21 Oct 2013

If you ask anyone who travels a lot what they miss the most when they’re away you will likely get an answer about food or their bed. The gypsy life can be a great thing, but there is something to be said about coming home to your own space. The things I miss the very most when I’m away are my bed, my VitaMix, my neti pot and my computer, not always in that order. My bed for obvious reasons, my vitamix for my daily smoothies and hippy creations and my neti pot because when you suffer from allergies the most glorious feeling in the world is shooting salty water up your nose. My computer comes along with me sometimes, but that’s not without its struggles of finding reliable internet, being constantly paranoid about theft, ect. The main reason I miss my little mac is not for the social media or access to top british tabloids but because I miss its connection to my music collection and all those songs I know are out there in the world just waiting for me to find them.

Whether I’m standing in line for the bathroom in Armadillo, TX or getting gas in the middle of Iowa, I’m the sort of person who is always listening to the background music. Some of my favorite songs have come from holding up my phone to record a clip of a song playing in an elevator or on a college radio station. Whenever I hear a new band and finally get in front of a computer, I obsessively google and find entire discographies until I come up for air an hour or two later like a frenzied addict. I hate the feeling of being away and not having access to a song that I really love. I once went to 6 different record stores in Louisiana trying to find an album that was apparently too obscure to be carried and desperately missed the quick access I have at home to easily find and download any album that I want.

Whenever I’m away without steady computer access I always return home with a little list and can spend an entire evening working my way through it. The quartet I’m going to introduce you to today came from one of those very evenings. I first heard a snippet of their song on a trip through California, their dynamic and experimental sounds were playing at a funky cafe that overlooked huge cliffs in Big Sur and perfectly set the ambiance for our lunch. I’ve been following them since, and their popularity has grown exponentially with their debut full length album; in the past year alone they’ve played Coachella, Lollapalooza, Glastonbury and Osheaga.

Whether you’re in the mood for something smooth, sexy or just downright weird, Alt-J has something for you. Today I drove home from Boston and arrived absolutely exhausted. It’s dreary out, I have to unpack, get ready for a busy week and I’m pretty sure I’m actually allergic to the entire state of Massachusetts. I’ve got a song for everything so I put this album on and let the sleepy sounds of ‘Tesselate’ help me wind down and the primal sounds of ‘Taro’ help me get things done. The video for Taro is especially wonderful, and whether or not you like the song I think you’ll appreciate its beauty. No matter what you need right now to help you finish your Monday, I hope one of these songs can help and I hope that no matter where you are when you find something you like, that you always have a way to find it again.

Enjoy. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw7SViv3uP8