Here in America, we have a hard time with sharing, even in public spaces. Americans have an idea of parks as passive recreation spaces, and beaches for swimming, and so on. We get mad when cyclists ride the trails we’re hiking, when people set up a sports game on the grass where we wanted to lie and read a book. We pass laws against bringing the family dog to a ball field or playground.
The Chinese have no such qualms. I guess that crowded conditions breed a certain flexibility. This man was fishing at Qingdao’s most popular beach, surrounded by swimmers and speedboats and kite-surfers and I was the only person who batted an eye.
Ah, back-to-school season. It makes everyone (sample size: one) feels smarter. And it makes sticking to a work schedule much easier. In case you missed anything, here is a roundup of articles I wrote that were published in September and October, and a peek behind the scenes of the blog.
I subscribe to a bunch of music blogs, and systematically listen to their recommendations throughout the day while I work. This practice introduces me to so much new music I like that sometimes I feel like I never get to listen to stuff I like more than once. But sometimes I find new music in other, more serendipitous ways. Here are some of the discoveries that the universe just delivered to me.
I posted about a birdcage that didn’t live up to the hype. I posted about some that did. Now, here is a collection of Chinese songbirds that looks just like they do in the movies. (Also, I used a filter! I never do that, so this post is secretly about filters.)
At times this blog has mostly been about Iceland, but external pressures and new obsessions have led my attention astray lately. I even missed the Reykjavik Calling concert this year when it landed on the same day as my opera tickets. While I blinked, my favorite frozen rock in the North Atlantic didn’t stop putting out great music. Here is some newer music I like from Iceland.
Sólveig Matthildur
I always felt a little guilty that I couldn’t get into Kælan Mikla. But when I heard Constantly in Love, the second solo album by Kælan Mikla keyboardist Sólveig Matthildur, I was instantly pulled in to the dark electronic atmosphere.
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Misþyrming
I’ve always been more of a death metal girl, and I cam to the black metal party very late, via Iceland. The first black metal bands I ever liked were Svartidaudi and the band that came to be known as Zhrine. Since then, Icelandic black metal has continued to be my favorite flavor. Misþyrming is one of the best of the bunch, in my opinion and I think in everyone else’s.
On first listen, Algleymi didn’t grab me by the throat the way earlier releases did. I was initially put off by the fuzzier production – more kvlt, but I like cleaner recordings, even when the music is distorted. Then the vocals on third track evoked old Ministry and I got over it. Then the guitars went all Ennio Morricone on track four, and after that resistance was futile.
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Kronos Quartet & múm
I’ve been into múm for a very long time, but I’ve never paid Kronos Quartet the attention they deserve, and I ignore splits as a general rule (it’s just one way I try to filter the flood of new music). That’s going to have to stop now that I’ve heard this split in which Kronos Quartet rework múm’s “Smell Memory” on one track and múm remaster the song on the other.
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Kælan Mikla
Okay, I lied. When I first heard Kælan Mikla at Eistnaflug in 2014, they weren’t really my jam. But after I heard Solveig’s solo stuff, I started thinking about what a new band they were then, and how long they’ve stuck around. I got curious about their new sound, and, um, I liked it. They have evolved a ton from the DIY-sounding punks I saw. Nótt eftir nótt is so sophisticated and lush, I wouldn’t have recognized the band at all. Kælan Mikla have really grown up.
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Marína Ósk
I’m breaking my “no singles” rule again here, but I don’t think Marína Ósk even has an album out. {Update: She does. It’s called Athvarf and it’s on Spotify.} Reykjavik Grapevine listed the lyric video for “Ég sit hér í grasinu” (which I’m guessing is a lengthy cognate, “I sit here in the grass”) as an asset for language students. They were mostly joking, of course, but this video reminded me how much I love the sound of Icelandic, and made we want to renew my attempts to learn more of it. And it brought back that old fernweh feeling.
I’m a freelance content and grant writer sharing my work and my thoughts about books, music, and travel on this blog. If you want to know how I can help you share the things you care about, read more about me.
