Many of my favorite college-era music-related memories were set at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. I wasn't a student there. In fact, it was a two hour drive from the University of Dayton where I was enrolled. Nonetheless, I would visit friends there often enough that I could likely qualify for an honorary degree. Initially, I'd go there to visit my friend Stacey when she was a freshman. Later on, my friends James, Megan and Lindsay all were enrolled there - providing me even more reasons to make the drive. Beyond those preexisting friends, after only a few visits, many [...]
If you live in America, and you're an only child, chances are you're kind of an anomoly. Growing up, I didn't know a lot of kids who didn't have at least one sibling. If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me, "So, what's it like being an only child?" I'd probably be living in my Tuscan villa right now. Are you out there? Only children? Kinfolk? I'm sorry to say but I don't know how to answer that question. It's like asking someone, "So, how does it feel, to have brown hair?" or "But how [...]
Sunsets and Hearts is the project of Austin, Texas-based, Mexican-American solo musician Car Gonzalez. Blending elements of disparate rock and electro sub-genres ranging from psychedelica, chillwave, experimental and pop, Gonzalez creates an immersive and occasionally ambient soundscape on his latest release, Altered Faze . Like tumbling down a rabbit hole and awaking in a dreamy, foreign landscape, Altered Faze initially unfolds with the shifting and ever-changing opener "Crystal Prisms v. Visible Light." It's an ambitious and intriguing introduction that discards traditional song structure. The track, like the rest of the album, demonstrates a notable focus on [...]
This little gem of bluesy rock n' roll found its way to my inbox the other day, and Kasey and I have been bopping around the kitchen to these twangy grooves and gritty rhythms ever since. The Record Company is a Los Angeles-based three piece that bang out Muddy Waters & John Lee Hooker inspired blues riffs on all of the traditional tools of the trade: pedal steel, bass, guitar, piano and harmonica. What can I say? It's a comfort recipe that never gets old. The Record Company - Don't Let Me Get Lonely [...]
I believe that everyone has a happy place. It's that place you can go to clear your head, breathe a little easier and take on life at a slower pace. The place where it is hard to not be happy. Of course, it doesn't have to be just one place, and sometimes that place changes. Before I lived in San Francisco, Yellow Springs, Ohio was my happy place. When I was a young kid I'd go hiking in John Bryan State Park with my brothers, I'd hang out with friends at the Cemetery Road covered bridge, and inhale [...]
Minimalism. It seems to be the theme for 2012. I've been reading all sorts of blog posts and articles about people cleaning out their inboxes, unsubscribing from mailing lists, unfollowing blogs, deleting their cable, uninstalling apps from their mobile devices, and throwing out unnecessary items. I've gone through occasional purges in my life: stepping away from social media, canceling magazine subscriptions, throwing out old clothes by the bin-ful, chopping off my hair. There is something cathartic about cleaning out your real and digital life. A clean slate makes us feel ready to take on more challenges, start something new, and [...]
Please give a warm welcome to our good friend Hannah who is taking over the Turntable today. Kasey and I met Hannah and her boyfriend Jeff a few months ago when we realized that we shared a ridiculously large number of similar interests. Hannah is the managing editor at Indie Shuffle - so, yeah, like me she is obsessed with music. She is also an insatiable foodie (something we can clearly relate to). Jeff is one half of the awesome Bread & Gin (alongside co-founder and video-guru Ji). Jeff and I have bonded over a shared love of brown liquor, [...]
![Kitchen Takeover (Cocktail Edition): 'The Heist' by Bread&Gin [VIDEO]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/3978136_lg.jpg)
I jokingly refer to our friends, Hannah and Jeff, as our doppelgangers. Hannah and I are both writers (professionally), but she's also a music blogger (she writes for the awesome music blog IndieShuffle ). Meanwhile, Jeff can whip up a mean kale salad and pasta carbonara, but he also shares Matt's love of vinyl and brown liquors and has a killer cocktail blog called Bread&Gin . Our meeting was star-crossed (between a number of mutual acquaintances, Twitter banter, etc.); we finally met up in real life at our favorite wine bar and have been friends ever since. [...]
I've been very eager to announce the featured artist for our latest (and long sold out) fourth Pairings Box. Well, the cat is finally our of the bag, and as many of our subscribers already know, we've teamed up with Cheerleader for the January Pairings Box! For the sake of the uninitiated: Cheerleader is the nom de guerre of Hartford, Connecticut duo Donovan Rex and Max Friday. I first fell in love with their music with the lo-fi cut "New Daze," the a-side on this month's limited edition, hand-numbered vinyl single, when the duo digitally released [...]
