Cisum Ynkuf.

 Nathan Wind Photography: I love the energy in his photos, especially because it is musical,creative energy. He captures the spirit of the music in the facial expressions of the artists, and the black/white photography exaggerates this by focusing the audience's eye on the subject rather than the colour.

See more of his stuff at:

http://nathanwind.doctorfassman.com/takeshi/

Willett.

On inspiration: I had a creative writing teacher who said that the Zen of writing is "You don't know what you're going to write when you start, you just allow yourself to start." On change: In between albums, if you really want to do something and change yourself, it's like you're a huge ship, and you're trying to turn it around 180 degrees. It takes a while, and it takes a lot of work. It's terrifying but liberating. On being an artist: I'm learning about that now - what it is to be an artist in your life. To be constantly changing and to be able to kind of put on one mask for a while, then take it off and put on another mask, I've always disliked musicians who are so self-aborbed that they can't see out of themselves and the world around them. I've kind of liked people who are very aware that they are trying on a persona. On our generation: We're very good at being cynical, and reading people's bullshit. But I think we've lost the ability to be sincere. People will always e able to connect with music, because it really pulls on their heart. But if they can live their lives in a way where they feel love and can show love and heart, and not be sceptical and afraid of it, that's the heart of our generation.

*Excerpt from frankie's Issue #40 interview with Cold War Kids' frontman Nathan Willett.

Ba-ba-ba-ryshnikov.

                                              

This is Mikhail Baryshnikov, arguably the greatest ballerino of the 20th century. Take a long hard look. Go on, linger over those muscles. What drew me to ballet was its perfection and elegance - which Baryshnikov reflects in his poise, persona and silhouette. Having started ballet lessons for the first time at age 19 (and just after the release of Black Swan) I have received a lot of criticism regarding my interest in the art. Just for the record, I did not start ballet because I saw Natalie Portman prance around in a tutu and then get eaten out by some chick. I am in love with the movement of ballet - the seamless transition from chassé to arabesque to pas de bourré and, as previously mentioned, the elegance and perfection associated with it. Ballet requires immense fitness, balance, and coordination and it will be a long time before I'm on par with The Russian, if ever. For now, I'll just swoon. 

Etchings from a body tortured.

c/o Yours Truly