Summer Sun

腳傷的日子 ，時間好像也變得遲滯。我在原地踏步，鐘襬卡到了齒輪 ，有一格沒一格底前進， 恍恍惚惚。

指甲、毛髮、不斷增生的表皮細胞，生活好像只是不斷的反覆。偶爾出門一趟，看著傍晚的天光，才發現季節已經換了，植物都變了表情。我待在家裡，把自己當作長年生的盆栽，過著一種與時間無關的生活，整天在家裡閒晃。

這樣沒有意義的生活，心情要保持著極為平淡。我每天都睡到中午，醒過來以後還覺得疲倦。好像有一張極纖細及緻密的網子，攏住了我的思考的方式，沒有辦法深刻的認知或體驗什麼。

既然無法墊起腳尖，天邊一朵雲的未來也就越來越遠。反倒是回憶在夢境裡，變成很親和的面孔，安撫我零零散散的神經。有時候，躺在地毯上，會突然想起很久以前的一些人、講過的話，沒有什麼重大意義的，但是想起來以後，溫習一遍，心好像就可以靜一點。

十月就在這樣看似優哉游哉的鏡頭下出現，焦慮躲藏在睡前無害的葡萄酒杯裡。

因為家裡有人需要安靜唸書，我也需要一種清清淡淡的旋律，最近家裡的音響唱的是Earl Klugh's Naked Guitar. 那樣珠圓玉潤的琴聲，真的可以讓空空洞洞的生活，有些安和感。

Liz Phair will strike the first beat of November, Death Cab for Cutie will sing along on 11/6, concluded by My Morning Jacket's "Wordless Chorus."

These are the live gigs that I will attend in November. Tix ready, only a friend missing. Come alone, anyone? 

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Have been listening to Fiona Apple's new album "extraordinary machine," absolutely fantastic. In addition to the gentle bitterness at the backdrop of her voice, she adds a naughty cuteness in her new songs.

Since I got so many new music recently, I spent the whole afternoon playing with my iPod Shuffle. It's so tiny and weightless, a great workout companion. It's fun to go through the CD collections, picking the melodies for some comfy outdoor breezes. It's like making a mixed tape for a beloved friend, always quite exciting.

Liz Phair is coming to Austin on 11/1 to promote her new album "Somebody's Miracle". Granted that her previous one is a commercial pop, her attitude has toned, and her chores have lost the edge, I am still very fond of her voice. I have prepared for the smooth side of her, and drop the discussion of sellout or artist in transition.

Ever since she released her first album in 1993, Liz Phair has been an icon of the independent feminist alternative rock movement, plus, she sings about sex, a lot, which makes her even more popular if not controversial. As she said about her music, ""No matter how I do this, my best songs have profanity in them."

Anyone want to check out Liz Phair's gig with me?

I just found out that my favorite Japanese musician Cocco who "retired" in 2001, is now back with her new band "Singer Songwriter."

She once said that only through music that she can let the anger and pain to drain away. When she quit her music career in 2001, she also said she no longer had as much anger and pain.

But now she is back with a new band! I listened to the samples on the band official website. The Cocoo who used to singing with tears is gone; sweetness and happiness are what filled her music now. But because she is still Cocco, we don't need to worry about sugar-coated artifical sweetness.

I still remember how I was so overwhelmed by her music when I first listened to her album in a listening station. Her music was so loud, and powerful, that the whole world around me just shut down. That was when I was still in college, caring about nothing but obsessed with questions like "self" and "freedom."

Now writing a different leaf of my journal, I am really glad my favorite musician has returned with a new view of life. Music did say a lot about life.

五月初，加州沙漠的太陽，熱騰騰底像是可以烤焦出門遊玩的慾望。但是每天還是有超過5萬人湧入沙漠中央的Coachella Valley, 為了這個兩天共60個樂團樂手的豪華音樂季。

每年天氣開始有溫暖起來的跡象，我就開始期待三月的South By Southwest Festival，整個城市浸泡在音樂、影像、啤酒跟熱狗狂歡的一個禮拜。

也許因為Austin有University of Texas及相關發展出來的獨立音樂、獨立製片工業，在廣闊的德州沙漠裡，是最有文藝氣息的城市 (honestly，Houston只有火箭跟中國城，Dallas只有古戰場跟一些白領階級pub)。自1987年開辦的SXSW Festival 也等於是這個城市的文化產業showcase，每年的節目包括電影節、多媒體展、以及我最期待的，音樂季。