What’s Up #44: House of Kids
You can’t talk about design and illustration studio House of Kids [houseofkids.fr] without mentioning French record label, institubes [institubes.com]. The two are intrinsically linked through House of Kids members Jean-René Etienne and Lola Raban-Oliva, although each has their own outstanding bodies of work and institubes continues to team up with some of the more interesting Parisienne pop-’artists’ such as Akroe [akroe.net] and Gaspirator [myspace.com/gaspirator].
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No Twist, No Stick
The Notwist have a new album and newly refurbished website to go with it [notwist.com]. Designed and built by giraffentoast [giraffentoast.com] in collaboration with Yokoland [yokoland.com]. It’s nice to see a band promoting themselves with a quirky, well designed promosite instead of a useless crap load of marketing gumph (take note Primal Scream [primalscream.net]).
A beginner’s Guide to Stereolab
…inside you are the sun, the moon and also stars…
Forget everything you’ve heard or will hear over the next few months about Stereolab [stereolab.co.uk] as they release their first album in like, forever. If you’re of the opinion that there is something weirdly monotone about the vast canon of music they have released over the years, then here a brief list of a few surprising entries. For the uninitiated, Stereolab have to be one of the most prolific, label-hopping bands in the history of music. Their discography is extensive and baffling. Consider this a ‘way in’…
The Light That Will Cease To Fail — from the Super 45 EP, later released on Switched-on Volume 01 / (He Held The World In His Iron Grip) — a special treat at the end of the slightly arduous, Elektro from the Low Fi EP / The Seeming and the Meaning & K-Stars — from debut LP, Peng! / U.H.F. - M.F.P. — from The Groop Played Space Age Bachelor Pad Music EP / Lo Boob Oscilator — from the Lo Boob Oscilator Single, later released on Refried Ectoplasm (Switched On , Volume 2) / Les Yper-Sound — from Emperor Tomato Ketchup / Brakhage — from Dots and Loops / Outer Bongolia — from The First of the Microbe Hunters EP / Escape Pod (From The World Of Medical Observations) — from the Cobra And Phases Group Play Voltage In The Milky Night Bonus Disc / Munich Madness — from Aluminium Tunes (Switched On Volume 3) / Nothing to do with me (with lyrics taken from Chris Morris’s Jam) — from Sound-Dust
That’s enough to be going on with, huh. For die hard Stereolab fans, why not check out ‘Turn On’, an album of largely instrumental tracks produced as a side project with Sean O’Hagan. Oh, you have? Pardon moi.
Grace is Gonna Get You
Grace Jones is releasing her first album, in like… forever, and launching it with this eerie, eye-bending video by Nick Hooker [nickhooker.com]. Nice to see an artist who hasn’t decided to go all mellow on us over the years. The album should be out around October.
A Beginner’s Guide to My Bloody Valentine
After seeing My Bloody Valentine [ft.com] last night for the first time in like over 10 years, I decree that this band is the reason I have ears. Not sure what the fuss is about but curious to find out more? Here I will humbly offer you, dear reader, a way in. These are MBV must hears in no particular order… BTW To the slightly obnoxious American guy in front who seemed to want to start headbanging (or at least a NuMetal nod with hand aloft) at one stage. It was Slow from the Made Me Realise EP. See I did know. Ha!
(Please) Loose Yourself in Me — From the Ecstasy EP / I Believe — From the Feed Me With Your Kiss EP / Soon (Don’t worry, you’ll probably know this one already) — From the Glider EP / Nothing Much to Lose — From the Isn’t Anything LP (just don’t try dancing to this… it’s confuddling) / When You Sleep — From the Loveless LP / Moon Song — if you have to bother with the Tremolo EP / Anything on the You Made Me Realise EP — it’s all good
Got a fave or went to the gig? Leave a comment and let us know.
An Ace Shop With a Slightly Dodgy Name
There’s a new record store in London which, with a little help from No Days Off [nodaysoff.com], is single handedly helping reinvigorate a sad and bedraggled little corner of the formerly hip Clerkenwell district [wikipedia]. If you drop by you can pick up a handy and handsome guide to the local area including quiet little parks to go sit in or a warm summer evening and rowdy yet respectful pubs to loiter in. The store is called Pure Groove [puregroove.co.uk] and they have enrolled the insurmountable talents of Kate Moross [katemoross.com] to scrawl on their freshly painted walls. Look out for loads of events, instore and out-of-store too.
