As mentioned previously in this space, Matador will be celebrating the label’s 21st anniversary this October and this much we can finally confirm : there will be 3 nights of shows starting Friday October 1, and concluding Sunday October 3 at the Palms Casino & Resort In Las Vegas, NV. We’ll be dropping further hints about the amazing lineup in the days ahead, but a final announcement and information about how to purchase tickets will be made here at the trusty Matablog on July 5. Are you as psyched as we are? (hopefully yes, because we’re getting in for free).
(ADDENDUM – there’s been a bit of confusion so just to clear things up, tickets DO NOT GO ON SALE JULY 5. We’ll merely be announcing the on sale date/time on July 5. thanks – GC)
It’s too hot to cook. It was 96 degrees F today in New York City! Here are a couple of non-labor-intensive dishes. Above is a pre-made, but very fresh, salad mix from a purveyor at the Union Square Greenmarket whose name escapes at the moment. It includes snow pea leaves, a variety of bitter greens, and flowers. I tried to do as little damage as possible with a small amount of good olive oil and red wine vinegar.
The illustration below shows Ruth Rogers’s very simple carbonara from her River Cafe cookbook. It uses 3 egg yolks beaten into 60 ml double cream, and emerges flawless every time – much lighter and creamier than Marcella Hazan’s version. I enlivened it with some freshly shelled peas – boiled, drained and sprinkled on top at the end.
Today Gorilla vs Bear drops the hammer on a third video from Harlem’s Hippies (which can/should be purchased here). The “Someday Soon” video was directed by Aaron Brown and Ben Chappell (Focus Creeps).
Harlem take it to the people in the USA again starting this weekend, supporting The Dead Weather on the bulk of the dates:
June
Friday 25 – Tucson, AZ – Plush
Saturday 26 – Costa Mesa, CA – Detroit Bar
Tuesday 29 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent
July
Friday 02 – Seattle, WA – Sunset Tavern
Saturday 03 – Vancouver, BC – 917 Main
Sunday 04 – Portland, OR – East End
Friday 09 - Los Angeles, CA – Echo (Part Time Punks)
Saturday 10 – San Diego, CA – Bar Pink
Tuesday 13 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club w/The Dead Weather
Wednesday 14 - Boston, MA – House of Blues Boston w/The Dead Weather
Saturday 17 – Brooklyn, NY – Siren Fest
Monday 19 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues San Diego w/The Dead Weather
Wednesday 21 - Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium w/The Dead Weather
Thursday 22 – San Francisco, CA – Warfield Theatre w/The Dead Weather
Saturday 24 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom w/The Dead Weather
Sunday 25 – Seattle, WA – Capitol Hill Block Party Festival w/The Dead Weather
Monday 26 – Billings, MT – Babcock Theatre w/The Dead Weather
Wednesday 28 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue w/The Dead Weather
Thursday 29 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave w/The Dead Weather
Friday 30 - Chicago, IL – The Congress Theater w/The Dead Weather
Saturday 31 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore – Detroit w/The Dead Weather
August
Monday 02 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live! w/The Dead Weather
Tuesday 03 – Brooklyn, NY – Prospect Park Bandshell – Celebrate Brooklyn w/The Dead Weather
Saturday 07 – Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza & Empty Bottle w/Wavves
September
Thursday 09-11 – Raleigh, NC – Hopscotch Fest
As you might’ve seen reported elsewhere, Interpol recently announced a September release date for their long-awaited, eponymous 4th album, the badly kept-secret portion of said scoop being that Matador would once again, be the band’s record label in North America after a one album stopover at Capitol Records. We’ll have more details soon about the different configurations available, pre-order info, etc. but can reveal the Alan Moulder-mixed ‘Interpol’ (CD/LP/digital) will be released on September 7, a week earlier than originally reported. Though an MP3 has already been in circulation, today marks the debut of the above video for “Lights”, directed by Charlie White.
In the wake of bassist Carlos D’s departure from the band following the completion of the new album, Paul, Daniel and Sam have augmented Interpol’s touring lineup to included David Pajo (Slint, Papa M, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) on bass and Secret Machines’ Brandon Curtis on keyboards. The new quintet will be on display starting tonight in Pittsburgh, with a number of additional dates just confirmed this morning. Though you can expect to see Interpol playing a ton of other North American cities this Autumn, the smaller club dates below are likely to sell out quickly.
