A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink, David 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.


David Strange spent many years as a session musician and playing guitar in Courtney Love’s band, while writing his own songs in secret. In January, he’s turning five of them loose upon the world, in the form of a self-titled EP. It is, truly, a dazzling cornucopia of sounds and concepts. It’s a little bit of heavy thudding drums and guitar wizardry, a little bit of electronic wubblebubble, a little bit of Elvis Costello-style grim-pop, a little weird, and a lot awesome. I got through all five songs and immediately wanted to know what else he was building in there.

Mean World is the first single, and the tip of the iceberg:

David Strange - Mean World (Official Video)

And now, I will turn the floor over to him, to tell us about a good read, a good listen, and a good drink:


Photo by Charlotte Kemp Muhl

Photo by Charlotte Kemp Muhl

A Good Read

Delta of Venus by Anais Nin. Broke and destitute sometime in the 1940’s Anais Nin and Henry Miller anonymously began writing erotica for an unnamed ‘collector’ in exchange for the sum of about a dollar per page. Good money for smut in those pre-internet free porn website days. They didn’t take it exactly seriously at the time so it’s a little unclear as to how involved Miller was compared to Nin nor did they intend for mass publication of the work which didn’t appear until the 1970’s when Nin finally permitted it.

The ‘collector’ insisted that they leave poetic and literary language aside as much as possible to focus solely on the graphic, sexual and descriptive nature of the vignettes. Despite these instructions and limitations the artistic juices of her . . . inkwell . . . manage to soak through the page. Best read in bed with a pal . . .

A Good Listen

Magma‘s debut, Magma* from 1970. Originally a double LP this album is the manifestation of band leader Christian Vander’s disturbed futuristic vision of humanity’s spiritual and ecological demise. It’s a concept album about a group of humans who flee the doomed earth to settle on a distant planet called Kobaïa. Apparently, this migration is copacetic until a second group of human refugees arrive causing trouble with the original Kobaïan settlers. The album indeed sounds like the soundtrack to this universal theme. At times it’s like a psychedelic version of Coltrane on Broadway if Broadway was a space station. Other times it sounds like the ritual chants of a North African Satanic sex cult having a funk orgy. There’s a sprinkle of Fantasia and flavors of interstellar battle hymns.

Close your eyes while you listen to this and holograms of an epic, interplanetary swordfight on the moon will appear in your mind. Oh, and Vander invented his own language called Kobaïan which is used for most of the vocals on the album. So, I guess it appeals on a lyrical level equally to listeners on earth as well as elsewhere.

*Magma was later reissued as Kobaïa and can be found on iTunes under this title.

Magma - Epok I - Kobaia

A Good Drink

Scorpion Langkau. I found this in the Sarawak state of Borneo, East Malaysia. It’s a traditional drink of the Iban people who are known to be some of the last practicing headhunters of the 20th century. Langkau is distilled from a milky-white rice wine called Tuak and served in a large medicinal jar with a steel ladle and dead scorpion at the bottom. You can find it at Ruai Bar on the outskirts of Kuching. Your body goes numb when you drink this, starting with your teeth. Definitely have it first if you plan on getting any of the traditional bamboo and mallet tattoos that are prevalent among the Iban.

A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink: Arum Rae

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.


Last we checked in with Arum Rae was in April, when she was about to release her first EP. Now she’s putting out another EP, called Waving Wild, and it different from the first one – less echo-ey, syrupy synths and drum machines, more stripped down guitars – but still awesome.

Let’s Shake is the first song, and as you can hear it’s a stomper:

Waving Wild also reflects a lighter sound, though there’s a ribbon of fuzz running through it:

And with that, I turn the floor over to her, to tell us about a favorite book, record and drink:


Photo by Dominic Neitz

Photo by Dominic Neitz


A Good Read

The Autobiography of Malcolm X is my favorite book ever. Malcolm was a rebel and seeker of the truth. He had conviction to make the world a more fair and loving place for all humans… But white America has soured his reputation and summed him up to look like a violent racist…. Which might have been true at one point but not at all where Malcolm ultimately evolved into being…. That’s why this book is inspiring and fascinating. The Autobiography of Malcolm X unveils the CIA, Nation of Islam and the true Malcolm X.

A Good Listen

If I were to put on music while reading it would be Piano Solos Volume 2 by Dustin O’Halloran.

