Still Practical Design

A replacements for those wanting to have the classic French cool of coffee and cigarettes, but without the swamp of tar in their lungs. Scrapes in the 'practical' section as it's designed to replace the teaspoon (plus, if it didn't have a proper use it'd be the lamest/uncoolest thing you could ever use).


It's a bench and it glows... imagine parks filled with these... it'd be like a year round rave for possums


An indoor skateboard: comfy leather top and soft gel wheels make it ideal for crossing those icy cold floorboards... (and into the really expensive vase at the end of the hall)


Easily the coolest thing I've seen in ages... combining the worlds love of popping bubble-wrap with the need to know what day it is... GENIUS!


Design For The Sake Of Design

Does it need an explanation, or has every person whose ever played 'guns' just creamed themselves.


Why make the silly rectangle with your fingers when you have this!... Appreciate the smaller sections of your reality like a artist. The novelty is too much to avoid.


Again, the novelty of a keyring ring... too much to let slide.

Thankyou DesignSpotter

And the month's also proved fruitful on the video side of things:

More from the That-Go film crew:



The Presets new clip



And a high pitched newcomer on the Australian Music Scenes, Andy Bull

I'm back... it' a been a LONG month. Too much work! (AND I FINISHED MY ART!! which I've ever so humbly pasted above)
Anyway, on the music side of things - My iTunes decided it would wipe itself the other day (so i have to now rename about 800-1200 tracks from the pile)... so I've reverted to CD's since, which has meant I've had Little Pictures 'Owl+Owl' album on repeat for almost a month (it actually gets better and better every time you play it... top stuff)
And the mail inbox filled rapidly with good and bad (mostly bad) music... of which I'm too lazy (not rude) to reply to half it.

So... from the inbox, here's the top stuff... there's not that much to show for:
Steed Lord - You (Roccanova Remix)


Rage Against The Machine - Killing In The Name (Biancardi Remix)


I haven't heard any genuinely cool like this since I last watched Snatch... or maybe Pulp Fiction...
Twan Van Hovi - Classic Character


Two new new tracks from my favourite Frenchmen for 2008:
Stereoheroes - Black Lama
Stereoheroes - Midnight Sons

Not sure why this track appeals to me... it's pretty funky, yet fucked up at the same time.... your thoughts???
Duchess Says - Ccut Up


Don't take this (one off) track as an example, but Ghost Claws seem to me to be walking in the footsteps of The Presets example (in a good way!)... At first I thought they were all chilled, and masters of the mellow synths, but recently they've shot up some of this rougher stuff and it's pretty decent; check out their myspace for proof
Ghost Claws - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (Vampire Weekend Cover)

The next month COULD become very quiet from this end of the service, so don't lose faith in the blog - IT'LL ONLY BE TEMPORARY - I'm just going to be very busy with other stuff and might not have time to be posting new music and art so regularly.

Then again, maybe not.... this is just a pre-emptive warning

But what it will mean is when I get back on the job, I'll have a whole stockpile of new shit to sort through (to find the best) to share around!!

If you really hate the idea of a slow-down... or you just want to start blogging without any set-up and mess, then click the link below to see if you want to write something for SYDNEYSOUNDER:

How many stoned weekends have you sat around the apartment, watching the afternoon kids shows on the TV (because CableTV's too expensive), and although mildly entertained by the General Viewing (G) rating, you just wanted all those colours and seriously simple scripts to take one tiny step towards mature entertainment – nothing big – no M15+, just your regular PG would be awesome.
Enter Little Pictures; providing that perfect balance between childish incorruptibility and zest with the maturity and sensibility of what makes the whole thing work for the masses.
This New Zealand bedroom-pop duo likes their rock with extra guffaw – which might explain the lyrical nakedness.
On their debut album (titled Owl + Owl), Little Pictures have released an eclectic eleven tracks that make you want to pull out you box of crayons and scribble "La La La La La La" all over Mum's clean walls; It's the kind of music that's so fun you’ll sing it aloud as you're riding the bus (while everyone looks at you like you're a freak), or scream to yourself in the shower as the sun comes up in morning.

