May 31 - Joni Mitchell

I made it to Harbin safe and sound. And it sure is a good thing I woke up at 4:45 and took that 7am flight, because when I got to my hotel at 11 and called my boss, he said we should meet at 3. Great. And then I went out to get myself lunch, and as soon as I ordered he called and said we should have lunch. Great. So basically, I gave up my Sunday to come to Harbin and have lunch. Awesome. Now it's 5pm and I'm exhausted, but luckily I used my early morning departure as an excuse to get out of dinner with my boss's old driver (he used to live here), so I'm going to lay in bed and order room service. And I don't care that I'm about to pay $18 for a burger, I'm going to do it anyway. And I might even order another alcoholic beverage, because fuck it.

On the bright/interesting/only-in-China side, the woman we had lunch with runs the international department of a university here in Harbin, and she asked me to come and lecture at the university. That's weird. I think it's weird when college age kids are put in touch with me for advice on anything, which has happened a couple of times. It gets especially weird when they call me Mr. Minsky. I'm not ok with that. Now imagine what's going to happen if I start lecturing at a Chinese university. Weird weird weird.

But enough of that. On my flight here today, I listened to a lot of Joni Mitchell. I just bought the Blue album because it was $5.99 on iTunes, and if your album is $5.99 and there are any songs that I like on it, I'll probably buy it (I also bought Tracy Chapman). But anyway, I bought it, and then I wanted to sleep, so I listened to it on repeat, and it's very nice. Also, you can totally hear how she influenced Laura Marling (read: Laura Marling totally rips her off. But I mean that in the best way possible because I love Laura Marling). Speaking of trying to sleep on my plane ride, I'm reminded of another story from today. I got on the plane, it wasn't so full so the couple next to me moved to an empty aisle. Which was fantastic, because then I had an aisle to myself. I fell asleep, and about 30 minutes later, this fat Chinese dude came and sat next to me. And I'm not talking about sitting in the same aisle as me. He sat in the seat next to me. Which I was leaning on and using as a headrest. And he didn't care the the aisle seat next to him was empty (which I emphatically pointed at and tried to get him to move to, but he didn't care). So he woke me up, which meant I then couldn't fall back asleep. He was nice enough to offer me his shoulder to sleep on (no joke. Total stranger offered me to sleep on his shoulder). And to make things even better, after 5 minutes they started serving food, so he left back to his original seat to eat and never came back. My airplane nap just wasn't meant to be. But I digress. A lot. Today's song is A Case Of You, by Joni Mitchell, off of Blue. (Side note: James Blake also does a great cover of this song).

May 30 - Wilsen

I only have a 1 day weekend this weekend, but I made a day of it indeed. It was fantastic. After a night at home doing nothing on Friday, I got out and did not come home all day on Saturday. I started out at Japanese language exchange this morning, which was not as good as last week. I had some really good chats last week, most of them in Japanese, but this week the people I met last week weren't there. I still had some good chats, not as good but good, but mostly in Chinese, unfortunately. So that was a bit of a bummer. But I did get some Japanese in, which was necessary.

After that, I spent the rest of the day with y friend Bryna who just moved to town. We know each other from Beijing, and she's now down here in Shanghai. We started out with lunch at this place I've been meaning to try, and from there it was a long walk (by choice) to go get her a new bike, then a lot of biking and some art. We biked up to M50, which is like a little arts district up north of where I live. We wandered around a bit and saw a few galleries, which were mostly just ok. We also found a great little cafe to stop in at for a coffee, and it turns out we got stuck in the middle of a very long, drawn out engagement. It was pretty cute. The guy had arranged for the girl to show up at this cafe, then they put on that Bruno Mars song and all her friends walked in and gave her roses, then her family showed up and there was this video, and then he came and proposed. It was pretty cute, but maybe a bit too long.

The best part of the day, though, was after the engagement. We kept wandering down a little alley in the art district and stumbled into a small gallery with some awesome paintings. Bryna and I both liked them a lot, so we started chatting with the artist, and that turned into like a 20 minute visit, during which time he showed us all his calligraphy and other stuff, and even invited us to go and learn calligraphy from him (side note: his art that drew us in was not even close to calligraphy, but apparently he's been doing calligraphy since he was 7 and so he was telling us how he uses similar strokes and styles in creating his modern art as calligraphers would use). So I think next weekend we're going to learn calligraphy from our new friend! And I also want to buy his art, but it is expensive. And I've never bought art. So yeah. Then the day ended with grilled cheese, and now I'm home to pack and go to bed early because I have a 7 am flight. So, 1 day weekend, but I made a fantastic day of it, and I'm super glad to have Bryna in town. If this first day together was any sign, we are going to have some excellent times together.

