Why does the word eclectic get bandied around so much? Does everything that's even slightly diverse have to be considered eclectic? In light of this we can't use that word to describe TROPICAL HOT DOG NIGHT. But then THDN is more than just one word, it's actually quite a few words strung together which makes a welcome change from your average music blog.

The most welcome change though is the seriously wide range of music dutifully recorded from vinyl so dusty you can almost smell it. God knows whose parents record collections these guys have been tapping into. With posts ranging from 50s swing to acid house with any manner of post-punk, italo, krautrock, Detroit techno and left-field disco in between THDN is as ahead of the game as it is behind it.

By Gabriel Knowles

Format: Online

Motivation: Improve your dinner conversation

Keywords: Sydney, Music

Don't let this go to your head Mistletone, but - you f!#%king rule.

This new record label isn't even two years old, yet they've released some of the most exciting new music around (Ariel Pink, Panda Bear, Dan Deacon). Now add Ross McLennan to that list.

Recorded entirely in his North Melbourne home studio, SYMPATHY FOR THE NEW WORLD is the second post-Snout solo album from this one-man chamber rock auteur. Sounding alternately like The Beach Boys, Lambchop, or fellow weirdo songsmiths Richard Davies or Cass McCombs, SYMPATHY is an album that's mellow and meandering, yet dark and thoughtful. With grandiose dips and swells, it's the sort of long player that allows you to either chill out on its surface, or dive into its depths.

Keep this up Mistletone, and I'll marry you...

By Wilfred Brandt

Release: Album

To Cure: A predictable playlist

Keywords: Melbourne, Rock

When Incu's city store shut down two weeks ago, we fell to our knees, threw our arms to the heavens and pleaded to the goddess of style - who we imagine looks like Coco Chanel. "Oh lady C! Is this the end of Sydney fashion as we know it!?!"

"Noh!". She replied. "It is not you eeeddddiiooottzz, it'z a neeww store...for zee man!". Ooh la la.

Tonight Incu reopens both its stores. The previous location shall be the sole domain of the miss, while the new store will be devoted entirely to the man. There's a carnival-esque window display by Elke and labels like Marc by Marc Jacobs, Friedrich Gray, Acne, A.P.C, Rittenhouse and Band of Outsiders. Fantastic!

By Nadia Saccardo

Product: Fashion

Anatomy: Whole body

Keywords: City, Incu

"Don't you wonder sometimes, bout sound and vision?"

So went Bowie's withdrawn lyrics.

Melbourne-based artist John Aslanidis would answer Dave in the affirmative.

Preferring to call himself a sound artist rather than a painter, Aslanidis' work explores geometric abstraction and synaesthesia. His new series, SONIC NETWORK NO.3, features a selection of large-scale paintings with optical pulsations, exploring how the languages of sound and sight intersect.

To experience synaesthesia is to have sensations of colour and texture simultaneously with perceived sound, or vice versa. They say it's something we're more in touch with as children, but we unlearn it. Seems it's time for a re-education.

By Amelia Groom

Medium: Painting

Drink: Double espresso

Keywords: Darlinghurst, Art, Gallery

There are only a handful of cities around the world that popular culture won't stop mythologising. Yes, this is yet another film about Paris - but after an opening that looks like a slick travel infotainment show, a TV host asks "Who is Paris?" and immediately flubs his lines.

In PARIS, a charming French bakery is a site of casual, everyday racism. A secret admirer comes across as a creepy obsessive. The film enjoys gently toying with the expected ooh la la clichés epitomised by the recent example of postcard-porn, PARIS JE T'AIME.

It has a large cast of characters and while their stories interconnect, they do so painlessly, without the groan-inducing "Hey, the girl from that scene is now in this scene!" that's plagued indie-films for far too long. Juliette Binoche gets to subvert a typical striptease sequence, and Fabrice Luchini stands out as a history professor who's caught in suitably Parisian midlife crisis.

If your bottom lip is quivering at the possibility of PARIS shattering your romantic illusions, don't worry. It ends up celebrating just as many clichés as it's taken apart.

By Martyn Pedler

Format: Cinema

Mood: Nostalgic

Keywords: Paris, France

The perfect gift for your loved one this winter can be found at Toddy's new online store. Our pick: their one-piece tartan long johns. Don't pull a brain muscle figuring out just what you'd want with a pair of long johns. But read on.

Receiving international support from the disturbingly frumpy Teletubbies, Toddy's non-threatening unisex night wear adds a new dimension to winter wardrobes. With various designs featuring butt-flaps (a la Stimpy's nightwear), hoods and long sleeves, these garments are not only practical, they're comfortable without making you actually look like Po.

