Lost AT E Minor

WE'RE SUPPORTING

As I was admiring the lovely painting of Dutch artist Helen Verhoeven, I began to notice some strange things popping up. As I continued to look, the bizarre overall nature of her work really began to dawn on me. Looking at these early in the morning while waiting for that first pot of coffee to brew, Verhoeven’s paintings leave me wondering if I’ve really woken up from my dreams yet. They are like stepping into some uncanny dream world with all their loose, colorful brushstrokes and vague figures standing about. Read more

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Listening to Mum’s fourth album — Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy — for the first time, I was awash with sentimentalism. Amidst carnival trumpets and burlesque beats, there’s a sense of this being a bohemian rhapsody. Perhaps it’s the mix of cello and brass with experimental electronica. Or maybe it’s just the soft vocals that cascade over playful, imaginative sounds. Whatever it is, it’s totally brilliant. [see also Sigur Ros' Heima]

Listen to Mum’s track, The Amateur Show.

WE'RE THINKING

John Lennon was right, these are ’strange days indeed’. Mind you, he also claimed to have seen ‘a UFO over New York’ and ‘Nazis in the bathroom, just below the stairs’, so he may not have been the most reliable witness. Read more

WE'RE WEARING

Just when I thought my favourite flip flops couldn’t get any better, Havaiana are still offering their thong straps laced with Swarovski crystals. I reckon the bling bling lover in you won’t mind forking out a little extra moolah if it means adding some sparkle to your Havis. Read more

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

A Dutch insurance company recently launched a pretty creative ad campaign that was put on the backs of buses in Amsterdam, making them look like they were actually moving backwards.

Comedy troupe Summer of Tears edited itself into the classic ’80s movie Teen Wolf, starring Michael J. Fox, providing a new and gut-bustingly hilarious side-plot.

WE'RE READING

DJ Spooky — That Subliminal Kid — is just about the deepest crate digger around, trawling the barrels of long-lost record stores for choice vinyl to spin in his wickedly dubby sets. He gave us the inside word last week on his eight favourite songs right now via our sister website, My Secret Playlist. This is what he had to say about Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s Panic in Babylon: ‘If there’s anything that the twenty-first century has told us, it’s that dub is the real original hip-hop. Lee Scratch even had to make it clear in 1965 by adding “Scratch” to his middle name. Take that, Grandmaster Flash!’ Read the rest of DJ Spooky’s Secret Playlist.