As for the music, it is inspired by yesterday's selection of Daughter. When I went to get the song off of their Soundcloud, I noticed that they had shared a song by a band called Wilsen. I have never heard of Wilsen, but I sure am glad I have now. Wilsen has put out a new single this year, called Garden, which is the song Daughter shared. It took about five seconds of me listening to go "Woah". That doesn't happen much, but this song did it. And now I'm listening to their previous EP, called Magnolia, and next for me to listen to will be their "mini-album" Siren (I use quotations because it's actually 9 tracks and 40 minutes, which some people consider a full album, so I'm not sure I'd call it mini).  So thanks to Daughter for introducing me to this wonderful music. And also for just being your wonderful selves.

May 29 - Daughter

I somehow haven't chosen Daughter for a song of the day yet, which is just unacceptable. So now we'll change that. Youth. Really no description necessary.

May 28 - School of Seven Bells

I'm going to eat the most delicious hot pot in Shanghai tonight. That's the highlight of my day. Otherwise, just busy again.

And another highlight is School of Seven Bells, who I started listening to last night after not having listened in a long time. I started last night by listening to their latest album (which is already like 3 years old), Ghostory. It's a great album, but it marked a slight change in musical style, and a large change in the fact that the sisters who share vocal duties decided not to keep making music together. I don't know what the deal was or if it was amicable or what, but they stopped. But despite that, my favorite album by them is still their first, Alpinisms from 2008, and my favorite song by them is still the first song I ever heard by them and the opening off that album, iamundernodisguise. In fact, last time I blogged about this band, after Ghostory came out, I still posted two songs off of Alpinism and nothing off of Ghostory, and one of those songs was iamundernodisguise. It's a great one.

May 27 - Sza

Another crazy busy day done. And it's raining, so I want to stay home on the couch in my underwear, but I'll be meeting friends for dinner in a couple hours. I do hope the rain has stopped by then, cause I hate the rain. But I like Zabrina, and Vietnamese food, so for her, I'll get wet. And, on the bright side, I managed to change my trip to Harbin so I don't have to spend the whole weekend. I'm going very early Sunday morning and coming back on Wednesday. So I will spend Sunday there with my boss, but not Friday and Saturday. And I'm flying Star Alliance. So this is good news.

For music, today we get Sza. She just popped into my head. I was thinking of blogging a couple other things, but then I just had this epiphany that what you need to hear today is Sza. I've written about her before, and that was when I was still just getting into her. Now I'm proper into her and have managed to get her two older EPs in addition to what I think is her first album, Z, from last year, although her Wikipedia calls it an EP. But either way, she's got two other EPs, the first being See.Sza.Run and the second being S. I assume her next album or EP will be titled A, since Z came after S, and A should come after Z in this case. And in fact, I just checked and she did confirm last year that she was working on her first "album", which will be titled A. Unfortunately for you, only her Z album is on Spotify, but you can stream all of S and See.Sza.Run on Soundcloud, which you should because they're great. And Castles, the opening track of S, is maybe one of her best songs. So so good. Incidentally, it's producded by Felix Snow, who she's apparently working with on A. Now we just need her to release it...

May 26 - Bhi Bhiman

Today turned out to be quite the busy day at work. I did feel very productive though, which I always love. And then I came home and watched Game of Thrones, and am so happy with how the newest episode ended. Finally Cersei's storyline is starting to follow the book, when events earlier in the season made it seem like it would be very, very different. So I'm pretty happy about that.

As for music, today is Moving to Brussels, by Bhi Bhiman. I don't know much of anything about this guy. He just put out an album last week and it's on a playlist of new music that I listen to on Spotify. I don't listen to everything on that playlist obviously, but I wanted to listen to the new Hot Chip album (not great) and the new Tanlines album (pretty good) that are on the playlist before Bhi Bhiman. And then of course Bhi Bhiman just came on. He put out this album Rhythm & Reason, which is meh, but the opening track, Moving to Brussels, is a lot of fun. When I just had music playing in the background, this song definitely made me stop and listen. From there, the album has some ups and downs, none as high as this, but this song is pretty great.

May 25 - Holly Miranda

So yesterday turned into a big drinking day. Started at 4, went till about 12. That was not expected. We started out at a wine tasting in the afternoon, which was great. And from there finally went to the Family Mart which I've been wanting to go to for weeks. Family Mart is a convenience store, but there's one down the street from me with a fantastic patio, and I've been wanting to just go chill on that patio and drink cheap beers. And finally yesterday I did! Then continued on to a house party. Very good times. Made for a very tired Michael on Monday, but it was a great Sunday, and a great end to a wonderful weekend.

