Mar 30 - Ben Howard

So I remember something of note from the wedding. People had guns. Well, at least one person had a gun. Tucked into his pants. He was a very fat man. I did a double take. It was weird.

And in other news, today I took a tour of Soweto. Soweto is the famous township here in South Africa. It's an interesting place, not really like other townships, but it's famous because it's one of the older, more established townships and therefore played a huge role in the end of apartheid. When you think township, generally you think shantytown, as most of the townships in South Africa are. But Soweto has actually developed into just another neighborhood. It does have shantytown bits, but it also has super rich bits as well, so the first time I went it was not at all what I expected having seen other townships already.

I went when I lived here with a friend who grew up there, but she just took me to some of the famous sites and shared some of her stories from growing up there. This time I went on a proper tour, so we got an entire history lesson, which was great. Basically, it was a majority black and poor are of town historically, and it's where a lot of the famous anti-apartheid figures, including Nelson Mandela, lived and were active. We got a view into the various parts of town and were able to see both the most affluent and the most poor neighborhoods, which are often right next to each other, like in Diepkloof. Contrary to what you might think, it actually does not increase crime in the township, but, according to our guide, gives hope to people who see that it's possible for them to move up in the world and be successful.

We also stopped off in Kliptown for quite a while. This is a normal stop on most Soweto tours, as they have a big square there called Freedom Square (although officially it's called Walter Sisulu Square) which is where people of various ethnic and political backgrounds got together back in the 50s to create a charter by which they wanted the country to be governed. It was more interesting for us though because some of the people on our tour grew up there like 50 years ago. The tour was organized by the bride and groom, and it was mostly the groom's family, plus me and one other friend. The family is Chinese South African, but most of them left South Africa for Australia or Canada back in the 70s and 80s. But one of his aunt's lived and grew up in Kliptown for the first twenty-some years of her life, and with the help of a local guide we were able to track down the house she lived in, her father's business and her uncles business and home. It was pretty awesome to be a part of, and also great to see this part of Soweto that actually felt like a real township and which most people who visit never get to see. In fact, it's probably an area that isn't safe for most people to go to on their own, but we were with locals so everyone was respectful, they just stared a lot.

The last couple of stops of the day were in the Orlando section of Soweto, which is where Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu both lived. Actually, Desmond Tutu still lives there, but Mandela hadn't lived there for years. But the home he and his family lived in before he went to prison was there, and they've turned it into a museum. Then we went to the Hector Pieterson Museum and Memorial. Hector Pieterson was a 12 year old boy who was shot and killed by police on the first day of the student uprisings back in 1976, and he became a symbol of the struggle, so they've made a memorial in his honor and named the museum about the uprisings after him. The uprisings started because students were opposed to a new government policy which said all education had to be in Afrikaans. This became the final straw for them because they realized that it meant they would be limited in all opportunities to only South Africa, as no other countries used Afrikaans, and so they protested against it. Then things got pretty violent and ugly. These uprisings are actually seen as the starting point to the end of apartheid. I think it's also worth mentioning that these students were in high school and middle school. I imagined university students when we started speaking about it, since they are usually the politically motivated ones, but in South Africa they were even younger. Our guide said that they really were just students, probably from about 12 upwards, with the oldest being no older than 17. That is just crazy to me.

All in all, it was an awesome and extremely informative day. I'm really glad I got to go on the tour. It's not something I would have thought to do, since I've technically been to Soweto, but it was on such a different level this time and I loved it. Plus the guide was great, so if you go and need a good guide I can recommend one.

As for music, I was listening to I Forgot Where We Were again yesterday and today. It's Ben Howard's 2014 album, which I remember being underwhelmed by when it first came out last year. I remember thinking that the music was all good, but not great, kind of sleepy, and all a bit too similar for my taste. I still feel that it's all pretty similar and there are a some sleepy tracks,but I was wrong in saying it wasn't great. There are a couple great tracks. The best of which is Rivers In Your Mouth. I actually really want to go back and listen to his first album, Every Kingdom from 2011, but it seems to have loaded improperly on my iPod (along with most of the B artists) and so I need to delete and reload it. I've needed to for a while now, actually. But I will. Soon. I hope. I should also give credit where credit is due and say that my sister introduced me to Ben Howard back in the day. Usually it's the other way around, but this time she found him first. So good job, Hanna.

Mar 29 - Fink

So the wedding yesterday was really nice. I talked and ate and drank and had a generally enjoyable time. And I used Uber for the first time. I'm not really sure what else to say about it. It seems like a big event that I should write more about, but I feel like it would be pretty boring to just give a play by play or something. I mean, we've all been to weddings. But it was really nice, the bride looked beautiful, I got to see a couple of friends who I hadn't seen yet on this trip and have some good chats, I ate some good food, drank some good whiskey, the venue was nice, and I have no complaints.

