Tag: A Good Read a Good Listen and a Good Drink

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A Good Read A Good Listen and A Good Drink: Pelicans and Their Allies

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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.

I was initially intrigued by Just Like July by Pelicans and Their Allies because a) that’s an awesome band name, and I wanted to see what they sounded like and b) the title references July Johnson from Lonesome Dove, and I’m a sucker for those kinds of cross-cultural references. When I pressed play, I was further reeled in by the power-pop tempo and the bright cello ribbon that gleams between the drums. But the thing that caused me to go and back and listen to it a few more times was the overarching message: This may not be the life (story) you had planned. It is the life (story) you can choose. Make it the best life (story) you can.

The rest of their self-titled EP will be out in late November. I can also recommend For All the Lonely Scientists and Nerds in Love.

Meanwhile, however, I am going to turn the floor over to Pelicans and Their Allies, aka Dayana Yochim and Robert Higgs, who have joined us today to discuss a favorite book, song and drink.

Pelicans and Their Allies (Dayana Yochim, left, Robert Higgs, right.) Photo credit: Emily Goodstein

Pelicans and Their Allies (Dayana Yochim, left, Robert Higgs, right.) Photo credit: Emily Goodstein

A Good Read

Robert: I first came across Dan Kennedy by listening to the podcasts Jordan, Jesse, Go! and The Moth. He’s a great self-deprecating and hilarious storyteller, a loveable and self-aware slacker. At the time I heard him on these podcasts he was telling stories from his memoir, Rock On: An Office Power Ballad, about how he worked as an executive at a major record label (Atlantic, maybe?)[ed note: yes, Atlantic!] thinking he would fuck shit up from the inside, like the true punk rocker he fancied himself to be at the time. But he just ended up doing things like writing the copy for a full page magazine ad congratulating Phil Collins on all his years of success, and pretending like he knew what he was doing. It’s a great book that made me laugh out loud a lot and reaffirmed my love-hate relationship with the mainstream record industry.

I’m currently reading his first novel, American Spirit. It’s just as funny, but with a lot more heart. It’s the story of an executive who loses his job and ends up living in his leased BMW (or as he calls it, “the Bavarian land yacht”) and popping pills and taking crafting and yoga classes. The best thing about it is Kennedy’s ability to maintain a tone that is pitiful and sad, but also hilarious and even uplifting throughout. Both books are great, so just pick whichever sounds best to you. If you like the one you get, you’ll just end up reading the other, too.

Dayana: The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, Corinne May Botz. A photographic account of the work of Frances Glessner Lee, a well-to-do grandmother (an heiress, no less) who built meticulously reconstructed dollhouse crime scenes based on real-life cases in order to train investigators in the 1940s and ‘50s about the art and science of forensic evidence. Accident? Murder? Suicide? What does the (adorable/macabre) evidence tell you?

The book, which features details from 18 fully functional dioramas (working window shades; eensy weensy pencils with real lead; blood spatter on true-to-scale wallpaper pattern from the crime scene), appeals to the crafter of creepy things in me. That Frances was able to break through the bulletproof glass ceiling of the era to become a Captain in the New Hampshire police department based on her forensic work, well, that deserves a robust, “You go, girl!”

A Good Listen

Robert: I’ve been listening to The Tallest Man On Earth ever since I heard John Richards play “I Won’t Be Found” on the KEXP Music That Matters podcast five or six years ago. As soon as I heard it I bought the record and have bought every Tallest Man On Earth album ever since. Every one of them is great all the way through, especially his newest, Dark Bird is Home, which is a little different than the rest. All the previous records were mostly intimate solo performances–just him with a guitar or a banjo. Every now and then a song might have a bass on it, or a second guitar, but everything was pretty stripped down. I didn’t know the newest one had a full band until I started listening to it.

It’s funny how changes can be so unsettling at first. I couldn’t help but think that the solo performance element was one of the things I loved most about him, so the idea of full band arrangements made me think, “OH NO. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” But, of course, what’s great are the songs that he writes, and the new arrangements elevate the songs and make them so lush and beautiful. Plus now when you see him live you get to hear some of the old songs played by a full band and it’s a gorgeous change. Here he is with his amazing band on Conan:

Dayana: The first time I heard Devin Davis’s Lonely People of the World Unite (thanks for the recc, Robert!) — from the opening crash of power-pop chords on Iron Woman all the way through to the warbly, plaintive oooos over acoustic strumming on Deserted Eyeland — I fell in love. Like, awkward adolescent fawning fangirl love. The record goes by at a blinding pace, with every song a tight, layered and complex composition with breathless energy and vivid, playful and earnest (no air quotes) lyrics. (Speaking of lyrics, Robert first “heard” Devin Davis at his wedding when his best man read a passage from Turtle and the Flightless Bird. I’ll pause here for an awwwwww.)

Lore has it that Devin took two years to craft this beast during off hours at the recording studio where he worked. He played most of the instruments himself and, I imagine, obsessively added bits and bobs to each song (including multiple years worth of live fourth of July fireworks recordings) until finally collapsing in an exhausted heap and crying out, “Uncle!” I made up that last part, but I hope there was at least a dramatic mic drop and door slam when he put this perfect album to bed.

My “Best Awesomest Perfect Pop Songs Ever” playlist starts with Devin’s Giant Spiders, segues into Shangri-La, by the Kinks, Back in the Saddle by Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, the Velvet Crush’s One Thing Two Believe, endless repeat.

