I Should Have Been Born a Scot 

01 Jun 2013

A couple of summers back, we went to Edinburgh for vacation. It was my second trip to Edinburgh (I first went back in 2002 for EuroHaptics). We loved Scotland and loved the city and have talked about going back.

It's there that I also really started drinking Scotch, which has now become a passion, which you can read about. I've probably reviewed 15 Scotches, and I've tasted at least three that are 20 years or older.

I've been to Edinburgh and Dublin (and seen parts of Scotland and Ireland), and loved the Scottish land more. I've drank Scotch whisky and Irish whiskey, and loved the Scotch more.

I'm close to being kicked out of my Irish heritage.

Then, over the past few weeks, it's dawned on me that some of my favorite music and bands of the past few years are also from that same small part of the globe.

We Were Promised Jetpacks. Camera Obscura. Belle and Sebastian. Franz Ferdinand.

Lately, it's Frightened Rabbit and Admiral Fallow.

Frightened Rabbit has been around for a while, but it's only recently that I've really been listening to them. It's odd—I've seen them live, knew I liked them, but still didn't really dig in and listen to all their stuff. It's quite good.

More exciting to me is Admiral Fallow. I'm not sure there's a band that's hit my sweet spot more, as of late. Orchestral folk rock, like early Fanfarlo or maybe a bit like Ra Ra Riot (pre-Beta Love).

The history, culture, cities, drink, and music. All amongst my favorites. Like I said, should have been born a Scot.