The Modern Materialist

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• Festival Survival Kit

  For those of you who read this blog regularly, it won’t come as too much a shock to find out that I love clubbing. I like going dancing in clubs, and partying, and hanging out with all the cool… Okay, fine, I’m a NARC. Find out why I won't NARC you out, after the jump...  Read More... Posted May 08 2008, 06:00 PM by Alex Zalben with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Music, toiletries

• I'm So Vain: Stealth Headphones

  I feel lame for being so vain about my headphone style, especially since y'all voted that my oversize headphones were a good look. Still, I can't help feeling ridiculous those times I pair my massive headphones with a hat. Which is why I'm sorta intrigued by this get-up: Read More... Posted May 06 2008, 12:00 PM by Steph Auteri with | with no comments Filed under: gadgets, tech, Music

• The Weekly Top 5: Boom Blox, Teeth, and More

  The Weekly Top five (formerly the weekly top four, but there’s so much awesome stuff out, who needs just four things?) is what you should be spending your entertainment dollars on this week… Assuming you didn’t already spend all of your fun-money on Iron Man and GTA4 last week, of course. Check ‘em all out, after the jump: Read More... Posted May 05 2008, 01:30 PM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: video games, Music, Movies, the weekly Top 5

• Love It or Leave It? BoomBox-Style iPod Dock

  [$219, Lasonic]  Part of my wants to hitch this up on my shoulder and bop on down the street, whilst blasting the Beatards. Another part of me realizes that I didn't even do that shit in the '80s. Plus I sort of already love my DLO travel speakers. After the jump, a bonus music video, and then vote for whether you'd love this or leave it. Read More... Posted May 02 2008, 10:30 AM by Steph Auteri with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: gadgets, tech, Music

• Sound Hive Lets The Bees Out

  When I think about relaxing to some music after a long, hard, days work, the first thing I want to be reminded of is bees. You know, there’s nothing that really helps you take a load off like an alarming swarm of bees in your house. That’s why I appreciate the Hive Speakers, a concept by Yanko Design. Okay, to be fair, it reminds me a little more of honey, as it has a honeycomb design, but nonetheless… BEES! The concept works off the sound bar home theater design, centering all sound in one area of the room. There's something even cooler about these speakers, though: Read More... Posted Apr 29 2008, 03:30 PM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: gadgets, speaker system, concepts, Music

• Geek Out: Batman Mp3 Player

  You know how Batman has all of this Bat-stuff? Like his Batmobile, and Batcycle, and Bat-blender? Well, he has a Bat-Mp3 player as well. Turns out, there's one kep Bat-thing the dark avenger of the night lacks that you, oh lucky one, can have:  Read More... Posted Apr 29 2008, 09:30 AM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: Music, mp3 Players, Geek Out

• The Weekly Top 4: Madonna, GTA4, and More

  I’m not going to lie to you guys… It was very difficult to decide what deserved to be in the top spot this week, i.e. what’s most deserving of your entertainment dollars. The question really came down to: am I a gay man, or am I a mentally repressed man-child, with both sides of my personality fighting for dominance. Find out which half of me won out, after the jump… Read More... Posted Apr 28 2008, 04:30 PM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: video games, Music, Movies, weekly top four

• Hands On: Samsung S3 Media Player

  I got a little less time to spend with the S3, which was okay, because it is just okay. The S3 is Samsung’s little iPod killer, except it suffers from the same problems most potential iPod killers do: because Apple’s device is so prevalent in the market, they must design something that in no way seems like they’re ripping off Apple. However, and not to sound like a Jobs Fanboy, but I will: Apple pretty much perfected the design of a music player. They did, it’s true, and that’s why the iPod is so successful. The iPod is instantly intuitive to use; the S3 is not. I don't totally hate on the S3, after the jump...  Read More... Posted Apr 25 2008, 03:00 PM by Alex Zalben with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: gadgets, Music, samsung, hands on

