Music That Makes Me Happy

The warm sunshine appears to have turned into brisk fall weather this week but the music I have been listening to lately makes me feel like I am at a festival in the sunshine.

Bon Iver: I had been hearing about this group but after experiencing it last week live, I am in love (still not sure how I missed out for so long). The sound is so rich, which makes sense once you see the 10 people on stage making music. Singer-songwriter Justin Vernon is engaging and extremely talented. Whether he is up on stage alone or joined by the rest of the group he is captivating to watch. Something about having two drummers and a brass section made you feel some of the songs in your whole body. My current favorite song is Skinny Love but both of their CDs, For Emma Forever Ago and Bon Iver are excellent purchases. In listening to their music, I also found this Kanye West collaboration, Lost in the World, that is great. There are songs for sad days, happy days and times when you just want some background noise.

Los Campesinos! : This music makes you want to dance and drum on your desk. The best way to explain the way their music makes me feel is that it is like the final concert scene at the end of Empire Records when Renee Zellweger sings Sugar High. They have a new album, Hello Sadness, coming out in November but you can hear the first single By Your Hand now.

Grouplove: As a band formed at an artists colony in Greece, their music has a natural joy to it. I only saw a bit of their set at Outside Lands but it seemed like they have great energy to go along with their music. Their new album Never Trust a Happy Song was released this month so you can enjoy several happy songs and then decide if you want to trust them.

Gotye: Big thanks to Ben for introducing me to this Australian singer-songwriter with a great voice and quirky videos (see Somebody I used to Know for a sample). The music has an 80s synth vibe that is nostalgic while still sounding very current. His new album, Making Mirrors, is available on iTunes.

I am enjoying the songs Video Games by Lana Del Rey and It’s Real by Real Estate and look forward to hearing more from them. Other Lives opened for Bon Iver and won me over with their beautiful orchestral folk music (sample their music on this NPR Tiny Desk concert).

I heard about several of these bands from the Fall Music Preview on NPR. There are other previews from USA Today, Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone.

Parks and Recreation

When I first saw Parks and Rec, I thought they were trying to be The Office but were not as funny. Last season while flipping through channels I caught a few minutes of an episode and thought it was hilarious, even without knowing any of the backstory. I read a little about it online and everything suggested starting from Season 2 to really fall in love with the show. Within 3 episodes I was hooked enough to begin rationing it out to myself so I wouldn’t go through it too fast (no more than 3 episodes at a time, that is greedy). Parks and Rec is better when you don’t think of it as a spin off show from The Office. It has great character development and a workplace setting like The Office but it stands well on its own.

Parks and Rec started the fall season last Thursday on NBC at 8:30 and was as hilarious as ever. Parks and Rec follows the adventures of a city parks and rec department. It’s a great premise for a quirky cast of characters. If you have ever worked in government or even just a small office you will identify with this show. The absurdity of the characters is both hilarious and relatable. Amy Poehler is great as the type A overachiever who works tirelessly to make sure her town has the best parks in the state. Two of my favorite episodes are Ron and Tammy (season 2) and Camping (Season 3). The cast is incredibly talented and the show has great guest stars from Megan Mullally to Andy Samberg and Louis C.K.

If you like character driven silliness, check out Parks and Recreation! The backstory makes it funnier but you could start from the beginning of this season and still enjoy the show.

These are My Obsessions: September 20

I was walking in East Oakland recently and came across this beautiful trail around the bay. It is so exciting to discover nature in the middle of a city. Apparently it is part of the San Francisco Bay Trail, which is intended to go all the way around the bay at some point.

So I know I have mentioned this to a few people already but commercials are really doing it for me lately and by doing it for me, I mean making me giggle uncontrollably at my desk or while watching the TV. Specifically all of the New Era ads with John Krasinski and Alec Baldwin and the Coors Light ads with Ice Cube and Jean Claude Van Damme (even better there is a second one).

I love this article about a couple who has made their retirement goal to visit every restaurant featured in Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. It might not be my favorite food show but any excuse to visit random places around the country sounds good to me.

Culture Kitchen is a start up in Silicon Valley offering cooking classes given by immigrant women. I read a great article about how they are working to create community through food, by sharing recipes and stories in the classes.