Dustin O’Halloran – Opus 23 – directed by Marco Morandi from Dustin O'Halloran on Vimeo.

A Good Drink

My drink for this occasion would be lapsang souchong tea. Either hot with milk or ice in a margarita. It’s smoky and tastes like cow shit smells. I like that.

A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink, Pauline Andrès

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.


All Them Ghosts, Pauline Andrès’ debut album, due out next week, is both a delight and a challenge; all of her stories are good, but some are easier to listen to than others.

Here are three of my favorites – She, I Remember Her and Sweet Fortune Tellin’ Ma – chosen because of they way they showcase both her rich smoky voice, the interesting ways she winds threads of rock and roll through a country framework, and her storytelling skills:

And now, I turn the floor over to her, to share her favorite book, record and drink:


Photo credit:  Ceven Knowles

Photo credit: Ceven Knowles

A Good Read

H.P. Lovecraft. Always. Followed shortly by Cormac McCarthy, he is my absolute favorite writer. It’s probably because he is a master in crafting atmospheres and that’s always something I’m craving. No one does it better than him: telling a terrifying, weird (and sometimes philosophic) tale while creating a warm poetic bubble to hide into while you read it.

He was a true genius and a poet and inspired a dark ode called On The Doorstep we featured on our debut record. Just reading the titles of his stories is an experience: The Thing On The Doorstep, At The Mountains Of Madness, The Picture In The House . . . his work is full of fears and shadows but it is oh so beautiful and always inspires me.

A Good Listen

Well since we’re talking about atmospheres I’d go with an all time favorite by Neko Case: Blacklisted. It translates perfectly her talent for -yes here it comes- creating an atmosphere around her words with a perfect control of her monumental voice but also with the dazzling richness of the arrangements. She’s one of the best singer-songwriters I can think of anyway and this album definitely is one of her best. A perfect listen for an autumn evening while you pour the drink you’ll have in bed with Lovecraft. It’s rare for an album to get so close to perfection from writing to production; it’s flawless and hits me every time like a really sweet bullet.

http://youtu.be/3fhur6g8_BM

A Good Drink

I’m a big drinker. I drink a lot of everything and I don’t just mean alcohol, so this is a tough one. But if I were to listen to Case and read Lovecraft tonight, I would probably have some of that red wine I hide under the kitchen table. The dark red Bordeaux that makes your throat feel like its got central heating too. A perfect drink to gently fall asleep after the music stops and the story is over.

A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink: Cory Branan

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.


Cory Branan recently released his fourth album, No-Hit Wonder; the title track is below. The song, like the record, feels – lived-in, I guess – familiar and a little rough around the edges. It’s also sharply observed; the lyrics have bite in unexpected ways.

Other highlights include All The Rivers in Colorado (my personal favorite); C’mon Shadow and Daddy Was A Skywriter.

He’s currently taking his show on the road; New York, your show is on Oct. 1 at the Mercury Lounge, and Ohio, yours is in Columbus on Oct. 8 at the Rumba Cafe.

With that, I turn the floor over to the man himself, to tell us a little bit about one of his favorite books, records and drinks:


Photo by Marco Krenn

Photo by Marco Krenn


A Good Read:

I was just talking to someone about Garcia Lorca‘s lecture: In Search of Duende. The Spanish concept of Duende is different from the western idea of muse/inspiration. Lorca describes it as “wrestling the angel” that can only happen in live music and dance because those art forms occur in real time and then are gone. Anyway, it’s what I’m after in the music I play and seek out. Lorca explains it much better.

A Good Listen:

I haven’t heard the whole thing yet but there’s a collection of Keith Richards‘ solo work with the Xpensive Winos I’m itching to check out. I heard the one track Locked Away and it was tore up and beautiful in the best of ways.

http://youtu.be/2vFAv5HJwuY

A Good Drink:

My wife makes a good moonshine Manhattan. Some buddies work this still in Gatlinburg that makes a rye based shine. Mix that with sweet vermouth and a dash of bitters and brace for impact.

