Wanderlust V

Choose Your Own Adventure: I,II, III, or IV.

Welcome. Inspired by the above links, I briefly considered writing this entire post in italics. But I didn't want to facilitate a slanted tone.  

Over four months ago, I shortly resumed a running series within this blog chronicling my great Road Trip of 2011, cleverly titled Wanderlust. I have provided links to all of the previous installments in the event that my infrequently-written Wanderlust posts have left you grasping at straws for context. Please enjoy and be inspired by Wanderlust V. The fifth installment. We pick up in the early morning hours in West Wendover, Nevada...

And when I say early morning hours I mean about 6:30 local time. I hadn't subjected myself to that hour since I was waking up for senior year of high school. In our groggy haze Kate and I thought we had misplaced the room key we needed to return to the front desk, and I curtly accosted a Knights Inn employee upon her questioning us. We found the key in Kate's purse or something. But this grogginess was not for naught; we were about to indulge my whimsy and see the Great Salt Lake Desert in daylight! We peeled out of the Knights Inn parking lot and headed east. It was brief, but turned out to be our only true backtracking excursion of the road trip. 

A sea of white surrounded us on both sides of the highway. We pulled into the first rest stop so we (I) could take it all in and walk across some salt. I felt like we were on the moon. It was a truly incredible experience. The combination of the desert being totally unanticipated (I had no idea it existed/what it was before we drove through it) and the panoramas literally feeling otherworldly, I will boldly proclaim that it was my favorite part of our entire road trip across the nation. Let that sink in as you behold the Great Salt Lake Desert of western Utah:

Salt stuck to the bottom to my white flip-flop.

Salt as far as the eye could see. Stretching miles and miles towards mountain peaks. I had never seen anything more awe-inspiring in my life. My only regret is that we weren't able to take in the entire 40-mile stretch of salt flats via I-80 West as we had already rumbled through them the previous night, squandering an opportunity for a full daylight viewing. And since we had to get to central California by evening to meet my uncle, there wasn't much time for an 80-mile round-trip leisure drives through salt flats. A mile from the western edge of the desert would have to suffice on this day. 

So we climbed back into the Sentra after about 15 minutes and I reluctantly resumed driving westward. The salt flats quickly morphed into eastern Nevada high desert, which was my first experience with deserts as I had always imagined them: sparse, brown, and enchanting. It was also our first experience with a truly western rhythm of towns. Meaning, the towns were few and far between. And when we would come across a town, it would feel like a metropolis, regardless of its actual size. Case in point: Winnemucca, a "city" with a population of just 7,700, situated in north-central Nevada. Only it had everything you would expect from a city 20 times its size: a raucous main street, hotels, restaurants, and casinos. Naturally, we just stopped at a trashy Pizza Hut for lunch. SIDE NOTE: every single city, town, or village you go to in the state of Nevada has a casino of some sort. State laws are more chill here, man.

The view from the Winnemucca Pizza Hut.

I wish I had taken better pictures of the Nevada landscape in retrospect. We drove right through widest girth of the state, and was a truly gorgeous affair I don't feel is justified by these photos. We carried on into western Nevada as it became afternoon, and stopped at a historical-marker rest area at the eastern edge of the Forty Mile Desert. The history of the desolate Forty Mile Desert, perhaps the most perilous stretch of the fabled Oregon Trail, is manifest in the present-day (unintentionally, I think) via the facilities at this rest area. I'm talking a row of eight single-stall "bathrooms" with non-locking doors and "toilets" that feature a black hole straight into the ground. I will always remember my first experience with such modern convenience. 

Traversing the Forty Mile Desert.

Unlike frontiersmen of yore, Kate and I miraculously survived the Forty Mile Desert of Nevada, mostly thanks to our modern automobile. Soon we were charging through the Biggest Little City in the World and across California state lines. 

