Lost AT E Minor

WE'RE SUPPORTING

We’ve all seen those iconic Jesus Christ, Osama Bin Laden, Queen Elizabeth II and the suicide bomber CUPCO dolls floating around the world. Now Western Australia’s ingenious artist Luke Temby, aka CUPCO, has invited 100 international artists to showcase their own creative interpretation of CUPCO dolls here in Australia. The doll exhibition will open at the Damien Minton Gallery in Redfern, Sydney on December 16 and carry on until December 22. All 100 dolls will be on sale and the proceeds will help out our Congolese sisters and children affected by war. If you can’t hold out until the party launch, check out the dolls on Temby’s FlickR page.

WE'RE THINKING

Ok, a confession. And one made with the full weight of its implications bearing down on me like a load of feathers. Extra soft ones of course (well, it is my confession). When I see bands play - and I mean good bands; bands with rhythm - my right leg gyrates like a stunned jellyfish. Read more

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

What is it with these big fake islands that look like things from the air? We’ve had palm trees, a map of the world, and now an island that looks like Russia! Read more

WE'RE LISTENING TO

The first album released by the Malian duo Amadou & Mariam, Dimanche a Bamako, bordered on exceptional, if not for its songwriting then for its sheer diversity. You’d be forgiven for approaching cautiously an album that draws its influences from Syria, Cuba, Egypt, India, and Colombia, as well as its own country – much like a restaurant that offers every cuisine on the planet: choose one and do it well, you’d argue. But the album is fantastic: so full of life, so catchy and so accessible. Read more

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.

Back in the day, New Zealand pop absurdists, Split Enz were the finest damn Australasian band around. This track, I Walk Away, off their final album — Spellbound — is their ultimate moment: a hefty dose of pure melodic majestry, wrapped around the aching lyrics and quirky arrangements of genius frontman, Neil Finn.

WE'RE WEARING

This pendant by Portland designer Stephanie Stimek hangs from an eighteen inch 14 carat gold chain. Made from a Japanese quail egg, the entire shell has been coated in plastic for strength and is available for purchase through the Lost At E Minor store.