee’s arm and read their muscle signals. These signals are then used to command the bionic fingers to move. The video that goes along with it is wildly fascinating but just the idea that we've come this far is astounding.

Like many a music nerd, I am a big fan of Haruomi Hosono - a phenomenal solo musician and founding member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (a band that is credited with helping pioneer multiple genres and, personally, highly influentially visually as well). Hosono has created so much that it feels like a body of work that will forever be providing new treats as you explore. And he's still alive!

This Discogs interview is a great bit of reflection from Hosono on his work, being a musician with band members half your age and what it feels like to return to playing live music after the pandemic. If nothing else, read through it and sample the tracks they mention.

Brand new EP and video dropped from Talking with Hands today. The release, entitled The Coin, is a four song collection inspired by political despair. It's on all the things. There's a great quote in the band bio:

”I see a lot of comedy and satire in the creative space addressing this, but I don’t see enough anger, especially in music. Everyone is understandably exhausted, but I’m personally not finding laughter to be a satisfying response right now.”

Of the four songs, two are traditional rock songs and two are ethereal transitions - an intentional cycle between them all best listened to in some gapless manner.

The third song - "Die, Die, Die" comes paired with the above video directed by Asher Rogers. It's a combination of tension, discomfort and a strange beauty – the color correction and the egg spewing is gross but entirely compelling, too. Honestly, it's a perfect pairing for the song itself.

There's another quote from Smith about that song in particular which really sits with me - “I’m not calling for violence, but I do find myself praying that certain profoundly unqualified persons would die. That’s the emotional truth this record wrestles with.”

I didn't write the song but that sentiment strikes me. It's an uncomfortable thought and I think that's part of the point.

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Hopefully these songs are a good balance of cathartic and inspiring - that's certainly my understanding of the intent.

Sometimes I'm a little at a loss for words with some of the work I get to help release via yk Records. I try not to overhype or push the hyperbole too much but sometimes it's hard not to gush.

Today we released a video for "Side Effects" - the second single from Chris Crofton's upcoming album, I'm Your Man. It's a song about prescription drugs and Crofton's 20-year journey battling the right dosage. A problem that I think many people can empathize with in 2025.

The video, directed by Michael Carter, is a gorgeous piece of art. That's the hyperbole I'm afraid to go near but I love the casual cinematography, the narrative without explanation and the connection between the vehicle and the song subject. If you showed this at a film festival, everyone would love it.

Other notable facts: the lead guitar on the song from the bridge onwards is by Jim James of My Morning Jacket. That's a treat in itself! More on the song here but I do hope you'll just sit and watch the entire thing.

Back in mid-June, yk Records released the debut album from Matt & The Watt Gives - the new endeavor from The Features frontman Matt Pelham. It's a great record - full stop!

Today we are releasing the official video for "'Til You" - one of my favorite songs on the record. The piece was directed and animated by longtime bud Cody Newman; fusing a lot of GenerativeAI and his own AfterEffects expertise. It's a sweet song, now complete with a sweet little video.

If you wanna read more about the making of the video - go here. If you wanna learn more about the writing of the song itself - go here.

Watch that video and, by all means, send it along to a friend.

I've been a fervent fan of Bandcamp since 2008. When it sold to Epic in 2022, I was surprised and a bit worried. A year later, when it was sold to Songtradr and a large chunk of the staff was let go, I was quite convinced the end was nigh. Around the time of that Bandcamp sale, Chris Grigg felt similarly nervous. But instead of hand wringing, he realized there was no other place to go beyond Bandcamp and got to work. Over the ensuing years, Ampwall emerged - a platform for folks to add their creations and sell them to a fanbase. At least, as a core mechanic.

I am fascinated by Ampwall because it is consciously trying to become another platform but striving to be a better platform. Not everything in their system is designed to drive a user to a sale; there are many tools that exist simply to help a creative person do the things they need to do. I'm straying from the word "musician" because Ampwall has tools in place for visual artists to create a place for themselves; something I don't think Bandcamp would ever consider.

So, I asked Grigg if I could talk to him about the history of the platform, the principles that are guiding it and where things are headed. He obliged and we had a very nice chat. It's in the embed above or Apple Podcasts or Spotify, etc etc.

My interest in Ampwall does not mean that I am now somehow anti Bandcamp. I am a big believer in both platforms. I'm happy that Bandcamp has not shriveled up or starting embracing tactics that are not in favor of the independent musician; as many of us feared when it was acquired by SongTradr. I am glad there are more places to go and I'm excited to see them both grow!

I also am aware that there are plenty of other alternative platforms but that's a topic for another post. For now, give Ampwall a look and listen to Grigg explain what they're doing over there.

Are you familiar with the ZZ Top album Tres Hombres? The one with "La Grange"? Are you familiar with the inside gatefold imagery of the album being a giant spread of Tex Mex?

