It was just that good.
I'm thinking of making this a regular thing—a way of honoring particularly memorable beers I consume, while at the same time devaluing records that wouldn't be worth much if I ever needed to unload them anyway.
Suffice to say, I've got big plans for Skunk's Last American Virgin EP as soon as I finish off this bottle of Allagash White.
OK. As you were.
The only song that's ever made afternoon Holland Tunnel traffic not only tolerable, but transcendent.
Windows down, volume clockwised. Inching along like a dying slug.
I dunno, maybe you had to be there?
Photo by Keithlam [CC BY-NC-ND 3.0]
Check out this drop-dead amazing track from the new Magic Carpathians album, appropriately titled Enjoy Trees! It's cool to hear them occasionally veer from their psychedelic, soundscapey ways (which I happen to be a big fan of) and point themselves in the direction of hypnotic pop like this. You can download the whole album from the Free Music Archive over here. Load your personal bleep box accordingly and go commune with nature, maaaan.
Photo by prayerfriends [CC BY-NC-ND 3.0]
No trees in your neighborhood?
"My Anchor", as performed by Gina V. D'Orio (she of EC8OR and Cobra Killer). From her album Sailor Songs, which there is another great track available from in the Free Music Archive.
Moon Duo are to 2011 what Parliament cigarettes and 3 AM coffees at Trenton's Crystal Diner were in 1989. I simply can't get enough of 'em.
They've got the hypnotic tendencies of Neu, but match them with a sledgehammer-like insistence that's uncharacteristic of most bands that angle themselves in that manner. These songs penetrate deep down into the listener's bones and cast a gloomy shadow across the soul. They're not necessarily the jams you'll be reaching for on a sunny afternoon as you make for the beach with your sweetie riding shotgun, but under more disquieting circumstances, their records are relatively peerless. Here's "Motorcycle, I Love You" -- a live version recorded at KEXP, but originally from an EP that came out last year.
On the visual front, here's an excellent and totally pro-looking video for the song "Killing Time".
Moon Duo's website, with info on all their releases, can be found here.
Photo by Man Alive! [CC-BY-3.0]
Via Flickr
[CC-BY-NC-SA-2.0]
I especially like how the CC elements appear to have been added later on (they seem dark and fresh, whereas the tower ink looks considerably more settled.) Either way: bravo!
In the spirit of radio and free culture, here are a pair of great radio-related songs from the Free Music Archive.
Min-Y-Llan - "Radio America"
Olneyville Sound System - "Immigrant Radio"
One is an instrumental and the other consists primarily of people screaming. Playing both at the same time yields pretty decent remix possibilities. Game on!
Photo by Truu. [CC BY-NC-SA 2.0]
If you think my periodic musings on moldy oldies like the Gun Club, Swell Maps, or Roxy Music indicate that I've sworn off new jams forever, let these periodic mixes from the FMA be the first to state otherwise. Yeah, I write about a lot of old music here—mainly for my own enjoyment. But more importantly, I listen to a lot of new music because that way lies the future. It's the same balance I've always sought to apply when programming a radio show: let 'em know where you come from, but also give 'em a sense of where you're heading. Too much of either ingredient, and you end up either sounding like an insufferable hippy or a dough-eyed neophyte. As such, here are Thee Oh Sees, Wovenhand, Dragen Espenschied, and Outpost—Four modern artists comped together thematically by what seems like the only constant in any of our lives here in the metro area.
Photo by Collin Erickson 83 [CC BY-NC-ND 3.0]
Enon - In This City (Deadverse Remix) by I .:.::. I
From this, which came out a while ago.
There is an appealing (yet phony) superiority that goes with thinking of oneself as a "purist". Which is why I always feel a little bit shamed when ordering a Hawaiian pizza—an ordinary pizza with red sauce and mozarella cheese, but also with chunks of pineapple, slabs of ham, and (sometimes) minced up bits of crispy bacon. Isn't that just another example of poorly-thought eclecticism, if not just routinely catering to the LCD crowd? Peruse the slices on display in any college town pizzeria and consider the stomach-churning parade of toppings like baked ziti, falafel chunks, fried chicken, and hard boiled eggs. I don't approve of any of that unless it's 2 AM and you are a drunken fratboy. (In which case, my disapproval delves far deeper than your contemplation of the "He-Man" or "Taco-Bacon Supreme" slice.)
But back to the Hawaiian conundrum. Some quick research reveals that the pineapple and ham phenomenon has nothing to do with actual Hawaiians, but is in fact a creation of the crafty Germans (Strike One!) According to Wikipedia, it is also the most popular pizza in Australia, accounting for a shocking 15% of all pizza sales. (Strike Two!) I was in Hawaii last year, where I sampled the local pizza sold in a nearly empty cocktail lounge. While it was being prepared, I ordered a drink and was chatted up by a damaged-looking woman who in hindsight I believe may have been a prostitute. In spite of the geographic convenience to the Dole plantation, no pineapples were offered as toppings that evening, and even if they had, it would not have changed the fact that said pizza was quite possibly the worst I have ever encountered.
So let's get down to it. In the classic style of content providers who suddenly panic over their lack of an interactive social media plan, I offer the following five second survey. Do pineapples and ham have any business being on top of a pizza? Use the survey box below to choose your answer.
Photo by justin.parmelee [CC BY-NC-SA 2.0]
