Yesterday's blizzard didn't stop us from a planned dinner at Pizzology in Carmel. It was our 2nd visit to this wonderful pizza joint. We had a sausage and roasted red pepper and a pepperoni, both good eatin'. Good crust is a must is my pizza credo and Pizzology's is a winner. Read up on their story by following the link above.

Speaking of the blizzard, I think we ended up with six inches. The real story was the wind. I haven't seen one like that here in Indy for awhile. More snow coming Tuesday.

Big Super Bowl party tomorrow at Max's place. Joel tells me a Mexican Feast is planned. I had already decided to make Portugese Kale soup and I'm sticking with it. If you get the chance to see Bourdain's episode in the Azore Islands, take it. One, it's where I learned about this soup, and two, it may be the funniest episode he's done. Lots of big laughs. The Azores look like a great place to live, 900 miles from mainland Portugal.

Listened to Patty Griffin's new cd Downtown Church while making oatmeal waffles this morning. Produced by Buddy Miller and recorded in a Nashville church, this thing sounds awesome. Starts off with Hank's House of Gold and ends with the traditional All Creatures of Our God and King. Breathtaking. Highly recommended.

Second Skin

Just watched the documentary The Gits Movie. Another band I'd heard so much about that had never listened to. The documentary is very good and they really remind me of X. Of course they're pretty famous for the wrong reason. Lead singer Mia Zapata was raped and murdered and the case went unsolved for several years. A random DNA test caught the murderer and he was convicted.

Townes (Steve)

I guess by now you've heard Steve Earle won the best folk grammy for his tribute to Townes Van Zandt. Thank God. And thank you Steve for recording Colorado Girl. That song makes me cry.

Magnetic Fields

I think I said in an earlier post that I was kinda obsessing on 69 Love Songs by Magnetic Fields. I always loved Kelly Hogan's version of "Papa was a Rodeo" and I heard it by her first. But you gotta hear Stephen sing it. Now I find out that a documentary is on the way! Here's the trailer.

34 hours in NYC, Our Town

Amy & I flew into Laguardia last Saturday for a whirlwind visit to the greatest city in the good ole US of A. I hatched this plan as a winter getaway and to see BJ and Jessica. BJ is in the highly acclaimed production of Our Town at the Barrow Street Theater in The Village, and I wanted to go see it in a bad way. Good, bad way. Here are the highlights:

1. The weather! Sunny and mid-40's!

2. St. John the Divine Cathedral - hard to explain, must go there. Awe-inspiring.

3. Grays Papaya - 2 kraut dogs & papaya drink!

4. 2 hours in the Met - obviously not enough time.

5. Strawberry Fields/The Dakota - first time to visit - need to go back and meditate

6. Matt Umanov's Guitar Shop on Bleeker - vintage shop, amazing

7. Moustache - meditteranean dinner with BJ & Jess - I had a merguez sausage in pita, yummy

8. Our Town

9. The Piper's Kilt - Several Red Breast's and some great conversation

10. Indian Road Cafe-Cuban Sandwich for brunch

11. First half of the Colts game with BJ

12. Spending time with Amy, BJ & Jess

We'll be going back in June for BJ's wedding.

Year in Books

Here's a list of the books I read this year. I think this is it, 43:

Cookbooks!
Lee Brothers Southern Cookbook-Matt & Ted Lee
Momofuku-David Chang
(Read both of these cover to cover. Highly recommended)
Culinaria Spain
Culinaria France
(Spent hours flipping through both of these, fascinating)

Non-Fiction:
Dead Sea Scrolls-DeSalvo
History of the World in 6 Glasses-Tom Standage
Tipping Point-Malcolm Gladwell
The World Without Us-Alan Wiesman
Omnivore's Dilemna-Michael Pollan
The Wisdom of Crowds-Surwieki
The Five Love Languages
Dateable
A Guitar and a Pen-Various essays
Misquoting Jesus-Bart Ehrman
Kinky Friedman's Guide to Texas Etiquette
Hemingway & Baileys Bartending Guide to Great American Writers
1,000 Wine Secrets
Heroes of the Negro Leagues
In Search of Small Gods-Jim Harrison (Poetry)
Just Before Dark-Jim Harrison (Collected Essays)
Oldman's Guide to Outsmarting Wine-Oldman

Fiction:
A Lesson Before Dying-William Gaines
Boy Who Ran to the Woods-Jim Harrison
Just Before Dark-Stephen King
Bone in the Throat-Anthony Bourdain
Beat the Reaper-Josh Bazell
World War Z-Max Brooks
Watchmen Graphic Novel-Moore & Gibbons
The Quiet American-Graham Greene
The Graveyard Book-Neil Gaiman

Biographies, Memoirs:
Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records-Mac & Laura
When I Grow Up-Juliana Hatfield
Need More Love-Aline Crumb
Off To The Side-Jim Harrison
Across the Great Divide: The Band in America-Barney Hoskyns
Wishful Drinking-Carrie Fisher
Bonfire of Roadmaps-Joe Ely
The Replacements-All Over But the Shouting
Goodbye Little Rock and Roller-Marshall Chapman
Louie Louie-Dave Marsh
True Adventures of the Rolling Stones-Stanley Booth
Cinderella Story-Bill Murray
How I Play Golf-Tiger Woods

Currently reading Coldheart Canyon by Clive Barker. It's a big one 700 pages or more. I also have alot stacked up behind that.

War in Peace

Beck has this website where he records songs for a live video library. Currently he is recording Moby Grape's frontman Skip Spence's solo masterpiece, Oar. I stumbled, luckily, across this latest piece of work. Nels Cline fans, pour a drink, relax, and listen...

