Austin is music-obsessed. Probably the single most music-obsessed place I've ever been. Usually when you arrive in a place and ask the locals what there is to do around town they'll give you a couple of bars, restaurants and cafes. In Austin they'll tell you what bands are playing tonight, tomorrow and the day after. If you press them further and ask about places that don't necessarily have live music people will give you a confused look suggesting you've missed the point of Austin entirely.
Like most of the places I've grown to like and love in America, Austin kind of looks like a piece of crap. Everything is spread out and even the artsy, bohemian neighbourhoods contain shops that have to put up with eight lanes of traffic right outside the window. But put up they do, and Austin boasts some of the best vintage stores and record shops I've ever seen. In fact being here makes me nostalgic for second-hand record stores. I realise there are a few left in London but they're not quite right. Quite right is the know-it-all but pleasant guy behind the counter. Quite right is a spacious interior laid out according to the personal preferences of the staff. Quite right is a large wall of independent releases on vinyl and CD, accompanied by hand-written descriptions so you know what you're in for.
This isn't a record store. This is a Marks & Spencer's record store.
A cold front moved into Austin today. Let me tell you about an Austin cold front. It's not cold. And if I have one more Texan say "Britain huh? I bet you're loving this cold front!" I'm going to have to bust out the denim cut-offs to demonstrate how not-cold it is here. Yes Texas, your food is tastier and more plentiful, your people are friendlier and your cars are bigger. But your cold has nothing on our cold. So don't pretend you know what it's like to wake up in July and be greeted by a grey, rainy sky, because you have no idea.
Having said that, it is getting nippy in the evenings here.
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