May 31 - KAYTRANADA

I guess I should write a blog post. I guess not so much has happened since my birthday. Spent that week hanging out with Shuk-Wah, until she left for Beijing. And then I went to Disneyland again (just as good, except like twice as crowded). And now my family comes tomorrow! Which is why I thought I should write today.

And today I'm writing about KAYTRANADA. He's a Canadian producer, making music something like Disclosure, but more hip-hop. He just put out his debut album, 99.9%, and it's a fun one. And definitely has been growing on me. One stand out track is LITE SPOTS.





But that's not even close to the best. I mean, it's the second best, but the best is so much better. In no small part because it features one of my favorite bands, Little Dragon. And this song sounds like an amazing, new Little Dragon track. I love it. In fact, I'm getting new speakers (they're coming with my parents and I'm super excited about them. Hooray!) and I think this might be the first song I play on them, because it will sound great, and I am obsessed. So here's BULLETS, the closing (and by far the best) track. Maybe even one of the top tracks of the year.

May 29 - Damien Rice

It feels like much longer since I wrote a blog. The last one was before my birthday, so I guess that would be the right topic to discuss today.

It was my birthday last week, but unfortunately there was a wedding on my birthday which about 90% of my friends were going to. Also there were plenty of other events going on, so I didn't really organize any party or anything. I made plenty of plans, and friends came and met up throughout the weekend, but there was no celebration per se. There were celebrations at other events or gatherings, but nothing specific to me. Which actually was ok. Normally I get really excited about my birthday and try to plan something big, but this year I didn't really feel a need. I think it was probably because so much other stuff was going on so I just decided not to worry about it, or maybe I'm juts growing up. But I'd like to think I can be 98 and still get excited about my birthday and want to celebrate. I'll report back next year on any changes.

My friend Shuk-wah came up from Hong Kong for my birthday, though, which was wonderful. This is the same friend I went to see in HK over New Year's, and it was awesome to have her come and visit. She got in on the Friday night, and of course I took her for tacos at Pocho's. Then from Saturday the birthday events began (actual birthday was Sunday), with small events here and there. First it was crepes for brunch, then some glasses market for Shuk-wah, and then there was this Supper Club food festival we went to. Sadly the weather sucked and it was outdoors (mostly), but it was still a good time with lots and lots of delicious food. After Supper Club we went to a housewarming. I actually think the housewarming and the wedding on Sunday were the main reasons I didn't plan anything. A lot of my friends are leaving soon, and lately I feel like I really need to get out there and meet more people or I'll have no friends come 2017, so I really really wanted to go to this houseparty. And I'm glad I did. I had a great time, and I did exchange wechat with a few people, so now I just need to follow up and try to actually do something and build friendships. We'll see how that goes.

Then on Sunday we were going for grilled cheese for lunch. Obviously. Where else would I spend my birthday? But that wasn't even the highlight. The highlight was Damien Rice. I'm sure I've mentioned already that he was coming and playing on my birthday and how the concert sold out within 5 minutes so they added another which sold out within 5 minutes as well. As it would turn out, someone I have never met but who was on my wechat happened to have 2 tickets available, and I got them! So we went, and it was incredible. He was playing at the Shanghai Symphony Hall, and it turned out to be a solo acoustic show. I've seen him before, so I wasn't too upset that I wasn't going to see him, but after going and actually seeing what he did on the day, I am so happy I was there and would have died if I had missed it. From the very beginning it was incredible. He walked out onto stage (in a symphony hall, mind you, so it has amazing acoustics), and instead of going to the microphone, he took his guitar, went and kneeled on the front of the stage, and played this song, with no mic, no speakers, nothing. Just him and his guitar.





The Professor & La Fille Danse! He opened with that! In 2016! I was amazed, and so happy. I knew I was in for something special. He did put out a new album a couple years ago, My Favorite Faded Fantasy, and it was good, but for me not on the same level as his first two albums. So for him to come out and play an amazing b-side track from the early 2000s. Amazing. And it sounded amazing. And that wasn't the only b-side. He also played Woman Like A Man, one of my favorite tracks that I absolutely never expected. Granted, I like it more on the recorded version because the drums are awesome, but still, so happy.