June :
Wednesday, June 23 – Pittsburgh, PA Mr. Smalls Theatre
Friday, June 25 – Allentown, PA Crocodile Rock
Saturday, June 26 – New York, NY, Creators Project Party, Milk Studios
Friday, July 23 – Northampton, MA – Pearl Street Ballroom*
Saturday, July 24 – New Haven, CT – Toad’s Place – +
Sunday, July 25 – Baltimore, MD – Ramshead Live – *
Thursday, July 29 – Richmond, VA – The National – +
Friday, July 30 – Norfolk, VA – The NorVA – +
Saturday, July 31 – Atlantic City, NJ – Showboat Atlantic City – House of Blues – #
Wednesday, August 04 – Montclair, NJ – Wellmont Theatre – +
Thursday, August 05 – Boston, MA – House of Blues – +
Friday, August 06 – Clifton Park, NY – Northern Lights – #
Monday, August 09 – Montreal, QC – Metropolis – #
Tuesday, August 10 – Toronto ON – Kook Haus – @
Wednesday, August 11 – Pontiac, MI – Clutch Cargo -+
Friday, August 13 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave – #
Saturday, August 14 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue – *
Sunday, August 15 – Chicago, IL – Vic Theatre – #
Wednesday, August 18 – Charleston, SC – The Music Farm – +
Thursday August 19 – Lake Buena Vista FL – House of Blues – #
@ – on sale June 23
* – on sale June 24
+ – on sale June 25
# – on sale June 26
Yesterday, we dropped a bit of a bombshell (said in Lee “Hacksaw” Hamilton voice), revealing the Monday release of the full length debut from Seattle songwriter/vocalist Mike Hadreas, aka Perfume Genius, ‘Learning’. It’s usually our habit to drop an MP3 or two prior to commercial availability and while we hardly regret embracing the element of surprise, at the end of the day, we are creatures of habit.
“Heartbreaking, rip-your-toenails out bleakness is part of the charm…a fragile, fucked-up little wonder.” (9/10), Camille Pia, NME
“‘Learning’ is a bruised and suggestive affair; of catharsis and rare, redemptive beauty, which ranks as one of the most uniquely endearing and quietly forceful debut albums of recent years.” (9/10), James Skinner, Drowned In Sound
Today, Monday June 21*, Matador is releasing the debut full-length album (LP/CD/digital) from Seattle’s Mike Hadreas, aka Perfume Genius. ‘Learning’ is a home recording as stark, haunting and downright jarring as any we’ve heard ; harrowing personal stories laid atop unshakable minor-key melodies, we’ve been obsessed with Hadreas’ songs for months and have a sneaking suspicion more than a few of you will have a similar reaction. Actually, a cursory trip around the the internet reveals all sorts of reactions, and while it would be tempting to cobble together the long and varied list of iconic artists Perfume Genius has already been compared to, none of that means anything compared to laying in bed listening to ‘Learning’ at 2am. If you’d prefer to go for a drive while playing the album, that’s ok, too. We’re not here to police your activity.
You can stream ‘Learning’ starting today at the Perfume Genius MySpace page. There are a pair of Perfume Genius shows in NYC next month ;
Tue, July 20 – 92Y, Tribeca, NY, NY (tickets)
Fri, July 23 – Glasslands, Brooklyn, NY (with Melati Malay) (tickets)
A good friend of mine (who I once upon a time put on shows with) runs a venue over here in the UK down in Brighton, but sadly the venue is under threat of closure due to noise complaints (but actually there has only been one in the past 12 months) made to the local council.
They are looking to enforce a noise limiter on the venue which would mean any amplified equipment played would trip the limiter and effectively end all live music at the Freebutt.
Over the years they’ve had a load of Matador bands play, with Fucked Up and Times New viking having played there recently and they’ve booked the Brighton show of the upcoming Shearwater tour, so it means a lot to us here to not see such a decent place go under. Although many of you reading this might be far away I’d urge you to take 2 minutes out of your day to sign the petition against this happening here and you can read more about the story on the Freebutt’s blog. Thanks!
I posted some time ago about Marcella Hazan‘s extremely simple (and not particularly Italian) roast chicken recipe. I make this all the time and have refined the procedure a bit. The result is absolute perfection these days.
