Ben Lee really, really loves Pop Music
by 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’.
Tagged: Australian singer-songwriters, Ben Lee, pop music
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Muscles is doing a remix of my single I Love Pop Music and I’m really excited to hear what he comes up with. He’s a new electronic artist from Australia and he’s full of piss and vinegar. He’s got that youthful Manchester-esque arrogance that makes rock n’ roll sound life-changing, all set to a surprisingly retro style. Check out his album Guns Babes Lemonade. It’s sort of like thug pop techno made for big teddy bears.
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’.
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.
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
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Many years ago, the Italian designer Fupete and I collaborated on an issue of the magazine I was editing at the time, STU, his intricate art direction giving space and life to the cacophony of illustrations and photography bursting from its pages. The guy is one hell of an art director, and a brilliant designer as well, his latest work revealing his well-developed sense of shape and texture, which meshes seamlessly with his subtle use of color gradients. Read more
We asked some of New York’s more creative residents where they like to hang out in the city, and got a mixed bag of responses back. We’ll be running their insider tips over the next few weeks. This is illustrator Marcos Chin on his favorite arcade bar, aptly named … wait for it … Barcade: ‘Barcade is a time-warp into the 1980s when going to the arcade was the major past time for many of my friends and I. Lined throughout the space are a series of classic 25 cent video arcade games, like Q-bert, Donkey Kong, Arkanoid and Tetris. There’s also a pool table near the back of the space, and a terrific selection of beers to choose from. And yes, you can drink-and-play. It’s located near the Lorimer stop on the L train, at 388 Union Avenue, in Williamsburg’. Read more
From this artist selection of t-shirts comes this Christina Koustospirou illustration, silkscreened on a limited edition t-shirt, and distributed in a vinyl sleeve, with a biography of the artist on the back of the sleeve. Every t-shirt is numbered and signed by the artist, and comes in organic cotton.
The artwork of James Belcher is dark and evocative, mini snapshots from an overstimulated mind.
It’s a fact, people who don’t like clutter don’t collect plush and vinyl toys. The myriad of sizes, shapes, colours and textures in any collector’s display would put any minimal loving layman into a tizzy. Read more
Films involving characters faced with an impossible choice never make easy viewing, an example being the Nick Cave Australian gem, The Proposition. A nightclub manager, played with understated power by Joaquin Phoenix, is the victim here, and you actually feel truly uncomfortable as his predicament unfolds. Set in the 1980s, We Own The Night shows a real nostalgia for that period — particularly in the costumes. Read more
The highly polished electronic sound of Minneapolis band UltraChorus falls somewhere between Hot Chip and Phoenix, bringing a cut and paste indie rock aesthetic to late nineties Hip-Hop and R&B. We have their debut single, Words Kept Talking [listen below], available for free download in our Music Download section.
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Karen Caldicott’s clay head models
British born, New York-based model maker Karen Caldicott has been making clay heads for all major US publications over the last decade. Read more
Charlie Immer’s pastel-pallete sometimes obfuscates the gory violence in his surreal images. At other times, it heightens the gut-wrenching and visceral effect of his work. Read more
Trip out with Sparrow Vs Sparrow’s retro illustrations, I love their aesthetic, color use and sense of humor. Read more
There is not a medium that UK illustrator Lizzy Stewart cannot wrap around her little finger to make the most beautiful, whimsical images. Read more
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
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
Shattered vintage vinyl. The likes of Rolling Stones, Beatles, Beethoven, Mozart, MC Hammer and a touch of Gospel. A combination of music history to wear around your neck wherever you go! Grab one now in the Lost At E Minor store for $33. Read more
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Zac said | 22 January, 2009
I’m a MASSIVE fan of Ben Lee. He just nails it.
In fact, my 2 year old daughter insists she goes to bed each evening with Ben Lee’s Ripe playing. (To be fair, she cycles between Ripe and Coldplay’s X&Y.)