Link About It: This Week’s Picks
Demythologizing Kurt Cobain, building a better sandwich, cacti made from plastic bottles and more in this week’s look at the web
1. Demythologizing Kurt Cobain
Named for a mixtape Kurt Cobain made in 1988, Brett Morgen’s “Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck” promises to be insightful and dramatic. Morgen initially thought the film (the first authorized documentary since Cobain’s death) would take 18 months to complete, but it has taken eight years—and will finally be released 24 April 2015. Between searching through the treasure trove of archives Cobain’s wife Courtney Love granted Morgen access to (which meant finding that Cobain was quite different than the now-mythical figure many believe him to be) and legal drama, the filmmaker tells the New York Times that once the project was finally finished, he “went to the bathroom and cried for about 25 minutes.”
2. The (Interactive) House that Led Zeppelin Built
A lot has changed in the world of music videos over the last few decades and to celebrate these developments—and the 40th anniversary reissue of their acclaimed album Physical Graffiti—Led Zeppelin has released an exciting, engaging new interactive spot. The video allows viewers to step inside many different apartments in one four story building, while the track “Brandy & Coke” (an early version of what would become “Trampled Under Foot”) plays in the background. Each room contains a specific scene, from partiers in the throws of dancing to archival footage and even animation. It’s pretty funky and plenty of fun.
3. How to Build a Better Sandwich
Most often, and regardless of effort, a sandwich made at home just doesn’t have the same aesthetic appeal as one ordered at a restaurant—and that sentiment really applies to multiple senses. Thanks to the New York Times’ Jeff Gordinier, that no longer has to be the case. The writer surveyed some of the best sandwich spots in NYC, from the Mile End Deli to Bar Primi, and sought out answers to flavor profiles and visual creative direction. His findings are not only handy, they’re also rather delectable.
4. Milwaukee Bucks Redesign
Team logos run the gamut from the classic to the innovative to the downright regrettable. While some franchises are known to visually reinvent themselves every so often, others make minor tweaks over time. The Milwaukee Bucks fall into the former category with several logo switches over the years, and now the team is launching a new redesign from Brooklyn’s Doubleday & Cartwright. Drawing on local architectural history, the firm incorporated a rarely used color into the team’s new visual identity: cream. Milwaukee’s nickname is the “Cream City” not because of its connection to the dairy industry, but due to the unique color of bricks used in many buildings and homes in the city. ESPN tells the in-depth story behind the firm’s creative process in their unique new work.
5. Patti Smith’s New Memoir
Following up the beautifully written “Just Kids,” Patti Smith—singer, songwriter, poet, artist and icon—has announced her new memoir, “M Train,” will be released later this year. Described as a trip “through prose that shifts fluidly between dreams and reality, past and present, across a landscape of creative aspirations and inspirations,” the book is said to explore Smith’s feelings about her craft and creative origins, as well as life with her beloved husband Fred “Sonic” Smith.
6. Google Doodle Pony Express Game
With the immediacy of the internet and email, it’s hard to imagine that one day mail was delivered by horses. Google’s Gmail service is one of the most popular in the world, so it’s not without irony that the web behemoth is celebrating the 155th anniversary of the Pony Express with a Doodle Game. Slalom through cacti, bandits and other obstacles of the Wild Wild West as you deliver mail the old fashioned way. Just don’t expect to hop right into Gmail, you’ll want to want to finish your route first.
7. Cacti Made from Plastic Bottles
Czech artist Veronica Richterová is repurposing plastic bottles into dreamy works of sculptural art in what she calls PET-ART. The crinkly green, blue, brown and clear bottles are distorted, punctured and popped to form small cacti or are stacked on top of each other to create larger works like transparent trees or jellyfish. Since 2004, Richterová has been dedicated to using the recyclable bottles as her main medium of artwork and is always in search of new hues.
8. Vale, Chef Homaro Cantu
The very talented, spirited and adventurous Chicago-based chef Homaro Cantu—founder of Michelin-starred Moto—has sadly died; found inside a building where he was planning to open a new restaurant. Cantu was known for blending exceptionally fine food with science in experimental and delightful ways—even offering up everything from carbonated fruit to edible menus. His passion for finding ways to hopefully end world hunger was inspired by his family’s homelessness, and he said, “I was just taught very early that if I didn’t solve problems, I was headed for a very dark path.”
Link About It is our filtered look at the web, shared daily in Link and on Twitter, and rounded up every Saturday morning.
