Featured Site: Banksy

Graffiti is an art form that many have looked past. Most people out there associate the pieces, tags, and bombs thrown up by graf artists with gang culture, and that's really too bad. Gang graffiti is that crap you see done with all black that has no artistry to it what-so-ever. I agree, that stuff is wiggity-whack. What I'm talking about here is the graffiti produced by artists that hold true to the culture in which it was originally created. Evey work is a way of saying "fuck the system," and some are even more politically charged than that. Enter Banksy. This English graffiti artist produces amazing political and social commentary through the use of spray paint. Not only that, but he's fucking clever.

Although most of his pieces are done with stencils, which I have never been much of a fan of, the pure genius and message behind them makes for recognition. But the stencils don't make for clumsy bombs that just anyone can do. The detail and artistic look is more than impressive. Multiple layers and color make for beautiful pictures, and the subject matter can be so intense that it really makes you step back.

Besides his outdoor pieces, Banksy creates some interesting drawings and paintings. In a stroke of brilliance, he even started taking well-known paintings and altering them to represent the social state of our world. This can include adding garbage and upturned shopping carts to an old landscape or adding security cameras into a painting of a dirt road. He even put a bullet hole into the head of an ancient Greek bust. Some of these works he managed to sneak into museums and hang up. Among this, he is responsible for many other artistic stunts, all making a point about this shitty world.

So check this shit out. Even if you think you're too hardcore for a culture hip-hop inspired, which just shows your ignorance anyway, you probably aren't to hardcore for 'art terrorism' with a message. Maybe his works will even inspire some of you lazy bastards to get off your ass and make a voice for yourself, whether it be going out and visually forcing people to listen or just throwing bananas at your local Republican.

www.banksy.co.uk

Featured Site: last.fm

With Myspace slowly taking over the world, people are starting to try and cash in on the whole personal internet profile deal. Most sites come nowhere near the popularity that Myspace has achieved, but that's because they are all essentially the same thing, and if everyone already has a Myspace profile, nobody is going to set up a new on and try to get their friends onto some other site that is no different. Enter last.fm. This U.K. based site is actually pretty gnarly; it takes the idea of having a profile page (although with far less features than Myspace, but still holding onto friends, comments, messages, etc.) and adds an emphasis on music.

Almost every band ever has a page on last.fm, with most offering songs to give a listen. But what makes the site so cool is what is called "scrobbling." By downloading a program given by the site and syncing it with whatever music player you use on your computer, it posts the songs you have recently listened to onto your profile page. It also shows what music your friends have been jamming out to. Every week the site also calculates your most listened to music and assigns you 100 "neighbors," who are people with similar musical tastes. You can access their profiles and see what they have been playing as well, allowing you to discover new music, which is the purpose of the site. Every band's page also has a list of similar artists, and surprisingly, the lists are pretty good. You won't get Thursday on the list if you are listening to Saetia, since the tags assigned to the bands are set by those using the site, and most are pretty particular.

Other features include a comprehensive calendar for finding shows in your area, allowing a special place to give people music recommendations, a list of music you have tagged, a list of shows you are going to or went to, an area showing your most listened to band or song, and much more. There is too much to explain here, so I say check it out for yourself if you are into music, which you probably are.

www.last.fm

Featured Site: Born To Be Nervous

Though fresh in existence, (with more content on it's Flickr page), Born to Be Nervous's live show photography is in a virtual league of it's own.... Run by photgrapher, Undergrounder, his thighs make redwoods jealous. his hands are skin dipped power tools. his eyes are just incredibly pretty. if you want his name, and really, who wouldn't, just listen to the wind at night. it's daniel arnold. and he was born in madison, wisconsin.

http://borntobenervous.blogspot.com


"vietnam @ mercury lounge 01.24.07" undergrounder

Featured Site - Hot Chicks with Douchebags

"This site celebrates this all-too-real phenomenon roast-style, with accompanying prose courtesy of site creator "DB1" -- a Hollywood insider who admits to daily struggles with his own douchery. Nonetheless, he's aghast that this scourge has overtaken society: "Everyone relates to the rage of seeing the hottest girl in the club cuddling with an oily, greasy, bling'd out scrote." DB1's protest page lets you dive into an overabundance of hair product and tight pink Polos, submit pics of HCwDs, comment on those already posted, and vote for the week's foulest hottie/herb pairing -- hopefully to the great shame of Greicos, tonguebags, Fezzes, and New Jersey's male population. As the number of HCwDs grows, so too will the site's influence -- they already boast commenters from Japan and Europe, where even widespread bidet use has failed to curb the d-bag pandemic." ~ Thrillist 2007

http://www.hotchickswithdouchebags.com

Enjoy!