Charles Bukowski was an American poet, novelist and short story writer that spent a great deal of his time writing about the realism of life in Los Angeles for the lower class. As Time put it back in 1986 he was the "laureate of American lowlife." This "lowlife" included poems full of alcoholism, prostitutes, relationships and the tediousness of work. One of Bukowski's collection of poems was entitled Love is a Dog From Hell . That is the same title as the new single from the Limousines. One must imagine that the two are connected in some way. In [...]
Mal Blum is a folk/punk singer-songwriter in the same vein as Amanda Palmer or Kimya Dawson. It is probably not an accident then that she has actually found herself alongside those two at different points in her touring career. She has also made headway across this vast land alongside Melissa Ferrick . But this post isn't to name drop in order to make Mal sound cooler or more socially acceptable than she is. Nope, this post is about the tea. And the tempest. And Mal's new album. Tempest in a Teacup is nine tracks that have [...]
Ten months ago I curled up on a sticky ass hammock and typed out the last few words of my interview with Canadian indie-dance band Fevers . They left me with this bit of foreshadowing: "New music coming soon-we promise." I closed my computer, peeled myself from the hammock and headed into the house with pleasant thoughts of new Fevers' songs dancing in my head. Days faded into weeks and months and I didn't spare much thought to new music from the band. I mean their Passion is Dead EP still rattled around in my head without tedium [...]
I don't remember too much about yesterday. I had one of those nasty head colds. It felt like I was at a move theater, watching my life up on the big screen. I wasn't so much a participant, just a casual observer. I think at one point I observed myself running for 17 miles. At another I drifted from one hospital pavilion to another (four times over) in the company of a bunch of pregnant women. There may have been a moment or two where I was walking on all fours pulling third rank in a pack that included an [...]
I took a walk late at night last weekend. I intended to escape the killer night lights that are all too prevalent in this part of the world. I walked to the point where the glow faded into faint slivers of paint in an other wise pitch perfect sky. It is the point where a road drifts to nowhere. I thought I was alone. But tucked off in the back pasture, almost invisible to naked eye, was a badly torn up van. I could see movements inside. I figured I should check things out, see if anyone was in distress. [...]
"I was just a kid when I found out how cruel the world could be faded pictures from forgotten times of endless misery. I lit a candle but I could not know why." -Dillinger Four (from their song "Hand Made Hard Times Handed Back") A few years back there was a kid I came to know through three second intervals in the school cafeteria. I would always see him sitting off by himself eating a bag of chips and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. We would look at each, he would smile and I would [...]
JAN - Work For The City from Enclaves Music on Vimeo . JAN aka Kim Talon, of Los Angeles duo Eagle & Talon , is preparing for her debut solo album. The 12 track album was recorded under the hand of John Goodmanson (Blonde Redhead, the Gossip, Sleater-Kinney) last year in Seattle. It received a limited digital release last fall. The full release will take place next month (June 17th via Enclaves Music). Last week a video for the first single, "Work for the City", was released. It finds JAN [...]
I find that a lot of Vegetarian/Vegan restaurants fall into two categories. One is the restaurants that serve mainly vegetable dishes. These may include rich soups, vegetable sandwiches, whole grain breads, pastas and fresh salads. The other is one that models itself after meat restaurants but replaces all the meat with vegetarian/vegan alternatives. Sometimes I dig the first style. Sometimes the second. I really have no qualms about either. My friend D is all about the second style. He loves the fake meats, the tofus, tempehs, seitans of the world. He dislikes vegetables immensely (strange for a vegetarian but true). [...]
May 6-10 marks teacher appreciation week. It is a week to sit back and reflect on our favorite teachers of the past and the lessons they taught us. For teachers, it is a chance to eat a bunch of carbs and candy. It is also a chance to dress like Cyndi Lauper, Magnum P.I or Charlie's Angels and really freak your class out. So maybe every teacher isn't celebrating by doing the latter, but at our school we are. The PTA dubbed Monday 902s day. Everyone was encouraged to wear their flannel and Doc Martins and sing some Pearl Jam. [...]
I'm not much of a soda guy. I drink a can about every six months and usually it is because there is absolutely nothing else to drink wherever I am at (like hanging out with Africans in New Port Richey). My drinks of choices are water and the occasional Gatorade or Aloe Juice. When I was little, my drink of choice was easily milk. At birthday parties, while everyone else drank juice or soda, I would sneak off to the refrigerator and hope to god that the family throwing the party would have a carton (or jug) of skim milk sitting [...]