If you aren't already familiar with Jordan's blog, Oh Happy Day! , get ready to be smitten. An event planner and letterpress printer, Jordan moved her family (including her two kids and talented painter husband) to Paris, France for a year. Besides posting enviable stories about her life in France (picnics! bike rides! European adventures! macarons!), Jordan's blog is full of awesome crafty how-to's like making your own confetti , chocolate letter placecards , and piñatas . Want to have a party with a photobooth? Check out her printable photobooth props . Her blog [...]
We had an enormous dog growing up, with a mild-mannered name: Bonnie. There has been much debate amongst my family as to who actually came up with the name. I believe that my grandfather (Ded) would tell you that it was he who suggested we call our new dog Benny. When it became clear that Benny was going to be a girl (the waitlist for a Bouvier Des Flanders puppy in Red Bank, New Jersey is quite long, so you take what you get), we made a minor update to the name. I loved Bonnie unconditionally even [...]
OK, I know that New Year's resolutions are cheesy. It doesn't help that they are so easy to break either. Like most people, I've broken far more than I've ever kept. Still, I argue that there is never a bad time or bad reason to try to make yourself better - and the start of a new year is as good of an excuse as any to do just that. And as easy as New Year's resolutions are to break, they aren't hopeless. For my part, I've had a few big ones that actually stuck. Many years ago I resolved [...]
(full list of Top 30 Albums with MP3s below comments) Comments A recent New York Times article (sent to me by my friend Lindsey) sizes up the "mainstream rock music" in 2011 and concludes that "2011 may well be remembered as the most numbing year for mainstream rock music in history." To be honest, I've thought that every year since the nineties were bad years for mainstream rock. Although mainstream rock has grown boring, 2011 was a fine year for everyone else in pretty much all genres of music (including [...]
It is 2012. Honestly, when I think about that, my mind is blown. After all, I was raised in the 802s when hearing Prince sing that "We're going to party like it's 19993 made me contemplate how mind-bending and bizarre parties would be in the far distant future. A future that came to be about 13 years ago now. So yeah, saying "the year twenty twelve" still feels like talking about a far off time that has yet to happen. Future sounding or not, it is when we are as I write this. So [...]
This is usually the time of year when each new day is full of hope. The new year is full of possibilities. New jobs, friends, fitness goals, diets, weddings, babies, home redesigns. Cleansing. 2011 was a particularly reflective year for me. In some ways, I struggled through adulthood. I started the year with a new job that I love, after working a job that I did not love. In 2011, three of my good friends had babies . That changed things a lot. Matt and I launched the Pairings Box . It took over our nights [...]
The end of the year is very nearly here and so we continue our year end coverage here on Turntable Kitchen. In that context, this year saw the release of a number of great EPs (many of which can be considered debut EPs) by several great up and coming bands. The Top EPs List shouldn't be thought of as an appetizer to the Top Albums of 2011 list. Indeed, some of these EPs would fit in comfortably on any year end list regardless of whether they were competing against full length albums. We previously posted Turntable Kitchen's [...]
When the folks over at ModCloth asked us to create a New Year's Eve party recipe and playlist, we started thinking about what makes a great holiday party. Obviously, great drinks, appetizers and music are key to setting the atmosphere. Today, we're sharing a simple and refreshing recipe for Citrus-Cured Salmon Lavash Crisps over on the ModCloth blog , along with our New Year's Eve party playlist (created by Matt). Go on and check it out ! Speaking of New Year's, we hope you have a sparkly and safe one. Here's to a 2012 [...]
1. Fresh Strawberry Margaritas via How Sweet it Is 2. Heidi Swanson's Blood Orange Gin Sparkler 3. Rosemary Gin Fizz from Kate of Cookie + Kate 4. Glogg via The New York Times 5. Jen Altman's Black-Spiced Rum Eggnog via Design*Sponge After spending a relaxing week in Ohio with Matt's family, we're back to our foggy little city by the Bay. As our plane descended through a thick layer of clouds last night, I gazed out over the vast stretch of land and sea, and thought to myself that [...]
October 18 th is always a special day of the year for me as a result of it being my wife's birthday. This year it got a little extra dose of special when – in addition to it being our first time celebrating her birthday as a married couple – it saw the release of not one, but two of the best albums of 2011. The epic double-album Hurry Up, We're Dreaming by M83, and the understated Days by Real Estate, have been helping to end a pretty great year in music on a very high note. [...]
In terms of quality and quantity, The Weeknd have been ridiculously generous in their output this year. Having previously released two excellent free mixtapes, they're ending the year on a high note with the release of Echoes of Silence . It's not as consistently strong as House of Balloons , but it certainly offers a welcome and substantial escape from all of the Christmas carols bombarding us over the holidays. The Weeknd - Dirty Diana (Michael Jackson Cover) The Weeknd - XO / The Host The [...]
Turntable Kitchen
Avicii – Two Million
Video: M83 – “Reunion”
Check Out: Los Campesinos! – “Tiptoe Through the True Bits”
