sydney, australia
I stumbled across an auction the other day held by the State Rail Authority, throwing out all their old shit (to make room for more old shit, such is the rationale of the public service).
I revelled in the idea of adorning my house with old-school lockers, old maps of rail networks, and big old desks! Oh so many desks!!! But unable to justify my bizarre obsession, I retreated from the manic bidding wars, pondering why the desk appealed so much more than an awkward table, a lazy couch, or a mundane ironing board?
Impelled by a mutual appreciation for our favourite article of furniture, I was naturally drawn toward my answer - Sydney solo artist, The Desks, whose lo-fi homemade pop songs encapsulate all the wonderful things his namesake represents:
The romantic idea of sitting down at a desk, drafting your latest novel or theory on black holes, or something uncharacteristically erudite like that. Or crowding the draws with walt disney figurines, oddly shaped stones, valentines cards, movie ticket stubs, foreign coins, or something simply nostalgic like that.
It's a place where we can happily stay up all night, scribbling down our perspective on life, leisurely correcting our own mistakes.
The desk inspires and facilitates a pursuit of knoweldge and an understanding of the things around us and an appreciation for our own little corner of a very big room.
So rummage through these drawers and see what you find...

The Desks - Other Scientists.mp3
The Desks - When We're Through.mp3
myspace

And aside from the influences he sites on his myspace, The Desks reminded me a bit of The Rhombus, makin some beautiful shapes out of San Francisco. Great stuff too.