Usually I want more from my music; more layers, heavier beats, richer lyrics and smoother vocals; the lot.
But to be honest, Little pictures has really changed that for me – proving beyond any doubt, that simple can be sexy. Nothing too fancy really goes on throughout the album it's all pretty basic – but somehow Johanna Freeman and Mark Turner work it into the prefect mix of clangs and strums that make for a sensationally untamed album
There's the poppier tunes like 'I Wish I Could Keep You' that keep the smiles broadly slapped across your face, whilst tunes like 'Kaleidoscope' and 'Eloit' brind you back down to earth with a heightened sophistication/sedation.

I can't help but feel that a few of the tracks, like ‘Owl+Owl’, might be better infused in some sort of remixing experiment; it sounds like some sort of Cut Copy/Presets electro concoction cut in half (in terms of time); But my pathetic pondering over production potential aside, Little Pictures toss in enough untreated vocals, teenage love lyrics, and subsonic Moog blurts to give the album a certain edginess that seemed to inspire a pretty riotous little party in my pants.
With an album as joyful as any Gwen Stefani release (sorry to make the comparison), and with the added bonus of all that indie cred', you'd be fucking stupid to pass up the opportunity to make the purchase.

I'd love to be able to make a comparison to some huge international super-group, but the truth is Little Pictures is just too original; the best parallel I can pull (outside of the single 'Owl+Owl' track) is probably Yeo, or maybe Architecture In Helsinki with (shitloads) more to smile about.

Anyway, (keeping my opinion in mind,) it’s really up to you to make your own decision on the duo... I found that the songs really support oneanother in the album - boosting eachother's level of lovableness (rather than standing alone as singles)... which probably stands as a good reason to be buying the album:

Little Pictures - This House Can Fit Us All

Watch Videoclip [+/-]
Little Pictures - Owl + Owl


Little Pictures - I Wish I Could Keep You


Check out the rest of their album on Last.fm

They've done support acts with Ratatat (My Favourites!!!), so don't underestimate their live entertainment potential!
Sadly, they’ve just finished their tour of Australia, but there’s still a big section of the New Zealand leg to go – so if you’re a Kiwi (or just a tourist in the sheep-loving nation), get onto it ASAP

This post couldn't be more retarded... I don't know where to start - it really has no common thread - just cool shit that's come up in the inbox/subscriptions this week:

First up is Van She's new video:

To follow up on the alternate smash of a first single Strangers, the next official release will be the swingin’ future vintage that is Changes. With its sexy bass lines and infectious guitar laden melodies, the boy’s deliver another sure classic just the way we expect it. Changes is a snapshot of candid late night tales of what the Van She boys get up to while on tour and is a perfect soundtrack to the reminiscing of nights gone by, beautifully put together by Kasia Werstak. The track is full of typical Van She fervor, laying out indications of the past & respectful nod-of-the-head to the future with the band’s next youth-anthem, which will come accompanied by some very special remixes.


Then I saw these:

You never have to leave your slip-ons behind with Nat-2’s 2-in-1 shoes. The award-winning design transforms a Converse-looking hi-cut or low cut canvass sneakers into summer slip-ons! pretty fucking convenient..


And then I got sent through one of those giant mailing list emails the other day - they're usually full of shit, but this one (from Chew Fu) had a bit to offer for the love of Jay-Z, the greatest rapper ever:
Jay-Z - No Hook (Chew Fu's Ratatat Remix)

Plus a new email from BSBTRGDCLUB, who "produce a lot"... thanks for that:
Ravage!Ravage! - Lastnight Party (BSBTRGDCLUB Remix)


A New track from Sydney's own R!M!E:
R!M!E – Wet That


And also got mailed a pretty cool mix from Dada Life:
Dada Life - July Mix
Tracklist [+/-]

Hot Seconds are a brooklyn-based indie-rock outfit formed in 2007.
UK-born singer/songwriter, lover, and composer/producer Westwood, whose credits include, among others, seminal industrial godfathers front 242 and NYC band spill, became acquainted through a chance meeting and, in discovering their mutual passion for brit pre/post-punk/rock, set out to work on a few songs for a "project" EP. far surpassing their expectations and delighted with the fruits of said efforts, it was decided to develop/re-envision the project and the duo decided to put a full band together in order to translate these songs live.
Soon thereafter, Riley Sumala was tapped to man the drums, along with veteran NYC bassist Bob Troia (astronaut, superjuice), and jack-of-all-trades Marcel Simoneau.....
...and so HOT SECONDS was born...