Well, Austin chef Tom Micklethwait decided to recreate the entire spread and give himself a tasty treat. It's all documented in this short film ZZ Tom and it goes exactly as you'd hope. He recreates it damn nearly perfectly and we can only assume it's delicious.

And if you're curious what ZZ Top themselves would think of such a delightful Internet undertaking - read this Texas Monthly interview with Billy Gibbons. Includes a great anecdote involving a German Shepherd. Via Jamie.

This whole undertaking is from 2016 but it's new to me and, I hope, new to you. Here's that spread, stare into it at your convenience.

If you've been online for any notable amount of time, you know that Anamanaguchi is a high octane, instrumental, chiptune / videogame inspired / electronic act.

But now - after 19 years - they're changing things up. I don't wanna say "evolving" because what they did before was incredibly realized and in no need of fine tuning. There's a long story around their new album Anyway that I'll leave it to you to read but you can very quickly ascertain from this video for "Magnet" that they're doing things quite differently now. Musically, it's a new direction but the high octane energy and extremely clever execution is ever present.

We're all fans of supercuts but this fusion of every modern Batman movie into one "narrative" is brilliant and unbelievably well blended. I look forward to the new era of Anamanaguchi - it's off to a great start.

Hopefully you are familiar with the names Spencer Cullum, Rich Ruth and Sean Thompson - each an incredibly talented musician creating their own flavor of songs for years. They have joined forces to create Shrunken Elvis, a trio that creates instrumental, ambient, spacey and quite immersive soundscapes. Their debut album is set for release on Sept 5 via Western Vinyl. You can hear "An Old Outlet" now and pick up the LP or digital over here.

I am sure there is no shortage of filmmakers and creatives out there documenting their experiences using various AI tools like Runway, Midjourney, Veo, and all the rest. For me, it's fascinating to read about everyone's unique experiences with these tools and to see not only the results they create but the conclusions they come to about the toolsets. The former is always interesting, the latter is always confirming that there's not much to be scared of yet.

Seth's Substack is the documentation of filmmaker Seth Graves, an ex-Nashvillian living in LA who has always dabbled in the DIY scene of music and film. He is an excellent candidate for playing with these tools because he is quite familiar with the real world equivalents, for both larger productions and smaller scale undertakings.

He's making his way through the Tarot deck, making 22 episodes of 60-second explorations, all loosely based on the individual cards. It's a framing concept that helps reveal the path but it's not a rigid structure. The results of The Magician and The Wheel of Fortunre are surreal and outlandish but also not too far off from very solid indie filmmaking.

Stumbled upon Metro Cinema, a new theater experience opening in Chelsea, NYC that eschews the typical "giant screening room" vibe and leans into private suites. You book a room for 4-20 people, pick what movie you want to see and pick what menu you're interested in having served before the film. Take a little cruise around the website - it's especially nice on desktop and quite unique with the inverted scrolling banners. Ya love to see some innovation still happening with websites.

I've largely stopped going to the movies because the experience is such a crapshoot - insane amount of commercials and previews, people talking, uncomfortable seating, et al. I'm positive much of this is my age and becoming a bit more particular but something like the Metro Cinema experience would solve for a lot of that.

Clearly a single theater opening in NYC will have no impact on me but the Metro is conjured up by Tim League, the brain behind Alamo Drafthouse cinemas that previously redefined the screening experience. So, one cinema may not impact me yet but it's entirely possible League will expand to other areas. Here's hoping!

I must admit, I've been wearing my tinfoil hat a bit recently - especially in regards to 2024 election fraud. I'm convinced it happened and the evidence is going to slowly trickle out. The consequences will be nill but I do believe it will eventually come to light.

But how effective is my tinfoil hat? To answer that, we turn to this MIT study On the Effectiveness of Aluminium Foil Helmets. Turns out, the hat is actually amplifying radio signals, not obfuscating them. I may need to rethink my tactics.

The Creative Works conference started in 2014. I attended the 2015 edition and had a great time. The 2025 lineup of speakers is a really great list of designers, illustrators, lettering experts, creative directors and.. me! That's right! I'm finally gonna take the leap into speaking in front of a bunch of folks.

My presentation has been percolating in my head for months and I'm excited to solidify it and share it with everyone. Maybe you will attend? Presale tickets are available now and early bird pricing ends August 1.

Come see me in Brooklyn in early October!

Really great piece here from the NY Times and Christoph Niemann - Sketched Out: An Illustrator Confronts His Fears About A.I. Art. This isn't a 10,000 word rambling about copyright infringement or ownership but, rather, an interactive graphic novel taking you through the worrisome ponderings of an artist looking into the void of a new era.

Obviously there are a ton of great drawings throughout this but there are also a lot of excellent thinking points - how will AI influence the future of art given that AI tends to deliver "popular" training data? What happens the brilliance of errors - if artists aren't making as many mistakes, do we lose out on this happenstance? "Does art require an artist?"

I don't have any answers here but I do like thinking about it and considering this situation with histories prior hurdles. Definitely a great read - please go through it all!