Yeah Right

Song of the Week

Lucy Dacus crushed her set at Rock and Roll Hotel last week, so let's give her some SOW love. She ended her set with the fabulous "Night Shift" of her new album Historian. I love how it builds in intensity:

Pop Culture Tourism, Part II

Speaking of my trip to Blenheim Castle (birthplace of Churchill), they had a special costume exhibit from The Young Victoria. Turns out that several films, including The Young Victoria, use Blenheim as a shooting location for Buckingham Palace:

Pop Culture Tourism

I was recently in London (to watch football, obviously) and after years of wanting to go, I finally got to do a pilgrimage to Highclere Castle (aka the estate in Downton Abbey). Since Highclere is still a private residence, it isn't open to the public for many days each year. So despite that fact that I go to the UK all of the time, this was the first time that I was there while it was open. It was AMAZING. If you like Downton Abbey, I highly encourage you to put this on your bucket list. The house was more impressive than more royal palaces I've visited and the amount of joy I felt just walking up to it was off the charts. The day I was there was rainy, so I didn't walk around as much of the grounds as I would have liked. It was easy to get to on my own (just a ~45 min train ride then a ~15 min cab ride) so you don't need to do an expensive tour from London.

On a separate day trip to Blenheim Palace I also got to go to Bampton (aka where they shot the village scenes on the show). This you do need a tour for, as Bampton is in the middle of nowhere in the Cotswolds. Luckily I had been meaning to go to Blenheim Palace too, so doing a tour from London was a good use of money (getting to Blenheim on your own is doable, but harder than getting to Highclere). 

They don't allow photography inside of Highclere, but here are some exterior shots:

As for Bampton, this is the house that served as the Grantham Arms pub (you can still see the holders for where they put up the sign):

This is the hospital (in real life it is a library):

This is the village commons where the war memorial was (and the wall with the special memorial for Archie):

This is the house that they used for the exterior of Isabel Crawley's house:

And most importantly, this is the church where Lady Mary got married and Lady Edith...tried to get married:

Song of the Week

Lots of great concerts this week (5 to be exact -- I need a nap) but Lorde was the best. So let's go with "Liability" as the SOW:

Download These Songs Now (And Thank Me Later)

Snail Mail – “Pristine”

Lizzo – “Fitness”

Tancred – “Reviews”

The Go! Team – “The Only Thing New is U Finding Out About It”

Lily Allen – “Three”

File Under: Awesome

I saw Soccer Mommy a few years ago and thought they were super boring. But credit where credit is due -- this is an outstanding SXSW Lullaby:

File Under: Awesome

A solid KEXP performance from Guantanamo Baywatch:

Song of the Week

I was supposed to see Flight of the Conchords this week in London, but the show got postponed because Brett broke his arm. Sad Trombone. Let's go with "Issues" as the SOW:

File Under: Awesome

Solid KEXP performance from Sorority Noise:

File Under: Awesome

A great SXSW Lullaby from Stella Donnelly: