The theme will be “songs to relieve your hangover.” If you’re an electronic musician in the melodic IDM / ambient genre we’ve got a few slots open so email your tracks and the country you live in to anr[at]subvariant.com by June 5, 2009. The release will be free but you’ll get featured on a limited edition physical release of 50 and about 500 downloads in the first week and then 5-10 in the next weeks if that’s any incentive . You’ll also be highlighted in a press blast we send out and the release will probably be covered on musicblogs and such. Tracks don’t have to be exclusive but by submitting them to us you are granting us the right to distribute them indefinitely as MP3s at 192mps. Choose your tracks wisely cause we can’t undo the sharing powers of the intertrons, but you will get heard fo sho.

Detroit Watertowers Tie
Photos of Detroit’s most (in)famous auto factory watertowers have been combined into one drawing, and it’s pretty cool looking. If you are a fan of Detroit, you gotta rock this tie. Or hey, maybe your dad worked for one of the big three? Snag him one cause Dad’s Day is around the corner…

Cable Tie
Yes, it is a tie full of cables – 1/4″ and RCA connectors. A large, bold print – great for dj’s, producers, guitarists and all sorts of music nerds. Get this if you’re one of those, or snag it as a cool gift for one of those aforementioned sorts.

Synthi Tie
A tie honoring the EMS Synthi-E synthesizer. The Synthi A was also commonly known as the “Portabella”. The AKS model (pictured below) adds a 256-step on-board monophonic digital sequencer and a 30-note touchplate keyboard (activated by the 50 Hz-hum in our fingers). Like the VCS3, the Synthi A and AKS feature three oscillators and a unique patch system. Instead of patch wires, they use a patchbay grid wherein the synth components are laid out and signal routing is accomplished by placing small pins into the appropriate slots. The VCS3/Synthi was, in actuality, a modular type synthesizer reduced down to an extremely portable size.

Pac-Man Candy
Ah, Pac-Man, you were my gateway drug. When I was in preschool my mom would take me along to her bowling league meetings every week and plop me down on a bar stool in front of Pac-Man where I would obsessively guide him through the maze, chomping away at yummy dots. Next up it was Haunted Mansion on the C64 and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy on the Apple IIe in my early school years, and then Super Mario Bros. and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? on NES in my junior high years. High school found me in front of a 486 playing games I downloaded from BBSs, namely Wolfenstein 3d and Doom. In college I would giggle at the Unix game Hunt the Wumpus and then promptly switch into graphics mode for Descent, Duke Nukem, and Quake 2 on the LAN. At some point I bought a Dreamcast to play Tony Hawk 2, Ecco the Dolphin, Soul Calibur, and Rez. Post-college I remember switching gears from freelance graphic design projects to play Hitman 2 and the Myst series. These days I’m busy with work, music and DJing, but I’ve occasionally been known to spend a bit of time in Kingdom of Loathing. So, Pac-Man started my game-association memories. Now you can fondly recall the 80s and your own game-based personal timeline with either Pac-Man lemon, Blue Ghost raspberry, or Red Ghost cherry candy.

Super Mario Bros. Starman Candy
This floaty, mouthless little guy would provide the protagonists in Super Mario Brothers with a brief bout of invincibility. We can’t promise the sweet candy inside will do the same for you, but he still makes pretty cute case for candy.

And when you’ve accumulated all available candy into your person, you can use the metal tin to store small, equally cute, or useful things.

Zelda Peppermints
Check it out! It’s Link’s shield from The Legend of Zelda, but it’s filled with peppermints. While it won’t protect you from Molblin, Darknuts, Gibdos, Goriya, Keese, or Lanmola, it will definitely protect your friends. From being overwhelmed by your Ganon-flooring breath, that is. There’s 100 pretty strong mints in here (a few steps below Altoids) to last you a fairly long time, too.

Playstation Portable (PSP) Sours

Here’s a cool way to make your candy portable: PSP Sours. They’re available in Red (Sour Cherry) or Blue (Sour Raspberry). And, when you’ve devoured all the candy you can use the tin to hold game cartridges, memory cards, fancy foreign coins, or be a creative package to send your PSP-addicted significant other a love letter.