Brando.

The Frontier Restaurant in Albuquerque, NM.  My first stop on every visit.

chill as fuck.

M83's anticipated double-album Hurry Up, We're Dreaming finally and officially dropped on Tuesday. I must admit, I've been apprehensive. How could the self-proclaimed youth and nostalgia-obsessed Frenchman and mastermind Anthony Gonzales live up to the hype(machine)? I mean, everyone loves that sax solo in lead single "Midnight City"! And Urban fuckin' Outfitters had rights to the first complete stream of the album!

Still, I believe true mainstream success will elude M83. Unless within the year he sells out the Fox Theater(I call it) and every track is licensed to movies, tv, and commercials ala Moby's Play. 

Regardless, I will continue to listen to standout track "Steve McQueen" with my fist in the air.  

Cat Power's unequaled Jukebox version of her own track "Metal Heart" from 2008.

The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed.

Ernest Hemingway 

London DJ and producer Gold Panda is killing it. His last LP Lucky Shiner continues to challenge and satisfy it's listeners, while key track "You" could be regarded as a modern electronic classic. 

A few months ago he released a remix of Lykke Li's "Sadness Is A Blessing", taking a gorgeous track and making it into something otherworldly. It's on another level.

Catch him play The Independent on October 25.

I finally caught The Horrors live at Bimbo's 365 Club in SF last week when they co-headlined two shows with The Black Angels. It was a loud, and achingly gorgeous-sounding set in a beautiful venue.

Back in England, where these decidingly throwback shoegazers are from, they're Album of the Year winners(well, NME says) and doing duets of their single "Still Life" with mega fan Florence Welch. It's about as good as you'd hope, which is close to perfection.

Michael Chase

This is not a dream, it's simply up the street from my house. Old Hooper's Chocolates became a skate shop. Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA.

Zola Jesus opened for the xx nearly two years ago at the Fox Theatre in Oakland, easily becoming the most pleasant surprise of the night. That's saying something considering the show was stacked, with fellow openers Warpaint being as outrageously beautiful as they are, and headliners the xx beefing up their set and presence to suit their ever-growing success. 

Sometimes you remember exactly how you felt the first time you heard a song. A song you've heard 100 times. Beyond all the memories and feelings you've since attached to it. You remember the exact drink in your hand and the friends surrounding you that regrettably you forgot you had. 

I heard "I Can't Stand" and was instantly taken, especially by her voice, so hauntingly powerful it completely enveloped the 2,800-capacity room. I remember. I remember. I remember. Perfectly.