It has been a while since my last Music Monday post. But that doesn’t mean we’re not listening to new tunes over here. Just over a week ago I was invited to the launch party of a new music zine, here in Madrid. Speed Sound Magazine is for people who are always looking for something different to listen to; for open-minded, urban music-lovers. In the editor’s own words: “We want you to discover new young bands, especially national ones, and those from our own city. Because there’s so much talent out there, and we’re tired of seeing the same faces on the cover.”
London is an expensive city, sometimes prohibitively so, but this doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it. Here are a few pointers for those visiting London on a budget.
The year is coming to a close and we’re already gearing up for the next 12 months ahead. In honour of the number twelve, here’s a personal kind of list of 12 good things:
It’s been a while since I’ve posted some tunes on here. And I know we’re over half way through summer, but it’s never too late to share music for easy listening in the car, on the road, by the pool, at the beach, in the city, at your cubicle… Because there’s more than one acceptable way to beat the heat.
P.S: hear the full playlist in the right sidebar for seamless listening.
There is a scene in many movies where the girl is in a record/book store, flipping through vinyls/books, and some slick guy comes up next to her to start making conversation about whatever title/artist/author she is looking at. If movies actually depicted reality, that scene could happen in The Truck Store. But in reality, it’s a Hollywood fabrication to appeal to all the hopeless romantics out there, because these indie record stores are fighting to survive and increasingly harder to find! If you read my post about Oxford earlier this week, you may have noticed I mentioned The Truck Store. The shop is a rare gem belonging to the dying breed of independent record stores. It’s a place for vinyl collectors, music connoisseurs, people still stuck in the 80s, and those who believe their life is secretly a movie.

Given the general subject matter of my blog, I’m surprised it has taken me this long to create a Monday playlist with this theme. But be warned: this is not a “world music” playlist (that genre is bogus anyway, because world music is essentially all music. But that’s a different debate for another day). No, this Monday’s tunes are from different places but also for different places. There is music for lying on a beach, music for the open road, music for dancing, and music for dreaming about dropping everything and going somewhere; anywhere. There are rhythms that will make you want to stop and look at everything closely, but also rhythms that will make your feet itch with the desire to just get up and go.