http://www.lifelounge.com.au/Lifelounge.com - Daily Goodness | GALLERY60http://www.lifelounge.com.au/photography/gallery/valeria-lazareva-photography.aspx
More lo-fi photography today, because we're cool like that. (But mostly because we're aware that you like photos of pretty girls.) Valeria Lazareva is a photographer from Ukraine whose images are a little blurry and seemingly messy, but also totally charming. There's a casual and candid tinge to all of the shots, regardless of how set-up they might have been in reality. Ah, the trickery of art. More at lazarevavaleria.com. Via mashkulture.net.]]>authorSat, 04 Feb 2012 09:00:00 GMThttp://www.lifelounge.com.au/music/gallery/royksopp,-live-in-melbourne-_-review-and-photos.aspx
Despite their cult following over this side of the world, it's actually Norwegian duo Royksopp's first Australian tour, and you could smell the anticipation. Fans were literally hanging from the rafters waiting for Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland and their dance, electro-funk, pop, chill-wave, techno-classical orchestra – or however you want to classify their music.

Röyksopp stormed the stage, led by Berge raising a glass and egging on the crowd to cheer louder. Flanked by a masked guitarist and bassist (who conjured up images of Hannibal Lecter), Berge and Brundtland teasingly lead with 'Alpha Male', a slow-burning tune that, when unleashed, seemed to open up 12 years' worth of anticipation the crowd had building up.

'Happy Up Here' was a clear favourite, the crowd lapped up the wispy vocals as Berge covered every inch of the stage, acknowledging the throngs of people gathered, arms waving wildly – making it clear that he is the showman of the group. Next was a medley of 'Remind Me', 'This Must Be It' and 'The Girl and the Robot' from Junior, which saw the introduction of a mysterious female vocalist. Easily filling the void of Robyn and Röyksopp’s other female collaborations, she later re-emerged adorned in an exotic bird mask to lead us into 'What Else Is There?' – a distinct highlight that saw the crowd reciting every single word and losing themselves in the original, more organic version of the song.

Whilst Röyksopp weren’t here for any promotional reasons, this didn’t stop them from giving a taste of something new. (Perhaps hinting at what is to come in the future…) However, they seemed to have lost parts of the crowd when they dropped it down a notch with two of their slower tunes. But before it all got too sombre, they brought the crowd back to life with 'True To Life'.

Whether you were a fan of their music or not, you were easily lost in a sea of robotic heads, flashing jackets, dog collars, body armour and giant heads. Whatever the formula to their showmanship is, it worked and the crowd lapped it up much to the delight of the duo.

The duo ended the show with an encore akin to a rave; with strobe lighting, booming beats, hardcore techno. It seemed that everyone who had turned up were die-hard fans who had waited long enough to see Röyksopp – and this moment was theirs.

Words by Jade Leopoldo (Everguide). Photos by Tom Blachford (Lifelounge).]]>authorFri, 03 Feb 2012 17:00:00 GMThttp://www.lifelounge.com.au/photography/gallery/megan-tipps-photography.aspx
Megan Tipps is a photographer from Houston whose portraits of girls are lo-fi and very pretty. Shot everywhere from chilly-looking poolsides, to Soho and Central Park, Tipps' photographs aren't glossy, glam fashion editorials, but they are still super-styling. Tipps herself used to be a model, which gives her an insight to her subjects, "Knowing the models from this angle has been absolutely amazing! Hearing their stories and connecting with them in a different way than I used to has been a huge learning experience." More at megantipps.com. Via photodonuts.com.]]>authorFri, 03 Feb 2012 13:00:00 GMThttp://www.lifelounge.com.au/music/gallery/soundgarden,-live-in-melbourne-.aspx
Hot off the back of their Big Day Out jaunt, Seattle rockers Soundgarden hit the Myer Music Bowl for their Melbourne sideshow. Photos by Ian Laidlaw.

More at everguide.com.au.]]>authorThu, 02 Feb 2012 17:00:00 GMThttp://www.lifelounge.com.au/photography/gallery/steven-siegel-1980s-new-york-photography.aspx
New York in the 1980s looks like an entirely different world, especially considering how dramatically the skyline has changed. Photographer Steven Siegel has been shooting the city for thirty years, and has captured its events and characters beautifully. While some images paint '80s NYC as a kind of colourful and almost cutesy place, there are others that show the grimy, sad underbelly. More at flickr.com. Via mashkulture.net.]]>authorWed, 01 Feb 2012 13:00:00 GMThttp://www.lifelounge.com.au/music/gallery/kanye-west,-live-in-melbourne-_-words-and-photos.aspx
Kanye West’s final show in Australia was in Melbourne last night and yes, as expected, it was a self-indulgent arena spectacular. And it was awesome.

