R.I.P. Kim Fowley, King of the Night Time World
I'm sure many of us had mixed feelings reading about Kim Fowley's passing this week. Focusing on the good (of which there was a LOT), here's something I only just found out about: his proteges the Hollywood Stars recorded Fowley's composition "King of the Night Time World" three years before KISS got there, and as much as we all love Destroyer (and we really do), the LA quartet slay NYC this time out. CHECK IT OUT and pay respect to Kim.
Spaghetti with dark-simmered sausage and onion
This is really a winter dish from Ruth Rogers but I adapted it a bit for the summer.
Very straightforward, but do leave a lot of time - this is really a 2-hour preparation.
olive oil
3 Italian sweet sausage (get good ones), skins removed, sausage meat crumbled
1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves purple garlic, minced
1 dried red chile, crumbled
3 dried Turkish bay leaves
1/3 cup red wine
14-15 oz can good Italian tomatoes, fully drained, tomatoes crushed in your hands
1/4 nutmeg, grated
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup romano pecorino, freshly grated
salt
freshly ground black pepper
fresh sage leaves
1/2 lb dry spaghetti
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Add the crumbled sausage meat and stir and fry until lightly browned. If it sticks, great. Now add the onion, garlic, chiles and bay leaves and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes until onions are lightly browned, stirring frequently. You will be developing a fond and there will be stickiness - it's all good.
Pour in the wine and stir, scraping up the bits stuck to the bottom of the pan, until the wine has evaporated - about 2 minutes maximum. Add the drained crushed tomatoes, lower the heat, and cook at a steady but low simmer for 45-60 minutes until you have an intense dark red mess. Stir in the nutmeg, milk, and Romano pecorino. Season with salt to taste.
Meanwhile, you have brought an extremely large pot of water to the boil. When you anticipate that you are approximately 10 minutes out on the sauce (the sauce can wait, so that part doesn't matter), add several massive handfuls of kosher salt to the water, cover, and bring to a rolling boil again. Now add the pasta all at once, stir, cover, and set the timer to a minute or so less than the minimum time specified on the pasta box. Once at a rolling boil again, remove cover, stir the pasta, and keep stirring occasionally until timer goes off. About 1 minute before the timer goes off, add a half-ladle of starchy pasta water to the sauce, and stir it in - you want to evaporate it so that the sauce is not watery, but you also want a certain amount of pasta starchiness so that the sauce combines well. You might end up adding a half-ladle full of pasta water a second time, and evaporate that too. Play it by ear.
Taste the pasta - it should be not quite al dente but not quite inedible either. Drain it in a colander and add it to the sauce pan. Toss, drizzling some more olive oil over the mixture, and continue tossing until pasta and sauce are well combined.
Serve into bowls, tear fresh sage leaves over each one. Add a fresh grind of pepper to each bowl and a fresh grating of Romano, and offer your guests the pepper grinder and more cheese to grate at the table.
44 years ago...
Kraftwerk live in Soest, winter 1970. The earliest surviving concert footage. My favorite part starts at 16:42. You will have others.
Chick-fil-A : No Match For The Frogs
(as seen in Nashville, TN photo : Garland Gallaspy, CEO, Dreams Unlimited)
Sure, they're closed on Sundays. But you know damn well what we do on Saturdays.
The end of Mars Bar
Photo by marcus jb
It's odd that of all the congeries of dead-end weird ass rock places around CBGB, Mars Bar is the last to go. Apparently it will be at the end of this month, to be replaced by a "12-story luxury high rise." There is no more CBGB, there is only DBGB and John Varvatos, a good miniature for what this city has become.
I was at Mars Bar at 8 PM on a Monday night a couple of months ago - apparently early enough to avoid the throngs of tourists who now crowd into it nightly. There were regulars hunched over their bourbons, and a shuffling personage programming and barking over the jukebox. It was the first time I'd been there in years and years. It was the place where I first did cocaine (summer of 1988). Nothing had changed.
You have to wonder where the equivalent places are nowadays. I'm guessing the inner suburbs.
Bob Barker Never Would've Let This Happen
Mostly because he's more of a
European tour madness
So, the time of Primavera and ATP festival (sadly their last ever May weekender) rolls around again and a ton of our bands decide it'd also be a good time to visit our (at the moment, rather sunny) shores. Just like last year.
