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In 1999, Modest Mouse struck out for Chicago to record their major-label debut for Epic Records. Amid indie circle cries of “sellouts,” a largely untested producer, and a half-built studio, the trio recorded the instrumental basics of The Moon & Antarctica … and then singer/songwriter Isaac Brock got his face smashed by a hooligan in a park.

With barely any vocals recorded, Brock emerged from the hospital with his jaw completely wired shut, and returned to a mostly empty studio. And there, on a diet of painkillers, in a neighborhood that wanted to purge the band from its borders, a creative alchemy took place that would redefine Modest Mouse and indie rock at large.

The fact that the band finished the album at all is surprising. The fact that it is now considered by critics as “hands-down one of the greatest records ever made” (NME) is perhaps an utter miracle.

The Moon & Antarctica is an album so strange and enigmatic, from those sweet opening notes, to the plunging depths of the middle, to the shocking, furious end, that you almost hesitate to listen to it again for fear of it losing its chaotic magic. But then you do, and you discover all-new sounds-a lost harmonic here, a stray percussion element there, a fresh interpretation of a lyric that leaves you thunderstruck.

And that ever-looming question, years on: How the hell did Modest Mouse pull this off?!

A unique monograph of over 50 collections created by the fashion designer Marc Jacobs in the past 25 years and illustrated by Grace Coddington

In 2016, internationally acclaimed designer Marc Jacobs commissioned his friend and talented illustrator Grace Coddington to select and draw her personal selection from his collections dating back to 1992, the year he presented his now-infamous grunge-inspired collection. Sofia Coppola contributes an introduction and the illustrations are punctuated with Jacobs's written commentary about the collections. Personal and insightful, this is the first look back on Jacobs's groundbreaking career.

About the author: Marc Jacobs is a globally acclaimed designer. He has been designing under the Marc Jacobs label since 1994 and was the creative director of Louis Vuitton from 1997 to 2014.

Grace Coddington became a fashion editor at British Vogue in 1968. In 1988 she joined American Vogue with Anna Wintour where she was the magazine’s creative director until 2016 when she became a contributing editor.

Sofia Coppola is an award-winning screenwriter and director.

Reviews: "Another must-have fashion book is on the way."—The Daily Front Row

"There's something delightfully charming and personal about this skinny Marc Jacobs career retrospective... Coddington draws some of his most memorable looks across over 50 collections, dating back to his infamous '90s grunge moment at Perry Ellis, all of which are neatly summarized with footnotes and fun facts from Jacobs."—New York Magazine

"Dive into the history of Marc Jacobs. [The book] combines illustrations by Grace Coddington with an introduction by Jacobs's friend and muse Sofia Coppola."—The Sunday Times Style

"Celebrates the designer's storied career."—Marie Claire

"Grab this highly-personal monograph of over 50 collections (from the grunge 1990s to contemporary Spring/Summer 2019) created by Marc himself, illustrated by artist and fashion goddess Grace Coddington."—Hypebae

"A unique monograph of more than 50 beautifully drawn collections to pore over... Oh and the hot pink cover? Now, that will definitely dress up your book shelf."—Marie Claire

"A season-by-season journey through the 50 collections Jacobs has [since 1992] created for his own eponymous label. Brought to life by former US Vogue Fashion editor Grace Coddington's illustrations... The fuchsia pink cover of this XL monograph conveys the fun to be had inside... The looping design invites us to turn the pages and tilt our heads for the candid recollections Jacobs has provided for each collection."—The Financial Times

Specifications: Format: Hardback Size: 370 × 296 mm (14 5/8 × 11 5/8 in) Pages: 88 pp Illustrations: 250 illustrations

GRRRLS BY LODOWNMAGAZINE
it’s not just a buzz. It’s for real this time. Slowly but steadily, it’s gonna happen. That thing called change. And it will be a predominantly female-centric one.
You shouldn’t expect any kind of elaborate superstructure in this very issue though. There is no men vs women and its implicit over-simplified presentation format of evil vs good - because reality proved itself to be a lot more complex than that. Instead, Lodown’s latest issue GRRRLS presents itself as a celebration of all the uncountable female talent out there that’s dedicating their craft to turn this planet into something more beautiful, smart, reflecting and overall rad again. That’s it, really. It’s a celebration of those individuals with an intact moral and intellectual compass. The days where girls have to be something other than themselves altogether are finally numbered.


Highlights of our GRRRLS issue include…

- SARAH MAPLE... Celebrated British artist Sarah Maples certainly is no stranger to challenging your beliefs about society, gender roles, religion, Internet culture, the art circuit, and whatnot - she smoked in a hijab, got beaten live on tape, transferred Disney-princesses into the academic world, and is pro-orgasm while wearing a burqa. What usually would be considered as being downright smart and deliciously provocative immediately got incredibly scandalized because Maple’s not only pro-feminist but of mixed Islamic background.

