July 6, 2009 | New Music | 
by Ron English |
Super catchy old-school pop songs delivered by the enigmatic raspy-voiced Jack Medicine keep The Electric Illuminati on regular rotation here at the English household. Subjects for songs range from a messianic Barack Obama, to MC Supersized (the 500 pound Ronald McDonald), to a sequel to the Beatles song, Fool on the Hill. Jack sings the clever, darkly optimistic lyrics I have always wanted to hear in pop songs with energetic aplomb and a glee that would make Kurt Cobain’s corpse blush. Full disclosure: I am the band’s lyricist.
- 5
- 1
June 24, 2009 | Video | 
by Ron English |
Morgan Spurlock takes on the role of the viewer’s best friend as he explores some pretty intense social terrain. The technique allows him to explore controversial subject matter without ever coming off as preachy or holier than thou.
- 1
- 0
June 23, 2009 | Cool Travel | by Ron English |
You may have to work your way through the flock of sheep being hustled down the street by your local shepherd on your way to breakfast, but the people are extremely friendly and helpful. Everything is cheap. You can get a nice four-ounce glass of cognac for three dollars. Shopping is not as extensive as some other locations, like Dubai, but they have the coolest hand-carved olive wood sculptures, and you can visit the many mom and pop factories that make them. Read more
- 1
- 0
June 19, 2009 | New Music | by Ron English |
Southern gothic swampwater singer and poet Jim White weaves spooky humanistic tales of the Deep South through beautifully haunting melodies. In his live act, White slips endearing stories of his experiences between the songs, making for an extremely personal encounter with the audience.
- 12
- 1
June 18, 2009 | New Art | by Ron English 
|
I love monsters. I love old photographs. I love Travis Louie’s paintings. His masterfully refined technique allows him to take stunning portraits of the monsters in the recesses of his endless imagination. A beautiful balance of the grotesque and the comic, they are the perfect metaphor for the modern human. Once you acquire a taste for his product, you just keep wanting more and thankfully he keeps delivering his miniature masterpieces at an inhuman pace.
- 9
- 0
June 16, 2009 | New Music | by Ron English |
A religious experience tailor made for the soul hardened agnostic hipster scene would be a good way to describe a Polyphonic Spree concert. Tim Delaughter’s unabashed joy is infectious enough to cultivate a Dead Head-esque cult of Jesus-robe-wearing followers, who have, throughout the band’s history, been allowed to join in on the on-stage festivities. Read more
- 2
- 0
June 15, 2009 | New Art | by Ron English |
Lori Earley paints the soul of women clothed in a delicate mix of flesh and blood that scantily veils their inner light. The painting The Wish [above] is one of the most perfect paintings ever created. Earley is young and dedicated, which means the best is yet to come. Read more
- 14
- 1
June 15, 2009 | Cool Travel | by Ron English |
Located in an old storefront with blacked out windows on the Rockwellian Main Street of Beacon New York, this ‘museum‘ is a bit spooky at first. Once you’re inside, you’ll quickly forget this century. All the 1970s vintage pinball machines, early video games, and side-showish arcade games are present in mint condition. I brought my ten year-old son, thinking the experience would make him more appreciative of his modern gaming systems. But the flashing lights of the seventies arcade had him mesmerized. Ten dollars gets you an hour of unlimited play and just showing up gets you an in-depth tour, including opening up the machines to expose their clever secrets. [photo via RetroThing]
- 2
- 0
June 13, 2009 | New Art | by Ron English |
This is at last the artist the 1960s was desperately trying to produce. Mark Dean Veca’s installations electrify galleries and museums with an ethereal pop ecstasy the previous generation only dreamed of. This is the drug we have all been waiting for. Read more
- 7
- 0
June 13, 2009 | New Design | by Ron English |
The overprotected brain child of Australian designer Timba Smits, every issue of Wooden Toy Quarterly is lovingly themed and designed down to the typeface. The issues come off like unique works of art and seem oddly out of place on the magazine racks. Unfortunately the printing sizes are small, making them hard to get. But they are well worth the effort. Read more
- 5
- 0