And today I went to this event called Ice Cream Sunday where, you guessed it, they serve ice cream. It's actually a pretty fun event, this artisanal ice cream shop has paired up with a donut shop and some other company and they rent a space the last Sunday of each month and just serve up deliciousness, indie music, and sunshine. I love that stuff like this is popping up in Joburg. There was a bit of it when I lived here and it seems like there's more and more, which makes me happy.

So yeah, not much big news. And no big news in music either, just another good song. Today it's Keep Falling, the last track off of Fink's 2014 album Hard Believer. The album wasn't as good as some of his older stuff, but the last 3 tracks are all really great, and this one in particular sticks in my head.

Mar 28 - Santogold

Today is wedding day. This is the reason I'm here, actually, is for my friend Carol's wedding. She and her soon to be husband Kevin are both Chinese South African, so I think it's ironic that I've come from China to Africa for a Chinese wedding. And that in all the lead-up events when I've met their families they love to speak to me in Chinese. Kind of weird, but also kind of nice.

And I should probably finish safari stories, because yesterday was probably the best safari. The drives while on safari are about 2.5 - 3 hours long, and you do one very early in the morning (leaving by 6) and on in the afternoon (around 4:30), so they don't take you out at midday when the animals are all sleeping. And when I'm sleeping, too. So the first half of the drive yesterday was pretty quiet and at first we did't see all that much, except for the ubiquitous giraffe, zebra and various types of antelope. But then we happened across another black rhino, which is apparently one of the harder things to find while on safari. And this was the second time we'd seen it. The first time he came charging at us around a corner, freaking everyone out, and then ran off. This time, he was just chilling, although they don't like people so he slowly made his way away from us, but at least it was in a calm manner this time. So that was the first big sighting of the day.

I had requested we try and see the white rhino though, because they're much tamer and usually easier to find. And I hadn't seen them yet and wanted to see a rhino up close. So we had to spend about an hour searching before we finally had success. But once we did it was awesome. We found 2 of them just grazing and spent about 10 minutes watching them. And, as I was told, they are super chill. They were right up at the jeep, not at all concerned that we were there, even when we turned on the car to move. It's always surprising to me that the animals aren't more wary of the people in the park. Well, not the people per se, but the noise from the jeeps. They are not quiet, especially when you stop to watch animals and turn them off then turn them back on again, but it doesn't bother the animals at all. I would have thought it would spook them. But I digress. So we watched the rhinos for about 10 minutes before we got a call to go see some lions. Because apparently some lions had just killed a kudu and they were enjoying it for breakfast. So off we went.

And we found them. 7 of them, eating a kudu. We missed the kill, unfortunately, it would have been amazing to see, but it was pretty amazing to watch them. I guess it's not for everyone, it was pretty graphic at times, but it was impressive. That was definitely one of the highlights of the entire safari. So it ended on a high note.

After that, it was a 6 hour drive back, then Shabbos dinner at my friend Jodi's house, which was really nice. And now I'm having a relaxing Saturday morning before going to the wedding this afternoon. And I decided to write my blog early in the day so I wouldn't have an exhausted repeat of yesterday where I'm too tired to spend time saying anything, and also too drunk, because I will be today, I think. In fact, I downloaded Uber (finally) just to use it today. I'm very happy they have it here now.

And during my 6 hour drive back yesterday, I stumbled back onto Santigold's music and gave both her albums a listen. Now she's Santigold, officially updated for legal reasons on 2012's Master of My Make-Believe, but on 2008's Santogold her name was still Santogold. And the song I'm sharing, Creator, is from that album. I was also thinking of sharing Lights Out, but I think Creator is more of her typical sound, so more appropriate to share. Plus it's probably my favorite song by her. I was obsessed when I first heard it. Anyway go listen to Lights Out as well, and also both of her entire albums cause they're great. Now we just need something new....

Mar 27 - Phoria

I guess there's quite a bit I could write about today. I had my last game drive, which was the best, then drove back to Johannesburg and had a lovely Shabbos dinner. But I'm exhausted. So instead you just get a song, and I'll write tomorrow.

And today's song is Red, by Phoria. It's a pretty tune, and matches my sleepy feelings very well.

Mar 26 - Laura Mvula

I had two more game drives today, but I still have to say yesterday was the best. It's hard to best lions and rhinos five feet from your face.

Each day we get a morning and an afternoon game drive, so I was up at 5:15 today for the morning one. I would've thought the animals would be quite active before the day heated up, but there was very little to be seen, except for the ubiquitous zebra, giraffe and various types of antelope. Afternoon drive was a bit better, as we also managed to find hyena, water buffalo and hippos. And we almost got a leopard, but she got away from us. Now I've got one more drive tomorrow morning, then back to Joburg. I think my goal tomorrow is to see a white rhino, which I believe is not too difficult.

As for music, is Laura Mvula today. I wish I could do African music every day I'm in Africa, but I don't know enough. And actually, Laura Mvula isn't African music. But her husband is Zambian and the video for this song, She, was filmed in South Africa. So it's close enough. Also it's a fantastic song off of a fantastic album. It's of her debut, Sing To The Moon, which actually made my top 10 back in 2013, and my love for Laura all started when I first heard this song back in 2012. I hope you love her too.