Devin Davis "Giant Spiders"

A Good Drink

Robert: It’s so hard to pick a favorite anything, because there’s so much good stuff out there. So with all my choices I’m just going with whatever is grabbing me lately. I moved to Atlanta about six months ago and my wife and I have really enjoyed being close to the Atlanta Beltline, which is one of those pedestrian-only this-is-where-some-railroad-tracks-used-to-be pathway/park thing that goes right through the middle of town. There are plenty of restaurants that are right on the Beltline and are great spots for a relaxing happy hour. Our favorite is a place called Ladybird.

It looks like it was designed as an adult’s memory of what summer camp was like. In other words, it’s like the restaurant version of the movie Moonrise Kingdom, which is right up our alley. So we go there and have this drink called the Days Gone By. (The menu says it’s made from Pimm’s No.1, Fords Gin and Second Self Thai Wheat Beer. ‘Gin’ and ‘beer’ are the only ingredients I recognize.) It’s the perfect fall (which in Atlanta is just late summer) drink to sip while doing some quality people/dog watching.

Dayana: Robert can have his fancy-pants frou-frou Pimm’s Wheat Self-Actualized Thai Gin Fa La La drink with fresh Unicorn Tear sprinkles. Me? Just slide any old domestic lite beer my way and I’m a happy camper. Nope… doesn’t matter what brand. Lukewarm? No problem. Twist top? Even better. If I need to class it up a bit I’ll order a cider (again, I’m no brand snob . . . unless the bartender mentions the word “pear,” in which case, “Hells yeah!”), or a Hefeweizen (because I can pronounce it and it doesn’t look weird if I toss in a slice of citrus to cut the beer flavor).

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A Good Read, a Good Listen, and a Good Drink: Tony Fitz

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From the Forest - Route One

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.

 

First, listen to this.

 

 

Now imagine being part of the first group of people to hear that song. And imagine that group of people is hearing that song in the middle of a Scottish forest. That’s what happened last month when the song played in the Galloway Forest as a part of the Dark Outside music festival. Described as “24 hours of music nobody has heard, in a place where nobody might be listening”, the event, which started in 2012, instantly captures the imagination, and our idea-fuelled friend Tony Fitz – you might know him as the organizer of the annual Irish Showcase at Couch by Couchwest – along with Jason Maher and Ruairi Lynch, took part with the project you heard above.

Tony calls the project From the Forest and describes it thus: “From The Forest captures what happens when random bunches of musicians come together for one-off sessions in an old house surrounded by trees. Inspired by Josh Homme’s Desert Sessions, this project is a way for the musicians involved to play and collaborate with no expectations or pressures.” You could hardly think of a better match for the Dark Outside.

Since the last time I wrote about Tony here, he has also released another project that I was in love with immediately: an album with an accompanying comic book. The western-themed work, Just Another Day, tells a story of loss and vengeance, rendered in a beautiful way. The music itself is gorgeous (Tony shared a song from the EP, “The Murder”, at CXCW 2014), and when experienced in tandem with the comic, with art by Tommie Kelly, it proves a genuinely affecting punch to the emotional gut.

Today, we are happy to have Tony join us to share some brilliant recommendations.

 

Book:
It absolutely fascinates me to see how someone else’s brain chews on ideas, working them over until something artistic gets spit out. Not just because it’s interesting, but you end up grabbing little pearls of wisdom, little workflow quirks or tricks that can try out and use yourself. I love when artists share how they approach and realise their work – not just because I learn a shit-ton from it, but because I feel more attached to the artist and their work as a result. Everyone wins. Austin Kleon’s “Show Your Work” is a brilliant book that really crystallises that ethos of sharing what you’re doing as you’re doing it, not just the end product. It will change how you think about showing off what you’re working on.

Grab a copy from http://austinkleon.com/show-your-work/

Album:
Conal McIntyre is one of my favourite songwriters, and I was a huge fan of his former band, Heritage Centre. His latest work is a collaboration with another huge talent, Joey Edwards, under the name “We, The Oceanographers”. They released their debut record earlier this year and it’s a triumph. The lads might refer to themselves as a “DIY bedroom rock band” in their bio, but that really doesn’t sum up the understated beauty of the songwriting, arrangement and production on this album. It’s witty, lo-fi pop at it’s absolute finest.

 
“Same Old Story”

We, the Oceanographers - Same Old Story

 

Their official site, with brilliantly entertaining and insightful blog posts and news updates is over at http://wetheoceanographers.tk, and you can find the album on https://wetheoceanographers.bandcamp.com

Drink:
Last weekend I found myself in a speakeasy style bar in Paris, ordering an Old Fashioned made with bacon-infused Bourbon. To be fair, you’d have to, wouldn’t you?
Apparently they’d robbed the recipe from infamous “secret” New York bar, PDT.
It was so damn good I scoured the internet to find out how to make it, and found this recipe:
http://nymag.com/listings/recipe/bacon-old-fashioned/
I’ve got some really nice bacon in the fridge and I suddenly know exactly what I’m going to do with it.

 

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A Good Read, a Good Listen, and a Good Drink: Post War Glamour Girls

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Post War Glamour Girls - Feeling Strange

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.

“It’s easy to forget what defines us controls our minds.”

