[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hELTtsBRie4&fmt=18 540]

So all these new gadgets and electronics will never mean anything until a talent artist comes along and master the format. Thanks to our buyer Paul, AC Gears is the first US store to carry the new Stylophone BeatBox. We tested it out and it’s probably one of the coolest (and most inexpensive) music gadget in-store at the moment. At $39.99 a pop, this easy to use beat machine is a no-brainer purchase – provided you can be as good as the Brett Domino Trio.

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Made famous from Britain’s Got Talent this nerdy trio rocks some serious MIDI, Synths, and Beat Machines. I’ve gotta say Brett Domino doing Michael Jackson on Keytar (watch above) was pretty impressive. So go on, pick up a Stylophone Beatbox and practice hard. Maybe one day you can rack up a couple hundred thousand views on YouTube like them, too.

New to NYC, the Ace Hotel is the cool kid on the block. Between brewing up Portland’s own Stumptown coffee, stocking room mini-fridges with bottles from Brooklyn Brewery, letting Levis curate a suite, and serving as home for the soon-to-open-to-the-general-public Breslin, this place has got it all. Apparently, this includes record players!

Yeah, that’s right — rooms (I’m not sure how many) are outfitted with turntables, which is such a cool touch. And it’s not just for aesthetic value, either, because record collections in these rooms have been curated by the totally legit Other Music. How legit? Legit enough to mercilessly mock, which is pretty darn legit, I guess. Take it away, Human Giant.

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NikeID, the make-it-how-you-like-it wing of Nike, has a new app on the iPhone market. I’m not exactly up on the sneaker game (and, truth be told, never cared for the whole idea of a custom shoe in the first place) but this video nearly makes me re-consider. Bonus points for setting it to a song by Miike Snow, which has a pretty cool video of its own.

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There are only a couple projects this year that I haven’t heard cross words about, from anybody. One is J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek — it’s been up-and-down praise from everyone I know, from the most obsessive fanboys to folks who went into it knowing Shatner only as the Priceline guy, which I thought was kind of weird but, hey, it’s great we can all agree. And I’m really not trying to compare the two, but the other is Mayer Hawthorne, who’s been having the exact same effect.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBKx8PyE5qQ&fmt=18 540]

Whether or not you get into the whole neo-soul revival that’s been kicking around the last few years, try giving the kid a chance. With his debut on Stones’ Throw, A Strange Arrangement, he’s not only paying his respects to the greats, but he’s doing something new with the sound without dragging the good Motown name through the dirt. This is for the music fans and the casual listeners. It’s not often you get them dancing to the same tracks.

Pair the kid up with my favorite remix-masters this year and you’re left with something that’s just a little extra-special:

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So Theremin‘s always been the alternative talking-piece instrument for Indie bands that needed extra special sound effects nothing else can produce. Now May-Wa Denki Japan has released Theremin’s Y2K Japanese counterpart – introducing Otamatone, the cutest instrument that produces the weirdest sound we’ve heard yet. Press and slide on Otamatone’s Tail Switch to produce Otamatone’s unique sounds, and then squeeze its mouth to create vibrato. Now here’s something for all Indie bands out there to jump in and rock out with.

Information about Otamatone’s release has been circulating the gadget blog world since September. But the real news is that this awkward gadget instrument is now available at AudioCubes.com for $45.99. It will also be available for hands-on demonstration at AC Gears’ stores in New York. Playing with this elusive Japanese creation before anybody else, now that’s the real deal worth talking about.

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It’s Pulp Fiction. Just…don’t watch it with speakers on if you’re at work, unless your office is cool like that

There’s been a lot of talk about Google Wave – how it’s going to change the way we communicate online, how it’s bringing about the death of email (whatever that means), and a whole host of other outrageously bold, confusing claims. I say, forget all this. Let’s just sit back and allow Pulp Fiction to show us how Wave is done. Thank Joe Sabia for this, and TechCrunch for sharing it.

It’s the time of the year! Audio-Technica Japan releases press images of all its top headphones. From top down, Audio-Technica ATH-W1000x, the 10th generation of Audio-Technica’s wood-line headphones priced at 71400 Yen ($820). Equiped with large 53mm drivers, these beautifully lacquered monsters come manufactured with the newly designed “floating wood frame.”

Then, followed by the new Audio-Technica ATH-ES10, the highest model yet in AT’s EARSUIT line made with forged Titanium. The ES10 will be priced around $550 with the current (outrageous) USD-JPY exchange rate.

WS70, Audio-Technica Japan’s first “Solid Bass” headphones, utilizes the new “single chamber” for deep bass reproduction. These cans are priced at a more affordable 12600 Yen, which translates to around $150 as an Japan export.

Finally, the PRO700GD, the limited edition gold version of the popular Audio-Technica ATH-PRO700 will be priced around $200 from AudioCubes.com.

We are already planning to have the W1000X available for demo at AC Gears‘ NYU Store and the ES10 available at the Greenwich Store. Both WS70 and PRO700GD should become available at both locations as soon as they are released. Go Team AT!