
Extra Life
The glut of pretentious art rock bands in New York has been getting me down and making me hate going to shows. That is, until I got to catch Extra Life a couple weeks ago. These guys obviously listen to everything Tzadik puts out, but as challenging and off-kilter as their angular squall can get, they’re not averse to, you know, making music. Their intricately-composed songs are almost operatic in their structure, and feature hints of everything from Arther Russell to Meshuggah. They even break into some pleasant and jaunty folk moments. Plus, they have a violinist, and violins in rock music is rad.
Listen to Extra Life’s track, The Refrain.
Tagged: experimental music, New York bands
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These heady times call for heady music, something spaced-out, trance-y, weird, and devilishly ecstatic to distract us from reality. Chicago’s Cave heeds this call for musical escapism, channeling Hawkwind, Kraftwerk, funk, and tribal frenzy into their mothership-beaconing groove.

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Luke Butler’s Enterprise series
My roommate is on a big Star Trek kick, re-watching the entire original series. I forgot how amazing and progressive and ahead-of-its-time it was. Actually, Star Trek: the Next Generation is also just as good. Hopefully Luke Butler will paint images from that series next or superimpose Captain Picard’s head on a nude body of Adonis. Read more
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Cheeming Boey’s coffee cup art
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I once went to a Williamsburg party at which world renowed Card Stacker, Bryan Berg, was also in attendance. I’d been told beforehand about his ability to construct large scale models of cityscapes out of cards: using no glue, no outside support, and no trickery. Read more
Mexican architecture firm Senosiain Arquitectos recently designed a shell-shaped dwelling for a Mexico City couple. The owners are already living in their new abode with their two very happy children. The structure is maintenance-free and earthquake proof, and is full of soothing greenery and smooth, rounded surfaces. Read more
You’d be hard-pressed finding a designer with a more impressive background than Jessie Hill. While most of us were waiting to outgrow our awkward teenage years, she was already on her way to Los Angeles. Leaving her Sydney home at just seventeen to pursue her love of fashion, it wasn’t long before Jessie Hill made a name for herself, styling cool kids like No Doubt and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Read more
I’m so excited to have stumbled across the work of Berkeley, California artist Weston Teruya. On first glance, his work feels purely abstract, like black and white grids with dots of colour here and there, undulating across clean backgrounds. On closer inspection, however, perfectly rendered chairs, life savers, netting, plants and various ephemera come to light. I’m always excited when I come across an artist who can so successfully merge the realistic and abstract, and Teruya does it with aplomb. Read more
Fashion blogger Tavi is biting, witty, articulate, and stylish for any age. The fact that she’s only twelve makes her kind of over-the-top amazing. Already an accomplished photographer and astute critic of all things wearable, the sarcastic pre-teen is probably sick of being described as precocious, but she’s the very definition of the word.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a reminder of why the medium of film is so special. It features first rate visuals, performances, direction and acting, all of which fits together into one of the most insightful, powerful and touching pieces of cinema ever. Read more
Where would we be without synths and drum machines? Probably still listening to Grateful Dead jams in the alleyways of Height-Asbury. Done well, the remix is a wonderful thing. Case in point is Royksopp’s rendering of the Kings of Convenience track I Don’t Know What I Can Save You From. And then there’s Riton’s version of the Mystery Jets song, The Boy Who Ran Away. A White Lines for the 21st Century? I think so.
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Using both highly rendered images and softer graphic design elements, Nate Frizzell weaves stories into his paintings that we all can see ourselves being a part of. Giclee print on Sommerset velvet archival paper 12”x20” in a limited edition of 25.
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