MGMT
Another Brooklyn band (we’re not being sponsored, I assure you), MGMT are following hot on the heels of Yeasayer and Vampire Weekend as the third party to a hub of bands pouring out catchy, melodic and highly original work. The sheer size of MGMT’s sound — as evidenced in the single, Time To Pretend — is conjured through duelling guitars and synthesisers, mastered during the early electronica shows that laid the foundations for the current line-up. At the core of MGMT are two guys who cite mystical paganism, the Incredible String Band and chaos theory as key influences: a decent enough bedrock for their climactic, near-psychedelic songs. Their pending album, Oracular Spectacular, is a mix of beguiling keyboard hooks and simple acoustic-based pieces, and while the lead singer’s voice is one we’ve all heard before, its wild, Bowie-esque, twang is clearly punctuated by his background as a performance art provocateur. Thus, the glam sound is a touch cheesy and clichéd, but given the music world’s current yearning for just that (see Black Kids, Of Montreal), these guys are sure-fire contributors.
Listen to the MGMT song, Electric Feel.
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Also by FRANCIS ANDREWS
Irina Werning’s Back to the Future photo series
Argentine photographer Irina Werning has complied this beautiful and poignant collection of portraits of adults re-enacting images of themselves as kids. From what I gather, she has asked people to submit photographs of themselves and then returned with them to these same spots at the same times in their lives. She’ll take this project round the world, from Baghdad to Eurodisney, and is looking for willing participants. Read more
Bug fighting in South East Asia
Of all the little idiosyncratic activities I’ve come across since living in Southeast Asia, this nears the favourite. The bug fights are held in a cemetery about half an hour outside of Chiang Mai late in the year when the stags are at their randiest. It pulls an impressive crowd who bet some hefty dollars on the winner, claimed by the beetle who throws its opponent off the revolving log and struts (or crawls) to victory. Read more
What The Fuck Should I Make For Dinner
All hail the magic 8-ball of cooking; the answer to those painful moments of indecision that plague every shopper at around 6pm on a hectic Monday evening. It’s not the nagging voice that questions every decision you make, but the blunt, obnoxious hollering of an online Gordon Ramsay. The kitchen abides.
YOU'RE SAYING (2)
Lost At E Minor: Music, illustration, art, photography and more » The Management before they were MGMT said | 8 August, 2008
[...] Who would have thought that an abbreviation could make such a difference? This track is from the older, and in my opinion, better The Management, before they went by the name,MGMT. [...]
HAVE YOUR SAY
I’ve loved and admired the work of Canadian Illustrator Isabelle Arsenault as far back as I can remember. I have such a soft spot for her charmingly old fashioned French aesthetic. Read more
Dear Miss Helena, one time host of children’s show Romper Room, you have a lot to answer for. Yes, squeaky clean Miss Helena of wholesome blouse and values, I have not forgotten those childhood years spent patiently glued to the television waiting for you to call out my name through the magic ‘looking glass’ — that portal to ‘good’ children everywhere. Read more
The Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project involved fourteen countries around the world filling crates with the best of their local nightlife and exchanging their country’s crate with another. We were there all the way, following Australia’s involvement. And the final stage, with Brazil and Australia swapping crates, was a beauty! As this video attests.
The strategy based architectural firm Popular Architecture has created a scheme that takes on the spread of cities. Based on the estimation that London will need to provide housing for 100,000 new people each year up until 2016, this building houses 100,000 in one hit. Read more
This one-stop shop for all things eco-friendly is proof that protecting the environment is becoming a popular pastime. Almost every material category that comprises our society, from design to celebrity to transport, is looked at through a green lens. They’re ranked number twenty-two on Technorati’s list of 75,000,000 blogs, and even Daryl Hannah is singing their praises. Why? Its writers, they claim, ‘have the ability to take topics that most of us snoozed our way through in school, and make them the addictive juicy, green bits that they are’.
Shortstack are a Washington DC band that not many people know about outside of the the city. They recently released an EP of covers with some sweet choices on there — The Kinks, Captain Beefheart, and The Pupils, among others. Once again a band takes different styles, sounds, and time periods, and owns it like an extra finger.
Listen to the Shortstack track, House On Fire.
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Australian t shirt label Das Monk create the coolest tees this side of Sydney. Or Melbourne. Or New York, for that matter. Made from super soft, one hundred per cent cotton, they’re comfy and unique, and quite possibly Australia’s best fashion secret. Wait! No, they are. Grab one now from the Lost At E Minor store for just US$45.
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Baltimore Mural by Josh Van Horne
My friend Josh Van Horne, a local Baltimore artist, did this amazing mural in our neighborhood that depicts the history of this warehouse-laden area.
Cookie Boy’s creative cookie designs
I don’t eat cookies, so good thing Cookie Boy’s cookies are little pieces of art too pretty and cute to eat. Read more
Benjamin Edminston’s psychedelic heads seem to have some fearful wisdom behind their blissed-out eyes. Read more
Francoise Nielly’s Yellow series
Parisian visual artist Francoise Nielly brings technicolour to the forefront in her latest series, Yellow. Featuring thick impasto palette knife strokes and trippy neon hues, Nielly captures the vulnerable expressions of her muses to a tee. Read more
Nerd-attack! Man, this TARDIS zipper robe is so much cooler than any Star Wars crap people are hawking this days. This is for the true gangsta nerd.
French unisex customized army jackets, each one is slightly different and unique. Embroidered by hand in Berlin with hands and microphone lead logo. As worn by Pixie Geldof. Yup! It is. Read more
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aj pami said | 23 January, 2008
they’re great.