June 12, 2009 | New Products | by Ron English |
Odd, simple and surreal, these toys are really more accessible art objects. Sporting bit of a Keith Haring meets Murakami attitude, Buff’s toys fill any remaining generational gap between aging hipsters and their hyper plugged-in progeny. My wife and I collect Buff’s stuff, as do my two children. Read more
- 2
- 0
San Francisco illustrator Caitlin Kuhwald’s cleanly rendered paintings really hit the figurative spot. It’s so refreshing to come across an illustrator who still gets kicks from beautifully rendering a face, every strand of hair, every wrinkle in their clothing, and then turn around and subvert it all with a big bag of creative tricks. Read more
This remarkable construction is located in the Swedish village of Jukkasjärvi and is built entirely from scratch every year. It features 10,000 tonnes of ice from the nearby Torne River, and 30,000 tonnes of snow, covering more than 30,000 square feet in total. Oh, it even has its own ice chapel. But be sure to bring your winter woollens. It could get a little, errr, chilly at night. Read more
Rick Owen’s spring collection uses monochrome patterns to create a classic and chic silhouette. The layering, and oversized look, is perfectly tailored: big around the neck and tighter in the leg. Read more
Sure, President Obama is just as human as the rest of us, and there is a certain excessiveness to the extent to which he’s been idealized, but I’d rather have a President the world views as a secret agent ninja than one the world views as a bumbling, ignorant fool. Can you imagine an action figure like this one by Hong Kong-based DID Corporation made of Dubya? If they did make one, it’d probably be along the lines of Maxwell Smart.
Long before the franchise destroyed our fond childhood memories like Aunt and Uncle Beru on Tatooine, many of us born in the 70s were proud to own the many products associated with the Star Wars movies. Read more
An intelligently told, morally complex tale with a raft of unexpected twists, Gone Baby Gone is one of the most original films of recent times. Most films give you a sense of their narrative arc and it is easy to recognise the major plot points. Read more
I love Brooklyn band Durty Nanas. They were formed in 2005 and play street spaces, galleries, lofts, and block parties. So I guess they are the ‘real’ Bloc party.
WE'RE RESPECTING
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
1970s and 80s Soviet Union buildings
Cambodian born photographer Frederic Chaubin is the editor of French magazine Citizen K. His photo series on bizarre buildings built in the former Soviet Union during the 1970s and 80s is absolutely fascinating. Read more
Wheeeeee! This game is so freaking fun! You move your cursor over each dot to make them split into four smaller dots ad infinitum.
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
T-post: the world’s first wearable magazine
So here’s the scoop. Every six weeks, T-post subscribers get a new t shirt issue in the mail, with a news story on the inside and an artist interpretation of that story on the front. Yes, we agree. It’s clever, clever. Read more
Scanners’ new single Salvation
I love this track by London based rock group, Scanners, which is off their latest album, Submarine. Having toured with acts such as The Horrors, The Wedding Present, The Charlatans, Electric Six, and Juliette & The Licks, Scanners could well blow up in 2010. Figuratively speaking, not literally. No, that wouldn’t be fun.
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
This Spider Necklace by Andrea Corson is made from oxidized sterling silver and is a one of a kind: a blackened creepy crawly on a bed of Caviars that will freak and treat. We have them for sale in the Lost At E Minor online store. Read more
FOLLOW US
DISCOVER MORE
SO...
SEARCH: Can't find what you're looking for? Do a search..
IS IT GOOD FOR YOU TOO?
We hope you're enjoying your time on Lost At E Minor, but it’s not over yet. Got something to share? Tell us about it and we'll look to publish it. If you want to have your work featured on the site, we'd love to hear from you. Pssst, we also have an online store stocking some of the goodies we feature on the site.
If you're a media agency and want to use this platform to connect with our readership, then drop us a line and tell us about it. Oh yeah, and we do digital consulting for cool brands that want to reach the sort of demographic that visits this site.
