It’s Sunday, August 2nd at 11:00 am EDT, and we're coming to you from atop a 10 ft ladder in the middle of our main office space. We’ve climbed up here, all the way to the top rung, with a pair of wire cutters and a vision of a simpler existence. There are white Christmas lights affixed to the ceiling, lots of them. We don’t know how they got here or how long they’ve been up here, but we do know that if we’re going to move forward and make space for new ideas, the lights have got to come down. Around the room we shift, scooting the ladder a few feet at a time, then scurry back up to the top to snip another zip tie. Little by little, the sprawling network of cobwebs falls away. A lightness permeates the room. We breathe deeply. With the slate wiped clean, we can finally begin dreaming about Christmas — this is the Amalgam, 93.
It’s been a little over a month since we launched the Swingtop Lighter, and the word around the office since then has been something along the lines of “whoa.” This has been far and away the biggest launch we’ve ever had, and we’re incredibly thankful for the support and enthusiasm.
The Standing Bowls have also been a serious hit. We’ve been major fans of these Fort Standard classics since we started Craighill, so reintroducing them to our audience has been a real joy over the past couple of weeks.
We hope you’re all enjoying summer, spending time on boats, sleeping with the aid of air conditioning, and reading on the beach. We’ll be back with you soon. For now, enjoy the pole-caught links below — always fresh, always ethically sourced.
Reading
- ‘David Bowie Was a Crazy Workaholic’: Labyrinth at 40 — One of music’s marquee talents also anchored one of the 1980s’ most iconic films
- The Man Who Reads Books For a Living — Clark Speicher reads a new book every two days and gets paid for it
- Incorruptible, by Eric Ries — How great companies get corrupted, and how to build one that doesn’t
Watching
- Brian Eno is a multi-hyphenate visionary, primarily known for his numerous contributions to the canon of music. Music for Airports is a favorite, but the list is long. This 2024 documentary from Gary Hustwit paints a moving, inspiring picture of a special human being
- Not sure what to watch? Channel Surfer is an app that recreates the cable TV watching experience using YouTube videos
- Discovering Electronic Music (1970) is a documentary focusing on early synthesizer music pioneered at Bell Labs. It rules, you should 100% watch it
Listening
- Behold Arda’s Herbarium: A Musical Guide to the Mystical Garden of Middle-Earth and Stranger Places, by Ithildin — A meticulous project that was started in Spring 2022 to cover all known plants in J.R.R. Tolkien’s lore with a musical interpretation of each species in alphabetical order
- Roberto Sandrini — Occhi Su Di Me (Italo-Disco) — An Italo version of Billy Idol’s best song
- Drifting Clouds — Bawuypuway — The debut release of Yolngu musician Terry Guyula, this song is so good
Amalgam
- Want to see what restaurant menus looked like in 1880? You’re in luck
- Good news: the Yugo is back
- This Refaced Deckard’s Dream synth from Love Hulten is absolutely next level
