Cool Websites / There I Fixed It

July 3, 2009 | Cool Websites | by Gerry Mak |

The jerry-rigged repair jobs featured in There I Fixed It range from smartly resourceful to stunningly stupid, with the bulk of them being the latter.

Cool Websites / Blind Man’s Colour’s Secret Playlist

July 1, 2009 | Cool Websites | by Zolton |

In early 2009, Blind Man’s Colour suddenly found themselves the subject of tastemakers attention. Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste said, ‘You guys must hear these guys, love it!’, via Twitter. Which was good enough reason for us to check in and get a Secret Playlist from them. They started their Playlist off with the Lotus Plaza song, What Grows? [listen below] ‘From Lockett’s solo album, The Floodlight Collective, this track is so warm and nostalgic. The melodies and the production couldn’t sound more childish. It’s like an early 90s Sunday sunset’. Read the rest of Blind Man’s Colour’s Secret Playlist.

Cool Websites / Windosill

June 29, 2009 | Cool Websites | by Gerry Mak |

I’ve posted a bunch of flash-based games before, but Windosill is probably the first one that has truly engaged me.  It’s a surreal, atmospheric puzzle game where you have to figure out how to obtain a cube on each level that will unlock the door to the next one.  The free online version only let’s you play half of the whole game, but for a mere $3, you can download the whole thing.

Cool Websites / Zodiac Reactor

June 26, 2009 | Cool Websites | by Gerry Mak |

Zodiac Reactor is a really hard. It’s kind of like that old electronic game Simon from the 80s — it requires really quick reflexes razor-sharp visual recognition.

Cool Websites / Tiny Masters of Today’s Secret Playlist

June 24, 2009 | Cool Websites | by Zolton |

It’s been a surreal, full-throttle journey for Brooklyn group, Tiny Masters Of Today. Almost overnight, the teenage brother and sister duo went from a few homemade recordings on a MySpace page to collaborating with Karen O and Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Fred Schneider, and Gibby Haynes. We asked one half of them, Ivan, to give us a rundown on the music that’s been pumping on his iPod. Amongst others, he upped Glen Campbell, Yo La Tengo, and Man Man [listen below]: ‘If I ever get married, I would want Man Man to play at my wedding’, he says. Ok, well, we’ll hold you to that Ivan. Read the rest of Tiny Masters of Today’s Secret Playlist.

Cool Websites / Street Fighter Flash

June 22, 2009 | Cool Websites | by Gerry Mak |

I remember when kids used to play Street Fighter at the local multiplex while waiting for a movie to start. A lot of boys would choose Chun Li because if you got her to do her special, upside-down spinning move, you could see her underwear. I haven’t tried to do that with this flash version of the game. I’ll leave that to you unrepentant types out there.

Cool Websites / Metric’s Secret Playlist

June 19, 2009 | Cool Websites | by Zolton |

We checked in with Jimmy Shaw from Toronto group, Metric, and asked him about the music that inspired their latest recording, Fantasies. He started by propping the Rolling Stones’ classic, Exile On Main Street: ‘I set up a turntable because my friend left all of his DJ records at my house for a year and a half. It’s the only non hip-hop record, which is funny because all they were doing was trying to sound black. Either way, the record is warped and sounds awesome’. Read the rest of Metric’s Secret Playlist.

Cool Websites / Vladislav Delay’s Secret Playlist

June 18, 2009 | Cool Websites | by Casper Johansson |

Helsinki electronic producer Vladislav Delay has recorded for three of Europe’s most challenging labels: Chain Reaction, Mille Plateaux, and Max.Ernst. He grew up trained in jazz and still counts Philly Joe Jones — the drummer for the first Miles Davis Quintet — as one of his prime influences. His album Tummaa is out on The Leaf Label and features contributions from Craig Armstrong and Lucio Capece. We checked in with him to get a rundown on the sounds that inspired his latest recording: ‘Juan MacLean’s One Day is a strong and brave dance-pop. Not usually my cup of tea, but this track is quite interesting. I’ve also been listening to The Cool Kids’ Basement Party [audio below], a nice club groove, showing something new in the Hip Hop vein, which is always welcome’. Read the rest of Vladislav Delay’s Secret Playlist

Cool Websites / My Secret Playlist

June 15, 2009 | Cool Websites | by Zolton |

On our sister site, My Secret Playlist, we invite our favorite musicians, DJs and producers to write about eight songs that are inspiring them right now. You can hear some of the tunes that the artists select and discover a whole heap of cool music along the way. Some of the musicians to compile a Secret Playlist so far include The Dandy Warhols, The B52s, Donna Summer (disco, baby), Girl Talk, Cold War Kids, Moby, The Presets and The Vines.

Cool Websites / Stackle

June 12, 2009 | Cool Websites | by Gerry Mak |

Stackle is a flash game where you have to stack pieces as high as you can before they all come tumbling down — sort of like Tetris mixed with Jenga.

Cool Websites / Paul Dempsey’s Secret Playlist

June 9, 2009 | Cool Websites | by Zolton |

We asked Paul Dempsey, the frontman of Australian indie-rock band, Something For Kate, about the music that inspired his own soon to be released solo album, and he started by propping Brooklyn group TV On The Radio’s Dancing Choose: ‘This track has so much manic energy: buzzsaw synth-bass, mad shuffling drums and a rapid-fire lyrical rant that sounds like some kind of crazed public service announcement. Guaranteed to shake you from your mid-morning malaise’. Read the rest of Paul Dempsey’s Secret Playlist

Cool Websites / We’re a Twitter hear us Tweet

June 4, 2009 | Cool Websites | by Zolton |

If you’re all a Twitter and Tweeting is your thing, then you might like to follow the new Lost At E Minor feed, which is an extension of the things we post about here. We get access to a lot of tips and information that we don’t always post about. But we will Twitter it. Yup, Tweets are fun and brevity is our friend. So if you have a Twitter account and you want to follow us, we’d love to have you on-board.

Cool Websites / Polly Scattergood’s Secret Playlist

June 2, 2009 | Cool Websites | by Zolton |

We checked in with London-based singer-songwriter Polly Scattergood and asked her about the music that’s inspiring her own offbeat pop sound. She started by propping the Bonnie Prince Billy song, I See a Darkness: ‘This song breaks my heart. I find the darkness of his words very comforting. I love the way he tells a story in his songs — though they are sometimes uncomfortably honest. It’s like reading some beautiful poet’s diary’. Read the rest of Polly Scattergood’s Secret Playlist.

Cool Websites / The Dears’ Secret Playlist

May 28, 2009 | Cool Websites | by Lost At E Minor |

Murray Lightburn, frontman for Canadian indie group, The Dears, gave us the rundown for our sister site, My Secret Playlist, on the tunes that are currently on high rotation on his inner-ear iPod. He started with the Air song, Mike Mills [listen below]: ‘I’ve been working from my home studio and have a few tracks that I play in it because I am very familiar with how they sound. Mike Mills, aside from being a well-composed track, sounds really good. When the strings come in towards the end, I am wishing that I had written it’. Read the rest of The Dears’ Secret Playlist, along with Playlists by Girl Talk, Cocoon and Weezer, among many ohers.

Cool Websites / Awkward Family Photos

May 22, 2009 | Cool Websites | by Gerry Mak |

Personally, I think it’s difficult for family photos to not be a bit stilted and weird, but Awkward Family Photos manages to post truly baffling images of badly dressed, strangely posed, and generally weird-looking clans as they wish to be remembered. Read more