Lenka’s Secret Playlist
by Australian singer-songwriter, Lenka, responsible for the catchiest song of 2008, has written a Secret Playlist for us which cites a disparate range of musical influences, from She and Him, to Goldfrapp, The Beatles and The Stranglers. It makes for a fun read, even if we do say ourselves. Listen to Lenka’s debut single, The Show.
Tagged: Australian singer-songwriters, lenka kripac, pop music
- 6
- 4
RELATED
Lenka Kripac talks about her single, The Show
We featured the Secret Playlist of Australian-born, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Lenka Kripac recently. Well, here’s the scoop: she just happens to have written the catchiest damn song of 2008. The Show is a bouncy, jaunty, almost nursery rhyme-like paean to the joys of showbiz. And it’s been splashed across every TV show that knows what’s good for it. Ugly Betty, any one? We checked in with Lenka while she was on the road [right before a performance in Seattle to be exact], and asked her about the songwriting process behind her debut hit: ‘I wrote The Show with a singer-songwriter called Jason Reeves. We’re both with the same publisher so we sat down together in their writer’s room with piano and guitar and played around with some ideas. The metaphor of life being a show came about because we were both feeling a bit overwhelmed by our lives at the time. We wanted to write something jolly to cheer ourselves up. It’s one of those things where a spontanious energy just takes over and you go along for the ride. An hour and a half and the song was complete! Hasn’t changed at all since that day’.
Ben Lee really, really loves Pop Music
Australian singer-songwriter — and occasional Lost At E Minor contributor — Ben Lee has a new album, The Rebirth of Venus, and will be co-headlining the Big O university shows across Australia from late February to early March. On top of that, he got hitched in India recently. No wonder he’s glowing. We checked in with him to ask about his latest single, I Love Pop Music, and whether he recalled the moment of epiphany when he wrote its timeless sing-along chorus: ‘I had a less politically loaded version of the song that was a sincere tribute to pop music. It was only when I juxtaposed that with all the statistics and facts that the chorus really seemed to take on a feeling of being special. Bubblegum tastes best after a salty snack’.
My friend Lenka Kripac, formerly of Aussie group Decoder Ring, now flying solo, has just released her debut single — The Show — and it’s as catchy a slice of pop hedonism as you’re ever going to hear. Be warned: one listen and you may never shake the melody.
Also by ZOLTON
Crimea X is the coming together of two offbeat, disparate characters, DJ Rocca (Ajello, Super Sonic Lovers, Maffia Sound System) and Jukka Reverberi from 90s Italian glam cult rockers, Giardini di Mirò, who have often have been compared with the sound of Mogwai, Arab Strap, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. We asked them about their favourite music and they started with The Smiths song, Ask [listen below] ‘I saw them playing live on Italian TV. It was during the 80s when I was extremely young, and I’ve never stopped listening to this song’. Read the rest of Crimea X’s Secret Playlist.
I love the curated selection of abandoned swimming pool photos on Feature Shoot today, featuring work by Carlo Van de Roer and Albert Jodar, amongst others.
Win a set of Sony personal audio prizes
Thanks to Sony Australia, four Lost At E Minor readers will win personal audio prizes, including the new 8GB Walkman S series video MP3 player and the MDRXB500 Extra Bass headphones. Read more
YOU'RE SAYING (4)
Rebecca B said | 10 October, 2008
Lenka’s music is cute, but she seems like she’s acting or something. I love the new crop of female artists that are coming out these days, like Brandi Carlisle and Meiko – have you heard her music? http://www.myspace.com/meiko – have a listen — sooooo good!
curiousmoth said | 12 October, 2008
I agree with Rebecca B; only I couldn’t define it until she said it. But it is difficult to make music this whimsical and not act, a little bit! Because it’s very nostalgic and cheery.
All the same, I would love to hear what she does in future!
danny said | 6 May, 2009
Well I agree with curiousmoth. Her music is whimsical, and after all she does describe herself as making “melodramatic” music, which is all part of her interesting stage persona. But if you see her live, she is actually very real, at the same time. It makes a nice change to see something different and entertaining instead of just a straight delivery. Is there anything wrong with enhancing the lyrics and music with some so-called “acting”?
HAVE YOUR SAY
Since graduating from art school a year ago, Mikhael Subotzky has taken his native South Africa and the international art world by storm. Read more
I spent time recently in the heart of Nashville, Tennessee, enjoying fine Southern cuisine, gracious hospitality [’y'all come back now!’] and the warmth of a sun beating down like a semi-gnarled blanket. It was interesting to see the cultural values of the city; the social graces of its people which permeate every conversation. Read more
Ever get that perfect casual jumper, but wished it had a hood? Well, Coal Headwear has produced the opposite to everyone else: not a jumper without a hood, but a hood without a jumper.
Zaha Hadid has been announced as the winning architect for the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum, Vilnius, Lithuania. As with the rest of the Guggenheim Museums, the architectural boundaries are pushed. Zaha lets loose with her fluid, energetic architecture and has subsequently deemed the building to be the manifestation of the city’s new cultural significance. One wonders which is the next city that requires a Guggenheim shot in the arm?
I’m enjoying the writing on the recently launched The Epi-Cure blog, which discusses the ‘latest scientific studies on health and nutrition’, and features interviews with ‘expert scientists, dieticians, and nutritionists’. The site’s founder and editor, Michelle Grey, also runs tasty, healthy recipes from New York chef Benjamin Towill, including today’s installment: Stuffed Zucchini Flowers [above]. Hmmm hmm. Read more
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
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.
WE'RE RESPECTING
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Check out Mike Stimpson’s Lego reinterpretations of classic photographs. Stimpson’s version of Malcolm Browne’s iconic 1963 photograph of the self-immolation of Thich Quang Duc is particularly twisted. 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
Alex Passapera’s dizzying pen and ink drawings are cascades of images melting into one another, often looking like contorting, mutating creatures spewing blood-like ink splatters. Read more
Trip out with Sparrow Vs Sparrow’s retro illustrations, I love their aesthetic, color use and sense of humor. Read more
Forget battery powered vehicles. Cars made from ice are the future of transportation: no pollution, no honking horns, no painful rap music blasting out of souped up stereos. And if they melt, they melt. You just swim the rest of the way down the slipstream.
Thanks to Sony Australia, four Lost At E Minor readers will win personal audio prizes, including the new 8GB Walkman S series video MP3 player and the MDRXB500 Extra Bass headphones. Read more
Illustrating the playful side of sexy, Donna Wilson uses burlesque and 60s pop art as inspiration for her original art cards. Read more
FOLLOW US
DISCOVER MORE
SO...
SEARCH: Can't find what you're looking for? Do a search..
IS IT GOOD FOR YOU TOO?
We hope you're enjoying your time on Lost At E Minor, but it’s not over yet. Got something to share? Tell us about it and we'll look to publish it. If you want to have your work featured on the site, we'd love to hear from you. Pssst, we also have an online store stocking some of the goodies we feature on the site.
If you're a media agency and want to use this platform to connect with our readership, then drop us a line and tell us about it. Oh yeah, and we do digital consulting for cool brands that want to reach the sort of demographic that visits this site.
Rebecca B said | 10 October, 2008
Lenka’s music is cute, but not real. She seems like she’s acting or something. I love the new crop of female artists that are coming out these days, like Brandi Carlisle and Meiko – have you heard her music? http://www.myspace.com/meiko – have a listen — sooooo good!