The Brunettes are Mockers
So I’ve had this one track ingrained in my inner-ear iPod for the past two weeks. A lush, smoldering track that rolls and rolls and kicks up during the chorus into an almighty swelling torrent of harmonies, all underpinned by this desolate sense of longing. Pure. Real. The song is called Wall Poster Star and it’s by Kiwi duo, The Brunettes. We spoke recently to Jonathan Bree, one half of the group: Growing up in New Zealand, were you into the South Island Flying Nun sound or the more polished North Island bands and recordings? ‘I was introduced to and loved a lot of early Flying Nun when I was growing up but also liked a lot of the more commercially successful ones too. Never really saw the division between North and South Island bands being a kid. I just liked them and knew they were from my country, and were therefore better than Australian bands’. There seems to be a real sense of overextending for many New Zealanders in general – pushing themselves well beyond the confines of their isolated surrounds. Do you notice a drive amongst Kiwis that might not be as apparent in other nationalities? ‘I think the geographical isolation helps in a way because we feel more removed from the international market. Bands are less likely to be tempted to follow trends because they are less likely to be noticed on a large scale anyway. So maybe that helps to create a breeding ground for more unique bands that are passionate about the music that they make for the right reasons. I don’t think New Zealanders have more drive than other nationalities though’. What’s the ultimate pop song? Surely something by Neil Finn right? Or perhaps (80s New Zealand electro-pop group) The Mockers? ‘Hmmm. Off the top of my head, because you’ve made me think about it, Cleopatra by The Mockers. It is pretty catchy. Otherwise I’d probably say something like Can’t get you out of my head by Kylie’. Do brunettes have more fun? ‘Especially if there’s a ginge around to make us feel better’.
Listen to The Brunettes track, Small Town Crew.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Also by ZOLTON
Maths explains the origin of superhero characters
I love the colours and simple reasoning in this clever series by Scottish illustrator Matt Cowen, which uses basic maths equations to explain how certain pop culture icons came to be. Read more
Star Wars Uncut: a fully crowdsourced version of Episode IV
The project of creative technologist, Casey Pugh, this full length version of the George Lucas masterpiece was created from multiple 15 second segments recreated from the original movie and submitted by thousands of Star Wars fans, which were then spliced together by editor Aaron Valdez to form the final product. Genius, as both a commentary on contemporary pop culture trends (there are references to LEGO, stop motion, memes and the like) and on the power of tapping your audience for quality material.
Filmmaker creates LEGO stop motion to propose to girlfriend
Now, this is one for the ages: back in 2010, Atlanta film-maker Walter Thompson created a jaw-dropping LEGO stop motion to propose to Nealey Dozier, his girlfriend of four years. The video took 22 hours of shooting and some 2,600 pictures to splice together, a small sacrifice to pay for years of happiness together. Right? Right! Oh, and she said yes. Bonus.
YOU'RE SAYING (0)
No comments yet.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Tyson McAdoo is responsible for depicting these salacious bombshells, taking seemingly ordinary situations — like sitting on a couch, riding a motorbike or riding an invisible horse (things I am sure we’ve all done at some stage) — and adding some sassy young minx as the focal point, creating a playground for your eyeballs. Apparently McAdoo is imprisoned within his creative universe, or some dungeon according to his bio, accompanied only by ‘two pathetic ghetto rats, Squeezie and Pocket’, and forced to draw the Empress of Ink over and over each day so she dare not fade. You can pick up prints of his work online, and they are damn reasonably priced compared to what some prints go for these days.
There is something so dramatic about these long exposure shots, which highlight what was once total frenetic action, but is now just a series of haunting lines in the sky. Read more
Oh man, my eyeballs feel like they’re dropping out of my head. This clip is pyschedelic in a way that platform shoes and polyester shoes could never be. The Faint are the shizz, and that’s the truth.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
If words like twentieth century, architecture, salvage, furniture and hodgepodge turn you on, then Retrouvius will enter into The Hall of Fame when it comes to showing off your new digs. I am quite partial to the Central Line Tube Table, being that I take the line everyday. ’Dining on’ instead of ‘schlepping in’ could expand relations with the city. You also might enjoy poking through their project page for home inspirations.
Who wants to be famous? A lot of people, that’s for sure. And the first ones are the mothers of little American girls. High Glitz: The extravagant world of Child Beauty Pageants shows images of the children that take part in the different beauty contests around America, bursting as they are with extravagant haircuts, haute-couture dresses, false teeth and all the artificial beauty that you can imagine. Read more
Though most people in the West think of mahjong as a mysterious game old Chinese people play, it’s actually gets quite rowdy when people get together to play it. Rowdy is certainly a good adjective for Mahjongg, the exquisitely danceable electro-whatever outfit from Chicago who draw as much from Afrobeat as they do vocoder-laden sleaze rock from the 70s.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
A classic and recent criminal shopping post of mine, Agent Provocateur has great stockings (insert photo here of me wearing them, which I want to take, wearing a men’s shirt reading the Wall Street Journal and wearing glasses). Read more
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Honest Food Preparation Instructions
Yes, we’ve all been there: the chinese food from last week that still looks edible amongst the bare surrounds of an empty fridge. But really, we shouldn’t. Just let it be. Or College Humor will expose you! Read more
Benjamin Edminston’s psychedelic heads seem to have some fearful wisdom behind their blissed-out eyes. Read more
It’s refreshing to see artists like Joe Kievitt who are contented to explore the beauty in simple forms and asymmetrical patterns. Read more
Pencils made from recycled newspaper
The problem with awesome things like these pencils made out of recycled newspaper is that you almost don’t want to use them.
Communication prosthesis by Sascha Nordmeyer
This ‘communication prosthesis’ by designer Sascha Nordmeyer is hilarious and awesome. I want to wear one to a job interview.
Sometime in 2010, the folks behind Dirty Dishes had the slightly silly idea of using cheeky vintage photos and putting them on dinner plates. After doing lots of research, talking to lots of people, and receiving loads of positive feedback, they wondered if this idea was so silly after all. And thus Dirty Dishes was born. Read more
If you have a Twitter feed that focuses on cool pop cultural things and you’d like to swap Tweets with Lost At E Minor and other like-minded Twitterers, drop us a note (with Tweet Swap in the title). We have a system in place and we’d like to have you in on it! [illustration by Brad Fitzpatrick]
FOLLOW US
DISCOVER MORE
SO...
SEARCH: Can't find what you're looking for? Do a search..
IS IT GOOD FOR YOU TOO?
We hope you're enjoying your time on Lost At E Minor, but it's not over yet. Got something to share? Tell us about it and we'll look to publish it. If you want to have your work featured on the site, we'd love to hear from you. Pssst, we also have an online store stocking some of the goodies we feature on the site.
If you're a media agency and want to use this platform to connect with our readership, then drop us a line and tell us about it. Oh yeah, and we do digital consulting for cool brands that want to reach the sort of demographic that visits this site.
