tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82513678398054544762024-03-13T00:35:58.598-07:00a blog about wine and musicAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15757039155584229346noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251367839805454476.post-12582366103080111632014-07-13T16:43:00.001-07:002014-07-13T16:44:18.461-07:00Gospel Sundays<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
If I had music like this in my church growing up, I'd probably be a much more religious person today. Hell, I'd probably be a monk.</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15757039155584229346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251367839805454476.post-55695475592982529732014-05-13T11:44:00.000-07:002014-05-13T12:31:54.097-07:00Cassoulet Journal Entry #3: The PartyIf you haven't seen my first two posts you can check them out here:<br />
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<a href="http://ablogaboutwineandmusic.blogspot.com/2014/02/cassoulet-journal-entry-1.html">http://ablogaboutwineandmusic.blogspot.com/2014/02/cassoulet-journal-entry-1.html</a><br />
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<a href="http://ablogaboutwineandmusic.blogspot.com/2014/02/cassoulet-journal-entry-2-shopping-and.html">http://ablogaboutwineandmusic.blogspot.com/2014/02/cassoulet-journal-entry-2-shopping-and.html</a><br />
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And the cooking continues...<br />
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So on day 467 of cassoulet prep it is time to confit your duck legs. To "confit" a piece of meat is to cook it low and slow in its own fat. This serves two purposes: the meat can be left in the fat, cooled so that the fat congeals and seals the meat in, and preserved for months in this state. It also makes an incredibly tender and delicious preparation of what might be considered a less noble cut of meat. I have to admit I cheated a little bit here. I knew I wouldn't be able to render enough fat out of one duck to confit two good sized duck legs so I bought an additional jar of duck fat. And even then I didn't have quite enough to cover both legs (and I won't be having any uncovered legs at one of my parties). So in a moment of Archimedesian brilliance I came up with this solution...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2j0pKMxxB7mzF6BXX9Q05C7ALHHUHhjt78-ckxYpxmVrh-L9OxEoXuJnxcaqX7X918haP93-G1MHfTNOMrb3y9-nD22k5qmylxLXBrh1Yh5yVbCb0Za5TJyQDphikIPTfGYDsjm2s0Zn3/s1600/cassoulet+displacement.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2j0pKMxxB7mzF6BXX9Q05C7ALHHUHhjt78-ckxYpxmVrh-L9OxEoXuJnxcaqX7X918haP93-G1MHfTNOMrb3y9-nD22k5qmylxLXBrh1Yh5yVbCb0Za5TJyQDphikIPTfGYDsjm2s0Zn3/s1600/cassoulet+displacement.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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I think an alternate title for this blog could be "Cooking with the Natural Sciences," or maybe "Mike's Janky-Ass Kitchen." Anyway, I lobbed the top off a head of garlic, stuck a clove in and threw it in the pot. I let this cook just below a simmer for about 2 1/2 hours until the meat was tender. Here's the result:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6hncanSDHLl_eWJgXKdcEjRCKpcYgBbmhqIKm7PZG0AS4kIAfOzkgZAlvGNLR4XtlXkPita6TbsPWNmXeG6bl77igCtMNVsEtDWqfmCaETlxmzXWok_6NwfPDUeE4pXQBJqvBzEFaNl1l/s1600/confit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6hncanSDHLl_eWJgXKdcEjRCKpcYgBbmhqIKm7PZG0AS4kIAfOzkgZAlvGNLR4XtlXkPita6TbsPWNmXeG6bl77igCtMNVsEtDWqfmCaETlxmzXWok_6NwfPDUeE4pXQBJqvBzEFaNl1l/s1600/confit.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Maybe not the prettiest thing in the world yet, but these will be thrown in a low-medium frying pan to let the skin crisp up a bit before going into the cassoulet, and I promise they taste damn-good.</div>
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Meanwhile, I prepared my pate to go in the oven. I lined a terrine with blanched bacon, thoroughly mixed the pork and duck liver mixtures and spooned the resulting mixture into the terrine, put another layer of bacon over the top, threw a bay leaf and a couple sprigs of thyme on top. Then covered the terrine with a piece of foil, cut out a piece of cardboard to evenly fit over the top, and put it and a couple heavy cans on top to weigh down and compact the pate to make it easier to cut when finished. If I remember correctly, I let it rest with the cans on top in the fridge for 24 hours before cooking it. When I was ready to cook, I took the cans and cardboard off, put the terrine in another, wider baking dish (filled with water so that the water came up to about an inch on the side of the terrine) then let this cook in a 350-degree oven for 1 1/2-2 hours. When it was done, I took it out and let it cool with the cardboard and weight back on top. I let this rest in the fridge for another day or two before serving. Here's the result:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2FT3aTj_jyDnrUcBsFsldlAtQeeAvb6Ne0YoptK69AxVyJpRPpuVQszCx4RjZDsPycvP42dB-FgyRnyLiKo7WwkkrGiUI9khWdlgryggcnCh44sjJk3H0F5cj8dJpJlZirrsGVS0LiavV/s1600/pate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2FT3aTj_jyDnrUcBsFsldlAtQeeAvb6Ne0YoptK69AxVyJpRPpuVQszCx4RjZDsPycvP42dB-FgyRnyLiKo7WwkkrGiUI9khWdlgryggcnCh44sjJk3H0F5cj8dJpJlZirrsGVS0LiavV/s1600/pate.jpg" height="320" width="313" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnz3-Lp0K0sArm18GJDxE7MBsi86vID12ZyLM5dPTfHTyAGbJB3FaPh9Fy84F6kqFIkswvnNGelV_ohQzW3sWYjgK7-MBZZKehGmlY8-b0OP2KNOP_lNEe2r9AnXxvtBXFYdwlb-URG0Yd/s1600/pate+close+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnz3-Lp0K0sArm18GJDxE7MBsi86vID12ZyLM5dPTfHTyAGbJB3FaPh9Fy84F6kqFIkswvnNGelV_ohQzW3sWYjgK7-MBZZKehGmlY8-b0OP2KNOP_lNEe2r9AnXxvtBXFYdwlb-URG0Yd/s1600/pate+close+up.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Back to the Cassoulet...</div>
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Now we have to cook the beans. This is the part I was most nervous about. The quality of the beans really makes or breaks a cassoulet, and so many people claim a cassoulet is not a cassoulet without tarbais beans. I used cannellini beans because I would have had to take out a loan to pay for enough tarbais beans to make this big of a cassoulet, and the interest rates on bean loans are through the roof these days. I figured it's a nice, medium-sized, starchy white bean, it should do the trick.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-FU1GIlwsIX1nY5If5-E-PzyA_zRWKKBymV3kiqzsBgybIb_1-NcoKic3OLBNqBmwknjikhVtVXlAk8hcMQBp7vAFEboxdofXo_ZpnS22jG9N2EkvLXMlYnSKobzMOym8WHYAW8ppe1K3/s1600/beans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-FU1GIlwsIX1nY5If5-E-PzyA_zRWKKBymV3kiqzsBgybIb_1-NcoKic3OLBNqBmwknjikhVtVXlAk8hcMQBp7vAFEboxdofXo_ZpnS22jG9N2EkvLXMlYnSKobzMOym8WHYAW8ppe1K3/s1600/beans.jpg" height="320" width="278" /></a></div>
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I cooked the beans in a pot of water with some carrots, one halved onion studded with cloves, a few whole garlic cloves, the sausages, a hunk of pancetta, and a bouquet-garni. I cooked all this until the beans were just under-done, for about an hour and a half. Then I took out the pancetta, chopped it up and braised in a white wine and tomato sauce, which would later become part of the liquid base for the cassoulet.</div>
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Now it's time to cook the sausage and duck.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRdsA0b8pJ0nAzN7GBdh98ff-fl1fIDmesJI44V1pBV9leuT9E38UE3_oIcQlwf5CwStDgIR_MKsW7r2Uu0rVpgdHeW59aFRsHUJ84u6fVm7PuEbG5ShKjl1xBky-GFMIHOoOAEqzpy1_U/s1600/meats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRdsA0b8pJ0nAzN7GBdh98ff-fl1fIDmesJI44V1pBV9leuT9E38UE3_oIcQlwf5CwStDgIR_MKsW7r2Uu0rVpgdHeW59aFRsHUJ84u6fVm7PuEbG5ShKjl1xBky-GFMIHOoOAEqzpy1_U/s1600/meats.jpg" height="320" width="289" /></a></div>
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I crisped up the confit duck legs, browned the sausages, and pan-seared the duck breast I didn't use in the pate. </div>
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We are now in the home stretch. All that's left is assembling and cooking the cassoulet.</div>
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Alternate layers of beans and meat in your casserole...</div>
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Continue this process until you run out or fill your casserole...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGFOHQUUccm_yqB3exXoPY_pggbeGQPkL2BDc3aJjroFtsuVlXk7cdjvmPnyGrQwJyg0xV0AW5USiBJWc21tEod7glMN7Tlt3_RDef9qjHjz3ZmmcWXNVsuxhQkx0rdfRNN-TAdW2Eviwq/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGFOHQUUccm_yqB3exXoPY_pggbeGQPkL2BDc3aJjroFtsuVlXk7cdjvmPnyGrQwJyg0xV0AW5USiBJWc21tEod7glMN7Tlt3_RDef9qjHjz3ZmmcWXNVsuxhQkx0rdfRNN-TAdW2Eviwq/s1600/3.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Finish with a layer of beans and pour in braising liquid, filling the casserole just barely below the top layer of beans. If you don't have enough braising liquid use the cooking liquid left over from cooking the beans.</div>
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Cover with a layer of breadcrumbs and chopped parsley. This is an optional step and a controversial one that varies region to region, but I think the breadcrumbs add to the symphony of textures that is the cassoulet. I spooned a generous layer of duck fat over the top as well to assist in browning the top layer. </div>
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Then you cook it in a 300 degree oven, occasionally basting the top layer with the braising liquid or bean juice as the liquid reduces. And every forty minutes or so, whenever a crust forms on the top you should use a wooden spoon to break the crust into the cassoulet. Continue this process until the top is perfectly golden brown and the beans are perfectly tender. I think it took me about two and a half hours.</div>
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In the meantime, we ate oysters.</div>
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The smaller ones with the ridges on the shell were from Washington state and they were cool, and fresh tasting with a nice cucumber water kind of quality to them. The bigger greenish ones were from PEI and they were briney, dank and delicious. And I'm proud to say there were no shucking related trips to the hospital, which always puts a damper on a party. </div>
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We also ate the pate, which turned out wonderfully if I do say so myself, along with a smattering of other delicious things.</div>
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And then finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the cassoulet was ready. </div>
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We finished our meal with a number of badass cheeses, from the incredible Bedford Cheese Shop in Williamsburg Brooklyn. We had a Rodolphe le Meunier Saintalin, a cow's milk cheese from Tours which was dank and funky but in a subtle pretty way if that makes any sense, a nutty and simply delicious Fricalin made by Caroline Hostettler in Switzerland, also cow's milk, and a grassy, savory, and voluptuously creamy sheep's milk cheese called Brebirousse D'argental from Auvergne. I forgot to take pictures, which is unfortunate, because there really is nothing sexier than a cheese plate.</div>
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Oh and I almost forgot to mention, we drank some wine as well. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVPyj50-qRT4NJDeAoGPFsug5-f-Ym4xzyyQBjMylcclLiJXl65R0P5z4JXjrfm8zTI3EboGQ7noW-Xd-IzliGAH06TAGC-0U1PztsvxUUxiSO1FlFyK1GH4XtoJh9udXNkbu6bwmrpnXE/s1600/wine+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVPyj50-qRT4NJDeAoGPFsug5-f-Ym4xzyyQBjMylcclLiJXl65R0P5z4JXjrfm8zTI3EboGQ7noW-Xd-IzliGAH06TAGC-0U1PztsvxUUxiSO1FlFyK1GH4XtoJh9udXNkbu6bwmrpnXE/s1600/wine+1.jpg" height="295" width="320" /></a></div>
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With the oysters we had a 2010 Alice and Olivier De Moor Chablis, an awesome Cremant du Jura from Chais du Vieux Bourg, and a Muscadet from Jo Landron. We also drank my one remaining Ducroux "Prologue" Beaujolais nouveau, which was a pretty unbeatable companion to the pate.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRJce8Hw06gCKUrDuNyREwgZPm0Wf-7rwwytR2TziCpLAsyEmG4d2k3N0Moy8HBswHH2FqhrLdDTHJXQGmnSsdJTQ3DKQCA5xYFTxgwJPGdoPS6Q7Ej1IOsbWFAtBGqxl5GT-LH05dN84b/s1600/wine+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRJce8Hw06gCKUrDuNyREwgZPm0Wf-7rwwytR2TziCpLAsyEmG4d2k3N0Moy8HBswHH2FqhrLdDTHJXQGmnSsdJTQ3DKQCA5xYFTxgwJPGdoPS6Q7Ej1IOsbWFAtBGqxl5GT-LH05dN84b/s1600/wine+2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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And with the Cassoulet a 2010 Domaine de la Marfee "Della Francesca," a 2010 Montirius Vacqueyras "Le Clos", a 2008 "Lecinquevigne" Barolo from Damilano, and a 2009 Domaine du Gour de Chaule Gigondas Cuvee Tradition.</div>
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All these wines, with the exception of the Ducroux, were new to me. Between cooking and socializing I didn't manage to keep diligent tasting notes but there were definitely some clear highlights as well as some head-scratchers. All of the whites were nice but weren't necessarily great for oysters. This was my first De Moor Chablis and I had pretty high expectations, and I was surprised by its rich, lactic sort of quality. It lacked that cutting, stony acidity I associate with Chablis and instead was sort of rich and opulent, at least by Chablis standards. It was definitely delicious, but it wasn't what I was hoping for in this context. The Landron was also a bit puzzling, very fruit forward, also not what I was expecting. Maybe I just have no idea what Chablis and Muscadet wines are actually like...The Cremant du Jura was awesome though, rich and savory but with a great backbone of acidity. It was a great foil for the funk of the PEI oysters. </div>
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The reds were all great. The cassoulet was a good excuse for me to drink some bigger southern French wines like a Gigondas or Vacqueyras which are definitely out of my wheelhouse. The 2010 Domaine de la Marfee "Della Francesca" was a definite highlight. This wine is from the Languedoc region in South-West France, which is the birthplace of cassoulet and a treasure trove of red wine values. Very fruit forward, but in a fresh, pleasant, not overly ripe way, which perfectly balanced the richness of the meal. And we found that Barolo is also a surprisingly winning combination with Cassoulet. </div>
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But, most importantly, none of the wines overshadowed the comfort-food rusticity that makes cassoulet so special<span style="font-size: 13.5px; letter-spacing: 0px;">—</span>or the laid back good times that come with sharing simple, soulful food with good friends. Now that it's springtime and I've had some time to recover financially from this party, it's time to start planning the next! Bouillabaisse perhaps?</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15757039155584229346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251367839805454476.post-76233479590896421702014-03-17T19:14:00.001-07:002014-03-18T12:00:49.780-07:00Oh hell yeah<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcOPhtre4yOy7H7kvkp9zFEKZs8vdhjUxzqGM4Eclo8JQ42oTINVwUJdgC1oziWl4-gGJBsA5ZYZRYZ91SwotQtWkQlTq22YYmo_Ta1H2a83-wekND_bGZFez7ooLztnhyphenhyphenow3BjR_uZObA/s1600/sherry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcOPhtre4yOy7H7kvkp9zFEKZs8vdhjUxzqGM4Eclo8JQ42oTINVwUJdgC1oziWl4-gGJBsA5ZYZRYZ91SwotQtWkQlTq22YYmo_Ta1H2a83-wekND_bGZFez7ooLztnhyphenhyphenow3BjR_uZObA/s1600/sherry.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15757039155584229346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251367839805454476.post-45244682918979437472014-02-25T18:49:00.003-08:002014-02-25T18:49:44.236-08:00Cassoulet Journal Entry #2: Shopping and PrepIn the spirit of the informal, family-style nature of serving and eating cassoulet I decided I didn't want to do a formal menu. I don't really like fussy dinners where each guest is served an exquisitely prepared plate with a single scallop with a dollop of creme fraiche seasoned with the tears of an Arctic gray wolf. I would much rather go to a dinner where simple, delicious food is served in a communal style. With that in mind, I came up with this plan:<br />
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To start:<br />
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-Raw oysters. Because there is nothing I could cook that would be more delicious than a good, fresh oyster with a spritz of lemon.<br />
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-Duck Pate. I wanted to use the whole duck if possible, and pate would make good use of the innards.<br />
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-Rounded out with some nice cured meats, and olives and the like.<br />
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Main:<br />
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-Cassoulet. <a href="http://ablogaboutwineandmusic.blogspot.com/2014/02/cassoulet-journal-entry-1.html">'Nuff said</a>.<br />
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Dessert:<br />
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-Cheese course. Unquestionably the best dessert.<br />
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So that's it. I figure the cassoulet and the pate would give me enough trouble so why bother cooking anything else. Maybe it's not the most thoughtfully composed menu ever, but I can't imagine a more delicious and satisfying one. Quite wine friendly too...<br />
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Shopping:<br />
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I bought my duck from the Hudson Valley Duck Farm stand at the Union Square Greenmarket. The woman working the stand on this incredibly frigid morning was really helpful and knowledgeable and helped me pick out this beauty:<br />