A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink: Lee Knowles, The Incredible Magpie Band

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 Incredible Magpie Band (Lee Knowles (vox/guitar), Lou Taylor (bass/vox), Ben Hardcastle (lead guitar/vox), Matty Davey (guitar), Ewok Layton (drums/percussion), of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, recently released their debut single This Chose Me as well as b-side Money, and they are both a rollicking good time:

And now I turn the floor over to frontman Lee Knowles (blue jacket, below) so we can learn more about his favorite book, record and drink:


DSC_0132-2

A Good Read

Reading books is something I very rarely have time for except on holidays, sat on the beach or around the pool with a few beers, usually I’ve got the iPod in my ears. I have read fiction, especially when I was younger but what I mainly go for are bios, Gangsters, sports people but mainly musicians. The last one I really enjoyed was [Happy Monday’s lead singer/lyricst] Shaun Ryder’s book, Twisting My Melon, it’s a great read with loads of mad stories about what they used to get up to, you can imagine! Not to many dates, places, names, probably cause no one can remember them!

A Good Listen

Been listing to a couple of things recently, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, because The Beatles are never too far away, Rodriguez, Cold Fact and Harvest, Neil Young. I love the way Harvest is recorded, it sounds so real, you can close your eyes and the band could be in the room playing. Everything sounds as though it hasn’t been touched. Rodriguez is magic, there is something so different but so familiar about the way he writes songs and the words he uses. Sgt Peppers is a masterpiece, it’s easy to take for granted how good the Beatles were, you listen to their music you think, the Beatles, great, I love this song. But it’s good to stick the head phones on and have a real good listen to Sgt Peppers and realise that its four lads from Liverpool that did that, albeit extremely talented lads, plus, George Martin, who made the bands evolution possible.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (live) - The Beatles

http://youtu.be/6cuGVIkoYJw

http://youtu.be/J-Oz-M0UBN0

A Good Drink

First thing in the morning, coffee, as many cups as I have time for! And then a steady intake through the day. I’d say my favourite alcoholic tipple, at the moment is Guinness, but being from Yorkshire I will drink anything, especially if it’s free!! Ha.

A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink: AF the Naysayer

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.


AF the Naysayer (Amahl Abdul-Khaliq), founder of Dolo Jazz Suite, and co-founder of Self-Educated Vinyl, makes some groovy beats, and this is his debut music video:

AF THE NAYSAYER - SUNDAY (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

He’s currently out on tour with Prism House and Slomile Swift, and they are working their way around the country.

New York, your show is on Sept. 11 at Spike Hill, in Brooklyn; Ohio, yours are on Sept. 19 at Bourbon St. in Columbus and Sept. 23 at Chameleon in Cincinnati.

The last time he came through New York he sat down and did the very first live-action A Good Read, A Good Listen and a Good Drink, outside the aptly-named Trash Bar, also in Brooklyn. The following is a transcript of that conversation:


NTSIB: All right, let’s go, let’s hear about your favorite book, album and drink. Tell me all of your nerdy LBJ thoughts.

AF the Naysayer: Ok so I’m really not much of a fiction reader. I don’t know why, even though as a kid I did like comic books, I just was more interested in history. So the last book I read that I was really intrigued by that wasn’t music related was Flawed Giant, the biography of Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) [by Robert Dallek]. It was strictly only on his Presidency, from Vice President to President. And it was really extensive, like over one thousand pages. It was like reading the New Testament and the Old Testament. It was about that long.

He was just such a mafioso president. He got the most bills passed during his time as president than any other president in history. He did the most underhanded things and got away with it, it was just insane. He was really a watch-dog president. He was an anomaly. He was just an interesting person. I was just so intrigued by it. It’s a really long book, not necessarily a good read for a lot of people. But I was very intrigued. That’s my recommendation for a book.

NTSIB: And for a record, to go with that book?

AF the Naysayer: Oh, I don’t know what record would go with that book. I’m just going to name one of my favorite records.

NTSIB: Okay, that’s good too!

AF the Naysayer: Gil Scott Heron, one of my favorite artists of all time, favorite singer/songwriter, his album Winter in America, it’s not one of his most popular album, due to I guess the record label, but it’s an amazing album, from track one to the end. One of my favorite albums of all time, so that’s why I’m going to nominate it.

Gil Scott Heron "Winter In America" (1974) HIGH QUALITY

And I don’t drink alcohol, so –

NTSIB: Well that’s all right, you can tell me about your favorite soda. Or hot chocolate.

