After the breakup of his band L’Altra, Joseph Costa continues his musical journey with his first solo album, Lighter Subjects. The result is a richly layered composition of electronic and acoustic arrangements with a vocal element that is spoken-word like in quailty. I found the album to be mesmerizing and relaxing and I think it could stand on its own without the vocals, though they do add a finishing touch. The track titles and lyrics are noticeably melancholy which is an interesting contrast to the music which is often upbeat. The work is a largely collaborative effort including the mixing talents of Joshua Eutisand cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm. The album drops May 6 and is worth checking out.

As a child growing up one would associate the term “dork” as a defamatory slur against one with a quirky, less than popular, sense of taste. Nowadays that quirk has turned into an endearing quality attached to those with unique and admirable affinity towards certain aspects of culture. It’s that endearing quality that has been harnessed by the folks at Dork Magazine, a daily online magazine dedicated to the subjects of art, habitat, and people. The site, founded by James Oyedijo and Taj Reid, offers up it’s one of a kind viewpoint on everything from music to travel to events that anyone who might proudly hail themselves a modern day dork would be glad to partake. The publication “strives to inspire its readers by reporting on the people, places and things that embody an impassioned lifestyle.” It’s not about what the beautiful people are doing…it’s about finding what real people are doing and what inspires those people. If you’re among those who consider yourself a leader or even soldier in the Dork revolution…you should definitely take a look at their site. Maybe you’ll get lucky and be proclaimed dork of the week. Indeed, a new dork dawn has come…maybe it’s time you let your freak flag fly.

In the early ’90s, the most we knew of an artistic movement was the one that was happening on our World Politics textbook (and we seriously hope the statute of limitations is up on prosecuting for vandalism). However, guys (and gals) like Shepard Fairey, Margaret Kilgallen, Mike Mills, Harmony Korine, Thomas Campbell and Ed Templeton were just getting their art collective groove on. About a year ago we posted on the origins of Aaron Rose’s doc project Beautiful Losers. which captured an epoch of hip-hip, skate, punk, and graffiti cultures coming together. This summer Sidetrack Films will release the flick to the masses. We’re so excited, we’re going to start camping out at the theater, Star Wars style.

The work of Austrian designers Bernhard Bucheggar, Michael Denoth and Thomas Feichtner is incredibly intriguing. Dark and angular, yet warm and mysterious, and very James Bond, the group say they practice a counter strategy to an economically motivated concept of design and instead, they search for a strategy apart of globalization and mass production. According to them, the future of product design lies in having a regional and cultural reference, fabricated by way of small-scale manufacturers. BD and F declare in their mission statement definition of “industrial design” as being obsolete and predict a movement back to “manufactories…” Either way, I’m a big fan of their solid silver CUTT cutlery, BRIC drinking glass and titanium timepiece, coincidentally titled WATCH.

CNN.com quietly launched a new feature today which allows readers to order T-shirts of their favorite headlines as they happen. And yes, they have some funny (and terrible) headlines to choose from. To get there, look for the tiny little T-shirt icon next to the headlines on the front page. The great and inherently viral part about it is the shirts are limited edition, and only available during a certain “headline” period of time. Shirts are $15 a pop which is totally fair, and the entire service is powered by Spreadshirt.

Related Entry: Spam Shirt

From our history of posts, you know we love a great cause. But we’ll especially love it if it’s promoting the type of thing we do here at JoshSpear, like writing. In an unexpected pairing, Anthropologie is throwing something called the Eco-Dermy Benefit for McSweeney’s 826LA, the literary empire’s two Los Angeles non-profit writing bases for kids. Six visual artists from the womenswear retailer created 20 very neat papier mâché taxidermy animal heads, from zebras to rhinos, in different sizes for a special auction happening May 1 at The Grove location of Anthropologie, with money from the sales going to the writing center. The choice and manner of the goods being put on the auction block also do double-duty as a message to protect wildlife. One good cause is already a brilliant idea, but two in one? That’s a freebie. RSVP for your seat at the auction by April 26 at (215) 454-4433.

Here’s a little eye candy from one of my favorite artists, eepmon. I’m not even quite sure what Mini Financial Services is, nor do I even think it matters– because this 13 month Mini Cooper Canada Calendar (yeah, that’s a mouthful) he created is incredible. 13 Illustrations for 13 months, where each month contains a different original illustration to compliment the Mini vehicle. The hard copy versions will be available at Mini dealerships across Canada in a sexy hang-on-your-wall format soon. And I’m sending all my Canadian friends to grab them. Intrigued? Check out all the images here.

Update: Credit where credit is due, Eepmon worked with Canadian agency TAXI on this project– check them out.