This is theor first single off the album, have a listen, and if you enjoy what you hear, don't hesitate to drop a few spare dollars on getting the full ten

Hot Seconds - Excuse Me ::: [Boxstr]

Album Art

You can check out the whole album here or, get more for your time/money, and taste of the lot (music, lyrics, photos, etc..) right here

And, of course, give Hot Sec's some well earnt MySpace love

Plajia, composed of Patrick Pleau (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards and harmonica), Simon Boivin (bass and backing vocals) and Pascal Laviolette (drums, percussion and backing vocals), is another Canadian band to make it's way onto SYDNEYSOUDNER this year....
(now I know what it feels like for all the other blogs being flooded with Aussie upstarts!)

Anyway, they released their debut album in 2007 to the following reviews:

...From gripping beginning to grandiose end, [Beatiful Explosion's] voyage through eleven songs transports us in an impressionist soundscape, where unbridled imagination, open emotion and gleeful sarcasm colour an ethereal and melodious music.... Stylistically speaking, Beautiful Explosion is certainly audacious, as Plajia infuses its atmospheric rock with brit-music references, psychedelic accents and eccentric arrangements, and a pop focus...

See what you think:

First up is a Radiohead-esque, 90's alternative rock influenced epic
Plajia - God's Waiting In Line


Then something more soothing:
Plajia - Is That The End?


Then something along the lines of the Beatles/Beach Boys poppy tunes:
Plajia - Beautiful Explosion


And lastly, and kinda funk-meets-Pink Floyd sounding track:
Plajia - The Other Life Of Squared Pixels

Ali Alvarez is the brain behind I LOVE MY LIFE THE WAY IT IS, a collection of unscratched lottery tickets that says a lot of things to different people. It lives as a web project now and will be made into a book as well as shown in a gallery in the future.
At the moment the collection has about 250 tickets and needs about 7500 more to reach the final goal of creating a 3.5m² artwork

They would love to get contributions from all over the world and would appreciate your help getting it all together...
It'll probably cost you $2 to make this project something awesome - that's not even a morning's coffee...

I've been busy doing actual work (yes, i didn't think it was possible either) for the last few days, so I'm a few hours late on this one...
The boys behind Bikini sent through the links yesterdy, but because my internet's so slow I'm yet to give it a listen (all I can do is preview the tracks on MySpace)

Anyway, Bikini released their debut EP yesterday: Concerning The Nο 7 And Your Love
It's available here on a 'name your own price' offer... so have a good listen and give them what they deserve - if you want more sounds from these boys in the future, remember: you've gotta give something to get something

They released two tracks a while back and they've both been up the top of the playcount since they hit the playlists.... fucking top tunes - don't expect any less from the EP

They've also made the new single 'Tonight' available free for download as a taste tester alongside the other two class acts:
Bikini - Tonight


Bikini - I Remember Being Young


Bikini - 1234 (Feist Cover)


Check out their MySpace for more track previews...

Broken Hookers are Darren and Jay... a Middlesbrough dwelling duo with a fancy for playing music to strangers, friends and lovers.

From the selection I've got my hands on so far I've concluded they're sound is minimal, yet strangely filling/satisfying. Beats from Broken Hookers remind me of the first days listening to Mr. Scruff or Kid Koala: that perfect blend of beats and neutral grinding interwoven by amazing pops, squeaks, and other over-enthusiastic nibbles of sound...
I'm definitely a big fan of Get People, but Dig This isn't a bad track either really...

