The Long Journey Home

Saying goodbye to the Doug Firs and hello to the people.

As it turns out, America is beautiful.  We all just need to get outside more.
I just got back from a coast-to-coast trek across this great country with my Dad.  We visited too many microbreweries to count, built campfires under the stars and generally got on each others' nerves. 

These are the songs that make a roadtrip worthwhile
and will always remind me of those 4,632 miles.

1. John Prine - Flashback Blues
   Thanks to Johnny for turning me on to The Singing Mailman Delivers.
2. Tom Vek - A Chore
   All packed up...
   
3. Waylon Jennings - Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way
   Cruise control
4. George Harrison - Wah-Wah
5. Dawes - My Girl To Me
   Dawes albums are the closest I'll get to books on tape.
   
6. The Wood Brothers - When I Was Young
7. Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenberg, Edgar Meyer - Big Bug Shuffle
   I used to drink coffee. Now I listen to Big Bug Shuffle.
8. The Middle East - Hunger Song
   No action is boring or overlooked when you listen to The Middle East.  Every day has destiny attached to it.  Checking the GPS becomes an epic discussion of charts and routes to the Motherland. 
   
9. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - The Wind Cries Mary
   We were fortunate enough to visit Marin County, California where Jimi serenaded The Monterey Pop festival-goers in 1967.  With his aggressive, loud style it was refreshing to return to Mary - an unflinching poem with utterly beautiful guitar-work.  I can't imagine something this intimate, head-strong and powerful being created today.  I couldn't find an mp3 version from Monterey, but I encourage you to listen to a live version instead of the studio.
   
10. LCD Soundsystem - Home
    Any long journey that ends in New York needs an LCD track.  Home is the song from This is Happening that stuck around for me.
    
11. College - The Energy Story
12. The War on Drugs - Come To The City
    I must have listened to TWOD's Slave Ambient upwards of 10 times on this trip.  It flows like a good book and begs close listening.  Fall roads and late-night trips really bring out the album's core.  Highly recommended.
13. The Arcade Fire - Une Annee Sans Lumiere
    End it at a sprint.
    
    
    
    Image: Noel

Happy Friday

Here are some slick, jazzy house tunes to get it started this weekend. 
Make sure you have some good speakers or headphones.
Gentleman, this is vodka.
Enjoy.

1. Robert Dietz - Pandemic
   This is what the getaway driver listens to...
   
2. Mendo - Inocencia
   Don't expect anything big to come from a tune like this.  It's not about big build ups of white noise and dubstep bass drops.  It's about the overall vibe.  By the time a song like this comes on, everyone is well beyond the initial awkwardness of dancing and has moved on to being hypnotized.  It's like those moments where you step back and realize that the night is going better than expected.
   
3. Tim Green - Lone Time
   It's refreshing to hear analog percussion like these brushes on the snare drum in an overtly electronic track.  Just something to get the blood flowing.

Scroll up to hear Pandemic.

image: Familiale