- MENTRIX... All it needs to snap out of the current state of ignorance is reminding ourselves that it’s actually quite simple to become bigger than we’ve been recently - greater in spirit and more courageous. And Berlin-based Samar Rad aka Mentrix could be just the right musical catalyst for bringing this endeavor into fruition. At this point, the multidisciplinary artist is far from being exhausted from fighting the good fight, even though she basically spent the last four years working on the accurate transition to introduce her artistic vision to the world - and the result is nothing less than breathtaking.

- SHAUNA TOOHEY... When the cultural landscape becomes a drag, it is high time to create a new narrative. Multidisciplinary artist, designer, The Changes member and mother, Shauna Toohey advocates living joyously through community engagement, inclusive creativity, collective wah-wah and a decent dose of subversive rupture. The status quo has no choice but to mutate. Toohey is all for making culture collective and (psy) active in the here and now, not stuck in yesterday’s rut, but brandishing future vision and grounded in today’s fun.

- COMPUTER GRRLS... The first computers were programmed by women, 75 years ago, and women wrote the software behind Neil Armstrong’s ‘giant leap for mankind’. Since then, IT has become ever more important and gradually turned into a field for nerds where women seem out of place altogether. But the tide is turning: a new wave of Computer Grrrls presents itself through a fantastic exhibition at Rotterdam’s MU, which highlighted the historical role women played in the development of computer science.

- plus more elaborate features and visual awesomeness from the likes of: Abigail Varney, Mia Haggi, Brijean, Agnes Denes, Karen Hackenberg, Midsoomar, Issy Wood, The Paranoyds, The Evolution of IT Girls and many others.

The definitive exploration of John Lennon’s first major solo album after the break-up of the Beatles.

Described by Lennon as ‘the best thing I’ve ever done’, and widely regarded by critics as his best solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band was released alongside the remarkable Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band on 11 December 1970. With first-hand commentary by John & Yoko, members of the Plastic Ono Band and other key figures in their lives, and packed with evocative and revealing letters, artworks and photographs, this incisive volume offers new insights into the raw emotions and open mindset of Lennon after marriage to Ono and the break-up of the Beatles.

Following their wedding in March 1969, Lennon and Ono decided that their future musical endeavours should be credited to a conceptual vehicle, the Plastic Ono Band. The band featured an ever-changing line-up of musicians, including Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann, Ringo Starr, Alan White, George Harrison, Billy Preston and Jim Keltner, all of whom played live with Lennon and Ono, and contributed to their recordings. The fearless honesty that John & Yoko inspired in one another in their search for truth, meaning and peace had a huge impact on Lennon’s song writing, resulting in the creation of tracks that are intensely personal and unlike anything previously heard in popular music, including ‘Mother’, ‘Working Class Hero’ and ‘God’. This book takes those lyrics as a starting point and explores Lennon’s life, relationships and world view during this transformative period.

'A comprehensive, fascinating, well-produced, and finely printed publication that captures a moment of contemporary culture with breadth and depth. It brings then into now – and shows how similar and different life is today' Will Gompertz

'A handsome tome… never less than fascinating… The album was a high point in an astonishing career and the book does it justice' The Sun

'A hardback compendium of first-hand accounts about the band drawn from interviews over the years… It contains photos, lyrics, drawings and letters, and will be as interesting to Lennon completists as The Beatles Anthology was to general fans 20 years ago' Daily Telegraph

'A fine tribute to this intensely creative time in the couple’s joined-at-the-hip lives… A sumptuous and lovingly created example of the bookmakers’ art, an encyclopaedic extravaganza of reminiscences and memorabilia' The Budapest Times

About the Author: John Lennon (1940–1980) was an English singer, songwriter and peace activist who co-founded the Beatles, the most commercially successful band in the history of popular music. Yoko Ono is a globally renowned multimedia artist, singer, songwriter and activist. She married John Lennon in 1969 and became his creative partner and muse. She continues to work to preserve his legacy, funding, among other projects, Strawberry Fields in Manhattan’s Central Park, the Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland and the ‘Imagine There’s No Hunger’ campaign.

Format:PLC Size:30.8 x 24.0 cm Extent:288 pp Publication date:29 October 2020 ISBN:9780500023433

The definitive inside story – told in revelatory detail – of the making of the legendary album and all that surrounded it: the locations, the artworks, the film, the documentary and the people who were there.

