The Velvet Underground & Nico: I’ll Be Your Mirror

Our brief look at the iconic artist's musical legacy

In lieu of a musical guilty pleasure this week, we looked to the other aspect of our two-fold PrivateJam series; a deeply personal tune. One of music’s most revered critics, the New Yorker’s Sasha Frere-Jones, penned a deeply heartfelt postscript about Lou Reed, which began with how Reed inspired him to propose to his wife. He explains, “I handed over a small mirror with a …

Lou Reed & Laurie Anderson: Halloween Parade

Our brief look at the iconic artist's musical legacy

Lou Reed is survived by his wife, the multifarious artist and musician Laurie Anderson. The pair often performed together, and the holiday-appropriate video of their Parisian performance of “Halloween Parade” showcases their unique collaborative energy. Anderson’s just-published, tear-inducing obituary for Reed elegantly outlines their relationship: “Lou was a prince and a fighter and I know his songs of the pain and beauty in the world …

The Pixelstick

A million lines of code, an air pollution vacuum, NIGO for Uniqlo UT and more in our weekly look at the web

Light painting—the art of capturing a moving light source via long exposure photography—has a surprisingly extensive history. For over 100 years, artists have been cranking down camera shutter speeds and getting creative with light, but the greatest advancement in the field may be in the Pixelstick. Developed by Brooklyn-based tech design house Bitbanger Labs, the Pixelstick allows light painters to import images onto the stick …