Mar 25 - Laura Marling

I started my safari today. Which means I'm in the middle of never with no real internet and only a shitty mobile connection. So today's blog will be minimalistic, and updated in the future with pictures and an actual embedded song.

But for now, you get the highlights. I drove 6 hours to get here, which was fine cause I love to drive. During that time I listened to a lot of Laura Marling (more on that later). Once I arrived, I checked in and ate lunch while watching elephants bathe in the river. Oh, and when I walked into camp there was this awesome statue of a Nyala by one of the buildings. At least I thought it was a statue until it walked away. Because the animals just come hang out wherever they want. After lunch it was power nap time before going on my first safari. Apparently I was the only one done with lunch, though, because when I woke up there was an elephant snacking right outside my window.

Then we went on safari, during which I got up close and personal with a lion, a rhino almost attacked our car, we saw a baby elephant, and there was a gorgeous sunset. To make all that even better, there are only three of us here, and they drive us around in a jeep, off roading and running over trees to go find animals. It is actually exactly like the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland, except real, with no seatbelts, and surrounded by deadly animals so you really do not want to fall out.

So yeah, this is awesome.

And so is Laura Marling's new album, Short Movie. Granted, it's not as good as her last one, but that would be a feat to top. But still, she released it this week and it is solid. I actually listened like three times today, plus I listened to the rest of her discography. I've liked her for years, but the more she does the more I like her. She's come a long way since her first album. And I love that you can actually go back to that first album (Alas I Cannot Swim, which is a great one) and hear the basics of the sound she's developed now. It's great, and so is she. So here's Short Movie, the title (and best) track off the new album.

Mar 24 - Bear's Den

Today was probably the most relaxed day of the whole trip so far. I woke up late, I went to the office for a few hours, and then I napped and watched House of Cards. What a holiday. I did go to Carol's place tonight (she's the one getting married) for dinner, which was originally supposed to be dinner for like 5 people and turned into dinner for like 25 people who all helped do crafty stuff for the wedding. I was on paper cutting duty. I would say I did acceptably at best. I hope nobody notices.

But tomorrow is exciting because I'm off on safari! So expect some pictures and stuff in the next blogs and on Instagram (assuming there's internet and/or phone service).

I also spent a good deal of time listening to music yesterday and today. That's something I don't usually do as much of when I'm on vacation, but this vacation has been pretty chilled out so I've been able to. And today I heard a cover of Coffee, a fantastic song by Sylvan Esso, as performed by Bear's Den. Two fantastic, and extremely different, bands, but Bear's Den has done an awesome job of owning this song and keeping it great. Sylvan Esso was my favorite album and favorite new act of the year last year. Bear's Den has been on my radar for a couple of years now and they also put out their debut album, which was a very solid effort. This track isn't on the album, but apparently it will be on an upcoming EP along with covers of a couple other songs. So I have that to look forward to now also.

Mar 23 - Kaleo

I had quite the lazy day today. Which is not how I usually vacation. But I don't feel too bad about it. A little bad, but not too bad. But I did have a wonderful lunch with my friend Sadiki, and then I just had an amazing dinner with my friends Inken and Shaun (who are married and hopefully coming to visit me in Shanghai although it could have just been the alcohol talking but I really hope not). So I feel great about today.

And I also feel great about the fact that during my lazy morning I heard Kaleo for the first time. In fact, they were the first new song in a long list of new songs I heard today. And in the end, also the best. They are from Iceland. They are reminiscent of Bon Iver or James Vincent McMorrow. They have a wonderful song called All The Pretty Girls. They should have an album out this year.

Mar 22 - El Perro Del Mar

Day 2 in South Africa was quite chill, but so far very successful. I managed to get a great, full night's sleep last night. For me, one of the best ways to get over jetlag is to get on a regular schedule as soon as possible. So after a delicious burger for dinner and a quick beer at the bachelor/bachelorette's party of my friend whose wedding I'm here for, it was home and in bed at a decent hour. Actually like 11pm. Pretty good if I do say so myself.

And then today was a successful day of shopping. I have money left here in the country from when I lived here, and it's basically worthless outside the country now. It's lost half of it's value since I earned it, so the goal is to spend it. So I bought myself a new suitcase, something I've needed for a while. Then I went to the Rosebank Rooftop Market, one of my favorite local markets here in Johannesburg, and bought some gifts for friends (and maybe for myself, too). Then Jewish Geography lunch which involved friends of my friend Candice from China, who are apparently also friends of my friend Lori here. Very small Jewish world. And of course what day would be done without a nap?