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While at the market, I also bought some ground pork and bacon for the pate at the Roaming Acres Farm stand. Great place for pork.</div>
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For the sausage I went to a place called Salumeria Biellese which was recommended to me by one of the people at Chambers Street Wines.</div>
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Super old-school, family owned, amazing products. They had the perfect, traditional style saucisson a l'ail (pork, red wine, garlic sausage), which I guess in Italy is called Cotechino. Natural casing, hand-tied with string, the whole 9...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJYwHQROE-gPmpZFwlEeFl2Ck9zCFIHsr53JKZRm5833wpm2LiNqkIQIZ_JYEzQXZp08RUwVNWB9c0kgzyoDTc_NlvKioy75DbdtNdVOzszRppr00Oc0ToIebCKLabz5584wPbdPW9S2qA/s1600/saucisson+d'ail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJYwHQROE-gPmpZFwlEeFl2Ck9zCFIHsr53JKZRm5833wpm2LiNqkIQIZ_JYEzQXZp08RUwVNWB9c0kgzyoDTc_NlvKioy75DbdtNdVOzszRppr00Oc0ToIebCKLabz5584wPbdPW9S2qA/s1600/saucisson+d'ail.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Prep:</div>
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After butchering the duck the first thing I did was marinate the duck legs and one of the breasts overnight in salt, black pepper, garlic, thyme and crushed up bay leaf. </div>
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The plan is to confit the legs and later pan-sear the breast. While that was marinating I took all the extra skin and trimmings and rendered the fat by slowly melting it in a pot on low-heat. After the fat has rendered out you are left with pure duck fat, and duck skin "cracklings." </div>
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The cracklings are sort of like crispy duck skin pork rinds or something. Incredibly delicious.</div>
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While the duck was marinating, I prepared the meats for the pate.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHDBEa0CnpGYcMsRYPAgXXY4DVjO7laAg80Qu6nkNuw1iu1J3ZTeG_clSLubVXJZTfPpx5obLrXcfBMkl5pbCFR3_egpPBbKCPDaYG3GjOJN06abj0lEEQA7nrylWb9s3_HwOEuKIG6dIn/s1600/pate+marinating.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHDBEa0CnpGYcMsRYPAgXXY4DVjO7laAg80Qu6nkNuw1iu1J3ZTeG_clSLubVXJZTfPpx5obLrXcfBMkl5pbCFR3_egpPBbKCPDaYG3GjOJN06abj0lEEQA7nrylWb9s3_HwOEuKIG6dIn/s1600/pate+marinating.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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The one on top is ground pork, and the one on the bottom is duck breast, duck liver, and bits of fatty duck skin, each with thyme, garlic, 2 bay leaves, cognac, salt and pepper, and the duck one also has some black truffle mixed in. These are left to marinate and cure for two nights in the fridge, before they are mixed, put in a terrine, and cooked.</div>
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to be continued...</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15757039155584229346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251367839805454476.post-33773286407651637902014-02-10T07:54:00.000-08:002014-07-13T16:47:31.102-07:00guilty pleasures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15757039155584229346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251367839805454476.post-44680091611144627662014-02-06T13:23:00.000-08:002014-02-20T08:16:15.373-08:00Cassoulet Journal, Entry #1I know it's been a while since I've posted anything, but the truth is I just haven't been cooking a lot, or drinking much wine, and I don't feel like the world needs to read any more articles about the Super Bowl halftime show. I have tried to write something on a number of occasions, but the substance or the inspiration or both just weren't there. I personally find it annoying when the blogs I read go weeks and weeks without posting so I apologize for this blogging dryspell. But I do have an excuse...<br />
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I have been in the throes of planning a big dinner party, and all of my culinary imagination, and all of my money have been funneled into the endeavor. I've never hosted a real dinner party and it's turned out to be quite an undertaking. I've been spending most of my free time researching recipes, planning a menu, buying wines and writing shopping lists. I've been neglecting my practicing and instead I've been reading articles online about different types of sausages. My girlfriend even told me I've been mumbling about ingredients in my sleep. All this sturm und drang to make one simple dish: Cassoulet.<br />
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Cassoulet is a southern French dish which is basically a white bean casserole with different meats, usually some combination of pork, duck, goose, or lamb. It doesn't sound like anything special but when made well it's truly magical. It is one of my all-time favorite foods, and I can't imagine a better way to brighten the dreary, slushy, bleakness of February in New York City. It looks something like this...<br />
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For whatever reason (most likely masochism) I've decided I want to make my cassoulet as traditionally and "from scratch" as possible. Cassoulet is one of those foods that is usually described as a "peasant dish," a phrase that implies rustic simplicity and affordability, the southern French countryside's version of "franks 'n' beans." But I'm finding what is simple and affordable for the French peasant is not necessarily so for the Brooklyn home cook. I can't go to my corner bodega and pick up a whole goose, for instance. There's also the issue of deciding on a recipe. There are roughly 17 gazillion regional variations of cassoulet, and the proponents of each one insists that their's is the one true and proper version and that any deviation from their method is punishable by being bludgeoned to death with petanque balls. And finally there's the time issue. The dish is cooked extremely slowly and requires a great deal of prep (soaking and cooking the beans, marinating the meat overnight, making the confit, etc.). You could write a novel, grow a "Duck Dynasty" style beard, and play 18 games of monopoly in the time it takes to make your cassoulet.<br />
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I know cassoulet is meant to be simple and earthy, thrown together with whatever leftovers you have from the night before, left over smoldering coals in your fireplace while you tend to your various daily chores. I'm aware that I'm probably overcomplicating a dish that is meant to be anything but complicated, but I want to do this as traditionally and painstakingly as possible the first time so I can have a better idea of what corners can be cut when I cook the dish in the future. And while it may sound like I'm complaining, the truth is there are very few ways I'd rather spend a day than reading archaic French cookbooks, rendering duck fat, and going to far-flung parts of New York City to buy Toulouse sausage.<br />
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Anyway, I'll keep a journal on this blog of my experiences as I plan and shop and cook for this party. Hopefully it will be informative, as well as entertaining, cause, you know, that's what blogs are for, or so I'm told...<br />
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In other news, I found an awesome deal on craigslist, and I am now the proud owner of the world's ugliest "Le Creuset!"<br />
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I'm told this is the rare, discontinued (I wonder why) "Kiwi" color. I'm thinking about naming it "the Incredible Hulque." Or maybe "Tom Creuse." Thoughts?</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15757039155584229346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251367839805454476.post-56508265828532626762014-01-15T09:50:00.000-08:002014-01-15T09:57:51.430-08:00Some Golden Era Prince Videos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCT7evAHVeJ00as58mECqRo5J1JHTKpSiG171QxMW9qHbps8XZa0zoSsSIjmNS5R8MjOU8gD6xbtzpob0YZiwEQNd9houm1dRSx4YtWsw2Wg8ulJg1NmGbM9xaNu-W3SXSslpZowqlygJD/s1600/prince_promo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCT7evAHVeJ00as58mECqRo5J1JHTKpSiG171QxMW9qHbps8XZa0zoSsSIjmNS5R8MjOU8gD6xbtzpob0YZiwEQNd9houm1dRSx4YtWsw2Wg8ulJg1NmGbM9xaNu-W3SXSslpZowqlygJD/s1600/prince_promo.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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A good friend of mine, who is also the drummer and bandleader of one the groups I play in, is a devout Prince head and managed to find a ton of great 80's and early 90's live Prince videos. Prince is famously vigilant about keeping his work from being streamed or pirated on the internet, so enjoy these videos quick before his team of inter-gallactic-transvestite-sex-lawyers comes to take me away. <br />
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<b>"Purple Rain" </b><br />
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<a href="http://www.antiquiet.com/music/2010/05/prince-purple-rain-1983-video/">http://www.antiquiet.com/music/2010/05/prince-purple-rain-1983-video/</a><br />
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<b>"D.M.S.R."</b> with Maceo Parker, Prince rocking the oversized Vince Carter Raptors jersey<br />
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<a href="http://www.jukebo.com/prince/music-clip,dmsr-live,s0s3q.html">http://www.jukebo.com/prince/music-clip,dmsr-live,s0s3q.html</a><br />
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<b>"When Doves Cry"</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.guavaleaf.com/video/6168/Prince--When-Dove-Cry-Live#sthash.kMxaVjA6.Bg8ZjeNi.dpbs">http://www.guavaleaf.com/video/6168/Prince--When-Dove-Cry-Live#sthash.kMxaVjA6.Bg8ZjeNi.dpbs</a><br />
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<b>"Let's Work"</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.guavaleaf.com/video/9877/Prince--Lets-Work-Live-1981-Houston#sthash.ptWswytb.1bfZ81A1.dpbs">http://www.guavaleaf.com/video/9877/Prince--Lets-Work-Live-1981-Houston#sthash.ptWswytb.1bfZ81A1.dpbs</a><br />
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<b>"Hot Thing" </b>pretty clearly lip-synched but the theatrics, and the dancing and the performance in general are pretty incredible<br />
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<a href="http://www.guavaleaf.com/video/9872/Prince--Hot-Thing-Live-1987-Rotterdam#sthash.TfB85GmJ.RROu40zH.dpbs">http://www.guavaleaf.com/video/9872/Prince--Hot-Thing-Live-1987-Rotterdam#sthash.TfB85GmJ.RROu40zH.dpbs</a><br />
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<b>"Housequake" </b><br />
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<a href="http://www.guavaleaf.com/video/9873/Prince--Housequake-Live-1988-LA#sthash.vQhMOUoK.jvHLOsve.dpbs">http://www.guavaleaf.com/video/9873/Prince--Housequake-Live-1988-LA#sthash.vQhMOUoK.jvHLOsve.dpbs</a><br />
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<b>"Little Red Corvette"</b> Solo acoustic version<br />
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<a href="http://www.jukebo.com/prince/music-clip,little-red-corvette-acoustic-live,xxpr5v.html">http://www.jukebo.com/prince/music-clip,little-red-corvette-acoustic-live,xxpr5v.html</a><br />
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<b>"Let's Go Cracy," "Kiss" Medley </b><br />
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<a href="http://www.guavaleaf.com/video/6169/Prince--Lets-Go-crazy-and-Kiss-Live#sthash.TSbWpwsX.JXk28R8t.dpbs">http://www.guavaleaf.com/video/6169/Prince--Lets-Go-crazy-and-Kiss-Live#sthash.TSbWpwsX.JXk28R8t.dpbs</a><br />
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<b>"Kiss" </b>another amazing version<br />
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<a href="http://www.guavaleaf.com/video/9874/Prince--Kiss-Live-1990-Rotterdam#sthash.BenneIRM.wkgNvun1.dpbs">http://www.guavaleaf.com/video/9874/Prince--Kiss-Live-1990-Rotterdam#sthash.BenneIRM.wkgNvun1.dpbs</a><br />
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<b>"Controversy" </b>my personal favorite, unbelievably nasty guitar playing<br />
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<a href="http://www.guavaleaf.com/video/9878/Prince--Controversy-Live-1981-Houston#sthash.6DJjcub0.RV8OfkK6.dpbs">http://www.guavaleaf.com/video/9878/Prince--Controversy-Live-1981-Houston#sthash.6DJjcub0.RV8OfkK6.dpbs</a><br />
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and for good measure...<br />
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<a href="http://www.comedycentral.com/video-clips/e748yj/chappelle-s-show-true-hollywood-stories---prince">http://www.comedycentral.com/video-clips/e748yj/chappelle-s-show-true-hollywood-stories---prince</a><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15757039155584229346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251367839805454476.post-52884561467023239472014-01-10T10:04:00.000-08:002014-01-10T10:06:17.411-08:00a good read and some good juice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.avclub.com/article/melvins-buzz-osborne-picks-songs-by-bands-that-wer-200741">http://www.avclub.com/article/melvins-buzz-osborne-picks-songs-by-bands-that-wer-200741</a></div>
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In this interview Buzz Osborne, guitarist and frontman of the Melvins, and, in my eyes, the undisputed king of not blowing it, gives us an unapologetic lesson on longevity in music. I found this to be a really inspiring read, and if nothing else, it'll turn you on to some cool music you may never have heard before, like The Cows. How have I never heard this band?</div>
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On the other end of the spectrum, I'd like to talk about a wine that isn't about longevity but is instead about instant gratification. Fleeting beauty. A place and a moment...</div>
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<b><u>2013 Christian Ducroux Prologue</u></b></div>
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This wine is fucking awesome...</div>
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Beaujolais nouveau is a style of wine that is essentially barely fermented grape juice. It's from the Beaujolais region in France and it is made from the Gamay grape using a wine-making technique called carbonic maceration. Carbonic maceration is process in which unpressed grapes are put into a large fermentation vat which is filled with carbon dioxide and sealed. The carbon dioxide can either be pumped into the vat, or created naturally as the weight of the grapes in the top of the vat crush some of the grapes in the bottom starting a fermentation process that creates carbon dioxide as a byproduct. In this oxygen deprived environment, the grape juice begins another intracellular fermentation process inside the skins of the berries. The grapes are then pressed and the juice usually undergoes another more traditional yeast fermentation after that. </div>
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This technique is used for a few reasons. The resulting wine is fresh, fruity, low in tannins, and very easy to drink. Another reason is that this style of wine can be made quickly, in some cases less than 6 weeks from the harvest. Every year there is a "Beaujolais Nouveau Day" celebration, right around Thanksgiving, when many of the big name wines are released. There are celebrations all over the world, and everyone enjoys their first taste of the new vintage. It looks something like this:</div>
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Critics of Beaujolais nouveau call it a marketing ploy, and dismiss the wine as being simple and not worthy of serious attention. One critic famously likened drinking Beaujolais nouveau to eating cookie dough. </div>
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I am not a Beaujolais nouveau-hater. I think easy drinking, fun, fresh wines have their place. Why should all wines have to be serious? Why shouldn't we eat cookie dough? But I understand the criticism. It is an overly commercialized aspect of the wine industry, and in addition, many of the wines are one-dimensional, candied and in some cases pretty gross. </div>
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But Ducroux's "Prologue" is leaps and bounds ahead of any other nouveau wine I've ever had. It is unbelievably layered and complex. It has the bright red strawberry and raspberry fruit you would expect but also layers upon layers of fascinating earthy, mineral, herbal components. It felt like every time I put my nose in the glass I smelled something new. And on top of all that, it is fresh, juicy, and vibrant on the palate with great mouth watering acidity. This is by no means a big, in your face wine, but if you're willing to give it some attention it is deeply complex and satisfying. And at $13 this is about as good a bargain as you're likely to find anywhere. </div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I imagine the reason for the outstanding quality of this wine is the winemaker's meticulous farming and his commitment to the nouveau style. He farms biodynamically, uses minimal sulfur, and plows by horse in order to promote soil health, all for extremely low yields. In an interview with Alice Feiring he expresses his belief that to make a wine of terroir, one should make a nouveau wine. I had never really considered this idea but it makes a lot of sense--it really is as close to the vine as a wine will ever be--but unlike many other nouveau efforts, this wine also tastes and smells like a wine of terroir, and with the layer of sediment on the bottom of the bottle you're reminded how close to the earth this wine really is. </span></div>
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It is hard to imagine a better wine to accompany a simple, hearty winter meal.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG6AAWyNtGMihXfqIch3-DI9Ibjw4FD33Jua7y9tBjTWD2Pqqwe0Q-6bl5CkuzoiyEBTF5FmDKheLkBI4AjTjQn6dsyNCysUp9g95Rf5T91ow-FRgNGVAC33Yq29fEWQx3oG_uIDgGUS6G/s1600/sausages.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG6AAWyNtGMihXfqIch3-DI9Ibjw4FD33Jua7y9tBjTWD2Pqqwe0Q-6bl5CkuzoiyEBTF5FmDKheLkBI4AjTjQn6dsyNCysUp9g95Rf5T91ow-FRgNGVAC33Yq29fEWQx3oG_uIDgGUS6G/s1600/sausages.jpg" height="320" style="cursor: move;" width="279" /></a></div>