The Antimix Modern Disease Mixtape #3
003 England’s Dreaming The Antimix is back. It’s been an age but we couldn’t resist posting another mp3 of our anonymous disc jockey going by the moniker of Sportspanda yabbering over a hand-picked half hour programme of new and not-so-new musical releases. This edition features Róisín Murphy [YouTube] / The Chap [YouTube] / The Notwist [YouTube] / The Radio Dept [YouTube] / Cut Copy [YouTube] / XX Teens [YouTube] / Cornershop [YouTube]. There’s your tres exclusive artwork above (just click to open full size) and here’s yer podcast…
Proper Songs for Real Folk
After a record month where I’ve only managed one lonely post so far, your humble author is getting back into the swing of this blogging malarkey… with a bit of The Chap performing live (cause they don’t got no music videos… yet. James Price [myspace.com/pricejames] is working on their new one). They are ace and fun and their new album Mega Breakfast is top [lorecordings.com]. Even more hot posting action to come… promise.
Review 2007: Mark Robinson
The Boicozine Review 2007 ain’t quite over yet [boicozine/review2007]. Mark Robinson is the original D.I.Y. indie mogal and head of Teenbeat Records [teenbeat.net]. At Boicozine, we’re not just fans of the music — Mark not only enlists some of the US’s finest musicians who you’ve never heard of, but also plays in a number of bands on the label including Air Miami and Flin Flon and on a number of solo projects — we’re also big fans of much of the artwork Mark has helped produced under the moniker of Teenbeat Graphica. So without further ado were pleased to present Mr Robinson’s highlights from 2007…
Publications
National Geographic [nationalgeographic.com] – Hands-down the best. Runners-up: Good [goodmagazine.com], Beer Advocate [beeradvocate.com] – new beer aficionado’s periodical, McSweeney’s [mcsweeneys.net] – consistently great fiction / nonfiction / whatever
Film
I end up seeing only two or three per year in the cinema so I’m sure I missed many good ones. I’ll have to go with The Kite Runner [IMDb] and Ratatouille [IMDb]. I saw Rataouille with my kids and The Kite Runner with my mom and stepdad on Christmas. I really want to see Guy Maddin’s Brand Upon the Brain [IMDb]!
Design & illustration
Deerhoof’s Friend Opportunity [deerhoof.killrockstars.com] album cover illustration by David Shrigley [davidshrigley.com]. I’m kind of hot and cold with his work but I really love his spray-painted letters.
Events
The Somerville Art Council events in Union Square are always fun [somervilleartscouncil.org]. I discovered our local chocolate factory (well, a new small independent chocolate factory, not to be confused with the other big brands in town) called Taza [tazachocolate.com] and a beekeeper that makes his own Jamaica Plain honey.
Purchases
When Pigs Fly [sendbread.com] seeded whole wheat bread. Bread prices sure have gone up, but this is worth the $US4.29. A small bakery in New Hampshire that makes a variety of super duper stuff.
Places to Visit
Saint John, New Brunswick [tourismsaintjohn.com]. Pretty much the only place I visited in ‘07. Quaint, British, run down, beautiful. Drink St. Amboise cream stout on tap if you can find it. A superb Oatmeal stout.
Boicozine vs. The Tapeworm 0108
The mixtape refuses to die. Unfortunately the ever popular Tapedeck [tapedeck.org] archive seems to be missing a few pics at the moment but there are loads of pics of them on flickr and a couple of interesting groups such as the Creative Cassettes group for hand-made cassette covers [flickr.com/creativecassettes]. Ah, the memories… anyhoo, there are a few mixtape widgety things popping up online that seem kind of fun and this being Friday and all here’s one I prepared earlier (see below). If you’ve got one you want to share, post a link to it in the comments box. This one was made using Mixwit. It’s you’d like to upload the tracks yourself try Muxtape. You can find a Sportspanda Special ‘The Modern Disease’ Edition Muxtape at [sportspanda.muxtape.com]. Hope you likey.
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