Transitions

It's been a while since I posted and that's because I'm in the midst of a pretty major life change.  After eight years living in the same apartment building in Arlington, VA, and after living on the East Coast of the US since 2002, I've moved down to Dallas, TX to see how things go down here.  It's quite a drastic change but I'm taking it day by day; it'll probably be a few months before I have any solid thoughts on life here.  Right before I left I heard a couple of good songs while all my stuff was slowly getting packed away, both on 6 Music.  First up is a Zomby remix of a track by an artist called Gwilym Gold.  I don't know a whole lot about him but I found this track terrifically moody:


Next, a Matthew Herbert track from his latest album, The Shakes.  I've been meaning to post about the album for a while but I'm only just getting around to it.  There was a free preview stream up and several of the tracks were good, so I'm glad I got a reminder about it.  Bonus!  The video features Rough Trade East:

I'm getting some Basement Jaxx vibes without the annoying aspects.

I drove down here by myself a little over a week ago.  Before going on the trip I got together a lot of music to keep me entertained.  It seemed like a great opportunity to listen to some new albums without too many distractions, and maybe some podcasts too.  In the event it didn't really work out that way.  This road trip was 1300 miles but I've done shorter ones in the past and found that what keeps me most awake is actually talking to people on the phone.  Music seems to fade into the background, and even podcasts don't involve me taking enough of an active role.  So, sadly, I didn't do as much listening as I would've liked.  I did do a bit though, including the rather surreal experience of driving on the freeway in the Tennessee night while listening to Burial -- completely out of context but still great!  I also listened to some XLR8R mixes and the newest Tame Impala album.  That one I first came across during an earlier part of this transition; I heard it in Dearborn Music playing over the speakers the day before it came out.  It's one of those rare albums that I've found quite engaging almost the whole way through, and I've heard it a few times already.

Their hazy psychedelia and a summer road trip to the American Southwest went together like... chips and salsa.

Since getting here I've heard a little bit of radio and been pleasantly surprised.  I've found a couple of independent stations without even trying, including KXT, which bills itself as the independent music station for North Texas.  I was listening to it last night and came across a couple of tunes I'll share.  The first band, the Flowers of God, are even based in Dallas.  Can't tell if they're a religious band, but I do like the tune regardless.  The other track is by the Doobie Brothers.  Nuff said.



Any big change can be challenging, but I'm hoping to keep a positive mindset and make the most of this.  Hopefully that will include more radio and checking out local record stores, and maybe even going out!  I'll keep you posted.