It was another busy Monday at work, without anything very interesting to report. I sometimes wonder if I did have something to report if I should actually do so or not? Like if something interesting happened at work, there's probably some degree of confidentiality I should be respecting, right? Well, I guess luckily barely anyone reads this and nothing that interesting or confidential is going on, so I don't have to worry about it too much. So I guess the most exciting thing today was Thanksgiving leftovers I ate for lunch, and then again for dinner with Julia. She came over to hang out and have leftovers, which was great cause we haven't had one on one time for a while now. So it was really good to catch up and chat a bit. But I'm exhausted, so I made her leave early and I'm going to sleep.
Before that, let me introduce Joon Moon. They are from France. Well, half of them are from France, the other half are from Kansas or something, but now living in France. You can read more (in not so great English) on their website. But they have one EP with 3 tracks, all of which are very good. They sound absolutely nothing like Miike Snow, but something about them reminds me of Miike Snow in their less electronic songs. I don't know why. Maybe I'm just crazy. Anyway, here's Help Me, my favorite track off the Chess EP, which is also going onto my 2016 watchlist in the hopes that they put out a proper album.
So it's been a pretty great weekend. I think I left off on my way to Pudong on Friday night. We met up with my Chinese friend for dinner, which turned out to be one of the best Shanghainese meals I've had. I'm not actually a big fan of Shanghainese food in general, but this place she took us was really great. Usually it's way too sweet and covered in heavy sauces, but not this one. Maybe it's just that I always order wrong, who knows, but this time I enjoyed it. Then we did a bit of bar hopping. On the way back from Pudong we stopped at the Bund to have a drink at El Willy, one of my favorite restaurants in the city. I know we'd just eaten, but you can't not eat at this place. It's fantastic. And it's Spanish tapas, so it's really just small, bite-sized things anyway. The plan after that was to take him to one of my favorite bars in town, Senators Saloon, but it was super packed. So we passed on that and hit up a couple more bars on the walk home. We actually ended up finding this bar called Uptown which I've been looking for and passed a million times without actually realizing it was the bar. I've been wanting to go cause they have this big record collection and you can basically play DJ. In addition, I learned on Friday that they also have two dogs and a great selection off well-priced import beers. So I definitely want to spend more time there.
Then yesterday was Thanksgiving dinner. Most of the day was just spent running errands and preparing, then people came over around 3 and from there it was all group cooking and preparing and lots (and lots and lots) of drinking. It was fantastic. There were 12 of us for dinner, followed by Cards Against Humanity, followed by passing out for like 11 hours. I can't believe how much I slept. I don't even know the last time I slept that much in one night. It was fantastic. Then today was grilled cheese, more beers, The Martian, and leftovers for dinner. I have so many leftovers. I'm gonna be eating them all week. Which is totally find with me.
I also got a bit of new music this weekend, and the artist that stands out the most is B.Miles (no space). She's a new artist from LA, and she put out her debut EP, twenty fifteen, a few months ago. The opening track, Nine Matches, is probably my favorite of her three songs, and I will definitely be putting her on my watchlist for next year.
I'll have to write about last night and today in tomorrow's blog, because I'm just taking a quick minute out of Thanksgiving prep to write this. Dinner is happening at my place tonight for like 15 people. Should be wonderful. And I have a playlist which, surprisingly, I got from Khloe Khardashian (sp?). It was the best Thanksgiving playlist on Spotify, which I then added more to cause it was too short. And now I've got a wonderful Motown playlist! So today's song is Love Train, by The O'Jays, off of the Thanksgiving playlist.
Flying Lotus last night was pretty awesome. It was pretty much just a DJ set, not like a live concert, but he did also rap on a few of his songs. The music was great, though, and the sound system, too. But the best part of the night was the visuals. He stands in front of a screen with his laptop and whatever other machines he's got up there, and that's behind a somewhat transparent second screen. So while he's DJing, he has videos playing on both the screens in front of and behind him, creating awesome 3D visuals. And they're super cool and trippy. It was one of the most visually stimulating concerts I've ever been to.
Then today was pretty calm. Again, I was working from home. And I got more work done today than yesterday. Still only the minimum required work, though. Otherwise I skyped my parents, got a haircut, and found a new Japanese place. The only thing I didn't get done was a nap, which I really wanted, but now I have no time cause I'm having dinner with my Chinese friend over in Pudong, and being Chinese dinner must be at 6pm. So no naps for me.