Our first impression of the Golden State was one of height. We were now among the snow-capped Sierra Nevadas. Might I remind you that this picture is from the month of June:

   
We were truly in a foreign land; there was snow directly outside our vehicle in June. It was all downhill from there, though. And by that I mean we were driving downhill for the entire rest of the day. Destination: California's famed Central Valley. We arrived at my uncle's house in Fairfield in time for a Texas Roadhouse dinner date. Not to mention a walking tour of his humble Californian home including a glimpse of his giant motorcycle parked in the garage and his wife's lavish garden out back. Fairfield was strangely reminiscent of home for us, in that it was a mid-size city with plenty of chain restaurants and department stores. One major difference, however: the roads were fucking wide. We learned of a major component of anyplace in the West on that day. There is a shitload of space, and thus, cities are sprawling. Roads are wide. Business is booming, and abundant. An enchanting concept. We concluded the evening watching the modern adaption of True Grit and retiring to a guest bedroom full of hats. We spent but a single night at my uncle's pad, for the next day brought southward California adventure.

Coming soon: Kate and Travis do California.

(I promise to not take four months to produce Wanderlust VI.)

I'm the Best Corner In the Game

What do you feel after those 30-seconds? I feel empowered. I feel inspired. I feel the passion in Richard Sherman's vehement barks as my own. I feel lucky to be able to witness a man on the brink, unfiltered, approaching the pinnacle of his profession. But based on reactions I have read and heard regarding this highly publicized and now-infamous (a week later) 30-second clip, it appears as though our culture of instantaneous soapboxing condemnation does not share my sentiment. 

If you've seen the conclusion any televised sporting event, you have probably had the pleasure of catching a post-game interview of a star athlete. These are conducted about 30 seconds after the game is over. The questions posed are exercises in self-reflection such as: 

"Take me through that last play!" 

or "What was going through your mind when it was a full count, bottom of the ninth, two outs, down by 1 with a man on base?" 

Maybe they were thinking "Uhh, I wanted to help us win the game?" It's their job. They're professional athletes, and they're competitive. They play to win, to best at their opponents at their job. It's equivalent to asking a chef, "What were you thinking when you walked into that kitchen today?" It is always uncomfortable for the viewer. The athletes are sweating and short of breath. The questions are insulting and simplify their profession. The post-game interview needs to be abolished entirely. But since I am not a powerful person, I will accept it as reality for now. And the reality is that professional athletes rehearse their answers. They don't want to have to deal with the backlash that comes with speaking their mind in a highly public forum. The interview is a job requirement, a necessary evil. I can't imagine many athletes got into the business so they could live out their lifelong dream of conducting post-game interviews. So they give their focus-grouped, politically correct, absolutely vanilla answers and move on with their evening. And that's what we, the public, expect and are comfortable with. 

But then Richard Sherman comes along. An individual violating the norm of robotic post-game interview answers. His Seattle Seahawks had just earned a trip to the Super Bowl, the first of Sherman's career, with a victory over their heated division rivals, as he made the game-saving play on defense while covering a wide receiver he clearly has had some beef with. He yells about how he's the best at what he does. And America goes ballistic with rage. 

The hypocrisy of our culture is astounding. We whine that today's sports superstars are devoid of true rivalries and animosity for one another; LeBron James teams up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat rather than taking pride in defeating them himself. Players move seamlessly between playing for both sides of the New York Yankees/Boston Red Sox "rivalry;" these are teams who used to hate each other's guts on geographic and historical principle. 

Yet here we have a rivalry in which two football teams, playing in the same division and exhibiting public disdain for one another, battling for a berth in the Super Bowl, the highest rung on the ladder they climb every day of their lives. A close, hard-fought game is played.  Cut to: a star player prominently involved in this game, 30 seconds after the game ends. Yells emotionally for fifteen seconds. America's knee-jerk reaction: WHAT A FUCKING THUG. NO CLASS. SELFISH. 

My reaction: Easy for you to say from behind the dull glow of a computer screen in your pajama pants and slippers. Have you ever toiled in the trenches at your job and felt unrecognized by your boss, or that someone else was getting recognition they didn't deserve? Now imagine you got the promotion you've been working towards for years, or you got that job offer you dream about every day, or you got a raise instead of that dipshit that's always trying to undermine you? 30 seconds after you receive this news, someone sticks a camera in your face and demands "Why do you deserve this?" Tell me that you wouldn't be a little fired up. That you wouldn't feel inclined to brag. You fought for this. You earned it. You're human. But that's not okay. 

