Our weekly recap highlighting the best feature stories from around the internet.
Kim Dotcom. Photo: RNZ/Kim Baker Wilson
Sonic Doom: The Madness and Mayhem of Making Good Times - by Hayden Donnell, 1972
“The young recording engineer looked in some pain. Tennis balls were being smashed into his body at full speed, in front of a crowd of people. This wasn’t what he’d signed up for. He had been hired to work on one of the most expensive albums in New Zealand music history – the debut by internet entrepreneur and fugitive from US justice, Kim Dotcom. When the group weren’t recording, though, they indulged in hijinks and hazing. On this day witnesses describe the engineer as being dressed for tennis in a penguin costume. The hitter was an excellent tennis player. According to witnesses, Dotcom looked like he enjoyed the episode.”
The Man Who Broke the Music Business – by Stephen Witt, The New Yorker
“Glover didn’t have access to big-tent mom-rock artists like Celine Dion and Cher. But his albums tended to be the most sought after in the demographic that mattered: generation Eminem. The typical Scene participant was a computer-obsessed male, between the ages of fifteen and thirty. Kali—whose favorite artists included Ludacris, Jay Z, and Dr. Dre—was the perfect example. For Glover, the high point of 2002 came in May, when he leaked “The Eminem Show” twenty-five days before its official release. The leak made its way from the Scene’s topsites to public peer-to-peer networks within hours, and, even though the album became the year’s best-seller, Eminem was forced to bump up its release date.”
Culture Vulture - by Leilani Momoisea, Metro
“And for the record, yes, we do have better things to do with our day than to have to painstakingly explain why our cultures mean so much to us, even if they mean nothing to you. Yes, I’d rather talk about the weather than have to explain to someone, “No, you can’t dress up like me for one night and expect me to be flattered at your vague attempt at multiculturalism.””
Your Fave Is Problematic, And That's Okay For You, But They Still Need To Apologize – by Rawiya Kameir, The Fader
“As the social web continues to be the dominant form through which culture is filtered, it feels inevitable that everyone you admire will eventually disappoint you with a hurtful tweet or an offensive comment in an interview. Things that you might have missed in previous eras, like Björk's 2001 interview, are now impossible to ignore, thanks to the speed and intensity with which the public and the press seize upon them.”
Keezus – by Zach Baron, GQ
“Let us now behold her in her eponymous $630 hat, picking her way across the shopping-bag-strewn floor, the immaculate result of her family's long-sought betterment, the far end of a long arc of aspiration, with the taste and bone structure to prove it. She has what we should want for our children and our children's children: a life of steady work and good fortune. You might sneer, but it's true. I would sacrifice a wombat for my future daughter to be in this exact suite, trying on this exact hat. It's infectious, their comfort here. My grandfather grew up in an orphanage in Brooklyn and now I'm in Paris, taking my ease at the Four Seasons, and all my ancestors are duly proud, thank you very much. But the Jenners might as well have ridden in here on a wagon train, the extent to which they've been hurtling ceaselessly toward the finish line of the American Dream.”
Gone Girl: An Interview With An American In ISIS - by Ellie Hall, Buzzfeed
"A naturalized U.S. citizen who fled Yemen with his wife more than 20 years ago, Mohammed watched from across an ocean as his country descended into civil war. As each of his five children was born, far away from falling bombs and tribal violence, he thanked God for their lives in the United States. Mohammed never imagined that his youngest daughter would grow to hate the country that had given the family refuge, or that she would run away from home to a battlefield in the Middle East."
What It Means To Be A Lady Stoner – Deidre Dyer, The Fader
“The term "stoner" has long been synonymous with high school burnouts, collegiate-level slackers, and a handful of other male "underachiever" stereotypes. Of late, the word has gotten a make-over—a glamming up, if you will—thanks in part to the female cannabis lovers who are leading the marijuana industry's growth and stepping in to reclaim and normalize the once-loaded term.”
The Best New Social Network In Ages Is All About Selfies – by John Brownlee, Fast Company
“But before you roll your eyes, actually try it. Because it might be the most legitimately fun and inventive social network to come around for ages. And I say this as a convert, who, within 24 hours, has gone from being a Kong denier to blasting my wife with increasingly crazy selfie GIFs throughout the day. And, in theory, I hate selfies. (If you had my face, you probably would too.)”
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