AF the Naysayer: I love ginger beer. Ginger beer is amazing. So is a good root beer. But I guess since I’m at a show [in a bar]-lots of time they don’t have those. I’ll be lucky if they have ginger ale. Sometimes they do, for mixing drinks. So I guess my go to drink at a bar would be club soda with a squirt of lemon juice and a splash of cranberry juice. And if I want to get fancy with it I’ll get a crushed mint leaf.

A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink, Robert Maisey, Terminal Gods

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.


Terminal Gods are from London, and listening to their music is much like settling into a comfortable spot in my favorite dive bar. It’s loud, a little grimy, but at the same time, instantly comforting and familiar. It takes the weight of the world off your shoulders.

And for me, at least, it contains the echo of nights spent on the bus, straggling home from the club in ridiculous outfits with nonsense drawn on my face. It was often cold and awkward, but I was warmed by dancing with my people and I didn’t care. Listening to them I want to go out and get on the dance floor again, to stomp and swirl and sway, to get caught in the undertow of tulle and shiny boots. And then have a cheese toastie and some Irn Bru on the way home.

Anyway, this is Cold Life, their latest single, due to be turned loose upon the world this coming Monday, July 14. If you like it, drop by their Soundcloud and listen to the rest of their tunes. They’ll also be playing, with Dressmaker, in Glasgow (7/16, 13th Note), Edinburgh (7/17, Bannerman’s Gate), Leeds (7/18, Wharf Chambers), Wolverhampton (7/19, The Gifford Arms), and London (7/25, Buffalo Bar).

Terminal Gods - Cold Life (Official Music Video)

And now, I turn the floor over to Robert Maisey, lead guitar and drum machine programmer, who has graciously agreed to join us today to talk about one of his favorite books, records and drinks.


Robert Maisey, Terminal Gods

Robert Maisey, Terminal Gods

“It had better not be some lame fantasy book” – Robert Cowlin: Vocals, Terminal Gods.

A GOOD READ

You remember how Rob Fleming spends half of High Fidelity fretting about his top five albums/songs/artists of all time? Picking any one book or album (or even drink!) precludes a glorious host of other equally worthy candidates from taking the stage. Thus, in order to answer the question without tearing my own hair out, I’m going to look to the synopsis:

“…a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer”.

What would I read when I really needed to take a time out? One reads a book for a lot of reasons: escapism (I’ve just embarked on my second time round with the A Song Of Ice And Fire saga), cultural reference (I recently finished Burrough’s Junkie, mainly to catch up with half a century of cultural reference points, although it was also a cracking read) or to get in touch with themselves (I reread the aforementioned High Fidelity every time I make a hash of my romantic life). But, if I were to pick one book that I can (and have) read cover to cover over and over again, it would be the marvelous The Day Of The Triffids by John Wyndham.

Please, please, please don’t be fooled by the many terrible film and television adaptations of this book. They’re all tripe. The book is full of character, intelligence and classic British charm that just isn’t conveyed in any of the ridiculous “creature feature” type page to screen translations. One of the reasons I love this book (and the author in general) is the many faceted nature of the story. It’s about man’s arrogance regarding his position at the top of the ecological ladder, it’s about the delicacy of the seemingly iron hard social structures we live by, it’s about the conflict between the feral and the noble in human nature and it’s also a love story. It subtly reflects the atmosphere of the early years of the Cold War, where the unimaginable was suddenly possible. Yet for all that, it retains all the classic readability and charm of authors like H.G. Wells and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

In fact, the only thing it isn’t really about is man-eating fucking plantosaurs.

A GOOD LISTEN

Since the synopsis specifies a record you would listen to at the very same time as opening your book, that narrows it down a bit. I’ve got a load of favourite albums I could bang on and on about, but not necessarily as many I’d choose to go with a cosy armchair and a juicy chunk of mid-20th-century apocalyptic science fiction. Ordinarily, my go-to inner peace LP is Songs Of Love And Hate by Leonard Cohen – Nothing reflects upon the dark night of the soul better than this utter masterpiece.

But, for the purposes of this evening’s listening, I’m going to set a different tone. Something otherworldly and distorted, to reflect the nightmarish landscape that Day Of The Triffids invokes. Equally, a record riddled with the seething paranoia of the Cold War world, a record that anticipates the decline and fall of society dreamt up the literature of the age. Also something immersive – a record that blocks out the real world from start to finish – one long coherent body of work. For this, I’d choose Funhouse by The Stooges.