• Geek Out: Stitch CD Player

  The Disney Nerd is a very specific type of nerd. Whereas the regular nerd may have knowledge of areas beyond that of their expertise (Star Wars, video games, comics, etc.), the Disney Nerd only knows about Disney. And they know a LOT about Disney. Also, they don’t realize they’re nerds. A whole new world, after the jump... Read More... Posted Apr 25 2008, 09:30 AM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: gadgets, Music, Geek Out, Disney

• I Cannot Turn Away From My Past

  It was not until my freshman year of college that I owned my first CD. Read More... Posted Apr 25 2008, 09:00 AM by Steph Auteri with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: gadgets, tech, Music

• The Weekly Top 4: Cloverfield, Whitesnake, and More

  Every week, awesome stuff comes out in the worlds of DVD, Music, and Video Games. Every week, I tell you the top four things you have to buy. This is the Weekly Top 4: 1) Flight of The Choncords [$10, Amazon] What The? First official album from the HBO musical/comedy duo. Sorry? Flight of the Choncords has been tickling your funny bone since last year with their absurd and hilarious songs. This album collects them, officially, for the first time. Fifteen songs on the album range from the brilliant French class parody “Foux da Fafa,” to the moment you first fell in love with the Kiwi duo, “The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room.” Check out the rest, after the jump...  Read More... Posted Apr 22 2008, 12:30 PM by Alex Zalben with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: video games, Music, Movies

• A More Pleasurable Waking Up Experience

  [$149.95, Brookstone, Ships 5/28/08] At the moment, I wake up to low-volume NPR. It's so relaxing that, at times, 20 minutes pass before I realize that the voices in my head are radio-voices and not dream-voices. Perhaps it would make more sense to wake up to my Deliriously Happy Mix, the one I often play when commuting to work, in the hopes that it will make me, um, deliriously happy. To be going to work. The iHome Alarm Clock Radio for iPhone would allow me to do such a thing, which is AWESOME!!! After the jump, my Deliriously Happy Mix (please don't make fun of me): Read More... Posted Apr 21 2008, 02:00 PM by Steph Auteri with | with 6 comment(s) Filed under: gadgets, tech, Music

• I Am An Embarrassment

  Five Things I Do That Embarrass My Husband Take one of his incidental burps as a burping challenge. Hula hoop in the parking lot. Wear my fuzzy Cookie Monster pajama pants to the QuikChek. Tell other people about his butt dance. Sing "Circle of Life" in the shower, even when we have overnight guests. Read More... Posted Apr 17 2008, 02:30 PM by Steph Auteri with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: gadgets, tech, Music

• Music Sharing Sans Computers Or Cables

  [$99.95, miShare]  Music Michael Has Opened My Ears To: Read More... Posted Apr 17 2008, 10:00 AM by Steph Auteri with | with no comments Filed under: gadgets, tech, Music

• Coffee Cup Speaker

  There are several things that are sad about this: 1) You can’t actually use it as a coffee cup. Other things that are sad, after the jump...  Read More... Posted Apr 16 2008, 02:30 PM by Alex Zalben with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: coffee, Music, mp3 Players

• The Weekly Top 4: Okami, Asia, Juno, and More

  The Weekly Top 3 feature I did last week was SO POPULAR*, that I’ve decided to turn it into The Weekly Top 4! How amazing is that? For the very few of you who didn’t read last week’s feature**, I’m going to tell you the Top Four things you should be looking out for in the world of Entertainment, from DVDs, to Music, to Video Games, to anything in entertainment. So let’s get to it, homeskillets, after the jump...   Read More... Posted Apr 14 2008, 12:30 PM by Alex Zalben with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: video games, Music, Movies

• The Envy Of All Other(Tween)s

  [$69.99, Target]  I'm sorry. I really couldn't help myself. It was just too hilarious and, besides, that "See You Again" song they keep playing on the radio was reaching into my soul and tugging at my insides.   This Hannah Montana iPod speaker system is purple as well, and purple is my favorite color. So there. After the jump, sing along to "See You Again" with the help of a karaoke-like video splashed with visually offensive neons, and share how you feel about the teeny pop star with one of our polls. Read More... Posted Apr 08 2008, 09:00 AM by Steph Auteri with | with no comments Filed under: tech, Music

