Former Radish frontman now solo singer/songwriter, Ben Kweller writes exclusively about his infatuation with the music of Nils Lofgren: ‘As far back as I can remember I have listened to the music of Nils Lofgren. Not too many people have heard of him. I know his music because he and my father grew up together in Bethesda, Maryland in the early 1960s. Before Nils dropped out of high school to pursue music professionally, they had a band called The Radical Five. They have remained friends through the years and my dad has collected everything Nils has released in his 35-year career. Because of all this, Nils’ music was playing all the time during my childhood – in the car, the house and in the living room where we used to jam his songs – me on drums, dad on guitar. Although his guitar playing is in the same realm as Hendrix, it’s his piano playing that has always killed me. His syncopated left-hand octave-bass-bouncing was a huge influence on me as a pianist. You can hear what I’m talking about on my favourite cut The Sun Hasn’t Set on This Boy Yet [off his self-titled album of 1975]. The most famous song from the album is Keith Don’t Go, a dedication to Keith Richards. The album ends with a cover of Carole King’s Going Back. Like Hendrix’s All Along the Watchtower, Nils’ Going Back is better than the creator’s version. The more you listen to Nils Lofgren, the more you realise how classic it is. Although it’s a tough album to get a hold of, it’s well worth the search. Listening to it today makes you wonder how such an amazing album got lost in rock ‘n’ roll’s past and reconfirms that good music is out there. You just have to find it’.
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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
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There’s some awesome new work up on New York-based illustrator, Sam Weber’s website, including this one above which is did for the Soulpepper Theatre. We asked him a little while back about what his studio workspace was like: ‘I am fairly particular about where I like to work, and what sort of stuff I like to have around me. There are things that I look at often — a book of Max Ernst collages, one on Yoshitaka Amano, and a big stack of clippings from magazines and the Internet that I will periodically leaf through to get inspired’. Read more
Herzog and de Meuron, the Swiss architects, have led the way with this re-use of the existing building fabric of CaixaForum in Madrid. Rather than being slavish to the existing openings, the building has been cut away for a contemporary practicality. We think this is an example of heritage not getting in the way of progress. Check out a similar concept of a previous post re-using the city fabric, where we were dreaming of such thing.
These small but innovative in-ear headphones from Audio-Technica are part of a new wave of noise canceling buds that claim to block up to 85 to 90 percent of outside sound. Read more
The work of artist Matt Leines is a perfect mash up of folk, ethnic and outsider art. It’s smart, colorful, graphic eye candy. In fact, there’s not one piece on his site I wouldn’t sell my hypothetical soul for.
I bought BibliOdyssey [by PK, published by Fuel] yesterday at New York’s PS1 Bookstore and was surprised to find out that this old-fashioned book (archival images from old books) was actually based on the blog, BibliOdyssey. Read more
How old must Kermit be now? Not to old to collaborate with skater-friendly retailer Supreme and photographer Terry Richardson. Kermit, who usually wears nothing, has been hooked up with some new threads to advertise the brand. It seems Kermit and Terry are the perfect work partners: they’ve even released a video clip documenting the shoot.
I haven’t bought a CD in a while but I was strolling down Wellington’s Cuba Street looking for a bit of inspiration the other day when Liam Finn’s music tapped me politely on the shoulder and dragged me into the music store. Liam is New Zealand music royalty, of Neil Finn descent, although — with his wild hair and beard — he’s looking a bit more like a young Jesus these days. The record is made with the help of an analogue loop machine, and you’ll find the kind of stunning instrumental crescendos that I haven’t heard since The Beatles Hey Jude. He engages emotionally and spontaneously, with both skill and showmanship.
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Hong Kong-based illustrator Man-Tsun draws dark and beautiful painterly images that look like they are straight off a high-end Japanese animated film. Read more
T-post: the world’s first wearable magazine
So here’s the scoop. Every six weeks, T-post subscribers get a new t shirt issue in the mail, with a news story on the inside and an artist interpretation of that story on the front. Yes, we agree. It’s clever, clever. Read more
Wheeeeee! This game is so freaking fun! You move your cursor over each dot to make them split into four smaller dots ad infinitum.
Yum, yum, cupcakes are fun. These creations are so clever, so arty, so damn bizarre that it would almost be a shame to eat them. Almost! Read more
Check out Mike Stimpson’s Lego reinterpretations of classic photographs. Stimpson’s version of Malcolm Browne’s iconic 1963 photograph of the self-immolation of Thich Quang Duc is particularly twisted. Read more
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
New York-based artist Suzuki Mariko has made this handmade felt doll set of a mom and happy baby bear sitting on a sofa. At just three inches wide and two inches high, it’s perfect for your side table. It can even watch TV with you. Aw! We have it for sale in the Lost At E Minor store. Read more
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bryon furey said | 29 August, 2007
please ask Ben Kweller and his dad for the first line of the lyric to Rock and Roll crook