He played pretty much everything I would have wanted to hear (minus Rootless Tree, but I imagine the sensors would not have liked him playing a song where he just screams out Fuck You for the chorus). He also did Cannonball completely acoustic with no mics or anything. And then for Volcano, probably my favorite song by him, he actually asked if any women in the audience knew the lyrics, and got a Chinese woman to come up on stage and sing Lisa Hannigan's part. And he split us into rounds at the end and everything and it was beautiful and wonderful and I'm so happy I got to go.




So yeah, that was definitely the highlight. and then I ate Yunnan food. Yum. All around, good birthday weekend!

May 19 - Låpsley

I was trying to think what I should tell you about, and then it occurred to me. I have not yet told you about Disneyland. I did write a blog after going to Disneyland, but it was a lot of music and only a few words. So now you get the words. And also music. Duh. But first some words.

Disney is opening an amusement park in Shanghai on June 16, and I got to go to the sneak preview last Friday (but don't tell anyone because I was actually in "meetings"). I have some friends who work there so they got us in while the park is only filling to 20% capacity, and before it's totally destroyed by the hordes of Chinese who will stomp on everything. So it was the perfect time to go. And I was super duper excited. Like 6 year old on Christmas morning excited. Or at least I assume that excited. I've never been excited on Christmas morning. Maybe I should say 6 year old at Disneyland. I've been excited about that at 6 years old. And at 31 years old. It was kind of embarrassing. Or it should have been, but I was not embarrassed at all. I was definitely more into it than my friends, though.

Ok, enough blabbering. It's the largest Disney Park in the world, although it doesn't feel as big as Disneyland. And it has some amazing rides. Our first stop was the Tron coaster, which is basically Space Mountain with lots of neon lights and sitting on a motorcycle leaning forward instead of in a roller coaster car. Super cool. Great feeling. Great lighting. Great music. Very fast. Michael approves. I pushed everyone to go there (well, they wanted to, but  not as quickly as I wanted to) because I felt like "OMGSJIPEGKNL WE ONLY HAVE 8 HOURS HERE WE NEED TO GO ON EVERYTHING OMGLKJSDFIOPWNEL:SKDGLKNSD:LFKJ" and my friends were like "Hey, cool, rides." I did manage to keep most of that capitalization inside, but not all. But it worked out cause it got us on a few rides. Then we had some down time and I was dying inside. I wanted to run back and forth and do everything and touch everything and see everything and ride everything and instead we were just kind of hanging out and I wanted to die. But then it was ok.

I feel like this blog makes no sense. It is all over the place. But that's good because that's how my brain was at Disneyland. I could not hold a conversation or concentrate on anything. Take that 6 year old at Disneyland excitement and add ADHD and that's probably more what I was like. I didn't even want to eat, just do everything. Oy.

Alright, the best thing we did was Pirates of the Caribbean. The new ride is unbelievable. One of the most amazing rides I've probably every been on. It's like the old one in that you're in a boat going slowly through different sets. Except this boat pivots on it's axis and doesn't just float in a straight line. And also, those sets from the old one, are now huge 3D Imax style theaters that you float through and feel completely immersed in. It is so amazing. And you're not even wearing 3D glasses. They've just used this crazy new technology to distort the video footage so that as you move it looks normal and 3D, but if you looked at it straight on without moving in exactly the right place it would be distorted. And by they I mean Industrial Light and Magic, cause Disney owns them, so you know it's good.

Ok that was the best thing and I'm gonna stop blabbering. I'm trying to go to Disney again,  so maybe I'll calm down and write about it again. Maybe even something intelligible. But no promises.

One last little bit about Låpsley. She's a 19 year old British girl who just put out her first album, Long Way Home. She's been all over the blogosphere and whatnot for a couple of years, and honestly I was not very impressed. But then I heard the album and kind of really liked it. There are definitely some songs in there that I don't like, but even those have grown on me. The one that took no time to grown and which was my immediate favorite was Cliff.






