Mar 30 - Violents / Rubblebucket

I just got back from Xinjiang. I was in Urumqi, the capital, for an event, which means I pretty much stayed in my hotel. Which is too bad, because Xinjiang is pretty interesting. It's the far western province in China, which is heavily populated by Turkic and Central Asian ethnic minorities, most notably the Uyghurs, many of whom have been trying to get independence for years. This has, at times, turned violent, and so security is nuts over there. In fact, my boss was telling me that ISIS has even started recruiting in the region (most of the minorities out west, not just in Xinjiang but the neighboring provinces as well, are Muslim). The ISIS recruits don't stay in China, they move over to Iraq or Syria to fight, but they're being recruited anyway. So yeah, it's crazy and super interesting and different and you should read a bit about it and visit because I'm definitely not doing a good job of telling you about it.

I was there like 12 years ago to travel, this time just for work so didn't get to see much. But I would have loved to see a bit more. But, since I am me, I did get to eat. As you might think, considering the people, the food is also very different from typical Chinese. More like Middle Eastern, heavy on the lamb and roast meats, but with some Chinese flair, like lots of noodles. Sadly no hummus. But delicious, delicious food, which I did not have enough of. And tons of security. They scan you at every hotel and mall and supermarket and restaurant, just like you're going to the airport. And the airport is much more strict than any other airport I've been to in China. It's a crazy place. Also the people don't look so Chinese, they look more Central Asian, so I even got asked if I was an ethnic minority when I started speaking Chinese. Good times!

What with all the strictness, the internet is also very blocked. Data barely works, but wifi is ok. But no VPN, pretty much. Although for some reason Instagram was totally unblocked there. Or 90% unblocked. It's been like 50% unblocked in Shanghai lately, but even more so in Xinjiang. No clue why. But I didn't check gmail or facebook for like 2 days. Woe is me. What really brought me woe, though, is that I could barely even use Spotify! And when I say barely, I mean I got through half a song and then was frustrated so stopped trying. And I also couldn't blog. Which means I'm sharing two bands with you today because I feel like one song isn't enough.

So up first is Equal Powers, one of the 3 singles from Violents and Monica Martin. Violents seems to be an indie collective, or so I've heard it described, led by this producer guy. And Monica Martin you might recognize, because she's the lead singer of PHOX. They have 3 songs out together, and I think Violents have a few more without her. 2 of their 3 joint singles are great, but Equal Powers is definitely my favorite.

Now since I feel like 1 band was not enough since it's been a few days, I'm going to give you another. That other is Rubblebucket. I've been meaning to write about them for a couple months and it just kept getting postponed. Their song Carousel Ride was pretty popular a couple years ago, but I couldn't get into it. But then I heard If U C My Enemies, and I loved it. Just listen, and get ready to dance.

Good, right? Super fun! So fun that the use of U and C instead of You and See doesn't even bother me! And that's saying something. So yeah, I fell for this song, and the whole EP they released around it, so I went and listened to Survival Sounds, their 2014 album. That's the one with Carousel Ride on it. I'm still not a huge fan of Carousel Ride (I bet you're gonna listen to it now, though, since I've mentioned it like 3 times), but I did like this album. So here's another song from the album which I do like a lot, called My Life.  And as it turns out, they've been around for like 10 years, so I should probably go listen to some of their even older stuff.

Mar 24 - La Vida Boheme / Deep Sea Diver

I'm finally headed back to Shanghai today. Actually leaving in like an hour, so sitting at the airport now. This trip was only 10 days, but it felt super long for some reason. But good news: I have a new employee! Between the two finalists, I chose the risky one. I chose the one who I have more doubts about and who might be more difficult, but who I also think can do a lot better. Let's hope I was right... Anyway, exciting stuff!

And there's been a lot of new music this week, much of it inspired by SXSW, which just happened. So let's go through a couple of the SXSW finds (disclaimer, I also had a really good Spotify playlist this week that introduced a bunch of other stuff, so they may not both actually be from SXSW).

First up is La Vida Boheme. This is a Venezuelan band, who it seems like has been around for quite some time, now living in Mexico. And their new album La Lucha is on it's way out, but they've got 2 singles from it at the moment. They're both super upbeat and positive and fun and I love them. So here's Voce.




And then there's Deep Sea Diver. Turns out the frontwoman, Jessica Dobson, has apparently played with everyone from Spoon to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to The Shins. Some big indie names there. And now she has her own band, which is great. So here's Secrets, off the album of the same name.

Mar 21 - Dispatch

Many, many years ago, when I was in high school, I had never been to a concert. This might surprise you, considering that now I try to go to as many concerts as possible. An endeavor which is severely limited by my living in China. But still, I try, and I do when I can. Actually, every time I plan a trip to Europe, the US or Japan, the first thing I do is look at what concerts are happening while I'm there. So yeah, you could say I like (read: am obsessed with) live music. And what was the first concert I ever went to? Dispatch, at the House of Blues in LA, during my junior year in high school. I was supposed to have gone to a couple of concerts before that, but they got cancelled or things came up before we could buy tickets and I couldn't go. So yeah, I had to wait like 17 years to figure out that live music is amazing.