• The Weekly Top 3: Portal, There Will Be Blood, and Leona Lewis

  Hey, it’s Monday! Assuming you didn’t blow ALL of Friday’s paycheck on strippers and booze, you’ll still have a little left over to buy yourself some fine entertainment this week. So what should you pick up? Glad you asked; that’s where The Weekly Top 3 comes in. I'll let you know the Top 3 things you should be picking up from the world of entertainment, and then you take your money, and go buy them. Then, you invite me over to hang out with you. Check it all out, after the jump: Read More... Posted Apr 07 2008, 03:30 PM by Alex Zalben with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: video games, Music, Movies, The Weekly Top 3

• What's Your Headphone Style?

  I personally prefer to wear my massive headphones, because I think they make me look bad-ass. And they double as earmuffs. But if I were actually a girly girl...   Read More... Posted Mar 28 2008, 12:05 PM by Steph Auteri with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: gadgets, tech, Music

• International Dance Party

  This is, no joke, my favorite thing I’ve posted on this blog, ever. The International Dance Party is an art installation by Nikolas Roy and Adad Hannah that’s activated by dance. Why, what do you mean by that, Alex? Well, I’ll tell you. Basically, the IDP looks like an unassuming black case, until someone starts dancing next to it. This activates the IDP, and it will slowly start building the party. First, some lights will pop out, and an LED message will scan by saying “Dance to get the party started.” Then, the lights will start pulsing, and the music will get louder. Then it starts belching out fog from the internal fog machine. Then, it turns the lights down in the room. Yup. It actually turns the lights down. Automatically. When you start partying harder. More, including a video, and a chance for you guys to determine the price of the IDP, after the jump...  Read More... Posted Mar 26 2008, 11:00 AM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: gadgets, Videos, tech, Music, Dancing

• Do-It-Yourself: Ukulele Rock Star

  [$39.99, Perpetual Kid]  Okay, so I already have a ukulele. Because I'm just that cool: Read More... Posted Mar 20 2008, 04:30 PM by Steph Auteri with | with no comments Filed under: DIY, Music

• Love It or Leave It: Elvis on Sullivan Pen

  It's a limited edition! Only almost 2000 of them were made! [$95, The Daily Planner]  Posted Mar 20 2008, 02:30 PM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: Love it or Leave it, Music, Pens

• Top 10 Songs On the Soundtrack of Our Love

  [$38.99, Deal Extreme]  Annie's "Me Plus One" Belle & Sebastian's "Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying" The Dandy Warhols' "Bohemian Like You" The Futureheads' "Hounds of Love" Happy Mondays' "Hallelujah" Kaiser Chiefs' "Every Day I Love You Less and Less" Our Lady Peace's "I Loved You All Along" The Postal Service's "Nothing Better" Pulp's "Disco 2000" Supergrass's "Sun Hits the Sky" Read More... Posted Mar 18 2008, 12:30 PM by Steph Auteri with | with no comments Filed under: gadgets, tech, Music

• Telling You What to Do, Every Step of the Way

  [$599.99, Amazon] Sometimes, after I navigate the highways and byways on the way to somewhere totally new and out of the way and finally park my car in front of my destination, I totally get lost in my journey up the walk and into the building. Read More... Posted Mar 14 2008, 04:00 PM by Steph Auteri with | with no comments Filed under: gadgets, tech, Music, car

• Rip Your CDs Lickety-Split

  For those of you cavemen who still have all your music on CDs (I use 8-tracks, thank you very much), but have been looking to switch over to digital media, yet are so technologically inadequate as to melt down at the mere mention of iTunes, there’s a solution*: the Ripfactory Ripserver. Basically, the Ripserver is a big white box. You stick your CDs in. It rips them. It spits out the CDs. The music is instantly available, wirelessly, on your network. The end! It also comes in 500GB, or 1TB of storage, which is more than enough for most music libraries. This is the sort of unit that out-Apple’s Apple, don’t you think? Only downside is, it’s a little pricey for the amount of storage. But then, that also out-Apple’s Apple, so there you go. [$849-$995, Ripstyles] *There’s no solution to this run-on sentence, though. [Via Slippery Brick] Posted Mar 13 2008, 04:30 PM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: gadgets, tech, Music