Surprisingly, I didn't listen to as much music as I would have expected while working from home. So for today's song, I went through my long list of best albums of the year, and found that there was only one artist on that long list who I did not share any music by this year. So today is Gary Clark Jr.'s day. I'm actually surprised to see he's never made it on my blog. I love his first album, Blak and Blu, which came out back in 2012. And this year's The Story of Sonny Boy Slim is also a great one. I'm not sure it'll be in the Top 10, but still a great album. So I'll share one of my favorite tracks off of it, Grinder.
I do love working from home. If you can call it working. I barely did anything work related today. But I did what was required, and that's what matters. And I took Sean to Baoism, which was great, as usual. Then to Spin Ceramics, which was great, as usual. I got the first of many weddings gifts that need to get got for next year. No gifts for myself, but that's ok cause I really don't need more things. I didn't do anything Thanksgiving related today, though. Due to living outside America and not getting actual Thanksgiving Day off, my Thanksgiving now usually happens on Saturday. I think only once in my years abroad has it happened on the actual day. So nothing special for Thanksgiving today. And now I'm just home, waiting to leave for dinner and a concert.
What concert you say? Flying Lotus. Which is why he's today's artist. He's a producer/DJ from LA. I can't say I'm a huge fan, but I do enjoy him. And he's supposed to put on a great show. And it's Shanghai and I'll see just about anyone who I even passingly like. But I more than passingly like Flying Lotus. And I much more than passingly like Do The Astral Plane, an amazing song off of 2010's Cosmogramma.
I didn't have to go to the office today! Well, that's only half true. I did go, but then I left an hour later to drive 2 hours to a small city called Yixing to meet a potential customer who had apparently already purchased a competitor's machine, unbeknownst to us, but we sat and had a chat and then drove 2 hours back. I actually could have gotten a lot more done at the office today, compared to accomplishing nothing on this visit. But at least it's left me with stuff to do when working from home tomorrow so that I actually feel like I've accomplished some work and not just found an excuse not to go to the office.
In other news, Sean is visiting, as I mentioned. I saw him for about 5 minutes last night. He was supposed to get in at 5:40, but thanks to the snow up north, there were delays and the trains ran slow, so he finally got in at 10:00, and to mine around 10:45. Poor guy. But he's been exploring today, and now I'm off to meet him at the grilled cheese shop! My favorite!
I'm not sure where I found Golden Youth, but here they are. They put out an album back in 2013 (called Quiet Frame; Wild Light. I like the use of the semicolon) and an EP in 2014 (called The Cabin), of which I've only heard the latter. It's ok, nothing great, but I do really like the last track, Stars Apart. Especially from about the 3:15 mark. So it's today's song.
Another long day at the office. But this time not with only financial reports, luckily. I had a few weeks where I was super busy at the office and didn't mind being there every day, but now I'm more or less caught up and stuff is slowing down, so it'd be nice to get out. Luckily I will be on Thursday and Friday.
Last night I think I found my favorite Japanese place in Shanghai so far. It is this tiny little izakaya that's hidden back in a housing complex. Everything there is great, probably the best Japanese food I've had in Shanghai so far. And pretty reasonable. I just wish they had a bigger menu, but we managed to find a ton of delicious things. I definitely need to go back. And tonight it's on to another favorite, Lotus Eatery. It's probably my favorite Chinese restaurant in Shanghai, and as I have 2 friends visiting (my friend Rachael is here on business, and my friend Sean is on his way from Beijing to spend a few days visiting) it's a must. So dinner tonight will be great, too!
Since I posted yesterday about my first artist on my 2016 watchlist, it got me thinking that I should go back and check in on my 2015 watchlist. A few of the artists I did indeed watch, and a few of the artists I have no idea why I put them on there in the first place cause their music is just not good. But on great thing I came across that I hadn't been watching was Buscabulla. Actually there's been nothing to watch, though, so it's ok. They put out their debut EP in 2014, produced by Blood Orange, and haven't done anything else since. But the EP is quite cool. They're from Puerto Rico, so it's all in Spanish, and it's experimental synth pop. What's not to love about that? So here's Temporal, though the entire EP is worth checking out.
Today gave me quite the headache. I spent the entire day sorting through competitor financial statements in Chinese. And for some reason staring at the screen today really got to me and made my brain not want to function properly after a certain point. I don't know what was so different about staring at a screen all day today, but I sure am glad it's over. And up next is sushi for dinner, which is always a great thing. I'm trying out a new place with a couple friends, hopefully it'll be good. It's got great reviews, though. And I wanted sushi/Japanese food last night but didn't end up getting any, so I'm glad we'll be having it tonight. Instead I had tacos, cause I ended up on a last minute date last night. Which was fine, but nothing special, so there won't be a second one.