As well as this, The Stooges are an important band for Terminal Gods, representing a musical eye opener for all us. They embody the shared history of all the various Goth, Punk, Garage and Glam records that each band member grew up with. If I was talking on behalf of TG’s music, I’d probably be more likely to reference Raw Power – which has been more heavily mined for inspiration than its predecessors – but when I’m taking a personal time out with my favourite drink, it’s Funhouse all the way.

http://youtu.be/JWcrDGvdgW0

A GOOD DRINK

I saw The Mission for the first time on the Lighting The Candles tour when I was 15 years old. Wayne Hussey chucked his bottle of “wine” into the audience and, as the youngest person in the vicinity, much of it got poured straight down my neck. It turned out the bottle had actually been filled with Vodka and Cranberry. It’s been my favourite drink on a night out ever since.

On the other hand, at home with a book it’s a cup of tea every time. We keep builders tea in the house as standard, but as a treat I sometimes like to buy in a box of posh Twining’s tea – usually Assam. My partner and I drink a lot of green tea as well. Japanese rice infused green tea leaves were a recent success story in that department.

A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink, Ben Cook, Wild Smiles

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.


Wild Smiles are from Southampton, England; this is the video for Fool For You, which is a perfect song for a summer crush and/or driving around in a convertible with the top down, and will probably get stuck in your head like it got stuck in mine.

And now, I’ll turn the floor over to Ben Cook (drums; on the right, in the picture below) of Wild Smiles, who joins us today to share a favorite book, record and drink.


Photo by Steve Gullick

Photo by Steve Gullick


A Good Read

As I’ve tried to avoid reading as much as possible since Literature A level, the book I’ve most enjoyed is Life, by Keith Richards. Seemingly an honest and surprisingly well remembered account of Richards’ and the bands’ road to success through to present day, close and not-so close shaves with the law, writing and recording and telling John Lennon the bathroom tiles are in fact not spinning. A recommended read for anyone interested in music not just Stones fans.

A Good Listen

Ty SegallMelted (2010) – Skull-fucking San Francisco garage rock with catchy choruses, one of the first albums collectively loved by the band and a regular soundtrack in the van. Opening track Finger is a firm favourite.

Ty Segall Band - 'Finger'

A Good Drink

Wild Smiles are fuelled by Diet Coke.

A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink, Nicolas Snyder, 1, 2, 3

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.


Big Weather is 1, 2, 3‘s second record, and it is a double album. While listening to it, I decided the following: 1) If the name of your band is the same as the act of counting in, every song faces the challenge of being “4” – the, or at least a, point of ignition and 2) With Big Weather, 1, 2, 3 have more than met that challenge.

The name of the record reflects the place where it was made: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which I can tell you from experience surely does experience some big weather. But geography aside, it’s well named: it’s a big record, ambitious and diverse and compelling. It contains multitudes: several different flavors of pop and punk; the occasional burst of classic rock, country blues and jammy noodling; even some spoken word interludes, one of which (In the House of the Locust) was so unsettling I could only listen to it one time.

Example #1: Leave Me in the Sky With A Lawnchair, which is a punk-rock whirl through the feeling of just wanting to float away:

Example #2: Porch Swing Song, which a little slower and more reflective, almost lounge-like, but has what I love best: big rolling drums.

Example #3: When the Levee Broke at the County Broke at the County Fair, which is a jaunty romp about young love being foiled by an unexpected wall of water.

And now, I turn the floor over to guitarist/lead singer Nicolas Snyder (second from left, below) who has some book, music and drink recommendations for us:


Photo by Chris Miskis

Photo by Chris Miskis


A GOOD READ

Had someone asked me this question at any other point in the last ten years I would almost undoubtedly have recommended Cormac McCarthy’s classic gore-western, Blood Meridian, or possibly if in a lighter, yet, slightly cynical mood, George Saunders’ brilliant nuts and bolts satire The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil, but, in the last six months, I stumbled across a non-fiction book that I’ve already recommended more than anything I’ve read before. Everything from the way I daily interact with people to my personal definition of success has been impacted by An Autobiography of a Yogi. Written by the Yogic master Paramahansa Yogananda in the mid 1940’s, this book is a beautifully penned explanation of almost everything spiritual. Timidly posing as a memoir, this book is for meditation what prayer is for the Bible. Check out Ben Kingsley’s reading on Audible for a nice long mind blowing.