Here’s the modified recipe – the key is to observe the ratio of weight to cooking time to the letter, to really loosen and puncture the lemons (whose purpose I now understand better), and to follow the trussing instructions to a tee. The addition of good paprika adds a really nice color and a smoky undertone. The higher temperature at the end leaves you with a really golden-brown, crackly skin – just be sure to disable the smoke detector before that part.
one 2.85 – 3.85 lb whole chicken (preferably Murray’s)
two small lemons
good, fresh Hungarian semi-sharp paprika (e.g. from The Spice House)
coarse sea salt or kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
butcher twine
trussing needle
Preheat oven to 350 F. Remove giblets and neck, pat chicken completely dry with paper towels, both inside and out. Put two tablespoons salt in a mortar, add a generous dump of the semi-sharp paprika, and a good amount of freshly ground black pepper. Grind with pestle. Season chicken thoroughly all over, inside and out. (You don’t need to use all the seasoning – it may get too salty – just make sure you have covered with a thin layer.)
Wash and dry lemons, then loosen their insides by rolling them with both hands pressed firmly on top until you can feel that the juice is flowing. Pierce them deeply all over at least 20 times each with the trussing needle. Insert into cavity of chicken.
Sew chicken closed with 18″ twine. If lemons don’t quite fit, use skin flaps and the pope’s nose to close the gap (I never remove any fat). Sew tightly. Truss legs tightly together so that they are pressed firmly against the breast (you may need the help of someone’s finger to get the knot right).
Place chicken upside-down (legs facing DOWN) in a glass baking dish and put in oven. Cook for 30 minutes at 350.
Remove chicken from oven and rapidly turn over (legs facing UP). Return to oven and cook for an additional 30 minutes (for a 3-3.85 lb chicken) or for an additional 25 minutes (for an under-3 lb chicken).
Now turn heat up to 450. Cook for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and carve. Save the juices that run onto the carving board and pour them over the chicken (and over the white rice, which I strongly recommend serving with this dish) – they are “perfectly delicious,” to quote Marcella.
Note: No basting is needed! Again, to quote Marcella, “This bird is self-basting.”
I’m not certain why this recipe is always such a success, but I think it’s due to the following:
- The salt opens the pores inside the cavity
- The punctured lemons inside the trussed-up cavity baste the upside-down breast in the first phase, keeping it moist
- The trussed legs protect the breast from drying out on the other side
- Because the breast is both moist and protected, it’s possible to cook the dark meat to the degree required for doneness
- The paprika lends the skin an appetizing reddish-brown color – appearance is a huge part of what makes things tasty!
Ted Leo‘s solo instore at Generation Records in the Village tonight was a huge success, rammed to the gills and featuring a full hour plus set. Ted played pre- and post- Pharmacists songs, including “One Polaroid A Day,” “Ativan Eyes” and “The Mighty Sparrow” from his latest album The Brutalist Bricks. Ted also played Misfits, Eddie & The Hot Rods and Nick Lowe covers. It was one of the packed-est (and hottest) instores I’ve been to in some time, and the crowd was riveted.
Don’t miss TL&RX dates coming up starting in Milford CT (easily reachable via Metro North, as Ted pointed out) tomorrow night – check the tours pages for more details. And keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming video for “Bottled In Cork” directed by Tom Scharpling. It promises to be memorable.
While at Generation we noticed some classic record store graffiti behind the counter that we had to photograph. Enjoy.
By truepanthersounds on Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
True Panther is incredibly excited to announce that on August 24th Magic Kids‘ debut album Memphis will see the bright, gleaming and summery light of day. Recorded in the Memphis studio of Doug Easley over the course of several months it is an attempt to re-frame the city, not as the home of musical eras long-gone, but a place where crumbling neighborhoods hidden BBQ places, and closed-down roller rinks are all enveloped by a thick summer air, and a sense of MAGIC.
What Magic Kids share with last century’s masters- Jeff Lynne, Brian Wilson, Van Dyke Parks– is a belief in the promise of the pop song; in the ability to take a tiny and simple melodic gem, a small moment of wide-eyed sincerity, and translate it into something that is bursting with life. The arrangements and colors hinted at with their singles on Goner and Fat Possum, are in full bloom on the album. There are touches of late 80s Britpop, the Delphonics’ heartbreaking harmonies, ELO’s grandeur, and Belle & Sebastian’s intimacy. And MEMPHIS. While home to artists that range across genres- the music of the city is honest, robust and joyful- often made by iconoclastic, rebellious and larger-than life musicians. This is the Memphis where Magic Kids were born, where Bennett, Al, Ben, Michael, and Will grew up playing in garage bands, hanging around Goner Records and listening to records. It’s also the city that houses the orchestra of musicians they called upon to realize the sound and ambitions planned for this new collection of songs.
Memphis reminds us of some of the first exciting moments of becoming a lifelong music listener. The excitement, sounds, lush harmonies, and celebration. Their music isn’t positive because of the difficulties of life, but in spite of them. They are close to our hearts because they believe that no matter what the circumstances are, deliberate hard work and ambition mixed with joyous honesty still make it possible to craft classic, beautiful, and eternal pop music.
