Travel in Sound

06/03/2012

Same Name Indie Rock Bands

The other night, I met up with one of my favourite people and he made a really funny observation. We were discussing an upcoming radio show that was coming up and the line up. When we realized something hilarious, "What is it with the same name sounding bands that aren't even that good?"

Sometimes, I think I'm listening to the same band just because the name sounds really similar, when in fact, they're totally different bands all together.

Neon Trees vs. Neon Indian? Who is getting the title of your favourite band? I remember I thought I had found the Neon Indian album when in fact, it was Neon Trees? Does this happen to you too? If so, you're not alone. What about Young the Giant and Cage the Elephant? If you ask me, I don't know which band I'd rather listen to.

I guess maybe since all of the creative names are taken we're stuck with bands with names that don't distinguish themselves and sounds that sound even more lackluster.

So tell me, what's your favourite same name sounding band? Actually, of all the bands listed, I like Neon Indian the best.

This ends my rant for the day. Pictures may come at a later date. I haven't decided.

Jun 3, 2012 10:53:44 PM | Music, Web/Tech, Weblogs

01/30/2012

Wilco Brings "The Whole Love" and So Much More...

Last night, I saw my favourite American band of all time, Wilco, at the Warfield in San Francisco. (Radiohead is my favourite British band in case you're wondering.) They brought "The Whole Love" and so much more rock to their performance. It was so nice to see a wide variety of fans gathered in one place to support them. White Denim opened but I decided to skip that performance and catch up with a fellow music geek, plus I was selling her my extra ticket. I made it back to the venue just as soundcheck was starting.

They opened with an electric version of "Sunken Treasure" which only set the tone for even more rocking versions of their early more country sounding songs like "Shouldn't Be Ashamed." Needless to say, we were all in awe from the beginning. Jeff Tweedy, the affable singer normally banters a lot with the audience but this time around, he only said, "We have a lot of business to attend to to" or something to that effect, meaning, a lot more rocking. One audience member approved of the minimally arranged b-side "Laminated Cat" with her observation, "Nice job, guys." Besides telling the audience how much he loves playing San Francisco, there wasn't a whole lot of talking. I wasn't too keen on their last two records as much as their previous records but after hearing them live and seeing the band's enthusiasm playing them onstage, I'm starting to like them a lot more. You can never go wrong with "Impossible Germany" which reminds me of travel for some odd reason. I think it's the references to countries that's why. With the amount material they have, they could easily play for hours. They ended the show with "The Lonely 1" which is one of my favourite tracks from their double album, "Being There." We heard a little over two hours of a really diverse catalog.

I didn't get any pictures because they were really cracking down on photos that night so I'll leave you with snapshot of my ticket. They're much bigger (the tickets and the band actually) nowadays which is interesting. This show was worth every penny. There's a reason why they're one of my favourite bands, live and on record.

Jan 30, 2012 4:40:48 PM | Music, Travel

10/24/2011

Portishead live!

It was a beautiful night in Berkeley on Friday. I raced over to see Portishead at the lovely Greek Theatre. I have forgotten how good the sound is there and on a nice night like Friday, it's magical. Portishead are one of my favourite bands of all time so I was really excited to see them perform after waiting many years. It took them well over ten years to release their third album which is ironically entitled "Third" which is so much different from their other two records.

They played a good mix of songs from all three albums. Beth Gibbons' voice is still powerful and haunting as ever. I saw her solo show with a couple of friends at a tiny venue in San Francisco many years ago. She still sounds great after all of these years. They played a slightly different version of their most well known track, "Sour Times (Nobody Loves Me)" and one of my personal favourites, "Wandering Star." At the end of the show, Beth came out and said hello the fans in the front row. She did at the Warfield show as well.

I love how they mix hip hop, jazz and rock all in one. They're like no other band in the world, which is exactly why I love hearing them. I've never been into bands that sound like every other band. I like bands that evolve and progress, Portishead are definitely one of those bands. Even though they never greeted the crowd, the music and the avant garde film in the background spoke volumes for the type of band Portishead are. I was captivated and mesmerized all night. It was well worth the ticket price.

