Playlist: Spherical Ice, Day-Glo Brothers, Maru the Cat, and More

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Playlist: Spherical Ice, Day-Glo Brothers, Maru the Cat, and More

Jun 24, 2009 Multimedia

The carefully hand-carved orb of ice used to chill our last Yamazaki single malt in Tokyo wasn’t just for show. As master bartenders there know, a 2-inch diameter ball of cold has a lower surface-area-to-volume ratio than a typical cube. That means it melts more slowly, preventing vintage hooch from warming up and getting watered down. Japan’s mixologists hire apprentices to chisel perfect frozen spheres, but if you aren’t so flush, pick up DIY molds (two trays for $16) from the MoMA store.

Photo: Tom Schierlitz

Not all summer anthems require booty-shaking beats. On its vibrant second album, this Los Angeles-based quartet leaves behind its old melancholy new wave synths for upbeat slide guitar, lively hand claps, and wall-of-sound horns and strings. Somewhere between “Vacationing People” and “See Us Home,” we started to long for a little offline, sun-kissed R&R.

Photo: Emily Ulmer

The NYPD once had a word for walking along this elevated railway line on the West Side: trespassing. But the abandoned tracks, perched 30 feet above Gotham’s streets and sidewalks, are being reborn as a surreal 1.5-mile-long public park designed by the landscape architects at Field Operations. Strolling among the trees and meadows atop the hulking steel structure feels like something out of a dream. Or a game of Halo.

You may not know their names, but you’re familiar with their work. In 1938, Bob and Joe Switzer invented fluorescent paint—without which we might not have highlighters, traffic cones, or the cover of this magazine. Their enlightening story, as told by children’s author Chris Barton (with illustrator Tony Persiani), shows how basement tinkering can lead to scientific discovery.

Ever lost baggage while flying to or from Heathrow? There’s a tiny chance that Luna Laboo has it. Over the past eight months, the art director has bought $227 worth of unclaimed luggage at airport auctions and photographed it. Her goals: 1) Capture what’s inside and 2) harness the power of the Web to return all 11 bags to their rightful owners. Recognize anything?

Is it OK to eat Independence Day hot dogs on July 9? Just how dangerous is sun-drenched coleslaw? Ask Stilltasty.com. The site tells you when leftovers are safe—and when it’s time to toss ‘em. It also offers tidbits on whether condiments should be refrigerated (yes) and if that pizza from yesterday’s meeting is, well, still tasty (no). Those five-day-old wieners? They’re done.

Inspiration struck artist Erika Iris Simmons when she spotted a bunch of cassettes sitting atop a blank canvas. Now, under the name iRI5, the Atlanta- based Simmons unspools the tapes for her Ghost in the Machine series and uses their entrails to create stunningly accurate portraits of musicians like Tom Waits, Jimi Hendrix, and Robert Smith. (That’s Ian Brown of the Stone Roses above.) See and purchase Simmons’ work at iRi5.com.

Barbecuing doesn’t have to be a heated challenge, especially if you arm yourself with the right utensils. This seven-in-one multitool packs everything you’ll need to make your grilling seem more like chilling: a spatula, two-pronged fork, bottle opener/corkscrew, tongs, serrated cutter, and even built-in holder for a cigarette lighter. The only task it can’t handle? Telling you when to flip those Kobe burgers.

Yes, we know that YouTube is full of cat videos. But this is a Japanese cat video. Starring an acrobatic tabby leaping in and out of a cardboard box. (He even has his own blog.) We laughed so hard we wept. Thanks, Interwebs.:

Two decades after This Is Spinal Tap skewered the music biz, the band has reunited—again—to record a follow-up album. Real rockers Steve Vai and Keith Emerson join parodists Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer on Back From the Dead. The disc includes classic tunes, plus new ones that capture the clumsy mixed metaphors and misogyny intrinsic to Tap’s comic genius. First line of the title track: “Give me reincarnation, or give me death!”

Photo: Art Streiber