Advertising Tourette's

for the last year or so i have been primarily listening to 92.9FM in Boston. In the car I am usually listening to the ipod, but my alarm clock plays this station and I put in on in the shower. I like it because when they started they didn't really fuck around with commercials that much and just played music for long stretches. they also don't have actual DJs, so it's like a computerized playlist. for those of you who are more romantic, i suppose the loss of the DJ is a cause for mourning, but there really is nothing I like less than listening to self-important pricks talk about shit I don't care about.

anyway, lately there has been a development that has me concerned. in lieu of your standard commercials, they have been throwing in these guerrilla ad...almost subliminal. this morning, some crappy red hot chili pepper song had just finished and spoonman by soundgarden was starting. sandwiched right in the middle some dude just blurted out "BLUE MAN GROUP." It always seems to be random Boston-ish types of stuff, but it is always hilarious like "KELLY'S ROAST BEEF" or "ERNIE BOCH JUNIOR." to be honest, i really feel like this is the type of stuff i would rather have happen instead of sitting through 30 second long commercials. just plant the seed my friend...just plant the seed.

&Ry

The Dirt Floor

Angie's brother is a pretty cool dude. Lives out in Northern California and is a organic farmer. Lives in a yurt. And he also plays in a pretty kickbutt bluegrass-ish band called the Dirt Floor. They played at Angie's sister's wedding and were awesome. Now I guess they have a CD out that is selling on iTunes and have been ranging ever-farther playing live gigs. They were particularly instrumental for me when I was writing papers at the end of my semester...good music to write to.

Anyway, where I am going with this is: they finally have a good video posted on youtube that I thought would be cool to share. Just wanted to give a bit of back story....check the video:


That's all I got for now...see ya.

&Ry

Bob Dylan's wierd Christmas album

It seems like music fans are pretty polarized when it comes to Dylan's Christmas in the Heart. Is it a joke? Is it another sell-out move? Is it merely bullshit sentimentality? The answer I believe is none of the above.

I haven't heard the whole album yet, but judging by this cut, I am in love with it. Dig:

I just want to be at this party. Also, the lyrics (written in

1959 I believe by an old song writing combo I hadn't

heard of) are tight; I love repetition!

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It's the sunday after a ripping snow storm here in Philly - totally unusual for this area at this time of year;

apparently it's the largest December snowfall total in over 60 years. I have a short week at work coming up and I'll be driving up to Massholechusetts for the big day next

Friday. More updates to follow.

Peace to all

-Wrence

Holy Shit!

I just found out about THIS and I am petrified with excitement!!!

I hope Santa reads this blog....cause shit is supposed to drop on Decemeber 22nd, and would make a fantastic gift!

Xmas updates soon to follow

-Wrence

The Vault

Just wanted to throw a quick shot out there. I like music. Music kicks ass. Live music kicks even more ass.

I stumbled across this site while i was busy paper-writing and whatnot. They have tons of live awesome bootlegged concerts streaming for free. Just thought people who also think music kicks ass would like to know.

keep fighting the good fight peoples.

&Ry

Do you like apples, Russo?

All hands Against His Own, by the Black Keys, as interpreted by El Proyecto Los Jorges (in pajamas)

How do you like them apples?

New Rock Band from Needham

Video of the Bones & I taking out some aggressions via Rock and/or Roll. It felt good to play again, and I think we brought the thunder pretty well.

Saratoga Trip/I Still Buy CDs (for now)

So I am one of the only people I know who still insist on physical CDs versus downloads, at least some of the time.

There's something satisfying to me about going to the store, flipping through stacks in search of your prize, finally finding it and actually holding the thing in your hand, and then getting it home & unwrapping the plastic. Inhale the new CD smell. Press PLAY. Ahhh...