And then there's Tell Me The Truth. This one also didn't take time for me to like it, I liked it right from the start, but it just gets better every time I listen. I love that chorus. I really like this album. A lot more than expected. You should go listen.

May 14 - A mixed bag

There are a bunch of great, one-off songs I've heard recently that I want to share, but I was feeling apprehensive because there were too many for me to keep up with now that I'm not doing the song of the day. So I just decided I'll do them all at once. Right now. So already lots of music and writing, so nothing about my life today.

First up: Nicola Cruz. I got really excited when I heard La Cosecha. It only took about 3 seconds for me to catch my interest, 38 seconds to know I wanted to hear more, and after 1:15 I was hooked. So then I listened to Prender el Alma (after multiple listens to La Cosecha, of course), which La Cosecha is off of, and the rest of the album doesn't come anywhere close to being as good as this song. But this song. This is a song.

Ok, next one is Aiya. These might be sisters (but I think not) from Melbourne, who have released two songs. See, this is the problem with the other songs I want to share. The groups/singers only have 1 or 2 songs and I know nothing about them, except that they make good and/or interesting music. If I Could Get falls into the interesting category. Pretty minimalistic and FKA Twigs-esque.




Third, we have IRAH. I'm not excited about it (I mean, I am, but I'm not so excited that I have to write all in caps), they chose the all caps. I found an actual article about these guys, so I know they are a Danish trio and that Into Dimensions is their first single which came out of an hour-long jam session in Berlin. The article called it epic. I would agree. It just slowly builds to this deeply layered, epic crescendo at the end which I love. Quite cinematic. I guess maybe think Zero 7.




And last for today (last because I am putting these songs in the order in which I found them) is New York 93 by Yaeji. This seems to be her only track on Spotify, but I read in an article that she's been producing music for years? I don't know where it is, but I know where this song is, and I like it. As you may have guessed from the name, she is from New York. She is an artist as well as a producer. And she made this song, I assume about New York in 1993. I'm not sure it's English, it sounds kind of like Japanese actually. But I also don't think it's Japanese. Actually, maybe Korean. Her real name is Kathy Lee. Lee can be Korean. And Korean sounds a lot like Japanese. So I'm gonna go with it's mostly in Korean. But really, I have no clue. It starts out super chill, and has a nice relaxed build to great groove.

May 11 - Moderat

This is a first. Two blogs in one day. But this morning's didn't really count. I just wanted to share a song that was stuck in my head. And since I worked from home today I actually have time to write a real blog also. Which was always my plan, even if sharing the song this morning wasn't. So now I write a real one.

So I left off with Japan. I was still very busy after Japan, but with nothing of note. I got back and then the next morning went to Tianjin for work. Then I came back from Tianjin on the Friday and went to Ningbo for work over the weekend. That was about it. I was also in a terrible mood, despite the wonderful time in Tokyo. I'm not really sure why, but when I got back from Ningbo and met friends for dinner on Sunday I was in a very good mood, like really really good mood which then lasted for days, so I think it was just the fact that I have been on the go with next to no personal time since I went to Germany over a month ago. And now that I have it back and am at home for more than one night at a time, I'm happy again. So that's good.

It also helps that there's plenty of great new music. I mentioned a bunch of these new albums that came out the other day, and the one I'll be sharing today is Moderat. They just put out their third album, titled III, which is the first album I hear from them. And I really like it. The first of my favorite tracks is Running.





For some reason I think that girl int he picture is a vampire. Is it just me? Anyway, the other favorite is Finder. So that's your real blog for the day, as boring as it was, and also some more music for you.

May 11 - Ardyn

I woke up with Call Up in my head this morning. It's been in my head since I heard it yesterday. And I've listened to it many times. So this is not a real blog post (though I might write one later today), but rather just a note that you should listen to Call Up. If you like, you can listen to the full debut EP from British brother/sister duo Ardyn, it's worth a listen (as is their non-EP single), but this is by far the best song.