This first song “Summer” is a slightly more restrained and nuanced than what you may have heard before. In the words of the band “this song isn’t ‘fun in the summertime’ kind of summer, but more the wistful, fighting-loneliness-with-your-friends kind of summer.” We felt like sharing this one because honestly, it’s torture watching summer days blaze by without people having this mellow anthem at their disposal. So here we go. Enjoy the summer!
Magic Kids- Summer (mp3)
Pre-order Memphis HERE (and get a free poster and 10% off) On-Tour with Ariel Pink this Summer
Harlem’s terrific 2nd LP/CD ‘Hippies’ came out a few months ago, and while the trio are completing their first European tour and getting ready to play the big barns stateside with The Dead Weather, we’re entering what we in the professional rock biz like to call “Phase 2″ of the project. What is “Phase 2″, you ask? Simple. We start linking to awesome looking content that someone has created. How does this differ from Phase 1? To tell you the truth, it’s really a matter of tone. If you were sitting next to me right now, I’d like WAY more enthusiastic than you’d be comfortable with — imagine one of those 5 Hour Energy commercials gone horribly wrong.
I think this is one of those occasions where you’re just gonna have to enjoy a great video clip and look forward to seeing Coomers, Curtis and Jose in person very soon. It’s not that I think you’re delicate or something, but I suspect you really don’t wanna know how the sausages are made.
Get excited about The New Pornographer’s coming Together again to play on tour. Planning on getting Together before the show? How about with the band? The Together theme just keeps trucking along, and we’re proud to announce Together Soundcheck Sessions. What’s this mean? The New Pornographers have partnered up with key blogs, radio stations, and record stores to run special contests in some lucky participating cities – for your chance to win the full Together package. This tour’s together package offers VIP tickets to the show that evening, and passes for your early arrival to check out soundcheck, and meet the band. The following cities and their giveaway hosts are listed below. Stop by your retail store, tune in to your radio station, or click through to the local media presenter… everyone’s on board, coming Together, to bring you… well, Together!
Additionally, we are proud to announce a new NY date as the Terminal 5 NYC show has been SOLD OUT, this newly confirmed date is at the Bell House in Brooklyn for this coming Sunday, June 20th, as part of this promotion. Tickets are on sale today.
There has been some complaining that the hot dog pics were making people feel too hungry or something, so I’ve uploaded this instructional placeholder image to bump them down to the next level. The person who was complaining sometimes looks like the guy with the tongue out in the middle, so hopefully this will offer some kind of matablog solace.
Summer means hot dog season. I happened to be travelling around Western Mass., which is a hotbed for certain kinds of dogs (where New England intersects with the upstate New York types), so I stopped by a few well-known shacks.
In the Pioneer Valley, the foot-long dog rules, served of course in top-loaded New England style buns. Tom’s Hot Dogs in Whately, Mass. offers a steamed-foot-long, as shown above. I had one with yellow mustard and onion, one with ketchup and relish. Their homemade baked beans are also superb, redolent of molasses and flecked with pork and spices.
Not far away, in Leeds, Mass., is Scotti’s, housed in a long, twin-peaked roadside building. Scotti’s serves the same steamed franks (what brand are these?), but the recommended toppings here are chili and cheese:
The cheese is just very slightly melted from contact with the hot dog and the hot chili. The bun is not heated, grilled or steamed at all (very different from what you’d find in coastal New England). It’s absolutely delicious, the dog’s natural casing bursting with a crisp snap, and the aromatic chili and cheese just folding right in.
About an hour away, across the hills into the Berkshires, you can find the highly idiosyncratic Teo’s Hotdog Restaurant. Located off the highway in a difficult-to-find, nondescript strip mall, Teo’s is actually a super-real blue collar bar that also serves hot dogs. MINI-hot dogs:
It’s normal to order 6-8 of these, and wash them down with an ice-cold Bud served in a chilled goblet. All the other diners gave every impression of having eaten there every Thursday for the past 20 years. The dogs came in top-loaded buns (which surprised me this close to New York State) with a fine, bitter chili and onion topping.
