January 22, 2010 | New Products | by Matthew Specktor |
People contort all kinds of ways to describe a really original writer, but Big Machine is an amazing piece of work. A true American Gothic ‘horror’ in the vein of Poe, or Melville or James — this book is authentically scary, compulsively strange, and hugely exciting on the sentence level. It’s also funny as hell. A riff about the Washerwoman cult, who rewrite the Bible in bizarre contemporary idiom, is worth the price of admission by itself. Read more
October 23, 2009 | New Trends | by Matthew Specktor |
Sometimes pessimism is more encouraging than optimism, because more is true. I’m a huge fan of Straw Dogs, but the English counter-Humanist philosopher’s Heresies is just as bracing: ‘Belief in progress is the Prozac of the thinking classes’. Living in Los Angeles, where a brittle, self-obsessed ‘hopefulness’ is everywhere, I might need this writer (who certainly shouldn’t be confused with the Men Are From Mars guy) even more than you do. But you do, you do.
September 30, 2009 | New Film | 
by Matthew Specktor |
More timeless than current’. But I recently finished a long and complicated novel about Hollywood in the 60s, 70s and 80s, and am just now buckling down to write a short nonfiction book about this film, part of a series for Soft Skull Press. A little peremptorily written off as a mere ‘entertainment’, and also overshadowed by the in-fact-not-quite-as-good Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, this is a pretty dazzling effort: a coded Watergate-conspiracy narrative, a comment on the perils and pleasures of being fooled that’s also twice as much fun to watch as you remember. Which was pretty fun to begin with.
September 30, 2009 | Cool Websites | by Matthew Specktor |
Whether or not you give a damn about baseball cards, you should read Josh Wilker’s captivating blog, Cardboard Gods. Using vintage Topps imagery — the stagey, shaggy and strange captures of forgotten ballplayers in the 70s — as a launching pad, Wilker takes off on flights about everything from memory to athleticism to middle-aged failure. The guy’s such a great writer it hardly matters. Post after post after post is a winner. Read more
August 24, 2009 | New Photography | by Matthew Specktor |
Lisa Jane Persky takes beautiful, beautiful, photographs. To be fair, she also took my book jacket photo, but that doesn’t make her work less amazing. She covers a ton of ground: visit her site to look at vintage, CBGB’s era Debbie Harry, but stay for everything else.
August 21, 2009 | New Music | 
by Matthew Specktor |
The Disintegration Loops, a series of melty, mutated tape transfers, are pretty staggering [listen to Dip 1.3 below]. But William Basinski’s recent 92982, which seems to compress the murmur of all of Brooklyn, could even be better. ‘Ambient’ doesn’t nearly cover it: there’s a grandness, but never a grandiosity, of scale. It’s meditative without being lulling, mysterious without being merely vague. Amazing stuff.
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August 18, 2009 | New Products | by Matthew Specktor |
The Thing. Not the John Carpenter movie, of course, but the subscription-only art object, curated by a different person each time. Jonathan Lethem’s Chaldron Optical System is the current one, an item of enigmatic and satisfying beauty. Who knows what will be next? Read more
Astrosatchel is the brain-child of artist Janna Hurtzig. Purses, totebags, wallets and even diaper bags made from vegan friendly vinyl and recycled textiles. Artistic appliques and stitching, bold colours and kick ass designs make these bags stand out from the pack.
The work of artist Matt Leines is a perfect mash up of folk, ethnic and outsider art. It’s smart, colorful, graphic eye candy. In fact, there’s not one piece on his site I wouldn’t sell my hypothetical soul for.
Oh man! If I was twenty again, a jumble of nerves and a well of electric energy, I’d be in the front row for every damn MGMT gig. Read more
Itdrewitself had the honor of visiting with the legendary Ron English — an occasional Lost At E Minor contributor — at his home in Poughkeepsie, New York, last month, and had an amazing time rummaging through his studio, photographing endless amounts of paintings and sculptures. The guy is like a art machine. Read more
This is an amazing international contemporary art website. It’s kinda like a long list of images and videos that’s updated daily.
Korean-born Okkyung Lee, who has found a niche amongst the regulars at John Zorn’s The Stone, makes intricate cello improvisations based on her classical and jazz training, following a path forged by the likes of Tom Cora, but veering off into her own stranger, noisier directions.
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Beautiful Kaos is a small boutique Sydney-based label, created by Paulo Brito. His collection is launching this Summer, with a range of boardies, singlets, tees and jackets. The entire range epitomizes Summer fun, my favourite time of year.
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
How ’bout this Jose Manuel Hortelano-Pi guy, huh? Quite the illustrator, yessiree Bob. From Spain, too. Spain is great! Read more
Get lost in a daydream or a craving for something sweet while gazing at these cool sculptures by Brooklyn-based WiNK WiNK PONY. Made using clay, tree bark, wood, and mossy moss.
Pencils made from recycled newspaper
The problem with awesome things like these pencils made out of recycled newspaper is that you almost don’t want to use them.
Nerd-attack! Man, this TARDIS zipper robe is so much cooler than any Star Wars crap people are hawking this days. This is for the true gangsta nerd.
Never ever, ever, ever, ever park here
Some friendly advice for the neighbours, who simply don’t get it, or street art? You decide which one it is.
Inspired by the unique digital clock apps created by the designer, Sean Zoega, the i-toc watch is a colorful physical manifestation of digital ideas featuring bespoke two-disc Japan quartz movement. The outer gradient displays the minutes while the inner gradient shows the hours. The rings interact, creating an ever-changing pattern of design and colour. We have them for sale in our online store. Read more
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