May 9 - Space Captain

OK, here we go, Tokyo as quick as possible.

I flew up to Beijing on Thursday night so I could fly with Rich (the bachelor we were celebrating) on Friday morning. Very early. Like way too early. So we did that, and he had no clue where we were going until we got to the airport and checked in, so that was fun. I chose Tokyo since we met in Japan, he loves Japan, and Tokyo is the best. These are all good reasons, I think. So he finally knew we were going to Tokyo, and then I ruined the next surprise accidentally with a slip of  the tongue while waiting for our flight. Surprise #2 is that it was more than just us. I let it slip that our friend Santana was also coming. Luckily I did not let it slip that our friend Ben was also coming, so we landed and go to the AirBnb and were waiting for our "host" to come let us in, and then Ben, who lied and said he was in Taipei, walked up and let us in. That was fun. Friday after that was pretty chill. We didn't make too big plans for the afternoon, but we went out and about for a walk, bought Rich some video games in Akihabara, and then made our way to Shinjuku to meet up with some Japanese friends. After a couple hours of drinking at a random izakaya, I tried to take everyone to this great whiskey bar that my friend Lizzy found last time we were in Tokyo, but it was closed. So instead, we headed back to our neighborhood and drank at a darts bar that our friend Tama took us to. Then we went home, with an impromptu Miley Cyrus dance number literally in the middle of the street by Ben.

Considering the Miley Cyrus and street dancing, we were actually home earlier and soberer than you'd expect. That's because day 2 held the next round of surprises (I'll just tell you now - there were lots of surprises. Everything was a surprise. Rich had no clue what we had planned for him. All he could do was follow us.). The idea was to go down to Kamakura, a city about an hour and a half south of Tokyo, which has tons of famous temples and is also famous for shojin ryouri, traditional Buddhist vegetarian cuisine. Since Rich was a vegetarian since he turned 19 (now he eats fish) and loves hiking, we figured we'd combine the two and chose Kamakura. I found a few of the vegetarian places, but only one temple that served it.  The rest were all random restaurants specializing in it, which is still nice, but it's not a temple. So obviously I had booked the temple. I expected to walk in and go to the temple restaurant and eat at a table in a canteen or something. Instead, we walked in, they let us into the main shrine, and there were our place settings, set up in the middle of this 13th century shrine which they had reserved just for us. It was absolutely nuts. Even Santana, who pretty much refuses to eat any meal without meat, said it was one of the best meals of the weekend. Not cause it tasted the best - the food was great - but because of the setting. It was amazing. Totally nuts. If you go to Tokyo, definitely go to Kamakura, definitely go to Koumyouji, definitely eat the vegetarian meal. Nuts. So after that we walked a lot, around the temple down to the beach, up to another temple to see a huge Buddha. Not hiking really, but we chose the beach walk instead, which was really nice. And then after the Buddha we had to rush back to Tokyo because we also had dinner plans.

As I mentioned, Rich now eats fish. Which is very exciting. And we've had sushi together a few times, but he's never loved it. So I though, we're going to Japan, why not get him the best sushi he's every had at a place that will definitely be amazing before he decides to stop eating fish? So we booked a Michelin star sushi place (sadly we couldn't get into any of the 3-star ones, so had to settle for one star) and took him for a nice dinner. And boy was it nice. So nice. So delicious. Really like the best sushi I've ever had. Of course. What was really interesting was the way he did the rice. The chef explained that he leaves the rice loosely packed because it makes it better. And you know what? I think he's right. You could taste the fish so much more. And the rice, too. And you could feel every grain. It wasn't just like a big lump of rice. It was fantastic. So dinner was a winner. Winner, winner sushi dinner. And then, the stereotypical bachelor party ensued.