I'll leave you with a video I took of "Wandering Star."

Oct 24, 2011 9:27:22 PM | Music, Travel

10/19/2011

The soundtrack of our lives

The soundtrack of our lives aren't just a great band from Sweden. I think we all have a soundtrack that narrates our lives. Music evokes so many different moods and emotions that it can instantly change how you feel in an instant at least it does for me.

If I'm angry I'll turn on old school Hole or Refused to scream along with.

If I'm happy or I need to hear something that puts a smile on my face, I'll listen to Junior Senior, Onelinedrawing's "Smile," or Flight of the Conchords.

If I'm sad or feeling sad, there's plenty of sad bastard music in my collection - Radiohead, Sun Kil Moon, Sparklehorse and Mojave 3 tend to be pretty melancholy.

Then there's a whole mixed bag of both instrumental and miscellaneous tracks to fill in the miscellaneous moods.

This leaves me with a question, what songs would make up the soundtrack of your life?

Oh yeah, I have a twitter page dedicated to this blog because someone else took my username. Follow me, like me on facebook and add me to your RSS feeds.

http://www.facebook.com/travelinsound

http://www.twitter.com/travel_insound

AND add me to your RSS feeds and follow my updates as they happen. I'm still working on the kinks on FB.

Oct 19, 2011 9:11:55 PM | Music, Travel

10/10/2011

Jens Lekman and the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival

I'm lucky that I live in the bay area. There are so many awesome music festivals including The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, Noise Pop, The Treasure Island Music Festival and Stern Grove. Stern Grove and Hardly Strictly are both free to the public. How cool is that?

A few weeks ago, I had a musical week. I got to see Jens Lekman at the California Academy of Sciences Nightlife as an introduction to the Treasure Island Music Festival kick off. Jens Lekman writes quirky indie pop songs that have a twist of humour in them. For example, he has a song about Kirsten Dunst called, "Waiting For Kirsten" which is a humorous tale about how they have no such thing as a VIP list where he's from. His humour and witty banter is what makes Jens stands out from other indie rock singers. You've probably heard a couple of songs in the roller derby inspired flick, Whip It. His song "Your Arms Around Me" plays during the swimming scene. It was amazing to see this man perform outside on a warm September night. Not only did I get to see penguins, sea creatures and other nerdy, science-related stuff, I got to hear awesome music. Not a bad deal for the cost of a movie.

Later that week, I went back to San Francisco to the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival which features three days of music. The line up is really diverse so there's something for everyone. It's so popular that people come from all over the country just to go this free music festival. On my way home, I met a couple from Ventura, in Southern California. My ex-boyfriend's dad will come into town from Charlotte, North Carolina to hear all the bands. It's that popular! I ended up seeing Devotchka and Elbow. A couple of my other friends saw Chris Isaak and Bob Mould. I really wanted to see Bright Eyes and Broken Social Scene but they were playing different days and I wanted to fit some other things into that same weekend. I should've went to see BSS though because apparently, they played their last show later that weekend at the Fillmore. I love, love, love "Lover's Spit." It is seriously one of my favourite songs of all time. I'm sad I missed them. I heard they put on a good show.

I'll post a picture of the ever-so-adorable penguins when I get a chance.

Oct 10, 2011 9:15:01 PM | Film, Music, Travel

09/26/2011

Musical travel adventures

I am a music geek and damn proud of it. Sometimes when I travel, I'll seek out musical landmarks. An ex-boyfriend let me take him to Sky Blue Sky, a restaurant in Toronto named after Wilco's album. The sandwiches were actually really tasty. They were all named after Wilco songs and most of them were vegan or vegetarian if I recall correctly. I just remember they used a delicious spicy bread which I thought made them stand out. Who doesn't like a yummy sandwich named after songs by one of my favourite bands? I certainly don't. In London, my English friend helped us find Bar Italia which is the title of a Pulp song. We were going to eat there, but I couldn't find anything appealing on the menu which was quite sad. I was a bit taken aback that it seemed much smaller than I had imagined it in my head. One time when my sis and I were bored, we drove to Dick's Diner, where Radiohead's "High and Dry" video was filmed. It's a local place so we figured, why not? I thought it was exciting to sit where my favourite band sat. The food wasn't that spectacular but I did enjoy the scenery. I re-played the video in my head and nerded out for a bit.

