Until June next year, Lost and Found will arrive in convenient ‘snapshots’ every six weeks. With three short sections, pics and guest editor insights, it will create an entry point to the latest creative spaces and interesting events in Melbourne. In between times, check out our new Facebook page.

This snapshot’s guest editor is Justin Hooper – lead singer of Plug-In City. This Melbourne five-piece has been bringing their electrified, Jagger-crossed-with-Justice pop rock to packed venues for a few years now. Recently signed with Modular, they’ve just released a five-track, self-titled EP, which some say is the perfect soundtrack for a Miami Vice summer. When he’s not touring or supporting the likes of Daft Punk, Justin likes good bread, sun-smart hats, shopping at vintage thrift shops and recording without air-conditioning.

Justin Hooper – Plug-In City

The band is playing lots of shows at the moment. We’re playing Daft Punk, and the V Festival. We’re also writing some tunes – hoping to record mid next year for the album.

The EP we’ve just released was recorded largely live with Casey Rice. I did the vocals in his bedroom. That was a very funny experience – he rigged up this old-school air-conditioner – it was so huge it looked like a big garbage bin. We had to have it on though because it was so hot in there. You could say it was a fairly lo-fi recording experience.

When I’m home I like hanging out at Rosamond just off Smith Street. It’s worth going there for breakfast. The ‘Di Special’ is my pick. It’s bacon, avocado and all the stuff you just couldn’t do at home. Good bread is always the key.

The Tote is still our favourite place to play because it’s charged with music history. We’ve done a Wednesday night residency and the other guys have put on a fundraiser there for Berry Street. We’re also very big on Laneway Festival – and it’s going to be bigger this year.

I‘ve missed going to all the exhibitions in Melbourne. I really admire Rob McHaffie, who‘s an ex-Gertrude studio artist. He‘s represented by Darren Knight Gallery in Sydney, but I‘ve seen his recent work in Melbourne at Silvershot. He‘s a surrealist – his work is quite amazing and funny.

Recently I‘ve been shopping at Industria Max Watts on Gertrude Street, they‘ve got vintage clothes and all sorts of industrial knick knacks for Christmas presents. I also like Lost and Found Market on Smith Street. I often wear hats because of my pale complexion. My mum has drilled some safety into me after I was traumatised by sun blisters as a kid.

Replay Marclay

Plenty of people claim to have invented turntablism. You know, the scratching and the mixing, the beat matching and the obsessive collecting of vinyl. There are some who suggest that the first dude to attempt this was not Grandmaster Flash but a white university lecturer from Massachusetts named Christian Marclay. You get the feeling, though, that Marclay doesn’t care either way. His work continues to explore the overlapping worlds of image and sound, drawing inspiration as much from punk as it does from John Cage. His current exhibition, Replay Marclay at Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), is an Australian exclusive, curated by the Cité de la Musique, Paris. With large-scale projections, big sound and plenty of doctored vinyl, it’s pop culture meets avant-garde. There is no bling, but that’s why they call him the most influential figure outside of hip hop.

ACMI, Until Sunday 3 February, Federation Square, Flinders Street, tel: 03 8663 2200

Rooftop Market

‘Cash only’. Two words that can trigger a Hyde-worthy rampage from even the most spend-thrift of Dr Jekyll shoppers. And, with its seventh-floor altitude, the Rooftop Market adds thin air to the light-headedness naturally associated with designer sales. In short, a sober, ground-level assessment of your Christmas budget is recommended before climbing the Curtin House stairs on Fridays during summer. The market features a rotating roster of Melbourne designers including James Cameron, Ant!podium, Lady, IMOK, Boy on Bike, Gaye Abandon, Limedrop, Pigeon Combine and Kuwaii. There is jewellery by Emma Grace and Jasmina Krupic, plus the nerd-accessory of summer – Zip Zip Lego-style USB ports by Edmund Griffith. Perfect for your little brother or even for updating your personal finance spreadsheet on the fly. The Rooftop Market runs every Friday from 11am until 3.30pm (except 28 December) until the end of February.

Rooftop Market, until Friday 29 February, Rooftop, Curtin House, 252 Swanston Street

Little Cupcakes

In a world where ‘carbohydrate’ is a dirty word, where does that leave ‘cupcake’? Not to mention ‘half an inch of buttercream icing with a heart made of sugar on top’? In some circles of late (was it since Martha Stewart went to jail at Camp Cupcake?) the cupcake has received a bad rap. Thankfully, Melbourne is home to an unassuming haven where the dark arts of pocket-sized cake consumption are still practised. Little Cupcakes on Degraves Street has tapped into the cupcake underground and hit the jackpot with a certain recipe called ‘The Red Velvet’. Owners Nikki and Jamie will not reveal the secret of its red, crumbly cake base or its buttery icing, but they will happily sell you a fine coffee to wash it down. Shove over Andy and Nico, no you’re not on the doorlist – this is the Red Velvet Underground.

Little Cupcakes, Shop 6, Degraves Street, Melbourne, tel: 03 9077 0413