In 1971, John Lennon & Yoko Ono conceived and recorded the critically acclaimed album Imagine at their Georgian country home, Tittenhurst Park, in Berkshire, England, in the state-of-the-art studio they built in the grounds, and at the Record Plant in New York. The lyrics of the title track were inspired by Yoko Ono’s ‘event scores’ in her 1964 book Grapefruit, and she was officially co-credited as writer in June 2017.

Imagine John Yoko tells the story of John & Yoko’s life, work and relationship during this intensely creative period, featuring 80% exclusive, hitherto-unpublished archive photos and footage sequences of all the key players in situ, together with lyric sheets, Yoko’s art installations, and exclusive new insights and personal testimonies from Yoko and over 40 of the musicians, engineers, staff, celebrities, artists and photographers who were there – including Julian Lennon, Klaus Voormann, Alan White, Jim Keltner, David Bailey, Dick Cavett and Sir Michael Parkinson. It transports readers to home and working environments showcasing Yoko’s closely guarded archive of photos and artefacts, using artfully compiled narrative film stills, and featuring digitally rendered maps, floorplans and panoramas that recreate the interiors in evocative detail. John & Yoko introduce each chapter and song; Yoko also provides invaluable additional commentary and a preface.

All the minutiae is examined: the locations, the key players, the music and lyrics, the production techniques and the artworks – including the creative process behind the double exposure polaroids used on the album cover.

With a message as universal and pertinent today as it was when the album was created, this landmark publication is a fitting tribute to John & Yoko and their place in cultural history.

'Tells their love story like never before' Rolling Stone

'A luxurious scrapbook … Beatles geeks will salivate over it' Observer

'Deeply desirable … especially for [those] who covet the rare and beautiful … to see how this avant-garde duo lived and created art is powerfully inspiring' Harper's Bazaar Australia

'A Lennon fan could hardly ask for more' Washington Post

'Fans will be particularly enchanted' USA Today

'This book is near perfect' Spill

'Here, in a new book of interviews past and present, we see how their love affair, the making of the album and their pacifism intertwined' Financial Times

About the Author: John Lennon (1940–1980) was an English singer, songwriter and peace activist who co-founded the Beatles, the most commercially successful band in the history of popular music.

Yoko Ono is a globally renowned multimedia artist, singer, songwriter and activist. She married John Lennon in 1969 and became his creative partner and muse. She continues to work to preserve his legacy, funding, among other projects, Strawberry Fields in Manhattan’s Central Park, the Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland and the ‘Imagine There’s No Hunger’ campaign.

Format:PLC (no jacket) Size:30.8 x 24.0 cm Extent:320 pp Illustrations:1362 Publication date:9 October 2018 ISBN:9780500021842

Especially For Record Store Day 2013: A limited edition of 500 books, signed by the author, hand-numbered, stickered with RSD logo, and with a free gift in the form of a sheet of errata including a long-lost letter from Thurston Moore (providing the concluding piece of the SY controversy!)What they said about Ablaze!: "There are other people to condemn, Karren - aren't there?" - Morrissey. "I forgive and hope for Karren A" - Thurston Moore. "Fuck off!" - Ian Brown.And when you read the section of the book entitled Record Shop Skulkers, you'll know why The City Is Ablaze! And Record Store Day are a perfect match.Ablaze! fanzine was published in Manchester and Leeds in the late eighties and early nineties by Karren Ablaze! The best bits of this notorious and outspokenly passionately zine are now available in book format, to be published on 5th November 2012. Alongside hundreds of zine pages, The City Is Ablaze! features new writings by Karren and other members of the Ablaze! team, as well as interviews with fanzine writers John Robb (Rox), Dave Haslam (Debris) and Richard Johnson (Grim Humour), essays by DIY cultural commentators Lucy Cage and Deborah Withers, a re-examination of the Riot Grrrl movement, and an epilogue by Gary Jarman. This 320-page A4 book also covers other zines that Karren produced in Manchester and Leeds between 1984 and 1994, capturing an era where DIY was de rigueur and indie actually meant something. You'll be able to read original interviews with the following bands (in chronological order). Eyeless In Gaza The Membranes The Stone Roses The Inca Babies Tools You Can Trust The Bodines Inspiral Carpets The Pastels The Janitors Happy Mondays King of the Slums The Dust Devils The Shamen Cud Sonic Youth Dinosaur Jr The Pixies Throwing Muses The Sundays Thrilled Skinny Rapeman UT Dog Faced Hermans Edsel Auctioneer Mudhoney AC Temple fIREHOSE Band of Susans Henry Rollins Live Skull Kilgore Trout The Sun and The Moon The Breeder...