There are so many great bands from Leeds, past and present, that it seems like 80% of the English city’s population must be in at least one band. So strong is the Leeds-area music scene that they can support an annual festival featuring a number of local bands – as well as national acts: the Long Division Festival in Wakefield, just outside of Leeds, (which was able recently to meet a funding goal of £6,000 in just 9 days – and they’re still going). I had the opportunity to attend this superior festival last September and, in addition to seeing Leeds bands like my beloved Wind-up Birds and the now-defunct Witch Hunt, I got to see the four beautiful people who make up Post War Glamour Girls1 play the main stage. The same stage would, later in the evening, be occupied by Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals) and hometown legends The Wedding Present, and the young band were every bit as assured and commanding of the stage as the old pros.

After having fallen under the spell of their last full-length album, the moody, sexy, sometimes frightening Pink Fur, it’s a true pleasure for me to bring the band in for our beloved regular series in the run-up to the release of their second full-length offering, Feeling Strange (Parts 1 and 2) – available officially on October 30. If you were on top of it enough to grab the limited-time free release of Part 1, which I enthused about earlier, you know there’s still more magic to come.

FELONIOUS PUNK - POST WAR GLAMOUR GIRLS (HD)

Please enjoy some great recommendations from Alice, James, Ben, and James.

 

Alice Scott-Knox-Gore

BOOK
Tony Benn- ‘Letters to my Grandchildren’ this book is a deeply compassionate and optimistic explanation of the world and its workings. I love the way that Tony Benn effortlessly navigates you right to the point of past, present and future politics with a compounding faith that humans can learn from our mistakes and correct our injustices. His influence and this book has played a large part in shaping my views.

ALBUM
Cocteau Twins- ‘Heaven or Las Vegas’ – I could not believe what I’d been missing when James S introduced me to Cocteau Twins last year. How had I let this band slip through the net? Especially with this album, I’m like a dog with a bone. I can hear bliss and sorrow and ecstasy all at once. It makes sense that my more current listenings (Beach House, Warpaint etc) have obviously taken great influence from Cocteau Twins.

“Cherry Coloured Funk”

Cocteau Twins - Cherry Coloured Funk

DRINK
Sazerac- Whisky, Cognac, bitters and a spritz of absinthe. Goes down like nectar.

 

James Smith

BOOK
Andrew Marr – ‘A History Of Modern Britain’ – The good men and women who served this country seem few and far between after reading this. Whilst the consensus has long been that politicians are self serving scum, this book helps hammer the point home. It’s a brilliant read, even if it leaves you feeling helpless. The post-war Labour government really did help the country through a genuine crisis. It remains a monumental achievement and proof that socialism can work if you leave the people and industry bankrupted by two world wars with no alternative. It’s a shame seeing Labour slowly dismantle itself from the mid 60s onwards, struggling to prove its point as the country embraces capitalism, and with it, consumerism. Reading it only affirmed my hatred for the Tory party and their long continued bullying of the poor. Under Thatcher, the Neo-Liberal mentality burrowed like a tick into the mindsets of the British people. It’s daunting to see how it’s shaped the entire ideology of my generation, and all hereafter. Learning about this country’s history has changed my view on politics. It’s made me critically assess myself. It’s not red or blue or left or right. I feel ashamed and I don’t know what to believe in anymore. I don’t want to tell people what to think… I’m not trying to be Russell Brand or anything, I just feel more confused than I did 600 pages ago… Anarchy seems more appealing each day and I’m moving to Dial House just as soon I get Christmas out of the way.

ALBUM
Rahsaan Roland Kirk – ‘The Inflated Tear’ – I’ve been having a ‘Jazz’ phase for the past 6 months or so simply because I’ve been unenthused with pop music and it’s sometimes nice not understanding what I’m listening to. It just washes over me and swirls round about my head. I find I can switch off with Jazz, which is what I’m trying to do more of these days. My dad is well into Jazz and he gave me a big collection of vinyl which me and Ben originally starting ripping and sampling for our Hip-Hop project Tightcat. I began listening to find loops and found a lot to love, compelling stuff. Brilliant Corners by Thelonious Monk is great, as well the Nina Simone standards, Miles Davis’ output in the 60’s (Bitches Brew and all that) Sun Ra’s Paris Tapes and The Shape Of Jazz To Come by Ornette Coleman. I found out about Kirk through Nils Frahm’s ‘baker’s dozen’ feature on the Quietus, where I also discovered ‘musik von Harmonia’ through James Holden’s contribution. The Inflated Tear is such a cool sounding phrase, I’ll probably nick it for something further down the line. Kirk plays three saxophones at once, but it’s not Free-Jazz. He gets amazing harmony out of them and also plays this weird percussive instrument which I always thought was called a water-bell, but google doesn’t seem to think that’s a thing… If anyone can tell me what it’s called?

“The Inflated Tear”

DRINK
Water – Have you heard the raindrops drumming on the roof tops? Have you heard the raindrops dripping on the ground? Have you heard the raindrops splashing in the streams and running to the rivers all around? There’s water, water of life, Jesus gives us the water of life; there’s water, water of life, Jesus gives us the water of life.

 

Ben Clyde

BOOK
‘All The Pretty Horses’ – Cormac McCarthy – What was so enticing was how McCarthy describes these stunning landscapes and situations so beautifully without drooping into the overly romantic or soppy. It’s still very raw, very vivid and almost palpable. He also has this adept talent of portraying a scene by describing the finer details that would usually be unobserved and yet completely familiar. I can safely say I didn’t really like horses until this book. Now I like horses.

