Shorpy

WE'RE SUPPORTING

New York artist Leanne Shapton runs J&L Books with photographer Jason Fulford and is the author of the quirky illustration-based book, Was She Pretty?, which was published in 2006. Read more

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Last week when the 2008 ARIA nominations were released, I was so happy to see the recognition of Melbourne’s Eddy Current Suppression Ring. Their album Primary Colours is pure, unadulterated Aussie rock, standing out from the numerous electro releases we’ve had this year. The band manages to capture that wonderful pub-vibe without any pretension or tragic nostalgia. Primary Colours speaks to people who still seek an existence that is all about wearing ripped jeans, loitering and punching people in the face … not in a violent way, but because your fist flailed in that direction while you were thrashing around front of stage.

WE'RE THINKING

I’ve been a big fan of Babak Radboy’s designs for a while now. I love how complex and time consuming some of his pieces look and how fresh and original they are.

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

For some reason it’s rare that you see London in this light. Nightscapes of big cities are usually reserved for New York and Tokyo, for example. Perhaps the comparatively scarce skyscrapers makes the city less photogenic in that respect. So photographer Jason Hawkes’ work is long overdue — he has really brought the city to life, and given it that lick of golden light that a long-exposure is good for.

How many times can we play the same song in different settings? Hmmm, I don’t know. But it is a hell of a song, from a hell of a band, as that uniquely English oddity, Jules Holland would no doubt concur.

WE'RE WEARING

MyPetsQuare loves you, and you will love them too. Two Sydney girls with a desire to design and create form the basis of this label. Vicki Lee and Angelique May-Bennett play with the idea of individualism and the longing to stand out from the crowd. Read more

WE'RE READING

DJ Spooky — That Subliminal Kid — is just about the deepest crate digger around, trawling the barrels of long-lost record stores for choice vinyl to spin in his wickedly dubby sets. He gave us the inside word last week on his eight favourite songs right now via our sister website, My Secret Playlist. This is what he had to say about Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s Panic in Babylon: ‘If there’s anything that the twenty-first century has told us, it’s that dub is the real original hip-hop. Lee Scratch even had to make it clear in 1965 by adding “Scratch” to his middle name. Take that, Grandmaster Flash!’ Read the rest of DJ Spooky’s Secret Playlist.