I can't tell you too much because I actually don't remember. The plan was for Rich not to remember, but also I don't. I guess that still counts. Anyway we wanted to start at this club I found back in Shinjuku, but got there and were told that it was for Japanese only. Luckily a very nice, English speaking guy on the street found us and took us to a strip club. Only topless, but really entertaining. And excellent service. I'm not even kidding. We did all you can drink for an hour (plus we had to get Rich a few add-ons, obviously), and the waiters not only spoke great English, they just brought us more drinks before we even finished ours. Didn't have to ask once. And the girls were so nice! Not at all sketchy like at home. One of them even had some really ridiculously good moves on the pole. We were big fans, even the ones who I have been to strip clubs with before who hated them. They are converted. At least in Tokyo they are. So from there, it was kind of downhill. We thought about going to a club, decided not too cause it was too crowded, had ramen, and I don't remember much more. Then we got home when the sun was coming up. I think the forgetting happened because we assumed the drinks at the strip club were weak and drank them really fast. But they were not weak. And we kept drinking from convenience stores as we went. So also that didn't help.

Getting home as the sun came up means we slept late. Almost too late. We had a reservation at 2:00 on Sunday afternoon. I woke up at 1:00. Then I moved the reservation until 2:30 and we got across town to enjoy one of Rich's favorite pass-times, high tea (he's so British). I know he loves it, so we took him to the Park Hyatt. We were pretty much the only men there. It was very Sex in the City (I wasn't able to figure out which character I was, though. Partially cause I don't know their names). So that was a relaxing few hours at the top of the city, and then a bit of wandering, before we slowly made our way to Tokyo Tower, where we were having dinner. Rich, being vegetarian, likes tofu. I do too, but it's much more important to Rich's life. So we took him to a fancy, old tofu restaurant at the foot of Tokyo Tower. It was absolutely lovely, and set in this old mansion in a garden, and they make all the tofu right there and it's like the best tofu ever. So good. Also we did have fish with the meal, it was not vegetarian. Which was a relief. So yeah, ate there, wandered the grounds being generally impressed by them, and then headed home.

The next morning, Rich and Ben left early, then Santana and I had one more day. So we went to watch the Sumo guys practice, went to Tsukiji for sushi, and then wandered until we went home. And that was it. A great weekend. Hopefully everyone enjoyed. I know I did. Only thing missing was the Mario Karting (which is possible. I'm not even kidding. In Japan  you can rent go-karts, dress up as Mario characters, and drive around the streets of Tokyo. Bucket list, here we come), but otherwise, it was fantastic. And I think Rich liked it, which is all that matters really. Next up I have to write a speech for this damn wedding....

Ok, I made it through. Now music. I could spend a lot of time talking to you about Radiohead who just suddenly dropped their album today (A Moon Shaped Pool. It is very, very good. I've only listened once, but I am impressed. Less electronic, more subdued and instrumental, maybe somewhere between the overall sound of OK Computer, but also some King of Limbs-y electronic bleeps and bloops and darkness and sadness in there.). I could also talk about James Blake or Ry X, both of whom dropped their albums last week. Or Moderat or Autolux, both of whom dropped third albums recently which are both fantastic and who I never heard of until their third albums but am now glad I did hear about. And I will talk about some of these artists in the coming days/weeks (at least now you know names and don't need to wait for me. Go ahead. I basically just named dropped because all of those albums are so exciting and you need to hear them.), but instead I'll talk about Space Captain because I found them first and have been meaning to. I found this band recently and fell in love with Two, the first song I heard. It is crazy good.





So that's the closing track on their first EP, In Memory. Good one, huh? Especially when you get to that breakdown around 3:00, and even more so when those handclaps come in 15 seconds later. And then it just blows up! I love it.

So this band is from Brooklyn. Judging by their Soundcloud profile photo, there are a lot of them. As you can tell, they are in the same vein as Hiatus Kaiyote or Jaala. So what's not to like? Well, maybe the fact they only have like 6 songs. But they're 6 damn good songs. Here's another example called Cosmos.

May 7 - Clarens

Now I'm in Ningbo and I don't have much to say cause I've been drinking baijiu. I'm actually not all that drunk, considering, but drunk enough to not write a long blog. But then I heard a good song on a playlist. It was Change, by Clarens. Give it a go.




