Boy Meets Girl. Boy Falls in Love. Girl Doesn’t

WE'RE SUPPORTING

We featured Bruce Osborn’s fascinating photo series, Oyako, a little while back on Lost At E Minor. Osborn lives in both Los Angeles and Tokyo, where he works as a commercial photographer and directs TV commercials and music videos. This shot is one of my favourites from this series that looks at the relationships between Japanese parents and their children, running the gamete of society ‘including Kabuki actors, punk musicians, policemen, Buddhist monks, and porno actresses’.

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

This water theatre by the British architect, Sir Nicholas Grimshaw of Grimshaw Architects, takes the form of a vertical seawater greenhouse, with the evaporators and condensers stacked vertically to maximise yield. The structure is not only a visible engine of sustainability but is also a large theatre auditorium. Read more

WE'RE WEARING

Ben Lee upped the label a while back, but Band of Outsiders is still probably the best label you’ve never heard of. Read more

WE'RE THINKING

Ok, some random news and observations about this thriving, jiving metropolis that is New York City. 1. There are that many tattoos around Williamsburg, Brooklyn that I reckon I’m making more of a statement by not having one! Seriously. People nod at me on the street as if to say, ‘cool man, I love that clean skin. Where’d ya get it done?’ 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.

Improv Everywhere strikes again with a spontaneous musical in a Los Angeles mall. Wireless microphones hooked up to the mall’s PA system ensured the feeding masses didn’t slip into Cinnabon-induced comas until after the show was over. Note especially the angry dude in sunglasses at about 2:51 — apparently he thinks nothing can ever top Rent.

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Ian Brown has never been a man to look back. Formerly the lead singer of the Stones Roses – an eclectically talented group that never quite reached full potential – he has since carved out a successful solo career, moving well beyond the poppy melodrama of Fools Gold and into a more left-field sonic terrain. Read more