For today's song, I've picked Mark My Words by Holly Miranda. Don't know much about this girl, but her song All I Want Is To Be Your Girl has been on a few playlists I follow, so she's been on my radar for a few months. And she just put out an album which is definitely not her first, as Spotify has shown me. The eponymous new album just came out recently, and it's just ok. All I Want Is To Be Your Girl is a cute, fun song, as are many others, but the only real gem is Mark My Words, the opening track. The album is worth a listen, you might like it, but nothing special to me.

May 24 - D'angelo

I'm a bit drunk, cause it's 8pm and I've been drinking since 4. And for the last hour I've been playing music for friends since 7. And so I'll make this quick. Today we listen to D'Angelo. Really Love. All you need to know right now is he's incredible and this song is incredible and this album is absolutely in my top 10 this year.

.

May 23 - Hiatus Kaiyote

Today really flew by and I have no idea how. I actually made it to the Japanese language exchange I've been meaning to go to, and it was great. I'm really glad I went. It took some forcing and some nudging from Philana, but in the end I did make it and had a really nice time. I feel like the older I'm getting, the more socially anxious I am. And I have no idea why. I'm a totally normal human being who can carry on a conversation with pretty much anyone and am not really shy at all, so there's really no reason whatsoever for me to feel that way. But today especially I did. Maybe it had something to do with also having to speak Japanese, which I know I've gotten much much worse at. But, point being, I went, I had a great time, met a few new people (something that I really do need to do), and got to practice my Japanese. So I will definitely be going again.

And then I went and picked up all my birthday presents to myself. Everything I got made at the fabric market last week is ready, so I did some fittings and it was all good. I'm not 1 suit, 1 pair of pants and 5 shirts richer. And I really like all of them. And I got cookies as a birthday present, then had a burrito for dinner. Totally winning today.

I also spent most of my time biking around today listening to Hiatus Kaiyote. I've talked about them plenty here, so really no need to say too much. But their new album, Choose Your Weapon, is fantastic. There are a ton of amazing songs, but the one I really love and for some reason always forget about is The Lung. It's absolutely gorgeous. I listened to it many times in a row today. It is one of the best songs on the album. Maybe the best. We'll see. I love a lot of the songs on the album so really hard to say.

May 22 - Shamir

It's my birthday! And I woke up drunk. Great/Terrible way to start the day. Thank God for lots and lots of coffee, and naps on the long shuttle ride to work. It's been a pretty good day though. I think I even got my trip home extended so I can go to our office in Houston for a few days, which means I'll also get to stay home for an extra weekend, which will include 4th of July. So I'd say it's a good day so far. And up next, I'm going to stuff my face with as much grilled cheese I can.

After which, I hope to take a cue from Shamir and Make a Scene. If you haven't heard Shamir yet, consider him my birthday present to you. He just put out his first album, Ratchet, this week, which I consider his birthday gift to me. And it's a great album. Probably one of my favorites of the year so far, and he's probably my favorite new artist of the year. Actually, Make a Scene isn't even close to my favorite song on the album. There's probably like half a dozen that are better. And it's still such a great song! And fitting for tonight, hopefully. I guess we'll know tomorrow.

May 21 - Ultraista (as interpreted by Maribou State)

I planned to go into the office late today cause of my delayed flight last night. But then I woke up at 6am. That sucked. So I went in on time. But I did leave early at least! And I bought myself a ticket home! I was supposed to come in July, but changed my dates about and now will be in the US June 25 - July 4, half in Montana and half in California. Sadly no concerts to be had on those dates, but still excited to be going. Now I need to find that next ticket for August...

And for music, today's pick is Gold Dayz, by Ultraista. But not the regular version, the Maribou State remix, cause it's a million times better. The original is just ok.  But this song is great. I don't remember who the lady is, but I do remember that Ultraista is a side project of a couple of the members of Atoms for Peace, which is already a good start. And Maribou State is maybe 2 guys from England making wonderful music like this together. Something like that. Pay attention around the 1:30 mark, it's delicious.

May 20 - Local Natives

I hate flying in China. I just got home after a flight that was delayed 2 hours. It was actually only supposed to be delayed like 45 minutes, but then we sat on the plane for like an hour and a half before it actually took off. And I know it's not because of any real reason, just because of incompetency. Which is what really pisses me off. I think China must have one of the worst flight punctuality records in the world. Ugh. At least I'm home.

And at least I got to listen to both Local Natives albums, which I haven't done for a while. They are one of my favorite bands. I want them to make new music, because they are fantastic. I think Shape Shifter, off of their debut Gorilla Manor, is my favorite, but it's really hard to say. I do love a lot of songs on there. And on Hummingbird also. Heavy Feet is another fantastic one. Just go listen to everything. But start here.

