Posts tagged with ska
March 14, 2010 | Fresh 15 | 
by Casper Johansson |
Lyon-based Babylon Circus is music laced with ska, gypsy, rock, vaudevillian antics, dancehall and reggae. Their first Australian East Coast tour in 2008 saw the nine piece band sell every show out. They feature on the So Frenchy So Chic compilation. We asked them to tell us about their favourite music right now, and they started with Django Reinhardt’s Minor Swing [listen below]: ‘Backstage, home, in the bus, cooking or having breakfast, is there a time you wouldn’t love to hear this one? We love it anytime, any style, too, as it’s been remixed and rearranged so many different ways. Still, we love the original best’.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
December 5, 2008 | New Trends | by Francis Andrews |
It takes a potent strain on self-belief to attempt a cover of a great song. In the history of cover songs there have been some great attempts, and some absolute howlers. Hendrix succeeded on All Along The Watchtower; Nirvana did it with Man Who Sold The World; Aretha Frankin with Respect. But maybe the crown (at least for the last ten years) goes to Jeff Buckley’s take on Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. It turned a good, but not memorable, song into surely one of the most spine-tinglingly beautiful and lasting pieces of songwriting in modern music. So, if someone told me Hallelujah had been reworked again, and this time as a bouncy ska piece, I’d probably have turned and walked away for fear of it tainting the above incarnation. But in a club on Friday night, an ageing London ska group called the Trojans had a go and it was simply awesome. The crowd’s bemused faces quickly turned into all-out smiles and the place erupted. Unfortunately we were left crushed with the final words that they were yet to record it. And judging by the gurn on the Bez-like frontman and chief whip of the group (who was replaced by a female vocalist for the song), that may take a while. So, until then, we’ll leave you with another completely different take on another great song: Schneider TM does The Smiths’, There Is A Light That Will Never Go Out.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Spanish illustrator Gabi Beltran creates images with a captivating simplicity. Print like texture comes to the forefront with bold linework, setting it off in the most stark, pleasing way. Read more
Italian painter Nicola Samori is a man out of his time. He paints meticulously detailed Baroque-style portraits reminiscent of Caravaggio and Van Dyck. Read more
Run Wrake is an illustrator and animator based in London whose recent short animation Rabbit has turned him into an underground hero. Read more
Hobbits, is watching over that ring stressing you out? Then head over to Woodlyn Park, a New Zealand resort complete with some very unique types of lodging including a grass-topped hobbit hotel, a recycled plane suite, a reclaimed ship inn and even a rail car room. Read more
Those of you who are based in Australia and are into sports might like to check out the other website the Lost At E Minor team runs, The Roar. Read more
I got to check out Extra Golden the other night at the Floristree in the H & H Building in downtown Baltimore. Despite a bill of heady, contemplative, experimental music that preceded the DC-based band, the crowd was chomping at the bit to see them when they finally hit the stage well past 1am. It’s still cold and rainy here in Charm City, but these guys made it feel like summer with their sunny blend of Kenyan benga music and guitar-driven psych rock.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
If on a picture perfect summer’s day, you find yourself wishing for a blizzard, something is wrong. Very wrong. But don’t panic, this weather preference has nothing to do with hatin’ on sunshine, and everything to do with an infamous leather bomber jacket from Claude Maus. It’ll have you hooked with its luxurious soft leather, stitched front paneling, Italian wool lining and the very necessary detachable hood. If you’re somewhere cold, then chances are you’re nowhere near this Australian-based label. So if you’re looking for a push in the purchase direction, it’ll be pleasing to know that the Aussie dollar ain’t doing too good. Gives a whole new meaning to the term ‘investment piece’, doesn’t it? Read more
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Honest Food Preparation Instructions
Yes, we’ve all been there: the chinese food from last week that still looks edible amongst the bare surrounds of an empty fridge. But really, we shouldn’t. Just let it be. Or College Humor will expose you! Read more
Matthew Dear’s Black City album totem
Our friends at Ghostly International are releasing Matthew Dear’s Black City album as a limited edition ‘totem’. A what? A totem – a limited edition metal bar used to access a private music chamber. Cool! Read more
Get lost in a daydream or a craving for something sweet while gazing at these cool sculptures by Brooklyn-based WiNK WiNK PONY. Made using clay, tree bark, wood, and mossy moss.
Baltimore Mural by Josh Van Horne
My friend Josh Van Horne, a local Baltimore artist, did this amazing mural in our neighborhood that depicts the history of this warehouse-laden area.
Benjamin Edminston’s psychedelic heads seem to have some fearful wisdom behind their blissed-out eyes. Read more
French unisex customized army jackets, each one is slightly different and unique. Embroidered by hand in Berlin with hands and microphone lead logo. As worn by Pixie Geldof. Yup! It is. Read more
If you have a Twitter feed that focuses on cool pop cultural things and you’d like to swap Tweets with Lost At E Minor and other like-minded Twitterers, drop us a note (with Tweet Swap in the title). We have a system in place and we’d like to have you in on it! [illustration by Brad Fitzpatrick]
FOLLOW US
DISCOVER MORE
SO...
SEARCH: Can't find what you're looking for? Do a search..
IS IT GOOD FOR YOU TOO?
We hope you're enjoying your time on Lost At E Minor, but it's not over yet. Got something to share? Tell us about it and we'll look to publish it. If you want to have your work featured on the site, we'd love to hear from you. Pssst, we also have an online store stocking some of the goodies we feature on the site.
If you're a media agency and want to use this platform to connect with our readership, then drop us a line and tell us about it. Oh yeah, and we do digital consulting for cool brands that want to reach the sort of demographic that visits this site.