ALBUM
‘Madvillainy’ – Madvillain – The zenith of hip hop’s creativity? Possibly until ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ recently. It blasted open the doors for me for the possibilities of both lyrics and wordplay from MF DOOM and the delicate art of looping from Madlib (both of which I’m pretty bad at ironically.) It’s an album displaying the chemistry of two creative outcasts at the height of their powers with no choruses, no hooks and most tracks coming in under two minutes. On paper it sounds awful, so it needs to be listened to. In full. Over and over again.

“Fancy Clown”

DRINK
Colaweisse – Coke and Wheat Beer – Pretty simple but the reason I mention it is because no one in the city I live in seems to believe me that the Germans drink it. And it does hurt to be thought of as a liar…boohoo. I get looks from barmen everywhere like I just gave them the finger before ordering. It looks like muddy water, but it tastes pretty good.

 

James Thorpe-Jones

BOOK
‘An Epic Swindle: 44 Months with a Pair of Cowboys’ – Brian Reade – A detailed yet passionate account of the nightmare reign of avaricious owners Hicks and Gillet, at Liverpool Football Club. From instilling £237m worth of toxic debt on the club and just hours away from administration, to their redemption in the high court. At times author Brian Reade gets his axe out too frequently, however the revelations from his inside access to the club makes for an enjoyable read. A sports book for non sports fans.

ALBUM
‘The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter’ – The Incredible String Band – Makes for a great listening experience, storytelling from some of the best. They believed in what they were doing, and that’s all that matters.

“Koeeoaddi There”

Koeeoaddi There - The Incredible String Band

DRINK
Espresso Martini – “It’s about’s to get weird.” A good solid work out getting fresh espresso ice cold, but well worth it. Not to be paired with my listening suggestion.

 

1 https://youtu.be/OPFytP0qmgo

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A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink: Ilana J

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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.

England is the second song I listened to from Ilana J (Ilana Jeavons), and is by far my favorite from her new EP, Free Falling from the Ground Up. Her voice is a delight, the beat is infectious; what makes it interesting to me is she’s singing about the traditional English concept of self – green and pleasant land, land of hope and glory, and so on – in a decidedly non-traditional way.

Here’s an illustrative video:

https://youtu.be/91MD9R7GvwI

And with that, I turn the floor over to Ilana J, who has joined us today to share a favorite book, record and drink:

Ilanaj

A GOOD READ

This is a difficult one for me simply because I read alot so I have to pick the best I read this year which is The Farm by Tom Rob Smith . . . he is more well known as the author of Child 44, soon to be a movie.

Anyway The Farm is about this 20ish year old guy called Daniel in London who thinks his parents are enjoying retirement on an idyllic farm in Sweden after selling their business in North London.

Until he gets a phone call from his dad saying his mum hasn’t been herself and is now in a mental home. So Daniel, in a state of panic, gets ready to fly over to join his dad. But just as he is about to leave his mum calls and say something to the effect of . . . Don’t believe a word your father tells you . . . I am coming to London and I will meet you at Heathrow!

Well I just didn’t really stop reading after that . . . I just love books like that.

I perhaps found it more compelling because I thought about my parents in that situation (who thankfully have recently divorced.) Their book would have been Epic by proportion!!

A GOOD LISTEN

Thats an easy one . . . Hopes and Fears by Keane.

Clever lyrics, dreamy sounds, every song is brilliant and I must have listened to it a million times!

Quote from I Can’t Stop Now

I noticed tonight
that the world has been turning
while I’ve been stood here dithering around,
though I know I said that I’d wait around until you need me,
I have to go, I hate to let you down
Now I cant stop now, I’ve got troubles of my own,
coz I’m short on time,
I’m lonely and I’m too tired to talk

Hah I think he’s giving someone a dig!

Keane - Can´t Stop Now (Live At O2 Arena DVD) (High Quality video)(HQ)

A GOOD DRINK

Coming from inner city Birmingham and having spent 4 years at Uni my drink has to be alcoholic as the only other drinks I have are water or Tetley tea which are extremely dull. I love wine especially French . . . my favorite white is Montrachet and my favorite red is Pomerol.

A glass of wine a day makes life a little less dull!!!

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A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink: Angéline

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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.

Here is what I like about Angéline’s latest EP, Back to Pike Place: the percussion is subtle, spare, and compelling, but not overwhelming. Furthermore, her tunes reflect her travels: the rhythms are drawn, in part, from time spent in Cuba; the streetnoises of Havana and London are both incorporated into the larger soundscape; and one song is in her native French. As soon as I heard it, I wanted to know more about her.

For example, consider the steady insistent pulse of Black Butterflies:

And with that I will turn the floor over to her, to share a favorite book, record and drink:

Angéline, dancing.

Angéline, dancing.

A Good Read

With no doubt I chose the book I am currently reading: Conversations with Picasso by Brassaï. A few years ago I discovered the world of Art, I became obsessed with painters. I go through phases when I read, watch every documentary there is about a chosen artist; I give myself missions to analyze and understand the artist and the context in which he made his masterpieces. Brassaï reports conversations he had with Picasso in Paris during the war, enabling the reader to understand his complex personality. Brassaï invites the reader to listen to Picasso and his fellow surrealists debating on Life and Art, and I, after every chapter, feel the need to write about it, too frustrated that I don’t get to express my opinion and be in the room with them all!

A Good Listen

The 1st album that came to my mind is Catching a Tiger by Lissie (2010). Again, I get very obsessive with albums I buy and I will play them on repeat until I know every single word of every song. I had only heard one song of this album before buying it but it straight away became one of my favourite. I love Lissie’s broken voice, she sings with her heart and her imperfections make her sound so beautiful, so true. At the time, the pictures of the booklet, the space in the music and the country-folk influences woke up the dream I had to travel the world. Later on, it’s Record Collector I listened to when I went to the Grand Canyon.