• All Bow Before The Mini-God Speakers

  I have a friend*, Stefan, who sometimes reads this blog. Stefan LOVES Tiki themed stuff. He loves it so much, he wants to marry… Someone who also likes Tiki stuff**. He loves it so much, he recently took a room in his basement, and turned it into a Tiki themed lounge, complete with tiki torches, paintings, etc. He also has a big-ass TV in there (unrelated), but… I don’t think he has Tiki God speakers yet. I’m going to guess they’re not the best speakers on the market. However, they are, you know, little Tiki Gods. The speakers are pretty much sold out, but you can still pick up a couple on eBay. So Stefan, you gonna go grab these***? [Approx. $110, eBay] *Just one, though **Which he will be doing in September. Love is real, folks. ***My new tact on this blog is very direct marketing.  [Via Dvice] Posted Mar 12 2008, 10:30 AM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: gadgets, Music

• Future Speakers Look Dangerously Familiar

  As in love with these slick speakers from Symbio Design as I am, they remind me of something… I don’t know if it’s the tiny legs, or what looks like a tail ready to strike, but they certainly look like scorpions, don’t they? And if there’s one thing I don’t like, it’s scorpions. If there are two things I don’t like, it’s scorpions and brussel sprouts. I once ate these brussel sprouts served to me by scorpions… Big mistake. No info on pricing yet, as it's just a prototype, but if you want more on your scorpion speaker, head on over to Symbio Design. [Via Crave] Posted Mar 11 2008, 03:30 PM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: gadgets, concepts, Music

• Product Porn: DJ Hand Mixer

  Dj Hand Mixer is, like, totally cooler than DJ Food Processor. Just my opinion. However, this is actually DJ mixer you can hold in the palm of your hand. It's approx. $800, and will be released at the end of the month. Until then, you can watch a charming English lady show you how to use it: Posted Mar 11 2008, 12:30 PM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: gadgets, Videos, Product Porn, Music

• Boom Chair Takes Your Gaming To The Next Shaky Level

  Those of us who game a lot know how simultaneously important, and unnecessary the rumble pack in your controller is. There are very few games who use the nuance of the pack correctly (God of War comes to mind). Most just shake a little when you get shot, and that’s it. How is that an interactive experience? You get shot, and your hands shake a little? Just like in real life, right Gears of War? Jeez. Enter the Boom Chair Rumbleseat, which will rumble your whole body, while blasting the sounds of video games from right under your feet. It has RCA jacks, headphone jacks, and a wireless transmitter, as well as a few more stats, after the jump...   Read More... Posted Mar 06 2008, 01:30 PM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: video games, Music, chairs

• Tree Stump Subwoofer, For Your Outdoor Fantasia

  Imagine this: You’re at a party in the woods. The drinks are good, the food is good. Suddenly, this great music starts playing, and you’re all like, “Yeah! Fairies are playing us music!” Since, you know, it’s a woodland party. Then, what do you see, but an actual sound system playing the music. Turns out, fairies don’t exist, and you’re a sucker. All this could be avoided if your host had just purchased this Outdoor Subwoofer, which is, you know, shaped like a tree trunk. Here’s the stats: . All-Weather Versatility tree trunk rock bass  . Teflon-sealed Fiber Reinforced Polyester aerospace grade cabinetry . 8" black polypropylene cone with a rubber surround . Power handling: 250W . Frequency Response 20Hz - 200Hz . Sensitivity 89db . Unit Dimension:20"L x 20"W x 15"H . Unit Weight: 30  lbs . 2-year warranty And remember… If you want your party guests to believe in fairies (and I know you do), then please, purchase this subwoofer. You’re on your own with the rest of your woodland stereo system, though. [$150, Outdoor Speaker Depot] [Via Nerd Approved] Posted Mar 06 2008, 12:30 PM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: Music