From my experience, it's a great way to have a nice and sincere contact with locals when traveling to new places. Also the best way to get the vibe from somewhere. Also, I find that people who shares their passion about their city (and their own passions) is always a great experience!.

There is so much, and i am not the writer type. I'll try to keep it simple : Music : Neil Young, Bon Iver, Pinback, Bonobo, K-OS, Micheal Kiwanuka and recently Andy Shauf and Kurt Vile. Movies : Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry), 28 Days Later (Dany Boyle), Old Boy (Park Chan-wook), Operation Avalanche (Matthew Johnson) and recently The Wailing (Na Hong-jin) Books : The World According to Garp (John Irwin), Novecento: pianist (Alessandro Baricco), Kafka on the Shore (Haruki Murakami), Being at Home with Claude (René-Daniel Dubois) and recently Pays sans chapeau (Dany Laferrière) ... And while I'm doing this list... I'm realizing how many Bands / Movies / Authors I'm forgetting... Having on discussion on these subject is the best way to share.