life lately man

album shorts

The Clash - London Calling (1979)

Alarmingly loose, fun and effortless, while sweeping through various genres...the sound of a "punk" band maturing without sounding stale or letting go of their roots. Undeniably great songwriting all around, remarkably consistent for a double album. A classic that makes making classics look easy.

Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade (1984)

A sprawling slab of experimental punk&roll dispersed through various methods - whether it be pop song mastery, anxiety-ridden anthems, sloppy pre-grunge thrash attacks, mantras or interludes; it all adds up to a major work that is also their most determined, strung out, and idealistic. Not bad for an album full of first takes.

Guided by Voices - Under the Bushes Under the Stars (1996)

Though its aim is more complacent and polished than usual, you still get the charming collection of 20+ seemingly half-thought out songs you'd expect from GbV. It is a much longer listen than their previous two albums, with less obvious hits and quirky misses to perk your interest - but like its predecessors, grows on you with repeated listens.

Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out (2000)

Yo La Tengo takes their previous experimenting with drony, ambient-ish mood music and emphasizes it into a very long, full work here, alternating between creepy and cutesy most of the way. The catchy and upbeat moments are sparing, just enough to make the album not too lopsided. A nice change-up in their discography that puts a big focus on atmospherics rather than a guitar-oriented sound.

Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels (2013)

From start to finish, at nearly a non-stop pace, this album is like being in the gnarliest, angriest nightclub ever. It gets in your face and simply stays there. Short and to the point, and all 10 tracks are great - I wouldn't hesitate to call any one of them my favorite. It's also deceivingly complex, the aural beatdown it delivers can distract you from noticing at first.

beer shorts - cellar edition

Berkshire Gude Greg's Wee Heavy Private Reserve

(2010)

ABV: 7.25%

This bourbon-barrel scotch ale was a one-time release from the fall of 2010 (though I'm pretty sure bottles are still lingering on shelves around Massachusetts). I bought a few of these at the release strictly for cellaring purposes, and just drank my last one after 3 years of aging. There were lots of reports of this beer not holding up well with time, but mine drank just fine. The bourbon barrel compliments lots of nice sweet and rich malt flavors of caramel, toffee, and vanilla. Peat, light fruity and earthy hops, and touches of maple also present. Feels a little boozy considering the ABV. Not sure this has necessarily gotten better or worse with age, but I'm glad I drank my allotment when I did.

Serafijn Donker

(2007)

ABV: 8%

A solid dark Belgian ale that I have never tried fresh, but this drank surprisingly well at 6+ years old. Lots of smoothed out malty flavors of caramel, molasses, dark fruits, and toasted bread; with some chocolate and light spices. Nice aged feel without much oxidation or loss of carbonation noticeable. I have a few more bottles of this: I wonder how this will hold up after a decade…

North Coast Old Stock Ale

(2008)

ABV: 12.5%

Classic old ale, classic beer for cellaring. A nice enough beer when fresh, but after a couple years or more it seems to balance out (flavor and alcohol-wise) and really shine. At 5 years old this was pretty much a straight up malt bomb -  lots of toffee, vanilla and raisins, with some cola, brown sugar, and buttery malts there as well. The sweetness and booze can be a bit much, but I always enjoy this one. I only have one bottle left of this vintage, but I will probably start picking up a 4-pack each year for further cellar experimentation fun.

Deschutes The Abyss

(2010)

ABV: 11%

One of my all-time favorite imperial stouts, for sure. Very cellar-centric as well, as the label recommends you wait at least one year after the bottling date to open it - and at that point it is indeed excellent - but even at 3 years old, it still retains awesomeness. Not many beers can pack this many great flavors in while remaining so balanced and smooth. Dark chocolate, licorice, caramel, roasted malts, espresso, molasses, dark fruits, bourbon barrel, well-hidden alcohol - The Abyss has it all. All the vintages I've had (2007, 2009, 2010) noted that they were partially aged in bourbon and oak barrels, but I read somewhere that more recent ones have added pinot noir barrels into the mix as well! Intriguing…

Cantillon Vigneronne

(2008)

ABV: 5%

Ah, Cantillon. Always an experience for sure, especially when it has been cellared. This particular lambic is brewed with Italian muscat grapes, and of course, aged in oak barrels. I was happy to share a 5-year old bottle with good friends the night before my 29th birthday. From what I remembered from previous, fresher encounters with Vigneronne, it was an especially funky beast of a beer. That was still pretty much true, though the funk lies more so in the aroma than in the taste. However, it was definitely more tart than I remember - very puckering sourness, oak, similar to a straight-up gueuze with somewhat of a white wine feel. A little low on the carbonation and very dry. Though the grapes obviously can't really stand up to the sour/funk annihilation as well as other more common lambic fruits (cherries, raspberries, etc.), this still delivers the trademark musty Cantillon qualities and was still very enjoyable. It really forces you to sip and savor.

now songs

The Fall "Rebellious Jukebox"

from Live at the Witch Trials

Probably one of the most straightforward Fall songs I've heard. Even the production is oddly polished. Catchy, a classic & silly chorus, simply enjoyable. Of course, it has its own unique touches: kiddie keyboard, laughably whiny guitar hook chorus, odd sounding drums, it's a song about a rebellious jukebox, Mark E. Smith, etc.

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Talking Heads "Animals"

from Fear of Music

Wonderfully strange, funny and hard-hitting. Sinister verses, playful choruses, satirical human vs. animal-way-of-life lyrics with temper tantrum vocals that fit perfectly. I love the change up-part at 2:11 and the build up that follows, so awesome and well-done. Obviously, given the musicians involved with this album, all around excellent instrumentation and production.

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Ferron "It Won't Take Long"

from Shadows on a Dime

Gotta thank my boi Christgau for this one. Nothin' like some good ol' fashioned folky female defiance with lengthy poetic verses aplenty. Killer violin and percussion. Epic heavy-handedness balanced with bouncy punk-esque fun, complete with a singalong chorus.

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Public Enemy "She Watch Channel Zero?!"

from It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

An attack on television/soap opera worshippers backed by a Slayer sample and a great chorus ("Shewatchshewatchshewatch…"), doesn't get much cooler than that. It also features some of Flavor Flav's best ad libs: "I'm gonna take all your soaps, and then I'm gonna hang 'em on the ropes!" "Look - don't nobody look like that! Nobody even look like that!" "Yo, why don't you back up from the TV - read a book or somethin'!"

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Yo La Tengo "The Story of Yo La Tango"

from I am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass

Just in case you needed another 10+ minute track by Yo La Tengo. This one's an album ender of epic proportions. The lyrics could or could not be a vague autobiography of the band, but musically this represents them quite well. Classic drawn out structure that starts slow & sparse and leads to thick layers of everything you may expect and desire when listening to YLT - keyboards, squealing guitars, big chords, low-key vocals, etc.

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