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I drank a bottle with a dinner of sausages in shallot and red wine sauce with fingerling potatoes and green salad, and it was perfect. In fact, right now I'm having a hard time wanting to drink anything else with any meal I cook. </div>
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I bought a bottle at Chambers Street on a whim a few days ago, and after drinking it I immediately went back and bought 3 more. Go out now and buy a few bottles for yourself, otherwise I may buy all of them. </div>
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Alice Feiring's great article about Christian Ducroux: </div>
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<a href="http://www.alicefeiring.com/blog/2011/08/christian-ducroux.html">http://www.alicefeiring.com/blog/2011/08/christian-ducroux.html</a></div>
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The Chambers Street Wines write-up about this wine:</div>
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<a href="http://chambersstwines.com/Articles/ReadArticle/2225">http://chambersstwines.com/Articles/ReadArticle/2225 </a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15757039155584229346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251367839805454476.post-36656937260219449242013-12-27T14:04:00.000-08:002013-12-27T14:04:07.892-08:00Haphazard Wine Pairings #2: Champagne EditionAfter singing the praises of Champagne as a food wine a few posts back, I figured I should put my money where my mouth is and put it to the test. And plus, you know, it's the holidays. If ever you're going to have a bottle of Champagne lying around it's this time of year. <br />
<br />
For this "haphazard wine pairing" I thought I would tackle ramen. The obvious pairing choice, and the one that I imagine will be hard to beat, is beer. There really is nothing better than a piping hot bowl of ramen and with a good pilsener or lager. Beer does a perfect job of complementing the deeply savory, earthy and complex flavors of ramen without overwhelming the delicate subtle harmony of it. There's also the salt issue. I generally make the soy sauce based shoyu style broth, and with this salty broth, the thirst quenching quality of beer is hard to beat. But this isn't "a blog about beer and music," after all...<br />
<br />
With all this in mind, I decided Champagne might be a good choice. It has bubbles like beer, it can have yeasty flavors like beer, and it can have savory umami type flavors which might nicely complement the savoriness of the soup. I'm definitely not the first person to come up with pairing Champagne with Japanese food, but I've never heard of anyone drinking it with Ramen, specifically.<br />
<br />
Here's the wine I chose:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcFLTc-ezcAM-Lj0nlKnfMbXlpeaT-ngwLIOVAP4cb48vORVt5s0UGm05S-nx5yg7XQVgSXKQnwbcqbAtpSW4ttLS1YahCcuyjgtE_E6fhSg0YJ9a57ibKj0cBYY1PCSi7QelqCy-IfJnr/s1600/wine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcFLTc-ezcAM-Lj0nlKnfMbXlpeaT-ngwLIOVAP4cb48vORVt5s0UGm05S-nx5yg7XQVgSXKQnwbcqbAtpSW4ttLS1YahCcuyjgtE_E6fhSg0YJ9a57ibKj0cBYY1PCSi7QelqCy-IfJnr/s1600/wine.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b>Jose Michel et Fils NV Champagne Brut Tradition</b></div>
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I had never had a predominantly Pinot Meunier based champagne, but I had read that Pinot Meunier imparts fruity flavors in a wine as well as some earthy components. With that in mind, I figured it might be a particularly food-friendly choice. Meunier based champagnes can also be great values which is important because even the most affordable Champagnes cost more than I can generally spend on a bottle of wine. At $35 this wine is expensive but a steal for good Champagne. <br />
<br />
I've been trying to perfect my ramen for a while now. I don't stress too much about authenticity, and I've accepted that it will never taste like it does from a good ramen shop. Instead, I just try to make a noodle soup using the basic techniques and ingredients of ramen that is similarly delicious and complex. It takes a lot of time, but it is not particularly difficult and very rewarding.<br />
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I start by making a Dashi:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitpXDhMz9vx0KgnETJA74psTICE5m5Od_7gcqmYwQlENfAvWZQUeOKU7XO9ZcR7aP4P4SWHscqAEziMmw5Kti1hlw6hipurTsjvOMnsH68Wm_QTP-CXx9-bgoUWdvUF8dlhTkUEUDPnsrv/s1600/dashi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitpXDhMz9vx0KgnETJA74psTICE5m5Od_7gcqmYwQlENfAvWZQUeOKU7XO9ZcR7aP4P4SWHscqAEziMmw5Kti1hlw6hipurTsjvOMnsH68Wm_QTP-CXx9-bgoUWdvUF8dlhTkUEUDPnsrv/s1600/dashi.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br />
I soak kombu (a type of seaweed) and katsuobushi (dried and shaved bonito) in water for a few hours, then simmer the mixture for a few more hours, strain out the resulting broth and put it aside.<br />
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Meanwhile, I made the pork stock in a separate pot:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHMSdZEk4VqPYLikNxP0k3LBtBQJsE92SYTdQ6UtgaxhWxIy89ja3SqGr3RRkqEOjYGlT95e-XqWlyLREKFJi63PrlE7jJQOJyr2ZPF4_h7BMsikB-T5d3RWFEk1qPlHyyp_f1nnSy2Mj/s1600/photo+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHMSdZEk4VqPYLikNxP0k3LBtBQJsE92SYTdQ6UtgaxhWxIy89ja3SqGr3RRkqEOjYGlT95e-XqWlyLREKFJi63PrlE7jJQOJyr2ZPF4_h7BMsikB-T5d3RWFEk1qPlHyyp_f1nnSy2Mj/s1600/photo+(1).JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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I simmered a piece of slab bacon in a pot of water with some green onions and crushed ginger at a very low temperature for a very long time (I think as a general rule, every element of making ramen making should take an absurd amount of time). Remove the pork, ginger and onions and put aside. <br />
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To make the broth, I mixed these two stocks along with some lamb stock I had made and frozen after another meal a few weeks before, seasoned with soy sauce and a dash of mirin and sesame oil. <br />
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For the toppings I used spinach, snow peas, thin slices of the pork from the broth, radish sprouts and a soft boiled egg. After making the broth the only cooking I did was frying slices of pork in a pan, parboiling the peas and spinach, and soft-boiling the egg. <br />
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When you're ready to assemble, get each of the broths piping hot and combine them in the bowl, add the cooked noodles and then arrange the toppings on top. Here's the result:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKCR1xKu-eLep9nIOIu5ehaiPoI6feNuvQFNYcPZAwR89BhSY_O67mckAvYWXGXXaE7YZeRQLuUlupITupHSu6nzGnSUqwyZz4VwizjOrny8QHnlMgYaiklIYjl8olwWBsJavvV5GmYE5/s1600/ramen.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKCR1xKu-eLep9nIOIu5ehaiPoI6feNuvQFNYcPZAwR89BhSY_O67mckAvYWXGXXaE7YZeRQLuUlupITupHSu6nzGnSUqwyZz4VwizjOrny8QHnlMgYaiklIYjl8olwWBsJavvV5GmYE5/s1600/ramen.jpeg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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The soup turned out well and the wine was great, but sadly the pairing left something to be desired. There was nothing horrendous about it but the the wine failed to elevate the flavors of the meal and vice-versa. Instead they awkwardly spoke over each other, with the substantial acidity of the wine obliterating the complexity of the broth, and the rich flavors of the soup overshadowing the focused and surprisingly subtle and mineral flavors of the wine. The pairing worked best with the bites of pork, where the obvious, fatty bacon flavors found a counterpoint in the focused lean quality of the wine. But, on the whole, the pairing was nothing more than two delicious things next to each other on a table. And the saddest part of all this is that I'm not totally sure why it didn't work or what would have been a better option. I suspect that this is why wine generally isn't paired with ramen. But I'm not giving up quite yet, I think sherry might be the answer...<br />
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<br />
I finished the wine the next day and I don't think I've ever had an experience where a wine changed so dramatically one day after opening. On the first day the wine was mineral-y, lean and austere without much in the way of fruit at all, and on the second it was ripe and fruity and full of vibrant strawberry and apricot aromas while retaining a savory mineral core. I couldn't help but wonder if the ramen pairing would have worked better with the wine open a day beforehand, but, oh well. Instead I decided to try it with a makeshift carbonara using the leftover pork. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFom3O7ZPR8R9Hfkp7BcTX0iJl2YYxiR0zo-ZenFcu4DKKMwFBLreH6qm4RhBn9DL7MNIM6ZOFX-p0tMTl-kskCxz_KwcZJ9UmlW8tlt-Vtts42xXoskMm-kblZzhC9vyRK007EoAlHF12/s1600/carbonara.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFom3O7ZPR8R9Hfkp7BcTX0iJl2YYxiR0zo-ZenFcu4DKKMwFBLreH6qm4RhBn9DL7MNIM6ZOFX-p0tMTl-kskCxz_KwcZJ9UmlW8tlt-Vtts42xXoskMm-kblZzhC9vyRK007EoAlHF12/s1600/carbonara.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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I cooked the bacon slowly at a low temp melting as much of the fat as I could (I know it's heresy to use bacon instead of guanciale in a carbonara but I didn't have any guanciale lying around and, you know, I'm a rebel), added the cooked spaghetti along with some of the cooking water, added a ton of cracked pepper some parmesan cheese, and the egg. I mixed it all together over extremely low heat, adding more of the pasta water and cheese until it reached the right level of creaminess. <br />
<br />
I have to say the Champagne actually paired really well with this dish. Who knew? I think the main merit of this pairing is that the simplicity of flavor in the carbonara allowed the wine to take center stage, which was so open and expressive on day 2. And the fruitiness and acidity of the wine provided a nice contrast to the fatty richness of the carbonara, all with this umami sort of thing going on with the yeasty elements of the wine and the parmesan and bacon. <br />
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To be honest I'm a little perplexed that the carbonara pairing worked so much better than the ramen. The two dishes are both noodle based, and actually have somewhat similar flavor profiles. I wonder if it has to do with how differently the wine was showing on day 2, or if soups require different considerations, or if it's just that simpler foods make simpler pairings.<br />
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Anyway, for something different this holiday season, when the clock strikes midnight, make sure to have a nice plate of carbonara to accompany your champagne toast. <br />
<br />
<br />
And if you're going to try and tackle some ramen make sure you have some entertainment. I recommend "7 Days of Funk" the new collaboration between Dam Funk and Snoop Dogg who is now calling himself "Snoopzilla." <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/MHo3HwUb5D0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Dam Funk's singing is unquestionably mediocre but I've always found its mediocrity kind of charming. Let's just say his singing and songwriting always played second fiddle to his production. But with this effort Dam Funk does what he does so well on the production side, and lets "Snoopzilla" take care of what Dam Funk doesn't do so well. The result is funky. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15757039155584229346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251367839805454476.post-1753847818001671042013-12-19T21:12:00.000-08:002014-01-07T10:49:05.211-08:00Beyonce Rant<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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On January 12<sup>th</sup> Beyonce Knowles released an
unannounced “visual album” with 17 songs and 17 accompanying videos called
“BEYONCE”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was released as an
iTunes exclusive and was only made available to other retailers on Dec. 18<sup>th</sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It costs $15.99 and sold over 800,000
copies in its first weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Pretty wild stuff.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF7bcCtGOA5hvBCzK5zWxn4ck1K7IqqBc7B4Jn-eiqPYEYV8PnALgDTuMPvPayfqL5ed6iMAIjOSOnkOFMv3O2an1psEBIlcYzUT5jM1QauOg3o6CPQJfiOq6G8Q8NlPXelGY0O0DVLxnn/s1600/album+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF7bcCtGOA5hvBCzK5zWxn4ck1K7IqqBc7B4Jn-eiqPYEYV8PnALgDTuMPvPayfqL5ed6iMAIjOSOnkOFMv3O2an1psEBIlcYzUT5jM1QauOg3o6CPQJfiOq6G8Q8NlPXelGY0O0DVLxnn/s1600/album+cover.jpg" height="170" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here’s what we already know about Beyonce: her music will
have high production value, she’s magnetic, she’s extremely attractive, she’s a
great dancer, and she can sing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
all these respects she’s exceptional, and if this were the debut album of a new
artist I would definitely take notice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But Beyonce is someone I also believe has been behind really great,
innovative music, bucking trends and going her own way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this respect—musically—I see this
album as a step backwards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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I imagine a meeting in a boardroom at Sony Music
Entertainment’s headquarters between a top record executive and a producer
coming up with the direction for the album.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s call the exec Fred and the producer Bob.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I imagine the conversation going
something like this:</div>
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Fred: Gee whiz this video album is going to be
expensive!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only will we have
to pay for musicians, studio time, and songwriting teams, but also for 17
different video shoots with crews, actors, and a ton of different hot shot
directors, not to mention the army of lawyers we’ll need to hire to keep the
whole thing a secret and make sure the album isn’t pirated once we do release
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somehow we need to guarantee
that we will sell enough records to recoup all these expenses…</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Bob: How are we going to do that??</div>
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<br /></div>
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Fred: We’ll just take every musical and cultural phenomenon
of the past 3 years and copy them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That way the record is sure to be a hit!</div>
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Bob: Brilliant!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fred: Who’s popular these days…?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lady Gaga’s popular right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All that macabre, highly sexualized stuff is brilliant!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wish we’d though of that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh well, we’ll just do it anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll make a video set in a spooky hotel
with lots of deformed people, and people wearing crazy clothes licking each other
and humping and whatnot. We’ll call it “Haunted!”</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Bob: Perfect!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll
put it all over a sort of brooding euro-techno thing, I hear the kids these
days love EDM…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fred: “Get Lucky” and “Blurred Lines” were obviously monster
hits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do we replicate that?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bob: We’ll write a highly sexualized bubbly
retro-electro-disco sorta thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Should take about five minutes to write the lyrics and then we’ll get
Pharell Williams to help us out with the track.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll call it “Blow.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But do you know what the biggest trend these days is?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The newest fad all the kids are crazy
about?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fred: What?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bob: Civil unrest!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s happening in the Ukraine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s happening in Syria.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s happening all over!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Remember all those kids who put up tents in Zucotti Park a couple years back?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What was that called?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh yeah, Occupy Wall Street!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Imagine if all those kids protesting
all over the world bought a digital download of Beyonce’s new album, we’d recoup
those expenses in no time!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fred: Perfect!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We’ll make the video for “Superpower” about a futuristic/post-apocalyptic
protest!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, of course Beyonce
will still be half-naked and making out with dudes and stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember, everything has to be highly
sexualized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ever since Miley