I was back on the new music again today at work (though not Adele, cause she's not on Spotify. But not to worry, I'm listening to her now), and I started a new playlist, for my 2016 watchlist. And the first band to go on it is Kolidescopes, who have one song out, which I like very much, called Back To You. It actually came out a couple months ago, but it's new to me. So I think it's fitting they're the song of the day since they got me started looking ahead to next year.
I had a very chill Sunday. Probably because I was recovering from vegetarian Thanksgiving. Who knew you could get so full without eating meat? Well, I was ridiculously, uncomfortably full. As you should be after Thanksgiving. It now has me a bit concerned for next week, though. But yeah, I did nothing this morning, which was great. And then this afternoon I went to see Spectre. It was just ok, though. I mean, it was a fun, action-packed Bond film, but I feel like everything was too easy and too convenient. The recent films have been really smart and believable (well, as believable as they can be, anyway), and I feel like a lot of thought has gone into filling in the details of the plot to make it more believable. But not so much with this one. It's amazing how fast people can fall in love and how a single bullet can destroy and entire evil lair. But that being said, it was still fun. And the Bond girl this time is Lea Seydoux, who I'm now a bit in love with. How did I not feel this way after Grand Budapest? She was apparently also in that. I think I need to go rewatch it.
Other things I'm enjoying today are High Highs's new single, Cascades. They put out an album, Open Season, back in 2013, which got a lot of attention, but which I remember no being blow away by. The big song then was the title track, Open Season, which is quite good, but yeah, then the album wasn't so great. So now they're back with new music, and again I like the lead single off of whatever album is upcoming, so hopefully I like the second album more than the first.
Oh man, what a day. I spent the entire day cooking, pretty much. I'm going to this vegetarian Thanksgiving tonight, and got it into my head to make a quiche. And I had to make it from scratch, crust and all. As it turns out, making the crust is not as difficult as I expected, but it is time consuming. And it hurts my arms. I think I spent like an hour and a half cutting butter into the dough. It was ridiculous. But it is now done and in the oven and I'm very proud of myself. Hopefully it tastes good, too. It's spinach and mushroom and tons and tons of cheese. Like a shit ton of parmesan, mozarella and cheddar. So actually even if the crust sucks, I don't think anyone will care. And I have enough dough to make another, so the next one will be much easier and quicker.
I'm not sure if that was a fun note or not, but on a not so fun note, Natalie and I are no longer seeing each other. It was very mutual and amicable, it's just that we are not looking for the same thing at the moment. It's too bad, she is pretty great, but I feel pretty good about our talk and our decision. And I actually do think we will remain friends, which is what we both want. Anyway, so now I wait for the quiche to finish and then I'm off to vegetarian Thanksgiving. Not to worry, though, I am having a real Thanksgiving next week, too.
But before that, here's a song for you. Today's song is from Kins, a British band in the vein of Alt-J that I just found out about. I heard about them through their new EP, Cyclical, which came out earlier this year. And they've released two more songs since then as a run up to their second album, which is due next year. I still haven't listened to their first album, but considering how much I like the Cyclical EP, I probably should. It's quite difficult to pick a track off of Cyclical to play for you, cause they're all great, but I think we're gonna go with Young, as it's also an official single off the EP. But listen to the whole EP, it's great.
The Lego interview yesterday went really well. As expected (and preferred), it was more of a conversation than an interview. I spoke with the VP of HR for about an hour, and it seems like they do want to give me a job, but need to find the right position. The impression I left with is that there's a better chance than not that I will go work for them, but it might not be very quick. Which is actually good because I would ideally not leave Bauer for like 6 months. So all good on that front. And the office is pretty amazing, and in a pretty amazing location, so these are all plusses.
Other than that, I'm just glad it's the weekend. I've been super tired all week for some reason, and it's been a long and stressful week, so I'm glad it's over. There has been some fun, such as Julia's birthday party last night, but it was mostly work stuff and stress. So that's not fun. At least I didn't have to go into the office the last 2 days.
And having not gone into the office the last 2 days I was mostly listening to my list of albums to make it into my top 10. But having gone into the office today, I listened to some new music again. And one song I found and liked is Hyde, by Astrid S. It's a great song, reminds me of Kacy Hill, which is of course a great thing. It's also a surprising thing, considering she actually got her start on Norway's version of American Idol. But this is a good direction. Better than her first single, 2AM, which I went and listened to after hearing Hyde, and was not so impressed with. Let's hope she keeps this up instead.
I had my Lego interview this morning. It went quite well. Despite that, I didn't have the best day so don't much feel like talking. I'll write about Lego later, I guess.