We are part of a culture mired in insecurity and negativity. Twitter and Facebook and even this blog provide a soapbox for us to be the most righteous. There is no maturity requirement for social networking. Just an internet connection. It requires no effort or thought to publicly judge someone else's character or motives. And the best part is, all of your friends/peers/people you want to be impressed by your opinions get to see them instantly. "Like" them. Favorite them. Agree with your opinion. This cycle constantly feeds the cultural monster increasingly defined by self-importance and self-righetousness. The louder your voice is, the more extreme and critical your opinion is, the better. So when a professional athlete invades your living room in a raw, emotional, and downright shocking manner, you can't wait to refresh Twitter and rant about how he's a thug in 140 characters or less. A general sense of perspective in our society seems to dwindle every day. Do your part and think twice before you berate.

(Go Seahawks) 

TOP TEN ALBUMS 2013

A nerdy end-of-year tradition I have exclusively kept to myself for at least the past ten years, I have decided that 2013 will be the year in which subject the internet to my self-indulgence. No, I am not referring to summoning the courage to start I've Been Gone a Long Time. I am posting my top ten albums of the year online, just like every other person who writes about music. If I'm going to commit to writing about music I have to do exactly what every other music critic does. My next move: giving a 8.2/10 score to a shitty, unoriginal indie album because I want people to think I'm a worldly intellectual. 

This exercise, in previous years, had consisted of me sitting in my mother's basement, flipping through my CD booklet and ranking my five favorite albums I had acquired that year, regardless of whether or not they were released in that year. Which is sort of why I have kept it to myself all these years; why would anyone care that Kid A is on my 2009 top 5 list of albums  when it was released in 2000? So, in an effort to remain relevant on the internet, I am not including albums I acquired this year not released in 2013 (I will still be composing that list in private). 

So, this is my first blog post as a real music writer. Adhering to the end-of-year-top-albums-code, my first order of business will be to mention how 2013 was a spectacular year in music (it really was!). And even though you didn't expect it, I am also including a list of my three favorite EP's of 2013. Mostly because you deserve a bonus for reading the best-of list from a non-critically acclaimed blogger. Thank you for reading, and please support these musicians. 

TRAVIS REYES'S TOP THREE EP'S OF 2013   
3. Serengeti- Firebird Logo (BARO RECORDS)

More from Geti later, but these three brooding, electronic-tinged tracks were much more enjoyable and diverse than his release Saal from earlier in the year.

2. Touche Amore/Title Fight Split 7" (DEATHWISH, INC.)

Two tracks: each band covering one of the other band's songs (both songs originally being released in 2011). Apologies to every alternative music critic on the internet, but this is the most riveting music Touche Amore released in 2013. 

1. Jeff Rosenstock- Summer (QUOTE UNQUOTE RECORDS)

The most heartfelt, empowering punk tracks you'll find in tandem in 2013. Might inspire you to quit your job and go outside.

TRAVIS REYES'S TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2013

10. The Front Bottoms- Talon of the Hawk (BAR/NONE RECORDS)

Sunny, indie-punk anthems converging with quirky lyrics and deliberate vocals? It calls to the mind the follow-up to ...Is a Real Boy that Say Anything never properly delivered. If you missed it this year, be ready to be blasting it in your car with the windows rolled down in Summer 2014.

9. Lemuria- The Distance Is So Big (BRIDGE NINE RECORDS)

The sound of a band in their prime. Sheena Ozzella has one of the best voices in all of indie. The vocal harmonies and songwriting are sharper than ever. There is an omnipresent bright/dark mood throughout the album, recalling Weezer's opus Pinkerton.

8. The Dillinger Escape Plan- One Of Us Is the Killer (PARTY SMASHER, INC./SUMERIAN RECORDS)

Dillinger will always be the torch-bearers of the math-metal scene. And as innovators go, they manage to outdo themselves with every release. With this album, you line up for the intensity (When I Lost My Bet), stay for the anger (Crossburner), and keep coming back for the straight-up songwriting (the title track). Buckle up. 