Cyrus’ performance at the VMA’s that’s what everybody’s doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over the top in your face sexuality is
really in right now!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I could go on: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first verse in “Ghost” has the same recitative multi
tracked rapping thing that Kendrick Lamar does. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/GF8aaTu2kg0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Beyonce’s sing song rapping on “Drunk in Love” sounds
weirdly like Drake.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/-zzP29emgpg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The pseudo-carribean first verse of “Yonce” sounds a lot
like Rihanna, and has the same Elvis lip motif that Rihanna uses in her video
for “Rude Boy.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/e82VE8UtW8A?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Partition” and “Jealous” have a recent Kanye minimalist
industrial kind of texture, and “Jealous” even has a yelping vocal sample that
sounds so strikingly similar to the one in Kanye’s “Mercy,” that I suspect it
may even be the same sample.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Rocket” sounds exactly like D’angelo’s “How does it feel.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/SxVNOnPyvIU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
“Flawless” has "trap" style production a-la Three Six Mafia, or 2 Chainz. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y34jC4I1m70?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite all this, the record seems to be getting a ton of
critical acclaim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Am I crazy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is anyone else noticing these
similarities?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does anyone else
care?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let me clarify for a second, I don’t think the record is all
bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are a few tracks
towards the end I really like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While I suspect “Blow” will be the first single, I think “XO” is a much better candidate, or if that's too much of a ballad "Drunk in Love" could work too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the ballads
are pretty good, “Flawless,” and “Superpower,” are both cool and “Grown Woman”
is my personal favorite track on the album (although it’s partly because of the
awesome bass playing in the end part).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While there are a few gems, I just find it shocking how obviously
derivative most of these tracks are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I used to think of Beyonce as a tastemaker and an innovator, so to see
her bow so easily to current and most likely passing trends is
disheartening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I understand the argument that the work is about the
cumulative effect of all the songs and videos together, and that the “video
album” concept is ambitious and of our time, but to me neither the videos nor
the music have the content to back up the concept.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There isn’t really a narrative thread that goes through the
music or the videos that makes it feel like anything more than just 17 songs
with 17 ok videos (except maybe you could argue there's a feminist slant to most of the songs, and there's a recurring trophy image in a few of the videos).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And as far as
music video multi media innovation goes, I think this project pales in
comparison to the incredibly simple, clever and powerful video for Bob Dylan’s
“Like a Rolling Stone” that came out a few weeks ago (<a href="http://video.bobdylan.com/desktop.html">http://video.bobdylan.com/desktop.html</a>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s pretty amazing that Bob Dylan
after a 50+ year career is still one of the most innovative and vital artists
out there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it’s actually kinda
sad that a 72 year old man does zeitgeist better than any member of my
generation I can think of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We all love Beyonce, and maybe for most people her raw
talent and magnetism is worth the price of admission. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I get that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I always liked Beyonce because in addition to having raw
talent and magnetism she put out fun pop music that was innovative and of high
quality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She always masterfully
towed the line between entertainer and artist, and now with “BEYONCE” I see her
solidly planted in the entertainment camp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyway, I guess my final word is that instead of buying
“BEYONCE”, you should spend your $15.99 on a bottle of Muscadet or a 375 ml bottle of Valdespino's "Inocente" sherry and drink it while watching “Like a Rolling Stone” 17 times in a row.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now that’s a high quality way to spend
an evening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15757039155584229346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251367839805454476.post-6691224644092420142013-12-09T11:24:00.000-08:002013-12-27T14:08:48.995-08:00#CHAMPAGNESHOWERS<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
This weekend I went to the first of two “holiday Champagne
tastings” at Chambers Street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
one focused on wines made from white grapes, and next week’s will focus on red
grapes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t keep my cards very
close to my chest when talking about Chambers Street Wines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love the place, and their tastings
are a big part of the reason why.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Champagne is a region I would like to learn more about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wines fascinate me but they are out
of my price range for everyday drinking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As a result I have very limited tasting experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I jumped at the chance to try six back-to-back
champagnes which, curated by Chambers Street, were bound to be incredible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure enough, they were, and between
tasting the wines and talking to the Champagne buyer Sophie, I came out feeling
like I had a much better understanding of what the wines of Champagne are all
about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here are the wines from the tasting: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ol>
<li>Jacques Lassaigne NV Champagne Blanc de Blancs Vignes de Montgeux, $47.99</li>
<li>Diebolt Vallois NV Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Cramant, $44.99</li>
<li>Agrapart et Fils NV Champagne Blanc de Blancs "7 Crus," $51.99</li>
<li>Laherte 2007 Champagne Extra Brut Les Empreintes $74.99</li>
<li>Piollot NV Extra Brut Polisot Pinot Blanc $61.99</li>
<li>Doquet 2002 Champagne Grand Cru Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs $82.99</li>
</ol>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
(I’m pretty sure that was the order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4 and 5 might be switched though)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These tastings move pretty quickly and it can be difficult
to get a good impression of any one single wine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I find them more valuable for getting a general sense of
a region or a style or a vineyard or a vintage or something like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This tasting got me thinking a lot
about…well, champagne.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first three wines struck me as being similar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They all had a purity and focus to
them, showing more lean fruit and minerality than any of the secondary,
oxidative, nutty type flavors you can find in Champagne (guess that’s probably
an age thing).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
appreciate this style of wine for its terroir-expressiveness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can really taste that these are wines made from Chardonnay, they all had that great, cutting cool climate acidity,
and they all had pronounced mineral components.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A couple of these wines struck me as being Chablis-like,
which I guess makes sense given the proximity of the two regions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The two wines that I found most memorable, however, were the
Laherte and the Doquet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For my
palate, these wines were also the two richest and broadest of the six
wines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Laherte had an
incredibly fascinating funky nose and was rich and creamy on the palate but
with great lively acidity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the
Doquet felt grand and decadent with a warm savory, yeasty sort of profile. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is what I imagine great, classic
champagne tasting like when I read about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I only have one gripe about these wines and it’s an obvious
one: prices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By Champagne
standards these prices are actually great for such high quality wines, and I’ve
read in a few places recently about how Champagne is actually a great value in
the high-end wine market.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this
is precisely why the wines of Champagne have been relegated to the role of
special occasion wine. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If it were up to me, champagne would be an every day
wine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very few wines have the versatility
that Champagne does—It’s incredibly delicious on it’s own, great as an aperitif
with light fare, and I also think it serves a great place on the table. There
are so many times I’ve cooked a meal, struggled to find the right wine and then
realized that Champagne would have been the perfect pairing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But why can’t anyone make a bottle of
Champagne for less than $30?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I understand that these wines come from some of the most
amazing and also difficult terroir in the world and that some of them are aged
upon release and that their prices reflect these factors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So here’s my question: is the price
difference between Champagne and other sparkling wines justified?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think it is, but more so at the
higher end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From my experience at
this tasting, I realized if I had the money I would spend it on the Doquet or
the Laherte before I would spend it on the more affordable NV wines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found they offered
something in terms of complexity and intrigue that I haven’t found in sparkling
wines from other parts of the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I really loved the first three younger NV wines, the Lassaigne in
particular, and in some contexts, with an oyster for example, I would rather
drink the Lassaigne than the Doquet or the Laherte.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> And a</span>s I mentioned before, I really admire their purity and faithful
expression of terroir, but I couldn’t help but wonder: is a faithful expression
of Champagne terroir that much more valuable than a faithful expression of Jura
terroir? Or the Loire? Or Savoie?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Or Alsace? </span>Or Burgundy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of which
are places you can find great wine makers making delicious, well made, and pure
sparkling wines for around $20.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I suppose it’s a bit of a silly argument when all these wines are unique
and beautiful in their own ways, and in a perfect world I would just drink them
all but when you’re on a budget you have to make silly arguments with yourself
in justifying where to spend your hard-earned dollars…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyway, this Champagne stuff is fascinating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I know that a rapid-fire wine tasting is far from ideal way to evaluate a wine. </span>I would love to buy each of these
bottles, and a number of other Champagnes for that matter, and drink them
slowly, each one over an evening, or a meal, or a few days and get to know each
wine a little better. But if I did that, I would slowly go broke and end up
destitute on the street drinking a bottle of Doquet out of a paper bag. Which
is why I’m so thankful for Chambers Street for putting on these great tastings
where I can try these wines for free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thank you Chambers Street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/-5ZXNg5_ots/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/-5ZXNg5_ots&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/-5ZXNg5_ots&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">And in case you live a slightly more modest lifestyle than Ricky Rose, I highly recommend this wine:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSEJHjYiTpVFLKuBWK0mta_DjbsQElCLuYonVQs8I5oD515NPw_OziaeuA0YuW0cY5m65P1hIJ96Wvh8VMJDUueKoQV8E6_1Uvs6ZVQKFPDIT0KsjesmQW_T5dfTkdjffWkajSpjbwTgt3/s1600/montbourgeau.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSEJHjYiTpVFLKuBWK0mta_DjbsQElCLuYonVQs8I5oD515NPw_OziaeuA0YuW0cY5m65P1hIJ96Wvh8VMJDUueKoQV8E6_1Uvs6ZVQKFPDIT0KsjesmQW_T5dfTkdjffWkajSpjbwTgt3/s1600/montbourgeau.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><b>Domaine de Montbourgeau NV Cremant du Jura Brut</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Had this wine at thanksgiving with raw oysters and was blown away. Very lively on the palate, great champagne-like flavor profile. Pretty serious wine for $21.99. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Also, I would love to make posters of rappers holding bottles of geeky grower champagnes. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
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<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15757039155584229346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251367839805454476.post-52346199893994492902013-11-28T07:15:00.001-08:002013-12-01T11:40:24.718-08:00A Quick UpdateI feel bad about how long I've been going between posts lately, so
here's a quick update on what I've been drinking and listening to:<br />
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What I've been drinking:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>2012 Yvon Metras Beaujolais</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Just discovered an awesome new wine store, not too far from me in
Prospect Heights, called Passage de la Fleur. Apparently it's owned by
the same people who own the lower east side wine geek destination The Ten
Bells. They have a ton of really interesting direct import stuff, and
also a really impressive amount of large format bottles. They only stock
natural wines. I bought both this wine and the following wine there. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Yvon Metras is a culty producer I've read about a fair amount, but I had
never seen any of his wines in any of the stores I usually patronize. Major
props to PdlF for stocking this. The woman working there, I believe her
name was Emily, said she found the wine very "poulsard-like," and I
totally agree. In fact, tested blind, I would probably mistake it for
poulsard, with its light color, and rose petal and orange peel aromas. But
it did have that telltale "vin de soif" transparency on the palate
that makes good Beaujolais so lovable. Really awesome wine, improved for
days, great value at 20 bucks. I couldn't keep my nose out of the glass. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>2011 Nicolas Carmarans L'Olto</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Very interesting wine, also recommended to me by Emily at PdlF. This
wine is made by a producer I know nothing about, from a region I know very
little about, with a grape I've never heard of called Fer Servadou. The
wine was dominated by peppery/vegetal sort of flavors with a parsley/cilantro
bitter herb kind of thing going on. There was a subtle berried fruitiness
as well, but this was a far cry from anything I would call "fruity." Nice
and light on the palate with an interesting savory, almost cheesy kind of thing
on the finish. Honestly, the flavor profile was so bizarre I thought the
wine could have been flawed, but I still really liked it, and I don't have the
tasting experience to definitively say when a wine is flawed. Very
interesting wine, if a little scary. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>2010 Domaine Gabriel Billard Cuvee
"Milliane"</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Definitely an earth driven wine with nice minerality and a leathery
licorice sort of component on the nose that made the wine feel almost
nebbiolo-esque. Nice tart sour cherries on the palate. The grand
cru drinkers among you might fine this wine to be a bit "thin" but I
found it to be light and bright and unpretentiously drinkable. $24, for
me, is a lot to spend on a bottle of wine, but for great burgundy it's a steal.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>2011 Huet Vouvray "Le
Haut-Lieu" Sec</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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I bought this wine because I wanted to try some good quality Loire