If you're unfamiliar with Dispatch, they're a roots rock band. They're pretty much modern folk, and Jews love them. Which is probably a big part of how they ended up being my first concert. They ended up breaking up many years ago, and then got back together to put out an album in 2012. I don't remember much about that album, except that it was disappointing. But now they're back with a new album, titled America, Location 12, which will be out in June. And the first single off of it, Only The Wild Ones, is a good one. A really good one, that reminds me of old school Dispatch and gets me much more excited for this new album.





And for nostalgia's sake, here's The General, which is probably their most famous song. It's a classic. And since we started this one talking about concerts, I'll go with one of the live versions.

Mar 20 - Trapo / Frank Ocean / Feist

I'm down in Singapore for my 2nd trip since starting the new position. I actually came down here to meet with a bunch of my sales colleagues and also do some interviews in Malaysia (which I did last week). I need to hire someone to actually be here regularly, since I'm not, and since lots of things won't get done without me being down here. So it's been mostly work, but then there was a fun weekend in Singapore for the last couple of days. Nothing really special, just spent it hanging out with a couple friends and catching up. Most of the people I know in Singapore seem to be gone during this visit, except for 3. So I spent the weekend with 2 of them, and I'll be seeing the other one tomorrow. And I'm staying in a neighborhood called Outram Park, which is much better than where I've previously stayed or lived. So I'm much happier this time than in the past. I'll probably stay at this hotel every time I come from now on.

Ok, enough of the boring work stuff. Well, I guess not all work. I'm just here for work. And Singapore is boring. My friends aren't, but all we did is talk and eat and drink and walk and play with drones. So yeah. Also I finished a book and watched a weird movie.

And I listened to music. One of the things I listened to is Trapo. He's this 18 year old rapper from Wisconsin, of all places. I heard the song Speed at first, and fell in love with it. Probably because it reminds me of Frank Ocean. A lot. The rest of his stuff is fine. Much more rap than Speed, and not really my thing. But Speed is great.

And while we're talking about Frank Ocean, guess who has a new song. It's Frank Ocean! He released a song called Chanel a couple of weeks ago. No idea where it came from or if it means there's a new album or anything in the works. But I'm happy to have it.

And while we're talking about new music, there's a new single from Feist! After too many years, she's finally released Pleasure, the title track off of her upcoming new album, Pleasure. And in case that weren't enough from her, she'll also be on the new Broken Social Scene album coming out later this year.

Mar 11 - Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever / +++++++++++

And now we have a lazy Saturday. This was planned, but not wanted. Sadly I had to get my water heater repaired, and just like back home they told me they'd come some time between 12:30 and 5:30. So I planned to sit here all day. Which is too bad, because my friends invited me to this wine tasting event on like the 87th floor of a fancy hotel which would have been super fun. But instead, here I am on my couch. So what have I done today? Pretty much nothing. A bit of laundry, got a couple packages delivered, watched a bit of TV, skyped a friend, and listened to a bunch of new music. There's all kinds of new music out. Also, one of my deliveries as my iPod, which had the screen cracked and I got it repaired. So I also had to buy a bunch of music from the last week or so and put it all on there.

I feel like this was my first big purchase of music this year. Lots of good stuff in the last couple weeks. And some stuff I didn't like enough to buy. So before I share music, here's a list of things I bought or pre-ordered:

Ravyn Lanae - Midnight Moonlight EP (her new EP, also fantastic. I'm totally obsessed with her)
Future Elevators - Future Elevators (debut album, maybe blogging about it some other time)
Clap! Clap! - A Thousand Skies
Middle Kids - Middle Kids EP (debut EP, also maybe blogging about it some other time)
Bewilderbeast - Unreal_Estate
Laura Marling - Semper Femina (FINALLY! Love this woman. Already listened a few times, but needs a good listen with headphones before I maybe blog about it)
Little Dragon - Season High (Super excited for this one)
Electric Guest - Plural (Maybe I already blogged about them? Maybe not? If I didn't, I might. But if nothing else, I blogged about their first album a long time ago)
alt-j - Relaxer (no comment necessary)
Fleet Foxes - Crack-up (May also get a blog soon, cause the debut single is 8 minutes of fantastic)
Jay Som - Everybody Works
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - The French Press EP

Some of those I've blogged about so need no intro. But go listen to all of them if you haven't already.

And today, we focus on Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, or Rolling Blackouts C.F. The French Press is the 2nd EP for these Melbourne rockers, and it's a great one. With 3 lead singers, it can get a bit confusing when the voices change on different songs. But I have confirmed they are the same band with different singers. And to start, here is French Press, the title track.





