October 26, 2009 | New Products | by Dave Mata |
The Monome interfaces provide seemingly endless possibilities for combinations of aural and visual amazement. It’s a wonder to me that people are still using midi keyboards as trigger devices to elude the fact that they can’t play an actual instrument. With sleek design and eco-friendly packaging, its no wonder the first run in 2008 sold out in two minutes. Whether they decide to release one or two hundred devices, the Monome 64 is going to be available again in January 2010.
October 21, 2009 | New Music | by Dave Mata |
To call Zombi a one trick pony would be unfair. They’re more like a one trick battle horse. They have a formula that works and they stick to it. The Pittsburgh duo channel original N.E.S, 80s horror films, and cinematic post-rock into a listening experience that kinda makes you wanna fight somebody. Their songs make me feel angsty in a way I wish more music did. Imagine writing a record with John Carpenter in the year 2012, then you are getting close to what’s really going on here.
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October 19, 2009 | New Art | by Dave Mata 
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I had the pleasure of meeting painter Maria Calderon a few years back through some mutual friends. Even then her work was stunning. It seemed as though you could stand back and take in everything you thought you could, and if you moved up to a piece, you were pulled in to all the different stories, different landscapes, within a single painting. The vibrant colors and never ending spacial trickery really does it for me.
October 15, 2009 | New Art | by Dave Mata |
Multi-faceted artist Tim Biedron is probably best known for his incredible tattoo work (which you have to book an appointment for about three months in advance). Although he’s very successful at inflicting pain in an incredibly beautiful way, he still finds time to paint and hash out the drawings that originally inspired his work on the human canvas. His drawings, in particular, have an off-kilter reminiscence of horror masked with simple images of animals, fish, and characters from his mind that at first appear harmless, until you realize there’s something just a bit off about them. Read more
October 13, 2009 | New Photography | by Dave Mata |
Philippine born, Chicago resident, Miriam Fanger is addicted to coffee, and capturing moments that don’t exist with the reality of passing time. The subtle intensity she has, along with a tenacity for shooting, makes her work powerful and moving. Her photos seem to catch all people at a passing instant of vulnerability, and the posture and eyes of her subjects radiate with a chemistry that I rarely see in portraiture. Read more
October 12, 2009 | New Music | by Dave Mata |
Anybody could roll down the list of bands that Mexico City’s Carlos Icaza is in, or credit him for his incredible work with the Vampi Soul people, but until you have met this brilliant, record collecting, drum-battering-anomaly in person, you have only read into a small semblance of what Icaza is all about. When I first met him, I had no idea who he was. He commented on a record I was playing at a bar and then a week later, my friends and I hadn’t missed a single gig he played in Chicago, including the loft party we all spun together the following Saturday. I have been addicted to this mix that he posted and it doesn’t even compare to his live sets. Who knew so many soul standards sounded twice as funky recorded in Mexico in the 60s.
October 12, 2009 | New Events | by Dave Mata |
chicago based label numero group do it right: their packaging, the selection, and the attention to detail are beyond the comprehension of any casual music listener. I had the pleasure of attending last April’s Eccentric Soul revue at Chicago’s Park West, and honestly, I had never witnessed anything like it before in my life. Read more
October 12, 2009 | Cool Websites | by Dave Mata |
Dude Mountain is ridiculous. I have this sinking feeling we are all a year out from television getting as ballsy and completely stupid as the attempted poignancy in these shorts. That said, I identified with and laughed at more than I care to admit whilst watching the episodes on this site that launched just a few days ago. My feelings aside about ‘the point’, there is an undeniable purity to seeing a couple of knuckle-heads just trying to make people laugh, as opposed to worrying about writing a joke based around a new Snapple product.
October 11, 2009 | New Fashion | by Dave Mata |
I think Anne Geddes spent ten years in the desert with Dr. Seuss doing hallucinogens. She woke up one searing Nevada morning and decided her new name was Peggy Noland. Then she moved to Kansas City and released the line that is currently featured on her website. At least, that’s what I think.
October 11, 2009 | Video | 
by Dave Mata |
This track came out a while ago on a beautiful heartshaped 7″ from the Stones Throw dudes. My buddy Esteban hipped me to it a week or two ago and I just can’t get it out of my head. Mayer’s vocals combined with the production on this track would be the perfect soundtrack to riding in a car with broken windshield wipers through a light rain, picking up the 45 and putting it back down, while all the while casually crooning. I love this video.