But it is getting more and more annoying to do this, considering all of it is virtually free to pick from the tree via my laptop. I am in Saratoga NY today (had to come up to get some important documents out of my storage stuff) and needed tunes for my trip back to Philly tomorrow. I went to the local Borders in search of the following:

M. Ward Hold Time
Camera Obscura My Maudlin Career

I located the first, but the latter was nowhere to be found. In general, the CD selection at Borders plain sucks these days. I know record sales are down in the wake of downloads, but is it the appropriate response to slash your music section, making it MORE DIFFICULT for people like me to obtain the music they seek? Borders now seems to have thrown all their eggs in the DVD/Blue Ray basket as I guess that's what people are buying more of now. Fair enough. But I'll end up downloading the Camera Obscura album with zero guilt.

PS: I DID check out the indie record store in Toga as well, but they focus more on used stuff. And Vinyl (but that's a different post...)

I did end up picking up a totally unexpected purchase. The Fleet Foxes album was on display at the store, and after the good things I've heard about this band I ended up listening to it on the headphones and was totally swept away by this album and am listening the shit out of it as we type/read this. So I guess they "won" after all.

(shaking fist to the heavens) BORDERRRRRS!!!!!!!!!!!

-Wrence

Camera Obscura

This is a band I've heard about here and there over the last few years. Anyway, they have a new album out and I'm blown away by it. You can hear the whole thing here, for the time being. Check it out!

-Wrence

Philly

Yo I moved to Philly.

Land of cheese steaks, world series rings, cracked bells, cracked people, and delicious soft pretzels.

No, seriously, the people here are great. Very real, not-exactly laid back, but very un-pretentious, good people. They make amazing hoagies, like EVERYWHERE. Work at the brewery is good, crazy hectic. The place could easily have one or two full-time cellar people on staff, but the brewers handle all the cleaning, filtering, racking, etc WHILE we brew three batches a day. It's in tents like the circus but it's great for a bro like me trying to compile work experience.
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Since I've been here I've found a few people from college who live in town, and I'm looking forward to hooking up with some of these strange recollections from my past, and seeing how much weight they've gained.
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Tonight I'm relaxing after my first week of work, sipping on the last homebrew made at 46 Tremont, listening to my man M. Ward, who is awesome.
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It seems like there is always some sort of beer event going on in Philly. Tomorrow is "Split Thy Skull" -historically a barleywine festival, but which now includes strong Belgians and big IPAs too. It starts at 1pm, but I'm told that the line goes around the block by then, so I am showing up around noon, I hope. I don't know much more about it than you are served flights of fucking strong beers, and some brewery people I know will be around. I'll post something abouts it at some point.

Other than that, just slowly unpacking & sleeping an incredible amount -the last month in Cambridge was desperately wakeful for me. Ahhh - feel the bed calling me right now!! Bonsoir~

-Wrence

Zero 7

Zero 7 is a band I got into about 5 or 6 years ago. Here is a video I just found of them performing my favorite song, Somersault. It is beyond amazing...



-Wrence

What I'm listening to - with morning my coffee

There really is NOTHING like the sound of a vintage tube amp turned up all the way

Jonny Greenwood - Stout

Right now I am finishing up on a stout brew day, and listening to the Bodysong soundtrack by Jonny Greenwood. It is typically twisted and crazy...and it's somehow just perfect. Could be my hangover, or general lack of attention span, I'm not entirely sure. Right now it's on that jazzed up track that sounds like something from Coltrane, mid-sixties era. Awesome. Some of these songs ended up as part of Greenwood's score for There Will Be Blood as well. But, I digest...

Anyway, about this beer. I was thinking for about a month that I needed to try a stout again. It has been years since I made one, and I've never been super stoked with my past results. So I considered taking myself to school, so to speak, by brewing your basic Irish Dry Stout. You know the kind; Pale Malt, Flaked Barley, and Roasted Barley. Simple and to the point. BUT: then I started thinking about all the 2008 hops I just got in the mail and then also remembered "Oh yea, I generally enjoy more than 4% alcohol in my beers, especially during the freaking winter." The decision made itself.