I did also find out that Missy Elliott has put out a new single today, called WTF (Where They From). And in typical Missy fashion, it's great. With an awesome video. And Pharrell Williams. What's not to like? Glad to see that after that long hiatus, she has not lost it at all.
I almost forgot to write a blog today! I was just getting ready to go to bed and it occurred to me I hadn't. So in a nutshell, my German colleagues finally left today, I worked from home, I actually got a lot of work done despite working from home, I went to my friend Melanie's gallery opening, and I'm interviewing with Lego tomorrow (finally!). Ok, done.
And luckily for music, I heard a great song yesterday. Not really new, it's from last year, but it's new to me. The song is Cups and Cups, by Field Report. Just like yesterday's song, it came up on Beth's playlist. But whereas yesterday was a reminder, today is totally new. In fact, it's probably the best thing I've heard on her playlist so far, either old or new. Thanks Beth!
Today was pretty much a waste of a day. I was in CRM training again. Training which I've actually given, so there's no real reason for me to be in it, but I was. And for some reason I'm exhausted today, even though I got like 8 good hours of sleep. At least I got to leave the office early, and I'm working from home tomorrow and Thursday. And it's my last night entertaining my German colleagues, and then I have fun things planned for the rest of the week. So these are all good things.
I had Oh Wonder on my drafts list for a while because I'd been thinking about writing about them, then never got around to it. Mostly because their album wasn't great. I liked them before their album came out, but then once it did I realized all their songs are pretty much exactly the same. So listening to an album of it isn't that fun. But a song here and there is. And I was reminded of that fact today by my friend Beth. I follow one of her playlists on Spotify and have been listening to it, and Livewire, the opening track from the album, came on, and I remembered how good it is. So today's song is Livewire, off of Oh Wonder's self-titled debut album.
This was quite the busy morning at the office. I had a bunch of stuff to take care of in like 2 hours, because for the rest of the day and all of tomorrow I was/will be in training. I actually don't need this training at all, but I'm glad for it because it's for our CRM project, which is finally rolling out. I was working on this project when I started with the company, and I'm no longer involved, but it's still nice to finally see it be implemented. Also, it's over a year behind schedule and should do a lot to help our business, so I'm glad to finally see it rolled out for that reason as well.
In this big rush this morning, I did find time to buy myself a ticket to Hong Kong for New Year! My friend Shuk-Wah just moved there recently, so I really want to go visit. Plus it'll be a new place to spend New Year, and you know my thing with New Year. I also don't think I've been to HK for fun in like 6 years. I've been a couple times for work, which always included a bit of fun, but this is just vacation. And it's the only trip I have planned at the moment, although once this trip is done and the new year begins, it seems like I'll be back on my crazy travel schedule. In addition to a bunch of events we have to plan in the first half of the year, I know I've got trips to the US in January, Germany in February (which should coincide with Chinese New Year which means I'm going to Scandinavia somewhere to see the Northern Lights! Bye, bye bucket list item!), and then I've also got Dubai in March (which will hopefully line up with a weekend so I can go to Jordan and see Petra! Bye, bye other bucket list item!) and Germany (again) in April. So it's off to a busy start next year. Assuming I stay with my company, anyway... But we just might know more about that on Thursday...
I have to say, Grimes impressed me this year. I have not been a huge fan of hers in the past. I feel like she's always put out great songs, followed by terribly disappointing albums, considering how great her singles have been. In fact, I'm a bit loathe to put her on the blog today because she's already been on once this year and I'm so torn about her, especially given all the hype she gets, which I don't think has quite been deserved. But her new album, Art Angels, is solid. This is more of that "good pop" music I talk about. It is quite poppy, but also inventive and interesting and creative. In fact, it's on the long list of my best albums for the year, which I'm currently working through to try and pare down to just 10. We'll see if Art Angels makes it, but it is a great album. And my favorite track on it is Flesh without Blood. Actually, Flesh without Blood and the track after it, Belly of the Beat, are my two favorites. It's a nice little couplet of songs. The video for Flesh without Blood has been coupled with Life in the Vivid Dream, an interlude at the end of the album, for some reason, so you can enjoy that one too, but Flesh without Blood is the only one for the Spotify playlist.