Tonight it's off to my friend Jodi's place for dinner. But until then, I may start House of Cards. And play you God Knows (You Gotta Give To Get), by El Perro Del Mar. I just heard it last week while watching Girls, a show that for some reason I continue to watch. It's enjoyable, I guess, but I don't know why I still watch, honestly. But the good thing is they often have good music. And while I'd heard El Perro Del Mar before, I wasn't a fan by any means. But this song is fantastic. Maybe the best song on this whole season of Girls. It reminds me a lot of Feist. I did listen to the album it came from after hearing this song, her 2006 eponymous 2nd album, but the album itself wasn't great. But I could listen to this song on repeat. And have.

Mar 22 - John Wizards

It is so surreal being back here. I landed this morning, picked up my car, and then got onto the road to come to the place I'm staying. I'm staying at the house of the family that adopted me when I lived here, the Wachenheimers. So, got on the highway and drove here as if nothing has changed at all. And really, it seems like nothing has. I've been gone for 2 years, but it doesn't feel like more than a couple of months.

It's been a pretty chill first day, just hanging out with the Wachenheimers for the most part. Then I ran over to see my friend Carol, the one whose wedding I'm here for. Which resulted in Nando's. The best. And post-Nando's, a trip to the biltong store. Even better than the best. Then dropped off a wedding dress and other things I schlepped here, and napped. Quite a relaxing day.

And it's wonderful to be back driving again. I love driving, and I love listening to music while I drive. And on long drives, also listening to podcasts. I've got a long drive coming up Wednesday and again Friday, when I go on my safari. Until then just short drives. But still good music time. And the first thing I listened to when I got back here was John Wizards. I didn't get into much South African music while I was here, and I actually only found John Wizards after leaving (I think they didn't exist until after I left), but they make very good, very strange, African electronic music. They've only got one album out, but it's a great one once you get used to it. I thought I'd share my favorite song by them, Muizenberg, but I've actually already shared it on the blog. Go listen to it, though. And if you have the chance. go to Muizenberg, because that whole area of the world is absolutely gorgeous. But anyway, since I've shared that, I'll share Lushoto instead. Also a great song, and somehow reminds me of The Main Street Electrical Parade at Disneyland. In other words, tons of fun. Plus how amazing is it that the video I found has katamari as the video? Gotta love it. And actually, kind of a perfect fit if you think about it.

Mar 20 - Tei Shi

It's been a while since I wrote a blog in an airport. I used to do it all the time, usually in Dubai. This time it's Singapore. I feel like it's impossible that I haven't written a blog at this airport before, but I'm not actually sure. Anyway, I'm here for the next 3 hours and I'm writing (not for the next 3 hours).

It's also been a while since I've written a proper blog. I've managed to keep up with my daily song, despite being crazy busy and often drunk over the last few weeks. But I haven't had the time or energy to actually write a full blog and share it. It's mostly because the last 3 weeks, ever since I came back from Japan, have pretty much been nonstop work and travel. We had a bunch of events going on that I was organizing, plus a few customer visits, and so it's been very busy. Not really worth talking about, it's just work anyway, but I am glad it's done and I'm on vacation for the next two weeks now. I will not be blogging in detail every day during this vacation, but do expect some hidden gems somewhere over the next couple weeks. And lots of animals. Both living and on my plate.

But the one big thing that happened in the last few weeks is I got a roommate. Well, roommate is still a very loose term, as she moved in like 10 days ago and we've only actually been in the apartment at the same time for 1 night. My friend Philana was looking for a place to stay for a while, so she's now moved in for a couple of months, and we'll see what happens from there. Although our first month we will never be together. She moved in while I was on a business trip. Once I got back, we had 1 day together then she left. Now I left today, the day she gets back. And once I'm back on April 6 I'll be on the road traveling for work again pretty much immediately (either the 7th or 8th. What am I doing to myself?).

I've been thinking a lot about this having a roommate thing. I feel a bit bad because I think that Philana is much more excited about this than I am. I'm not not excited about her, just about having a roommate. Which I've kind of hinted at but not sure I've explained clearly. And I feel bad because I don't want her to think I'm not excited about living with her or don't want her around. I'm just used to being on my own. But when I think about it, I actually think that we're going to be really good roommates. She's a great girl, it'll be really nice to get to know her better, she doesn't have hideous taste in music, I was drunk and naked when we met so I don't technically have to wear pants all the time (but I will, don't worry Philana!), and I feel pretty comfortable coming home and sitting around and not talking with her if I don't want to (which I never want to when I come home. I just want my brain to stop for a bit).

On top of all this, it will be really nice to have someone around. Since I'm traveling so much it's still been hard to meet people in Shanghai. And I definitely try to make the most of all my time when I am there and try to see people. Sadly it doesn't always work out. I feel like a lot of my friends really do like just chilling at home on weeknights. Or they can't commit to doing stuff. And I get kind of bummed out when I come back to town for only like 2 days and want to spend time with people I legitimately enjoy (instead of just customers and colleagues, which is all I do on these trips) and then I get stuck sitting at home alone. So it will be really good for me to have someone I enjoy, like Philana, living with me. So we'll see how it goes, but I think it will go well.

