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Songs from Down Under: My Australia Playlist

11/13/2014

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Australia has produced fantastic music over the years.  I spent over a month roaming around mainland Australia in a car. Therefore, I had the opportunity to listen to all types of music over the local airwaves. Below are some of my favorite Aussie tunes.

Let's start with two songs that ROCK: 

Are You Gonna Be My Girl - Jet  
I always thought these guys were from the UK but they are actually from the Melbourne area. 

Woman - Wolfmother 

It may sound like 1970's Led Zeppelin but this grammy winning song debuted in 2005. 

My favorite Aussie band is The Cat Empire, mainly because their songs are so eclectic.

Miserere  - The Cat Empire 
This is one of my all time favorite songs. The trumpet solo is hauntingly beautiful and the lyrics are incredibly uplifting, despite the melancholy melody during the first half of the song.  This song embodies the experience of traveling, discovery and being present.  It's worth reading all the lyrics but here are two of my favorite lines: "Do you ever look around and find what is yet to be found?" and "Long live living, if living can be this" (something I said daily during my trip around the world!).   


Sol y Sombra - The Cat Empire
My obsession with this song can potentially be explained by my Cuban roots because this song can compete with some of the best latin music heard in the streets of Havana or Miami.  In fact, the entire album, Two Shoes, was heavily influenced by Cuban music since it was cut at the legendary Egrem Studio in Havana - the site of many famous recordings including the Buena Vista Social Club. 


Australia has its fair share of indie bands. Here area few of my favorites:

Feels Like We Only Go Backwards - Tame Impala
This song is cool.  But its backstory is quite the opposite.  Tame Impala lifted the melody from young Pablito Ruiz, a singer/actor/dancer from Argentina who became famous in 1989 at age 14. Listen to Pablito's song Oceano for a sugary pop version of this tune. Pablito may have been first to market, but Tame Impala wins this contest by a landslide. 

Strangers In The Wind - Cut Copy
Although it was released in 2008, this song conjures up some serious 1980's nostalgia.  It could easily be the background track to a post break-up montage in some long lost John Hughes film. And just for that, I love it.

Rock It - Little Red
This is a fun little jam, despite the off-key vocals.  But watch the music video. I'm pretty sure this was the biggest nerd party of 2010.  

Escapee - Architecture in Helsinki 
These guys sometimes remind  me one of my favorite Boston bands - Passion Pit -  Upbeat, catchy, and full of energy.

Lay it Down - The Rubens
I love the lead singer's voice. If you like Kings of Leon, The Black Keys or Jeff Buckley, then give The Rubens a listen. 

Moving on to pop music, much of the world is probably familiar with the next few artists as they reached global levels of fame in the 80's, 90's and early 00's. 

Beautiful Girl - INXS
No matter how you feel about INXS, no Australian playlist is complete without a tune from this Sydney band.  I think this song is beautiful, but I opted NOT to share the seizure-inducing official music video in the box below. 

Fall at Your Feet - Crowded House
Our friends danced to this song at their wedding in Boston which happened to be the night before we left on our trip to Australia.  While in Australia, this song was always on the radio so I have a lot of good memories associated with this one.

Smoke - Natalie Imbruglia
You might recall Natalie Imbruglia from the late 90's for her huge hit "Torn".  And you might be shuddering at the memory of "Torn" because it was played ad nauseam in 1997. Fortunately, some of her other songs never made it to mainstream US radio so we couldn't get sick of them in one month's time. Smoke is one of those songs and I still listen to it today. 
Here are few classics from Australia:

Beds are Burning - Midnight Oil
This is a protest song about returning land to native Australians who were forced to move during the 50's & 60's. In the 1980s they began to return to their old country nestled in the Kintore Ranges. 

Friday On My Mind - The Easybeats
Australia's greatest pop band from the 60's reached international fame with this hit song. 

Khe Sanh - Cold Chisel
Released in 1978, this song is about an Australian Vietnam vet returning home after the war. It's one of the most popular Australian classic rock songs.

Here are a more Aussie songs for your listening pleasure:

Great Southern Land - Icehouse
Love At First Sight - Kylie Minogue
Into My Arms - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Come Let Go - Xavier Rudd
The Lighthouse Song - Josh Pyke
My Happiness - Powderfinger

Land Down Under - Men at Work
Anything by AC/DC 

I know this is just a small sample of what Oz has to offer so please share your favorite Australian tunes in the comments section below. 
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Day 10: Lightning Horse & The Sacred Valley

5/19/2013

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Our train to Machu Picchu  left at 4:30pm train from a small town called Ollantaytambo which is about a 2 hour bus ride from Cusco.  We decided to take advantage of the day tour the Sacred Valley on the way there. 

Friends on the bus
We embarked on our journey to the Sacred Valley in a small bus mostly full of Peruvians save another American, a couple from South Africa, and a few folks from France.  We sat right behind the American girl who is originally from Iran but has lived in the US since she was 12.  She was young - maybe 20 -and had graduated college early and was about to start medical school this summer. She  was in Peru with a medical volunteer program in Cusco for about a month where she worked at a local clinic.  She said the most common ailments in the area were water-borne parasites like tapeworm (especially in children) and, sadly, injuries from domestic violence, which is apparently common and largely ignored.  She was recently engaged and picked out a ring for her fiance at the sliver shop we visited en route!  She told us that Peru was very similar to Iran - both in terms of its landscape and people.  She said that while people in Iran are more conservative, they are very friendly and willing to help visitors, like the Peruvians. She also drew similarities between the significant religious presence in each country - Catholicism in Peru and Islam in Iran.  It was very interesting to hear the perspective of a young dual citizen of the USA and Iran. 

