WE'RE SUPPORTING

There was a lot of fuss about former Arab Strap frontman Malcolm Middleton’s recent single, We’re All Going to Die, and the timing of its release around Christmas. We asked him if it was a publicity stunt, a reality check, a coincidence, or all three wrapped up into a two minute fifty slice of classic, introspective pop. Read more

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

This little Greenwich Village shop is a blast from the past for me. From 1985 to 1993, I lived in West London and have always missed British candy and special foods. Low and behold, Myers of Keswick has it all. Weetabix cereal, Quality Street candy, Scotch Eggs, PG Tips tea! It’s absolutely amazing. But it’s not all just imports, they make fresh food everyday that you wouldn’t find anywhere else.

WE'RE WEARING

Each one of these Bracelaces by Itunube is turned into an elegant drawing on the skin using different kinds of lace combined with leather, metal components and glass beads. They are just US$25 in the Lost At E Minor store.

WE'RE THINKING

I’m totally digging Andrew Schoultz’s dense line-work and limited palette. The San Francisco-based artist deals with political and social issues, but isn’t overtly a topical artist — the textures he achieves are similar to what I strive for in my own work. Read more

WE'RE READING

The sky is falling. The world is ending. How do we deal with it? Since we can’t nail the CEOs and bankers that got us into this mess (instead, we’re bailing them out), let’s make light of the misery of people who make a living abetting the broken system.

Says Van She bassist and vocalist Matt Van Schie about the Bush Tetras track — Too Many Creeps — from 1982: ‘I LOOOVE this tune. It opens with a perfect snare roll, and then the counter bass and guitar rhythms make it so cool. The lyrics are even more valid today. They’re one of my favourite bands of all time, and so many people try to do what they did for real. What a time! I wish I was born back then in New York, hanging out with these kids. Ahhhh!!’

WE'RE LISTENING TO

No wave is alive and well, if Brooklyn duo Talk Normal are any indication. Drummer Andrya Ambro keeps things cohesive with surprisingly precise percussion, occasionally banging on such things as an electric guitar and an old iron pipe rigged with contact mics, while guitarist Sarah Register coaxes some unnerving and discordant noises from her axe and array of pedals. The two take turns shouting abstract and absurdist lyrics with voices like hi-tech valkyries from a futurist nightmare.