15th June 2011 |
This Salon certainly didn't Bohr us, because we had Manjit Kumar, physicist, philosopher and writer of Quantum, a book designed to help you understand the actual secrets of the universe. He came along to Salon to explain quantum theory in half an hour. Yes, it can be done, he did it.
Once we'd ticked understanding the universe off your list, we enjoyed Lucy Tesco, of Rough Trade playing some of the music industry's summer highlights . Her playlist's here, along with her notes:
1 - Cults - 'Go Outside'
60s tinged summery pop from loved-up New York duo, on Lily Allen's label. Oh the sweetness of a lady's voice!
2 - Hollie Cook - 'Walking in the Sand'
reggae summer pop. beautiful voice, perfect beach/barbecue album. and what a fantastic cover of the Shangri-Las' classic!
3 - James Vincent McMorrow - 'We Don't Eat'
incredibly talented young singer songwriter from Ireland. Wonderful lyrics and incredible instrumental arrangements. An absolute must for those starry summer nights.
4 - Blood Orange - 'Sutphin Boulevard'
latest project from young ingenue Devont Hynes. it's got that Prince funk with a modern edge. get excited, guys, this is gonna be huge!
5 - Nicolas Jaar - 'Keep Me There'
I think I made it pretty clear how big a crush i have on this french New-Yorker genius. He's got it all; most importantly THE electronic album of the year.
6 - ShOES - 'Afro-Percolator'
the mysterious king of mixes. The guy with the guts to steal artwork from Axl Rose. the guy who has managed to mix Al Green in with a little bit of house and a whole lot of afro beat fun!
7 - Holy Other - 'Touch'
Hot hot hot! Ouch! New on TriAngle records. Manchester music wizz producing some of the sexiest sounds around at the moment. Love it.
Some of these are available here, on a Spotify playlist and here
And lastly we had the inspirational Margaret Heffernan, famed psychologist who has just published her book: 'Wilfull Blindness', which explains why we only ever see what we want to see, the things that enforce our world view. She explained how this can both help and hinder us.