Behold, your average kick-awesome American Stout (partially inspired by the Sierra Nevada stout)

7# Pale Malt (U.K.)
1.5# Munich Malt
.75# Cara-Munich I
.5# Flaked Barley
.5# Roasted Barley
.5# Black Malt

Pacific Gems were used for the bittering charge, shooting for 44 IBUs
1.5 oz Amarillo - 10 mins
1 oz Centennial -knock out

Fermenting with my old favorite, Wyeast 1272. God, 1272, I missed you so! I swear those belgian girls over the summer meant nothing to me! NOTHING, I SAY!

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Tomorrow is Columbus day. Even though Cristobal Colon was a dick, I am still going to enjoy the day off. I think pumpkin soup will be on the agenda...

-Wrence

Pandora, Elvis, and IPA

So, as I might have mentioned, I've been rocking pandora.com lately. Especially at work, now that I have this geektastic headset thingy which handles all the sounds on my compy (and also acts as my phone). Anyway, a band that keeps coming up, The Decemberists, has been on my mind all day. When I first started hearing about these guys last year I kind of just tossed them on "the pile" of whiney, fake-angsty, midwest, tortured, white middle-class guy-kind of bands, but now I'm not so sure. Like, I'm listening to this track called "The Engine Driver" and it's nearly making me cry...which could appear odd, seeing as how I'm supposed to be investigating commercial claims right now. Anyway, I just can't tell if they are actually really good, or just another one of these cliche "alternative" bands that really have nothing to say....I mean, you might as well be Coldplay for christsakes. Someone once told me that they thought "Yellow" was a great love song - I nearly puked on my lap! You want to hear a love song by a guy who is actually in love? Check out "Still" by Elvis Costello. But, I digest...

(yea, he's serious)

So - the last week was slow. I don't think I've discussed this here yet, but I'm in Brew School now. It's pretty freakin' splendid.* I tend to spend a good amount of time on schoolwork every night now, so these posts may get even MORE infrequent (if that's even possible), so I apologize. But don't worry, there will still be ample opportunities for me to further embarrass myself on the interwebs, I'm sure.

As far as the adult beverage production goes, we are very active at 46 Tremont this summer. There has been a lot of consumption and subsequently a crap-load of brewing as well. I pulled off that Rochefortesque beer a few weeks ago, and this weekend I'll be cooking another Belgian, probably more hoppy, almost IPA-ish, but lower gravity. The goal there is to have a nice, late-summer session brew but have it still be interesting. I'll post the recipes for both later tonight; I'm heading to the brewstore after work for grains & yeast. I know the suspense must be unbearable, but please just try to go about the rest of your day as if everything is normal!

-'Wrence
* this is the first time I have ever used "splendid" in such a sense. please tell me if it should also be the last

Recent CD purchase + Awkward walk home

My latest CD purchase came about when I was in Saratoga NY visiting my Dad. It was the day I was to drive the 3+ hours back to Boston; sunny, warm but not humid; in a word: perfect for driving. I just needed some fresh tunage to make it even more awesome (as if that were even possible). I picked up the Stones' classic "Sticky Fingers" -and listened to it 3 times on the drive home.

Upon reaching the old apartment in Cambridge, I unloaded all my stuff and then set back out for Central Square, where I would drop off my rental car at the Enterprise branch there. I still had the Stones CD in the car, just so I could KEEP ROCKING ALL THE WAY THERE. So I dropped the car off, and then had to hoof it back up to my house in Inman Square; about 3/4 of a mile or so. Again, it was nice out so there are loads of people everywhere. In my hand was the Sticky Fingers CD, nothing else.

For those of you who aren't familiar:


(Front of CD)

AND


(back of CD)




















So: I had to walk all the way home with this thing in my hand. My analysis is as follows-

For every 10 people who saw me:
-1 person understood that I am a music fan with a classic album
-9 people thought I was just walking around carrying a picture of some guy's JUNK

-'Wrence