Jan 30 - Radiation City

Where did I leave off? New Orleans, I believe. I landed and the fun began. The wedding I was going to was in Jackson, Mississippi, but it's only a 3 hour drive from New Orleans, and one of my oldest friends, Lindsay, lives in New Orleans. Plus I've never been. So the plan was to go there on Friday night, drive up to Jackson together for the wedding on Saturday, and come back on Sunday to fly back to OC. Which is exactly what happened. So I actually only had the one night in New Orleans, but we made the most of it.

We spent a good chunk of the evening on Lindsay's boyfriend's balcony in the French Quarter listening to music, drinking and eating amazing pizza. Not the Cajun food I was hoping for, but damn it was good. And I hadn't had pizza yet in America, so I was totally happy with it. After a few hours of that and getting a bit of a buzz, Lindsay was ready for bed, but I was ready for exploring. So we compromised and she took me out for like an hour to check things off my New Orleans list. We walked down Bourbon Street (which was weirdly not crowded for a Friday night. Or at least not as crowded as I expected it to be). Lindsay actually hates Bourbon St, but she took me to the oldest bar in New Orleans for a beer, which we took to go because you can in New Orleans, then she dropped me at the crowded section and let me walk through for a few minutes and check it out. This was followed by a wander through the French Quarter back to Lindsay's house, where we stopped on the corner at a bar to listen to jazz while I got my Cajun food. So in about a 1-2 hour period, I checked off Bourbon St, live jazz and Cajun food, the only things I wanted. It was perfect! Well done, Lindsay.

I was actually up early on Saturday, because while I was home I slept like 5-6 hours a night. I hate jetlag. It was the worst. But that let me get up and go out and have a walk through the French Quarter during the day in search of coffee. So I did that, then we hopped in the car and headed up to Jackson, where our first stop (before the hotel, even) was a barbecue restaurant. I actually had visions of stopped at some wooden shack on the side of the road as soon as we crossed the state line and eating all the barbecue, but we didn't see anything by the highway. So by the time we were about 30 minutes from Jackson we realized we wouldn't be getting that and we started yelping, and thank God we did because holy shit the barbecue we found was amazing. So so good. We got a combo platter with ribs and chicken and sausage  and rib tips and beans and potato salad and everything was so good. Especially the sausage. It was actually kind of like what I think McDonald's tries to do with their breakfast sausage, except this one is like the real deal. The flavor profile is really similar. I don't know if that's a standard Mississippi sausage or what, but McDonald's (and every frozen sausage patty in the supermarket) is basically trying to copy this. And failing. But at least that gives you an idea of what it was kind of like.

After lunch, it was a quick check in, shower, change, and then wedding. They had the wedding at the Agriculture and Forestry museum, which I'm actually confused as to why it's called that. It's basically a recreation of a small, rural Mississippi town from the early 20th century. They've taken all these historical buildings, like a farmhouse, cotton gin, filling station, doctor's office, general store and much more, and then rebuilt it and turned it into a museum. It's super cute. And Jay and Sarah got married in the historical church there. Also super cute. It was only my 2nd church wedding ever, and it was definitely the most Jesus-filled service I've ever been to. People bowed their heads and prayed and talked about Jesus a lot. I sat there awkwardly looking around at everyone bowing their heads. Yeah. Anyway, very sweet wedding, and then very sweet party, during which they wore traditional Korean clothes, which was awesome. I actually posted a pic of them on Instagram with what I thought was their wedding hashtag (#teammacadorykim, which was also their wedding website and what not) only to find out there was no wedding hashtag and literally nobody else posted anything on facebook or instagram with that hashtag. Whoops. But they liked it, so it's ok. Post-wedding I took a quick power nap at the hotel before heading out to a bar with everyone, which was fun. They had said it was like the most hipster brewpub in Jackson, but it was not hipster at all. It was nice, good drinks, very polite people (Southerners are crazy polite. I don't get it. They make me feel like a terrible person), good times all around.

Sunday after the wedding was pretty chill, too. We checked out and went to see the Medgar Evers House. Medgar Evers, who I had never heard of, was a big civil rights movement guy, and he lived in Jackson. He was actually murdered in his driveway by a sniper, and they've turned it into a historical site now. So we went to see that before heading to lunch with the wedding crew, then back to New Orleans. We decided to take back roads to New Orleans, though, which was a really nice drive. There are lots of little, one stoplight towns in rural Mississippi though. I think it was actually my first time seeing these fabled places. And it made me so happy that I'm not from there. Also we should have counted churches, but we would have lost count cause there are a ridiculous amount. We did see one synagogue, but that was already back in Louisiana and right by New Orleans. It was a beautiful drive, but pretty uneventful. Lindsay had also been having some issues with her boyfriend, so we actually didn't talk much on the ride back, which sucked. I only see her every few years, and unfortunately her being in a bad mood meant that she wasn't very communicative and was somewhat distracted. But she did end up playing me more country music than I've ever listened to before. I'm not sure if that's a good thing, but it did seem appropriate for a back country drive through Mississippi.