With 3 European tours starting over this weekend, plus more to come over the next we have the following shows taking place over the next 25 days..... (though I'm not sure how much Golf they'll have time for)
Esben and the Witch
9th – Manufaktur, Schorndorf, Germany
10th – Mascotte, Zurich, Switzerland
11th – Spazio 211, Turin, Italy
12th – Circolo degli Artisti, Rome, Italy
13th – Plastic, Milan, Italy
14th – Covo, Bologna, Italy
16th – Palace, St Gallen, Switzerland
17th – Mousonturm, Frankfurt, Germany
18th – Doornroosje, Groningen, Netherlands
19th – Bitterzoet Club, Amsterdam, Netherlands
20th – Rotown, Rotterdam, Netherlands
21st – Charlatan, Ghent, Belgium
22nd – Les Nuits Botanique (Orangerie), Brussels, Belgium
24th – Gleiss 22, Munster, Germany
25th – Karlstorbahnhof, Heidleburg, Germany
26th – Atomic Cafe, Munich, Germany
27th – B72, Vienna, Austria
28th – Seewiesen Festival, Linz, Austria
29th – K4, Nurnberg, Germany
Kurt Vile (& The Violators)
8th : King Georg, Koln
9th : Feierwerk, Munich (+ O’Death)
10th : Chelsea Club, Vienna
11th : Festsaal Kreuzberg, Berlin
12th : Vega (Small Hall), Copenhagen
13th : Voxhall, Aarhus
14th : All Tomorrow’s Parties. Minehead (curated by Animal Collective)
15th : Tivoli, Utrecht
16th : Bitterzoet, Amsterdam
17th : Les Nuits de Botanique (Rotunde), Brussels
18th : Charlatan, Gent
19th : Rough Trade East, London (free in-store, 1pm)
19th :
20th : Kazimier, Liverpool (Sound City)
21st : Captain’s Rest, Glasgow (Stag and Dagger Festival)
22nd :
23rd : La Maroquinerie, Paris
24th : L’Abordage, Evreux
25th : Place Saint Michel, Bordeaux
26th : Top of the Folk @ L’antipode, Rennes
28th : Primavera Sound Festival, Barcelona
29th : Ghetto, Istanbul
June
29th : Vega, Groningen
30th : Uebel & Gefährlich, Hamburg
Fucked Up
6th – White Rabbit, Plymouth – UK (tickets)
7th – Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff – UK (tickets) *MATINEE SHOW
7th – The Croft, Bristol – UK
8th – Institue, Birmingham – UK
9th – The Well, Leeds – UK
10th – Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh – UK (tickets)
11th – The Cluny, Newcastle – UK (tickets)
12th – Future Sonic – Sound Control, Manchester – UK
13th – Vera, Gronigen – Netherlands (tickets)
14th – 013 Small Hall, Tilburg – Netherlands
15th – Melkweg, Amsterdam – Netherlands (tickets)
16th – Festaal Kreuzberg, Berlin – Germany (tickets)
17th – Underground, Cologne – Germany (tickets)
18th – Batofar, Paris – France
19th – Trix, Antwerp – Belgium (tickets)
20th – Stag and Dagger @ Village Underground, London – UK (tickets)
21st – Liverpool Sound City @ Kazimir, Liverpool – UK (tickets)
Perfume Genius
14 – Sheffield City Hall (Grand Ballroom), Sheffield
15 – Bodega, Nottingham (tickets)
16 – Bush Hall, London (tickets)
17 – The Kings Arms, Manchester (tickets)
18 – The Sugar Club, Dublin (tickets)
20 – Les Nuits Botanique, Brussels (tickets)
21 – De Duif Church, Amsterdam (tickets)
28 – Primavera Sound Festival, Barcelona
Glasser
26th - Primavera Sound Festival, Barcelona, Spain - Pitchfork stage
Thurston Moore
28th - Paris, France - Le Grande Halle (Villette Sonique Festival) *playing a non-Demolished Thoughts set
29th - Brussels, Belgium - AB Concerts *playing a Demolished Thoughts based set
30th - London, UK - Union Chapel *playing a Demolished Thoughts based set
even the alumni are getting in on the act....
Matmos
14/05/11 Glasgow (UK), Old Fruitmarket
15/05/11 Birmingham (UK), MAC Art Centre *
16/05/11 Dublin (IE), Button Factory *
17/05/11 Belfast (UK), SARC *
19/05/11 London (UK), Auto-Italia *
21/05/11 Milano (IT), Leoncavallo (new venue!) *
23/05/11 Rome (IT), Circolo degli Artisti *
24/05/11 Bologna (IT), Scuderia (new venue!) *
26/05/11 Paris (FR), La Gaite Lyrique *
27/05/11 Brussels (BE), VK *#
28/05/11 Metz (FR), Les Trinitaires *
29/05/11 Berlin (DE), Hau1 *
30/05/11 Leipzig (DE), Centraltheater *
* w/ John Wiese
# w/ Oval
Yo La Tengo
Fast forward to June and they're here to bring the 'Spin The Wheel' tour to the UK.