I am quite sleepy today. Last night was Chi Fan for Charity, a charity dinner party that happens once a year. Basically, a bunch of restaurants donate a table for 10 (with booze), someone hosts the table, and you buy a ticket for varying prices depending on the restaurant to go and eat this dinner with the host and 8 other people. Then you go to an afterparty where there's free flow booze. So that was last night. We were actually only there until like 1:30, so I probably shouldn't be as tired as I am. But anyway, it was great. I had dinner at this Spanish place called Azul, right around the corner. The table was hosted by Natalie, the girl I've been seeing. Then the afterparty was at an art gallery, and all the different tables come together there, so I saw a few friends that were at dinner at other tables. After the afterparty the plan was to go to a bar and then KTV, but while Natalie and I were waiting for an Uber this crazy fight broke out between these 3 girls and this guy and his girlfriend in which the guy ended up hitting one of the girls and it was nuts. Many people interjected themselves, I was trying to keep the guy calm and keep him from continuing to get involved and making even more of a douche of himself than he already had, which didn't work very well. It was ridiculous. So that kind of ruined the mood, and we just went home instead of continuing on to the bar. But other than that, great evening!
And today I've just been hanging out and not doing much of anything. I tried a new South American restaurant, which was much better than I expected, and I finished watching Master of None, which was also much better than I expected and I had really high expectations to begin with. Fantastic show. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and watch it all. It's fantastic. Unfortunately I have to go and pick up my colleagues soon who are in town from Germany and then take them out to dinner somewhere. And I have to do the same tomorrow and Tuesday night, too. Not really looking forward to it. The guy who's coming is nice and I've worked with him quite a lot (I don't really know the woman coming with him), I guess I'm just tired and would rather spend time with friends. Or Natalie. Or on my couch chilling out. Actually, I think it's the fact that I have to go all the way out to the train station to pick them up that's making me really not want to go see them. Otherwise it'll be fine. I just don't want that schlep.
My post yesterday made me remember to share Patrick Watson. He put out a new album, Love Songs For Robots, earlier this year. I've been listening to this guy for a few years, and I wouldn't say I'm crazy about him, he does make quite a lot that I don't like, but when he makes stuff that is good, it tends to be really, really good. Kind of like Regina Spektor, I guess. So he's got this new album, and my favorite song on it is called Bollywood. It's a pretty chilled out song, but wait until the 3:30ish mark and it gets really interesting. But in general, he's a pretty chilled out guy.
Today was a wonderfully lazy day. I felt a bit bad about it, because it was actually quite nice out, but it's exactly the kind of day I wanted. I was out quite late last night. My friend Jenny has friends in town, so we went to Mercato for dinner, one of Jean Georges restaurants here in China (and one of my favorite restaurants here in China). Then I didn't come home until this morning and just wanted to lay on the couch. Also I was supposed to have a bunch of deliveries today. So the idea was to do that while watching Masters of None. Started out well, but then Cy and Veronika stopped by and we ended up talking and juicing (with alcohol) and playing Katamari the entire day. It was fantastic! And Ozzie, their dog, was here, too. Doesn't get much better than that! And now it's time to get ready for an evening at Chi Fan for Charity, a charity (duh) event here in Shanghai which I'll tell you more about tomorrow.
Before that I need to play you a song and I have no idea what to play you. I feel like if you asked me 2 days ago I would have had like 4 songs to choose from. But now I can't think of anything. So we'll go with this guy Reuben Hollebon. He's been on my "drafts" list for a while, but only has 2 songs and then I just never went back and actually shared his music. As I said, he has 2 songs, the second of which, Haystacks, was released last week. The first of which, Faces, was released much earlier. Faces was the one I would have shared when it was his only song, but now that he has two I think I'm going to share Haystacks. It's quite dark and moody, and sort of reminds me of a darker version of Patrick Watson (which, now that I think of it, is one of the 4 people I would have said I want to share music by if you'd asked me a few days ago). I'm not sure how much I'll like Reuben Hollebon once he has more music, but I like him enough to pay attention at the moment.
I got my juicer today! I started out with orange-carrot juice. I wanted to add ginger, but I think my ginger's gone bad. I also bought apples and dragonfruit and pineapple and I'm super excited to make more juice. And even though I think it's super weird, I kind of even want to try making vegetable and leafy green juices. This thing is great!
Other than that, I didn't go to the office today. I did more hotel site visits for our trade show next November. We've gotta get started early on this thing, unfortunately. But at least it got me out of the office. And we went to this crazy art hotel out in the middle of nowhere. Super random choice of locations. But this random place is actually probably my first choice for hotels at the moment. And they have Damien Hirst and Ai Weiwei and Yayoi Kusama pieces just on display. Super unexpected.
