Tattoo my name on your ass

WE'RE SUPPORTING

Artist James Benjamin Franklin has been brightening up every Saturday for me over the past month or so, accompanying an ongoing story by Laura Lippman in the New York Times Magazine. I really dig his simple, slightly surreal, minimal style, emphasizing folksy figures with clean spare detail and beautiful Milton Avery-esque palettes. Read more

WE'RE THINKING

I owe my fascination with Susan Hiller to my girlfriend. We went to see the current retrospective of her work at the Tate Britain and PSI GIRLS blew my mind. It’s an incredible example of an artist’s awareness of their audience’s role within their own art. I don’t think this aesthetic is applied to music often enough. She perfectly subverts ‘pop culture’ by using video art as the medium.

Ten Masked Men are a British parody band that does death metal covers of famous pop songs by Ricky Martin, Christina Aguilera, Madonna, and many others. One of my favorites is their cover of Justin Timberlake’s ‘Cry Me a River’. It’s epic.

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

Melbournes laneways are cluttered with themed, designer bars. The challenge seems to be which is the most hip, funky and individual bar. Step in Section 8, an old inner city carpark furbished with warehouse pallets, patio heaters and a couple of freight containers, converted to serve you drinks. The vibe is fittingly low-key, with background music played at a reasonable level, frequently changing decor, and a variety of options to quench your thirst. It’s casual, fun and simple. Oh, and to keep it that way, there’s even a no suit policy! [photo via TravelMuse]

WE'RE READING

Google recently demonstrated their ability to predict flu outbreaks across America weeks in advance of the outbreaks themselves. It would seem that they are more than just a pretty search engine. And as if that wasn’t enough, they’ve now teamed up with Life Magazine, what was the cornerstone of photojournalism for the Twentieth Century, to digitize 95 per cent of their image bank that never saw the light of day. Now millions of photos stretching from the 1750s to the present day are available on Google Images at the click of a button. Read more

WE'RE LISTENING TO

I’ve seen free-jazz spazz outfit Microkingdom many times in their hometown of Baltimore, but their recent gig opening for Skull Defekts was really tight. I found myself head banging to jazz! That hasn’t happened in a while.

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WE'RE WEARING

Boxfresh is a British streetwear company notable for its emphasis on DIY fashion. Their Boxfresh vs Series, a collection of collaborations ranging from straight fashion into the bicycle arena, has just launched their latest battle — between Boxfresh and Pete Fowler, of Super Furry Animals artwork fame. Read more