Walter Schreifels is probably best known as a member of acts such as Gorilla Biscuits, Quicksand, and Rival Schools, but his first release under his own name shows that when the distortion is stripped away, Schreifels truly shines. An Open Letter to the Scene features everything from folk-inspired rockers (“She Is to Me”) and jangly tracks reminiscent of Teenage Fanclub (“Ballad of Lil’ Kim”) to intricately arranged pop songs like “Arthur Lee’s Lullaby.” The most impressive songs, however, are Schreifels’s take on CIV’s “Don’t Gotta Prove It” and Agnostic Front’s “Society Sucker”; both lend new emotional resonance to the hardcore classics.

Tattoos are designed for permanence, and the technology behind them is in no hurry to change either. For more than a century, the basic setup used to put ink in the skin of sailors, soldiers, and other skin art fans has been tweaked and fine-tuned while never deviating too far from the original design. After all, tattoo artists aren’t known for chasing the next big thing. But that doesn’t mean that inventors, scientists, and entrepreneurs looking for a quick buck aren’t trying to come up with one. Here are five ways that technology is attempting to change the way we tattoo and get tattooed. 

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Denise Richards returns with a new television show and a new tattoo, courtesy of Kat Von D. Here’s what happens when two reality TV queens collide. Check out behind the scenes photos of the shoot at Moli.com! When something sureal goes down in Hollywood, it ’s safe to assume reality TV is involved. How else would Denise Richards, a 37-year-old actress and single mom, wind up linked to 26-year-old tattoo artist Kat Von D? Here’s the story: Kat, who stars in the ever-popular LA Ink, actually ended up on Richards’ new E! reality show, Denise Richards: It’s Complicated, when Richards (and her camera crew) visited Kat’s shop (no LA Ink ...

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If you’re going to cop your sound from bands that were around 30 years ago, you’d better be damn good at it or make it obvious that you’re just taking the piss. Wolfmother never quite did either, leaving the listeners of their debut album wondering, Are they for real? Don’t count on Cosmic Egg to clear that up. The Aussie trio thump and bump through the Sabbath-influenced title track, “Cosmic Egg,” and deliver their own “D’Yer Mak’er” on the hip-shaker “White Feather.” Then frizzy-haired singer-guitarist Andrew Stockdale drops an eye-rolling line like, “Standing in the front of the rainbow/Could you tell me where all the people go?” and you have to stop head-banging, even if just for a second.