The Black Keys - Next Girl

Crime Does Pay

Complexo do Alemão—one of the most dangerous and poorest slums in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A 731-acre sea of crumbling shacks in which pariahs survive and criminals thrive. That's where drug king Pezão had his secret luxury mansion.

While everyone around him was living in a mass of hot crap, the criminal's grand base was a triplex with swimming pool on the roof, bathrooms with jacuzzi, a professional kitchen packed with top-of-the-line stainless steel appliances, and air conditioning and LCD televisions in every single room. The triplex also had a private disco club inside and, what is even worse, the drug lord was a fan of Justin Bieber.

According to government delegate Marcos Vinicius Braga:

I've never seen anything similar to this, [his mansion is] much better than most homes in Leblon [a rich neighborhood in Rio, west of the beach of Ipanema]

Pezão destroyed walls in his residence to extract hidden drugs, money and diverse weaponry before running away from the government invasion. However, the police were able to confiscate six tons of drugs and large quantities of weapons.

His sumptuous triplex was found by police and military forces this Sunday at 11am local time, while cleaning the area of drug traffickers and criminal gangs in preparation for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Before these operations, favelas like Complexo do Alemão were completely ruled by these crime gangs. No police forces were even allowed inside.

It took them three hours to reach the mansion, which is situated on top of a hill from which the criminals had a vantage point of the whole shanty town. [WSCOM, R7 and Melonorte—in Portuguese]

Send an email to Jesus Diaz, the author of this post, at jesus@gizmodo.com.

The Black Keys - Tighten Up

Antony and the Johnsons - Hope there's someone

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Being a lover of all things music, I aspire to share my love with whomever has an open ear. This is amazing artist/band was introduced to me a few months back from an Opera fan, I've been a fan ever since. I believe at the end of the day, regardless of genre, sexuality, race or culture, beautiful music is and always will be nothing more than beautiful music. This is a prime example of the most elegant of music you can find no matter where you are.

There is a myth that great artists operate in seclusion. One need look no further than to Antony and the Johnsons to realize this is an utter fallacy. To be sure, with his androgynous features, the singularly named Antony is an original. You have never heard a voice like this, imbued with the transcendental emotion of the blues, yet deployed with an unadorned simplicity reminiscent of medieval music practice, and graced with a top note of childlike wonder.

This extraordinary New York artist seemingly came out of nowhere in 2005, took the world by storm with his critically-acclaimed second album I Am A Bird Now (Secretly Canadian), and continues to confound expectations as this global smash reaches new listeners and champions every day. Winner of the Nationwide Mercury Prize for Album of the Year in the UK, Antony has also just been nominated for several other prestigious awards, including a Brit Award for Best Male Solo Artist; the New Pantheon award; five different PLUG Awards; and an Irish Meteor Award for Best International Artist. His songs blur distinctions of gender and identity, summoning up such powerful feelings of longing, love, lust and loss. It is clear that Antony is one-of-a-kind. But he is certainly not alone. A sparsely adorned record, I Am A Bird Now features contributions from both Antony's peers (Rufus Wainwright, Devendra Banhart) and heroes (Lou Reed, Boy George). Their involvement reflects both their admiration for Antony, and his unique place in the contemporary arts community "In a weird way, this album is much more personal," he admits. As he shed many of his archetypal influences, Antony dared to reveal even more of himself to the listener. "I Am A Bird Now feels more intimate. In making it, I tried to bring everything -- how it was recorded, how it was performed -- extremely close, so it felt seductive, like it was right in your ear."


Antony has long been a mainstay on the New York stage, ever since his arrival in 1990. Gradually coming into his own as a performer, winning accolades for his performances everywhere from Joe's Pub, Germany's Biennale Bonn, and the Whitney Biennial, to his 2005 world tour which has left hundreds of thousands speechless.

"It is his vibrato and multi-octave voice (often double-tracked) that stuns you from the first few bars on in.... He is obviously the most original vocalist we've heard since Bjork, and never less than wholly affecting as he goes about eclipsing the impressive contributions of his guests." -- Caspar Llewellyn Smith, The London Observer

"Unlike most records with such buzz, however, (I Am A Bird Now) delivers on all its promise. The music is rich but unobtrusive, built from simple stuff -- mostly piano and a backing band, augmented by woodwinds, brass and strings. Bold arrangements raise this album above the ordinary, but what makes it worth hearing is Antony's voice -- a high, wobbly vibrato with which he takes perilous risks in pitch, and thrilling rides into heretofore-unknown harmonies." -- Alec Hanley Bemis, Los Angeles Weekly

Insomnia

You'd think that sleeping alone would help you sleep better as a child, as an adult it is the exact opposite. The nature of life contradicts itself many times within time. Insomnia blues.

Kelow - Loud

Benjamin Rocket! x Kelow - Ice Cream

Flavorlicious & Delicious + Plus we make you feel great

Michael Jackson x Triple Distilled Jesus Juice x Midget Groupies.

I find this image to be highly inspiring. This is, undoubtedly, the greatest photo of Michael Jackson EVER!!...  (why is the blond midget's foot on the left so ashy, perhaps ol' M. Jack was hitting some lines off of those midget toes). In celebration of the life of MJ I am going to find some midgets b*tches on the "casual encounters" section of craigslist and reenact an after party of my own.... picnic table included.