L.A.-based singer/songwriter Alu is set to drop her sophomore album, “Lobotomy Sessions” August 5. I’ve always said that music nowadays is difficult to pigeonhole, and often it’s an amalgamation of multiple genres. Alu’s music is dark yet whimsical at times. The intros always give you about half a minute to settle in as they invoke memories of everything from Persian music to the circus. With track titles such as “Casket Salesman” and “Martian Rendezvous,” you are not sure what to expect. I’ve been critical of artists’ voices lately and while there were a few instances where I found her’s to be unpleasant, it is mostly very comforting and mature for her age. I have not heard her work previously but I am glad I know about her now. If you are a fan of Bjork, Portishead, Tori Amos, Massive Attack, or Tom Waits, you may want to check her out when the album is released. In the meantime, here is a free downloadable track of the aforementioned “Martian Rendezvous”.

Do you love art? Do you love T-shirts and hoodies? If you answered yes to both of those questions, we see no reason for you to not absolutely adore everything available at GoApeShirts. The Arizona-based, one-man show of a web store run by Josh Perkins features unique, creative and sometimes funny limited edition wearables from some talented artists. Their current crop of cloth canvases, screen-printed on American apparel gear, boast some supremely stylish works by the likes of YASLY and Olly Moss. They’re sure to make jaws drop when you walk into a room with them on your person.

Camp, a favorite (often forgotten) American kids past time. Everyone went — if you didn’t go, you wished you could have. It was the one place on earth where appropriated Native American terminology, competitive sports, social hierarchy, and libido-soaked nights lived in wholesome harmony. From the acclaimed authors of Bar Mitzvah Disco (who hasn’t seen that book?), I give you, Camp Camp, Where Fantasty Island Meets Lord Of The Flies. The book’s a riot — a collection of photos by author and borderline genius Roger Bennett, a founding member of what he calls the Academy of the Recent Past. He’s on a mission to save, catalog, and celebrate the very recent past — things, trends and items that shaped this new generation. You know, like ping pong, bands that tried to rock and failed, and of course, camp.

Fancy a book and don’t want to go buy it now on Amazon? We’ve got three to give away to folks that have great, endearing (and embarrassing) photos to share from their days on the bunk beds and in the pine forests. Send your photo entries to feedback [at] joshspear.com and we’ll pick winners next week.

Artoyz, the French magazine and website that both covers and sells products within the designer toy market, recently announced a new branch of its company: Artoyz Originals. This division will focus solely on the development and creation of designer toys by international artists, with the first series to be launched in June. This set, known as the Elements Prologue, is based around the four elements (Earth, Air, Wind, Fire, and according to Captain Planet, Heart). They were created by Easy Hey, a member of the Delkographik collective studio and rendered by Gregos. The sets will vary from each other in color and transparency. Two vinyl figures based on this series will be released in July, and Artoyz has many more sets in the works to be released late this year.

If you’re sick of everyone copping your eyewear look, check out the Australian-based creative think tank Colab. The group has paired up with a handful of slick designers to create a line of hypoallergenic, limited-edition, vintage-style sunglasses (there are only 1000 of each product) that give the artists complete control over their vision. This has led to some awesome and interesting (but perhaps not always so functional) pieces. Because, while we heart the rocking Seventies style of the electric blue Roller Girl, we’re not sure we’d wear Like Your Haircut — the frame that features stickers covering the lenses — without managing to fall down a set of stairs or two.

Sure, your genetic code makes up the building blocks of who you are, why you’re balding, were never good at sports, and will probably die some time in your mid-forties … but beyond the science and premonitions of doom, what has deoxyribonucleic acid done for you lately? Has it provided bedroom wall art? If it hasn’t, you better take a look at DNA 11. The medical maestros who decoded our art appreciation gene with a personalized DNA portrait are now further customizing with their GenePak. Isolate specific traits, such as Sport, Brain, Love, Gender … or just frame your anal retentiveness or inability to finish anything, and hang it up for all to see. When you buy your very own visual representation of your genes at DNA11’s Website you can honestly say that you have a personal portrait in your home.