E-Dubble is to food flavored songs as marinade is to tofu . The two just go together, are needed by each other, in order to make things work. E-Dubble's latest foray into the world of food based phrases is "Big Ships". This track is the newest entry in E-Dubble's first Friday series in which he releases a track on the first Friday of the month. There's lots of drinking here, lots of smoking weed and a brief chance to let things "marinate."
Sometimes you crave one of those really sugary, super processed, chalky as hell protein bars. Sometimes you want something a little better for you. It is at those moments that I reach into my cupboard and look past the quick oats and protein powder. I have my sights set much further back in the pantry. It is here that I find my container of...quinoa?! Quinoa you say? That's right, quinoa. It packs more protein in a little bar than some of those commercially made protein bars. It also tastes much better. I first had a quinoa bar, surprisingly, will waiting [...]
I was walking the aisles at my local Asian Grocery store and I came across some nondescript video game. It was selling for slightly more than a shilling, so I figured I'd take it home and see what the game was all about. I loaded it into my computer and was surprised to see an unripe jackfruit appear on the screen. If you aren't of the know, unripe jackfruit is used sometimes in the cuisines from Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Thailand. It has a meat like taste (and consistency) which makes it a great vegan option for [...]
Sunday was a day of recovering made necessary by a chance encounter with John Galt. It occurred a few miles north of my apartment. I was running through fields of green littered with playing cards and fast food bags. Just outside of a high school, I saw the man standing there confused. I asked him if he needed help. He smiled at me, a strange crooked grin, and told me that his life has been one of trials. Through each one he has lived by the same words "Fight with the radiant certainty and the absolute rectitude of knowing that [...]
Chuck Knoblauch forgot how to throw to first base. Seems amazing that an athlete who had spent years perfecting the art of fielding could all of a sudden forget how to make that throw. But it is a real thing. It happened to me. I played church softball. I was an awesome outfielder, caught everything. My coach wanted me to play shortstop. I did fine for the first fifteen games or so. Then I made an error. All of a sudden I couldn't get the ball to the first baseman. I rolled it, I chucked it high, each one was [...]
Lola King & the Kickstarts aren't your typical indie rock band. First, they seem to have a sense of humor. I'm talking funny lyrics, performances in cars and pink guitars in the laundromat. There is more going on than the brooding, holier than thou, pseudo coolness that permeates way too many bands. Second, Lola puts her lyrics together in a way that is unparalleled in today's rock landscape. There is a sense of rhythm with the way she delivers and fits them together. It is like a hip-hop artist somehow got locked in an indie rock queen's body. I've [...]
Winston-Salem took major pride in Purple for the past week. It had nothing to do with the royals in town or spiritual fullfilment but everything to do with eating habits. A paint the town purple campaign was sponsored by the Novant Health Maya Angelou Woman's Health and Wellness Center. The goal of this campaign was to raise awareness about the obesity issues in the area. The wellness center intended to promote participation and discourse around ways to solve the obesity challenge that faced the area. To ensnare the locals, buildings were turned purple using special lighting. Petree Elementary got [...]
I have such a soft spot when it comes to mushroom risotto. If I am walking down the street and see a stray bowl of creamy risotto wondering around aimlessly with no owner in sight I will 10 times out of 10 take it in. This leads to some hectic craziness in my place. A few weeks back I had no less than eight bowls lounging around this cramped ass apartment. Thankfully it took me just a short amount of time to find them a good home. I don't think I could've lasted much longer. Currently we only [...]
What if you had a great friend who never went home for dinner and was involved in all aspects of your life? A friend who you played on street corners with and invited to Vietnam in order to incubate your music? Now imagine that same friend, was your twin sister. That is sort of what it is like for Brittany and Brooke Graeff who together form the band Good Graeff . Recently I had the chance to interview the sister's as part of our Baker’s Dozen Interview Series. We talked colors, pop up trailers, ukuleles, twin powers and [...]
I live for any holiday that gives me the opportunity to cook foods that I don't normally try. This year that holiday was Passover. Passover is a Jewish holiday that celebrates their liberation from ancient Egypt and the rule of the Pharaoh (you know the one where Moses parts the Red Sea). Typically the holiday is celebrated by eating unleavened bread. The story behind this is that when the Pharaoh freed the Israelites they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for their bread dough to rise. Thus Matzo is eaten during passover and it is a [...]
Write.Click.Cook.Listen
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