WE'RE SUPPORTING

One thing we’ve lost in this MP3 culture is awesome album art. A few people on Flickr have started a group where people pose with their favorite record sleeves and the results are pretty amusing.

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

Last night, I caught Pagan Fest at B.B. Kings in NYC. I missed the band that I was the most excited to see, T˘r, but Turisas and Ensiferum more than made up for it. Americans have been pretty late to warm up to folk and Viking metal, and bands of this sort almost never tour the States, so it was gratifying to see that the show was sold out, and that the crowd was so exuberant. Read more

WE'RE WEARING

Luxury goods have been getting a bad rap lately, and for good reason. Now I don’t know how you roll, but we don’t know many people who enjoy covering themselves head-to-toe in someone else’s initials. Yet for some reason designers think that diamante logos and monogrammed tapestries are the best mediums to communicate their brand. So it’s just as well LA based eyewear label Barton Perreira doesn’t play by the rules. Starting out less than a year ago, you won’t find their designs getting over-excited by insignia. Instead, these guys hand make their frames in Japan to rely on precision, fit and design. And that’s the way it should be.

WE'RE THINKING

I managed to swing by the SVA Graduate Illustration show the other night and couldn’t believe how much amazing work there was. One particular illustrator I couldn’t tear myself from was Youngsun Liu. His work is pure texture and color, just the way I like it.

WE'RE READING

Breathing Earth is a morbid reference website that’s simply a flash map that tells you a country’s population, birth and death rates, and how much CO2 it emits. Read more

Oh boy, this is fun. Omaha’s Tilly and the Wall are kitsch-cool-camp-vauderville meets pop-folk-flamenco, with a tap dancer for a drummer and some serious, serious charisma for a calling card.

WE'RE LISTENING TO

I’ve just come across the music of Minneapolis band Cloud Cult, and their song Chemicals Collide in particular. Their sound is a mix of scratchy acoustic guitar riffs mixed in with staccato beats and airy harmonies, all infused with a beautiful sense of lyrical melancholy. Read more