Ggoolldd
For a few years in college I worked hard to deaden my hearing by attending lots of loud shows put on by Milwaukee bands—there’s a vibrant local music scene there that produces some outstanding live shows—but since I moved to Chicago I’ve had to be content with the far inferior ear-bud variety of sound. It can be hard to unravel the objective quality of a band with the associations of happy memories made while seeing them live. But no such subjective evaluations cloud my love of Ggoolldd, who hit the scene in a big way since I left Milwaukee and whose output is a small but stellar collection of impeccably produced synthpop. Margaret Butler’s strong vocals float on top of earworm beats and sleek, layered instrumentals that sound as polished as any bigger-budget band. Ggoolldd just put out a stellar EP, “For The Night,” adding four more songs to the impressive output so far. My personal favorite remains “Boyz,” an insanely danceable number that features the imminently quotable refrain “We’re not that old / All we need are two hearts and a stereo.” [Caitlin PenzeyMoog]
MetroFlash bike lights
As someone whose commitment to biking knows no seasonal bounds, having a good set of bike lights is paramount to safety as the nights get longer and visibility decreases. Previously I’d been content with chintzy pairs of lights, the kind that would burn through batteries at an astonishingly expensive rate. Having since made the switch to this rechargeable pair by MetroFlash, not only is my battery budget finally under control, my nighttime visibility is better than ever. This matching set of front and back lights is a steal, holding a charge for over 12 hours when set to the flashing setting, and are easily charged while on-the-go thanks to its micro-USB charging port and adorable little cable. For the price, these lights are hard to beat. [David Anthony]
Dinosaur Comics
While doing some apartment cleaning recently, I came upon a book I thought I had lost in a recent move: Your Whole Family Is Made Out Of Meat, a “best of” collection of Dinosaur Comics from 2003 to 2005. You either already know exactly what I’m talking about, or this is the name of something you’ve probably stumbled across at least a few times over the past decade or so. Dinosaur Comics is an online comic strip that has run consistently since 2003, and features the exact same clip art dinosaurs in the exact same layout for every single strip. It sounds like a recipe for quick boredom, but creator Ryan North turns those limitations into strengths by being as inventive as possible within that format. Quick-witted and absurdist, the strip is equally at home pondering the great philosophical questions of life or talking about how kissing is totally the best. You can find it every day at Qwantz.com, which is a very easy website to remember. He also has some excellent shirts, mugs, and other items for purchase, items of which I already own several. But rediscovering the book got me back into the strip all over again, after several years of setting it aside, and it was surprising and awesome to discover that it’s just as sharp and witty as ever. Don’t ever change, dinosaurs—or rather, keep on doing what you’ve been doing, since those are one and the same. [Alex McCown]