OneRepublic - Kids

MQ 2016 Four: Crow Hills 2

I needed to get out of the house today, but i didn't want to drive to New Hampshire, so I hiked Crow Hills again. I went up and down from 12:30 - 2:30. It was in the 40's and dry, and was cloudy on the way up, but sunny on the way down. Only 2 other people on the trail, both in the beginning.

♫♪♫♪ Descent Soundtrack: Cocteau Twins, Rustica, Psychedelic Furs, Supreme Beings of Leisure.

New Music ♫ Friday

I bought some new music today, as I wandered through the Bandcamp pages:

• Ugress - It Came From Beyond Eternal September

• Turnover - Peripheral Vision

Lake Time

It was sunny, dry and in the 70's today so I went down to the lake!

I forgot my backpack though, which contained my sketchpad, pens, novel and iPod, so it was a very quiet and sedate day (3:30 - 6:00). I sat and ate my ham & provolone & pickle sub, with the awesome Great Pumpkin Ale from Cambridge Brewing Company. I took some photos. And I laid in the sun on the dock. The air smelled amazing, and the blue sky & red/orange/yellow autumn leaves were captivating. I streamed music from WXGR, WZBC, and WICN for about ten minutes, but then I went back to the sounds of nature (and outboard motors).

What a great afternoon.

MQ 2016 Three: Wachusett

Today I hiked Mount Wachusett, by way of the Bolton Pond and Old Indian Trails.

It was cool, sunny and kind of humid, and the trails were busier than I prefer. But it was a good strenuous hike (this route is consistently steep). The soundtrack on my descent was primarily An April March.

MQ 2016 Two: Crow Hills

My first Mountain Quest 2016 hike was in California, back in February.

Today I drove out to Redemption Rock in Princeton, and hiked the Midstate Trail in Leominster State Forest, to the Crow Hill Shelves. It was a nice dry cool sunny day. It took me an hour to get to the base of the cliffs, and a little less to get back. My descent soundtrack was the new Lush EP "Blind Spot", the old Chapterhouse EP "Pearl", and the song "Let Me Love You" by DJ Snake & Justoin Bieber (repeated several times).

It was a great workout, but I kinda feel like I sleepwalked though the hike. I need new mountains, so I am more focused on the journey, and less inside of my head.

Desert Island: Musician Catalogs

I enjoy the 'Desert Island' thought experiment of trying to weed down favorites (music, authors, movies, etc...) to bare minimums. This time I am focusing on which ten musicians' entire catalogs I would take to the island (instead of choosing particular albums), in order to make my lifetime stay more enjoyable.

In alphabetical order:

• Cocteau Twins
• Miles Davis
• Def Leppard
• The Doors
• Nick Drake
• Ivy
• Lush
• Trevor Pinnock (classical conductor)
• R.E.M.
• Pete Yorn

Through a happy accident (and my wide musical tastes) I have a breakdown of: one classical, one jazz, three female lead singers, and representatives of 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and 00's rock. And while I would miss many songs from other areas, I think I could survive quite nicely on this rather large collection.

Music Time

I snagged a few songs on iTunes just now:

• Foo Fighters "Saint Cecelia" EP

• Chapterhouse "Pearl" EP

Random Music Notes

Various music-related things:

1. Well, no one wanted to go to the Lush show with me, and I just didn't have the motivation or desire to go alone, and throw good money after bad (gas, parking at Alewife, T fares, dinner in Boston, beer at the show, potential cab ride, etc...). *sigh*
2. I bought a 1/100 limited edition vinyl album from Dirty Dishes singer Jenny Tuite ("Cloud Cover"). The first song is pretty good, and the rest should be in my hands (plus downloaded - I get the mp3 too when it's released) at the end of the month.

3 Days Off.3

A lazy morning.

Later I went to the lake (4 pm - 8 pm or so) and had some beer (Ballast Point Brewing Co. Sea Monster Imperial Stout and a couple of Long Trail IPAs), floated & paddled in the water, read on the dock, and took some cool photos. I sat and listened to my iPod until after dark when the bugs got to be a little too much to endure. A great afternoon.

New Music

I snagged a new/old EP from The Bilinda Butchers. It was free, but I paid 5 bucks, to support the band, and to embed it in my Bandcamp page for mobile streaming purposes.

