So Here We Are

For me, listening to music and travelling go hand in hand. No matter the type of transportation (boats/ships aside) or the distance to destination, I must absolutely listen to music. This has been the case ever since I was little; more specifically, when my parents got their first car after coming Stateside. It all started with listening to cassette tapes of Chinese (and the occasional Western) artists my parents love/d, some of which I came to love myself. That eventually progressed into listening to my walkman, then CD player, and then the ol’ ipod.

While driving or being a passenger in a car, particularly, there’s just something about watching the landscape pass me by, especially if it’s accompanied by the perfect song. It may be the music, the lyrics, or both that make every turn, every place more…alive? So unmitigatedly indescribable. Regardless, there is nothing else like it.

Here are a few travelling favorites:

Nick Drake - Pink Moon
I actually discovered the music of Nick Drake from this commercial (my favorite), which pretty much sums up the point I made. I love listening to this, especially at sunset/night.

Iron and Wine - Naked As We Came
Mellow song that’s perfect for travelling past less populated areas/farm areas or for a smooth drive.

Cat Power - The Greatest
For a cloudy or dreary day or when particularly thoughtful.

The Postal Service - Clark Gable
The beat of this song gives turns more of a whimsical feel and almost seems to push you forward. But I really added this because I love this song and especially this one lyric: “And I want life in every word to the extent that it’s aburd.”

Bloc Party - So Here We Are
Perfect for listening at night in a city or some place with a lot of lights in the distance.

Blonde Redhead

I forget which blog or site I was reading a few days ago but I stumbled upon this new band. Well, not exactly new because they’ve been around since the ’90s but new to me. Anyway, they’re called Blonde Redhead and they were discovered by Sonic Youth, who produced their first album. The album I just discovered is their latest effort, titled 23, which was released this past April. They’re categorized as indie/alternative rock and the band is comprised of a female Japanese frontwoman and two Italian brothers (who I think are identical twins), one of whom happens to be the singer’s husband.

Logistics aside, I really like the album. It has a dark/gothic/eerie feel, which is highlighted by the singer’s high, ethereal voice against the background instrumentals and riffs. 23 was produced by Alan Moulder, who also produced Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness for The Smashing Pumpkins; a few of Moby’s albums; and the two The Killers albums, if that is any indication of their sound.

(Yeah, the album cover is kinda creepy…)

Here are my two favorite songs from 23:

Blonde Redhead - 23

Blonde Redhead - Silently

(Btw, it’s just a coincidence that all the bands I have posted about thus far have female singers. Honest.)

Don’t Speak

The other day, I was in the car with my mom and I was listening to this modern rock/alternative rock station on the radio when No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak” comes on. I was amused and quite surprised that my mom knew all the words. Turns out they play it all the time on this soft rock station she listens to fairly often. Interesting…

Anyway, I was reminded of this incident when I recently read that No Doubt is back in the studio recording their next album and Gwen Stefani said that they might go back to their ska roots. Seeing as Tragic Kingdom is, in my opinion, their best album to date, I’m excited. (It was also the first and only official album on cassette tape I have ever purchased. Pretty late, I know, but before this album, I had never been enamored enough to buy actual tapes and just stuck to making a crapload of mixtapes off the radio.) And the farther No Doubt’s sound is from Gwen’s solo efforts is fine by me. Don’t even get me started about those Harajuku girls.

So because I’ve been listening to a lot of this album lately, here are some old favorites:

No Doubt - Don’t Speak

I don’t know how she stayed in the same band with the bf of 7 years she just broke up with and wrote the song about and sang it all the time with him right there but this is a damn good song and I love to sing along to it. And apparently, so does my mom.

No Doubt - Spiderwebs

Fairly simple lyrics but this single pretty much revived the ska genre in 1996.

No Doubt - Happy Now?

Angst-ridden ska. Enough said.

In a manner of speaking

Nouvelle Vague. French for New Wave. Also the name of a French band whose two albums are consisted solely of covers of post-punk/new wave songs from the ’80s and retooled with a bossa nova (Portuguese for “new wave”) sound. The play on words is amazing, oui? Oui. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.) What’s even more interesting is that there are various singers in the band and each one covers specific songs.

Their first album, self titled Nouvelle Vague, covers artists such as Joy Division, Depeche Mode, and Modern English. What is really special about this album is that the female singers only performed songs they had never heard before.

Nouvelle Vague - I Melt With You (Modern English cover)
Nouvelle Vague - Making Plans for Nigel (XTC cover)
Nouvelle Vague - Teenage Kicks (The Undertones cover)

Their second album, Bande à Part, covers a different slew of new wave artists such as New Order, Billy Idol, and Blondie.

Nouvelle Vague - The Killing Moon (Echo & The Bunnymen cover)
Nouvelle Vague - Heart of Glass (Blondie cover)

And here’s an additional song that cannot be found on either album.
Nouvelle Vague - Bizarre Love Triangle (New Order cover, live)

Nouvelle Vague. How fitting for my first post.