Bus Music: Oxygen Radio 
The bus driver tuned into Radio Oxigeno (GREAT name for a radio station in the Andes) which played the most random mix of music of all time. Every time I travel to Latin America, the radio stations manage to find the most obscure tunes from the last 30 years and play them alongside classics, local hits and global pop songs.  Puerto Rico is particularly excels in this area. At one point Radio Oxigeno played Take That's Back For Good right after a pan flute song from a Peruvian band Alborada call Relampago Caballo, or Lightning Horse in English. If you watch the music video, fast forward to 1:30 but be careful - Relampago Caballo is a catchy tune.  Chris and I find ourselves singing  Re-lam-pa-go Ca-ba-llo - la-la-la-la-la-la-la all the time. 

Sacred Valley Stops: Pisac & Ollantaytambo 
Our first stop was Pisac, one of the most important Inca cities. In Pisac, we saw familiar Inca design - terraced hills, Inca crosses and stone structures. The landscape was stunning! 
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Pisac
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Pisac
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Pisac
We  learned a little more about their spiritual beliefs and why they built terraced lands.  According to our guide, the Incas believed that reincarnation applied to important members of their society. They beleived that these people cycled between the difference worlds (Heavens, Earth, Underworld as outlined in my sun route post). After earth, the next stop would be heaven, then the underworld and then back to earth. When important members of society died, they prepared them for heaven by mummifying the bodies. They would remove all the organs and fill the bodies with scented leaves & herbs. Then they would put the mummies in the fetal position because they believed they would be born again in the next world. Before burying the mummies they would have many ceremonies with the mummies present. Then they would place the mummies in their final resting place - a hole in the side of the cliff facing east. Why bury them in the cliffs? Because they must go back into the earth where they came from. Why facing east? Because that is the direction where the sun rises, bringing forth a new day.  They would bury clothes, food, and other items with the mummies to prepare them for the next world (sounds very familiar, doesn't it?). 
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Those holes in the cliff are Inca graves.
Our guide also gave us some more insight into the terraced system the Incas used to farm. Not only did terraces give them more area to farm on these large mountains, but they also allowed them to cultivate a large variety of crops.  First of all, the climate at the top of the mountain was much cooler and drier than at the bottom which was warmer and more humid. They also changed the soil on each level to control drainage, so the top levels were drier making it good land for grains like quinoa, while the bottom levels were more moist allowing them to grow things like coca, and the middle was larger and perfect for their 2 most important crops - potatoes and maize.  
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Terraces at Pisac
In Pisac, the nobles, priests and scholars lived at the highest points of the village - mainly for protection and to be closer to the heavens (in the case of the priest). They had quite the view!
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Peruvian cowboy enjoying the view at Pisac
After Pisac, we stopped for lunch (which included a ridiculously good dessert selection).  Then we went to Ollantaytambo to see the ruins before catching our train. Ollaytatambo is a really amazing little town. Most of the buildings in use in town are original Incan structures. The only things on the exterior that have changed are the tops of the walls and the roofs. It's supposedly the village that most closely represents what a tradtional Incan town would have looked like. 
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Ollantaytambo
In order to catch our train to Aguas Calientes, we had to cut our tour short. However the train ride was fantastic! I'll write more about that and Machu Picchu in the next post. 
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love that dirty water

4/17/2013

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We are still shocked by the tragedy that occurred at the Boston Marathon on Monday.  While our family & friends were physically unharmed, we are all devastated about those who were killed or injured.  Boston may be a major US city, but it's a tight knit community where everyone takes pride in their town and its long-standing traditions.  Patriots Day/Marathon Monday is a day of celebration and accomplishments, not just for Bostonians, but for people around the world who come here to fulfill a lifetime goal. Knowing the fierce spirit of Bostonians, we will not only heal, but we will become stronger.

It's so nice to hear Sweet Caroline playing across the country for Boston.  Music often has the power to communicate more sentiment than words and watching Americans around the country sing along to this Fenway staple is comforting.  There are so many great songs about this city and many talented musicians hail from Beantown. Here are few of my favorites:

Dirty Water - The Standells
Shipping Up to Boston- Dropkick Murphys
For Boston - Dropkick Murphys 
This entire album - Boston
Dream On - Aerosmith
Boston (Ladies of Cambridge) - Vampire Weekend
Sleepyhead - Passion Pit 
Sail into the Sun - Gentlemen Hall
Rachel - Buffalo Tom
Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa - Vampire Weekend
Airport Song - Guster 
The General - Dispatch 
Tonight - New Kids on the Block

Check out our Boston page to learn more about this wicked fun city. 
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view of Boston from Cambridge, photo by Eva Barbier
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    Eva has been traveling for 15+ years, including an 8 month journey around the world.  

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