So if you live in Europe and none of those shows come by somewhere near you, well, its probably time to up sticks and move.
Artwork Analysis Corner : Can Someone Please Help Me Out?
I consider myself a somewhat culturally aware, open-minded person. Heck, I've been to Canada a couple of times. And I don't consider myself to have a knee-jerk, negative reaction when it comes to themes of overt sexualty, demonic imagery or collaborations with Klaus Meine. All of that said, I have NO FUCKING IDEA what is going on with the record cover above.
I am not hear to disparage Ms. Pesch's impressive musical achievements (even if her website crashed my computer several times while composing this post) but I'm thoroughly baffled by this sleeve. Were the title of the album, '25 Years In Torn Clothing While Presiding Over A Mass Burial Ground", I'd have a much easier time with it. In any event, as someone in the music business who recently celebrated an important anniversary, I'm sure I speak on behalf of everyone at Matador in congratulating Doro on hitting the big 2-5.
Matador/True Panther/4AD/Rough Trade/Sub Pop/XL/Young Turks CMJ party to dominate your Thursday night
God knows there's a bunch of fun stuff going on during the annual College Music Journal Music Marathon, but we want to make sure everyone's aware that we, along with the other Beggars Group labels -- True Panther, 4AD, Rough Trade, XL and Young Turks -- AND our buddies at Sub Pop, are going to be throwing a bit of a rager this Thursday, October 21, from 10pm to 4am. All the info is above on the flyer, and below for those of you on dial-up connections.
4AD/Matador/Rough Trade/Sub Pop/True Panther/XL/Young Turks CMJ Party
Thursday, October 21
10pm to 4am
Stanton Public (17 Stanton Street, btw. Bowery and Chrystie)
FREE, no RSVP needed
Ages 21 and up
DJ sets by Lemonade, True Panther Soundsystem, Dave Martin (Matador Records) and Gerard Cosloy (Matador Records), plus special guests (you never know who'll show up to these things)
Drinks courtesy of PBR
Giveaways from Converse
Free t-shirts from the lovely folks at I Buy Music
Don't miss it!
Fucked Up - "Year of the Ox" and "David's Plan" on CBC3 (Video)
Fucked Up's latest entry in their Zodiac series of EPs (see "Year of the Dog", "...Pig" and "...Rat") is the majestic orchestral piece, "Year of the Ox".
On CBC3's Bande à Part series, the group unleashed an early preview of the track, featuring guest vocals from Annie-Claude Deschênes of Duchess Says, a string section and an arsenal of guitars. Fucked Up also performed "David's Plan", the title-track from their recently-released charity single.
A recorded version of the track is forthcoming with a different set of special guests. Be on the lookout for an announcement on Looking For Gold.
Fucked Up on tour:
May
Sun 02 Newport, KY Southgate House Parlour
Mon 03 Lawrence, KS Jackpot Music Hall
Tue 04 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge
Fri 07 Las Vegas, NV Sunset Station Ampitheatre
Sat 08 Pomona, CA TBD
Wed 12 Victoria, BC CA Sugar Nightclub
Thu 13 Vancouver, BC CA The Biltmore Cabaret
Fri 14 Edmonton, AB CA Avenue Theatre
Sat 15 Saskatoon, SK CA Amigo's
Sun 16 Regina, SK CA The Exchange
Mon 17 Winnepeg, MB WECC
September
Sun 05 Monticello, NY All Tomorrow's Parties
True Panther SXSW Showdown
We here are True Panther are pretty damn excited and honored to announce this year's True Panther showcase for SXSW. No official stuff or badges or RSVP's, just good music free and open to the public for more hours than one would think is humanly possible. There are two stages so break times will be short and a dj after the live shows are over. The line-up is bands we've done records with, bands we are doing records with, or bands we're just plain big fans of.
Here is a static flyer in case you are seizure prone: FLYER
Thu 3/18 7pm-2am
Delorean/Lemonade/Tanlines/Magic Kids/Morning Benders/Teengirl Fantasy/Hunx & His Punx/Tamaryn/Rainbow Bridge/Shannon & The Clams.... DJ set from Matias Aguayo.