chenin blanc, and Huet seems to be a very esteemed domaine, but to be honest I
found this wine disappointing. It was very tight aromatically and just
generally austere (even after a decent decant). Definitely had a nice mineral
component and good acidity but if I'm going to shell out 30 bucks I want a
little more. I found myself wishing I were drinking a $15 Muscadet. Maybe
2011 was a weird year in Vouvray, or more likely this wine just needs 10 years
in the cellar. In any case, this wine just wasn't singing that night...<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>2012 Berhard Ott "Am Berg"</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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The wines of Bernhard Ott have already gotten a lot of hype and seem be
to selling like Miley Cyrus albums this holiday season, so I'll just add that I
too think this wine rocks. This is Ott's entry level Gruner Veltliner,
which at $15 would be uneconomical NOT to buy. This wine is delicious,
complex, very versatile with food, and working well above its pay-grade. Great
stocking stuffer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What I've been listening to:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Jorge Ben-A Tabua De Esmerelda</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b> </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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I love Brazilian pop music. I love the grooves, I love the
sophistication, I love the singers, I love the songs, and most of all I love
the unpretentious joyfulness that is hard to find in our overly angst-driven American
cultural landscape. But, I will admit, I often struggle with the slick,
cheesy, elevator style production used on a lot of Brazilian music. In
some cases, I'm able to ignore the copious flutes and dated synthesizers and
enjoy the music for what it is, but other times I find it completely
unpalatable. However, with this record I don't need to compromise. I
love the production, the record has a ton of "vibe," and the music is
incredible. This record is a complete powerhouse in terms of vocal
performance. And yes there still are flutes. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Azealia Banks-"212"</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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I think I'm a bit late to the party on Azealia Banks, but my god she is
amazing. Just when you were starting to get dark on your city because all
these articles by David Byrne and Patti Smith and the like started floating
around talking about how New York City is on its way out as a place where the
arts can thrive, and you start thinking about moving to Detroit or Poughkeepsie
or Estonia, you hear something like this and your faith is completely restored. A friend was explaining to me how Banks writes the rhythms for her verses
first and then after the fact plugs in words whose syllables match those
rhythms. I don't know if that's true, but that would make sense to me
considering the incredible dizzying musicality of her lyrical phrasing. Azealia
Banks, you make me proud to live in the 212. WARNING: this track contains
some pretty unsavory language. My 13-and-under readership should seek
parental supervision before listening. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Jingo-"Fever"</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Ismail Jingo came up singing covers of songs by American musicians like
Percy Sledge and James Brown in Kenyan night clubs. Supposedly he even
performed for the Godfather of Soul himself at the airport upon his arrival in
Nairobi and, as the story goes, was so good that Brown joined him onstage and
sang "Talking Loud and Saying Nothing" with him. "Fever"
was by far Jingo's biggest hit during his lifetime, and the track enjoyed a
resurgence of crossover success when it was featured in the soundtrack of the
2006 film "The Last King of Scotland."* This is one of those
tracks that is like candy for me. Whenever I don't know what to listen to
immediately I put it on, and I've listened to it on repeat. I have a
fever, and the only prescription is more "Fever."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Kanye West-Yeezus</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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That's right. I'll admit it. I love this record. When
I first listened to it I was blown away: the minimalist palate and the dark
industrial sort of textures were very striking. But I decided after that that I
had no desire to ever listen to it again. I thought it was another
example of high-concept, low-content music. But sure enough, this record
has crept its way back into my consciousness and back into my listening
rotation and, I have to say, I think it's really good. Does it seem a bit
half-baked lyrically? Sure. Is the overall aesthetic a bit grating
at times? A bit. Do I find some of the Justin Vernon stuff
unnecessary and annoying? Definitely. But I'll be damned if it
isn't one of the most adventurous and fearless hip-hop albums I've heard all year.
And by one of the most commercially successful artists in the world no
less. No one can deny the charisma and passion and intensity West puts
into his delivery, even if the words, at moments, miss their mark. And
the record has a fascinating patience to it—it's more about tension than
release. It completely upends the dynamic contours (or lack thereof) that have become the
status quo in modern hip-hop production. If nothing else, this record is
important because it has set a new standard for how experimental and
groundbreaking a commercial hip-hop record can and should be. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Anyway, I was given the job of curating the wines for Thanksgiving
dinner, so expect an update on how that went soon...<o:p></o:p></div>
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Happy Holidays!<o:p></o:p></div>
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*I got all this background info about Jingo from an amazing blog about
African music called "Afro7." Check it out! http://afro7.net/<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15757039155584229346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251367839805454476.post-46518303802351953252013-11-15T12:28:00.000-08:002013-11-15T12:37:36.136-08:00Drinking about Music<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Truly great wine is indescribable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has to be experienced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This makes someone writing about wine’s job very
difficult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The approach most
people take is to rattle off a list of all the flavors and aromas they detect
(black currant, river stone, cat-pee, etc.) and describe the structural
elements of the wine (body, weight, length, etc.).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a necessary evil in writing—it’s useful in pointing out
a wine’s “quirks”—but it can never give the reader a true impression of the
wine.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I happen to like a lot of wines that could be described as
“quirky.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hesitate to use the
word “quirky” because it sounds a bit diminutive, but in my mind a wine can be
grand and majestic and still be “quirky.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These are wines that have novel characteristics, and they are easier to
describe. Tasting notes are much more impactful when the notes of a wine are
unique and exotic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Poulsard comes
to mind: a red wine that can display dried cranberry, blood orange, roses, and
brine. Sounds pretty interesting right?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But how do you describe a wine whose characteristics aren’t
necessarily that interesting, at least on paper?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A wine that is classic rather than surprising.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ran into this problem in my attempt
to describe this wine:</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<b>2010 Gerard Duplessis Chablis Premier Cru, Montee De Tonnerre</b></div>
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This is one of the best wines I’ve ever tasted but if I were
to read off my tasting notes—citrus, seashells, minerality, brine, flowers—it
would sound like textbook Chablis and tell you nothing about how special it is.
Instead, its uniqueness has something to do with the way all these elements
come together; the harmony of the wine, the energy and vibrancy of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How the wine feels like a living thing,
and how it changes over time—how the wine makes you feel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that all sounds vague and fluffy
and does an equally bad job of describing the wine as the Chablis laundry list
I wrote before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have the same issue with music journalism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Music writers love to list all the
different things they hear in cringe-inducingly silly language using phrases
like “splashy cymbal work,” or “incendiary overdriven guitar riffage.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even if a writer manages to accurately
describe the different instruments on a recording and the sounds they make, it
still won’t give the reader an idea of how the music will make them feel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Elvis Costello famously said,
“writing about music is like dancing about architecture.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For example, I wonder how a critic would describe the band
Big Business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Big Business was one
of my favorite bands in high school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They regularly toured with the Melvins, another one of my all time
favorite bands, as their opening act and eventually became members.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I saw them every time they came to town and was always blown
away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They started as a
two-piece, a bassist/vocalist and a drummer, but they usually toured with a
guitarist as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve just
rediscovered their album “Here Come the Waterworks” which was a real standby
for high school me. The nostalgia factor alone makes it fun for me to listen to
but I still find the record impressive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The instrumentation is pretty much exactly like their touring
setup—bass, drums vocals and sometimes guitar—and they definitely took a
hands-off approach in terms of production.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could try to describe their style but I would feel a bit
hypocritical, and luckily I can just do this…</div>
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<br /></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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What blows me away is how the band makes so much music
happen with so few resources. If I tried to describe each musician’s individual
contribution, the band would sound pretty unremarkable, yet the music is
powerful, heavy, catchy, fun and above all unmistakably them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The bass playing, the singing, and the drumming are all excellent, but
it isn’t any one of these elements that makes the band great, it is all of them
together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bass and drums can
play a melodic role, while the vocals can contribute texture, or the rhythm of
the lyrical phrasing can work together with the drums to contribute to the
groove.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a careful balancing
act that the band manages masterfully.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At no point does the music feel incomplete, and in fact they deliver
more in terms of power, texture and even pop-sensibility than many bands with
much larger or more unique instrumentations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Big Business’ music is more than the sum of parts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think writers, myself included,
overemphasize parts because they are tangible and relatable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then again, the day a writer or a
critic can articulate everything that’s great about wine, or music, or anything else is the day it’s
no longer necessary experience it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe a writer’s job is just to whet our appetites for the
real thing.</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15757039155584229346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251367839805454476.post-27967990774145507862013-10-24T13:27:00.000-07:002013-10-29T17:42:17.412-07:00Haphazard Wine Pairings #1: Roast Chicken<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I started cooking, I realized early on that if I read a
recipe the food would turn out fine but I wouldn’t remember how I made it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the other hand, if I attempted to
make something without a recipe and something went wrong (which it pretty much
always did), I would have a very vivid memory of what not to do in the future, and I would have a better understanding of the importance of each step.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trial and especially error are
necessary steps in developing instincts in the kitchen.</div>
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It is with this spirit in mind that I want to start the
“Haphazard Wine Pairing” series on this blog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know much about pairing food and wine, and I’d love
to know more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know a handful of
classic pairings, but I don’t really know why they work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And with at least half the meals I cook, I don’t feel confident I could pair the food with the right wine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could easily study more of the
classic wine pairings, but that seems like a sort of circuitous way of getting
around to having good wine pairing instincts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead I’m going to make some haphazard guesses at what I
think might work, trying to avoid obvious choices, and take note of what works
and what doesn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully, in
doing so, I’ll also come up with some interesting, out-of-the-box
pairings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway, here goes:</div>
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For my first truly autumnal dish of the season I wanted to
make a roast chicken.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My version
was very simple with brussel sprouts, new potatoes, carrots, celery root,
cippolini onions, garlic, thyme and a lot of butter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only kicker is that I knew I wanted to use lemon to
lighten the dish up a bit (It’s an autumnal dish that’s not quite ready to
admit summer’s over).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I put a few
thin slices of lemon underneath the skin of the chicken, and squeezed the rest
of the lemon over everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
also had some sautéed shitake mushrooms on the side and an arugula salad with a
lemon-based dressing. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9orVXnp75e7GRjUK9gAUaZl8kWOVp_VCSIDI99xJcRIUFDK9NeaOCaKycSMR69wexPDEIIkHjdMQtBsVTRTI8Gm5cktJMnGe10I8spVFRIX-P8ZNtnmEJFj7gHudkSM7nXV9TbXE0PicG/s1600/chicken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9orVXnp75e7GRjUK9gAUaZl8kWOVp_VCSIDI99xJcRIUFDK9NeaOCaKycSMR69wexPDEIIkHjdMQtBsVTRTI8Gm5cktJMnGe10I8spVFRIX-P8ZNtnmEJFj7gHudkSM7nXV9TbXE0PicG/s1600/chicken.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Finding a pairing was actually surprisingly difficult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My first instinct with a roast chicken
is red burgundy, or maybe a lighter loire cab franc, but I felt that something
about the tannins in a red wine and the lemon would be problematic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe Beaujolais could work, but I had
no reason to think it would do anything more for the dish than just work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most delicate white wines, I felt,
would get lost in the rich, earthy, savoriness of the dish, and frankly I’m not
a fan of most big, rich white wines.</div>
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I decided to go with Fino Sherry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUk9Q-oKrJsgH6gaG0jEp_b_b2c6EBrYW9wamzbFDeDhIQ9Jebi9x581VPjV8D6Yh7MO7O2CDmjW2jrLiV-CPkdFZJtzlMQZM-cgTx-D_VvWJBSiflNQ1Lq7Ozg26WuvWeO09ncrnR0mY_/s1600/Fino.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUk9Q-oKrJsgH6gaG0jEp_b_b2c6EBrYW9wamzbFDeDhIQ9Jebi9x581VPjV8D6Yh7MO7O2CDmjW2jrLiV-CPkdFZJtzlMQZM-cgTx-D_VvWJBSiflNQ1Lq7Ozg26WuvWeO09ncrnR0mY_/s1600/Fino.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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<b>Gutierrez Colosia El Puerto de Santa Maria Juan Sebastian Elcano Fino</b></div>
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Sounds a bit whacky but hear me out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think most people tend to pair sherry
with exotic foods because it comes from an exotic place, and there’s definitely
something to be said for that approach, but to me, the flavors of Sherry remind
me of comfort food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the
savory, nutty, mushroomy flavors that come from the flor should pair well with
the rustic earthiness of the dish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At the same time, the acidity should cut the richness, and the lemon shouldn’t