When I returned to the city I found myself possessed with the desire to make hot dogs. For some reason I bought top-loaded buns (which I do love) but Sabrett’s hot dogs. Sabrett’s are classic NYC all-beef wieners, the kind you get from stands around the city. When I first moved to New York in the ’80s, Gerard, who had been living here for a couple of years, had become a hot dog connoisseur, and explained to me that the stands mainly sold two brands: Sabrett’s and Golden “D”. He preferred Sabrett’s, as do I, and told me that the brand on the stand’s umbrella could be misleading: you need to look at the brand on the sticker on the side of the stand. I’m not sure whether this rule still holds. In fact, I’m not sure that Golden “D” hot dogs are still made. I still love Sabrett’s dogs, and unlike most of my friends and co-workers, am happy to get a “grey-water dog” from a stand around town, loaded up with brown mustard and sauerkraut and served on a steamed side-loading bun.
ANYWAY, I decided to grill the buns in butter like we do in Eastern Mass. and in Maine. Loaded ‘em up with the Sabrett’s dogs, which you cook by dropping into boiling water, bringing back to a boil, covering, and letting sit off the heat for 7 minutes. The first toppings I used were French’s yellow mustard, ketchup and sweet relish, plus a side of bread and butter pickles:
Although the St. Peter’s ale washed them down just fine, there was something schizophrenic about having a salty, garlicky all-beef New York hot dog with yellow mustard, ketchup and relish in a buttery, grilled New England roll!
Even the best hot dogs are really condiment delivery systems, so I pulled out everything I had in the fridge, including an extra large sack of super-adulterated, heavily flavored Sabrett’s sauerkraut:
(Actually I forebore from pulling out European mustards, including two superb Irish ones that Fiona gave me – just seemed the wrong place for them.)
The magical combination for these dogs turned out to be the Sabrett’s sauerkraut with Mr. Mustard’s HOT mustard:
Love the design of that Mr. Mustard label. And of course, I steamed the buns this time – simply by putting them into a steaming steamer for about 45 seconds and then removing them with a pair of tongs.
This has been a brief survey of just a couple types of Northeastern hot dogs. There are of course many, many varieties nationwide, from Coney Islands to Michigans to char polishes. Serious Eats is doing a nationwide survey of them. I’m just going to name and link some of my favorite places:
Boston: First place mention has to go to the legendary Speed’s Hot Dogs. But I’m also a huge fan of The Wieners Circle on North Clark. It even has its own Wikipedia entry now. Just heaven (and basically an entire salad) on a roll – one that magically holds together with perfect proportions and explosions of flavor.
Los Angeles: California dogs are wonderful. My favorite in SoCal was Tail o’ the Pup, located in a building actually shaped like a hot dog. With typical lack of respect for their cultural heritage, the Californians have actually evicted the place. The structure has been put in storage for now. WTF? It’s not like they don’t have enough space down there. Not that New York is much better about this kind of thing (see: Gino’s Italian Cuisine closing… to be replaced by a cupcake place called Sprinkles???!?! O tempora, o mores…)
Sorry for the blatant Twitterhustle, but gimme a follow at @MatadorPress. I realize you follow all sorts of Matador Twittors, but I promise mine will feature minimal retweets/overtweets/asides, exclusive content, quality links, plus contests, candid photos, and the occasional artist semi-nude (watch your back, Eisold). Plus all followers of a certain date pre-Oct 1 will get a 21st anniversary-related FREE GIFT. Free! Gift! And — scene.
HI. Most of you are probably aware by now that it’s soccer season. Soccer season occurs when actual soccer season is over, and the world cup happens. Another thing that happens is charity soccer games. We are involved in one next week, and it’s like this:
Right To Play is an international organization aimed at empowering and building skills of children in the developing world through sport, focusing specifically on girls, people with disabilities, children affected with HIV/AIDS, refugees and street kids. The organization uses soccer in 23 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America to promote things like education, health promotion and disease prevention, and community development.
When people say “sports are stupid”, besides the fact that sports are in fact mostly great, this is one of the ways they are actually important as well. Sport is something that touches people everywhere on the planet, and is as culturally prevalent and important as music. The ridiculous global lead up to the world cup this year should help explain what I mean. Kids everywhere in the world want to lead happy and productive lives, and in most cases just want to play soccer.
Anyhow, we’re taking part in a NXNE soccer (football) game next week to benefit Right To Play – a bunch of music people are playing against a bunch of industry people (you can see the lineup HERE) including Rick The Temp. Players are being sponsored individually to raise money, so if this sounds like the kind of thing that might be up your alley, you can go
to donate money, even if its like $5, or even if you are reading this blog in Djibouti on vacation.
And/Also if you are in Toronto, you can come watch the game. It’s Sunday June 20th at BMO Field.