Sometimes I plan these visits other times, it's just pure coincidence. I'm lucky there are people who understand my music obsession. I know some people may find it annoying but it's something I've very passionate about. I used to spend hours sitting in my room listening to albums from start to finish. I'd study the artwork and the lyrics while getting lost in the sounds. It's pretty sad that we now listen to music digitally on portable devices and we immediately hit shuffle. We just don't have the time to devote to an entire album anymore. It's all about tracks and singles these days. Some of my loyal readers may not even know what an 8-track or cassette tape player looks like. Vinyl has made a comeback, do you think tapes will too? I'm not sure what this rant has to do with the rest of my entry but I plan on keeping up my rock n' roll tour when I can.

What are some places you can think of that have been inspired by your favourite musician or artist? Do you visit places because you were influenced by your favourite band? Come on, tell me.

Sep 26, 2011 11:11:07 PM | Music, Travel

09/05/2011

Hayes Valley and Broken Social Scene

A few weeks ago, I was wandering around Hayes Valley after a friend's birthday party when I noticed a mural that said, "Lover's Spit." I smiled when I saw this because musical references always make me happy no matter where they pop up. Unfortunately, it was dark by the time I saw it but I managed to snap a grainy photo with my iPhone. My digital camera is out of commission and I haven't had a chance to upgrade to a new one. I was toying with the idea of purchasing the Olympus PEN camera but I haven't read too much about it. I do plan on finding a decent digital camera soon along with an acoustic guitar. If any of my dear readers have any pointers please contact me. OK, enough digressing...back to music and travel.

"Lover's Spit" is one of my all time favourite songs by the band Broken Social Scene. There are two versions. One that features Kevin Drew and another slower, piano version that features Feist. Both are stellar, but I prefer the Feist version from "Beehives." There's something about the melancholy sounding piano mixed with her vocals that makes me melt every time I hear it.

Hayes Valley is a cute neighborhood filled with a bunch of different boutiques, high end eateries and bars. I'm not exactly sure where on Hayes I saw it but I just happened to notice it on my walk back toward Civic Center BART. It's funny how two very different neighborhoods are so close to each other. Ironically enough, I was about to meet another friend who also adores this song too. It's always nice to share the excitement of something so little with someone else who appreciates it.

Here's a picture of the mural. Unfortunately, I don't have a flash on my phone either so forgive me for the poor quality.

Sep 5, 2011 8:23:11 PM | Music, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs

08/16/2011

Summer Songs

Summer means my birthday, heat, too much popsicle/ice cream consumption and of course, music festivals.

Over the weekend, Outside Lands, a huge music festival in SF occurred. I didn't get tickets because I've never been a huge festival person. In fact, the last time I went to a music festival was probably the Warped Tour many moons ago or maybe it was a radio festival?

As I was wondering the Haight over the weekend, it reminded me of previous summers and songs that always remind me of summer. "Wetsuit" by The Vaccines has been popping up on my iPod a lot lately. This could easily be one of the songs of the summer especially with the lyric, "put a wetsuit on come on come on..." Another summer themed song that comes to mind is "Let's Go Surfing" by the Drums. I've had this record on repeat for quite some time. I remember turning my friend on to Elkland which features members of the Drums. Ironically enough, I turned this friend on to Elkland and he turned me onto The Drums. Funny, both of these songs mention surfing which I now just noticed. The last summer song is "Walking Barefoot" by Ash. This song is a bit older but it always gets me in the mood. I could easily listen to these songs while breezing by on my friend's scooter (which I also did), wandering somewhere around town or in a big city or on my way to some sort of summer picnic or something.

So tell me what are your songs of the summer?

