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Run the Jewels made a VR music video for 'Crown'
Rappers Killer Mike and El-P teamed up for two albums worth of tracks under the name Run the Jewels. There's also a collection full of remixes made entirely from cat sounds. After creating some of the best hip-hop in the last two years, the duo is now letting fans take a step inside its video for the song "Crown" with a little help from the New York Times' VR app. What's more, Run the Jewels says that this immersive video marks the launch of its virtual reality platform VRTJ. For "Crown," the pair teamed with VR production company WEVR to complete the 360-degree views.
Recommended Reading: The problem with Record Store Day
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. Record Store Day and the Ambivalent Branding of Independence by Eric Harvey Pitchfork Record Store Day celebrates the culture of independent record shops each spring. Today marks the eighth annual holiday for vinyl collectors and music lovers, but the event is becoming packed with more big names each year. Whether it's Jack White's world record or releases from Metallica or Foo Fighters, celebrities are now just as much a part of the festivities, and distributors seem to be favoring bigger shops over smaller, local spots.
It took Jack White less than four hours to track and release a record this weekend
How does Jack White celebrate Record Store Day? By setting a Guinness World Record for the fastest release, of course! White recorded, pressed and released a 7-inch 45 at his label's shop in three hours and fifty-five minutes, besting the previous mark that hit shelves the day after tracking. Two songs including "Lazaretto" -- the title track off the upcoming LP -- and a B-side cover of Elvis' "Power of My Love" were captured live from the Blue Room at Third Man Records in Nashville for the release. While the production was going down, White went on to perform an hour-long set for those who turned out to observe the feat. The full-length Lazaretto releases on June 10th, but for now, you can relive this weekend's events after the break. [Image: Jamie Goodsell]
The art of the gimmick: an interview with the Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne
The Flaming Lips have never done anything small, from the "Parking Lot Experiments" of the mid-90s to this year's Record Store Day album, "The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends." Set for an April 21st release, the limited edition vinyl record features an odd cast of characters, including Bon Iver, Erykah Badu, Neon Indian, Nick Cave and Ke$ha, many of whom have lent their actual blood to the record. "That is totally a gimmick," Wayne Coyne answers with great relish. "It's a beautiful gimmick. I think all things that we marvel over are based in gimmicks." He's on the phone for a day of back-to-back interviews, a trapping of the job that would cause lesser, more jaded men to roll their eyes and submit with dragged heels, particularly those who've been playing the game through 30 years and 13 LPs. But Coyne, much to his credit, dives into everything he does headfirst with the manner of childlike wonder that's come to be established with the vast majority of the Flaming Lips' catalog. At the beginning of our conversation, he lets it be known that he's slightly distracted. His wife is photographing him. And he's in his underwear. He didn't bother putting anything else on, knowing that he'd be running a marathon of phone interviews all day. Maximum comfort is important. It's a hard image to erase from my mind as Coyne settles in to explain the band's decision to embrace Siri on a recent web-only track called "Now I Understand."