Because I haven't written a proper blog in the last few weeks, I also haven't shared my new favorite, that being Tei Shi. I usually save my favorites for longer blogs that I know I'm going to share on facebook because then I know more people will read them and hopefully listen to the music (cause in my opinion, that's the only reason we're really here). So I've been holding on to Tei Shi and I now hope that it works, cause she is a treat. Originally from Buenos Aires (see, she's super cool already), she's now based in the New York (of course) making lovely music that falls somewhere in between Sylvan Esso and Glasser. It's actually hard for me to pick what songs to share cause they're all so good, but we'll start with Nevermind The End off of her Saudade EP back in 2013.




This was the first song I heard by her just a couple weeks ago, and I'm upset it took me so long to find her. But at least I have now, and ran out to buy everything she's put out. Which is really just one EP. But she has put out a couple of singles off of a forthcoming EP, Verde, which will be available next month. But there's already a couple of great singles off of it, like Bassically.

Mar 19 - Shamir

Today is my last day in the office! I actually can't believe I'm going on vacation tomorrow. The funny part is that I was on vacation just like 3 weeks ago, but the last 3 weeks have been so long that I feel like it's been forever and I need this. Plus I'm really excited about this. It's been almost 2 years to the day that I left South Africa, and now I finally get to go back.

I may end up working a couple of days while I'm there, but that's actually fine. We have a small office, and during the day I have like nothing to do and nobody to see cause everyone works, so why not go work a bit, and hopefully gain back a day of leave in the process? I also have some fun activities planned, of course, but I'll wait until I'm in South Africa to write about them.

But in other things to write about, I was asked to be the best man at a wedding next year for one of my best friend's, Rich, up in Beijing. So that was exciting. First time I'll be a best man, or even part of a wedding, so that's quite exciting. Now to start thinking of speech ideas.

And last thing to write about is today's song, which is On The Regular by Shamir. I just heard about Shamir because of these lists that have been coming out before SXSW, which is going on now. I actually wasn't really sure what I was listening to when I first heard him, but I did know I liked it. Also, I wasn't even sure it was a him I was listening to, but it is in fact. I then learned that he is what's called a contratenor, which is a really interesting voice and sound. And the music is tons of fun. I actually chose to put the video today because I like the video, too. I like how upbeat the music is and how he's just kind of standing there. Or at least doesn't have the same energy I would expect for the music. For some reason it really drew my attention, even though not much is happening. Maybe it's all the colors.

Mar 18 - Notorious B.I.G.

I have no idea why I didn't share this song yesterday. It was the song of the day. And the best moment of the day.

Yesterday I had my last customer event before going on vacation. Now, when it comes to customer events, Chinese are (much like in pretty much every other situation) rude. In other words, phones are not on silent. And that's in the best case scenario. I've been at customer conferences where some dude (and when I say some dude, I mean a millionaire who runs a massive construction company because those are the people who come to our events) lifted up one leg and let out a massive fart. That was an amazing day in my life. Sometimes there's nose picking, too. But yesterday beat it all. Yesterday, in the middle of the conference, someones phone went off. A normal enough occurrence. Except for that this time, when the random phone went off in the random city in a random Chinese province, the song that played was Big Poppa by Notorious B.I.G. You can't make this stuff up.




The only thing that ever beat this in the realm of ringtones is when I went to Huangshan 10 years ago (Huangshan, or Yellow Mountain, being a famous and very beautiful tourist spot in China), and while at the peak (literally at the peak, I am not exaggerating) some random Chinese dude's phone went off (because there is phone reception everywhere in this country, it's crazy) and played Hava Nagila. Chinese love us Jews, but that was on a different level. And I loved it.

Mar 17 - Edith Piaf

Once again I'm drunk. This now marks 14 days in a row that I have gone with drink. It's kind of ridiculous. I swear I don't usually drink this much (although I do usually drink a lot). There's just been so many events and whatnot, that I have no choice. And surprisingly, I feel more drunk today having only drunk red wine than I did last night when I was drinking copious amounts of baijiu. What's up with that?

But, the drinking is now (maybe) almost over. We'll see my plans for the next few days. But it will definitely be over Friday. Cause I'll be on a plane on Friday. A plane to vacation. Vacation in South Africa.

But until then, I still have duties, both to work and to you. And the duty to you is giving you great music. And today's music, inspired by yesterday, is Edith Piaf. Much like Bob Dylan, I am not an Edith Piaf fan. Although, I am also not an Edith Piaf fan. Also much like Bob Dylan, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being an Edith Piaf fan. But, I share this song because it came out of nowhere and has been stuck in my head all day. I honestly have no clue where it came from. But what a melody. La Vie En Rose. It's intoxicating. You listen to a song like this, and you realize how a song  becomes a classic. I also think it could be because she's French, because French women are intoxicating. As is France. There's just something about that place. I would live in Paris in a heartbeat. This song makes me want to live there even more.

