WE'RE SUPPORTING

Toronto-based illustrator and comic book artist Patrick Kyle definitely appeals to people who use the word “rad” a lot. His crude, counter-culture-informed images reference pop culture — heavy metal paraphernalia, the Simpsons, toys from the ’70s — as well as mystical, psychedelic, and scatological themes. Read more

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

I was never a big fan of Barbie, but I would travel to Shanghai just to visit this mind-blowing castle for Barbie dolls. Read more

WE'RE WEARING

Colombian illustrator Catalina Estrada, whose work has recently adorned Zune players, has designed a t shirt for charity project Comparte Corazon, which benefits a group of women artisans in Ayacucho, Peru.

WE'RE THINKING

Bats Langley. What a fantastic name! With some fantastic work, as well. I would love to see his detailed paintings or drawings grace the pages of a childrens’ book.

WE'RE READING

DM Stith recently signed to Asthmatic Kitty, the same label as Sufjan Stevens, and has a new EP out this week titled Curtain Speech, featuring contributions from Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond), Rafter, Sebastian Krueger and the string quartet Osso. Think Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear meets Arthur Russell. We got the rundown from him on his eight favourite songs right now and he kicked off with The Shangri-Las’ Out In The Streets [listen below]: ‘1:22 – 1:43 is a miracle. I’ve never been so obsessed with twenty seconds of high-hat and high school girl shrieks: it’s a raging teenage fantasy that all the composition notebooks in all the lockers of 1965 couldn’t write better. That the singers have managed to preserve their naivety perfectly in this three minute song may be the reason I feel recording pop music is worthwhile’. Read the rest of DM Stith’s Secret Playlist.

Animator Mathieu Labaye created this short film in tribute to his late father, who had been in a wheelchair for the last 15 years of his life. Read more

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Lindstrom, the man who single-handedly coined the term ‘minimal space-disco’ (well, perhaps nudged in the right direction by Orbital et al), recently released a new, rather ambitious, album, Where You Go I Go Too. Weaving between ambient trance and breakbeat-flecked disco, the producer responsible for the mesmerizing reworking of that tune we all secretly love, Roxy Music’s Avalon, has produced a worthy follow-up to his 2006 album, ‘It’s A Feedility Affair’. This time, however, there’s only three tracks, ranging between 10 and 29 minutes in length, and the Eno/Ferry influence is thankfully clear to all.