October 8, 2009 | New Events | by Dave Mata |
Chicago artist Charlie Megna leads a simple life of skateboarding, painting, and drinking with friends. I envy him. Perhaps it’s this casual mid-west approach to urban life that provides him the tongue-in-cheek platform with which he pokes at modern life from. With content ranging from oil consumption to technological advances, state pride to abstract kitty cats, he can also draw a very pretty tree. A good number of Megna’s paintings are currently hanging at People Lounge in Wicker Park, and will be up for the remainder of the month. Read more
October 8, 2009 | New Music | by Dave Mata |
Last time I checked, concept artist Puddle Jumper (known as Future Jared to his yester-friends) had recorded over 300 songs and was working on about ten more simultaneously. Glitch and drum and bass are not genres I care to even pay attention to, but the hooks and grooves found in Puddle Jumper’s current work is hypnotic and seductive, working playfully beyond the constrictions of four note synth verses found among his contemporaries. Puddle Jumper’s beautiful instrumental pieces translate like conversations — with sonic tension, pause, and response.
October 7, 2009 | New Music | 
by Dave Mata |
I get lost in the beat-head scene, among all the Dilla wanna-be’s, sideways hats, and dudes who are too stoned to realize that sometimes hype is just hype. There is a dark substance to Radius’s work that speaks volumes about the city he trudges through, the way he lives, and what’s important to him that people hear. This isn’t just breakbeat with some loose soul samples. Radius makes melancholy comfortable in a way that few can. Repetitious melodies, lush layers of synths, and broken beats that easily invoke images of beings from outer space that could be direct descendants of roots dub culture. With four releases under his belt — including the awe inspiring Radiushead EP — his fifth, etc, will be made available by the good folks at Grittygoat. You might want to hurry, though. Only fifty handmade copies go on sale this week.
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October 2, 2009 | New Art | by Dave Mata |
Artist Jeremy Scheuch has a really sweet mustache. I know that’s a stupid way to tell you about his art, or whatever, but he wouldn’t have it if he didn’t want people to talk about it. So there it is. It’s stellar. He wouldn’t tell me what he uses to keep it in shape, but he did tell me that he got the stuff from his Dad, who is in a league of dudes who all look like Santa and work in malls and then gamble in Vegas in the off-season. True story. Dolphin vs. Bear was a featured piece in a show I curated earlier this year for Scheuch, and I’ll be honest, some people just don’t get it when Britney Spears is illustrated with rainbows shooting out of her vagina.
If I ever start a kids band, I’m going to insist that we use guitars built by Ben Simon – they’re fully functional, but look like they’re taken straight out of a Hannah Barbara cartoon. Read more
Did you ever wonder what goes on inside a banana before you eat it? This photo illustrates the horrors these little yellow mates go through. We’re now seriously concerned for the emotional balance of the apples, melons and cabbages Dimitri Tsykalov tortured for his art.
The Hatton hotel epitomises Melbourne cool. Those who value design, location, and luxury will find The Hatton the perfect Melbourne base. Read more
I caught Chicago’s Ga’an the other night at the Empty Bottle, and they blew me away. I’d never heard of these guys, but they make driving, gothic prog sounds like satanic Krautrock with guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, and the night I saw them, a female vocalist. There is no distinct frontman, but for me, drummer Seth Sher’s intense and precise playing was the highlight of the show.
MyPetsQuare loves you, and you will love them too. Two Sydney girls with a desire to design and create form the basis of this label. Vicki Lee and Angelique May-Bennett play with the idea of individualism and the longing to stand out from the crowd. Read more
We have a Contribute Section through which you can post onto LAEM under your name about your favourite pop culture discoveries. So help spread the good word about those talented peeps doing talented things. They win. You win. We win!
The Illuminated Sea Cookie Pin by Stephanie Simek mixes underwater wonders and light to add a little sparkle to your wardrobe. The sea cookie, a member of the sand dollar family, is back lit by a white LED. When turned on, the light illuminates all of the creature’s natural patterns and intricacies. Read more
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