And in new music, today's song comes from Swedish singer Elias. I just heard him yesterday from my friend Sophie's brother, Ed. He put out his debut EP, Warcry, last week, and it's pretty great. Especially the first two tracks. Towards the end it's a bit too poppy, but still alright. And his voice is awesome. I read one thing that said he's a teen, but didn't give his age, but his voice definitely doesn't sound like a teen. But this all started because I shared a song by SG Lewis, making reference to Kwabs, and was given Elias in return. So if you know Kwabs, expect similar vocals. Sadly I can't find Warcry on iTunes yet, but at least it's on Spotify. And only the first two singles, Revolution and Green Eyes, are anywhere else online. But I want to share Cosmetic Love, so Spotify embed it is.
I didn't get to sum up yesterday when I wrote yesterday. But it was a big day. Mostly because it was my sister's birthday (that's all there is to say about that, really. We texted a bit, she's on tour (so fancy) and at pancakes or something and danced), but also because it was the largest global shopping day of the year. 11/11 in China is the equivalent of Cyber Monday in the US, except like a bajillion times bigger. Apparently there were US$4 billion worth of transactions in the first hour, and something like US$17 or US$19 billion in transactions the entire day. This is in comparison to the less than $2 billion that sells on Cyber Monday. And I did my part to help. I wanted to buy a juicer (which I got 3 of. Not just for me, for me and for 2 other friends), but I ended up buying a lot more. Like a blender, and plates, and a wok, and just other random crap. I went a bit crazy. And it's not easy shopping cause it's hard work to get the best deals possible. I probably spent more time trying to figure out which knife or which plate to buy so that I'd get the largest discount even if I was buying a more expensive item. And I didn't even get everything I wanted. I can still think of like half a dozen things I wish I'd bought (which I probably won't now. Or maybe I will anyway...). But I'm excited for things to be delivered this weekend! There will be many boxes, and much juice!
I thought about posting Here We Go Magic last night, because I was in a rush and it was late and I don't have much to say about them. I know I've heard of them before, but I'm not sure I'd heard them before listening to their newest album, Be Small, or if I'd just heard of them. But their new album isn't great, so I'm ok with not knowing more. Except for one track, Tokyo London US Korea. This is a good one. And these are all great places.
Fuck Daliah's. And fuck Julia. Every time I go to that place I end up drunk and there all night. That was not the plan tonight. I told myself I'd leave at 10. Now it's 1am and I just got home and have to get up in 5 hours. But I had a fantastic time, as usual. But I'll be quick. It's my sister's birthday (yay Hanna!). It's the biggest shopping day in the world (yay 11/11 in China!). I'm tired.
Next. Balthazar is a good band. They have a debut album called Thin Walls. Then What, amongst others, is a great song.
I just had a wonderful dinner after a mediocre day at work. And don't have to go to work in the morning, so that's an added bonus. Dinner was at this French restaurant around the corner that I was recommended, which is even better than expected. And it was with this couple that I've run into like 4 times over the last year at random events around town and really like, and now we live near each other and are hopefully going to be friends. Also they're pretty into music, like me, so that's always nice. In fact the next time we see each other will be at a Flying Lotus concert on Thanksgiving.
But no Flying Lotus today. Today it's Stolen Jars. I heard this band recently and have become a really big fan. I keep listening to their debut album, Kept, because it's a great one. If Saintseneca is like The Decemberists light, then Stolen Jars is like Saintseneca light. But also with a female vocalist. Not only a female vocalist, it's like half and half. Some songs just have the guy, some just the girl. In fact one of my favorites, Another November, is just the girl. But I think the guy is supposed to be the "main" vocalist or something. And they've got some great guitar riffs, which probably remind me more of Saintseneca than The Decemberists. So I'll play you a song with both of them and with some of those wonderful, cyclical guitar riffs that they've got going on, which is the title track, Kept.
The internet, and in particular my VPN, were not very agreeable this weekend. Also I was super busy so would have written shitty blogs anyway, but in the end I wasn't even able to get on a write a blog yesterday. Which is actually ok, because aside from being sure that it would be shitty, I was also unsure about what song to share. Writing today has given me a solution to that problem.
When I wrote on Saturday it was short and shitty because I was exhausted and had no time. After about 3 nights in a row of sleeping for about 4 hours, I woke up on Saturday morning at 6:30 to go and work all day with my friend Julia. She took part in a chili cook-off as a way to promote her company, the Zotter Chocolate Theater. I was promised coffee for being up so early, but there was no coffee. Then I was on my feet, literally did not sit down once, from about 8 until 5:30, slinging chocolate samples. I was dreading having to make chit chat with a bunch of strangers all day on 4 hours sleep, but actually it turned out to be really fun, sore legs and all. I would absolutely help her out again at an event in the future, just hopefully not one that required waking up at 6:30 in the morning.
