10 Ways to Avoid the Internet This Summer

1. Ride your bike / car / legs and listen to the first four songs of Beck’s Modern Guilt album over and over.
2. Attend as many free concerts as humanly possible, even if you do not like the music - the shows are free and you can always leave. If you live in the Capital Region, there are plenty to go around.
3. Ride your bike / car / legs around listening to “No Air” by Jordin Sparks over and over and over.
4. Play copious amounts of croquet with your family. Make sure the grass is trimmed for optimal ball rollage. It also helps to take one quick pre-match trip around the course to check out any hidden tree roots or surprise moguls.
5. Try to not shed a tear (or get choked up) driving around listening to “Murder in the City” by The Avett Brothers from their Second Gleam EP.
6. Save up your pennies and take your family out to Lanci’s who will be closing at the end of August. Get while the getting is good!
7. Make plans to be at Goodship’s official Troy Night Out Afterparty on August 29th to see BEWARE The Other Head of Science! (who KILLED at the Rock Pancake-a-thon!) and Charlie Everywhere (who are always killer, indeed).
8. Challenge yourself to a new creative project that you can complete quickly - example: write and record 8 one-minute songs for your friend whose birthday falls on 08/08/08. (True story - I did this over three days last week and hope to share the results with you soon… Mill Fest maybe?)
9. Spend a few minutes online to download the Yellow Bird Project’s theme song written and performed by The Tallest Man on Earth! The Yellow Bird Project is a non-profit from Montreal who solicits some of today’s greatest indie musicians to design one-of-a-kind t-shirts that are sold via their website. All profits from the shirts go to a charity of the band’s choice. Some pretty rad shirts on there from The Shins, The National, Au Revoir Simone and I even like that Devendra Banhart shirt! Check them out!
10. Follow the travels of SWOON’s Switchback Sea floatillas as they launch in Troy, NY this Friday and follow the Hudson River down to Long Island City where they will end up on September 7th. I am a fan of SWOON’s work and really look forward to the unique opportunity to witness something on this scale.