Lissie - Record Collector (Live on 89.3 The Current)

A Good Drink

Now that’s a tricky one. I was going to pick Rum, as it just reminds me of my trip to Cuba and those sleepless nights dancing under the Havana sky! But actually, i could never live without coffee!!! I cannot resist the delicious smell, reminding me of those Sunday mornings at home with my family. Since in London I’ve become a coffee addict, my favourite being a single-origin Ethiopian flat white from Department of Coffee and Social Affairs.

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A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink: Hannah Curwood, Hannah in the Wars

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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.

Only Wanna Be, by Hannah in the Wars, is lush, expansive and seductive, a dark siren song of longing. I fell in love with it at first listen.

It, like the rest of Hannah in the Wars’ self-titled first record, came into the world when Hannah Curwood left her native New Zealand (Central Otago, specifically) for London, in pursuit of a fresh start on life. Recorded at the home studio of Roger O’Donnell of The Cure, the record is a sharp-edged gem, and you can listen to the rest of it at their Bandcamp.

Highlights: Sweet Release, is exactly as sexy as it sounds, and on the other end of the spectrum, Watch the Dog Grow Old Together, which summarizes the grief for loss of a planned life with someone with devastating clarity and precision.

Meanwhile, I will turn the floor over to Ms. Curwood, who joins us today to tell us about one of her favorite books, songs, and drinks.

Hannah Curwood, center, of Hannah in the Wars

Hannah Curwood, center, of Hannah in the Wars

A Good Read:

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward. One of the most savagely beautiful books I have ever read, set in the wild woods near the small Mississippi town of Bois Sauvage in the days leading up to Hurricane Katrina. The story follows a young girl, Esche, and her siblings living in abject poverty with an alcoholic father and very little adult supervision. The one bright light in the children’s lives is their fighting pit-bull, a pure white dog named China. The juxtaposition of the children’s love for their dog and the terrible violence of the dog-fight scenes set against the lurking menace of the hurricane is horrifying, tear jerking and masterful. I can’t recommend it enough.

A Good Listen:

Time and time again I always return to Judee Sill. She was a tragic character, a thief, drug addict and prostitute who died young of an overdose and left behind the most incredible body of work. This song The Kiss never fails to give me goosebumps. Her voice is so intense, pure and unaffected and the harmonic changes are outrageous, it’s as if a whole symphony is contained in one short song. The woman was a genius.

JUDEE SILL - the kiss - Live 1973

A Good Drink:

One of the houses I lived in while in Auckland had a very generous grapefruit tree in the garden. The fruit was pink inside and actually quite sweet. I used to love making myself a Tanqueray gin and tonic on a summer evening with lots of ice, then squeezing half a freshly picked grapefruit in and adding a generous sprig of mint. Refreshing and delicious.

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A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink, Damien Brennan

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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.

Damien Brennan is a young singer/songwriter who grew up in County Down, Northern Ireland and later refined his craft busking and backpacking his way across Italy and Austria.

Below are three of his songs, all of which serve to demonstrate his big voice and big sweeping sound, and particular talent for setting a dramatic romantic mood. All three are strong tunes, but my favorites are Shine and Man on Fire, for the way the swell, crest and soar. Fair warning, Shine will probably get stuck in your head like it did in mine, and you’ll just have to listen to it several times to dislodge it again.

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And with that, I turn the floor over to Mr. Brennan, who joins us today to tell us about a favorite book, record and drink.

A Good Read
A book that stands out for me is Dog Man by Martha Sherrill. It’s about a Japanese man, Morie Sawataishi, who risked imprisonment to go live in the snowy mountains of Northern Japan during the second world war in order to save the beautiful and ancient Akita breed from extinction, as all of these dogs were to be handed over to the military in order to make coats from their pelts. It’s about the search for enduring values and the determination to live life on one’s own terms. I love dogs and have two Akitas of my own, so maybe that’s got something to do with it.

A Good Listen
It wasn’t easy picking a favorite album as there are so many from multiple genres that I love, but it has to be Joshua Tree [by] U2. It is one of the most iconic albums of all time, not such an original choice I admit… but there is a very good reason for it having lasted the test of time and that’s the sheer amount of great quality songs in just one album. The majority of ‘iconic’ albums have one or two stand-out-alone songs, but almost all the tracks from Joshua Tree are special for me. I remember as a boy listening to With or Without You, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m looking For, [and] Where the Streets Have No Name, and they really left an impression on me. I’ll always find time to listen to this album once in a while.

[Ed note: Full disclosure: I totally had a Joshua Tree-era U2 poster on my wall, so I picked the original video, and OMG look at them, so young and skinny!]

https://youtu.be/XmSdTa9kaiQ

A Good Drink
I’m Irish, so not to be stereotypical or anything but it has to be alcoholic! Morgan Spice with coke and ice on a Friday night watching a movie is as good as it gets. Yup, love the Captain Morgans.

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A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink: Paul Bohak

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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.

When I took over the blog a year ago, when April commenced her (now over) hiatus, I put up submission guidelines in which I asked artists to give me their “elevator pitch.” Since then I’ve gotten all flavors, sizes and shapes – some good, some bad, some just there.

A week or so ago, Paul Bohak‘s submission sailed over the transom, and his pitch was “press play.”