Broken Hookers - Get People


Broken Hookers - Dig This


Broken Hookers also have all 4 volumes of their aurally pleasurable mixes ready for download in this here funky diary/website (very cool design work)

They've also got a new track out called GoGo, so head through to their myspace to check it out along with the rest of their tracks... top stuff

A top new banger sent in from Nevada's own Roccanova....
Roccanova - Too Hard For The Party

The ‘BACKSTREETBOYSTOTALRUDEGHETTODANCINGCLUB‘, or ‘BSBTRGDCLUB’ for short, are Propro and Jillijill from Montreal.... You may be asking, "What’s with the ridiculously long name anyway" Here’s what they say about that: "The concept of the name is that we want to keep producing and DJing... but if we go commercial or mainstream, people would most likely not be able to pronounce or remember our name. It’s like hiding our faces/identity with a mask, sort of like ‘anti-marketing’"

Anyway, that shit aside - I love the Short Dick remix the best.... top danceble...
have a listen for yourself:

20 Fingers (feat. Gilette) - Short Dick Man (BSBTRGDCLUB Remix)


BSBTRGDCLUB - Britney

BSBTRGDCLUB - Cocoboy + Asiagirl

The four greatest tunes for lounge lizards the world over... there's no previews on these one's so you're going to have to trust my judgement..
I shit you not, these are my four favourite ever driving/tanning/lounge bar/cafe/chill tunes... EVER!
I'm fucking terrible at creating hype... so you'll have to settle for this oversized, overly capitalised, over exaggerated exclamation:

ALL HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! (MAYBE EVEN COMPULSORY)

Dinah Washington - Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby? (Rae & Christian Mix)

DJ Z-Trip - Bitch From Ipanema (feat. DJ P)

Blues For Brother George Jackson (Mondo Grosso Next Wave Mix)

Willie Bobo - Fried Neckbones And Some Home Fries (Dan The Automator Mix)

Actually, I'm sure if you go onto my HypeMachine page then you can check out all the tunes/previews (and add me to your watchlist/favs while you're there)

Here's a cool little animation contest Radiohead have going for their track 'Nude'

And in case, for some ungodly reason, you're yet to get your hands on the track:
Radiohead - Nude


Radiohead - Nude (Hipster Runoff Remix)

Well done FoxtelHD! although you are touting what is possibly the most overrated product (High Definition Pay TV) as the latest and greatest thing to happen to TV, I can atleast appluad the adertisers efforts, not only filmically, but also in terms of audio... bringing to my attention this awesome track from Melbournian Lawrence Greenwood, AKA Whitley

Whitley - Lost In Time


FoxtelHD Advertisement

Sickboy is a three piece garage folk/punk outfit that resides mainly in Port Macquarie, thus ensuring that it's members spend all of their time on the road playing shows anyplace but their hometown. The trio is led by singer/guitarist & founder Mark Spence, who arrived in Australia in 2006 after untangling himself from the Kudzu of Atlanta, Georgia. Upon arriving in Australia (following his heart after falling in love), he didn't hesitate to reform the group with entirely new members and continued to spread the love downunder

Water Never Waits is the second official Sickboy release, following 2005's Vanity & Velocity. It picks up where its predecessor left off, but is slightly more lush and poetically surreal, while the easy anger, angst, and overt boredom has given way to a wry smile and a reserved & carefully considered scepticism. Things have changed, but it's hard to say by what degree, and while it might be slightly more mature, it's not necessarily more grown-up.

Despite being in existence since 2001, the band has always been spotty as a live act (due in equal parts to frequent member changes and being a chemical trainwreck), and it is only in the last 12 months that the band has managed to keep new members long enough to start setting fire to a few stages, and now all the promise that the music once held on record is being proven in the flesh. They finally managed to silence their harshest critics (themselves), when they took the stage at the 2007 Festival of the Sun, and now good shows are the norm rather than some cosmic anomaly.

Hear it all for yourself:

Sickboy - Big Kicks


Sickboy - Bellevue


Sickboy - Blank


And check out Sickboy's Gig Guide because they're playing Sydney, Newcastle, and Canberra from the end of the month.... book some tickets (or keep your calendar open) because you're guaranteed some suave tunes, top drinks, and a fucking good evening that'll be hard to beat

A fun little mix with a suave selection of this semester's sexier sounds:
Girl Problems - Everyone! Summer (Mixtape)
Tracklist [+/-]

I was going to write up a little bio on this Melbourne duo, but I was so wrapped by Polygon Palace's own little blurb that I knew there was absolutely no way I'd be able to match it... well played Sirs:

Adam Ferns and Gabriel Crossan synchronously decided to explore underground tourism markets at the centre of the earth, Adam tunnelling from his London flat and Gabriel from the porch of his house in New Zealand. After failed ventures involving rival subterranean T-shirt stands, they decided to work together to electronically document their bipolar adventures.

