It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.
In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.
The Parlor Soldiers’ album When the Dust Settles – with some songs that play like a wink, some that play like a punch, with all sorts of intriguing stories in between – has been one of the first real delights of 2012 for me. (If you haven’t yet, visit their Bandcamp site and be charmed by the album yourself. And check out their tour dates! The more shows you attend, the greater chance I have of seeing them up north sometime.) So, I’m very happy to have Alex, Karen and Dan participate in our series.
Alex Culbreth – Book: Post Office by Charles Bukowski (very funny novel from one of my favorite writers)
Album: John Prine (no album in particular, he’s a great songwriter and there’s lots to learn from him)
Drink: Gin & Tonic (because I love me some old man drinks!)
Karen Jonas – Book: Go Dog, Go – I used to read real books but now I have babies at home.
Album: Gillian Welch, The Harrow & The Harvest – I’ve been listening to this one for a few months, such great americana imagery.
Drink: Water with no ice – though the boys are always trying to get me to drink something else
Dan Dutton – Book: The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey; as the author says “enjoy, shipmates, enjoy
Album: 40 oz. to Freedom by Sublime because Eric can’t sing either.
Drink: Unearthly from Southern Tier Brewery because it brought me back to good beer.
The Parlor Soldiers – “Shallow Grave”
The Parlor Soldiers @ Bandcamp
The Parlor Soldiers @ Facebook
The Parlor Soldiers @ ReverbNation