May 19 - Elliphant feat. MØ

So I'm in Nanning. The weather is not rainy like I thought it would be (and the forecast told me it would be), and the work is going very well. Better than expected. I kind of have the feeling I'm going back to Shanghai ready to start a war, which is not a great feeling, but I guess that's my job. And on the bright side, I didn't have to drink any baijiu with any customers! It's pretty great. This trip has definitely got me thinking about my role and my job a lot, which I won't go into the details of cause that's boring, but anyway it's on my mind at the moment.

What I will go into details about is the song One More, by Elliphant featuring MØ. This song was discovered thanks to one of the TV shows I watch, Showtime's House of Lies. Good show, which makes me never want to be a management consultant, even though I do kind of really want to be a management consultant. But anyway, I sometimes find music from shows, obviously, though not too often from this show. And actually, I don't think either of these artists are really worth paying much attention to. MØ released an album last year that a lot of people loved, of which I was not one. Elliphant I had heard of before but never listened to. Now I have, and she's fine I guess. But when you put these two Scandinavians together, they make one good song. Especially at around 2 minutes. Then it's really good stuff.

May 18 - SOS

I'm sitting at the airport in Shanghai waiting for my flight to Nanning, in Guangxi Province in Southern China, which is of course delayed. I'm actually not so upset that it's delayed, cause once I get there I'm just going to be visiting customers and doing some surveys and whatnot. Plus it's apparently super rainy all week down there, what with typhoon season having started. Plus they love to drink, so I'm afraid there's going to be a lot of baijiu for the next two nights. I went back in January, and they are still the biggest drinkers out of any of the customers I've visited around the country. And thus, I better write today's blog now, while I'm sober and have the time, rather than later when I very well may be drunk. But let's hope not. So for now, I'll write my blog.

And today I've picked She Wants, by SOS. SOS put out their eponymous sophomore album last year, after changing their name from Shadows on Stars, which is the name they used on their previously eponymous debut album. I don't know why they went for a name change, but they also went for a big sound change between albums 1 and 2. I like the sound of both, though. The first album was much more upbeat and quirky, with influence from a wider variety of musical genres, whereas the new one is more chilled out electric R&B style, a la The Weeknd or something. But it's still great stuff, and I still love this band. I was actually very surprised to find that I'd never blogged about them before, I was sure I had, especially back when I heard their first album, but anyway now you know.

May 17 - Stevie Wonder

Last night's birthday dinner was a success. We ended up having like 14 people, which was a great number because there was sooooo much food. It was ridiculous. When I called to book it, the woman told me that an entire sheep could be eaten by 8 men. She specified men. That sounded low to me, as I imagined it required more like 30-40 people. But with 14, we basically finished the entire thing, plus a bunch of other dishes, and tons of beer. And then they gave us a free bottle of Hello Kitty sparkling berry cider, which was pretty gross, but hilarious. One of my friends Julia also runs her family's chocolate company here in China, so she made us some very special chocolates for our birthday. In addition to a lovely chocolate with our names on it, she used her company's nipple chocolates to make the first ever boob chocolates. Yes, they have nipple chocolates. Yes, they really do look like nipples. Yes, they are modeled after a specific human being's nipples. And then she put it on a raspberry chocolate shell stuffed with chocolate mousse, and made us boobs. They were delicious. Almost as good as the real thing!

Me and my birthday sheep, with a very appropriate shirt

Once we left, we headed around the corner to a bar called The Retreat, which is Cy's local bar. Sadly, it was overrun by a few Indian guys who were doing their best impression of frat boys. Luckily dogs are allowed, so Ozzie, Cy and his wife Veronika's dog, came to join us, and he and I had a nice cuddle on the couch while enjoying some drinks. And we brought him the sheep's head. When we left, we put it into the cake box and carried it to the bar to feed to the dog. He really liked it. I bet he really liked it today as well.

Our Hello Kitty
sparkling cider

As for my today, I did nothing. I woke up early for some reason, and felt super sick and hungover for some reason. I'm really not sure why, since I wasn't that drunk and got home at like 1am. There's really no reason for it. But I felt terrible so I spent most of the day on the couch. The only time I left the house was to go check out this private cinema I'm thinking of using for my actual birthday next Friday. And while on the couch, I finally watched the finale of my guilty pleasure TV show - American Idol. Luckily it's being cancelled so I'll only watch one more season. I was actually thinking that it's time for me to stop, but since next season is the last one, I'll watch it. I was not very happy with the results, but it was what I expected. Well, what I expected after Jax, the girl who came in 3rd place, was voted off. She wasn't my favorite either, actually Clark, the number 2 guy, was my favorite, but I was very sure Jax was going to win. But the whole point of discussing American Idol is to get to today's song, which is As, by Stevie Wonder. There was a lot of Stevie Wonder song on this season of the show, and he really does have some fantastic songs, this being one of them. So, thanks for another season with a disappointing winner, as usual. But thanks for this great song.

