Pop music should be more fun.  Never mind the gossip, the rehashed beats, the plastic puppets miming inane lyrics.  I want the fun that comes from someone really talented happy to do what he does so well.  It’s impossible not to smile along with Salem — the kitchen video is adorable.

His second album, Astronaut, comes out March 18 in Sweden (of course).  Check out the full song below.  Kinda sounds like Air if they were inspired by Motown instead of the Beach Boys.

Salem – “Astronaut”

Visit Salem on MySpace or YouTube.

Get Astronaut on CDON.

Here’s some music heard on the runways of New York’s FW09 fashion week.  The most viewed YouTube video is last.  If you followed fashion week, you can probably guess it.

Preen

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Kinda Klimt looking.  Could be more refined, but I do like the concept.

It’s by Onebravo.  More info here.

• Iinteractive design group SOUNDS.BUTTER renders songs visible with a programmed sewing machine stereo: http://bit.ly/CJA2g [@povertyjetset] #
• Tina Fey disowns @tinafey: http://bit.ly/SYg8Y #
• @A2Z Yeah, everything is now up for mashing up! in reply to A2Z #
• Estelle for Crystal Light commercial – nice animation but still so wrong: http://bit.ly/WS5LQ #
• New blog post: The Band From is Now a Band http://tinyurl.com/d32d85 #
• Air France rebranding – very nice: http://bit.ly/Cgygh #
• RT @rackedla: Inside the Cheap Monday/WKND pop-up shop: http://tinyurl.com/dxqy4x #
• @freeeky aw, thanks!! Can’t wait to tour will def post videos from shows in the meantime in reply to freeeky #
• RT @DodgeMOKB: Stimulus package…Beevis and Butthead laugh. #
• RT @adtothebone: Contrary to Branding For Morons™, every single cause doesn’t need a designated color. Burnt Sienna for Melanoma Awareness! #
• Advice, please: can anyone recommend a facial scrub, Sisley quality at Neutrogena prices? #
• For tweets longer than 140 characters, there’s http://www.twitlonger.com/ #
• The Beatles – Eleanor Rigby (Soulwax Remix): http://bit.ly/6V2sL via http://www.peetmachine.dk/ #
• Marc Jacobs FW09 fashion show now live at NYTimes: http://bit.ly/vqopx #
• New blog post: Literal Furniture http://tinyurl.com/d9o3rw #
• iPhone app that IDs fonts: http://bit.ly/15dva7 #
• New Rubik’s TouchCube-touch sensitive, accelerometer, lights, built in solver program: http://bit.ly/nvWz8 #
• Yay! KAWS’ 1st solo show in LA-Honor Fraser 2/21. Let me know if you’re going! http://bit.ly/BpKFp #
• @imretired if you use your phone for calls, don’t get the iPhone. I don’t, so I love mine. in reply to imretired #
• @siashin Sucks! I don’t have accidental calling issues b/c I have no reception ever. Hooray for the staunchly anti tech 90210! in reply to siashin #
• OMG, I configured TwitterTools to use the excerpt instead of the title. That’s what happens when I skip the gym. Excessive geekery. #
• RT @dberlind: Anatomy (with screenshots) of a successful Facebook phishing scam: http://twurl.nl/5gpvwv #
• New Kanye video – “Welcome to Heartbreak” West: “We know there is another video out there using the same technique ..” http://bit.ly/15Grot #
• RT @largeheartedboy: UK radio people on Twitter: http://is.gd/jwzr #
• Brilliant concept. Kicking myself for not thinking of it 1st. RT @launderground: Obsessing over ZEVS new site… http://gzzglz.com/ #
• RT @loudersoft: I just made a Twitter Group at http://twittgroups.com/group/fa09 for the Folk Alliance 2009 group. Please Retweet. #
• The Guardian’s Penny Anderson HATES The Stone Roses: http://bit.ly/dMH3p Yeah, Ian’s politics=ignorant, hateful. But “Begging You” etc. #
• New graphic identity for MoMA: http://bit.ly/Hvtv3 Of course it’s cool. If it were spam, I’d smoke it. #
• Is Alexander Wang the aughts’ Daryl K? Or do I just not get street cool unless it’s filtered through super high end RTW? #
• More Katy, Britney, Rihanna – LA’s 97.1 to change formats this Friday: http://bit.ly/XNwJI #
• Helvetica print ad from 1966: http://bit.ly/14mIHV #
• Where do ppl wanna live in the US? Denver, apparently. A chart: http://bit.ly/V3GBV #
• The FW09 shows make me wanna listen to The Smiths, Peter Murphy, and Siouxsie. Plus wear bandage dresses: http://bit.ly/o3usN #NYFW #
• Anyone know how slot music is doing? #
• Noooooo RT @LATimestech: YouTube …disables video ripping: YouTube says its ongoing battle against third-part.. http://tr.im/gATu #
• @ostera Nice! For MP3s, Audio Hijack still works, tho it’s no longer in development. in reply to ostera #
• Did Lefsetz really criticize Perez for — turning — into a sell out? Odd. #
• @povertyjetset Sucks! I was putting off the update fearing exactly that. Hope it’s not too time consuming to fix. in reply to povertyjetset #
• Very cool new pop art Prada ad: http://bit.ly/excUX #
• The recession isn’t all bad-Crocs reports earnings drop in Q4: http://bit.ly/4YT64 #
• Tough to pull off decent satire about fashion if u’r not Karl or Bruno. WWWWD tries: http://bit.ly/ZFtxl, d/l an issue: http://bit.ly/AvQYX #
• Wha? Apache heirs sue Yale secret society Skull and Bones over remains: http://bit.ly/bPU6e Puts my Lampoon experience in perspective. #
• @85lives that makes me feel a bit less catty about the way i posted their bad news… in reply to 85lives #
• @99DollarMusic wish you were around in Nov, when my last video came out-budget was $0: http://bit.ly/Qxv2e (i used footage from commercials) #
• It was easier to defent Miley Cyrus before I learned she has a song called “Hoedown Throwdown.” #
• @siashin this is the best yogurt avail in LA (imported from Israel, taste/texture like standard Euro yogurt): http://twitpic.com/18vdy in reply to siashin #
• @siashin Danon, actually! Try a kosher store (not US deli). I dunno of any other type of shop that imports good yogurt (not a fan of Emmi). in reply to siashin #
• LA: come to the KAWS opening at Honor Fraser. I’ll be there round 7. Parking will prolly be nuts but worth it. http://bit.ly/11TCIz #
• RT @siashin: RT @jestei only matter of time B4 harvard asks for fed bailout… if harvard fails, where will america get its sitcom writers? #
• @siashin thanks! looks like you’re having a jewish food sort of Tweet day… of course for me, middle eastern food>US delis. in reply to siashin #
• @siashin well said! in reply to siashin #
• @siashin didn’t realize! but i don’t relate to it at all. Israeli fusion cooking is more modern and confident-not the result of ghettos. in reply to siashin #
• Mad mad crowds on gallery row. Jerk parked in my dads parking spot & urged me to get him towed. Should I? Family honor? #
• Ooh, I just wanna block these turds and take off. But they’d key my car. Can’t win when the other guy’s this mean. #
• “you tweet me good” #
• @99DollarMusic Thanks!! in reply to 99DollarMusic #