Mar 16 - Bob Dylan

Once again I've been drinking. I just looked at the calendar and this is either the 13th or 14th day in a row that I've been drinking. Normally, this doesn't happen, it's just been super busy with work and drinking with colleagues and customers. And it's even involved a lot of baijiu.

Like tonight, for example. Well, let me first explain baijiu. It's easy. It's the Chinese version of sake (Japan) or soju (Korea). But it's terrible. It tastes gross, the flavor sticks with you for days, and it's super strong. I actually don't know how I'm as sober as I am at the moment, because being the only white guy a dinner tonight, I had to drink a lot of it. There were a couple times where "the deal was dependent on me" which is really code for "let's see the white guy drink." Anyway, so this has happened a lot recently. Thank God I have vacation on Friday.

But on the bright side, I got upgraded to a suite, which is very nice and has a beautiful lake view (which would be more beautiful without pollution, but then we are in China so let's be realistic here). And Hefei, where I am right now, is better than I expected. It's the capital of Anhui province, which does have Huangshan (or Yellow Mountain, the most beautiful mountain in China, in my opinion), but is also known for being super poor. But actually, the city seems quite new and developed. I'm here for another day for an event, today was just seeing customers, but I think I'm ok with this.

And in the meantime, I have shitty internet which barely lets me play the song I want to listen to. That song being A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall by Bob Dylan. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not a huge Bob Dylan fan or anything. Not that that's a bad thing at all, I'm just not and don't want to make you think that I am. But after drinking a shitload on Friday night, my friend Mathias and I did what we often do, which is go back to my apartment, continue drinking, and just play music for each other. And he put on this song. And it's a wonderful song. The night is a bit of a blur, but I do remember not allowing him to talk during this song. It's really good. But you probably already knew that.




Also, if you are seeing this song embedded here, it's because you did not read my blog on time. Because if you had read on time, you would not have seen it since shitty Chinese internet is often (read: now) not fast enough to support my VPN and stream a song. Cool. Also, it is surprisingly hard to find a real version of this song to share. There's a lot of covers out there, though. And in the end, the only place I could find it was Spotify.

Mar 15 - Misterwives

To follow up an excellent Saturday, I had an excellent Sunday as well. It started out super early, which is not so excellent, but then time was just spent sitting on the couch catching up on TV. So back to excellence. And then I went on an excellent date. First date with this girl Natalie, who I met online. I was quite looking forward to it because we had pretty enjoyable banter leading up to actually meeting, and then the enjoyable banter continued when we were face to face. And to make things even better, she was even prettier in person than she was in her pictures. So that was a pleasant surprise. Oh, and lunch was chicken and waffles. Very, very good chicken and waffles. And the excellence increases. As if that wasn't already enough excellence for 1 day, it is also restaurant week and I had an excellent Moroccan dinner at a fancy new restaurant with some good friends who I haven't seen in like a month. So all in all, an excellent weekend, and an excellent way to spend my last weekend in Shanghai before leaving for 3 weekends on vacation.

And in order to make sure you have a bit of excellence in your weekend, you can go and lsiten to MisterWives. This band is actually much poppier than I usually like, and I listen to them and think that I should not like them. But I do. A surprisingly high amount. I think part of what I love is that they remind me of Alex Winston a bit, both vocally and musically (although she is much less poppy). But they're great. Also similar to Mr Little Jeans, Those Dancing Days or The Jezabels, other groups/artists who I like more than I probably should. Actually, Vagabond, which is my favorite song off of MisterWives debut album, is not toooo poppy. Not compared to others. But still great.



If you really want poppier stuff that is still great, then also listen to Our Own House, the title track off the album, or No Need For Dreaming.

Mar 14 - Amason

I just had a wonderful Saturday. It's not even 10:00pm, but I am home, ready for bed, and feeling really good about it because my day was wonderful.

I have a friend who was in town, so his sister, who lives here, organized a boozy brunch today. I was supposed to go with my friend Mathias because I much prefer big group events like that if I'm with someone. But then Mathias and I got really drunk last night so he flaked. But I still went, and had a fantastic day. I spent like 6 hours at this bar with complete strangers, just drinking and having good chats. Then, me and some of the strangers liked each other so much that we went for dinner together at the grilled cheese place. In all fairness, they could have hated me but upon hearing that there is a grilled cheese place in Shanghai made the decision to put up with me for a few more hours just to know about this magic of which I spoke. Because it is magic. But, I'm gonna go with they loved me. Cause I rather liked them, and I'm fucking awesome, so it all makes sense.

Anyway, spent an entire day with strangers just having a great time, and then I came home early and I feel really good about it. In no small part because I have a lunch date tomorrow that I do not want to be hungover for. But also because after such a long day of hanging out and chatting, I'm happy to come home and have some me time.

