Bat for Lashes | MySpace
Mt Eden Dubstep on YouTube

I promised myself I would do whatever it takes this year to achieve all my goals. Most notable is the desire to push Festizio, my band, as far as it can go: more shows, another studio release and networking with as many people as I can. Music was always what I felt most passionately about so I think it’s important to do this while I can. I’m not so naïve as to think we’ll be around forever. People get married, have kids, move away or go to space. It’s expected and should be encouraged for everyone (going into space more so for some people than others). One year… to move as efficiently and expeditiously as I can in the right direction.

I think we’re off to a good start. We already played a big Yelp Elite Event in Oakland at The New Parish, a new venue opened by the owners of The Independent. We also have two radio appearances and two more gigs coming up in the next few months, including a cool performance at the Chabot Space & Science Center (in the Planetarium, no less).

So, I’m more than happy so far. Unemployed but busy as hell. Time waits for no one. Get busy livin’ or get busy dyin’. Sweep the leg.

By the way, if you want to help me on this lofty mission, please tell your friends, family and pets about Festizio. And please do follow us on Facebook and Twitter. You don’t have to buy anything or perform any sexual favors (unless you want to), but rather share us with the people in your life… especially if they’re record producers.

KT Tunstall | MySpace

This week of wet weather has been driving many of us, including myself, indoors. It’s particularly miserable, at first glance, with its bleak gray shadow and chill. But metaphorically, it’s sort of renewing. Rain, after all, is required for growth.

“Trying to find my umbrella, but I don’t know where to begin…”

The first few weeks of 2010, I find myself constantly reevaluating what I want life to mean for me. It’s the reemergence of a feeling I haven’t had since 2007 when I quit my last job and remade my life. It’s exciting, really, but there’s still an element of fear from the unknown. A shadow of a doubt.

“And it’s simply irrational weather, I can’t even hear myself think…”

It’s a shame to be encumbered by falling water. With all our technical prowess, we let a shift in perspective bring us down. And rain can be as much fun as sun, especially in how it seems to bring us closer in more intimate ways. Hot chocolate seems to be more sweet. Body warmth.

“I’m under the weather, just like the world, and I need somebody to hold…”

So I’m hoping I’ll find something more than just sunshine at the end of this shrouded phase. If anything, the storm is just a reminder, that we can walk the world and not find what we’re looking for if we forget to look within.

“I know that I’m not alone…

… it feels like home.”

www.thebeatles.com
www.myspace.com/thebeatles.com

Would you believe in a love at first sight?
Yes, I’m certain that it happens all the time…

Given the day, I thought it would be appropriate to reflect on the various things I’m thankful for:

☺ The family
☺ All the great people I’ve met in San Francisco
☺ My band
☺ RedCandle, the research group I just co-founded
☺ Thread, the start-up I’m consulting
☺ The sacrifices made by the turkey community
☺ Harry Potter

That I can work from home post-layoff and not go significantly into debt is a nice thing. 2009 was tough but I feel I learned a lot. I just need to remind myself of all the great things in my life and I think I’ll get by just fine…

Perhaps, with a little help from my friends.

Happy Thanksgiving!

www.radiohead.com
www.myspace.com/radiohead

I incorporated this song in a Yelp review a year ago. It was in response to feeling particularly down and listless, when I was trying to figure out how to find balance in my life. Unemployed and searching for meaning, I’m finding this theme particularly relevant again…

Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco

The naked, descending notes on the opening track of Radiohead’s Kid A fall into a schizophrenic scatter of ambient sounds. I remember first understanding this album in New York when I plugged in at the Museum of Natural History and it transformed my experience into one more visceral. The chaotic repetition is meditative, and it distracts from the endless noise and static in the head.

Everything…

Everything….

Everything…

There’s little better than enjoying a cup of coffee in the Ferry Building. The echo of spoken voices provides just the right amount of audio haze, and the view of the Bay keeps the mind at peace. The food options are also incredible – my favorites being Delica rf-1 and Acme Bakery – where one can grab a bite of quality comfort to enjoy with the scenery.

There are two colours in my head…

There are two colours in my head…

What was that you tried to say?…

I like to believe everything happens for a reason. Maybe it’s delusion, but there’s solace in knowing that, like the song, even random chaos retains some structure, that even the craziest noises can come together in meaningful harmony. Visitors enter from all around the world and are never seen again. It’s serendipity and chance that pulls us together. You prepare yourself as best you can for the world, but if the world isn’t ready, you must remain patiently wanting… and after that, it’s all a matter of luck…

It’s all a matter of timing.

Everything…

Everything…

Everything…

…in its right place.

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!