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Verge Favorites: Russell Brandom

Verge Favorites: Russell Brandom

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Work boots, comics and an iconic big-city noir

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The Verge staffers aren't just people who love technology. They're people who love stuff. We spend as much time talking and thinking about our favorite books, music, and movies as we do debating the best smartphone to buy or what point-and-shoot has the tightest macro. We thought it would make sense to share our latest obsessions with Verge readers, and we hope you're encouraged to share your favorites with us. Thus a long, healthy debate will ensue where we all end up with new things to read, listen to, or try on.

Dylan Horrocks —‘Hicksville’

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This starts out as a mystery story about a Rob Liefeld-type, but turns into something more wistful about hometowns and the books that never got written. It jumps between styles so much that, by the end, you feel as if you’ve gotten a tour of everything that’s great about comics. One of the best books-about-books I’ve ever read.

Seu Jorge — ‘Musicas para Churrasco Vol. 1’

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A really fun album, from the same guy who sang all those Bowie songs in Life Aquatic and killed all those people in City of God. It’s all in Portuguese; I have no idea what he’s saying. It reminds me a lot of Off the Wall. I first heard it through a YouTube embed on Cord Jefferson’s Tumblr and since then I’ve been listening to it on Spotify, so Jorge probably hasn’t gotten a dime from my continued enjoyment of the album — but maybe one of you will buy it?

The Red Wing Iron Ranger

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Winter in New York can get pretty gross, so it’s good to have heavy work boots. These are steel-toed and triple stitched, basically indestructible. I’ll be disappointed if they fall apart before I do. Also, I once read that Peter Kaplan used to wear steel-supported shoes to tone his legs, so I suppose it’s a tribute.

Night and the City

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I really like noir movies, and this is one of the best. The director, Jules Dassin, got blacklisted while he was making it. Richard Widmark plays an iconic big-city hustler, trying to get ahead in a shady business where people occasionally get killed. There isn’t a heist or even really a crime in it; just wrestling.

AudioTechnica AT 2020 Cardioid Condenser Microphone

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I record things the way other people take pictures. With such good gear available so cheaply, why not play around? My setup is just this mic and an Audiobox with USB and XLR cables. Throw in a laptop with Ableton and you can do whatever you want. The whole thing is lightweight enough to bike around town, and small enough to set up in a closet. Minus the laptop, it probably costs less than your guitar.

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