The rock world has seen all sorts of momentous reunions no one would’ve predicted recently. Sammy Hager and Michael Anthony. DRI. The Faces with original vocalist Mick Hucknall and bassist Glen Matlock (hey, look it up!). But I feel very safe in saying none of the above pack the punch of the following newsflash : Original Pavement drummer Gary Young (above) will be behind the kit, accompanying SM, Spiral, Mark Ibold, Steve West and Bob Nastanovich on Thursday, June 24 at Stockton, CA”s Bob Hope Theatre. You know, the same Stockton concert somebody who may or may not edit this blog used as a cheap excuse to pick on a hardworking reporter who was just trying to do his job. Tickets are still available, but they won’t be forever. You might wanna think about flying in.
Rather than a Tele? Seriously? A couple of years back, we received some scathing correspondence from one aggrieved entrepreneur who couldn’t believe Chan Marshall refused to autograph some cheap-as-fuck Charvel Jackson monstrosity he’d planned to flip on eBay. A cursory glance at this crank’s eBay listings revealed all sorts of aberrant auctions, including a Gary Numan autographed acoustic guitar. With all due respect to Mr. Numan, he’s not exactly Bert Jansch.
Anyhow, it was that exchange that came to mind when I saw the auction above earlier today. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has an unusually impressive c.v. ; offspring of Miss Lillian, brother to beer magnate Billy, Nobel Peace Prize winner, his tireless work for Habitat For Humanity, inspiration for one of the great pop recordings of the last century, etc…..but playing the guitar was not high on the list. When can we look forward to an auction featuring an Obama-inked B.C. Rich Warlock?
After a steady stream of remixes for Cold Cave’s “Life Magazine”, a vinyl piece collecting each of them is available in stores now. We’ve to date witnessed Pantha Du Prince, Arthur Baker, Optimo and Delorean take a crack at manipulating “Life Magazine”‘s elements through each of their unique visions. The final track on the EP is Cold Cave member, Dominick Fernow’s ecstatic arrangement under the nom-de-plume of his longstanding project, Prurient.
I recently saw one of the above singles hanging up in the merch tent at a European festival date and thought to myself, “what a horrible shame Harlem’s legion of fans back home will be unable to claim this artifact”. As it turns out, however, I was wrong wrong wrong, and the new 7″ on the Female Fantasy label, “LSD Saves” b/w “Mood Ring” — both songs unavailable on the recent ‘Hippies’ LP/CD — is in stock and available RIGHT NOW from the Matador Store and Matador Direct. (BIG SIGH OF RELIEF)
Seems slightly paradoxical, but in many cultures around the world, a hot spicy soup is the cure for those who are particularly averse to these stifling summer days. As the streets around Matador’s office become more and more steamy, providence informed that I post my take on a classic heirloom recipe that I discovered several months agone in Eric Hites’ essential ‘Everybody Loves Ramen: Recipes, Stories, Games, & Fun Facts About the Noodles You Love’. The publishers do not exaggerate, in this, “The Perfect Gift for The Graduate” the harmony you’ll find with instant ramen, between affordability and exquisiteness is elegant, and indeed, perfect.
Taking a slight left turn from Hines’ procedure, I find that Nissin’s “Cup Noodles” are superior to the standard brick-shaped “Top Ramen” packets. It’s easier to monitor the noodles, keeping them slightly al dente to enhance their natural nuttiness. The cups also feature much lusher dehydrated vegetables — sweeter corn, crunchier carrots, crispier peas. The broth fresher, more savory. While many prefer the chicken and beef flavors, I’ve taken a certain fondness toward the shrimp variety. It’s a classic and it came as no surprise to learn that in Japan, the shrimp flavor is simply termed “Plain” (though, the complexity in flavor is far from it). The more nouveau permutations of these favorings (Salsa Picante, Spicy Chile, etc) should stay on the shelf.
I find that there is a simple, yet delicate procedures that take a little bit of practice to get the perfect noodles.
I’ve taken a slightly unique approach to flavoring the soup. Add 3-5 dashes of classic Tobasco sauce — more if you’re feeling a little adventurous. I had to venture over to Williamsburg Brooklyn’s C-Town to find this variety as it’s become rarer and rarer to find in certain stores. But trust me, the trek was worth it: the combination of the slight sweet vinegary-bite (derived from the Tobasco company’s aging process) and the relatively moderate Scoville scale rating do not only contribute a slight tang, but I’ve found it draws out the natural umami flavors from the broth powder and baby shrimp. I’ve tried other hot sauces (Tapatio, Crystal, Frank’s, Sriracha, etc) which often yield interesting results, but I suggest that novices start with the “original”.