Other products stocked by the Toddy online store include: singlets, boxer shorts, dresses, leggings and cardigans. So, get your tartan on, suit up and pop some corn - this winter it's all about wanting to emulate the good looking kids pictured here.

By Robert Coleman

Product: Clothing

Theft: Theft is a risk

Keywords: Pyjamas, Online

‘L'Olioteca' ~ The ‘olive oil library'. At least that's what I think it means. Well, it sounds like ‘biblioteca', and that means ‘library' in Spanish. But these guys aren't Spanish, they're Italian and the truth is that I don't really know what I'm talking about. Likewise, I don't really know what I am talking about with wine tasting, or for that matter olive oil tasting.

Thankfully, L'Olioteca helps you learn to appreciate finer things in life - without having to pretend you're more educated than you are. Set like a library, olive oils, bread, and recyclable brown bottles line the shelves around a long communal table, with dim lighting catching the edges of an increasing stack of good magazines and journals.

If if that bossy librarian in your brain is calling for a bit of shush in your life, refine your plans and head here for glass of wine by yourself or for some quiet chatter with a friend.

By Robert Barton

Venue: Restaurant

Meal: All day

Keywords: City, Italian, The Strand

How apt that the crew putting on the last night at the current premises of the Mandarin Club is Paradise Lost. For so many the rounded red fittings and the parquetry disco-lit floor have been an after dark paradise that will never be matched - unless they fit out their new premises exactly the same.

With Paradise Lost DJs including Mikey Miutante, Brut33, James Bucknell, James Weirick, Harry Sounds, Mike Masters and DJ Silvio it's a possibility that the Fall Of The Mandarin will be nearly as memorable as the fall of the iron curtain.

By Gabriel Knowles

Ambience: Indoor

Difficulty: Exertion will pay off

Keywords: City, Mandarin Club

Cybele of Sydney company Blue Murder Studios has brought together some of her best pieces for an exhibition at the MTV Gallery. These will be displayed on giant backlit light-blocks inside the gallery's darkened interior. While you stroll around on Friday taking in the sounds of FBi's Michaella Solar-March and PHDJ, strike up a conversation with her - from her back catalogue you can bet your hat she would have some stories about her subjects: bands and other scenesters with a rep for mischief. - KB

By Kylie Boyd

Event: Launch

Stimulus: C

Keywords: MTV Gallery, Cybele Malinowski

Remember 2006? The Swans made the Grand Final, Anna Nicole Smith was still alive and Ro Sham Bo was a monthly affair at The Clare. Relive the glory days as DJs Jimmy Sing, Moriarty, Sleater Brockman and Spruce Lee regroup to bring you a feast of the freshest sounds from across the globe. With a menu of Baile Funk, Baltimore Club, Crunk, Hyphy, Grime, Dancehall, Bassline, Kuduro, and then some, Ro Sham Bo Knights is like a multinational degustation dinner for your ears. This promises to be bigger than the Spice Girls reunion. - JG

By Jill Greig

Event: DJs

Stimulus: E

Keywords: Will and Toby's, Taylor's Square, DJs, Ro Sham Bo

Trimapee, a double act consisting of designers Peter Strateas and Mario-Luca Carlucci, launched their first store in '07. They've already dressed most of Australia's big guns in music, have been asked to be involved in Paris fashion week and are set to launch another store in May. But this Tuesday it's all about a live Fashion Week pop-up art installation. MINI is the canvas and Trimapee are the artists. - HM

By Hayley Morgan

Event: Launch

Stimulus: A

Keywords: Circular Quay, Art, Installation

Returning from a stint at the SXSW festival, Die! Die! Die! are back in the Southern Hemisphere to promote their new album PROMISES PROMISES. We hear that the best way to experience post-hardcore punk is through a brutal live show...with three local dates to choose from you can Go! Go! Go!. - JG

By Jill Greig

Event: Bands

Stimulus: A

Keywords: Die! Die! Die!, Oxford Art Factory, Beach Road Hotel, Manly Fisho's

Alas, The Raveonettes cannot be thought of as ‘underground' any longer - as they appeared on American late night TV back in March (THE LETTERMAN SHOW). But, their sound - a dark mix that's polished yet low-fi, with a definite backbone of pop beats and Velvet Underground experimental and distortion influences - is still a darn treat. - KB

By Kylie Boyd

Event: Bands

Stimulus: A

Keywords: The Raveonettes, Oxford Art Factory