So I actually got to leave early from the cook-off because my friend Lie, who was in town from Singapore, was going to be staying at my place that night and I needed to meet him and his wife at 6 to give him keys before he took his wife to the airport for her flight. I then spent about 2 hours doing nothing. I just sat on my couch with the TV on paying no attention to anything. And wrote a shitty blog and showered and took a power nap, but anyway nothing that required even minimal effort. Ideally I would have just stayed home and gone to bed at like 9pm, but instead I got out of the house, went to a great improv show, then went to bars, and then kept going to bars until 3 in the morning. I have no idea how I managed it. It was crazy. And all on no coffee that day! Luckily I did get to sleep a full night on Saturday night and had a very chill Sunday.
I had other friends in town from Singapore as well, so I went to brunch with them Sunday, followed by a long day just chilling over at my friend Cy and Veronika's place. Veronika's birthday was on Friday, so they invited some friends over Sunday to just spend the day and eat dinner the cooked. So I was there for about 8 hours. Great way to spend a cold and rainy Sunday, especially after such a crazy week. But yeah, no VPN when I got home, so no blog.
Not writing a blog yesterday allows me to share two songs today though, which is great because I didn't know which of two songs to share yesterday. So don't let the title of this blog fool you, there is not a collaboration between Banks and Santigold. Rather, both of them have released singles this week.
I don't think I need to say too much about either artist, cause I've written about both of them already this year. Santigold back in March when I was in South Africa. She put out her new single, Can't Get Enough of Myself, on Thursday, and has announced a new album, 99¢, coming out next February. The single is a bit weird at first, and sounds like quite a departure from her earlier sound towards a more throwback/pop sound, but the further into the song I get the more I like it.
And then there's Banks, who also put out a new single on Friday, Better. It's typical dark, brooding, sexy Banks music, and it's great. Hers did not come with the announcement of a new album, although she has said in interviews that her sophomore effort will be out early next year. I also learned, while trying to find out about a new album, that she is apparently from Orange County. I thought she was from Tarzana or something, but Wikipedia says otherwise. Maybe she was born in OC? But I'm pretty sure she was living in The Valley when she started releasing music. She must have, cause she shared her phone number on social media back then, and it was an 818 number, which is The Valley. Anyway, nobody but me cares. So yeah, new single, no official new album, no Soundcloud, but very sexy YouTube video.
I woke up at 6:30 this morning to go and work for my friend at a chili cook-off. I spent literally the last ten hours on my feet, and I am exhausted. My brain isn't working properly. But we were the Red Hot Chili Zotters, and so today's song comes from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Tell Me Baby.
Oh man, it's been a busy week. Except today, today wasn't busy, so that was great. I didn't go to the office cause of training, which I realized actually did not happen today, but I'd already got approval not to come in, so I didn't. Instead I had a great call with my financial advisor, exchanged money, and napped. And watched at on of TV. The nap was really important, because I was up at like 530 today, despite not having to be. First, it was a mosquito. The bane of my existence. I fucking hate those things. Then it was construction that began in my backyard at like 6:30. Awesome. So yeah, I was up very early, after getting home at 12. As I think I mentioned yesterday, I also only got like 3 hours of sleep the night before, so I was exhausted, but I have friends in town from Singapore so I was out with them last night, which went later than expected. It was great to see them, though, and I should be seeing them again tonight and maybe tomorrow (along with other Singapore friends who are in town this weekend. This is on top of Dave who I saw earlier this week, and another friend who I didn't get to see. Plus there's 3 birthdays this week. It's been a busy week! Ok, that turned into a long aside. Whoops). I've lost my train of thought. But that's ok, cause I'm just gonna give you some music then go to a birthday party.
That music is coming from St. Germain. As we all know, I like a bit of African music. I've shared some on the blog over the years, and wish I had more to share. Well, St. Germain is not African music. He's a French DJ, whose real name is Ludovic Navarre. But he just put out a new album about a month ago, titled St. Germain, even though it's like his 5th or something, I think, in his 20 year career. It's the first time I'm hearing about him, anyway. For this album he's worked with a lot of African musicians to create a great blend of African sounds with electronic elements at times. It's a really unique and interesting album. How Dare You is the song that really caught my attention, and it's the perfect blend of the African music which seamlessly leads into his DJ roots at about the 4 minute mark, then just keeps building. Great track.
There was some super shitty weather yesterday. Which meant that I was late getting home and very rushed to make my dinner plans. Normally I would have just written something after dinner, but I had people over after dinner last night. So I had to just be quick about it yesterday.
