Sometimes you loose the rhythm. Here is my effort to regain the pulse and start this series back up. When life gets in the way, this kinda thing is the first stuff to get pushed to the side despite how beneficial it is for me. Just the way it goes sometimes. Going to keep this one short n sweet. Current listens and reads. Tune in below. Some Texas hill country themed auditory stuff featured on this one. The reading material features two very different genres and styles of writing.

Kill The Moonlight - Spoon

Spoon is a indie-rock band from my hometown of Austin, Texas. The album “Kill The Moonlight” is a deeper cut, released in 2002 (4th album) . This features the bands more raw and punky edge, more stripped down style, versus what you may be used to in their more recent work. Despite being minimal, the auditory experience feels much more grand than that. Lots piano and percussive elements — driving rhythmic motions keep the music lively. Spoon really draws out of the space between the notes, making the listener really engage with what’s going on with the music. Diving into this album makes me really appreciate the bands style and sound. Plus, they are a hometown favorite. Eric Carr of Pitchfork described it as "an adventure in starkness", going on to write: "Like some of the best minimalists in music…” If you’re a fan of Spoon’s current work, you will love the feel of this.

My favorite songs are “The way we get back” and “Stay Don’t Go”

Everything That Matters - Pat Ament

Remembering Rock Climbing

If you like to climb and live in Boulder, you’ve definitely heard of Pat Ament. Whether you’ve spent time in the Flatirons, Flagstaff boulders, or cliffs of Eldorado Canyon; you’ve seen Pat Aments name.

“Pat's ascent of Supremacy Crack in Eldorado Canyon at the age of eighteen in 1965 established one of the hardest short climbs in the country. He authored the first 5.11 in Yosemite - the Center Slack at the base of El Cap - as well. He is also a true master of safety in climbing , having the ability to place adequate protection in even the most barren of traditional climbs. Pat was a leading innovator and experimented with various approaches to rock climbing during a transitionary era, fraught with ethical dilemmas, toward the end of the Golden Age. He raised a few waves because of this and because of a powerful intellect and a quiet but forceful attitude, not averse to philosophical and verbal argument.” (Taken from John Gil’s Website)

“Everything That Matters” dives deep into the world beyond climbing and the relationship we form with ourselves and the natural world. Why do we climb? What draws us to pushing ourselves out in the natural world?

Rain on Dust - RF Shannon

“There’s a lot of wide open spaces in the east/west extremes of our state, which explains why so many of Texas musicians leave their music with a lot of breathing room. Shane Renfro, the songwriter and vocalist behind Austin’s RF Shannon, grew up in the small piney woods town of Grapeland, and he’s never left its insular ambiance behind. He calls his music ‘not country enough for Americana, too country for indie, too mellow for psych’, yet all these elements come into play on the band’s expansive new album, Rain On Dust. “

   – Jeff McCord, KUTX Music Director

While listening to “Rain on Dust” you feel transported to a wide opened vista, with an ambience of a subtle warm breeze, a setting sun, maybe a cold beer. There is just a feel good vibe you get while listening to RF Shannon. This album surely will be spinning throughout the summer.

My favorite tracks are “Wild Rose Pass” and “Ballad of a Thin Place”

Circe - Madeline Miller

I tend to gravity towards fiction over non fiction. I really enjoy being transported out of normal everyday life — I like being fully immersed in a story — interesting character development — books with twists and turns. Books that having you coming back page and page again because you just need to know what happens!

“Circe” is a “bold and subversive retelling of the goddess's story," this #1 New York Times bestseller is "both epic and intimate in its scope, recasting the most infamous female figure from the Odyssey as a hero in her own right" (Alexandra Alter, The New York Times)

I’m yet to finish this book (3/4 way through) but find it super compelling, as it tells a side of a very popular classic. I have really been enjoying the way that Miller builds suspense and also gives personality to all the gods and goddesses, which can be sometimes stale if you were to read it out of a standard history of Greek Mythology book.

Topaz - Israel Nash

It is hard to stick “Topaz” into a singular genre of music, but it definitely leans more country than anything. I probably listen to Country music the least amount despite my Texas roots, but this album is sort of fusion that I can get behind.

“Produced by Nash and the Black Pumas’ Adrian Quesada in a Quonset hut studio Nash built on his property, Topaz is rooted in the dreamy Texas Hill Country that Nash calls home.”

If you know anything about the Black Pumas, you know that there is some serious musical expertise joining Nash in the studio. They do an excellent job of blending a very familiar Texas soul sound with some more innovate qualities of the more current hipster era that is now taking over ATX. This unique fusion of sounds creates for a really great listen. Drawing inspiration from the Texas landscape and current topical issues, Nash dives straight in and the listener can really feel his passion for the music.

MY favorite tracks are “Canyonhheart” and “Down in the Country”

Listening to these tracks makes me think of being back in Texas. Any song that makes you think of home is worth listening too.