be an issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was my thinking
at least…</div>
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The result:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVrVx8eSFnXARYIrpiS9qjPGmZQ9xJRLKpQBKVCY8D_gnI1ccnjc4DhqrToR0RMR0XXPc2lajCJMoZ_Ww51eKCcHtsQnuJYsmGmAGhykSRooeIZXCYbgCYsOQ1wkXVMTSlWTAFnbOu52H/s1600/dinner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVrVx8eSFnXARYIrpiS9qjPGmZQ9xJRLKpQBKVCY8D_gnI1ccnjc4DhqrToR0RMR0XXPc2lajCJMoZ_Ww51eKCcHtsQnuJYsmGmAGhykSRooeIZXCYbgCYsOQ1wkXVMTSlWTAFnbOu52H/s1600/dinner.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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This pairing worked well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Actually, really well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To be honest, I was kind of hoping it wouldn’t work so I could say, “now
I know to never pair sherry with celery root” or something like that, but the
wine elevated the simple flavors of the dish and made it all feel more light,
fresh, and, well, exotic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And when
enjoyed with food, the Sherry showed this green apple fruity aspect I didn’t
notice before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It made the wine
feel more giving, a little less intimidating with its abundance of nutty,
briney, secondary type flavors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
will admit I kind of cheated because I’ve experimented with Fino Sherry as a
table wine before, and it seems to pretty much work with everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This just further confirms my
theory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Lesson learned: Sherry is fuckin awesome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Drink it when eating roast chicken or
basically anything else.</div>
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With any luck, maybe my next “haphazard wine pairing” will
be a flaming disaster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can only
hope…</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15757039155584229346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251367839805454476.post-58608030667350709412013-10-03T08:58:00.000-07:002013-10-03T08:59:32.965-07:00Nebbiolo Bargain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgf2TyjmsAxiuJjKyK6GyT4M1dV__Ik_29JzgH4uV34tXgiasrA-Gb07rxMdyafyljP1GX6sPnYbCTX9LEGGqYoXE6el_AaBLt33zMCt5X8lj0GIY3UD52e_LUNpNvtbdeqQ0mhhkeeGdz/s1600/nebbiolo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgf2TyjmsAxiuJjKyK6GyT4M1dV__Ik_29JzgH4uV34tXgiasrA-Gb07rxMdyafyljP1GX6sPnYbCTX9LEGGqYoXE6el_AaBLt33zMCt5X8lj0GIY3UD52e_LUNpNvtbdeqQ0mhhkeeGdz/s1600/nebbiolo.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b>Antonio Vallana Campi Raudii</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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The Vallana family name has been associated with wine making in the Alto Piemonte region, an area about 100 miles north of Barolo at the base of the Alps, for centuries and they are still producing very highly-respected Nebbiolo based wines today. This is their entry level wine and it's good. It's really good. According to the fact sheet on the importer's (Michael Skurnik) website this wine goes through the same vinification process of all their other Nebbiolo based wines just without the oak-aging. Fine by me. This wine is not only delicious and varietally correct but it also delivers some serious, leathery old-world charm. Perhaps a bit lighter in style than it's "big B" neighbors, and it's drinking really well young. </div>
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At $15 this is about as good a wine bargain as I've found anywhere. I can now cancel my appointment to have my spleen removed and sold on the black market to pay for that bottle of Barolo I had my eye on. Knowing that great nebbiolo is out there at this price-point makes me feel like this drummer:</div>
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...or this one:</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15757039155584229346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251367839805454476.post-18803362109441487002013-09-28T22:27:00.000-07:002013-09-29T09:40:24.782-07:00Music and Terroir and David Byrne<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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“Terroir” is a concept that is talked about a lot in the
wine world, and means many different things for many different people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The explanation that makes the most
sense to me is that terroir encompasses all the elements that go into
winemaking that a winemaker cannot control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, the soil and the microclimate (weather,
drainage, elevation, etc.) in which the grapes grow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Therefore, wines that are “terroir-driven” are expressive of
the place in which they are made, and a wine that has the distinct mark of its
winemaker (this might manifest itself in tons of oakiness or over-extraction)
is less so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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I really like this concept, in theory and in practice, and I
think the idea of terroir is something that extends beyond wine into other
disciplines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David Byrne makes an
amazing case for terroir in music in the opening chapter of his new book, “How
Music Works.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, he
doesn’t actually reference “terroir” but that’s immediately what came to my
mind.</div>
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I’m a huge David Byrne fan and I finally got around to
buying his book now that they have released the paperback edition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far, the book is incredible—I highly
recommend you pick up a copy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
opening chapter is called “Creation in Reverse,” and he begins by debunking the
myth of a musician being spontaneously inspired.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He writes, “The accepted narrative suggests that a classical
composer gets a strange look in his or her eye and begins furiously scribbling
a fully realized composition that couldn’t exist in any other form.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or that the rock and roll singer is
driven by desire and demons, and out bursts this amazing, perfectly shaped song
that had to be three minutes and twelve seconds—nothing more, nothing
less.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the romantic notion
of how creative work comes to be, but I think the path to creation is almost
180 degrees from this model.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
believe that we unconsciously and instinctively make work to fit pre-existing
formats.”</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_yzsZYfEQkOOLAwVZ2NOJ-G1eDibaykSY2Af9pg0mF1Y0qCWCZuQXNHp3lO96E0vjolMOrFIbhj0m708vD-Bb6hiJo-9daPC_WIPDpG-UEojJ7ri5hjxzJTZXVV42VMQbueFLhtx4XT4O/s1600/cbgb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_yzsZYfEQkOOLAwVZ2NOJ-G1eDibaykSY2Af9pg0mF1Y0qCWCZuQXNHp3lO96E0vjolMOrFIbhj0m708vD-Bb6hiJo-9daPC_WIPDpG-UEojJ7ri5hjxzJTZXVV42VMQbueFLhtx4XT4O/s1600/cbgb.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
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As an example he points out that the physical qualities of
the club CBGB (the legendary New York venue where the Talking Heads, along with
so many other important New York punk bands, got their start) were ideal for
performing and listening to the kind of music that was being played there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He references the lack of reverberation
due to the clutter and irregular shape of the room, which was ideal for the
Talking Heads’ groove-oriented music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He also talks about the club’s intimacy: the small size of the club
allowed audience members to appreciate physical gestures from the performers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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He then goes on to discuss the differences between African
music and Western music of the middle ages, and their respective venues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He suggests that the percussive music
of Africa is ideally performed outdoors where there is no reverberation and rhythmic
complexity won’t be lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Conversely, he notes that this music would sound terrible in a
Cathedral, and points out that music with shifting keys or dissonance would
sound like a “sonic pileup” in a highly reverberant gothic cathedral*.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This, he suggests, is why the music
that was performed in those cathedrals was instead modal and “slowly evolving,”
creating an “otherworldy ambience,” that played to the strengths of the highly
reverberant space.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He provides a number of other examples, including how
singing style shifted with the advent of the microphone, how rock bands’ style
became simpler and statelier to accommodate arena and stadium performances, and
even how bird song changes based on the bird’s environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another way of describing this would be to say that
musicians create music for the context in which their music is performed or
heard, not in a vacuum, or not simply from internal inspiration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They create music that, like wine, is
an expression of place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their
context, whether it is a rock club or a cathedral, informs the work and is
accountable for the work’s success.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Similarly, great wine makers create “in reverse,” from the terroir up,
simply guiding the grape along in it’s natural process to becoming wine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When a winemaker interjects their own
agenda or personality into the wine making process, like a banjo in a gothic
cathedral, it can jeopardize the success of the endeavor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a final thought, Byrne writes, “Genius—the emergence of a
truly remarkable and memorable work—seems to appear when a thing is perfectly
suited to its context.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
something works, it strikes us as not just being a clever adaptation, but as
emotionally resonant as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
the right thing is in the right place we are moved.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While on the subject of terroir I’d like to talk about this
wine:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtcNtnT2VKOJKf_PvWaaB4I0sAkqh9XaiuWPSNnk-f-WHDSvcbmP5wST1YOZAkeDxVRafZ3nH_kgrbKKXIfEXxlzVpN3R_QJ0H9Qyu6fkOTIsKPtcB3okXgSvAA0GykyaMz4EpdDZ6vNIP/s1600/closel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtcNtnT2VKOJKf_PvWaaB4I0sAkqh9XaiuWPSNnk-f-WHDSvcbmP5wST1YOZAkeDxVRafZ3nH_kgrbKKXIfEXxlzVpN3R_QJ0H9Qyu6fkOTIsKPtcB3okXgSvAA0GykyaMz4EpdDZ6vNIP/s1600/closel.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>2011 Domaine du Closel Anjou Rouge</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This wine is 100% Cabernet Franc from Savennieres in the
Loire Valley and was $20 at Astor Wines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The color is a nice inky dark purple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Right after opening it was all fruit and one dimensional, and
while it was tasty I was a bit disappointed in its lack of complexity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But after some time in the glass, the
wine made a complete 180. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
definitely still had a berried fruity character to it, but it was overshadowed
by all these great earthy components that began to show.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a forest, pine, mint kind of
thing happening, as well as a really interesting herbal vegetal layer, all
underlined by this persistent mineral zing (interestingly, not something I’ve
found in very many red wines).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What was really amazing was how well all these elements came
together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve had other Loire cab
francs, the Catherine and Pierre Breton “Trinch” comes to mind, that are very
funky and bizarre (in a good way) but this wine, while very complex, was
harmonious, pure, and elegant: a definite crowd pleaser.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This wine also gave me one of my first “Aha!” terroir
moments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While drinking it I had a
sort of déjà vu to another wine but I couldn’t figure out which one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hadn’t been drinking other Cab Franc
based wines recently, or anything even remotely similar for that matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally, I realized it was the 2012
Clos Des Briords I had had a few days earlier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This wine is a white wine from nearby Muscadet, also in the
Loire Valley (for the record it’s a phenomenal wine).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s pretty cool that two wines, one red one white, from two
different producers, made of two different grapes with two very distinct flavor
profiles can still show something very specific and perceptible in common.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think it had something to do with the
mineral component in both wines. It’d be interesting to find out if these two
wines are grown in the same type of soils.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know for sure but I’d be willing to bet that they
are…</div>
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<br /></div>
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And what better food to celebrate terroir than mushrooms?!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrrdJ63XJuR0BxtC2Pv88UdBDV9cyGnxJ4vGTZkH9ZKzUGhYLEqSsoGsszt6oNtfhTb3YCy6gO1BiLpaw_HxP4H9BiY-8_6_qckW0IQktJfWLeWn5fo0jap_PrwfyRjo8-0M_9w5uuKV85/s1600/mushrooms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrrdJ63XJuR0BxtC2Pv88UdBDV9cyGnxJ4vGTZkH9ZKzUGhYLEqSsoGsszt6oNtfhTb3YCy6gO1BiLpaw_HxP4H9BiY-8_6_qckW0IQktJfWLeWn5fo0jap_PrwfyRjo8-0M_9w5uuKV85/s1600/mushrooms.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Found these dried morels and chanterelles at Choice
Greene in Clinton Hill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were
embarrassingly expensive but having never tried either of these mushrooms I
decided to splurge (I own one pair of jeans yet I’ll spend $20 on
mushrooms?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I may need to
reconsider my priorities a bit…).</div>
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<br /></div>
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Reconstituted the mushrooms and made a mushroom stock…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmyd_N3egyzCXeXCWAFv37kUIoocZ6rHBJbACfYZCUlLsgB5FR8V1KAr1n-dvr36I8KEtKYd0WI4nWJcFQfrH_gmqngqh2QoueD5_DD0xidnPRIloCVkFzzdWWEJvxszjlfiSFT-aszruh/s1600/stock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmyd_N3egyzCXeXCWAFv37kUIoocZ6rHBJbACfYZCUlLsgB5FR8V1KAr1n-dvr36I8KEtKYd0WI4nWJcFQfrH_gmqngqh2QoueD5_DD0xidnPRIloCVkFzzdWWEJvxszjlfiSFT-aszruh/s1600/stock.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<o:p>…which I then used to make a mushroom, red wine, Parmesan and sage risotto.</o:p></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidr82vXA6KrO26gIUsq0FkscmJ4l6imGMb7uRwDO07A_I2b9Z1GECT1i9shSLV-6G6bJBxw4m77qk4tVSSlMQQ8Zm2gBeLHSVt-AtkoApIIZQBdEZhRQZ2PFhZmcA7LVlbRlBZz-eVB77M/s1600/risotto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidr82vXA6KrO26gIUsq0FkscmJ4l6imGMb7uRwDO07A_I2b9Z1GECT1i9shSLV-6G6bJBxw4m77qk4tVSSlMQQ8Zm2gBeLHSVt-AtkoApIIZQBdEZhRQZ2PFhZmcA7LVlbRlBZz-eVB77M/s1600/risotto.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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The risotto
turned out pretty nicely, if I do say so myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The mushrooms were spectacular, and I think using mushroom
stock for the risotto really made the dish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was like a savory, meaty, dirt explosion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dish worked well with the Closel
Anjou Rouge as well, but after the fact I realized this dish was just screaming
for red Burgundy. Sadly, good Burgundy is hard to find in the $20 range.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any recommendations for good affordable
Burgundy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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*I actually saw David Byrne perform at Carnegie Hall (a
highly reverberant symphony hall type room) about 5 years ago with his “Here
Lies Love” project which was a sort of concept disco opera about the life of
Imelda Marcos he wrote in collaboration with Fatboy Slim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The music was heavily disco influenced
and was great but I have to admit the space did not do the music justice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found the room was too boomy and the
groove was lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David Byrne
actually writes in the book, “I’ve played at Carnegie Hall a couple of times,
and it can work, but it is far from ideal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wouldn’t play that music there again.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The music was great, and the concert
was still very enjoyable, but it was definitely a testament to the importance of
