Justin Bieber, Follow the Leader in Laos & Abigail Washburn’s China-Inspired Bluegrass

Today, these have made me smile:

1) China-style Christmas celebrations have given me more than my share of opportunities to belt out “Baby.” Today I stumbled across this awesome ad, featuring Justin Bieber and some quality copywriting.

Via Mike on Ads who rightly recognizes “quality quality creative work!” (Also, here’s a fun link: this 13-year-old kid in California translated “Baby” into Chinese! And I learned about this from Forbes, of all places!)

UPDATED: Here’s “Baobei” on Tudou and Youku.

2) My parents are planning their first extended trip to Southeast Asia (for as long as I’ve been alive, anyways…). As we chatted on Skype this morning, I found this photo:

Taken in a Lao village in the hills above Luang Prabang, February 2007. That's me with the red hair!

Perhaps my favorite travel photo ever. Here’s the story behind it, as I wrote in an email I sent home then:

After several hours of walking, we arrived at the Cmoe village where we were to spend then night.  There were children everywhere, with few adults in sight. Our guide explained that most of the fathers were away, either hunting in the forest or working in the cities.  Most of the mothers were busy with all sorts of work, from fixing thatched roofs to cooking.  Small children were working hard too; I saw some boys who couldn’t have been more than five gathering wood.  And the average family has at least five children, since infant mortality is common and healthcare is scarce,  For all of these reasons, I wanted to play with the children.  It took me a few minutes to think of a game to play that did not require a common language, but then it struck me: follow the leader!  So much fun!

3) I’ve been listening to Abigail Washburn‘s latest album on repeat.

I saw her and Chinese musician Wu Fei live at Capital M a few weeks ago. She’s so talented. Her new album, City of Refuge, is free to hear on NPR Music for the next week. And her story is so familiar:

Isn’t there a saying about best laid plans going awry? Well, Abigail Washburn had a plan — and it was a good, solid plan. She was going to head to Beijing,  study law and continue to make music on the side. Instead, she got a record deal, her group Uncle Earl took off and her debut solo recording, The Song of the Traveling Daughter, blew everyone away. In this case, it was a best laid plan that got better.

Once again, Washburn is changing lanes in the musical world: “This new project,” she says, “incorporates what would’ve in the beginning of my career seemed like an unexpected move.” That move takes her outside of the her comfortable folk and roots sound and pushes her toward a more rock and pop feel. She chose the ideal producer for this journey in Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Spoon, Sufjan Stevens).

City of Refuge showcases Washburn’s lyrics and voice more than her previous recordings. In “Burn Through,” she convincingly plays a tough character who isn’t “going down with the rest of you.” She also sparkles in the role of a troubled soul trying to figure things out in “Last Train,” which also features a remarkable turn by fiddler Rayna Gellert.

Washburn still showcases her signature clawhammer banjo playing on City of Refuge. Those moments are mixed with quietly lush orchestration (“Bring Me My Queen”), standout guitar riffs from Bill Frisell, a guzheng (a Chinese zither) played by master Wu Fei, and backing vocals from Old Crow Medicine Show‘s Ketch Secor and Morgan Jahnig. [more]

Also check out Abigail’s other appearances on NPR Music:

• Have Banjo, Will Travel
• Chinese Lyrics, American Roots
• Abigail Washburn on Mountain Stage

Learning to play old Chinese music in Chengdu, sparked her interest in traditional American music.  I find it her voice both hypnotic and relaxing.  I hope you like it too.