Hmm. I thought. And then, because it was late at night and sometimes I like to live dangerously: All right.

Both records have become music I come back to regularly, to be soothed, and also to cleanse my musical palate.

Before I Lose You is from Vagabond’s Wealth, one of two solo albums he released this year, after over 25 years writing songs, mostly while in bands. It is not the first song I listened to, but it is the first one to sink its hooks into me.

This is Headlights from Saraswati Radio, his first solo album, and the one I want to put on a road trip playlist. It seems perfect for long stretches of interstate broken up only by billboards and fast food billboards glowing in the enveloping darkness.

And with that, I turn the floor over to Paul Bohak, who join us today from Bozeman, Montana, to share a favorite book, record and drink:

A Good Read:

Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl. This is a book I read when I was a kid, but never forgot about. It follows the life of a young boy and his father. They live in an old gypsy carriage type of thing. I think what was so intriguing about it was, not only the shorter stories that are told throughout the larger narrative, but the ability to identify with this boy and his life. I recently bought it again and am looking forward to giving it another read.

A Good Listen:

Know By Heart by The American Analog Set. A friend of mine gave me his old iPod a few years back and it was loaded with a bunch of music I’d never heard. Know By Heart was on there and I immediately dug it. It’s so mellow, the kind of music you can put on at any time. There’s such a great mood that it creates, almost like a kind of soundtrack. So it’s a combination of droning vibe and really great songs, if that makes sense. The Postman, Know By Heart and Aaron & Maria are three of my favorite songs. I’ve listened to this album many, many times since I first heard it and continue to keep it in rotation.

Know By Heart - American Analog Set

A Good Drink:

Spiffy Cola. Nothing fancy . . . it’s a cola drink that’s been around since 1934. It comes in a glass bottle, which is really the only way to drink a soda, and the label looks like it hasn’t changed since it came out so long ago. I found it mixed in with a bunch of other obscure soda drinks at the grocery store. What more can I say . . . it’s super tasty!

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A Good Read A Good Listen and A Good Drink: Oiseaux-Tempête

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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.

Oiseaux-Tempête, more or less of Paris, are an ever-changing entity. An iteration of the band that includes Frédéric D. Oberland and Stéphane Pigneul (FareWell Poetry and Le Réveil des Tropiques), Ben McConnell (Beach House, FareWell Poetry, Marissa Nadler) and bass clarinet virtuoso Gareth Davis (Elliott Sharp and Robin Rimbaud (aka Scanner)) have just released ÜTOPIYA?, the follow-up to their first, self-titled record.

In Oiseaux-Tempête, the band ventured to Greece to capture the sounds of political upheaval – not protest songs, but the ambient noises, and the sense of menace, the feeling of frustration, boiling over. For ÃœTOPIYA? they visited Sicily and Istanbul. The result is a complex and compelling work that mixes jazz elements with bright electronic tones, aggressive, dissonant feedback and the sense that even during seismic change, sometimes people do sit outside and listen to nightbirds singing.

As a taste, here is Omen: Divided We Fall:

And with that, I will turn the floor over to the band, who are joining us today – all four of them, a very special treat – to share a favorite book, record and drink.

 

OISEAUX-TEMPÊTE, 2015; photo by Pamela Maddaleno

OISEAUX-TEMPÊTE, 2015; photo by Pamela Maddaleno

A GOOD READ
 
FRÉDÉRIC D. OBERLAND: Guy Debord, Oeuvres Cinématographiques Complètes / Complete Cinematic Works. This book came into my hands late 90’s when it was almost impossible to find any of Guy Debord’s films to watch. The goal was fascinating: trying to understand and to enjoy these stunning film-essays just with the film scripts, without the actual image or sound. The narration is transcribed and you can find between the lines an informative depiction of what is happening on the screen and in the speakers. Reading the hopeful melancholy of In Girum Imus Nocte Et Consumimur Igni, I feel this just as much in my bones as in my mind: poetry and social revolution could be so easily related. Both are coming from the same vibrant, primal, essential breath.

STÉPHANE PIGNEUL: Héros-Limite from Ghérasim Luca. I’ve always thought that the best poets are the ones who write in a language different from their mother tongue. Luca as Cioran, is Romanian and was a kind of surrealist despite the fact he was never affiliated to the actual. Although he mastered the French language, he tweaked it in a new way, made to be spoken more than read, in a very musical way. The love for the words, the language, and of course with his famous sense of humour can be felt in every text he wrote. His poems are an excellent source of inspiration for those who want to write too, and be off the beaten track.

GARETH DAVIS: Bohumil Hrabal’s Too Loud A Solitude. I picked this up in Prague the first time I was there. There was an English language bookshop that was a fair walk from where I was staying, but it had the distinct advantage of being one of the few places to accept cards (at that time), a deciding factor as I was leaving on a train that evening to Budapest and had judged my cash supply in koruna down to the last bottle of water before departure. So I trekked over to the shop and picked up what was essentially a random pile of books for the train journeys ahead.

I’m guessing I must have read this five or six times over the following three or so weeks. Without giving too much away, it’s the story of man working 35 years compacting wastepaper and books, a process which has lead him to acquire an education so unwitting he’s unable to tell which thoughts are his own and which come from the books he has rescued from the hydraulic press. It is a novel of such incredible extremes, comedy, pathos, sophistication, sex and violence. An observance of sorts of the indestructibility of the written word.