It is essential that you apply the Tobasco PRIOR to adding the boiling water so as to allow it to coat the noodles throughout the cup, otherwise, you’ll encounter an irregular bite. I’ve found that letting the hot sauce-soaked noodles marinate for a few minutes increases the evenness in flavor.
Bring several cups of water to a slow, rolling boil in a tea kettle or small sauce pan. As soon as the water begins to boil, turn the burner off and let the water cool to about 85-90 °C
Follow the directions closely on the packaging (lift portion of lid, fill water to line and let sit for 3-5 minutes). I’ve found the perfect time to be about 3 minutes and 23 seconds.
I paired my noodles with a 2008 Touraine La Tesniere. Wooden or ivory chopsticks are the preferred eating implements, but I’ve also found that using a plastic fork can also add to the traditional experience of enjoying your noodles. Sip the broth directly from the styrophone cup, as it rolls across your palate, the epiphany in flavor can be described as nothing short of nirvana.
Live in a fairly sizable metropolitan area, or Bloomington? If so, there’s a good chance Kurt Vile will be stopping in your town in the next few weeks with Square Shells EP atop the merch tables (it’s also available in stores). Have a great weekend!
Sat-Jun-05 Seattle, WA High Dive w/ The Sadies
Sun-Jun-06 Bellingham, WA Wild Buffalo w/ The Sadies
Mon-Jun-07 Portland, OR Doug Fir w/ The Sadies
Fri-Jun-11 San Francisco, CA Slims w/ Woods
Sat-Jun-12 Big Sur, CA Henry Miller Library / Woodsist Festival
Mon-Jun-14 Santa Barbara, CA Jensen’s w/ Woods
Tue-Jun-15 Los Angeles, CA Echoplex – Woodsist Festival
Fri-Jun-18 Brooklyn, NY Union Pool w/ The Mad Scene, Meg Baird
Fri-Jul-09 New York, NY Le Poisson Rouge w/ Real Estate
Sat-Jul-10 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell’s w/ Real Estate
Sun-Jul-11 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda’s w/ Real Estate
Mon-Jul-12 Baltimore, MD Ottobar w/ Real Estate
Tue-Jul-13 Pittsburgh, PA Garfield Artworks w/ Real Estate
Wed-Jul-14 Cleveland, OH Beachland Tavern w/ Real Estate
Thu-Jul-15 Bloomington, IN The Bishop w/ Real Estate
Sat-Jul-17 Chicago, IL Pitchfork Music Festival
Mon-Jul-19 Detroit, MI Magic Stick w/ Real Estate
Tue-Jul-20 Toronto, ON The Great Hall w/ Real Estate
Wed-Jul-21 Ottawa, ON Babylon w/ Real Estate
Thu-Jul-22 Montreal, QC Il Motore w/ Real Estate
Fri-Jul-23 Boston, MA Harpers Ferry w/ Real Estate
Sat-Jul-24 New Haven, CT Lilly Pad w/ Real Estate
Tue-Aug-10 Charlottesville, VA Jefferson Theatre w/ Deerhunter
Fri-Aug-13 Boston, MA Royale Nightclub w/ Deerhunter
Sat-Aug14 Northampton, MA Pearl Street w/ Deerhunter
Delorean are back in the States for another round of dates this month! The tour kicks off in NYC tonight and tomorrow, with a couple of sold out shows at Piano’s and Glasslands. If you haven’t gotten a ticket don’t feel totally despondent, they’re doing a couple of dj gigs (one late-night tonight and one midday tomorrow) and will be back for a series of awesome shows in July, at significantly bigger venues. DJ flyers below, tour dates way below.
Also, Mad Decent posted a great Banana Clipz remix of “Stay Close” today.Perfect Friday-afternoon Cumbia vibes. Download it HERE
TOUR DATES Fri Jun 4 NYC, NY @ Piano’s w/MNDR
Sat Jun 5 Brooklyn, NY @ Glasslands w/Restless People, Million Young
Sun Jun 6 Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey*
Tue Jun 8 Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios*
Thu Jun 10 San Francisco, CA @Popscene*
Fri Jun 11 Los Angeles, CA @The Echo*
Sat Jul 10 NYC, NY @The Bowery Ballroom w/Tanlines, Glasser
We’re super-excited to announce the launch of the new website for our imprint label TRUE PANTHER SOUNDS, run by the estimable Dean Bein. Home of Girls, Delorean, Magic Kids, Glasser, Lemonade, Tanlines, Hunx and His Punx and many other exciting and varied artists, True Panther continues to startle us daily with the length and breadth of Dean’s vision & taste. From Sierra Leone to Nashville, from the Basque Country to San Francisco, True Panther is a wonderfully joyful and anarchic dip into today’s music. Check it out:
True Panther has lots of small releases and a few big releases every year. This year’s True Panther big releases are new albums from DELOREAN (Subiza, released a few weeks ago), MAGIC KIDS (coming later this summer), and GLASSER (out this fall). Keep your eyes peeled.
