Gravity
Interview with Swedish songwriter, Jens Lekman, who the Pop Matters website has described as sounding like a cross between ‘Magnetic Fields mastermind Stephen Merritt, Morrissey in both his voice and his dryly humorous lyrics, Donovan and Nick Drake in his acoustic arrangements, and Ron Sexsmith in his classy melodies’. I asked him how hard it is to write a happy song: ‘It is really hard. Sometimes I find it almost impossible. There are maybe a few more upbeat songs on my next record which I am currently working on. Are you a fan of the ‘classic’ songwriters like Bacharach and Carole King? Lekman: Yes and no. I sometimes cover ‘They should’ve given you the Oscar’ though. That’s a Carole King song, right? Is there one song you’ve written that still makes your hair stand on end? Lekman: ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ by Simon and Garfunkel totally makes my hair stand on end. But I can’t say I wrote that one. I wish Simon and Garfunkel would reform and come to Sweden’.
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Also by ZOLTON
Crimea X is the coming together of two offbeat, disparate characters, DJ Rocca (Ajello, Super Sonic Lovers, Maffia Sound System) and Jukka Reverberi from 90s Italian glam cult rockers, Giardini di Mirò, who have often have been compared with the sound of Mogwai, Arab Strap, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. We asked them about their favourite music and they started with The Smiths song, Ask [listen below] ‘I saw them playing live on Italian TV. It was during the 80s when I was extremely young, and I’ve never stopped listening to this song’. Read the rest of Crimea X’s Secret Playlist.
I love the curated selection of abandoned swimming pool photos on Feature Shoot today, featuring work by Carlo Van de Roer and Albert Jodar, amongst others.
Win a set of Sony personal audio prizes
Thanks to Sony Australia, four Lost At E Minor readers will win personal audio prizes, including the new 8GB Walkman S series video MP3 player and the MDRXB500 Extra Bass headphones. Read more
YOU'RE SAYING (2)
Jake said | 15 August, 2006
If I am not mistaken, Jens is the dude who was on rotation fairly regularly on Triple J a couple of months back. It was a cool little ditty which began with the words “I was slicing up an avocado”….after which he proceeds to explain the dilemma that unfolds when his finger gets in on the slicin’ action.
No every time I have an avo for lunch I can’t stop singing this song!
HAVE YOUR SAY
You see a man pondering life, but on closer inspection, realisation sets in, and what you actually notice is a sculpture covered in photography prints, creating a truer than life image of art. Gwon Osang is a Korean contemporary artist who has exhibited at the Manchester Art Gallery, among other places. He creates life-size sculptures of people, spending ample time researching his subjects and creating an inspiration for his works.
The controversial and multifaceted International contemporary art exhibition Trailblazers hits Sydney this month. Boutwell Draper Gallery will grace multimedia works by pioneering Australian, American and European artists from November 19 onwards. I’m thrilled to see groundbreaking pieces by Ben Frost, Kill Pixie, Copyright and Cleon Patterson [above], to name a few. The vast array of paintings, photography, sculpture, installation, video and digital arts is on display until December 13. C’mon, you know you want to culture your soul.
Tarot cards, folk music, Charles Manson, ballet, freaks and geeks, and Patty Hearst can all take responsibility for being some of the inspiration’s behind the Australian fashion label, Lover. It’s all too clever and witty to ignore. Each collection adheres to a specific narrative and a central character. Read more
If I stare long enough at Andy Gilmore’s kaleidoscopic designs, it’s like I’m being transported into a vortex, the colorful, swirling patterns colliding to form off-kilter shapes like small planets bouncing around some condensed parallel universe. Read more
I really don’t understand cat haters. Most of them claim that our feline companions are aloof and distant, graceful and mysterious to a fault. In my opinion, cats are just as goofy as dogs, which is why any documentation of them acting like spazzes makes me chuckle uncontrollably. Read more
In Japan, when one makes squeezing gestures with both hands at chest level, one is gesturing that one wants candy — soft, round, bouncy candy. At least, that’s what this commercial would have us believe.
Three piece, cLOUDDEAD, who formed in Cincinnati at the tail-end of the last millenium, fuse traditional hip hop beats with indie, electronica and psy-rock overtones. Doesone and Why?’s layered, poetic vocals cover the personal, political and social elements of their lives; and, above all, their flatout rejection of traditional musical boundaries makes them a quirky and unique act.
WE'RE RESPECTING
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Alex Passapera’s dizzying pen and ink drawings are cascades of images melting into one another, often looking like contorting, mutating creatures spewing blood-like ink splatters. Read more
1970s and 80s Soviet Union buildings
Cambodian born photographer Frederic Chaubin is the editor of French magazine Citizen K. His photo series on bizarre buildings built in the former Soviet Union during the 1970s and 80s is absolutely fascinating. Read more
I live the upbeat, feel good tempo of the new single — A Hundred Hearts — from Philly group, The Swimmers. Off their latest album, People Are Soft, this song is a strangely fitting anthem for the blustery day outside.
Amazing cake designs by Charm City Cakes
Baltimore company Charm City Cakes produces the most innovative wedding and party cakes on the market. Inspiration for these creative bakers comes from everywhere: art, fabric, furniture, architecture, landscapes, science, and music, and each cake is individually designed to match your personality, and the theme of the occasion you are celebrating. Don’t miss these cakey engineering masterpieces. Read more
Forget battery powered vehicles. Cars made from ice are the future of transportation: no pollution, no honking horns, no painful rap music blasting out of souped up stereos. And if they melt, they melt. You just swim the rest of the way down the slipstream.
Thanks to Sony Australia, four Lost At E Minor readers will win personal audio prizes, including the new 8GB Walkman S series video MP3 player and the MDRXB500 Extra Bass headphones. Read more
This pendant by Portland designer Stephanie Stimek hangs from an eighteen inch 14 carat gold chain. Made from a Japanese quail egg, the entire shell has been coated in plastic for strength and is available for purchase through the Lost At E Minor store. Read more
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Fernanda said | 13 July, 2006
I came across Jens Lekman’s music for the first time not too long and was instantly touched by his sweet, melodic voice. Constantly coming across so much information, updates, e-newsletters, etc, sometimes it’s hard to actually recognize what you like, unless you simply like it. Does it make sense?