After that, I flew home, slept, woke up, met up with my brother and had a nice long chat about many of the issues we've been having, had burgers for lunch with high school friends, packed, ate Mexican food for dinner with the family, then went to the airport and came back to China. And now here we are. Well, not quite. Stuff has happened since I got back, but I'll write about that tomorrow or something.

For now, we just get a quick song. Today's song is Juicy, by Radiation City. They're this band from Portland, and I heard and loved Juicy. Probably cause it reminds me a lot of Lucius, and I do love me some Lucius. This seems to be the first single off their upcoming album, SYNESTHETICA, which has amazing cover art as you can see below. Although I'm not sure how much I'll like the album. I listened to their last one, Animals In The Median, because I loved Juicy so much, but the album wasn't great. We'll see, though, maybe this new album will be and this song isn't just a fluke. But if it is, it's a great one and I wanted to make sure it made it onto my blog/a Spotify playlist so I don't forget about it.

Jan 28 - Brazilian Girls

OK here we go. I'm gonna write about my trip home. And then I'll hopefully even write again later this week about what's been going on since then. And share music, obviously, because as we all know that is the only real point of this blog.

I went home for my friend Jay's wedding. Jay is my Korean ex-roommate from Beijing, who married a woman from Mississippi, so the trip was planned around the wedding. Unfortunately I have a ton of weddings to go to this year (or fortunately, actually, but it's unfortunate because...) which means this had to be a really short trip. I only had 6 days in the US. And I spent every day in a different city or state.

I landed on a Tuesday and was picked up by my parents and my friend Candice. I'm sure I've talked about Candice before. She was one of my very close friends here in Shanghai who moved to the States, and is now living in SF with her husband. So she came down to see me for a couple days. The first day was easy. We went home. I gave out presents. We had a nice dinner. I slept.

I guess day 2 was easy also, just seemed like a lot more. I had to pick my sister up at the airport in the morning cause she also came in for a wedding (actually to see me but let's let her believe it was for the wedding). While Candice and I picked her up, my parents went to pick her boyfriend and my mom's friend up, and then we all met at The Filling Station, which is one of my favorite restaurants. I'm also sure I've written about that place. It used to be an actual filling station back in like the 20s, but then was turned into an awesome little diner, and I worked there during college. And now it's always on my list of places I have to go in OC. I can't get enough of it. So we started with lunch there, then it was up to LA for the rest of the day. We went to The Broad to take in some art, because everyone talks about it and why not do something cultural? It's a new, free, art museum in downtown LA. It was great, except the one exhibit I really wanted to see (The Infinity Mirrored Room by Yayoi Kusama) needed a special ticket and had a 2 hour wait. We sadly did not have 2 hours. So no Yayoi Kusama for me. It looks pretty gorgeous though. I want to see it so bad. Hopefully it'll come to Shanghai at some point and then I'll get in quickly for free. That would be amazing. There were some other awesome pieces in there, and pieces from tons and tons of famous artists who I had actually heard of, surprisingly. And there was a super acid trippy room by some Japanese guy that was basically covered in modern anime-style neon paintings of traditional Japanese characters and stories. We spent about an hour and a half in the museum, and then it was off to Culver City for snackies and drinkies with my friend Alex, before making our way to Hollywood for dinner and a show with my friend Carie. What show, you ask? More on that later....

That was day 2. Look at how long this is and I'm only on day 2. Jesus. Day 3 involved a run down to San Diego to see family who came up from Mexico (also for a wedding, what's up with that weekend?). They actually got in late so we didn't get much time with them, unfortunately, but what we got was nice. And it involved Lolitas, which is also more food I love. Then we had to run back to OC to go to my sister's boyfriend's house for dinner. His family has a house down in Mexico and they go fishing a few times a year, so he made us fish tacos with a fish he caught himself. They were delicious. Hanna always talks about how good of a cook he is, but it was the first time I've tried it myself and I've gotta say, just based on that, she's right. They were damn good. And I met his parents who are really nice. His dad kind of reminds me of The Dude from The Big Lebowski. I don't think I told Davis that, but I probably should.

Day 4 was when the travel started. This day should be easy because I spent most of it on a plane on my way to New Orleans. But it's not, because I went to New Orleans, a city I've never been to before. So I did not waste a minute there. But you know what? I think I'll make this a 2 parter. This is already too long. So part 2 will hopefully come tomorrow. And then I'll need a 3rd blog on the weekend to talk about my time since then. Oy, what have I gotten myself into? You better appreciate this Wendy! And you better send me an email update like you promised!