I went to the lake for a couple of hours (up 'til sunset), reading "Fort Freak" and eating blueberries.

Also, I went a little nutty with my money, spending:

1. $42 at the Levi's website ($22 button flies!!).
2. $62 at Hannaford (fruits/veggies/meat/jelly/milk/apple fritters).
3. $25 on Amazon (the next Wild Cards book and a Justice League trade featuring the Legion of Super Heroes!).

I had night coffee and an apple fritter while I ran some laundry and watched sports tv & "It Follows" (a lame horror movie that wasn't scary at all).

Mostly Boring Week

Except for a few awesome deliveries (books, shoes, clothing, toys), this past week was all about work and housecleaning. I am removing clutter of all kinds. Also, I did some drawing.

I did buy some new music last night:

• The rest of Pete Yorn's upcoming album.
• The self-titled album by old favorites Halou.
• 3 songs from Supreme Beings of Leisure.
• A pair of songs from Spiral System.
• A few classics from The Outfield.
• And "Hello Friday", by Flo Rida and Jason Derulo.

California Trip Recap

Jason & Stacie's backyard

First look at Lake Tahoe

On the frozen lake! It was shallow all the way to the ice's edge,
several hundred yards out.

Sand Harbor, on the Nevada side.

View from my window seat on the flight home.

California Prep

I got my federal tax refund today!

I bought a tee from Black & Denim.
I bought cologne (I have only vapors left in the old bottle).

I'm spending the day slowly getting ready for the trip, and packing.

And I bought more new music:

For $5.50, I got the vinyl too!

Ten bucks, but SO worth it.

New Music

I added some music from Bandcamp to my iPod for my California trip (which begins tomorrow):

AND: I discovered that Pete Yorn has a new album coming out in March, and three of the songs (which I snagged) are available now on iTunes! Sweet. ♫♪♫♪

OH Yeah

The mailman was good to me today, having dropped off two great things:

1) My two tickets to the 09/15 Lush show at Royale Boston.

2) My order from L.L.Bean: a grey 'slightly fitted' henley and a blue heather 'unshrinkable' t-shirt. I bought them with the gift card Dad & Ma gave me for Christmas. They went right into the wash, and will be in heavy rotation.

Day Off

Today (Friday) was another decent day off. I didn't have any concrete plans except a workout, and my day went like this:

• I slept in until 11:30 am, and then watched last night's "The Blacklist".
• I worked out from 3:00 to 4:00, and then had a salad for 'lunch'.
• I broke out my guitar and tuned it.

• I bought two shirts from L.L.Bean with the $50 gift card Dad & Ma gave me for Christmas.
• I food shopped at 9:00 pm.
• I watched the season finale of "Undateable Live" as I broke in my Lakai shoes some more (ouch, they are tight on my right foot).
• I dragged out some indie comics to reread.
• I discovered that Miranda Lee Richards released a new album today! I hope she comes to Boston.

Night Stuff

I went to bed at 2 am, but instead of reading until I fell asleep, I threw in my iPod buds and listened to R. City's album "What Dreams Are Made Of". I sang along to my 4 favorite songs twice, thinking about how awesome it would be to learn them on my guitar (and improve my singing - Chumble half-liked & half-hated it). Then at 2:45 am I got out of bed and hopped on here. The songs:

1. "Crazy Love"
2. "Make Up"
3. "Again"
4. "Take You Down"

I'm going to tune my guitar tomorrow and mess around with it...

Lush Tickets

I went out on a financial limb for a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see one of my favorite bands from my college years and beyond. I snagged two tickets to the Lush show at Royale Boston, on September 15th!

Busy Day Off

Today has been full of events and acquisitions:

• Jason called to set up a time for me to visit him & his family in California, and it is going to be a long weekend wrapped around Patriots' Day circa February 15th. Sweet!
• I got an e-mail about a live show featuring Best Coast and Wavves for February 20th, and I snagged two tickets.
• I used the remaining $22 & change on my Amazon gift card to help buy a new Norelco razor, and the first book in James S A Corey's "The Expanse" series.
• I went food shopping.
• I watched the first six episodes of "The Expanse" on SyFy (taped them all and waited for a free day).
• I went to Michael's to use my $25 gift card from Dad & Ma. I got the items seen in the image below (filling in some color gaps in my Prismacolor pencil & Pigma Micron pen sets).
• I worked out from 9 to 10 pm.