The Concretes
The Concretes are just that — this great slab of talent, impenetrable and unmoving. We spoke to them recently: How is that collective energy – so important to song writing – maintained when your lead singer lives in England and the rest of the band live in Sweden, with song ideas sent via email to one another? Lisa: ‘It’s always quite intense when we meet up as we have to fit a lot in to a short period of time so afterwards there is usually enough collective energy to last us for years. I miss them like crazy sometimes though but creatively it’s a lot easier than you would think. I got four song ideas via email yesterday and I seem to spend most of my time these days humming’. Daniel: ‘It can also be easier to work e-mailing songs back and forth because you have time on your own to think things through. You don’t really get that when you’re eight people in one rehearsal room’. Is it hard to channel eight creative minds into one end product that everyone can smile about? Lisa: ‘We know each other so well by now. We all know when to listen to whom and what is a bad idea. Also we’ve become better at not interfering with a song just for the sake of part-taking. Actually, if everything else fails we could probably join the circus and read each other’s minds. It’s good to have a back up plan like that’. Daniel: ‘It definitely takes longer and more of an effort, but the end result is usually better – and different. Which makes it worth it. But sometimes it’s like making a movie with the actors being the directors. But it sets a good standard: we must all really love the songs we put out. Imagine what it’d be like otherwise’.
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.
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In a marketplace oversaturated with photoprints, Finnish illustrator and designer Inka Jarvinen has managed to make it look new. Her up-andpcoming label, Girls Of Boredom, showcases her photo cut and paste style, while her client work sees her creating record covers, fashion show identities, and magazine covers.
Ah, sleep of the damned. That messy, unsettled phase where your mind races at the speed of light and everything in life seems that little bit more complicated. Yes, ‘twisting and turning’, you evil companions to a hot summer’s night, how I could do without you. Read more
I don’t care if Jimmy Hendrix was dragged kicking and screaming from where he lies, put through a torrid round of detox, and handed an invisible guitar – a Flying V carved out of the bones of Robert Johnson. It would still pale in comparison to this. Read more
Maverick artist come architect, Michael Jantzen, has created this fantastic experiment as a design study for a modular prefabricated eco-friendly house. Read more
10:15 is a photoblog on which participating photographers from around the world snap a shot every day at 10:15am sharp and post the results. Read more
Oh man, close your eyes if you will and transport yourself to a place far, far away; where disco is in, polyester is up, and everyone bows long and deep to the gravitational pull of the almighty afro. Sister Self-Doubt by The Shakes takes me there. It takes me front and centre, feeling that slippery, incidenary groove as it crunches my spine and works its way to my feet. Hmmm, the feet. It’s always in the feet. And now I’m dancing and twisting, onwards and upwards, like a manic spinning top thinking nothing of today and even less of tomorrow.
Listen to The Shakes track, Sister Self Doubt.
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No, Dorothy would have never come across these shoes in Oz, but she would have at Odin, a smallish men’s store in New York’s East Village. Read more
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
The return of the Brionvega rr226
Italian brand Brionvega has resurrected the classy Radiofonografio piece first created in 1965. The updated version is just like the original turntable/radio unit, but also has a CD/DVD player.
Get lost in a daydream or a craving for something sweet while gazing at these cool sculptures by Brooklyn-based WiNK WiNK PONY. Made using clay, tree bark, wood, and mossy moss.
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.
Never ever, ever, ever, ever park here
Some friendly advice for the neighbours, who simply don’t get it, or street art? You decide which one it is.
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.
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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