I'll leave you with some pictures I took while wandering around SF this past weekend.

Aug 16, 2011 11:14:49 PM | Music, Travel

06/16/2011

30 Songs in 30 Days

I'm not sure if y'all have seen the page on FB, but I finally finished the 30 Songs in 30 Days Challenge. I'm going to go ahead and post them all here because it makes it easier than to scroll through my entire page. Every now and then, I'll throw in a music and/or travel post just for the hell of it. Why not? So without further ado, here are the songs. Feel free to look them up...or I can post them here if you really want to see them.

Let's go backwards...

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year

I can't even remember what I liked last year...so I'm just going to pick something random.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttcboE1GrNg

Bloc Party - Flux

The soundtrack to my travels. Think of it as music pairing to go with your travels.

06/03/2012

01/30/2012

10/24/2011

10/19/2011

10/10/2011

09/26/2011

09/05/2011

08/16/2011

06/16/2011

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last yearI can't even remember what I liked last year...so I'm just going to pick something random.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttcboE1GrNg

‎30 Day Song Challenge - Day 28 - a song that makes you feel guilty. This album is so damn catchy. It's probably my favourite album so far this year.There's a line about waiting til the guilt consumes...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU9hrd35Dsg

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 27 - A song that you wish you could play. I can't think of any face melters right now but I know there's that one Coheed and Cambria song that stumps my friends on Rock Band so I'll say that one. Yeah, that one.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 25 - A song that makes you laugh. It took me awhile to get into this show but it is pretty freakin' hilarious. This ong in particular makes me laugh.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56ekY8TMJ4w&feature=related

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 24 - A song that you want to play at your funeral. Followed closely by Wilco's "On and On and On," Jeff Buckley's version of "Hallelujah" and Slow Club's "When I Go." As you can tell I thought a lot about this...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aePWkeDxRjE

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 23 - A song that you want to play at your wedding. Oh man, a song to play at a wedding. It's always tough to choose music anyway. Let's go with this cover. I also like the 6ths' "You, You, You, You, You" a lot.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbMeAOTPJzM

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 22 - a song that you listen to when you’re sad. This song cheers me up whenever I feel sad, seriously. Thank you, Michael Stipe.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijZRCIrTgQc

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 21 - A song that you listen to when you’re happy. Jonah is one of my favourite singers...this song never disappoints. Hooray R2! Jonah can be my co-pilot any day of the week. Love him.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYcuonEb0kg

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 18 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio. I would rather use "Flaky Wife" because of the lyrics, "I'd like to stab you but I'm feeling nice" but this one will have to do.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ww-5XUFTGc

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 16 - A song that you used to love but now hate. I don't really hate it but I'm kind of over it because this song is everywhere.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL548cHH3OY

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 15 - A song that describes you. Mainly the chorus and a few other things...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OMTB8YwILY

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 14 - A song that no one expects you to love. I have some of those as well...but here's one that gets me every time. It's super catchy too.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PTDv_szmL0

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 12 - A song from a band you hate. Creed and Nickelback are pretty high on the band I hate wagon...They're so bad I'm posting a parody instead. Yeah...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6zwNtor5SM

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep Sigur Ros tends to put me in a sleepy mood. They're one of my favourite bands of all time though. Their most recent album is much more upbeat though. :)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xow2gnVTUjs

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 8 - A song you know all the words to. Filmed in San Leandro!!! I nerded out by going to the diner to see where Radiohead sat and then met a girl who's mom played the waitress in the video. Lucky waitress! OK, on to the video.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BciOfJsqh7M

30 Day Song Challenge - Day/Song 7 - A song that reminds you of a certain event. This song reminds me of birthdays and parties. "Oh eff it, I'm going to have a party..."http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXRLUeVXpMA

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 6 - A song that reminds you of a place. It reminds me of wandering Chicago with my pals Amol and Kristine. We had lots and lots of fun there. I need to go back.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKDcb22-yrY