considering the ideal venue for a performance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s a song from that project:</div>
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/1Ybz_AvYcQQ/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/1Ybz_AvYcQQ&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/1Ybz_AvYcQQ&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15757039155584229346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251367839805454476.post-91957653977286894432013-09-25T13:43:00.001-07:002013-09-25T13:43:13.791-07:00In Praise of NYC Radio
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s not something I do often, but on the rare occasion that
I drive in New York, particularly at night, I love listening to the radio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because I am a musician, and because I play the double bass
(not very airplane friendly), I spend a lot of time on long drives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the medium-long
distance trips, I’m often the one who drives with the gear while other band members
fly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think I’ve driven to
Chicago and back roughly 4 million times now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you’ve never done it, the drive between Chicago and New
York is a lot of truck stops, a lot of corn, and a lot of flat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>About 15 hours worth to be exact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the soundtrack to this lovely jaunt
through the American heartland is a lot of pop country, a lot of top 40, and a
lot of Christian rock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I actually don’t mind this music so much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s truly artful how people can write
and produce music that is so digestible, so unobtrusive, but also catchy and
memorable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And on a long boring
drive, this music helps to induce a sort of sedative, narcotic, trance-like
state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s like the musical
equivalent of eating Pringles: it’s satisfying in the short-term and easy to
consume absent-mindedly, but can make you sick in large quantities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I don’t mean this pejoratively. I
actually really like Pringles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But by the time you reach Manhattan, all the junk food and
gasoline fumes and Katy Perry have left you in a comatose state, your brain
function at a dangerously low level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Your body and mind are desperate for nourishment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then you come out of the Holland
tunnel and New York City in all of its New York City-ness hits you like a ton
of bricks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or rather like a shot of
adrenaline through the breastplate, like Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction...</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh91YGSHCKTbqWv-eIZR4qNPmewYWa9AOhJFHPHoVopkCJNDLuiX2Rrc5EDLuXOg7cJiZiIAEAbGNNL_5q75nn74jXt2IzsHuyNEF-hV_5OaNtHzQUYqMBui09DgC2vLg8YXiFsoVPEfQvN/s1600/pulpfiction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh91YGSHCKTbqWv-eIZR4qNPmewYWa9AOhJFHPHoVopkCJNDLuiX2Rrc5EDLuXOg7cJiZiIAEAbGNNL_5q75nn74jXt2IzsHuyNEF-hV_5OaNtHzQUYqMBui09DgC2vLg8YXiFsoVPEfQvN/s1600/pulpfiction.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Your
central nervous system seizes as you are attacked with more culture, life,
filth and vibrancy than your atrophied brain can even begin to process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But as you cross the Manhattan bridge
into Brooklyn, and you look at that amazingly beautiful view of lower Manhattan,
things begin to calm down a bit and you remember how much you love this place,
and how glad you are you don’t live in western Pennsylvania…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perfectly in step with your shifting state of mind, the
radio changes as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All
of a sudden there are dozens of different stations to choose from in dozens of
different languages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On any given
night you can hear Hip Hop, Bachata, Brazilian music, indie rock, Cuban/Puerto
Rican music, punk, Chinese pop music, Korean pop music, decent jazz
programming, talk radio shows about local politics; I’ve even heard metal shows
late at night, real metal too--serious, cool, brutal stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve driven a lot all over the country
and I can pretty confidently say that there is nothing like this anywhere else,
at least in my experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure,
there are certain good shows or good stations in certain cities, but nowhere
I’ve been has anywhere near this amount of diversity or cultural richness on
the radio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New Orleans comes
close, but even there the radio is very New Orleans-centric—their music just
happens to be really diverse and interesting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And outside of those certain cities like New Orleans, the
programming in the rest of the country, let’s say 85% of it, is almost
completely homogenized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As I get home to Brooklyn, I always look forward to hearing
the shortwave pirate radio stations that play West Indian dance music at night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The music is cool, but I mostly just
love that these radio stations exist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The fact that unlicensed illegally broadcast stations can stay on the
air in one of the biggest and “greatest” cities in the world boggles the mind
and lifts the spirit (at least for me, I’m sure the F.C.C. feels
differently).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These stations
remind me of the delis and bodegas you can still find all over New York.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the face of the corporate
homogenization that is taking over the country, in small towns and major cities
alike, these dinky, dirty, poorly stocked delis, with crappy coffee and cheap
turkey sandwiches can still exist and thrive, in all types of neighborhoods,
simply because that’s how we do it here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> They look like this:</span></div>
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I know people who have lived in New York for decades will
tell me that it’s is nothing like what it used to be, and even in the
relatively short time I’ve lived here, I’ve seen the city change a lot. But to
me, the shortwave radio stations in Flatbush and Bed Stuy and the bodegas and
delis all over the city signify something about New York—that it is still wild,
still a bit lawless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel like this
can’t be said for most of the other big, thriving, major cities, at least in America,
and it’s one of the many reasons I like this place so damn much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So anyway, with a deli sandwich (turkey, lettuce, tomato,
mustard, mayo, provolone on a roll) in hand, and boom station on your radio
dial ( <a href="http://boomstation.net/">http://boomstation.net/</a> ), I’d like
to toast this great city.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And New Yorkers! Remember to listen to your
radio!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guarantee you’ll hear
something special and new every time you do.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7aa82g5IXsryi67F4uBE9tsKs2235RGCuaqd8dLPx8JDzfhmfbN3hTPcFW-x6pOClkNO6qGuhpLA2066o7nbYPUqTXP_Gm6CRgXplK0wF0ba-K5FjDAb0Iqg2DEfwmDx5y80upUkgtkGs/s1600/DownloadedFile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7aa82g5IXsryi67F4uBE9tsKs2235RGCuaqd8dLPx8JDzfhmfbN3hTPcFW-x6pOClkNO6qGuhpLA2066o7nbYPUqTXP_Gm6CRgXplK0wF0ba-K5FjDAb0Iqg2DEfwmDx5y80upUkgtkGs/s1600/DownloadedFile.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-------------</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Disclaimer 1: I know I’m making some pretty bold statements, but it’s all
based solely on my experiences. I would love to hear about other cities
with good, interesting, diverse radio programming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Disclaimer 2: I didn't mention NPR because it is broadcast so widely across the country, but it is one of the most consistent sources of great programming on the radio, and it is a national treasure. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Disclaimer 3: I was half kidding when I characterized delis as "dinky, dirty and poorly stocked" with "crappy coffee and cheap turkey sandwiches." While many are lousy (and I do find the lousiness kinda of lovable), some are amazing sources of great affordable food. Also I'm talking about corner bodega type delis not your Katz's or Carnegie delis... </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15757039155584229346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251367839805454476.post-41003225701337994392013-09-16T19:54:00.000-07:002013-09-19T13:28:09.307-07:00Falanghina and the Sensitive Layman<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
People sometimes ask me for advice on how to get into
jazz.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leaving the “what is jazz”
debate for another day, I find this question a little funny because, in many
ways, I think jazz is pretty easy to get into.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the biggest names (Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Charlie
Parker, John Coltrane, etc.) are generally some of the best-recorded examples
of the music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This definitely
isn’t the case for most other types of music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A google search of “country music artists” yields a
disproportionate number of young pop country crossover artists like Taylor
Swift, Keith Urban, or Blake Shelton.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Regardless of whether you think this music is good or not, you definitely can’t
claim it is a complete representation of the country music canon.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ll be the first to admit that some jazz is esoteric,
heady, and prohibitive but you don’t have to dig very deep to find “Ella and
Louis” or “Charlie Parker With Strings,” which are both recordings I think
anyone with ears could enjoy, or at the very least understand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think people feel that jazz is
unapproachable because of a stigma that jazz is a music that requires some
scholarly knowledge of the techniques and the history before it can be
enjoyed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is mostly absurd.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Good music does not require prior knowledge to be understood
or enjoyed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you need proof,
listen to basically anything by Louis Armstrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Armstrong’s music, in my opinion, is as sophisticated as
that of any other jazz musician, but I can’t imagine anyone finding it
unapproachable (which is especially remarkable because some of it is almost 100
years old now!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What makes any
art “great” is never technique alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, I do think that learning about the techniques and the history
of a music, while not a prerequisite, can enrich the listener’s
experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which is why when
someone asks me, “what should I check out if I want to get into jazz?” I send
them this video.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/SGful7FHu8s?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Obviously the video’s a little dated, but if you can get
through the schticky intro and the slightly weird interview style (definitely
some brotherly tension there…), the things Bill Evans has to say, and the
demonstrations he gives, are just about the best practical introduction to jazz
you can get anywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But don’t
just take my word for it—if you want to learn about jazz or art or music in
general, and you have 45 minutes, you should really watch this.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bill Evans says in the opening segment, “I do not agree that
the laymen’s opinion is less of a valid judgment of music than that of the
professional musician.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, I
would often rely more on the judgment of the sensitive layman than that of a
professional since the professional, because of his constant involvement with
the mechanics of music, must fight to preserve the naiveté that the layman
already possesses.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So far my approach to learning about wine (and I may be
going about this the complete wrong way) is educated guesswork.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I read about wines, and I try to learn
what to expect from specific varietals, regions, vintages, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I try different wines I have an
idea of what to expect and I try to take note of when a wine either meets these
expectations or diverges from them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s similar to the process I use to identify a recording: this is a
piano trio record and it sounds like Red Garland and the bassist is definitely
Paul Chambers, so the drummer is probably Art Taylor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But wines often don’t fit into neat little boxes, and this
for me is the fun of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had a Falanghina the other night that had me completely
flummoxed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had never had a
Falanghina and I really knew nothing about the grape going into it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wine was unlike anything I’d ever
had, and without any frame of reference I started floundering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At first I thought it was oaky, but
then I realized it wasn’t really vanilla-y or very buttery, just rich.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One minute I found it fruity, and the
next I found it earthy and mineral, and then eventually I couldn’t identify
anything about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was an
example where the wine failed to fit into any of the categories I had created
in my mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My knowledge (which
is, admittedly, limited) failed me, and it was awesome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A friend of mine who loves wine but wouldn’t claim to know
much about it joined me for dinner, and as I was silently freaking about this
wine she effortlessly pointed out that it smelled like pine needles, and she
was totally right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From there, the
wine slowly started to make sense to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is a perfect example of the perceptiveness of the “sensitive layman,”
and a reminder why it’s important to fight to preserve one’s naiveté,
especially when tasting wine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s the wine I’m talking about:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglHxv_q4WaVIKLSeDi9XEa3iECKGWHPT_UK87DLXtEQ-w5DRr-HvG0OFWhJTHAKhVyom3W7zY3qcbox8rHjDqzHfO3jrrwfe6LEkZHZaTPNyQUEwI61hQDgoTFRloDtumqi2MWCTnoGTop/s1600/wine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglHxv_q4WaVIKLSeDi9XEa3iECKGWHPT_UK87DLXtEQ-w5DRr-HvG0OFWhJTHAKhVyom3W7zY3qcbox8rHjDqzHfO3jrrwfe6LEkZHZaTPNyQUEwI61hQDgoTFRloDtumqi2MWCTnoGTop/s1600/wine.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>2011 Cantine Astroni “Falangos” Falanghina</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Falanghina is a white grape grown in the Campania region of
Italy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This wine is from Campi
Flegrei an active volcano area west of Naples and the soils are made up largely
of volcanic ash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I said before,
my first impression of this wine was that it was oaky, but after some time I
realized that that was probably just because of its richness and golden color.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a bit cloudy too—could there be
skin contact?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were grassy
piney aromas, as well as tropical fruit. The wine was slightly effervescent
when opened and had a subtle, almost spicy minerality on the palate without
being very acidic. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I almost want
to say that it was like a sauvignon blanc in terms of flavor profile but with the body
of a California Chardonnay, if that makes sense at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wine was a little rich for my
tastes, and I wouldn’t have minded a little more acidity, but it was very
interesting and I clearly had a lot to say about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And at $15 dollars, it’s definitely an excellent bargain,
especially if you’re into richer, fuller bodied white wines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It went really nicely with a spaghetti alle vongole and a
