www.carlabruni.com
www.myspace.com/carlabruni

I know I already reviewed Carla Bruni’s debut album, Quelqu’un M’a Dit, but I wanted to revisit one of her tracks in relation with my trip to Vancouver. Before heading to the airport, I discovered and shared Bruni’s “Tout Le Monde,” knowing it would be the last thing posted for a week on my Facebook profile (yeah, serious business). It’s my favorite song right now as it reminds me of the moments I spent with my family in Vancouver, in limbo between employed and (what I would discover a week after returning) unemployed.

Vancouver is a pretty city. It’s got a great living balance between urban life and an appreciation for nature. They’re pretty good with keeping things green too (idling your car is a crime). The numerous mountains surrounding the pristine harbor create a really breathtaking view. And at night, lights high in the hills emit a row of faux stars floating above the city, confusing us for days until we finally figured out what they were.

Before I left, my friend, Elena, convinced me to write an essay for the book she’s publishing. I remember starting the essay in our dark hotel room, blessed with a view of Yaletown building lights. I started by writing about the quietness of the space – muffled street sounds perforated by rambunctious voices of late night revelers below – and included mentions of my parents, soundly asleep in the bed nearby. But I wasn’t able to finish the essay in Vancouver…

Just like the video, like going through a dark tunnel, is how one might describe traveling. When you’re in a plane, it’s as if you’re not a part of this world. You move between cities in a climate unique to your own. While it may be raining and dreary on the Earth’s surface, your existence above the clouds leaves you immune and bathed in sun or stars… in transition and above the storm.

My phone was off for a week. I don’t think I’ve ever had a phone off that long… No internet. No email. No Twitter. Totally free. It felt really nice. Checking my stream upon returning to the States was a little disheartening. I really don’t need to be hearing about the latest-upgrade-to-software-I’ll-never-use during all my waking hours, I discovered (no offense to you if that’s what you love to Tweet about). It was really nice being cut off. I can’t stress that enough.

I wasn’t able to finish the essay in Vancouver… Instead, I finished it after I returned, a few days after getting laid off. I think the multiple scenarios, time lapses and life situations in which the essay was being redrafted in really aided its development. It framed itself within a new perspective, reflected upon and transformed. And that it found completion during this period of uncertainty and confusion is particularly ironic given the focal topic of the essay project…

“Happiness.”

See the complete photo set: Facebook Photos – Vancouver
Read more about the places I visited: Yelp Reviews – Vancouver!

www.paolonutini.com
www.myspace.com/paolonutini

I’ve enjoyed Paolo Nutini’s 2006 debut, These Streets for some time now but only recently felt compelled to write an entry on it. Overall, a fantastic set of songs, it’s gotten me through many an introspective day with bittersweet tracks like, “Last Request,” “Rewind” and “These Streets.”

As I was going through some old Yelp pictures, I saw a photo I took of my own shoes. I was instantly brought back to that day, what I was feeling and how different things are now. From this inspiration, I’ve revisited a collection of past moments, as told via shoe, to serve as a reminder that it’s about time I grab a new pair…

☜ For the past four years, I’ve pretty much only worn Onitsuka Tigers. I still remember the first pair my ex-girlfriend gave me back in (what must have been) 2005. They’re affordable, stylish and really lightweight. They don’t provide adequate cushioning for the avid walker, as I discovered in Boston two years ago, so I enhance them with inserts. A simple adjustment and it feels like I’m walking on clouds. (2 minutes ago)

Some friends of ours are hosting the Pig Eat Fest to benefit the San Francisco Food Bank at Lake Merced. Two giant roasting boxes are filled with large, free range, local, sustainable, organic, et cetera pigs. I eat more meat today than I have in awhile. (07.11.09) ☞

☝ It’s Memorial Day Weekend. My original plan to fly to New York and spend the night wandering before flying back the next morning is foiled by the fact that all my friends there aren’t in town. Instead, my Family Plan sis, Tinna and I drive to Fort Bragg and leave our names (“keaneiscool“) in the sands of Glass Beach. Promptly after, Tinna shows the world that Keane, in fact, is not cool by stomping my name into sandy submission. (05.24.09)

