There was once a time in motorsports when race tracks were not hermetically sealed 3.5 mile circles. Many of them were run on complex strings of open roads including the likes of Spa, the Targa Florio, Le Mans, & Hockenheim. The word “run off area” hadn’t been invented yet, the cars were insanely powerful, had very little grip, crashed often (usually going 150+mph) and drivers died frequently along with spectators.

For over 50 years, the pinnacle of viewing this ludicrous display of carnage was a track hidden away in Germany called the Nurburgring Nordschleife. It is a 14 mile, 160 turn beast of a road built as a test track in the late 20’s by German auto manufacturers in order to test the extremes of their vehicles. And oddly enough, it’s open to the public.

Trying to describe the experience is fairly pointless, to drive around it quickly is to wrestle for your life at every corner. Most of the turns are blind, off camber, and the radius decreases as you get further in, with all three of these characteristics having uphill and downhill variants on constantly changing surfaces. The track is so large that it is often raining on one sector and completely dry on the rest, making tire choice that much more of a gamble. Most drivers who have set lap records seem to agree: it was the scariest 7-10 minutes of their lives.

Two particular sectors within the circuit [pictured above] used to produce a fair amount of drama, Quiddlebacher Hohe and Pflanzgarten. The first is a short downhill/uphill straightaway that used to crest so abruptly, most cars would get all 4 wheels off of the ground (especially in qualifying) in an effort to maintain speed through the long sweepers ahead. The latter is a truly frightening downhill heart-stopper with a steep dip that drops the car about 6 feet in less than a second, if you’re not careful you’ll damage your suspension and body work. Both were gradually leveled off over the years, and since Formula 1 moved across the fence it has been less of an issue. Needless to say, I still laid up the rental a bit approaching both.

-Rory

Stumbled upon this great Tumblr called Geometry Daily by German designer Tilman. Really enjoying how he’s chosen to display these creations. Plus, who doesn’t need a daily dose of geometry and minimal design?

Also, I’m currently revamping the Weekend Inspiration Posts. I’ll have one ready soon. Any ideas for subjects or topics, feel free to leave them in the comments below.

Both spawned from the “New Class”, the 2002 and E9/CSL models were critical to establishing BMW as not only an international brand, but as a serious contender in automotive racing. The styling of these two cars are as good as it gets for me, on both ends of the spectrum: The 2002 is minimal, sleek, and small- while the 3.0 CSL employed much more radical styling, especially the race-bred models, making extensive use of garish aerodynamic bodywork. Both were hugely influential and paved the way for the best selling BMW in history: the ubiquitous 3-Series.

I’ve never had the priveledge of driving a CSL, but my grandmother had an imported 2002tii in lime green when I was a kid, I have awesome memories of drives through Dutchess County in that baseball glove leather interior.

-Rory

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As I keep my eye on 2 screens, 1 being the UEFA Euro 2012 game and the other on scavenging soundcloud, I keep the soccer sounds off and let these cuts from to ride over and over. My roommate probably hates me being I like to listen to songs over and over that i’m going to post here.

This Mushrooms Project is close to Balearic perfection, almost a 12 minute piece of melting sky over your Blade Runner themed yacht party that only serves tall glasses of Arnold Palmers on a sweat soaked dancefloor thats been occupied to capacity for over 14 hrs now, daybreaks and you don’t even blink twice about the thought that you haven’t had an urge to rest your head.

Park your floating darkstar back onto the moon and connect with this crawling heavy hitter from Om Unit, a fusion of disco, techno and UK’s ever evolving beat scene, this cut just keeps going and fades off like an eclipse on the horizon.

A defining good song in this sea of indie rock that denies The Smiths as a big influence because its just not hip to name drop them anymore. I can’t ever hate Twee, it just has too much honest emotion in it, cuts deeper than any pop song ever could and makes any moment feel more important then it is 10 fold. On a side note, I love this song.

I don’t understand why this record is on Slumberland, it should put a flame under some asses of the whole girl vocal roster on there. These girls are good, I just hope they don’t go the whole NYLON meets Best Coast marketing route with a goth twist, that horse has been beaten, dragged, cut open, photographed and posted all over tumblr and retumbled more times than the word “like” is said at an employee meeting at Urban Outfitters.

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HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: I’ve been waiting for a glimpse of the debut Holy Other LP, it has this perfect shuffling and sway to it, really easy to get lost in it in a quick amount of time.

An oldie from Daso, let the melody come in, reminds me of the good old days when Tech House was about beauty.

More from 6th Borough Project, this was just released on a 3xLP, the compilation is full of solid edit, each and every single one is perfect. This is how great disco vocals are done, don’t overdue it, no gospel or overpowering divas, let it sit with the rest of the song.