May 16 - Bjork

So last night's date that I went on went very well, and I ended up telling her I just want to be friends, and she had a surprisingly positive reaction to it. Obviously I was nervous to tell her this, but she took it really well and was happy that I actually said something, rather than just leaving her to wonder. And she even texted me again today to say thanks for the honesty. So hooray for me, and now I have one more dating lesson learned. And also thanks to Philana, my roommate, for pretty much forcing me to go on the date and be a big boy. That was good of her.

And then today was all uphill from there. The weather is great, and I bought myself some early birthday presents. I went to the fabric market and got myself a suit, a pair of pants, and 5 shirts. And I'll pick them up next Saturday, just after my actual birthday. So perfect timing. I just wish I had some of the shirts in time for my birthday next Friday to wear to dinner. Or even tonight, since I'm having a joint birthday party with my friend Cy tonight. And I want to show off. Although, we kind of already are showing off. We're going for Xinjiang food, which is like a mix of Chinese and Middle Eastern, coming from Xinjiang province in China's far west. It's delicious, and one thing they do for special occasions out there is roast an entire sheep. So that's what we've chosen to do for this special occasion. I've actually wanted to do this for a while, but never found a place when I was living in Beijing, and now my favorite Xinjiang place in Shanghai does it. So it's perfect!

To keep the theme of the last 2 days going (at least in my mind), I've chosen a Bjork song for you today. This is linked in a few ways. First, and most obviously, Bjork put out an album together with Dirty Projectors back in 2010, called Mount Wittenberg Orca. They were really into Orcas back in 2009-2010. So she's musically linked to them. But I also associate them for another reason. Sometimes when I listen to songs I get a really clear image in my head, and sometimes it just involves people dancing. That's not to say that I have any idea how people do or should dance, but I just feel like dancing is the appropriate visual representation for certain songs. And then I want my sister, who is a dancer and actually does know how people do and should dance, to choreograph to those songs. Dirty Projectors's Dance For You is one of those songs, and so is Bjork's Unison, by Bjork. In fact, this may have been the first song that I ever told my sister she should choreograph to. Not that she ever listens to me, but that's her own mistake. Also, this song is gorgeous, so there's that. So here's Unison, off of 2001's Vespertine.

May 15 - Dirty Projectors

It is raining like nuts here in Shanghai today! It's been pissing it down most of the day with no end in sight until tomorrow. And I'm supposed to leave the house tonight, but I really want to just spend this Friday night inside doing nothing. Mostly because I hate the rain, but also because my plans for tonight are that date I discussed the other day that I don't really want to go on now, for the aforementioned reasons. And I need to tell this girl who's interested in me that I'm not interested in her. That's not fun.

Yesterday I told you about Dirty Projectors and how weird they are, but then I put a song which is pretty normal and accessible. So I feel like I didn't do their artistry justice. So today I'm picking another Dirty Projectors song for you, this time off of 2009's Bitte Orca, which was the first album I heard by Dirty Projectors, and the year I learned of their existence. This song, Useful Chamber, is my favorite off of that album, and does much more justice to Dirty Projectors's artistry, very clearly showing their regular use of vocal harmonies, multiple vocalists, changes in tempo and sound mid-song and much more. It's creative, to say the least. And also great.

May 14 - Dirty Projectors

This week has turned out to be a super busy work week. Which is good, because I like staying busy at work, but I just don't have enough hours in the (work) day this week. My work days are pretty limited because the office is in the middle of nowhere and I have to take the shuttle or I'll never make it home, which can be both a blessing and a curse. Days like today, where I actually want to work late, I can't. Most days, when I don't want to work late, I have no option to. So I guess overall it's ok. I just need to put in a bit of time over the weekend I think.

And today was especially long cause I ended up out late last night, as I mentioned. My friend Lizzy's parents are in town and she was supposed to have a dinner for everyone to meet them Tuesday, but then they had to reschedule until Wednesday. But on Wednesday, I already had a farewell dinner to go to for my friend Mathias, who's headed back to Sweden on Wednesday. I kind of didn't want to go to Mathias's, I really wanted to go to Lizzy's and meet her parents, plus I knew nobody at Mathias's. I'm very glad I went though, it was good to see him one last time. Although it was a bit weird to be the only American with 10 Swedes, all but 2 of whom are students. And for the first time in years, when we were figuring out the bill, I had to figure out what people who didn't drink beer owed. I had forgotten that's a thing. It made me realize how happy and lucky I am to be in a position that I don't have to be so concerned about money, and can just make my life, and the life of everyone around me, that much easier. It's great. I'm a lucky man.