BEN MCCONNELL: Paul Bowles’ masterpiece, The Sheltering Sky, is a powerful and eerie novel which traces the wanderings of three Americans throughout Morocco and the Sahara Desert following the end of WWII. A sense of unease, or even dread, permeates these characters as they journey deeper and deeper into the vast expanse of the Sahara, tirelessly searching for a sense of meaning or purpose in their lives in a desperate attempt to escape the stifling conventions and stale consumerism of western society.

Plagued by blinding sun, sickness, and thieves, all does not end well for these three; and it could be the ending itself which is this novel’s crowning achievement, taking an unexpected and horrific turn into an even further unknown, more treacherous then they – or us – could have ever imagined.

A GOOD LISTEN
 
FRÉDÉRIC D. OBERLAND: My instant choice could have been the boxset Claire Denis Film Scores 1996-2009 (Constellation, 2012) from Tindersticks.  Five LPs to listen to and to enjoy the way you want when you’re feeling moody. But this Kime Ne’ 12″ (Aboov Plak, 2013) I discovered last summer in Istanbul is a hidden masterpiece to dance to and to make love under the rain. The project is called iNSALAR and includes Cem Yıldız (on vocals, baÄŸlama and electronics), Barış K (on electronics) and Hogır (on percussion and vocal percussion). The lyrics are adapted from poems by 17th century Turkish poet musician Kul Nesimi (Ben Melamet Hirkasini) and 16th century icon Pir Sultan Abdal (Otme Bulbul). Play it loud and look at the way you’re shaking the head. Yes, Side A and B are exactly the same, and now you know why.

STÉPHANE PIGNEUL: Carnage Visors: The Cure. My choice at the moment if you ask, in part because I just borrowed the fantastic drum machine DR-55 from a friend, and that track was written with it. It’s the longest track Smith ever put on tape, something like 28 minutes, instrumental, minimal, a bit dark but super warm in the sound. Also the structure is something really smart, just as Smith always does with guitars. He composed it on bass, starting the harmony in E going through A and D then finishing in G, which are the open strings of a bass . . . A super intelligent approach, indeed.

It was proposed for a 30 minutes stop motion film the brother of the bass player did, and was projected before the 1981-shows they used to do. Only 30 seconds of this film can be found on the internet, kind of mysterious, after all these years and the power of the web . . . A kind of myth in The Cure sphere! Again, a super source of inspiration for those who want to make music. At least it has worked for me since I’m 15 . . . !

the cure - carnage visors

GARETH DAVIS: Erewhon, the debut record from David Thomas and the Two Pale Boys (Cooking Vinyl, 1996). In the 90s in London the choices for TV were, in most cases, still either four channels or a satellite dish. And then came cable. The introduction was a somewhat sporadic affair, and how many extra channels this meant become immediately available, I don’t remember. Only two have stuck in my mind from the first batch. One that was called Bravo on which I watched 1930s episodes of Flash Gordon with my father, and the other, MTV, back when they still actually played music.

There was a show called Alternative Nation on Sunday evenings and somewhere between the Tindersticks and a feature on The Crow soundtrack came this David Thomas live set. It must have taken around two months to track down the CD, a job made considerably more difficult as I’d not quite heard the name properly and didn’t know what the album was called. After 20 years I’m still constantly going back to this album. For anyone acquainted with Pere Ubu, it’s not going to be all that surprising a piece of work, but there’s also something, I think, a little different. A kind of urgency, unsurprising as there’s a lot of improvisation, yet at the same time somehow managing to remain decidedly laid back. There’s a live album which was part of the Monster (Cooking Vinyl, 1997) box set, alas not available when it was reissued in 2004. Absolutely excellent material if it’s possible to find, and definitely worth the trouble to look for.

David Thomas And Two Pale Boys live MTV

BEN MCCONNELL: Orchestre Régional de Kayes, The Best of The First Biennale of Arts and Culture For The Young (1970). I discovered this amazing gem through a limited repressing by Mississippi Records a few years back, which was later yanked from the shelves following a legal dispute with the band itself (apparently they had not been notified of its reissue). But in any case, from what I know of this recording, it comes from northern Mali, near the Senagalese border, where every year, or every two years, a type of battle-of-the-bands would occur, and this particular recording came about after the groups’ victory. It also happens to be their only recording, and has never been properly reissued on cd or vinyl, although thankfully it can be found as as a download online.

I played this for Jimmy Page one evening, and he came back to see me then next day to ask me what the name of the group was – he’d been thinking of the guitar solo in Sanjina ever since. And the guitar solo in Sanjina is a perfect example of why I chose this album to accompany the above novel: the syncopated rhythms and crisp guitar tones, to my ears, depict the feeling of the African desert at night, and even sometimes, in a moment of near synesthesia, seem to resemble the silvery shimmering of stars upon the infinite night sky.

Orchestre Regional De Kayes - Sanjini

 

A GOOD DRINK
 
FRÉDÉRIC D. OBERLAND: Michel Couvreur, 12 Year Overaged Malt. Some French whisky, sorry guys! Since 1978 Michel Couvreur imports Scotch whiskies to his facilities in Burgundy, France, where they undergo a slow aging process in Spanish sherry, French burgundy or vin jaune dedicated casks. A dry, smoky and slightly sweet spirit, aromas of almond, tobacco, a generous and spicy palate which apparently remains in the old Victorian whiskies.  A friend of mine first offered me a bottle of this rare elixir 15 years ago – did I say the design of the bottle itself hand-sealed with wax and with the label placed around the corner of the square is exquisite? In a quasi-religious way, I kept this first bottle three years in a secret place, tasting only three sips of this Malt with a 99% dark chocolate square. Now I’m more mature and I love to share it. Sometimes!
 