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 4 - A song that makes you sad. I like a lot of sad bastard music but this is the first one that came to mind. I know there are probably more that I'll think of later. Jimmy Eat World does a good cover of this.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzLznGilPB4

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 3 - A song that makes you happy. Award goes to best long title too. How can you not smile listening to Beulah. I believe they're local too. I'm going to stop gushing now.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCpIyP1gAUI

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 2 - Least Favorite SongI have many but one of those bands that drives me nuts is Fall Out Boy. This video has quite funny lyric interpretations. What the hell is he saying anyway?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5Qtt4MBt08&feature=fvsr

06/15/2011

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30 Day Song Challenge - Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year

I can't even remember what I liked last year...so I'm just going to pick something random.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttcboE1GrNg

‎30 Day Song Challenge - Day 28 - a song that makes you feel guilty. This album is so damn catchy. It's probably my favourite album so far this year.

There's a line about waiting til the guilt consumes...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU9hrd35Dsg

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 25 - A song that makes you laugh. It took me awhile to get into this show but it is pretty freakin' hilarious. This ong in particular makes me laugh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56ekY8TMJ4w&feature=related

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 24 - A song that you want to play at your funeral. Followed closely by Wilco's "On and On and On," Jeff Buckley's version of "Hallelujah" and Slow Club's "When I Go." As you can tell I thought a lot about this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aePWkeDxRjE

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 23 - A song that you want to play at your wedding.

Oh man, a song to play at a wedding. It's always tough to choose music anyway. Let's go with this cover. I also like the 6ths' "You, You, You, You, You" a lot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbMeAOTPJzM

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 22 - a song that you listen to when you’re sad. This song cheers me up whenever I feel sad, seriously. Thank you, Michael Stipe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijZRCIrTgQc

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 21 - A song that you listen to when you’re happy. Jonah is one of my favourite singers...this song never disappoints. Hooray R2! Jonah can be my co-pilot any day of the week. Love him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYcuonEb0kg

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 18 - A song that you wish you heard on the radio. I would rather use "Flaky Wife" because of the lyrics, "I'd like to stab you but I'm feeling nice" but this one will have to do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ww-5XUFTGc

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 16 - A song that you used to love but now hate. I don't really hate it but I'm kind of over it because this song is everywhere.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL548cHH3OY

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 15 - A song that describes you. Mainly the chorus and a few other things...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OMTB8YwILY

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 14 - A song that no one expects you to love. I have some of those as well...but here's one that gets me every time. It's super catchy too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PTDv_szmL0

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 12 - A song from a band you hate. Creed and Nickelback are pretty high on the band I hate wagon...They're so bad I'm posting a parody instead. Yeah...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6zwNtor5SM

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 10 - A song that makes you fall asleep

Sigur Ros tends to put me in a sleepy mood. They're one of my favourite bands of all time though. Their most recent album is much more upbeat though. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xow2gnVTUjs

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 8 - A song you know all the words to. Filmed in San Leandro!!! I nerded out by going to the diner to see where Radiohead sat and then met a girl who's mom played the waitress in the video. Lucky waitress! OK, on to the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BciOfJsqh7M

30 Day Song Challenge - Day/Song 7 - A song that reminds you of a certain event. This song reminds me of birthdays and parties. "Oh eff it, I'm going to have a party..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXRLUeVXpMA

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 6 - A song that reminds you of a place. It reminds me of wandering Chicago with my pals Amol and Kristine. We had lots and lots of fun there. I need to go back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKDcb22-yrY

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 4 - A song that makes you sad. I like a lot of sad bastard music but this is the first one that came to mind. I know there are probably more that I'll think of later. Jimmy Eat World does a good cover of this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzLznGilPB4

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 3 - A song that makes you happy. Award goes to best long title too. How can you not smile listening to Beulah. I believe they're local too. I'm going to stop gushing now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCpIyP1gAUI

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 2 - Least Favorite Song

I have many but one of those bands that drives me nuts is Fall Out Boy. This video has quite funny lyric interpretations. What the hell is he saying anyway?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5Qtt4MBt08&feature=fvsr