Anyway, went to Mathias's, and then on my way home Lizzy told me she was out at a bar. So I went, even though her parents weren't there. What was supposed to be one drink turned into two, as it always does, and then I was home at midnight and up at 6. So I was very tired today. And very busy. Thank God for coffee.

And in the music world, it's an older song today. Well, not really old, 3 years old, but old in my world. It's Dance For You, which is possibly my favorite Dirty Projectors song. It's off of 2012's Swing Lo Magellan, a top 10 album for the year. This album and band are definitely a grower, not a shower, but once they've grown on you, you can't get over them. They're quite weird, although this is one of the less weird songs by them. Oddly, the show that I was watching today made mention of them and called them Math Rock. I've heard this term before. I'm not really sure what it means, but I didn't think it meant Dirty Projectors. But then I hate all these labels, so what do I know. I just like music. This music specifically.

May 13 - Foals

It's 11:59 and I made it just in time. I'll post this after midnight, but at least I started it on time. Anyway, the night did not turn out as expected. I thought I'd go out to dinner and come home and go to bed, so I waited to write my blog, but then I didn't do those things, and now I really need to go to bed, so I'll write more substantial things tomorrow.

As for music, I had like 3 songs I was thinking about sharing today, but in the end I'm going with Foals because it's what I was just listening to. And they're fantastic. Well, they're a band that has 3 albums, 2 of which are fine but did not really draw my attention too much, and then they put out a third album, Holy Fire, back in 2013, and it was in my top 10. It's good stuff. Very, very good stuff. I also saw them in Singapore when I lived there, and they were good live, but it was a typical 1.5 hour set, except with no opener and it cost $100. Because Singapore. I think that's the most expensive concert I've ever been to.... Anyway, Foals are wonderful. Holy Fire is wonderful. Out of the Woods is wonderful. There are many other wonderful songs on that album, but this is the one I choose to share. I think it's my favorite (emphasis on think), but also it's what was playing as I arrived home.

May 12 - Milo Greene

I ended up on a date tonight. This is a girl I started talking to over the weekend, had great online chemistry with and was really looking forward to meeting, and then sadly was just not attracted to her in person. We had already set a date for Friday but ended up meeting tonight kind of last minute, so I'm not gonna flake for Friday, but I do think I need to let her know that we should just be friends. I feel like a dick, cause I know she's interested, she's already texted me post-date, but it's just not there for me. Which sucks, cause I had high hopes for this one.

But anyway, on to the music. I listened to Milo Greene's eponymous first album a couple times today. They actually put out a new album this year, called Control, but it's not great. Which sucks, cause I also had high hopes for that one in advance. But they totally changed their sound and style on this second one, it's nothing like the first, and not nearly as good. But the first one, that's a fantastic album. And my favorite song on it is Don't You Give Up On Me. There's plenty of gems on that album, though.

May 11 - RAC feat. Kele and MNDR

I had such a hard time waking up today, and I have no idea why. I got a full night's sleep, in fact I got a ton of sleep this weekend, and I woke up at a pretty normal hour for myself today, and even after having coffee I could just not wake up this morning. I don't know what was up. But I made it to Tianjin and the weather turned really nice after a bit of afternoon rain, so I appreciate that. Normally I can't even see the buildings across the street from my hotel when I'm here, but today I can see all the way into the city (which is actually quite far, because factory). So that's putting me in a good mood. And I'm going back to Shanghai tomorrow for what feels like the first time in forever, so that's also putting me in a good mood. And I've been chatting with this new girl I met online since yesterday and now have a dinner date for Friday night, which is also putting me in a good mood. And I'm planning a joint birthday dinner for Saturday night where we're going to eat an entire Xinjiang-style roast lamb, which is something I've been wanting to do for my birthday for years, so that's also putting me in a good mood. So basically, great end to a slow start of a day.

As for music, I'm currently listening to the new Penguin Prison album, which is fine I guess. I was thinking maybe I'd just share a song by them, but there hasn't been anything that stuck out to me while I've been listening. But then I thought that the first time I heard of Penguin Prison was through RAC, this producer who I got into when he was just making remixes, and who put out his first actual album, Strangers, last year. He's still just a producer, so it's actually an album of songs produced by him and released in his name, but featuring all kinds of other vocalists. And the opening track, Let Go, is a fantastic song. Made it into my list of best songs of the year last year. It's got Kele of Bloc Party on vocals, with MNDR doing the chorus, and it's a wonderful opening track to another pretty decent album.

