Up and running / Now listening

I think the feed subscription issue should now be fixed, so you should be able to subscribe via Google Reader or any other service by clicking on the 'Subscribe to' link at the bottom of this page. I'm still working out some kinks on the feedburner redirect. Sorry about that!


Spotify users: Here's what I'm listening to now:  Rosie Girl Power (playlist)
http://bit.ly/oQpNXS

The story behind this perk

Music. Craft beer. Good food. Travel. In addition to family and friends, these are some of life's greatest perks. I'm not an expert on any of the above, but I certainly enjoy all of them, and try to do so as often as possible. The best part about discovering a new band, tasting a new beer, or visiting a new restaurant or city is sharing the experience with others. Hopefully through this site, I'll be able to do much more of just that. 

My intention is for music to be the primary focus here, and this site can serve as an outlet for new artist/band recommendations and concert reviews. However, there's a strong chance I'll rave about beer or new restaurants, or whatever else strikes my fancy that week. Feel free to skip over any posts that don't strike your fancy, but I hope you'll find quite a few perks here too.

Dredg. The Arcade Fire. Minus the Bear. Adele. Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears. Florence and the Machine. Lykee Li. Mayer Hawthorne.The XX. Kanye West. William Elliott Whitmore. Ke$ha. Glassjaw. Foals. The Shirelles. Most of these artists/bands don't have that much in common, save for being on my current playlist. As you might have guessed, I like quite an array of music genres, but I particularly enjoy indie, rock, hip-hop, folk, and blues.  Any true music fans feel very strongly about their favorite music, so there may be times you'll love my recommendations while other times you hate them. The important thing is to try new things, and keep sharing. I hope this will serve as a forum for you, the readers, to share your own recommendations with me and others.

Finally, I'll touch on the inspiration for this blog. In short, it's my passion project. In long, I work in the research industry, but I have always had a strong affection for music. Upon graduating from college several years ago, I was faced with the decision to follow my experience with a sound career in research or take a chance in the music industry. I opted for the former, but I now feel something missing in my life. Passion. At graduation, I had the honor of listening to a Philosophy professor's 'last lecture', a lecture that I hope to never forget. The lecture was on the Art of Living, and the main point was that the happiest people in this world are the ones that followed their passions. It took a few years of focusing on my 'main project' for me to wake up and hear the music. Hence here we are. Welcome to my Passion side Project, for now anyway. Cheers, and happy reading.