Yeezy appeared in the middle of the crowd on a cherry-picker, smoke spewing up all around him, launched into ‘Dark Fantasy’ and a feeling of unabashed exhilaration saturated the audience.

Dancers joined him on stage for ‘Power’, which he followed with ‘Jesus Walks’ and ‘Flashing Lights’ and West pointed at his huge Baroque-style backdrop and smiled in a kind of disbelief. His expression was a totally human “Do you believe this shit?!” Nup.

For all the praise he receives, Kanye West gets a pretty bad rap (you’re welcome) too. Sure, he had a few words with the lighting and sound engineers last night, but instead of hating on him for being some kind of diva, we should appreciate his perfectionism. Instead of being demanding and melodramatic, West seemed to give directions just because he wanted to get it right. (Whether it’s for himself or for his audience, it doesn’t really matter – everybody wins.)

Before performing a medley of favourites – ‘Goldigger’, ‘American Boy’, ‘Run This Town’ (during which he yelled "I love this song too!") and ‘Touch The Sky’ – Yeezy told us a story about waiting for an ex-girlfriend. Half signing, half chatting, West told how he waited an hour, then another hour, then another hour, until 4am, for his ex to meet up with him and so they could bone. Apparently after waiting so long West was too horny to be mad; he asked “Who you gon’ listen to, your ego or your dick?” and then slightly embarrassed answered, “The dick wins.”

Most telling though, was West’s speech during the epic 20-minute version of ‘Runaway’/’Love Lockdown’ when, standing behind his MPC, surrounded by ballerinas, he discussed his own lyrics. “I mean, a line like ’I sent this bitch a picture of my dick’ …Just to show the world I don’t give a shit.” While some might have seen it as self-absorbed, it was actually pretty endearing – as much as West is labelled as a kind of delusional lunatic, he is actually very self-aware. He was laughing at himself, and it was entirely human.

Finishing with a frantic ‘Lost in the World’, West then dedicated the show (and every show) to his mother with ‘Hey Mama’. He was on his knees in red leather soaked in crimson lights; it was, like the whole event, outrageous and dramatic – and why the hell not?

Words by Katie Olsen. Photos by Tom Blachford.

*Special shouts to his performance of 'All Falls Down', which was total bliss.]]>authorWed, 01 Feb 2012 11:00:00 GMThttp://www.lifelounge.com.au/photography/gallery/natalia-mantini-photography.aspx
Natalia Mantini's photography offered up something that we realised we don't often give you here on Lifelounge; lots of photos of cute boys. Everybody can appreciate a beautiful lady – and we have galleries of them in spades – but Mantini's portfolio was especially generous with the gents. From Tyler the Creator to Dirt Nasty, Bobby Hundreds, and Derek E Miller of Sleigh Bells, Mantini's got your fellas covered. Candid and perfectly timed shots. More at nataliamantini.com.]]>authorWed, 01 Feb 2012 08:00:00 GMThttp://www.lifelounge.com.au/photography/gallery/alexandra-demenkova-photography.aspx
Alexandra Demenkova's photographs are excellent. Her images of gypsies, kids attending deaf schools, homeless people, party goers and everybody in between are telling and insightful. Perhaps most importantly all her subjects, whether a homeless man or a fancy party guest, are treated exactly the same – nobody is shot with more or less sensitivity, respect or dignity. The results are compelling. Much more at lightstalkers.org.]]>authorTue, 31 Jan 2012 08:00:00 GMThttp://www.lifelounge.com.au/photography/gallery/adam-amengual-photography.aspx
Homeboy Industries is a not-for-profit organisation based in Los Angeles that helps at-risk and gang-involved men and women by providing them with support and services to provide them with more opportunity – and more hope – for their futures. Adam Amengual fits into this story because he has taken these insightful portraits of people involved with the program. His shots are clean and crisp, and incredibly sensitive to each of his subjects. More at adamamengual.com and homeboy-industries.org.]]>authorWed, 25 Jan 2012 17:00:00 GMThttp://www.lifelounge.com.au/music/gallery/big-day-out,-surfers-paradise-_-crowd-photos.aspx
The Big Day Out 2012 juggernaut stormed into the Gold Coast Parklands for the first leg of its nationwide tour. If for some bizarre reason the bands didn't grab your attention, then we guarantee the punters are worth a squizz. (Sick of faces that aren't famous? Try our Big Day Out artist gallery.)

Photos by Heath Carney. More at everguide.com.au.]]>authorWed, 25 Jan 2012 11:00:00 GMT