I quite liked it. So I went on to his profile on Spotify and found that he only has one other single (assuming he's just a he, not a she or a they), and that song is Pray. So since he//she/it/they only have two songs, I might as well just put both on here, right?

May 5 - Radiohead / Local Natives

I'm still in Tianjin and tired, but I have to share music. This week has been very exciting. But after this I'm watching a move and ordering room service.

Before I was tired I thought I'd write again today and talk about a new band. But then Radiohead put out a new song yesterday. It's called Burn The Witch. It's the first single from the upcoming album, which people are speculating is also called Burn The Witch. I saw recently that they have some new tour dates out, and even some in Asia (which I will have to miss. Le sigh), so I was hoping this would be happening soon. And now it has. Excellent.

On top of that, Local Natives also put out their first new song in 3 years, called Past Lives. I think their new album will also be called Past Lives. Again, excellent.

May 4 - Larry Gus

Ok I'm way behind again. I meant to write this before going to Tokyo last weekend, because I knew I'd have to write a lot about Tokyo. But last week was just crazy.

After coming back, Passover basically started right away. I got into China on Thursday night, went to work Friday, then from work went straight to someone's house for first Seder (I'm just gonna assume if you read this you know all about being Jewy. Ok? Ok.), which ended up going until like midnight. Not because it was a long or traditional Seder, quite the opposite, it just lasted late cause we were chatting. And then I woke up the next morning to buy Damien Rice tickets (he's playing two shows in Shanghai on my birthday), but they only allowed you to buy 1 ticket at a time and I needed like 7, plus it sold out in literally five minutes. And this is the second show on that day which they only organized because the first one also sold out in five minutes. I don't get it at all. Anyway, I'm not seeing Damien Rice. Boo.

Then I started cooking. Because I had like 12 people over to my house for second seder. And I decided I was going to make a brisket, which I've never done before. This is on top of the regular hard-boiled eggs and charoset and matzoh ball soup, plus I was asked to make latkes. I made all of this. Alone. It was nuts. I had planned to go see my friend speak at Tedx that afternoon also and had to cancel cause I was so stressed. But I did it! And it was great! And it started out with only like 6 people, which meant we got through the pre-dinner ceremony stuff and then everyone showed up right before the meal, so it was perfect. Then we ate and said a couple quick prayers and then we just drank until most people left except like 3 friends who stayed until 2am drinking more, dancing to Prince music and doing face swaps. Good times.

So all of this happened in quick succession and it was only on the Sunday that I actually had any time to sit and think. Except I also ended up really busy Sunday, I don't even remember doing what, and only got to the things I'd been putting off for 2 weeks at like 6pm. But I did get to them. And I cooked more food for the week, as I do on Passover. It's the only time of the year I cook, actually. And this continued all week, me coming home from work, cooking, doing a bit of prep for the Tokyo bachelor party (or on one night working late), then going to sleep. It was crazy. But then I went to Tokyo. That was crazy, too, but different crazy. I'll tell you about it later.

As for music, today is Larry Gus. That's not the singer's name, even if it sounds like it is. He's some Greek guy (which means his name is actually impossible to pronounce or spell) and Larry Gus is a stylized writing of larygus which I guess means voice in like Ancient Greek or something like that. I heard him somewhere recently (I can't tell you where, I've had like no time to listen to new music either. I can barely keep up this last few weeks), and I'm finally getting around to telling you about him. The first song I heard, and probably still my favorite is The Sun Describes.





So this song is off his new album, I Need New Eyes. It's a great album. Well, when I first listened I thought it was. After buying and listening more closely, I think it's a very good and interesting album, with some really great tracks, and it's extremely unique with a very eclectic mix of influences from all over the world, which I really appreciate. But the album isn't as good as I first thought. The good songs, though, are amazing. Like Black Veil of Fail, the opening track, which is super impressive and is probably one reason why I was immediately drawn to the album.