The New Pornographers return with the second video from Together (buy the album here). This one kicks ass too, but with added whimsy. The video was directed by Sammy Rawal, and Pitchfork has the launch:
Also, on the heels of an appearance at last weekend’s Sasquatch Festival, the band will hit the road in short order:
June
Monday 07 – Calgary, AB – MacEwan Hall w/Mountain Goats
Tuesday 08 – Edmonton, AL Edmonton Event Centre w/Mountain Goats
Wednesday 09 – Saskatoon, SK – The Odeon Events Center w/Mountain Goats
Thursday 10 – Winnipeg, MB – The Garrick Center w/Mountain Goats
Friday 11 - Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
Saturday 12 – Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theater w/Dutchess and the Duke, The Dodos
Sunday 13 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall w/The Dutchess and the Duke, The Dodos
Monday 14 – Pontiac, MI – The Crofoot w/Dutchess & The Duke, The Dodos
Tuesday 15 – Toronto, ON – The Sound Academy w/The Dutchess and the Duke, The Dodos
Thursday 17 – Montreal, QC – Le National w/The Dutchess and the Duke, The Dodos
Friday 18 – Boston, MA – House of Blues w/The Dutchess and the Duke, The Dodos
Saturday 19 – New York, NY – Terminal 5 w/The Dutchess and the Duke, The Dodos
Monday 21 – Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero Theatre w/The Dutchess and the Duke, The Dodos
Tuesday 22 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club w/The Dutchess and the Duke, The Dodos
Wednesday 23 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club w/The Dutchess and the Duke, The Dodos
Friday 25 – Chapel Hill, NC – Memorial Hall @ UNC w/The Dutchess and the Duke, The Dodos
Saturday 26 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse w/The Dutchess and the Duke, The Dodos
Sunday 27 – Nashville, TN – Cannery Ballroom w/The Dutchess and the Duke, The Dodos
Monday 28 – St Louis, MO – The Pageant w/The Dodos
July
Wednesday 14 – Vancouver BC – The Vogue
Thursday 15 – Vancouver, BC – The Vogue Theatre w/Imaad Wasif, The Dodos
Friday 16 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom w/Imaad Wasif, The Dodos
Saturday 17 – Jacksonville, OR – Britt Pavillion w/Imaad Wasif, The Dodos
Sunday 18 – Oakland, CA - Fox Theater w/Imaad Wasif, The Dodos
Monday 19 – Los Angeles, CA – The Music Box w/Imaad Wasif, The Dodos
Tuesday 20 – Los Angeles, CA – The Music Box w/Imaad Wasif, The Dodos
Wednesday 21 – Tuscon, AZ – Rialto Theatre w/Imaad Wasif, The Dodos
Friday 23 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s BBQ
Saturday 24 – Dallas, TX – The Showroom at Palladium
Sunday 25 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom
Monday 26 – Lawrence, KS – Liberty Hall
Wednesday 28 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
Thursday 29 – Salt Lake City, UT – Twilight Concert Series
Friday 30 – Boise, ID – Egyptian Theatre
Saturday 31 – Seattle WA – The Showbox (with Imaad Wasif + The Dodos)
August
Sunday 01 – Seattle WA – The Showbox (with Imaad Wasif + The Dodos)
Wednesday 04 – Madison, WI – Orpheum Theatre
By Jeremy P. Goldstein on Thursday, June 3rd, 2010
Photo by Guy Eppel
Our very own man of the world Pink Eyes will be a guest on WNYC’s Soundcheck today, weighing in on Arizona’s controversial, and to co-opt Pink Eyes’ band name, fucked up new legislation. He wrote an op-ed piece for Stereogum that you can read here and then at 2PM EDT tune in to hear him debate his stance. For you NYC readers and listeners, WNYC is found at 93.9 on the FM dial and 820 on the AM side.
“Metal Heart”, live from Virada Paulista (São José dos Campo, São Paulo, Brazil). But if you insist on learning what the above headline is all about, here’s a clip of Cat Power covering the Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog” with Mr. Pharmacist on vocals/guitar, Judah on guitar and Chan on drums.
Photo grabbed from 