My friend Lizzy's girlfriend Zoe has been in town, and just left today, so last night was her last dinner. Well, when I say she was in town, I mean she came to Shanghai for a night, then they went to Japan for 5 days, then came back for like 2 nights. So I actually saw Zoe twice, and have met her plenty of times before, but on her first night in town we were all out to dinner for hot pot (Zoe's favorite, which is why we had it last night, too) and discussed a Japanese whiskey night for when they were back. Which is why we all came to my place after hotpot last night, since I've got all the Japanese whiskey from my last trip, and then Zoe and Lizzy also brought an extra bottle. It was a pretty great way to spend a Wednesday night, but then I got like no sleep and had to be in training all day today. Training was very good, but I'm exhausted now and my brain isn't working properly. Maybe you can tell by reading this, I feel like I'm just making words up that don't make sense together. Sorry about that.
So tonight's music will be an easy one. It's Fat Freddy's Drop, which should need no introduction cause they've been around forever (not that I actually know anything about them other than that they're British). They have a new album out, BAYS, and the opening track, Wairunga Blues, is great. And just like yesterday, it's also not anywhere streaming on the internet, except Spotify, so I'm using the rare Spotify embed, which I actually hate doing. I don't know why.
I'm in a bit of a hurry, so today we just get music. But it's ok, cause my day wasn't all that exciting. I'd just be bitching about traffic and rain. But it's about to become more fun, which is why I gotta go.
I just heard this band Dungen yesterday, but apparently they've been around like 15 years. They're from Sweden (hence the crazy song and album names, like today's) and have already put out 8 albums, of which I just listened to their newest, Allas Sak. Honestly, it's just ok. Pretty straightforward progressive rock, nothing too noticeable. But they came onto a playlist in the background, and as background music it sounded pretty good. As foreground music, it's pretty standard and somewhat boring. Except for this one song, En Gång Om Året, sandwiched right in the middle of the album. This one's a tune.
I missed yesterday. Which you already know. It was not expected. Originally I planned to go and buy ceramics at Spin, the place I mentioned last week, have dinner and come home, all in the company of my friend Julia. Which is exactly what happened. But then we walked past a friend's restaurant (Dahliah's. I've talked about it at length cause of the falafel) we decided to stop in and say hi. There were closed yesterday, but Dahliah and her boyfriend Daniel were there. So a quick hello turned into beers until midnight. Which was great, but definitely not in the plan. Julia and I even talked at dinner about how much we liked going out for a bit to dinner then getting home with a little alone time before going to bed, and that was exactly what was supposed to have happened, then it didn't. But then I got home and set up my new ceramics, and today I bought some bamboo to put in them. I'll post a picture once I'm here when there's sunlight and I get a good one. Sadly it's now dark by the time I get home, but I should be able to get a good one on Thursday or Friday, cause I won't be at the office.
Today's song is brought to you by Royal Canoe. This is a band that I just heard, but they put out their only album back in 2013. It's not a great album, just ok, but there's on awesome song on it, Exodus of the Year. Sounds a lot like Stars. Which I love, obviously. In fact I even looked them up to see if maybe they were somehow related to that whole Broken Social Scene family that Stars is a part of. They're not, but they are also Canadian. And they've toured with Alt-J and Bombay Bicycle Club, so I had high hopes, but wasn't too impressed overall.
Today was a pretty lazy day. As you'd expect after Halloween. I made a Lego costume yesterday, which I was pretty excited to wear out. But I don't think people really got it. Sad Face. After making dinner at my friend Zabrina's place, we ended up doing a quick walk through Yongkang Lu, which is a kind of shitty but also kind of cool bar street, and definitely the place to be last night. It was just a huge street party. It was awesome, despite the broken glasses and drunken assholes and puking. But it was great to see everyone celebrate. Then it was on to Le Baron, the "it" club in Shanghai, which I've heard much about and had never been to. It lived up to my expectations, which were that it would be pretty shitty and there would be no discernible reason why everyone would want to be there, specifically. So that lasted until about 1:30. Then today was movie day. Followed by dinner with my pseudo-mentor, Dave, that used to work at Shantui with me. He's in town for a few days, so we had dinner tonight. Hopefully there will be some more interesting news to share about Dave in the coming days. We'll see.
I had a hard time picking music today, just wasn't sure what to share. Actually I do have a band I want to share, but I don't know which song yet, so that'll have to wait until later in the week. So instead, you get Atlas Bound, a new band that I don't know much about. They've only got a few singles out, and this song, Landed on Mars, was the first I heard. I really like it. Hopefully they keep up with making stuff like this.