And me time includes me music. And some good me music is Amason. Amason is a "Swedish" supergroup, which involves the singer from Miike Snow. And anything with Miike Snow is worth knowing about. Actually, their debut album is just ok, but there are some good songs on it, like Duvan, and as previously mentioned, they are a band worth knowing about. So now you know.

Mar 13 - Active Child

And yet another exciting new announcement today, Active Child has released a new single, titled 1999. This is the first single off of his new album, Mercy, which is apparently due out in June. I had not thought about Active Child for a while before this came out, and it's been about 4 years since his last release, 2011's wonderful debut LP, You Are All I See. That one was great, with amazing songs like You Are All I See and Hanging On, and 1999 is much in the same vein. He did release an EP in 2013, and release his Curtis Lane EP last year, but he's been mostly off of my radar. I'm glad he's not anymore, though!

Today also saw the release of Tame Impala's new single, the 7 minute Let It Happen. And also Should Have Known Better, the 2nd single off of Sufjan Steven's upcoming album, which sees a move back to his more folky roots, a move which I personally am very happy about.

So enjoy, and now I'm off to eat tons and tons of Korean food.

Mar 12 - Warpaint

So I thought I knew what I wanted to share today, and then Warpaint released a new song. So now I'm sharing that. In fact, they released two in a single. The title track being No Way Out, the b-side being I'll Start Believing. It actually looks like they maybe released the redux version of No Way Out two weeks ago, but then officially released the single, which is twice as long, today. But for some reason it is not on youtube or soundcloud, only Spotify. So here, you get the redux version of No Way Out, but if you follow my playlist on Spotify I'll put the full version. It is a great song, from one of my favorite bands, so if I could I would definitely be sharing the full version here because as good as the redux is, the full version is even better, but you'll have to do minimal work for it this time. And since you're doing the work anyway, also listen to the b-side, which is also a great song. These ladies do not disappoint.




In other news, I was supposed to have a date tonight, but it got postponed to Sunday. In all fairness, when a child hands you a handwritten invitation to their music recital, you can't really say no. So no hard feelings. But I'm looking forward to this date. I'd say that out of everyone I've met online so far, she and I have had the best chats before actually meeting. She seems fun. So we'll have lunch or something on Sunday instead. Hopefully it will be good times.

And in other music news. Hiatus Kaiyote FINALLY made their next album available for pre-order. I've probably been checking iTunes once a week to order it. So it's about time. And I checked the release date for Other Lives's new album, and it's not until May! I can't believe they're making me wait. Very inconsiderate.

Mar 11 - Hiatus Kaiyote

Well, now I have a roommate. But I'm exhausted so I'll write more about it later when I'm not so exhausted. But I should also mention it's the 4th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake, which happened in Fukushima, a place near and dear to my heart since I spent a year there on JET. So I definitely took more than a minute to think about that place and my time there.

But I'm not too exhausted to share the new single from Hiatus Kaiyote, Breathing Underwater off of their upcoming sophomore album Choose Your Weapon, an album I am super excited for. They already put out an EP back in December, and now we get this, which I think is even better than the EP. Seriously, just wait until 1 minute in when the drums start. Wonderful. So listen to it and get excited for what will hopefully be one of the best albums of the year.

Mar 10 - Stars

It is March 10 and I am drunk and here is a song for you.

No, but, seriously, I know my punctuation and spelling are really good (as is my musical taste) but I'm fucking drunk. Like for real real.

Anyway, here's a song. You better enjoy it, cause if you don't, you have serious mental/psychological/parental/physiological/psychosomatic/etc problems.

Stars. Your Ex-Lover Is Dead. No other words necessary.

Mar 9 - Alt-J

I know I just posted about Alt-J the other day, but a) I was kind of drunk then so actually kind of forgot, and b) just listened to An Awesome Wave today and realized, once again, just how amazing these guys are. They are masterful. And Tessellate is masterful. So listen to it. Over and over and over. But like, actually listen to it. Put on headphones and block out the world and pay attention to how much thought and detail is put into this song. And not just this song, all their songs. But I'll give you a hint: it's a shitload. So subtle and so delicious. And then wait a few weeks or months and come listen again and be blown away all over again. It's fun, I promise.

Mar 8 - M.I.A.

Once again, I had the morning free at the office and didn't write my blog. And once again it's just going to be about the music. And today that music is CanSeeCanDo, the surprise new single from M.I.A. that she released yesterday. I guess that means she's maybe working on a new album? Hopefully it's better than the last album. I remember hearing this extended mix of a bunch of songs from the new album before it came out last time and being super excited about it, and then quite disappointed when it actually came out. But this isn't a bad start.

Mar 7 - Lucius

I actually spent the entire day in the office today doing nothing, but didn't write a blog. I thought about it a couple of times, but then I just didn't. And I don't even need my VPN to write a blog in the office, cause we have a German VPN on the network, but instead I sit here struggling to even connect to the websites I want. In fact, I just had to move from Finland to Latvia to see if it won't work any better. But anyway, it was Saturday and I got lazy and then I just did nothing. Well, I did some work, but minimal. Maybe I'll do better tomorrow. In my defense, I listened to good new music, but nothing that I have enough to say about yet that I can share it.

