Kevin Ayers — Joy of a Toy
The Kevin Ayers record Joy of a Toy from 1969 was released by Harvest Records and sits somewhere between Nick Drake and The Byrds. A record slightly ahead of its time, it was filled with enough interesting and clever arrangements and instrumentation to never bore. Girl on a Swing is my favorite tune for the tremolo guitar.
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Henri Cartier-Bresson’s The Aperture History of Photography is an excellent collection of photos taken between 1934 and 1968 with an emotional range that few will ever attain. They are portraits of humanity that should be witnessed. As Cartier-Bresson says: ‘As far as I’m concerned, taking photographs is a means of understanding which cannot be separated from other means of visual expression. It is a way of shouting, of freeing oneself, not of proving or asserting one’s own originality. It is a way of life’. Read more
The German electro outfit Burger/Ink released the extremely chilled out album of late-night, early morning dancefloor or sofa-ready beats called Las Vegas on Matador. This is a great companion piece to your Boards of Canada, Aphex Twin, and Kandis. [read also an interview with Japanese electro-whiz, Susumu Yokota]
I have known Hayden for almost twenty years. He has always released quality music and that is why he can wait four years between releases and his fans are still there. His latest album — In Field & Town — went straight into heavy rotation in our home and I think will extend his fan base further than even he might like.
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New York photographer Amy Stein’s work ‘explores our evolving isolation from community, culture and the environment’. Her recently released book, Domesticated, began when she was in grad school. ‘I was simply trying to make compelling images that wouldn’t get eviscerated in critique’, she says of the project. ‘As the series progressed, I began to become interested in exhibiting the work and have had many opportunities to do so this year. The Critical Mass book is the icing on the cake’. There’s an extended interview with Amy Stein on the Feature Shoot photo blog. Read more
It’s pretty bold to release a 25 track double CD as your first album, but singer-songwriter Benji Hughes doesn’t care. Themes of love and heartbreak run though the album and his folk-tinged pop draws comparisons to Beck, The Eels and The Magnetic Fields. [portrait by Vanessa Prager]
Is it green? Is it funny? Is it Halloween? Or is it just a bad luck? I actually think they are super smart and stylish, and would not mind getting one of these beautiful couches next time I move to a new apartment. They are made of recycled (but unused) coffins, after all. Fantastic. Read more
As I sit writing, I can’t shake the feeling that I’m breaking an unwritten code among travellers. How do you write about a destination that’s paradise because no one knows about it? You tell the right people. So before I change my mind, here goes. Take a boat about two hours off the south coast of Cambodia, and you’ll reach a tropical hideaway called Lazy Beach on the Island of Koh Rong Saloem. Run by two English guys who’ve redefined the meaning of chillin’, it’s turquoise waters and white sands are everything you’d expect. From beachfront bungalows with snorkelling right off the beach, to a restaurant that cooks up the local fishermen’s daily catch. This is one deserted island you won’t mind being stranded on.
I remember the first time I saw a Mark Rothko piece at the Art Institute in Chicago. I’d only seen reproductions until that point, and I never understood why people considered the late painter so important. Read more
Using a chemical free philosophy, Skinny Nelson and Friends is an androgynous, eco label, the creation of Sydney-based designers Zachary Midalia and Jacqui Alexander.
Breakbeat duo, Evil Nine’s new album, They Live!, is one of the standout releases of the year. They Live! is powerful second album after 2005’s, You Can Be Special Too, its gruesome lyrics paying homage to all those misunderstood zombies out there. The duo — Automatom and Pardytron — compiled a Secret Playlist for us, writing about their eight favourite songs right now. Their first selection? Why, Toto’s Africa, of course [listen below]: ‘The epitome of smooth music, words can’t express how much this song rules! When the synths come in and the drums echo in the night, I’[m immediately transported back to my youth. Some people might say this is a guilty pleasure, but I don't feel no guilt. I just stick it on and bask in their mellow might'. Read the rest of the Evil Nine Secret Playlist.
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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
Good thing Kris Kuksi channelled the trauma of growing up with an alcoholic stepfather, his disdain for ‘the typical American life and pop culture’, and his fascination with the macabre into obsessive, baroque assemblages, paintings, and drawings. Read more
Karen Caldicott’s clay head models
British born, New York-based model maker Karen Caldicott has been making clay heads for all major US publications over the last decade. Read more
Almanac Market in Philadelphia is slightly pricey, but you definitely get what you pay for. Offering fantastic bread, cheeses, produce, and cured meats such as sopressata and pepperoni, it was a great pit stop when my band played in town, and definitely more economical and tasty than hitting a greasy spoon for road snacks.
With the recession still biting, it may be time to whip out the glue and the cardboard and make your next pair of cool kicks. Don’t know how they’d manage in the rain though? Read more
Wolfmother. Rock n roll. Mystical lyrics. Heavy riffs. They have a new album out, Cosmic Egg, and we have five copies to giveaway, along with their debut album. To enter, tell us your favorite Wolfmother song and the city you live in. Yo! Two fingered salute. Read more
Golden Half is one of the world’s most popular toy cameras. It’s compact in size and each click of the shutter uses half of the standard 135mm frame. This means a 36-exposure roll of film will return around 72 images. It’s available for US$100. Read more
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