But before I go, music. Which brings us back to the aforementioned concert, which was by Brazilian Girls. Now, Brazilian Girls are one of my favorite bands. Full stop. Have been for years. Then they broke up after putting out their 3rd album, New York City, back in like 2009. So I was sure I'd never ever see them. Luckily for me, they just put out a new single, The Critic, in anticipation of a new album! It's today's song, by the way. No clue when that new album is coming or what it's called, but I am so excited. And of course that means they also have to start touring! And luckily for me, just a week after I bought my ticket home they announced an LA show the day after I landed! So my dreams came true and I got to see Brazilian Girls. And I saw them with my friend Carie (and my sister and her boyfriend and Carie's friend), who introduced them to me in the first place when we lived together. So it was pretty wonderful for both of us. We saw them at The Roxy, a tiny little venue on the Sunset Strip, and while they didn't play all the old songs I wanted, they did play their fan-favorite (Pussy) and mine and Carie's favorite (Don't Stop). And a bunch of other amazing old ones (special mention to Sirenes de la Fete in the encore). But sadly no Good Time. They also did spend a lot of time playing new music, which got me excited for the new album (as if I wasn't already), and there was one song in particular that was amazing where they shut off all the lights and Sabina Sciubba (the singer) just danced around on stage in the dark in a white dress. Such a great show. I'm so glad it happened. Now if only I could see Bon Iver when they come to Asia next month...

Jan 27 - Christine and the Queens

I know I haven't written in forever. I've been putting it off because I have so much to write about home. And I've been busy, but more because I know it's a long one that comes next. But I also have a lot of music to share! Like this song I heard today. It's a remix of the song Tilted, by Christine and the Queens. I don't know much about them, and the original is just ok, but this Paradis Remix is great. Anyway, enjoy the song. More blogs to come soon. I promise. Real ones, too.

Jan 12 - David Bowie

I'm back to writing in airports. This time on my way home! I've got a super busy, very short trip planned. But I'll write about that after it's done. Or maybe while I'm there. Or maybe both. Who knows.

For today, we can focus on the first week of the year. Which went quite well. Nothing too exciting to report (as much as you might not believe me, Wendy). Got back to Shanghai for a couple of days, and then I had an event in Fuzhou last Thursday, so we made our way down there for a few days. It was my second time in Fujian province, and I think I really like it. Weather is great, people are nice, scenery is beautiful. I really should plan a trip down there for myself to just enjoy. In fact, I was even thinking about trying to do that with my family when they come. We'll see. We have other plans already, but I could make alternative suggestions. The event went very well, the dinner was actually fun (which it isn't usually), and I rather enjoyed myself.

Then it was back to Shanghai for a typical weekend of lots of food and drink. I somehow went from only dinner plans on Friday night to being out (or in, but drinking with friends) until like 2am both Friday and Saturday. Friday we ended up at this bar I love called Uptown. It's not a bar, really, but a beer and record store. It's super tiny, they allow dogs (and I was with Ozzie and his papa Cy so that was good), and you just buy cheap beers and play whatever records you want. And there's a bunch of regulars so it's a great, friendly atmosphere. Love that place. If you come, I'll take you.

(A note about Wendy. I'm not crazy and talking to my computer as if it were named Wendy. Wendy is my friend who actually reads my blog every single day. She's probably the only one who regularly reads. So I may address her from time to time.)

And I guess I have to say something about David Bowie. I've never actually become a fan. Not because I don't like him, just because I've never really listened. But I feel like I can't write a music blog and not acknowledge the fact that he passed away. And in a crazy fashion, dropping an album and going away to space, as social media tells me he'd say. So today we'll do a song by Bowie, off of the new album, Blackstar, which I did listen to before he passed away and which is actually really good so now I'm going to listen to this NPR playlist they put together in memoriam. Today's song is Lazarus.

Jan 10 - Ninet

I have not been writing as much as I wanted to. I think that I'm basically just going to write whenever I find a song I like, even if it means just a short post. And I've found a few songs to share, and now forgot what many of them are. And I also put it off because I actually have something to write today. I should update you (Wendy) on my time in Hong Kong over New Year's, which was wonderful.

I went down to visit my friend Shuk-Wah, who moved there about 6 months ago from Australia. She's an old friend from Beijing, and she is wonderful. I was actually thinking on the way to HK about some of the times we've spent together, and we've really had some great ones. She's just a lot of fun. And she's super smart and insightful and interested in my life (as I am in hers). It's really nice to spend time with someone who you really feel cares about what you're saying, and who is genuinely interested and is willing and able to have open, honest and insightful conversation. And when it goes both ways. So it was really, really nice to spend time with her and catch up on each others' lives. In fact, despite spending like 3 days constantly together, I don't think we even covered everything.