I have to go to work on a Sunday?! Luckily, a couple of friends are coming along. We inadvertently discover the How Weird Street Faire right outside my office. It’s a nice surprise to spend the afternoon dancing in the streets with the slightly less ordinary. (05.10.09) ☞



















☜ This is Truffles, a friend’s dog. We’re at Crissy Field, celebrating a birthday with a sunny view of the Golden Gate Bridge. I walked a long way here, not realizing how far it would be from my place, but was able to snap a lot of great photos along the way. (04.18.09)



Those of us far from home can always find warm comfort in Dolores Park during the holidays. And nothing says, “Happy Easter,” like beer swigging hipsters getting high on a Sunday afternoon. I’m pretty sure there’s a goat here too. There’s always a goat at Dolores Park… (04.12.09) ☞




☜ It’s February. My Italian friend, Veronica, hasn’t been to the Museum of Modern Art yet, so we decide to visit today while she is in the city. The special exhibit is one that requires participation. Goggles, gloves, nets and brooms – we try them all. After, I leave with a poster of a lone bird that I decide to hang on my bedroom wall. (02.08.09)



☜ I am in Hawaii. It’s just before Christmas and I’m visiting the Honolulu Academy of Art with my mom. It’s quiet and beautiful. I keep myself occupied by capturing photos to bring back as a gift for a friend. They are, to me, both elegantly sweet and sad. It feels like I’m stuck in time, with growing feelings that will eventually consume me for the rest of the following year. (12.20.08)



☞ I quit my job at the Federal Reserve Bank a month ago and have been backpacking down the East Coast since. I’ve been to Boston, New York, DC, Virginia Beach and Greensboro. Now I’m in New Orleans, on a ferry between the French Quarter and Algiers. I do not know that I will get an internship with Performer Magazine a month from now. I do not know that I will join The Conversation Group a month later. I do not know that I will get laid off from that same job two years after I start…

I do not know…

And thus, I do not care. (08.21.07)

www.fleetingtrance.com
www.myspace.com/fleetingtrance

Fleeting Trance – 17
Produced by Manasseh Bernal & The Transient Society Of Dreamers & Believers
Engineered by Alex James Muscat & Dave Tweedie
Recorded by Alex James Muscat at West Lake Studio in Daly City, CA & Students On Meth at Expressions Center For New Media in Emeryville, CA
Mastered by Phil Void at West Lake Studio in Daly City, CA

The organic sound of strings, reeds and melodious harmonics lie deep within the heart of soulful Americana. Playing true to form, Oakland’s Fleeting Trance adds a set of seventeen fresh tracks to this timeless genre with the release of 17. Utilizing often off-kilter vocals with just the right amount of rasp, frontman, Manasseh injects rootsy angst over pristine instrumentation, where guitars jangle and keys shimmer at their highs.

What is perhaps most remarkable about 17 is the fact that it never gets tiresome. Fleeting Trance succeeds in crafting an album with absolutely no filler, where more is definitely better. A particularly outstanding number is “She’s Got Music.” It’s a lighthearted, horn-driven stroll of a song, with optimistic lyrics and uplifting melodies enough to inspire any listener to find cheer even for a second: “She’s got music in her soul / When it touch me, make me lose control / Life makes no sense at all but with some help I’m gonna watch love grow.”

“Four Leaf Clover” is a poignant track that erupts with a ticking momentum of steady intervals. This is appropriate as the lyrics are drenched with the concept of movement: “We’ve got rhythm, we’ve got rhyme / We’ve got nothing left but time.” Vocals burst with warm and jagged qualities reminiscent of Counting Crows.

The band displays its quiet side on “Crayon,” an ambient track painting a big and spacious scene despite it only containing two unique verses. It summarizes the qualities that make the band so effective: the creation of something large and meaningful with everyday situations presented with uncomplicated sounds and lyrics. It’s the culmination of many simple yet effective parts that makes Fleeting Trance’s 17 such a universal experience. (Last Stop Records)

- Keane Li (more…)