Web Therapy features Lisa Kudrow as an unlicensed therapist offering 3 to 5 minute online therapy sessions for her clients because she “gets bored with a 50 minute session”. The show is hilarious and the concept is kind of appealing. Web Therapy is currently shown on Showtime in a half hour format but you can still watch the webisodes online.

Geraldine Brooks: Extraordinary Historical Fiction

Geraldine Brooks writes excellent historical fiction with a compelling storyline and such an interesting view on historical events that you will feel tempted to go back and read her source material to learn more about the events she uses as background. Her books are educational but also enjoyable reading.

I picked up People of the Book because it was the book of the month at the San Francisco Library. I finished it quickly and recommended it to everyone I had a conversation with over the next few weeks. It traces the history of the Sarajevo Haggadah, one of the oldest Jewish illuminated texts, through the research of a curator who has been brought in to restore the book following the war. Every clue she finds in the book provides a chapter in its history and the history of the Jews in Europe. People of the Book is a mystery, a tale of the sacrifice people make for their beliefs, a history lesson and an interesting view of art restoration.

Recently I read March, the untold story of the father from Little Women, one of my favorite books from childhood. March traces Mr. March’s journey as a Chaplain in the Civil War. It also shows how his history of involvement with the abolition movement led him to participate in a war that he was too old to fight in. I found the book especially interesting when I found out that much of the source material was the story of Louisa May Alcott’s father. March makes you consider what is right and wrong, what motivates people and how you rarely know the whole story behind actions.

I am looking forwarding to reading her other books Year of Wonders and Caleb’s Crossing.

Travels in New Mexico

I have always envisioned New Mexico as a place of enchantment with spiritual, fulfilled people, a thriving cultural scene and a gorgeous landscape. Like much of life, the real New Mexico was both greater and less than my imagined New Mexico. The landscape is gorgeous, especially when you get out of the big cities and drive along the little highways (the photo is on our drive from Ojo Caliente to Santa Fe on the High Road from Taos). There is so much to explore in New Mexico that four days only allowed me a glimpse of what the state has to offer but I thought I would document all my favorite things.

Diner Culture: Route 66 ran through the center of Albuquerque and left behind lots of roadside hotels and diners. Apparently, cinnamon rolls are quite big there. I had a delicious one at Frontier Restaurant across from the University of New Mexico. They serve breakfast, burgers and New Mexican classics at great prices in an incredible setting filled with college students with hangovers, families and older people.

Spa Time: Ojo Caliente is a great spa with a variety of mineral baths. The setting is gorgeous, the baths feel great and the drive up from Santa Fe is lovely. The standard hotel rooms are not great but the spa has a day rate and would be a great day trip.

New Mexican Cuisine: The food in New Mexico was great, it was hard not to spend all our time thinking about our next meal. The emphasis on local food and chiles makes for some great restaurants, especially in Santa Fe at Cafe Pasqual's and the Sleeping Dog Tavern.

Adventures on Backroads: There are lots of places to explore within an hour of Santa Fe and Albuquerque. We made a trip to Chimayo, a small community on the road between Taos and Santa Fe. We had a great traditional New Mexican lunch at the Rancho de Chimayo, followed by exploring the beautiful adobe Catholic church, El Santuario de Chimayo. There are also lots of shops to see the work of local artisans. The vistas while driving alone made the trip worthwhile and if you see a chili roasting stand on the side of the road be sure to stop.

New Mexican History: New Mexico has a rich history and Santa Fe is a great place to explore it. The New Mexico History Museum is a must see and very well put together with interactive exhibits. The New Mexico Museum of Art showcases some of the art that has made New Mexico famous over the years. We were only able to see part of the New Deal Art Legacy Walking Tour but it seems like it would worthwhile.

Our Hotels: In Albuquerque, we stayed at a great boutique hotel, Andaluz. The hotel has unique decor, comfortable rooms, a great restaurant and a hopping outdoor bar. In Santa Fe, La Fonda on the Plaza is a great kitschy hotel right on the plaza with a great pool and lots of history. If you have only one night in Santa Fe this would be the place to stay. Fort Marcy is a condo hotel a few blocks off the plaza with full kitchens and fireplaces. It would be a great place to stay for a few nights while exploring around Santa Fe.

I look forward to going back and exploring more of New Mexico!