Link About It: This Week’s Picks

How Mozart outsold Drake, a long-lost Leonardo da Vinci sketch, airplane upgrades and more in our look at the web

1. The Principals’ Sound Journeys Using field recordings documented by Chris Watson (the guy behind all of David Attenborough’s intoxicating wildlife documentaries), Brooklyn-based design studio The Principals recently created an interactive journey that guides visitors through the sounds of the natural world. Participants walk through three distinct aural zones—forest, canyon and sea—as sound elements like winds gusting across Norwegian islands or seals singing in Antarctica …

Kid Cudi: Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’

After being delayed earlier this year, Kid Cudi (aka Scott Mescudi) has just released his new album Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’ and it’s potentially his best yet. The 19-track record is available to stream online now, and features appearances from an impressive line-up of talent—from Andre 3000 to Willow (Smith) and Pharrell Williams. From the dark “Frequency” to the funky, horn-heavy “Surfin’” to the …

Shy Girls: Why I Love

From the new Shy Girls (aka Dan Vidmar) album comes the track “Why I Love“—a minimal, dark tune that’s balanced out with Vimar’s tender vocals. This album version is very different than the acoustic version he performed at downtown LA’s The Gift Shop. Both are heady and delicate. That said, both include plenty of pathos (with vocals like “I need an illusion just so I …