A GOOD LISTEN

When people talk about Mott the Hoople, they usually dwell on the glamish Bowie years. But, let’s not forget that the reason Bowie gave them All the Young Dudes and helped modernize their image was because he was such a fan of their prior work. This same work also prompted the Clash to hire wild man Guy Stevens to produce London Calling. Mad Shadows, in my opinion, is the best and most emotionally engrossing of the band’s pre-Dudes era. Comprised of only seven songs, the album’s presence is equally tough as nails and haunting. A band at the peak of frustration, debauchery and creativity. I Can Feel and When My Mind’s Gone are twin power-ballad nut-shots.

http://youtu.be/YP1uGjVmSVs

A GOOD DRINK

I like drinks with a purpose. I only drink coffee if I’m super tired. I drink hot tea to feel comforted and warm. I drink wine to relax, beer to be social, and whisky to get drunk. I rarely consume sodas or juices because, to me, anything physical or emotional to be gained doesn’t outweigh the negative consequences of the beverage. Negative number one being sugar. However, the concoction I’m about to relay contains both effervescence and fruit juice, and serves physical, emotional, and hopefully medicinal benefits.

Nic’s Elixir

Ingredients:
Unfiltered apple cider vinegar
1 Airborne or generic effervescent immune boost tab
Fresh Grapefruit
Fresh Ginger
Ginger ale
Vodka
Water

Okay, so this is intended for consumption in the midst of a cold or flu:

Get a mason jar.

Pour in a healthy two or three second glug of unfiltered apple cider vinegar.

Toss in one Airborne tablet (generics always accepted).

Squeeze one whole grapefruit in (orange or lemon works as well).

Add one teaspoon of freshly grated ginger.

Fill to the top with ice.

Stir it up, little darling.

Add half can of ginger ale.

Pour Vodka to taste.

Add cup of water if desired.

Feel the health burn through your innards.

A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink, Zoë Biggs, The Franklys

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 last time I wrote about The Franklys, I shared the awesomely weird video they made for a song called My Love.

This past week they released a new single, Puppet, along with another tune called Imaginarium. I happen to prefer Imaginarium, because it has a delicious air of menace, but, since they are both great tunes, I’m going to put them both here so y’all can make up your own minds.

And now I will turn the floor over to Franklys bassist Zoë Biggs (center, in the picture below), who is here today to tell us about one of her favorite books, records and drinks.


franklys

A Good Read

This is a bit of a challenge for an indecisive Libran such as myself! One of my favourite books is The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. I first read this book back in probably 2006/7, and have re-read it at least once every year since. Time sort of melts away when you read this book. It’s about the opposite of disappearing, which is just a way of me lifting the author’s words to disguise the fact that I don’t really know how to describe what this book is about without re-telling the stories within it in their entirety.

What I love about this book is that, whilst it contains intertwining stories, weaving back and forth amongst the past, the present and the idea of a future, it doesn’t try to be too clever or pretend to wrap everything up in a neat little package like some books tend to do.

I love its realistic viewpoint, especially that of the main character Leo Gursky. And I think that this is a read that can resonate with anyone who is searching for something, I don’t think it matters what, just for something.

Please don’t let my fumbling attempt to sum up this book put you off! Likewise for my awkward attempt at describing my good listen…

A Good Listen

It’s End of Daze, an EP by one of my very favourite bands – Dum Dum Girls. This choice will probably be no surprise to anyone who knows me! Anyway, End of Daze comprises just five songs, one being a haunting cover of Strawberry Switchblades’ Trees and Flowers. The original was great, but this version is something else.

There is also the extra otherworldly Lord Knows, which is even more beautiful live. My favourite is the final song on the EP – Season In Hell. It is perfect as an ending song because, and don’t let the title fool you, it ends on a note of hope and of moving on. The whole EP is a brilliant blissed-out buzzsaw, shoegaze, etheral concept and, despite it reminding me of nothing but painful experiences, I adore it.

http://youtu.be/K-EunEOfAbc

A Good Drink

Finally, a good drink…you can’t really go wrong with a good coffee can you. I’m sure my barista friends could tell you what particular one would be considered ‘the best’ and the various reasons for it. Unfortunately I don’t possess such a skill! So, let’s just stick with a nicely subjective ‘good coffee’.