Music is healing, I love the feeling.

Peep this little gem from Speech Debelle, the newest winner of the Mercury music prize.
Her full-length, Speech Therapy, is out now on Big Dada, one of my favorite labels.
Really impressed by the album and this track in particular is killing it for me at the moment.

http://www.speechdebelle.com/
http://www.bigdada.com/artist.php?id=142
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/sep/09/speech-debelle-wins-mercury-prize

Love on and in the sea.

Yeti is the best.
Seriously.
Amazing writing, interviews, ideas, art & music.
Just picked up issue #7 from Other Music the other day.
This track by Moon Duo comes from the CD included with the zine.
Big ups, Mike McGonigal.
I miss you and Portland.
Keep on keeping music alive and thriving.

http://yetipublishing.com/
http://www.myspace.com/moonduo

This Is A Golden Phone, Can You Ring Me Back?

I've been crazy about this track for what, over a year or so, now?

 


The promo for the album just ended up on my desk.
Super good.
Made me smile on a day in need of a smile.

Up with the kids. Support them here:

http://www.myspace.com/micayomusic

http://www.accidentalrecords.com/micachu

http://www.roughtraderecords.com/micachu/1195/micachu-the-shapes

And Hudson comes into the world.

Had sort of been blawg-quiet lately in the last week or so.

Though my actual-life was quite the opposite.

Got a call a week and a half ago and found out that a renter was going to take over the lease of my apartment in LA (good news), 
so I had to fly back the following day with a sinus cold (bad news) to start packing up my life 
for the second time in 5 months - the first was my move from Portland to LA in October.
Managed to sell a ton of stuff - sofa, desk, bookcases, furniture in general and made a bunch of donations to Goodwill.
All of which felt amazing to let go off.
Stuff. Goodbye stuff.
I also sold my car, which was actually the toughest thing to let go of.
It's not that it was the most awesome car (2000 Oldsmobile Intrigue), rather it was the "meaning" of the car - the sense of independence, 
and all the memories it held - roadtrips out to the coast, the desert, to LA and back, from Milwaukee across the country to Portland, etc.
The same day I was selling my car in LA, my best friends, Molly & Dyrayll, were having their first child back in Portland.
I was letting go of things, and at the same time, something living was coming into the world.
Something beautiful and much more important.
It was an interesting moment for me.
I was sitting in a Starbucks in Burbank contemplating the amount that Carmax offered me for my car 
and whether I was going to take their offer.
Evening was coming on and the sky was a moody color and busy with clouds.
At some point a feeling of letting go came over me and I realized that it was time.
Felt very clear to me.
Goodbye stuff.

So I then flew back to NYC and got back to working and my new routine out here.
Working hard on a TV commercial at the moment.

Friday I get a call from the Beverly Hills Police Department.
Apparently they've got two fellas in custody that had some of my possessions on them.
Turns out they broke into my storage unit and jacked some of my things.
My head was swimming.
Did they get my records?
My music gear?
Personal information?
Felt violated and bummed out.

That was Friday, today is Tuesday.
It is still being sorted out by the police, but it's looking like I may have caught a super lucky break 
in that they caught these guys in time before they may have unloaded any of my possessions.
So, ah...
Feels like spring is coming on and things are getting better, warmer, sunnier.
I got a gal that loves me, great friends and family, some work at the moment and my health.
Counting all my blessings.

And here's a song from a band called It Hugs Back from their new album that I'm feeling:

Give 'em some support.

http://4ad.com/ithugsback/releases/inside-your-guitar-0/

Invest in a nice flask or some type of polished canteen.

Many years ago I met Andrew W.K. when his manager hooked him up to meet with me.

He wanted to come visit me at my office (I was still working at Wieden + Kennedy
in Portland at the time) 
and didn't have a way to get over to see me, so I drove over to Dante's,
the venue he was performing at later that night, in my little Honda Civic hatchback to pick him up.
After soundcheck was finished, we went back my office and I gave him a tour of the building.
In many ways, he's exactly what you'd expect, even hope.
Congenial, charming, massively positive about everything, goofy.
I believe he learned classical piano as a younger person
and when we stumbled upon the grand piano sitting in our office's atrium, 
he sat down and played for awhile.
While he played, we chatted about politics, music in advertising
and protein shakes to bulk up one's muscles.
Given all this, how could I not love a man like this?

What's Andrew W.K. up to these days?
Probably many things.
In the meantime, check out his advice column, "Andrew W.K.: How To Live",
on Anthem Magzine's website: http://anthemmagazine.com/story/1221
And, ask away.
Andrew W.K. would never steer you wrong.

Also, check out Dan & Mark's cover version of "Party Hard".
Best cover version ever? You be the judge.

Things blow in and don't just cast them, say it now, what you want to stay.

When I got home from six weeks in London last summer, I arrived just in time to catch the PDX Pop Now! 2008 Festival.
http://www.pdxpopnow.com/
Saw some amazing bands, including my favorites White Fang (http://www.myspace.com/whtfng), who I got to play my going-away party at Holocene, as well as the amazing, Eat Skull (http://www.myspace.com/eatskull)

I also happened to catch Blind Pilot, who I had been hearing a bit about, but thought, oh-boy, not another one, I'm not sure how much more indie folk rock I can take.
Then I stood in the warm Portland July air, forgot that silly notion and got lost in their music.

After that performance, I kind of snoozed on the record for awhile. Got wrapped up in life, in moving to Los Angeles, etc.
And then it was when I was driving out to Phoenix from LA on New Year's Eve, I listened to this album twice in a row.
Killed me.

 In the kinship of Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes and The Shins.
Haven't seen/heard a lot about this band outside of Portland, so here I am saying check this out. These guys deserve our support. It's a beautiful album.

http://blindpilotmusic.wordpress.com/

http://www.myspace.com/goblindpilot

http://www.expungedrecords.com/