@Cheer Up Charlies (formerly Ms. Beas) 1104 E 6th St East Side Austin.
WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!
Jeffrey Jensen - Live. In Person. On Stage.
(above : one of NYC's most beloved icons/public figures. And on the left, Earl "The Pearl" Monroe)
Jeff Jensen, one half of the terrorist telephonic duo that brought you the monumental comedy recording, 'Just Farr A Laff (Vol's 1 & 2)', will be making a rare stand-up appearance tomorrow night at Brooklyn's Bruar Falls. You know the old saying, "how do you get to Bruar Falls?" To tell the truth, I've never heard that saying, but here's a google map link.
Fucked Up win the Polaris Music Prize
(photo by Connie Tsang)
Fucked Up are the winners of Canada's Polaris Music Prize. Awarded annually to the best Canadian musical artist, there is only a single artist chosen and it is an highly prestigious award.
Liisa Ladouceur, who oversees the voting for Polaris, talked about the intensity of the process.
“We ask the jury to vote regardless of genre and they truly did,” stated Liisa Ladouceur, Representative of the jury. “Members of the jury believed that the Fucked Up’s Chemistry Of Common Life was not only the best hardcore album of the year, not only the best Canadian album of the year, but was the best album of the year in the world – period.”
The 2009 11-member gala Grand Jury are: Bryan Acker (Herohill), Brendan Murphy (Hour), Stuart Derdeyn (Vancouver Province), Mary Dickie (Elle), Brad Frenette (National Post), Nicholas Jennings (freelance journalist), Robert Mersereau (CBC), Mia Parang (Musique Plus), Ben Rayner (Toronto Star), Brad Wheeler (The Globe And Mail) and Lisa Wilton (Calgary Sun).
For their performance on the show, Fucked Up were joined by Final Fantasy and Lullabye Arkestra. Not to mention Mrs. Falco, better known as Jonah's mom (she plays the flute intro that leads off The Chemistry Of Common Life). You can view their Polaris performance of "Son The Father" on the Much Music site if you visit this link and then expand the "MOST RECENT VIDEO" tab.
Don't forget, Fucked Up will be doing a full-album performance of Chemistry at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple on November 5... with additional musicians to truly bring the multiple layers of density and allusiveness that make up that album. Get ticketing info here.
Buy ChemCom.
Seafood chowder
If you grew up in New England, it's very difficult to stomach what passes for chowder in the rest of the country. Thick white concoctions packed with cornstarch and a few unidentifable clams, or worse, tomatoes. True chowder is buttery and only barely thickened by the crumbling of the potatoes. Milk or at most, light cream, are the dairy ingredients, and the flavor is based on salt pork and the freshest seafood you can buy.
Top seafood chowder can be had at the Maine Diner in Wells, ME - a day trip from Boston. This chowder was based on their recipe, with some hints from John Thorne's Down East Chowder (since reprinted in the sublime Serious Pig. Since good salt pork is impossible to find in New York (if anyone has a source, please post), we used nitrate-free bacon from Vermont, blanched to remove as much of the smoke flavor as possible. Potatoes are ideally from northern Maine, Aroostook County, but if you can't find them, use small yellow potatoes such as creamers. They need to be firm, not crumbly like Idaho or russet potatoes. Seafood was the picked meat from a whole lobster (discarding the tomalley), rock shrimp, medium scallops and cherrystone clams. None of this was ideal except for the excellent scallops - you want a lobster right out of the Penobscot, tiny coldwater Maine shrimp, and steamers or soft-shell clams rather than cherrystones.
The lobster bodies were simmered in water to make a stock, and the other seafood was cooked in a strainer in the same water. Meanwhile the blanched bacon was rendered and fried. One diced onion is added to the bacon frypan along with a half stick of butter, and fried until translucent. The potatoes were chopped into half-inch cubes and boiled until cooked but still firm. Lobster shells continued to simmer until close to suppertime, then the broth strained off along with the grit at the bottom, and reduced a bit. 2 cups milk and 2 cups light cream were then added slowly. The translucent onions, butter and blanched bacon are added to the milky broth, and simmered - the seafood goes in at the last minute, along with salt to taste. One eater preferred some fresh ground pepper in his bowl. Common crackers should be sprinkled on top, but since these no longer seem to be made, we used non-salted oyster crackers instead. The result was sublime, as you can see from the photos.