STÉPHANE PIGNEUL: Un Réveil des Tropiques: a cocktail I created or maybe stole ! As a barman, I used to sell a lot of drinks in the bar. We have this other project with Frédéric and the DR-55 guy – Ad – called Le Réveil des Tropiques. It’s the cocktail I offered the most. Basically, it’s a mojito in which you replace the sparkling water with ginger and brown sugar! Half a glass of rum and mint, lime and the secret ginger, that you have to squeeze yourself of course. Really explosive one, tasty , once you tried it, you want an another one, and another one, and another one and . . .

GARETH DAVIS: I’ve got a thing about coffee. More precisely, espresso. Addiction would be another way of putting it, but perhaps calling it a thing and proving I’m in denial is the way to go. Frédéric told me I drunk all his coffee last time I was in Paris. I was looking for someone else to blame, but it’s not working, so I’ll probably need just bite the bullet and accept it.

Narrowing it down to one particular bean or roast I can’t do, particularly as there seem to be new roasters every other week, but I have noticed there there are a few blends I keep coming back to. Hair Bender from Stumptown seems to get on well with my machine, a rather temperamental lever action Pavoni, although it could just be that I like the name. Ed from Caffènation is another blend I’ve been using a fair bit recently and, to be honest, also the dark roast from my local supermarket which I’m probably not meant to admit out loud, but it’s really pretty good, so I can live with that.

BEN MCCONNELL: In The Sheltering Sky, a story is told of three sisters who journey to the Sahara, following their dream of having tea together while overlooking the sea of dunes, and vaguely hoping to find the handsome and mysterious stranger who had once visited the sisters’ village and made love to all three of them.  The sisters join a caravan which bivouacs under the full moon, then sneak out from camp to find the highest dune from which to have their tea. 

The sisters reach the highest, then see another, higher, in the distance; then another, higher; and wander on continually until they collapse from exhaustion and are later discovered where they lay, atop a dune, their glasses filled with sand. 

Sting wrote the lyrics to Tea In The Sahara based on this episode.  And if I were to recommend a painting to round out this presentation, it would be Henri Rousseau’s la Bohémienne Endormie (or, Sleeping Gypsy) … 

But, I digress, here is the recipe for making Moroccan Mint Tea: 

1 tablespoon gunpowder green tea leaves

1 large handful fresh Moroccan mint, or spearmint leaves, washed

1/2 liter (about 2 cups) boiling water

1/4 cup sugar

Boil at least a liter of water.  Rinse a small tea pot with about 1/4 cup of the water.

Add the tea leaves and another 1/4 cup boiling water. Swirl the pot to wash and rinse the leaves, and pour out the water.

Add the mint leaves and the sugar, and fill the pot with 1/2 liter (about 2 cups) boiling water.  Leave the tea to steep for five minutes or longer, or set the tea pot over medium-low heat and bring the tea to a simmer. Remove from the heat, and allow to steep several minutes more.

Gently stir the tea, pour into small tea glasses and serve.  It might be worth adding that Moroccans take pride in pouring their tea from a significant height, which aside from being visually impressive, serves to aerate the tea and heighten the flavor.  
 

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A Good Read A Good Listen and A Good Drink, Adam Sturgeon, WHOOP-Szo

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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.

WHOOP-Szo is a fluid musical collective currently operating out of Guelph/London, Ontario, Canada. Previously they were my most favorite purveyor of tone-poems inspired by the Canadian Arctic, but with Mirror North, the a-side of their offering for Record Store Day, things have taken a turn for the sludgy.

The record/song was created by an incarnation of the band that featured Adam Sturgeon, Eric Lourenco, Joe Thorner, and Kirsten Palm and recorded at the Quarantine in Port Greville, Nova Scotia with Colleen Collins and Dave Trenaman (Construction & Destruction) and Tim Glasgow (Metric, Sonic Youth).

It arrived in my inbox described as the sound of “a band in a single room; ocean, old cabin, blueberry hill, bear shit and all​” and, well, I don’t have much to add to that, really.

Well, ok, perhaps a few things: It has a certain hypnotic ebb and flow. I keep going back to it to sway along with the drum and meditate on the Baby I’m scared refrain and then be jarred back into alertness by the jagged roar of a guitar at the end. It sounds like the ocean in the sense that it sounds like the feeling of a great big rolling Atlantic breaker coming in, the choice: jump or dive, and the hard tug of the current that signals you’ll get hauled out to sea if you aren’t careful.

And now I turn the floor over to Adam Sturgeon, who has joined us today to share a favorite book, record and drink.

Whoop szo craven cottage-7941

A Good Read:

Kiss of the Fur Queen – Tomson Highway

This book speaks to me. It’s an emotional journey through one individuals life as affected by Residential School. It does a lot in that it makes me think of my own families history, and while notably different there are striking similarities that bring me close to my father and grandfather; building a greater capacity to understand our relationship. Not for the faint of heart, there is a huge let down as you hold hope that one character is different than the impending results.

A Good Listen:

Construction & Destruction – Mutatis Mutandis

How could we record our album with Colleen and Dave and not mention their albums. This one in particular has a ton of appeal for WHOOP-Szo as a band, our favourite track, The Bear:

A Good Drink:

Chaga [tea], [made from] the fungus that grows on Birch trees, a major influence on this record.