We started out when I arrived by just grabbing a drink and doing the quick catch up. And by that I just mean the largest, most recent issues in our lives. On the 30th we started with dim sum at a place called Lin Heung Teahouse, which was maybe my favorite meal in HK. It's a place my friend Robynne recommended, and it's an old school HK dim sum place where you have to fight for a seat, then fight for your food as it's being pushed around on carts. It was awesome. And the char siew bao was maybe the best I'd ever had. So awesome. This was followed by a walking tour of Central HK, and then going home to get all cleaned up and head out for our New Year's Eve celebrations. We met my friend Christina and her boyfriend and went to a restaurant on the waterfront on the Kowloon side, where they had a buffet dinner and free flow booze. This went on and on and on until about 3:30, at which point we were drunk, done dancing, had stolen one of the large, bejewelled numbers hanging on the wall for 2016 (well, not really stolen, everyone was taking them and I just managed to get away with the zero), which I then used to propose to Shuk-Wah, before catching an Uber home and passing out. And the best part was no hangovers on the first!

The first we got up late (obviously) and were going to go for a big, Western breakfast, but I decided that the first thing I eat in 2016 should rather be a char siew bao. So we got that and then went to have our big breakfast. Unfortunately it was already 3pm by then, so breakfast was no longer being served. But we had a nice lunch, then Christina and her boyfriend left (they live in Shenzhen and just came across for the evening), and Shuk-Wah and I went out to Cheung Chao, one of the many islands in Hong Kong, to go for a hike. It's really nice that HK is such a huge city but also has so much nature and is so easy to escape. Not that most people go there to escape, they go for the city, but we did a bit of escaping. And our escaping ended with a great seafood dinner on the waterfront, which was super cheap and fresh and delicious. Then back to HK to grab a couple drinks and go home. Really a great first day for 2016.

Day 2 of the year was more hiking. This one much more difficult, though. The 1st was really more like a walk, if anything. But on day 2 we had lunch then started walking up to The Peak. We stopped at the botanical and zoological gardens on the way, which is an awesome, free zoo right in the middle of downtown. They have some excellent monkeys, who were very playful and active, and one of whom even started masturbating for us. That was weird. Hilarious, but weird. And they have birds that are super boring when compared to monkeys. Then we just kept going up and up and up. And once we got to The Peak, we kept going up and up and up to High West, the higher peak which is right next to The Peak. And we had to go up an overgrown, mostly unmarked trail to get to it. Which was great, except for the fact that I was definitely not properly dressed for hiking. My jeans did not make it easy or comfortable. But they do make my butt look good, so there's that. But it was a great hike, and would have been fantastic views if not for the pollution. It's actually quite bad there, on par with Shanghai, which I was not expecting at all. So 2 days of good hikes. Then we had to get home to clean up and head to my last dinner, which was a bit of a Beijing reunion. Through Shuk-Wah I met my friend Iris, who was in HK visiting family and having her HK wedding. And through Iris I met my friend Wendy, who was in HK starting out her Fullbright. So we all met up for dinner, along with Iris's husband (who I'd never met before) and two of his friends, and had a great time catching up. I've seen Wendy recently as she's been in and out of Beijing, but Iris I hadn't seen in 3 years. And we had a 3 year pact, which we've now updated for the next 3 years and included Shuk-Wah in. It was fantastic to see them and catch up. And luckily Shuk-Wah is close so I'll see her more, and Wendy is going to be in HK and Beijing for the next 7 months working on her Fullbright, so I'll see her more, too. Good stuff. After that, it was one last sleep and then home. It was a really fantastic trip, and I really want to take more weekends down in HK to visit. We'll see if I can work it out, though, as I've got quite the crazy schedule already for the year.

I told you it was long. But music will be quick. Here's a new song called Child. It's by an Israeli artist named Ninet Tayeb. This is the first single off of her debut, as-yet-untitled American album, which will be out later this year, and which she's releasing using only her first name. It's a great first listen, and I'm definitely interested to hear more from this lady.

Jan 5 - Pumarosa

My friend Graeme is coming over and will be here any minute, so I don't have time to write a proper blog. But I do want to keep sharing songs I like when I find them, and today I found a couple. So you'll get one today, and hopefully one (with a real blog post about New Year's and Hong Kong) tomorrow.

Today's song is Priestess, the debut single from Pumarosa. They're a fairly new band out of London, and here's an interesting snippet I found about them:

In the summer of 2015, the band was offered a residency in the cavernous disused cinema of an Italian surrealist, situated within the cliffs of Calabria.

So that sounds fun! And this is what they've made. There are a couple other demos on Soundcloud which I need to go listen to.