I Like to Move It Move It

Does music make you want to move? I’m not talking about get up shake, jump or do whatever it is you call dancing. I’m talking about pack up your abode and take it to a different city. I have been thinking about moving for about a year now, and I change destinations of a bi-weekly basis. Most of the decision is based on where my family is, and the job opportunities in various cities. Sometimes though listening to gets me caught up in the romance of a city. The way an artist describes it, or just the energy that city has that comes out through the music. I also think about going to the shows of these artists in their home towns. Here’s a few that get to me the most.

Blue Scholars are a hip hop due from Seattle (thanks big bro!) that makes want to move to the Northwest so badly. In “Southside Revival” they rap about the monorail construction displacing families. Most of their songs are peppered with Seattle allusions, and the people of Seattle love them in return.

Next up is NYC. Black Star has to be one my favorite albums in my collection. Talib Kweli and Mos Def came together for this epic collaboration in 2002. They don’t even mention New York, I just know that’s where they’re from, so I want to go there and see them. Kid Cudi does this to me too. He’s originally from Cleveland, but he just has the NYC energy in his music. Makes me want to move to Williamsburg and spend my nights at hip hop shows peppered with some indie rock.

Then I’ll turn off the hip hop, and I’ll put The Kooks, or The Fratellis, the XX, Hot Chip or The Tings Tings. This takes me to London. I don’t know what it is about the British and rock but they are always putting out the best. Maybe it’s the deep history they have from the British Invasion, or maybe there’s something in the fog that breeds inspiration. It makes me want to hop across the pond and find the next hip band playing in some basement pub.

Maybe I just need to figure out a way to pay for more extensive travel plans.