I don’t know what’s lasted longer: my time away from family and the US or the months (years?) since I’ve seen live music. I’m sure many of you music fans reading this are in the exact same boat. What a wearying time we’ve all had. You feel the disconnect almost daily, but you feel the... Continue Reading →
In the Dark
Welcome back, dear reader, it’s been a tough couple of weeks. And months. It’s been awhile. Thanks for reading and... A big Happy August Birthday to Christine - friend, roomie, concert buddy, LYLAS *** It’s a good time to mix cocktails. To read. To run. It’s a good time to lie down on the living room... Continue Reading →
What ’80s Dress Are You?
Train of thought. Listening to playlists built around travel themes - Texas, California, a Southern road trip – I realize I’ve never done an Australian music playlist. So many good bands I recall, popular, infamous and obscure. INXS, Paul Kelly, Divinyls, Eurogliders, Hoodoo Gurus, Models, The Church… Now what was the name of the band... Continue Reading →
Madonna, All Hail
This week, in a beautiful generational symmetry, EO and I went to Madonna’s Rebel Heart concert here in Hong Kong. My one and only Madonna show prior to this was a floor seat at Austin’s Frank Erwin Center on the Like a Virgin tour, May 1985, a few weeks before I graduated from high school.... Continue Reading →
The Coolest Weekend in Hong Kong
It’s been a few days but I’m still buzzed from my Clockenflap experience. Kil Sun Moon, Rachael Yamagata, The Skatalites, Clean Bandit, Earth, Wind & Fire Experience, Swervedriver, cold beer, good food, best friends, EO and YO having a blast. And I haven’t even mentioned Sunday night! Oh Lord. But before I get to that... Continue Reading →
Guys & Concerts: An Education
Randy from Baton Rouge Randy from Baton Rouge who was a great dancer not so great kisser took me to the Propaganda concert Fall semester which I thought was a date but asked me after to reimburse him for the ticket not that I would have minded if the evening had been prefaced by this... Continue Reading →
From Chicago to China and Back Again: Susan Blumberg-Kason
Not long ago I had the pleasure to meet Susan Blumberg-Kason, author of the recently-published memoir Good Chinese Wife. The book is a very honest and brave look at Susan's difficult marriage to a charismatic mainland scholar and musician, Cai. They met in Hong Kong, spent time in China and settled in San Francisco, where... Continue Reading →
Monday Morning Music – Elbow
Morning all - guess what? Therockmom turns five years old today. Hard to believe but it was exactly five years ago today that I posted my first inarticulate but heartfelt ramblings about music and motherhood. On that day, I wrote about the K-POP band, Super Junior. As you know, I'm slightly obsessed with their dance... Continue Reading →
’80s Week Continues: A Rock Playlist
So I set two small goals for myself this summer: to read Middlemarch and to watch the FOUR-hour, Peter Bogdanovich-directed Tom Petty documentary: Running Down A Dream. It's slow going on both fronts, but I am loving each one. Friends had warned me that George Eliot's writing wasn't quite as 'readable' as say Jane Austen,... Continue Reading →
Monday Morning Music: ’80s ALL WEEK
Hi all, how's your summer going? It's EIGHTIES WEEK at therockmom as I revisit and revise one of my most popular posts: Can It Really Be Summer Without '80s Music? New! Improved! Now with Spotify playlists! It's a funny thing, nostalgia. Recently, I found myself sitting in the way back of my stepmom's minivan listening... Continue Reading →