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Sigur Rós takes the Tate

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In a collaboration that I could only imagine in a fever dream, Sigur Rós has composed four new tracks that for a piece celebrating the Tate Modern entitled “States of Matter”. The audio is also accompanied by distinct videos and all can be remixed through the interactive experience. It’s a great way to explore this recent renovation and history of the Tate. And probably as close as I’m going to get to revisiting my favorite museum until airfare gets back to being reasonable…

2015 is …

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2015 is ...

I haven’t put a year-end album list together since 2012 and I’m not entirely sure why. But that had to change for this quickly-closing year as it was truly a stupendous one for my ears. A lot of the releases I’ve included were either directly connected to the Iceland Airwaves music festival or uncovered as a direct result of researching bands that I got to see there (whether new to me or longtime favorites). These include LoneLady, Úlfur Úlfur and Braids. Björk, of course, had to be on here, even if her album hadn’t also been fucking amazing. The rest really just represent the tracks that provided the soundtrack to my life these last twelve months – from travels to projects to strolls and drives alone around the city. Enjoy the playlist below, featuring three tracks from each artist and click through the album art to dig a little deeper into each 2015 release.

Inadequate reflections on Iceland

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It’s been a week and a half since returning from a ten day trip to Iceland – a trip that I’ve been dreaming of since first hearing Björk and realizing that she was (arguably) a real person from a real place on this planet (probably). Normally, when I get back from travel, it’s pretty easy to sit down and come up with some sort of a concise reflection on the journey that just was.

Iceland defies this kind of treatment.

Ostensibly, we (Dusty, Amy and myself) were in the country to take advantage of the wonderful sounds of the Airwaves 2015 festival. We definitely did do this, clocking up between 26 and 28 shows each during the five days of concurrent sets all around Reykjavík. We also managed to get sleep, see the aurora (twice!) and feed ourselves (fish and chips, chocolate bars and hot dogs count, right?) so I consider this a major accomplishment. But this was only one part of the trip.

 

The rest was seeing some of the country. And, in this regard, we accomplished much and very, very little. With our remaining days on the ground, we covered something like 1000 miles and checked out both guide book recommended and completely unmentioned scenery. It was staggeringly, jaw dropping-ly, bewilderingly and beguilingly beautiful.

And only a small portion of what we completely missed on this trip.

I want to go back again in winter. I want to visit in spring, summer and fall. I want to go east, north, west and again to the south. In short, ten days was both overwhelmingly long and wildly too short a time in Iceland.

And you should visit, too.

More photos, as always, on Flickr. There’s also a boatload of concert footage on Facebook.

Nameless (a playlist)

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Nameless Cover

There’s not a lot of description for this playlist (much like there’s no name) that’s not going to take this post into “dear diary” territory. What you can have, though, are thirteen sometimes dark, sometimes moody but ultimately ineffably beautiful tracks that I’ve been enjoying over the last few (sometimes sleepless) months.

  1. For Now I Am Winter – Ólafur Arnalds & Arnor Dan
  2. Miasma Sky – Baths
  3. Digital Lion – James Blake
  4. Song For Five & Six – Owen Pallett
  5. Romantic Streams – Sleep ∞ Over
  6. You Are You Are – Le Cassette
  7. This Is What It Feels Like – BANKS
  8. Wanderlust – Wild Beasts
  9. An Hour – Forest Swords
  10. Lessons – SOHN
  11. Begin Again – Purity Ring
  12. Hollow – Zola Jesus
  13. Confusing Happiness – Lo-Fang

Download all the lucky thirteen for a limited time here.

4th country of 2014: Mexico

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I think my most recent trip outside of the continental United States is my last of the year…and it was a particularly splendid one, made just a bit better by getting to catch up with a good friend from home. Though it was just a four day visit to Mexico City, I still found a way to fall in love with the place, the people, the food and the overall vibe there. Vibrant doesn’t do it justice. Novel barely covers the sights around every corner. And warm is an understatement when talking about the welcoming atmosphere. Yes, D.F., I’ll be back.

You can view an entire album full of travel photos over on my Flickr (and probably a few on ye olde Instagram, for good measure).

Pre-Finland playlist

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The Greatest Form of Flattery

As I’ll be spending a lot of time in airports, railway stations and between countries starting this afternoon, I thought a new playlist might just be in order. I give to you, then, a collection of some great covers (and one remix) of 80s new wave songs. What’s not to love?

  1. “Strangelove” – Bat for Lashes
  2. “The Killing Moon” – Pavement
  3. “The Chauffer” – Warpaint
  4. “Never Tear Us Apart” – Record Club
  5. “Age of Consent” – Geographer
  6. “Six Different Ways” – Rainbow Arabia
  7. “Don’t You Want Me” – Neon Trees
  8. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” – Just a Gent
  9. “Stop Me” – Mark Ronson
  10. “Let’s Go to Bed” – Cassettes Won’t Listen
  11. “Blue Dress” – Hungry Lucy
  12. “Slowdive” – LCD Soundsystem
  13. “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” – Nouvelle Vague
  14. “Smalltown Boy” – José González
  15. “True” – Joanna Wang

Download all 15 tracks for a limited time here.

UNDO Mix

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  1. UndoCover“What’s On Your Mind? (Pure Energy)” – Information Society
  2. “Promises” – The Presets
  3. “Love Long Distance” – Gossip
  4. “Fiction” – The xx
  5. “Under The Milky Way” – The Church
  6. “Days” – CREEP
  7. “The Haunted Man” – Bat For Lashes
  8. “Recover” – Chvrches
  9. “Damaged Goods” – Yeasayer
  10. “When I Dream” – Ra Ra Riot

Download the entire playlist for a limited time.

12 for ’12

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2012albums

Well, the world didn’t end and so it seems like reason enough to celebrate with a brand new top albums list for the year that was.  Now, the savvy reader will have noticed that there are actually 13 covers in the list below so that means that a) I didn’t stick to my resolve to stop cutely choosing the same number of albums as the second part of the year – it won’t be fun anymore by 2027 and b) I kept with tradition and sent an extra selection on through.  One item of note with 2012’s choices is that they nearly all sound like they came from the same sonic landscape.  Not even intentional – has my taste started to settle? Ah, at least old age will sound great…