Good one, right? Tons of fun. So this band came through recommendation by LA's local NPR affiliate, which I get a lot of music from. I'm on their music mailing list, as well as their normal mailing list. And their normal mailing list doesn't usually include music. So when it does, you know you should pay attention. And that's where I heard about Rolling Blackouts C.F. The French Press is actually their 2nd EP. The first one is good too, but I much prefer this one. It's a lot more fun. And the most fun? Julie's Place. Definitely their best. So much fun. It makes me want to do the awkward white boy wiggle.

OK, I just decided to do something. Since I listed all that music, I'm going to put one song from each of those albums. Or in the case that there is only one song so far released from that album and it has already been blogged, I am going to put any old song I choose by the band (i.e. alt-j). So here we go, from the top.

My choice for Ravyn Lenae is Last Breath.





From Future Elevators, it's Alabama Song.





Next track from Clap! Clap! is A Thousand Skies Under Cepheus' Erudite, mostly because it features John Wizards.





Middle Kids have a great debut EP, and the most popular track is, by far, Edge of Town.





For Bewilderbeast, we'll go with Swimming. Not to be confused with Swimming II, which comes 2 tracks later and is a single.





Laura Marling is definitely the hardest to choose. I love this woman and I feel I'm not doing her justice picking a song without giving the album a proper listen and figuring out which song is the best. But we'll go with the closing track, Nothing, Not Nearly, because it's beautiful and has a way of sticking with you.





Little Dragon only has one other single from the new album, and that's High. I think it was a surprising choice for their debut after being gone for like 3 years.





Electric Guest's new album is pretty solid. I don't like the first song, but the 2nd track, Glorious Warrior, is great, and where the album really gets started for me. I'm not sure what my favorite track is yet, but I know I love this one.




Like I said, alt-j has only released one song from the new album. So I'm picking an old song. And it's Warm Foothills. Because duh.




Fleet Foxes have a new single from their upcoming album, the album being Crack-Up and the song being Third of May / Odaigahara.





And finally, Jay Som. This one is The Bus Song.





And there's a ton of music for you. That was fun.

Mar 10 - Little Dragon / Sylvan Esso

It's Friday night and I'm in a good mood and have good music for a Friday night. 2 good musics from 2 bands I love love love love love. And who have both appeared on this blog multiple times. So they don't need much introduction.

The first one is Little Dragon. If you don't know them, that sucks for you. Now you do. Now you should go listen to everything ever by them cause it's great. And this is their newest greatness, Sweet, off their upcoming new album Season High.




And then there's Sylvan Esso. Same description applies. Their forthcoming sophomore album, What Now, is also coming out soon. And here's the 2nd single Kick, Jump, Twist. It's not the newest single, but it's the best for a Friday night.

Mar 9 - Tall Tall Trees / Clap! Clap!

It's just been a crazy few days. We have this annual conference which was in Shanghai this year, so I got to plan it. Generally I would plan it, because it's technically an Asia Pacific conference and I manage marketing and events in Asia Pacific. But last year they put it in Dubai for some reason, so I didn't have to plan it. This year it was back in Asia, though, so all me. Plus we tacked on another event afterwards. So about 4 out of the last 7 days have been 16 hour work days. That's always fun. But I made it back to Shanghai last night and now I'm here until Tuesday! That's very long in Michael time. And my first day back was spent at home instead of the office, where I spent practically the entire day on one excel sheet. Suffice it to say, my eyes are very tired now. So I don't actually want to be typing this. But I want to be sharing this music.

This music being 2 songs from 2 artists. The first one is Being There, the latest single off of Tall Tall Trees's new album. I'm pretty sure my friend Brittany told me about Tall Tall Trees years ago and I didn't pay attention. Sorry Brittany! I am now! I like this song a lot! The song is off of Freedays, the 3rd album from Tall Tall Trees, which came out last month. The guy's a banjo player, and apparently most of the sounds you hear on the album were made with his banjo. Pretty impressive. Overall, the album is alright. Worth a listen, you might like it. Just ok for me. But I like this song a lot. This song makes me wish I like the rest of the album more.





And then there's Hope, also the latest single off of an album that also came out last month. This time the album is A Thousand Skies, by Clap! Clap! This guy is a DJ from Italy who uses a bunch of global influences, which is pretty obvious when you listen to his music. A Thousand Skies is a really weird album, but this one I do really like, and I think I'll only like it more as I listen to it more. So definitely give this one a listen.

March 6 - Alt-J

Something amazing happened today. Alt-J released 3WW, the first single off of their new album. The album will be out in June and is called Relaxer. The only negative part is it only has 8 tracks. But if 3WW is any indicator (and if their history is any indicator) it will be a fantastic 3 tracks. They've brought in a female vocalist on this track again, this time Ellie Roswell of Wolf Alice. Obviously this makes me think of the female vocals included on Warm Foothills on the last album, which is not a good comparison because that song literally blew my brain out of my head. Luckily I got it back, but for a while it was rough going. Anyway, listen to 3WW and get ready to melt.