Later recalling the experience as "Hot", "Mental", and "A Bit Melty", they embellished their thermically homogeneous tales with machines that love, demons that dance, and paradox-free time travel. T-shirts are available.

You really can't beat that can you...??...
Anyway, their journalistic skills arent the only thing orginal about Polygon Palace... they sent me through two tracks; one VERY SUAVE original, and one overdue yet more than worthwile remix

Polygon Palace - Disko Unterhaag


Cut Copy - Hearts On Fire (Polygon Palace Remix)


Check out their Myspace for more... you know you want to

I love this videoclip - it's like CheeseTV all over again!
Quincey Beaufort has put together this 90's kids inspired clip for the Bag Raiders anthem...

Bag Radiers - Fun Punch

A new mix from CTDK, titled BLACKOUT (not blockout, as I originally misread) made me realise how much I wish it was summer here in Australia!... sadly, being the middle of winter, the use of blockout's been pretty much annihilated (unless of course you're here as a tourist from the UK, in which case it seems to be a year-round situation)

Clash The Disco Kids - July "Blackout" Mix [zshare]
Tracklist [+/-]


By The Way: The image above was/is not in any way intended as a distasteful pun on 'blackout' (as it has been pointed out to me twice already)

I Love this scheduled post thing! It means I can write up a whole heap of shit when I'm bored/sick and it all just happens that week... (so excuse me if anything's stale):
For some reason my inbox has been absolutely flooded with videos over the past month.... so after receiving the last of them today I decided to sift through the lot and pick out a couple for show... only the cream:

Paris Is Burning was written while the wounds from a delirious weekend of assaults on the senses on the River Seine were still fresh. New Zealand's Ladyhawke has had the clip directed by great Dane Casper Balslev (director of Presets - The Boy’s In Love), and features Pip and a white wolf:
Watch The Videoclip [+/-]

However, second on the list, and by far the superior piece of film [Sorry Balslev] is Australian Indie-pop duo Dash & Will's three and a half minute mix.
The undeniably attractive pair from Melbourne have put together a pretty suave little ditty, and although at first I thought "Oh fuck, another fucking Veronica's... whoopde-fucking-doo" I sat it out and was particularly impressed with the results my patience yielded: well done girls.. and just for the record - you put those skinny emo's from Queensland to shame; and for the sake of our country's dignity I hope it stays that way.
All class.
Dash & Will - Pick You Up
Watch The Videoclip [+/-]

PS: They're up in Sydney, playing at The Annandale on the 25th.

FINALLY, I can release the Fake Blood track I was made to pull down at the start of the month!
Fake Blood - Mars


EDIT: Oops... I just got this (rightfully) harsh message from Fake Blood:

You have posted MARS again, even though I asked you to take it down only recently.
??
Just cos it's been released doesn't mean it's fair game to post it. It's still MY tune, that I am trying to get a few people to buy. This isn't just a hobby.
Please remove it.
Thanks

Watching MTV over the past few months I've always wondered if there was anybody else who appreciated the amazing logo designs they've been using of late... and it wasn't until Saturday that my suspicions were confirmed by none other than Oh Crapp!! in their article 'Are Australians Aesthetically Superior?': I'm not alone!

However, my intrigues on the topic don't stop there. The Aggressive logo, from the outset, reminded me of an all too familiar, all too amazing artwork I'd become fascinated with at the end of last year: Theo Jansen's "Strandbeests"

His newest Strandbeets walk without assistance on the beaches of Holland, powered by wind, captured by wings that flap and pump air into old lemonade bottles that in turn power the creatures' many plastic spindly legs. The walking sculptures look alive as they move, each leg articulating in such a way that the body is steady and level - He literally reinvented the wheel.

Jansen did a talk at one of the TED Conferences last year to explain his project, and you have to watch it - it's amazing: Watch The Video [+/-]