Probably the rowdiest song i’ve ever posted on ISO50, feels classic though, just popped on shuffle and put a smile on my face.

Until the semi-recent ban of alcohol & tobacco advertising in motorsports, cigarette manufacturers spent heavily in racing sponsorships. Marlboro was no exception, in fact they probably spent more than every other brand combined.

They are probably best known for their involvement in Formula 1, starting with BRM in the early 70’s, moving to Mclaren in the 80’s, and finding an eventual home with Ferrari, whom they still sponsor today (some say subliminally…). Phillip Morris is a hugely profitable company and it is no coincidence that their endorsement of a team has historically resulted in a winning car.

Their bold red, white, and black branding is visually synonymous with many iconic race cars, and as evidenced in the pictures, they had their hands in nearly every reach of the sport. I understand the need to limit mass advertising of a deadly product, but I do miss their colors in racing. I’ve always loved the Marlboro logo, the type is perfectly balanced with the simple geometry above it and it always looks great on the front of a badass car.

-Rory

drsmoothdeath – Such a good feed, it all looks like this, just older parked cars, give it a chance, you won’t be bummed out.

mollielw – consistent silver-ish haze thru the whole feed, makes you feel like you woke up from a daytime nap out in the country.

crivacriva – minimal architecture and solid color schemes are pretty common on Instagram but this feed keeps me interested still, maybe because its not too simplified.

Follow us at ISO50 on instagram:

@iso50 – Scott Hansen
@heatheredpearls – Jakub Alexander
@beamercola – Beamer
@B3PO – Jonathan Marsh

Matthew Dear DJing @ Vessel in SF this Thursday

Mon. 6 / 11
NY: Xeno & Oaklander @ Webster Hall (The Studio)
LA: Mmoths @ Bardot FREE W/ RSVP
SF: Go see Moonrise Kingdom in Theaters

Tue. 6 / 12
NY: Janka Nabay & The Bubu Gang @ Zebulon FREE SHOW
LA: Nite Jewel @ The Echo
SF: Here We Go Magic @ The Independent

Wed. 6 / 13
NY: Philip Glass @ Issue Project Room
LA: DNTEL & Baths @ The Airliner
SF: Margaret Dygas @ Icon Ultra Lounge

Thu. 6 / 14
NY: Selebrities & Beacon @ Glasslands Gallery
LA: Go see Moonrise Kingdom in Theaters
SF: Matthew Dear @ Vessel

Fri. 6 / 15
NY: Kurt Vile @ Maxwell’s
LA: Onuinu @ The Glass House
SF:

Sat. 6 / 16
NY: Shlohmo @ 285 Kent Avenue
LA: Gui Boratto & Matthew Dear @ Avalon
SF: Heathered Pearls (Ambient DJ set) @ Liminal Space

Sun. 6 / 17
NY: Computer Magic @ Cameo Gallery
LA: Aeroplane @ Drai’s
SF: Lemonade @ Rickshaw Stop

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Luke Abbott – Modern Driveway
I’m always really inspired by minimal music of any sort, and this song is the perfect example of what a good, simple song should accomplish. It takes you on an emotional trip, from the its small beginnings, to it’s lush, layered ending. It builds into something, there’s movement.

How To Dress Well – Ocean Floor For Everything
The day this single dropped, I was driving across Western Canada, the love of my life beside me, and we listened to this as we entered the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The combination of the insanely beautiful sounds, and the insanely beautiful visuals in front of us, it was hard not be affected. Now, the impressive thing is that upon repeat listenings, it continues that possess that moment-creating vibe. Every time I hear it, I’m taken to a different place. It’s a truly beautiful song, and the new LP is one of my most anticipated of this year.

Kuhrye-oo – Give In (For The Fame)
When I first started working on what would become Teen Daze material, I took a lot of inspiration and encouragement from my friends from Edmonton, who had a project called “Gobble Gobble”. It’s been an incredible experience seeing all of the individuals in that project gain so much exposure and love (Cecil is now known as Born Gold, and Corin and Megan are known as Purity Ring). This is a track from Calvin’s solo project, Kuhrye-oo, and this track is just so good. That vocal sample completely steals the show. As soon as it hits the “I knowwww”, my heart melts.

Unknown – 002
I love anonymity in music, just because it brings something new to the table. No goofy promo pics of the band standing on a beach all looking into the camera with vacant stares. It’s like when you were a kid, and a wrestler was from “Parts Unknown”, it made him all the more scarier. Unknown is a mystery-producer making the rounds on a few of my friends’ blogs, and I think this track is especially good.

Great set of photos from the Computer History Museum. So great that someone is preserving this incredible hardware. Required reading: Core Memory. And that watch! Amazing…

via CHM: Artifacts