May 10 - FKA Twigs

Last day of the weekend, and while the day was shitty and rainy and gross, it was really nice and chilled out and wonderful for me. I did spend a lot of time out in the rain, which sucked, but I had some good time with friends and some good food. And I've started chatting with a girl who I met online, and that seems to be going well so far. So all in all a good day.

As for music, this is not the first time I've posted about FKA Twigs this year. But I've been listening to her recently, and the more I listen to her, the more I like her. I already realized this a few months ago, but after not really having listened for a few months and coming back to listen to her again now, I find it to be even more true than ever. So here's another of her songs from last year's EP1, Papi Pacify.

May 9 - Ivan & Alyosha

I'm going to be getting very drunk today, so I'll just write my blog now, even though I've just woken up. I'm going to a boozy brunch today. Normally that means all you can eat and all you can drink champagne at a 5 star hotel. Today we're going to a Spanish restaurant, which will have all you can eat and drink, though I'm not sure if they'll have champagne. I'm guessing they'll have cava, wine and cocktails at least, which is still pretty wonderful. And, these things normally go from 11:30 - 3:00. I've actually only been to one champagne brunch in Shanghai and it went to 5 or 6 (I can't really remember...), but this one goes until "sundown" as they say in the ad. They have a rooftop bar where the party will continue after 3:00. Which normally would be great, but looking out the window today, it doesn't look all that great. Hopefully it'll clear up and it's not just pollution that's going to sit here all day, cause I love a good rooftop when the weather is warming up, and I was also invited to another rooftop party for later in the day, which if I'm not super wasted and end up not going to, I'll also go to.

Anyway, on to today's song. Today was a great week for music. Lots of good releases. I pre-ordered a few that I was very excited about, and then there were a few others that I was interested in but didn't know enough about to pre-order. And there were names that I recognized and had maybe heard a song or two from but didn't really know much about. One of those is Ivan & Alyosha. They just released what seems to be their third album (although if you ask an actual fan I think they might have a different opinion), It's All Just Pretend. And it turns out the opening track, Something Is Wrong, is a great one. I'm not sure the album is one that I'm going to purchase yet, I don't think I liked it that much, but I'm gonna give it another listen and decide.

Unlike yesterday, I did find this song on Soundcloud, which is always my preference. But annoyingly, there was no embed code provided. So you get a stupid Youtube video instead. I now realize why it's a good thing I'm usually behind on posting new songs off of albums. It's probably a good thing.

May 8 - Other Lives

Today started out really bad. I was in a terrible mood. I woke up at 6, after not sleeping well because often when I have to wake up extra early my body just can't sleep well because I'm afraid I won't wake up on time. But I did, and I always do, but my body can't seem to remember that. Anyway, woke up early, went to the airport for a flight I didn't even want to take, only to find out it was delayed 3 hours. Awesome. So then I sat in the airport tired and cranky and in a bad mood, and then I got on my plane tired and cranky and in a bad mood, and then I got to Beijing tired and cranky and in a bad mood, and ended up with a shitty cab driver who I had to yell at a couple of times. But somehow, magically, when I got to the office and started chatting with our agent (I'm here to audit him) I ended up in a much better mood. And we had a great chat. And now I'm in a good mood. So yeah. Who would have thought that work would put me in a better mood, after a long week where I felt I was working too much? And now I've checked into my hotel and I will just lay here and watch movies. Good times.

Before starting the movies, I will play you a song though. The other day I mentioned a few of the albums I was excited about this week, one of them being Ritual, the third album by Other Lives. And these guys did not disappoint. This might be their best album yet. Which falls in line with the trend of great first album, disappointing second, amazing third. Although they skipped the disappointing part and also had a great second album. These guys are seriously underrated. There's a ton of amazing songs on the album, but my favorite might be track 12, It's Not Magic. Before the album was released they were teasing the intros to all the songs on Instagram, and when I heard the intro to this song I was blown away. And I'm still blown away. Granted, the entire song is not as good as the intro, that part (and the repetitions of it later in the song) are definitely the best part. I mean, what an amazing few bars of music. But the entire song is still great. I hope you agree.

And for the second time ever, I can't find it streaming on my normal sites. So here's the Spotify version.

May 7 - Wild Beasts

Well my one day in the office today was quite busy, and ended with a bit of an argument with another employee, which is sending me into the evening in not the best of moods, but it's all good. Had to be done, anyway. And after this one day in the office, I'm heading back to Beijing in the morning. At least I get another night at home tonight. But I'm up and out even earlier than usual so I can catch my plane. Boo. I'm gonna sneak a cheeky McDonald's breakfast though, don't tell anyone.

