Please spare me the exhortations about going with an iPod/mp3-based music collection. I’m with you, really, it’s just that my daughter is the only one in the house with an iPod. She saved up for it, while I have to save up for, I dunno, suspension work on the car.

Our iTunes collection on the computer is getting bigger (there are killer Christmas tunes and lots of jazz/blues/rockabilly/roots stuff that we used to burn the soundtrack to our American South Road Trip) but I’m simply awash in CDs, cassette tapes and vinyl, so forgive me for talking Old School.

Whenever I travel, I look for good local music to buy that is evocative of my destination. There’s no grand shopping plan; I just wander into what we used to call a “record store” and ask for recommendations.

Sometimes I hear something and have to buy it, like that chilly night in Venice when I heard a beautiful harpsichord piece as I strolled around the city, trying not to explode from too much tiramisu and cappuccino. The streets and walkways were almost deserted, with just a few other people laughing and scurrying past, as the Baldassare Galuppi sonata bounced off of the stone walls around me. I had to have it. I still have it, and nothing says Venezia like it.

It was my family that bought the tapes in Bali. They had already been in Denpasar and Ubud for a week or so when I met them there, and my daughter insisted that her Dad take her every night to see the dance and music performances at Ubud Palace. She was only 5 or 6, but the charm of the lively, colorful productions had her enthralled. It’s a very visual experience, so just playing “The Gong Orchestra Plays the Story of the Ramayana” (a two-tape set) in the living room doesn’t quite cut it, but I’ll never throw them out (or the bamboo tingklik that I also lugged home.)

A street performer/busker staple around the world is the pan flute group, and why not? Sure, they all play Simon and Garfunkel’s version of the Peruvian song El Condor Pasa (from the album Bridge Over Troubled Water) but it’s lovely, contemplative music. In Guatemala I visited the colonial city of Antigua and, even better, the spectacular Mayan ruins at Tikal. (more…)

Welcome to the brand spankin’ new Perceptive Travel Blog. This is meant to be an accompaniment to the award-winning Perceptive Travel site and a place where we can fill in the blanks between issues. We will review some more books and music, highlight new films and TV shows with a travel twist, and point you to some other fine independent travel writing on the Web.

Also, our three talented bloggers will bring you some peeks under the rocks from places they are visiting. Here are your hosts:

Steve Davey is a renowned travel photographer whose work has appeared in a variety of quality UK publications, including one of the best travel mags in the world–Wanderlust. He is author (and photographer) of the bestselling book Unforgettable Places to See Before You Die. Coming in April is his new book Unforgettable Islands to Escape to Before You Die.

Sheila Scarborough has seen her share of the world as both a traveler and in the Navy. She has written about a wide variety of topics for the likes of National Geographic Traveler, Transitions Abroad, and a variety of U.S. newspapers. She runs the family travel blog for BootsnAll.

Antonia Malchik has contributed travel stories to WorldHum, Pology, The Vancouver Courier, GoNomad, and the Walrus. She has lived abroad in Austria, Russia, and Australia. In the latter she worked as a copy editor at Conde Nast Traveler Australia.

I’ll occasionally pop in with a comment or two, but I’m mainly leaving it to these fine writers to keep you engaged and entertained. Use that subscriber feed button at the top right, then come along for the ride!

Tim Leffel
Editor, Perceptive Travel