7. Nice Hooves- S/T (BELLYACHE/NO REST UNTIL RUIN)

 

I've found my new favorite noise-punk outlet. The cacophony of shredding guitars, pummeling drums, and tortured vocals call to mind a speedier Every Time I Die while the straight-up grooves conjure Queens of the Stone Age. Bonus: it's available FOR FREE (click the link above)! The bottom line, though: it's a fucking blast.  

6. Vampire Weekend- Modern Vampires of the City (XL RECORDINGS)

2008's biggest indie buzz-band's third full-length took a little time to grow on me, unlike their previous releases. The bounciness comes in spurts, but the real beauty of Modern Vampires comes in the down-tempo, more subtle tracks (Obvious Bicycle, Step, Hannah Hunt), sometimes bordering on Radiohead territory. arzE.

5. The Bronx- S/T (ATO/WHITE DRUGS)

"ARE YOU THE ANTICHRIST OR THE HOLY GHOST?" frontman Matt Caughthran demands on opening cut "The Unholy Hand." The Bronx have always straddled that line, given the "antichrist" is the blistering, hardcore punk of their earlier days and the "holy ghost" is anthemic, Foo Fighters-esque rock n' roll that some of their more recent work has leaned towards. The holy ghost is front and center on this album, and the Bronx are not apologizing. 

4. Serengeti- Kenny Dennis LP (ANTICON RECORDS)

Kenny Dennis loves O'Doul's. He loves the Chicago Bears. He loves his wife Jueles. He hates Shaq, cities not built on a grid, and dry heat. This is a hip-hop album about these things. Also, Serengeti is a musical genius.   

3. Man Man- On Oni Pond (ANTI-)

I have no idea how Man Man continue to up the quality of their songwriting with every album. They still possess the sensibilities to be weird-for-weirdnesses's-sake, but are now able to completely mask that schtick with a veil of great songs. I dare you to not to dance "Pyramids" at your desk chair. 

2. Bars of Gold- Wheels (FRICTION/BELLYACHE)

I cannot begin to categorize this music because I genuinely believe it is some of the most original and inspirational stuff I've ever heard. A step up from 2010's spectacular Of Gold. Sometimes dreamy, sometimes punky, most of the time dancey, always captivating. Frontman Marc Paffi has the best, and gruff-est, yell in music. The percussion is challenging and is the band's secret weapon. I absolutely love this band.

1. Defeater- Letters Home (BRIDGE NINE RECORDS) 

This is not the most original music I've ever heard. It is not the most fun album of year by any stretch. But I've listened to this album more than any other album in 2013. It's a hardcore album about despair. It is relentless yet incredibly dynamic. It finishes like a freight train; it's the only album I can recall that has all my favorite tracks on Side B. I don't give a fuck if you don't like aggressive music; if you don't feel anything after the album closer "Bled Out," you have no pulse.  

2013 TOP 20 MIXTAPE (ANOTHER BONUS)

Again, please check these bands out if you have not yet done so. To wrap up the year 2013 blog style, I will indulge in another music-related year-end list. In conjunction with my favorite albums of the year, I have always made a mixtape with my 20 favorite songs I acquired in that year. A top 20 countdown on New Year's Eve. I will deviate from music writer standards and also include songs that were not released in 2013, but were still new to me. I will send you a burned copy of this upon request. Thank you for reading this humble blog in 2013, and have a safe 2014.

(listed from favorite to 20th favorite) 

1. Serengeti- Dennehy

2. Defeater- Bled Out

3. The Front Bottoms- Twin-Sized Mattress

4. Bars of Gold- Coffee With Pele

5. The Bronx- The Unholy Hand

6. Nice Hooves- Play Jazz

7. Jeff Rosenstock- Go On Get

8. Vampire Weekend- Step

9. Serengeti- I Don't Know

10. The Dillinger Escape Plan- One Of Us Is the Killer

11. The Thermals- The Sunset

12. Kid Dynamite- Heart A Tact

13. John Coltrane- Resolution

14. Lemuria- Oahu, Hawaii

15. Bars of Gold- Blue Lightning 

16. Serengeti- Directions

17. Man Man- Pyramids

18. Single Mothers- Hell (Is My Backup Plan)

19. Defeater- Rabbit Foot

20. The Avett Brothers- Hard Worker