Linking Horn: 21 June 2010

Back to your regular scheduled programming this week, with a juicy Linking Horn filled with interesting and irrelevant links from across the internets.

Steampunk Necklace, from The Lost Dream Machine

I am a sucker for some good steampunk jewelry – because steampunk is so trendy now, a lot of people are flexing their creative biceps and trying to create steampunk jewelry. The look is very jumbled – and it’s meant to be so – but even a chaotic piece must contain some kind of internal order. Not everyone has an eye for that. I’ve been enjoying the pieces designed by Marcus at The Lost Dream Machine, a Belgium-born jeweler working from his studio in Spain. You can buy Marcus’ steam-inspired industrial jewelry from the Lost Dream Machine etsy shop.

Also digging NO FUNERAL – a metal / hardcore zine based in Huntsville, Texas. Their site hasn’t been updated since 2009, but I’ve been reading back through the archives and finding some real gems.

WebUrbanist does it again – 6 Incredible Underground Spaces. I’ve been to Capadocia in Turkey, and it’s even more awesome in real life. It really does look like a place from outer space. We explored the underground city where the Christians went to hide – we went down 11 storeys, I believe, but the city itself goes down over 25. Archaeologists actually have no idea of its full expanse. Incredible.

I am thinking of getting a pair of these. They are totally OTT and silly – and that’s why I love them. They would be my dragon pants. Perfect for a Hammerfall concert, no?

Where the Streets Have Sexual Names.

Fantastic essay by artist Hazel Dooney about marketing for creatives and getting behind your work. I am in total agreement with Hazel, and there’s much in this essay and the comments to inspire the creatives who read this blog, whether you be a musician, artist, writer, blogger or designer.

The Sassy bitches at Reign in Blonde have been having a go at this Metalliblog guy, for posting this article rating the personalities of various metal musicians he has met. I think this is pudding proof of “things you say on the internet that reflect upon you in a bad way” as Metaliblog dude comes off sounding like a major racist, homoerotic (I love his use of the word “playful”), fanboy douche. He probably isn’t, but that’s how he sounds. I’ve met a few metal musicians – Lemmy, Zakk Wylde, the dudes from Opeth, Nile, Behemoth, Cannibal Corpse … a few others, I’m sure. I found every one of them to be professional and appreciative of fans. The touring lifestyle must be hard, and sometimes you must want to tell the kids waiting out the back of the venue to fuck off, you just want a cigarette and to crawl into bed. Im not saying that excuses anyone from being an asshole, but I dislike the mentality that any musician is required to be “available” to his / her fans for autographs, chatting, drinking, whatever, once the show is over. If they are, great. But if they can’t, then that doesn’t make them an asshole.

Metal Insider has a few gloomy words to say about the Scream It Like You Mean It Summer Slaughter Thrash and Burn American Carnage Cool Ozzfest Mayhem Tour … And How Warped it All Is. I think – and please disagree with me here if you’re from the States and know more about the situation than I do – the problem here lies in too many summer tours with similiar lineups. I don’t think live music will ever die – in fact, I think it will get bigger and bigger over the next few years. I think the problem here is that kids only have a finite amount of money, and now, they can choose from 5-6 tours starring their favorite band. All these tours cater to the same audience – they’ve simply reached saturation point. Once tour promoters start thinking outside the box, they’ll see numbers and sales picking up again.

X-ray pinup calendar. Best. Idea. Ever.

Hot hot hot Medieval groom with sword.

And, for the boys, Hannah, who is also hot hot hot.

What are you reading this week?