Behold! The Akai APC40, a controller specifically designed for Ableton Live. It’s kind of fugly, but it’s all sorts of awesome. See those knobs? Wait, let me give you a closer look…

Alright, see those LEDs around the nob? I’ve never used rotary controllers much due to their failings with digital software: turn the knob all the way to the right, then reassign it in you application, and suddenly the knob doesn’t match the device. This is a genius way to get around that. The LED can simply adjust to whatever device is active at the moment. Maybe other companies have adopted this model in the past, but this is the first time I’ve encountered it. This feature, along with the “built for Live” mentality, makes the APC40 a day one purchase for me. It has everything I need for working with Live in one interface.

I think everyone can agree that Tobacco’s Fucked Up Friends was one of the best albums released in 2008. I also believe that everyone can agree that this is an awesome promo spot for the album. The awesomeness of the promo has to do with the fact that it was conceived by and stars Derrick Beckles… the guy who was also behind those Truth anti-tobacco ads. Get it? There’s also another one that features cigarettes fucking.

If white iPod earbuds say “hey muggers, look what I’ve got!” then these must scream “hey muggers, I might be schizophrenic… wanna test me?”

It’s not a very good video. That should come as no surprise if you’ve ever seen Squarepusher in concert, as he has a tendency to rely on seizure induction as the visual component to his live act.