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Coming from the man who stops to smell the douglas firs and finds the cure for broken hearts in a trout's leap in the moonlight, of course David Lynch would urge you strongly to stop littering and appreciate the nature around you. But of course, he'd also tell you in a way that tickles your nerve endings and disturbs you into listening to his message.

When I hear “cloisters,” I think of nuns, sequestered from the world in safe little gardens and prayer rooms—but that’s only half the story. There’s also  ghosts, and moonlit intrigue, and evil supernatural forces at work, as in The Monk, one of the scariest works of Gothic fiction. That uneasy atmosphere is the one that hangs over this brand-new track from San Francisco’s Yassou Benedict, off their In Fits In Dreams EP.

Paul Schrader is a hell of a character. As one the most iconic and notorious film folk to emerge out of the glory days of 1970s American cinema, whether it's his screenwriting or directing, his work has always been something to devour. Of course, some work has been better than others—and in my mind nothing could quite beat Taxi Driver, but that's a slightly unfair statement. However, after I ran into Paul two years ago and he urged me to look at his phone while a Facebook page for his new project, The Canyons loaded, I've been keeping a close and anxious eye on the smutty melodrama, penned by satirical writer of yuppie drama Bret Easton Ellis. 

Don’t get too excited—while this may be the season we all associate with boogie boards and poolside margaritas, for Okkervil River’s Will Sheff, summer is the time for heated self-loathing and steamy despair. The first single, "It Was My Season," from the band’s next album, The Silver Gymnasium, has arrived, along with a charmingly simple video.

I had a long, long trip yesterday, not that I'm complaining. I woke up at 5:07 am in a cliffside suite at the amazing Oil Nut Bay in Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands, then hopped a ferry to Tortola, where a twin-engine Cessna buzzed me over to San Juan to meet my JetBlue flight back to JFK. There I decided I had more time than money and took the AirTrain to the subway to Brooklyn. I was at once exhausted and exhilarated, and decided to grab my wife and toast the end of a sublime adventure with a sublime sparkling wine, the newly-released Mumm Napa Supernatural Rosé. It's the latest collaboration that the California winemakers have with legendary guitarist Carlos Santana, and it's about the best welcome-back drink I can imagine, a complex, refreshing, moderately sweet sparkling wine that may or may not have some ghosts in it.

Late last night, the first trailer for Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street debuted to a ravenous howling of excitement. Starring the one and only Leonardo DiCaprio, the film looked to be staying below the radar of major anticipation, but with the film's rousing first trailer, fans are already insisting this will be Scorsese's best film in years and DiCaprio's long-awaited shot at an Oscar. But as this is not their first time at the rodeo together—their fifth collaboration, actually—it's only natural Marty and Leo's simpatico has finally properly aligned and after Gangs of New York, The Aviator, Shutter Island, and The Departed, perhaps this one takes Scorsese affinity for twisted and disturbed men of power and DiCaprio's legendary skill for playing the lunatic and outrageous to a new level. So in honor of the energetic and thrilling new trailer (see final slide), let's take a look back on some of Leo's best moments in Scorsese's films. Enjoy.

Kanye West’s PR team must be high-fiving each other in the office this Monday morning. Not only has a slightly premature Yeezus leak days before West’s grandiosely-named, hard-edged sixth album drops gotten everyone talking about it even more than they already were (and the consensus seems to be pretty favorable, with West generating praise for taking some artistic and content risks), but he and Kim Kardashian welcomed their daughter over the weekend. That kind of publicity one-two punch is the stuff of which Hollywood dreams. And whether the timing was deliberate or not, Kanye and Kim are definitely having a very good week.

Wonderful news: following Michael Pitt's debut as Prada's spring/summer 2012 campaign babe, the Boardwalk Empire star has decided to grace the fashion world with his pouty presence once again. Rag & Bone landed the actor for their debut menswear campaign, shot by Glen Luchford with creative direction by Kate Moss' baby daddy's consulting firm, MAD London.