So instead, I share something else which is great, that being a Lucius song. I've written about them more than once (here and here, to be exact). But I can't give them enough hype. They are fantastic, and it also helps that an old friend is one of the lead singers. And it was just her 30th birthday, so they're worth sharing again. Plus I have a lot of favorite songs off of their first album Wildewoman (which, maybe not so coincidentally, was my 3rd favorite album of 2013), so it's actually harder for me to pick just one song to share than it is for me to decide to share their music (again). They are working on a new album, but nothing new yet for me to share, so for now, listen to Until We Get There (mainly because that's the one I found on their Soundcloud, but also I wanted to share either this song or How Loud Your Heart Gets cause they're both incredible. This may be the prettier one, but I don't know which is the better one. So anyway, here's some good music.

Mar 6 - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong

Well, one conference down, 4 more days of training and then another conference to go. Then my week is done. Tomorrow I actually just have to sit at the office all day. On a Saturday. I was hoping to go to Beijing for the day to see friends. Too bad for me.

But right now, I have 40 minutes to sit and do nothing, and so I'm going to put on my Nina Simone station on Spotify and listen to that to let my brain calm down. I do this when I need to focus but still have music in the background. Also, it's generally great music, cause what's not to love about Nina Simone and all the other jazz greats? And the first song that came on is exactly what I needed to hear. Dream A Little Dream of Me, by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.

Mar 5 - Alt-J

Here is a song and it is wonderful. In fact, it may have been the best song of 2014. Just perfectly executed, but what else would you expect from Alt-J? This time with Lianne Le Havas (on the first verse) and Marika Hackman (on the second verse) providing backing vocals, if you can call them that. They're not even backing .They're just vocals. Call them what you want, I call them wonderful. And some pretty colors and textures to go with the pretty sounds.

So, Warm Foothills, off of last year's This Is All Yours.

Mar 3 & 4 - Alex Winston

I tried to post yesterday, but some Google services seemed to not be working, this blog and Youtube included. And I'm sure it wasn't just China, because Google itself and Gmail were both working. But anyway it's fine because I'm super busy running a conference and don't actually have time to post now, so I'll make this quick. And I'll post 2 songs and not count it against myself cause I swear it wasn't my fault.

I wanted to post Alex Winston yesterday because she's great. She has 1 album out, King Con, which is great. She has a bit of weird voice, but I like it. Kind of Joanna Newsomy. And I think she's also super hot. Here is Sister Wife, one of my favorite tracks off of that album. I actually posted by my favorite back in 2011, in what was my second ever blog post, and first ever post with actual songs embedded, which you can also go and listen to here.




And it would seem she's working on a new album. She's put out 3 songs over the last year-ish, so that's a positive sign. Nothing as good as Sister Wife or Velvet Elvis, but here's my favorite of the bunch, Careless.

Mar 2 - Sivu

It's been a crazy day today, but I have ten more minutes at the office, then I have to go home and pack for my business trip tomorrow, then I'm meeting people for dinner and drinks, then I have to sleep and wake up for my 8am flight. Which means I will not have time to write you anything fun later, and barely have time to do it now. So you just get this excuse plus a song.

And that song is Can't Stop Now, by Sivu. This Brit has apparently released an album already, but it's not available to us Americans. From what is available to us, I'm not sure how much I'll like him, but I do like this song a lot. Kind of Broken Social Sceney, which is never a bad thing. If you can find his album (i.e. if you're British, cause then it should be on your Spotify or something), let me know how it is. Cause I don't know when it's supposed to come out for me.

Mar 1 - Basecamp

I finally watched the Oscars today. Again with my friend Mathias, same one I watched the Grammys with. I love awards shows, and although he says he's never really watched them, I do believe I've got him into it. Anyway it was a decent show. Neil Patrick Harris was great. My favorite thing about him as a host is how you can tell he thinks his terrible dad jokes are hilarious. He was loving himself. It was pretty great.

I was pretty happy with all the awards for Birdman, because that film is amazing. It's probably the bets film I've seen in years. Just mind-blowing. I've got a lot of love for Wes Anderson and The Grand Budapest Hotel as well, but in this case I was rooting for Birdman. It was great to see Grand Budapest win so many awards, though, because it is also very deserving. The only thing missing in the awards was Interstellar. I'm surprised it didn't get more nominations. I thought that was a great film, too.

And for music, I was torn between two artists today. In the end I chose Basecamp because the other artist is more similar in style to the music I've been sharing the last couple of days, so I thought I'd mix it up and give you something different. Then I'll share that other song later this week. For now, here's 2 Thingz, off of Basecamp's eponymous debut EP, which apparently is like 2 years old, but still quite good. Really chill and all flows together nicely. They also put out a single last year, so hopefully more will be following this year.