Okay, here’s the thing w/ Gaga.  She says her look isn’t sexy — it’s “weird” and “uncomfortable.”  So then she gets stuff written about her like “she’s not sexy,” all discussed by people who are clearly uncomfortable with her.  Which would be her point if weren’t used to attack her.

Her singles are fun, and she seems self aware enough to me.  Let her have her time, people.

Lady Gaga – “Eh Eh Eh (Pet Shop Boys Remix)”

Via Music is the Heart of Our Soul

Two White Horses are brother and sister Jakob Nyström and Lovisa Nyström, Swedish musicians whose music sounds like a more earthy Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg collaboration.  Their album comes out in March on Sahara Hotnights’ label, Stand by Your Band.  Half of the songs on the album are covers, including Françoise Hardy’s “Tous les Garçons et les Filles” and El Perro Del Mar’s “Candy.”

Original song and current single “Good Times are Gone Forever” does the typical Swedish combo of low, ironic lyrics with upbeat melody.  It’s about growing up, but I like it anyway.  The initial guitar riff sounds a bit like the intro to Blues Brothers, no?

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Industrial designer Alessandro Bêda created a vase shaped like a whale and ingeniously divided into two pieces, the better to simulate a leviathan  coming up for air on, say, a coffee table.  The piecce also comes in white but is not yet in production.

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I love this song! “Mystery” is new from Stockholm’s Lake Heartbeat, a pop electro band set to release its debut album this spring.  I didn’t know I was in the market for a mellower take on The Tough Alliance till I heard “Mystery.”  Makes sense that both bands are on the excellent label Service.  Also logical: their album was produced by D. Lissvik of the band Studio.

Stream it here:

Get it at iTunes or Kicktrack.

Download the remix (highly recommended):

Lake Heartbeat – “Mystery (What Kind Of Breeze Do You Blow Extended Edit)”

Visit Lake Heartbeat at their site (sort of) or MySpace.

The verses remind me of Kylie’s “Hand on Your Heart”:

Swiss firm SET 26 makes custom furniture out of words in bold, sans serif font.  My favorites are the DRINK bar and INFO counter, and, of course FROM looks pretty good, too!  You can make your own model here.

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Up till about a second ago, From wasn’t much more than my nom de band; I wrote, performed, and produced all the tracks, then directed & creative directed the videos, ran the label, wrote the blog, engineered the site, took the photos, and on it went.  On it goes.

The one thing I couldn’t really do was perform live, at least not in any way that I’d want to go see myself (I’m not into the karaoke or DJ or circus side show models of one person band performances).  Speculations about From live shows aside, I’m happy to start hyping the hugely talented lineup that’s now properly the band From:

Paul Best – guitar [visit Paul on MySpace]

Roni Brunn – vocals

Stay tuned to us announcing gigs.  Wooooooooooooo!

[EDIT: We've had some revisions, redacted for privacy concerns.  I'll make announcements as they come.  - RB, 2/24]