And in part 2 of my better late than never discoveries from last night is a new track from Wild Beasts called Woebegone Wanderers II. No clue what it's from. I doubt it has anything to do with a new album, since they just released one last year, but a boy can dream.

May 6 - The National

I just got home from the airport, unpacked, and started downloading all the music that came out this week that I wasn't here to download as soon as it was released. Specifically, new albums from Hiatus Kaiyote and Other Lives, and the debut album from HOWLING (another side project with Mr. Ry X). Super exciting stuff. And this doesn't even include the albums that I am excited about maybe liking and really want to listen to, but did not pre-order because I'm not actually sure I'll like them. Those being new albums from Best Coast, who had some great songs before the album came out, and new albums from Django Django, My Morning Jacket. Really, May is off to a good start with music. And then there's Shamir's debut later this month, there's the new Patrick Watson, The Tallest Man on Earth, and maybe the most exciting being a new EP from My Brightest Diamond, just in time for my birthday. Hooray for May.

But anyway, I went on iTunes to download all the ones I had pre-ordred, I started looking at new stuff coming out, and realized there's a bunch of new and exciting things that I can share and haven't yet. Basically new singles from some of the artists I mentioned above, or from other artists whose albums are only coming out much later this year but who finally put out a single or two. And, as it turns out, a couple of these new single discoveries are a bit older (well, within the last couple of months) but I somehow managed to miss them until now. But not anymore.

One of those is this new single from The National, Sunshine On My Back. No idea if this is from a new album or what, but it has been a couple years since the last one, so it definitely could be. Which would be pretty amazing.

May 5 - Kishi Bashi

It's late again, and I just made it to Changsha for the night. Well, not just, I landed about 2 hours ago, but by the time I got to the hotel and grabbed a quick bite, it's already 10:45 and I need to go to bed. But that bite, it was delicious. It started out with fried noodles on the street, which were good, partially because I love them and haven't had them in forever, and partially because there is nothing else near my hotel. But I had also texted one of my employees to ask what's good to eat in Changsha cause she went to college here, and she recommended a couple dishes. I couldn't find it, but as it just so happened, she was already eating it. So she brought me leftovers of her spicy crawfish and they were amazing. Super delicious. And Hunan, the province of which Changsha is the capital, is known for having the spiciest food in China. So tomorrow should be good, too.

But until then, something else good. Ha ha Pt 1, by Kishi Bashi, off of last year's Lighght, a fantastic album by a fantastic artist. Definitely listen to the whole thing if you haven't. There's a lot of amazing songs like this on it. And while you're at it, listen to his first album 151a too, cause it's also a winner.

May 4 - Kan Wakan

I had to cut my trip short to come back to China today for some meetings. Which means that I missed lunch in Korea, then had to land in Beijing, go straight to the office, stay there until customer dinner at 7:30, then come back to the hotel and finalize the presentation documents for tomorrow based on our meetings this afternoon and evening. So it's now 11pm and I'm finally finishing up work. I don't usually have to work late like this, so I don't mind so much, but it definitely is not fun.

Anyway, it's time to go off to bed. But not before playing you a song. I'm listening to a playlist, and the song that is currently playing is Moving On, by Kan Wakan. They're a pretty good band that put out their debut last year to much critical acclaim. I enjoyed it too, although it took a few listens for me to decide if I just liked it, or if I really really liked it. I think it's still somewhere in between. Also, Moving On is not my favorite song by them, but it's playing now so you get to listen to it.

May 3 - Ladi6

I am in Korea having a wonderful time, but with no internet at home at the moment. So I didn't share a song yesterday, which at first I was like "shit this isn't the first time I've missed a day this month" and then just now I realized it's May. So a) I'm still doing ok, and b) that's totally crazy that it's May.

But yeah, Korea is great. I haven't really done much of anything, except wander the city with Jay and eat everything. We had this amazing kimchi and tofu thing the first night we arrived, and a ton of makkeoli, which is unfiltered rice wine that looks kind of gross but tastes great. And it was served in these really awesome bottles which I wanted to steal. Yesterday we ate fried chicken for lunch, which I promise is a Korean thing. Koreans make delicious fried chicken. Can't get enough. Then we had an afternoon snack of Korean tacos, cause apparently that's a thing here too, followed by Korean BBQ for dinner. And then more drinking and some bowling. Good times all around.

And now for a song. For today, we are once again just picking whatever random song plays on my Spotify. And that song is Ikarus, by Ladi6. A great song by an otherwise mediocre band.