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WE'RE SUPPORTING

It must be in the jeans. The offspring of musical hedonists Richard and Linda Thompson, Teddy Thompson is one hell of a talented songwriter. Since his debut self-titled album came out in 2000, Thompson has been busy working on collaborative projects (including the ‘I’m Your Man’ tribute to Leonard Cohen) and solo recordings. His latest album, Up Front & Down Low, is a typically skittish and melodic collection of folk tinged melodrama. We spoke to him recently. Read more

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

The work of Australia’s Ben Frost is always interesting. He’s known for his controversial art juxtapositions that confront contemporary Western paradigms in our advertising obsessed society. Crapitalism is on display until November 3 at Opus Gallery in Newcastle, UK. I do hope any disgruntled viewers refrain themselves from slashing his work with a knife, unlike the infamous 2000 Australian episode.

WE'RE WEARING

We love the vivid colours in the Freak La Notte range of t-shirts. The French label’s collection of shirts are like little canvases of super-styled surrealism – bold, elegant, and enchanting.

WE'RE THINKING

Mercedes Helnwein’s pencil portraits are hyper-realistic and expressive at the same time. She stays apparently faithful to her subjects, but utilizes poses and lighting to obtain dramatic and expressive images. Read more

WE'RE READING

UK music journalist Everett True comes from the Nick Kent school of writing: live the life and hope to come out the other end with one hell of a story. And he has. In this case, the story of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana. In this exclusive piece, he talks about his association with Seattle’s finest and his friendship with the perennially troublesome Courtney Love. Read more

Heavy metal and hip-hop are perhaps the most popular forms of rebellion for kids the world over. In Malaysia, metal — particularly black metal — has taken such a strong hold that the Fatwa Council there banned it, fearing that the music would compel listeners to rebel against religion. Contrary to the council’s intentions, black metal is as popular as ever in Malaysia, and is a recognizable cultural touchstone there, as indicated by the above clip from the 2005 film Filem Rock.

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Killola is three boys and one girl, making rock music out of Los Angeles, California. The band’s style of garage pop (often described as ‘Blondie for the 21st Century’) has received more than 1.5 million MySpace plays from over 80,000 friends, many of whom add the band’s ‘K))’ symbol to their screen names as a show of allegiance. The band recently self-booked its own UK tour — 12 shows in 12 days — and American Tour — 27 shows in 32 days. Oh, and their latest album is available for free download. Viva la independence!