salad of late summer tomatoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjziXNgJ_KOZr4_lpI5fmXyi_-vlI85YIvKcPMshFDGXHGwRjHS1iOQQpl4cz9VFMcZNvUmh9zHLLzPWV2BKSvrQ_dzgNGGZKByLkYs7kBh3YfOOpzfZxu0hAOp5SDUW1g-7_O-CngARq1l/s1600/foooood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjziXNgJ_KOZr4_lpI5fmXyi_-vlI85YIvKcPMshFDGXHGwRjHS1iOQQpl4cz9VFMcZNvUmh9zHLLzPWV2BKSvrQ_dzgNGGZKByLkYs7kBh3YfOOpzfZxu0hAOp5SDUW1g-7_O-CngARq1l/s1600/foooood.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBCFnmlDa-LOuC1bpswlNN9BPwQfnDUsB4iE6M5Jk856Bg28rcOudk1YL2tc8RzACGX3Qmre4sYfOhYWXXknrC8fUvRvE5UdsVN0lNURYWJvUGF2ehmnNKilTNxX4bZyqqHp0eY0YxdGVk/s1600/better+food.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBCFnmlDa-LOuC1bpswlNN9BPwQfnDUsB4iE6M5Jk856Bg28rcOudk1YL2tc8RzACGX3Qmre4sYfOhYWXXknrC8fUvRvE5UdsVN0lNURYWJvUGF2ehmnNKilTNxX4bZyqqHp0eY0YxdGVk/s1600/better+food.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15757039155584229346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251367839805454476.post-86537248252986282192013-09-09T15:39:00.002-07:002013-09-16T13:17:00.133-07:00West Africa, Eastern France<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most people I know listen to music in intense bursts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will find a record or song they
love and then listen it to it obsessively, until they either get tired of it or
find something else to replace it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This includes musicians and non-musicians, and I think it’s a beautiful
way to listen because you are always listening to music that you really care
about.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve
never been like this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would call
myself more of a grazer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really
enjoy hearing new music and I can get enjoyment out of listening to just about
anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For that reason,
I’m always seeking out different music from musicians I’ve never heard, or new
recordings by musicians I already know and love, and I never stay put in one
place too long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However I do
occasionally get fixated, and when I do it’s pretty bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It happened with the dirty projectors a
couple years ago, it happened with that Kendrick Lamar album, it happened with
Caetano Veloso and now it’s happened again…</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjse_OCHegpkmcxkw2csYZrwk7BhZ0MWWPC3AkUIOiMdnDI8cufs9HktC3NoK3sCOL9dL0QFhpk6BDSGQ_6zZT8VKa1b6h3OSf7M6e2Fh0LK6LKNiJjSr26RWCkVzyLxa-fVxnxGmG0yh2p/s1600/Ghana+Special.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjse_OCHegpkmcxkw2csYZrwk7BhZ0MWWPC3AkUIOiMdnDI8cufs9HktC3NoK3sCOL9dL0QFhpk6BDSGQ_6zZT8VKa1b6h3OSf7M6e2Fh0LK6LKNiJjSr26RWCkVzyLxa-fVxnxGmG0yh2p/s1600/Ghana+Special.jpg" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Ghana Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds & Ghanaian Blues, 1968-81</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I discovered this great compilation
accidentally while searching for Dr. K Giyasi on spotify.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had read about him somewhere and,
like those of many African artists, his recordings are difficult to find.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the search is often incredibly
rewarding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was immediately blown
away by this comp.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The music is not traditional
highlife, but is the product of the cross-pollination of West African music
like highlife and American Rock, Funk and Soul that would have been heard by
African artists in the late 60’s and 70’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The instrumentation on many these tracks is evidence of the
American influence with distorted electric guitars, synthesizers and James
Brown-esque horn sections, but the incredibly sophisticated and deeply
danceable rhythms are unmistakably West African.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s one of my favorite tracks:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
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Hedzoleh Soundz are perhaps most famous for their
collaboration with South African crossover star Hugh Masekela, but until I found
this comp I had never heard their music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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For me, this is good as music
gets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is incredibly sophisticated and complex
rhythmically, but earthy and grooving at the same time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The music is raw and emotional,
particularly the vocal performance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The arrangement is perfect with the call and response vocal sections and
the guitar interludes shaping the track.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And it has unmistakable ‘vibe.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe it’s something about the recording itself but it’s one of those
tracks that you put on and the room seems to change in color slightly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is something magical about
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I must have listened to this
track 50 times since discovering it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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It can be difficult to get into
music that is from a culture foreign from your own, but if you are willing to
go out of your comfort zone, I can’t recommend this track highly enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Give it a few listens and keep an open
mind, and I think you’ll find this incredibly rewarding.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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I’ve been similarly fixated on the
idiosyncratic and delicious wines of the Jura region in eastern France.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I first tried a Jura wine at a tasting
at Chambers Street Wines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wine
was the 2004 Domaine de Saint-Pierre Arbois Savagnin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was funky, savory, kind of sherry-like and generally
weird.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But delicious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had to leave for a gig right after the
tasting but I caved and went back afterwards (which, embarrassingly, was
completely out of the way) and bought a bottle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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After doing some research, I
realized I have come to Jura wines a little late in the game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They seemed to have been pretty under
the radar for a while, but now are well known, and getting pricier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And sadly the Houillon-Overnoy wines,
which are considered by many the gold standard for Jura wines, and which were
formerly easy to find and affordable in New York, are now basically impossible
to find, especially at a reasonable price.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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But there are great Jura
wines to be had, and even if they aren’t under the radar anymore, they’re still
just plain awesome:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_AJS4D7P-uleqx0PVRXz5_n3AqA8zDU3uh7m_lCugDOq-1KubNpwUk-TUBn53TIRUVG8-Tso2ziu7gMV4BThA_sDVxIfKPcM37Plw3fcmHvwETuD3nLnJqGPp1qSuh0ASB8Qp2d1KPSFZ/s1600/savagnin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_AJS4D7P-uleqx0PVRXz5_n3AqA8zDU3uh7m_lCugDOq-1KubNpwUk-TUBn53TIRUVG8-Tso2ziu7gMV4BThA_sDVxIfKPcM37Plw3fcmHvwETuD3nLnJqGPp1qSuh0ASB8Qp2d1KPSFZ/s1600/savagnin.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b>2004 Domaine de Saint-Pierre Arbois
Savagnin</b></div>
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This wine is made “sous-voile” (under
veil) which means that the wine that evaporates from the barrels isn’t topped off,
and instead a layer of yeast separates the wine from the oxygen in the
barrel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This most likely explains
the sherry-like savory, nuttiness of the wine, which is definitely what struck
me first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the wine also has
really nice green apple and citrus fruit to it, as well as impressive
acidity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My first taste was pretty
shocking but after some time in the glass, and especially on day two, the wine
really comes together into a honeyed, elegant, well-balanced wine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very complex, a little bizarre, but ultimately
delicious…</div>
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Had this with a chickpea curry
dish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll admit this was a very
haphazard pairing because I got home late and this was the only food I had in
the house, and the only wine I had open, but it actually worked surprisingly
well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who knew?</div>
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***Addendum: This wine also went amazingly with a BLT the next day </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfeqo8-vEJd8XF-r_W_MYsL9Yp87Lzpi4lfKVhL7uaSs_4rdDI1ejZVODidfw9X2m6w4Aa3-cO6kl9PPm0eihqGymsgJMCCIBFOYvSr7PCBIt__jQ5nw7kmDRkAUHZFV9RVrAcwDH8pzHJ/s1600/poulsard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfeqo8-vEJd8XF-r_W_MYsL9Yp87Lzpi4lfKVhL7uaSs_4rdDI1ejZVODidfw9X2m6w4Aa3-cO6kl9PPm0eihqGymsgJMCCIBFOYvSr7PCBIt__jQ5nw7kmDRkAUHZFV9RVrAcwDH8pzHJ/s1600/poulsard.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b>2012 Domaine Tissot Arbois Poulsard
Vielles Vignes</b></div>
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Poulsard, like savagnin, is one of
the grapes the Jura is known for, and I’ve never heard of it being grown
anywhere else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was the first
poulsard I’ve ever had and it completely blew me away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wine is very light red in color,
almost pink, like a dark rose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nose was very
floral, but also with some red fruit, and an earthy savoriness I couldn’t pin
down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After opening there was also
a chlorine-y smell, like the locker room of a public pool, but it was subtle and
actually very pleasant. In case that freaks you out, it disappeared after about
an hour open, but I was loving it while it lasted (could this quality be indicative of "reduction?" I've read about poulsards being "reductive" when opened, but I haven't had the tasting experience to be able to confidently identify reduction).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wine is delicate, but also surprisingly intense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s delicious but also
challenging.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its the kind of wine
that is as complex as you want it to be--I could see non-wine drinkers at a
barbecue or a party enjoying this wine just as much as a very serious wine nerd
would.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Drank this wine at a pretty fancy
small-plate type restaurant for my birthday, and it went amazingly well with
everything we had (scallops, duck, summer vegetables).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could see this, despite its weirdness, being an extremely
versatile food wine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think this
would appeal most to white wine drinkers, or people who like red burgundy, or
anyone interested in a wine that is left of center, but also
incredibly drinkable and delicious--that’s always what I’m looking for anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15757039155584229346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251367839805454476.post-9736018230770151212013-09-05T13:38:00.000-07:002013-09-05T13:38:16.045-07:00First Post!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Welcome to “<b>a blog about wine and music</b>”</span></div>
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With this blog I will discuss some of the wines I’ve been
trying, and music I’ve been listening to.</div>
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</span></div>
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Before we jump to any conclusions about what kind of blog
this is, let me be clear about what I don’t want this to be…</div>
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I have no intention of making music and wine
“pairings.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do not expect to
read anything about how the blueberry notes in a so-and-so Napa Cab go
perfectly with Miles Davis’ ‘Kind of Blue,’ or about the best roses to drink
while listening to Rick Ross (actually, on second thought, that sounds kind of
awesome...).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will do my best
to avoid cutesiness, and instead to try to make something that is both a
serious ‘wine blog’ and a serious ‘music blog.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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But why music and wine together?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why not one or the other?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why not two separate blogs?</div>
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For me, there are many good reasons for making this
music/wine blog bundle package:</div>
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</div>
<ol>
<li>There are already plenty of music blogs, and
plenty of wine blogs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I see no
reason for bringing another one of these into the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, for those like me, who love
both wine and music this could be something a little different than the
abundance of blogs on either subject already available to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And for those only interested in one or
the other, let’s say the music lover who doesn’t know much or care about wine,
the wine component could provide a fresh perspective on music and perhaps also
pique the music nerd’s interest in exploring wine.</li>
<li>Wine and music are both things that can provide inspiration, pleasure, and intrigue.<span> </span>Many wine lovers I’ve met are also passionate about music, and vice versa.<span> </span>To me this makes perfect sense.<span> </span>They are both pleasurable but also intellectually stimulating.<span> </span>With music and wine you get as much back as you are willing to put in.<span> </span>You could study either one for a lifetime without ever having a complete mastery of the subject, but learning a little bit more each day with every record, or every bottle, or every glass is fulfillment enough.<span> </span>For me all the greatest things in life are like this. </li>
<li>Finally, I have a selfish reason.<span> </span>I want to have a wine blog, but I am in no way a wine expert.<span> </span>I am a professional musician, and music teacher and I’ve been studying, practicing, teaching and playing music for most of my life.<span> </span>I feel very comfortable talking about and assessing music in an objective way, and I feel like what I have to say about music might be worth reading.<span> </span>But any authority I might have talking about music, I definitely don’t have for wine.<span> </span>Wine is a relatively new passion of mine but a very serious one.<span> </span>I have become totally obsessed with wine, spending all my free time going to tastings, reading wikipedia articles about obscure Italian varietals and grazing NYC wine shop shelves for hours at a time.<span> </span>You can ask my girlfriend, she’ll tell you I’ve gone completely off the deep end.<span> </span>I think this blog will be a good outlet for me (and for the sanity of those around me), and writing about wine and music side by side will hopefully help me further develop my understanding of both subjects.<span> </span></li>
</ol>
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Anyway, no matter the reason, this is happening. And what better way to toast my maiden voyage into the
blogosphere than with a bottle of bubbly?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And there really is nothing better than great champagne, right?…except
perhaps a badass sparkling wine from Burgundy for $20!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0hetUVYZq8Gz7SHPndrSJDXJTYi5p04Mj3_DVJWLy3tnBSHSQ7u0Mnh11cqdKkLv1YjcZmVO1NDyy0OKdLk_kqs3Eo7dtGCI21LJgmPaDsFBSEMkyuykm7BAkzmCNEnR0DjgDS5RuaU6I/s1600/photo-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0hetUVYZq8Gz7SHPndrSJDXJTYi5p04Mj3_DVJWLy3tnBSHSQ7u0Mnh11cqdKkLv1YjcZmVO1NDyy0OKdLk_kqs3Eo7dtGCI21LJgmPaDsFBSEMkyuykm7BAkzmCNEnR0DjgDS5RuaU6I/s1600/photo-3.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b>Tripoz Cremant de Bourgogne Nature Brut</b></div>
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This Cremant is from the certified organic and biodynamic
vineyards of Celine and Laurent Tripoz in Loche.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wine is 100% chardonnay and bottled with no dosage
(dosage is a process used in making champagne or other bottle-fermented
sparkling wines by which sediment is removed and replaced, usually, with a
mixture of wine and sugar).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
result is a bone-dry sparkler, with bright fresh green apple and citrus
aromas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wine is exceptionally
balanced with substantial acidity, and subtle minerality. The mouthfeel is creamy and decadent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This wine is an
incredible value, and damn good regardless of price.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanks to the awesome staff at Chambers Street Wines (far
and away my favorite wine store in NYC, or anywhere else) for the
recommendation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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I can only hope my future posts are about wine as delicious
as this!</div>
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