Ben Sollee
by Cellist Ben Sollee is like Andrew Bird with a little more soul, or Arthur Russell with a bit more bounce. Initially making his name as Abigail Washburn’s sideman and a member of her Sparrow Quartet (which features none other than Bela Fleck on lead banjo duties), Sollee’s solo material skews more heavily in the pop direction, making him a bit of an oddity amongst his fellow folkies. The title track off his debut album, Bend, features Washburn in a supporting role, and is one of the most heart-rending songs you’re likely to hear this year.
Listen to the song, A Change is Gonna Come.
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Tagged: folk music, pop music
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From the moment you hear her voice, you’ll be hooked. July Flame is the seventh album for Laura Veirs — a former guest contributor to Lost At E Minor — and an album you must have in your collection. Her beautiful voice is so familiar and comforting. Veirs has come a long way from the punk band she was once a part of. The title track, in particular, will make you feel like you’re not alone if you find yourself falling in love with a Peach.
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Findlay Brown’s Love You Will Find You
A former bare-knuckle boxer from Yorkshire, England (for real), Findlay Brown was heralded by many as the UK’s answer to Jose Gonzales when his debut album, Separated By The Sea, was released on Peacefrog Records in 2007. Love Will Find You moves beyond his earlier folk sound to a more ambitious — and soulful — place. Produced by Bernard Butler (Suede), the album features songs that are lush and intimate, influenced as much by Phil Spector and Ennio Morricone as by Roy Orbison or The Beatles. The album came together while Brown was stuck on his sister’s couch nursing a broken leg, having been run over by a cab driver: ‘I’d already started going back and listening to a lot of records I’d grown up on, like Elvis Presley, soul music, doo wop, Phil Spector, The Righteous Brothers and the like. I had an idea about making a modern record influenced by the songwriting of the late 50s and early 60s. I just started writing, trying to work out what made a universally great song, like Stand By Me. These new songs are the first part of that process’. You can download his new single, Holding Back The Night, for free in our Music Download section.
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Also by GERRY MAK
Nazis, who have colonized the dark side of the moon since their defeat in WWII, have decided to re-invade Earth in the upcoming comedic action/sci-fi/steampunk-ish film Iron Sky. Laibach did the soundtrack. Who’s stoked? I’m stoked.
Runny Nose Soap Shower Gel Dispenser
Let your inner Pee-Wee Herman shine with this ridiculous and gross ‘runny nose’ soap and shower gel dispenser.
20-foot-tall Inflatable Self-Portrait by Takashi Murakami
Taking the idea of an ‘inflated ego’ to the next level, Takashi Murakami created this 20-foot-tall inflatable self-portrait for his solo show, Murakami-Ego, in Doha, Qatar.
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Norman Saunders was one of the most celebrated pulp artists of the ’30s, ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s, with his images adorning the covers of thousands of comic books, dimestore paperbacks, and trashy men’s magazines. The Illustrated Press has just published a retrospective of Saunders’ work. Read more
British illustrator Melvin Galapon is all about playing with the ways information is conveyed and synthesized from smaller elements, using soundwaves, pixels, dots, and patterned shapes to create portraits, texts, and larger patterns. Read more
B-Reel is real smooth. And when I say real, I mean really. They created the latest ad for kicks brand Onitsuka Tiger. Read more
While I’m definitely not into the whole Lord of the Rings thing, I’m convinced Tolkien stole his inspiration from Göreme, in Turkey’s central Cappadocia region. After a mammoth volcanic eruption around 2,000 years ago, the landscape eroded to form a series of valleys, filled with peculiar, phallic-shaped tufts that the locals call ‘fairy chimneys’. Early Christians hollowed out the tufts and turned them into houses, churches and monasteries. These days, most of them are still in use and a few have been converted into cute hotels and hostels. If you’re not too claustrophobic, I’d highly recommend doing the hobbit thing and spending a night in one.
The future, and how people imagined it back in the day, is the subject of the Paleo-Future blog by Matt Novak. Since Janury 2007, he has become what he calls ‘an accidental expert on visions of the future’, gathering a gigantic collection of retro-futuristic documents, art and media. Read more
Singer-songwriter Vashti Bunyan writes the most delicate, haunting, and unforgettable music. Read more
I recently photographed the launch party for Mutewatch, a really cool new watch that works just by swiping it just like an iPhone. Very cool. Nice party as well.
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.
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.
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
Pitched as ‘Ulterior Motives in Contemporary Art’, Disorder Disorder is running until November 14 at Penrith Regional Gallery. It’ll be well worth the trip out west of Sydney: the Australian, Japanese, American and European cast reads like a warriors of street art roundup and includes Mike Giant, Ed Templeton, Anthony Lister [artwork above], Ozzie Wright, and Jonathan Zawada. 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.
Danot has created a stunning line of new illustrated tanks and tees, featuring our latest obsession, the Forlorn tanktop. Is it a bird? Or a face? Or all of the above? Dive into this graphic and decide for yourself. While you’re there, check out the other great new Danot pieces in the Lost At E Minor store
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