I'm in Taiwan, and the days blend into each other in a sticky, wide-eyed state of exploration and wonderment. So blogging has not been on my mind. However, the music stacks up..
Survivor - Eye of the Tiger
I might come to regret this in future revisits to the archive playlist, but it can't be helped; Alina and Johanna arrived at the residency and forcefully made this its theme song. Most mornings, and most occasions for "party", these emblematic muted guitar-gallops are the first thing on the playlist. Can't deny it puts the pep on.
Daniel Johnston - Unpack Your Adjectives
There are so many sad Daniel Johnston songs to mourn his passing by, but I feel like they've already been shared. And he was more than a tragic anti-hero. He was also a brilliant oddball, who wrote ingenious songs explaining the use of simple grammar in describing bear encounters. True love will find you in the end DJ.
Brian Eno & John Cale - Footsteps
From Lay My Love, via Cordoba and Spinning Away, to The River, this has long been my favourite travelling album. It calls up shimmering mirages, chance meetings, unexplored cities, letters back home... that ecstatic feeling of revelation in a new place:
All is clear I can see for miles and miles
Paul Simon - Born At The Right Time
Excuse the uncomfortable sincerity for a moment; I just want to note how privileged I am to get to do this. How, despite the general fuckery of the world, when I cycle the lanes along rice paddies in the sunset with my camera and binoculars, I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoy life, and I'm grateful to all the living organisms that allow me to share this space with them.
Angel Olsen - Lark
This is visceral. An evasive, hard-to-grasp, but monumental song that out of nowhere (each time) suddenly leaps at you and ravages your soul with massive string glissandos. The video emphasizes the sheer force of this beast.
It is my last full day in London. Tomorrow I'm off to Taiwan. Via Hong Kong. To assuage my nervousness, this is what I listen to:
Ella Fitzgerald - Cow Cow Boogie
Having Ella's voice around is like having a comforting hand on your shoulder. It makes me feel safe and warm and happy inside.
Bob Dylan - One More Cup of Coffee
So I got around to watch Martin Scorsese's Rolling Thunder Revue on Netflix. Not sure what I thought of the film, and its strange fakery, but the magic of Bob Dylan himself will always work on me. Those live performances were intense.
The Whitest Boy Alive - Fireworks
Random blast from the past. Still groovy.
Nils Frahm - A Place
Went to see Nils Frahm live for the third time, last weekend. Had a slight headache, but he was as excellent as ever, and when these choir samples echoed in the postindustrial cathedral that is Printworks, things turned absolutely majestic.
Fred Astaire - Never Gonna Dance
This is an excellent song. Although I am going to dance. And so would Fred.