Record Club: Skip Spence "War In Peace" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

New Music

Most of this from the last couple of months, or more, from emusic.com downloads, a couple cd's:

Visqueen-Message to Garcia
Tommy Keene-In the Late Bright
Doug Gillard-Call From Restricted
Vic Chesnutt-At the Cut & Skitter on the Take Off
David Rawlings Machine-A Friend of a Friend
Girls-Album
Dirty Projectors-Bitte Orca
Tom Waits-Live
Lyle Lovett-Natural Forces
Boston Spaceships-Licking Stamps and Drinking Shitty Coffee
Flaming Lips-Embryonic
Daniel Johnston-Is and Always Was
Earthlings!-s/t
Grant Lee Phillips-Little Moon & nineteeneighties
REM-Live
Terry Anderson & the OAK Team-National Champions
Sting-new Christmas/Winter cd (awesome)
Tons of Holiday music
Watership Down-old cassettes I found (this stuff is so good)

So Long 2009 Goodbye

Here' s my Mom with her lifelong idol, Elvis. I'm going to miss her. The last two years of her life were not what you want for your mother, or anyone for that matter. I will try to remember something about her every day. Yesterday I taught Katie how to make noodles like her Grandma did. They turned out great and we had a classic meal.

2009 was the year of grief, wine & books for me. I set out this year to read 36 books. How did i do you ask? I think I made it. I'll compile the list soon. I am also working on the year in music which I'll post soon as well.

Have been listening to Vic Chesnutt all weekend. If you are familiar with his music, you already know he was a tortured soul. He wrote simple, lovely songs about the human condition in all of its strength and frailty. He was a bold personality that I was lucky enough to witness on 3 occasions. The first time I met him was in Champaign at Mabel's. I was there to see Bob Mould on his first post - Husker tour. The opening act was some guy named Vic Chesnutt. When my friend LaReau and I arrived at Mabels there was this guy at the bottom of the stairs in a wheel chair berating people who were not willing to carry him up the stairs. It was a fairly uncomfortable scene. So LaReau and I carried him up and he thanked us for not being dicks. Little did we know he was the opening act. I was blown away by his performance and bought West of Rome. I counted this weekend that I have 13 of his records. he was a genius.

Something Old, Something New

Mrs. C, Brett & I ventured out last Friday night to see the Vulgar Boatmen @ Radio Radio. After a fantastic pizza @ Jockamo's in Irvington, we arrived in time to see a couple of so-so-to-horrible bands. The Boatmen however did not dissapoint. The number of VB songs that make you dance and smile and sing along is really astonishing. The spare crowd stuck it out to the end with about a 1/3 on the dance floor. The coda was Waitin for My Man by the VU. Sweet.

Emusic downloads for July:

The Kills - Midnight Boom
David Byrne/Brian Eno - Everything that Happens will Happen Today
Doug Sahm - Live Austin City Limits
The Lost Sounds - The Lost Sounds

More recent cd's:
The King and the Crown
Drive-By Truckers - Live Austin City Limits w/dvd
Robert Pollard - Elephant Jokes
Jim James - George Harrison tribute

Dot Coms

From the Factory of Raw Essentials Dot Com:



From Robbie Fulks Dot Com:
My Michael Jackson tribute record -- I agree -- I want to get it out before year's end because the time seems right (not merely exploitatively). Watch this space for further news as it ripens. There's not much label interest in "Dear Michael, Love Robbie," as far as my finely honed antennae have detected. Stupid labels! But I think itunes and this site should be fine and adequate outlets for the record, and that's easily arranged

Watt

No comment!

Watt + Nels

Raining on the Fourth? What's a man to do? Look up Watt on You Tube.

The Farting Butterfly

This struck me funny. Michael Ian Black is hysterical.

Michael & Michael Have Issues	Premieres Wed, July 15, 10:30pm / 9:30c
Preview - The Farting Butterfly Sketch
www.comedycentral.com
Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games

Diggit Tunes

Emusic.com selections for June:

Dinosaur jr. - Farm
So Cow - So Cow
Robert Earl Keen - A Bigger Piece of Sky
Cheap Trick - Rockford
Swervedriver - Mezcal Head
T.S.O.L. - Beneath the Shadows (1983!!)

All for $15.99!! That's changing however. Beginning tomorrow, my deal goes from 65 songs to 37 songs for the same price. Bum-mer. Apparently there is a big announcement about significant additions to their catalog.

Here's T.S.O.L.'s video to Darker My Love from the Suburbia movie

Diggit, Rock Fans

I downloaded the Whigs CD, Mission Control, last year and have been listening to it again. I missed them here in town at birdy's and after seeing this video, regret that.

More New Guy Clark

Looks like Guy is working with Don Was, just like Todd Snider did. That's Jamie Hartford on guitar, John Hartford's son.



......and did you notice I figured out how to imbed youtube video's?!?

Minotaur

Prepare to be overwhelmed. Wow.

Its a Long Way to the Top

If you want to Rock and Roll.

Thats some sound advice from AC/DC channeled through Lucinda Williams. I suspect they both understand what they're singing about. Lu ended her show at the Vogue last week with this Back in Black classic. The band Buick 6 were the best bar band in the world on this night and both they and Lucinda were having some fun. The sold out crowd made sure they knew it (even on a Tuesday night). I have read that Lucinda has been rejuvenized by Buick 6 and by the look of it she has. It's also apparent on her latest record Little Honey. The guy that replaced Doug Pettibone (above) on lead guitar was out of sight. One of the best shows ever.

Current Playlist:
Todd Snider - The Excitement Plan
Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women
Man of Somebody's Dreams - Tribute to Chris Gaffney
Lucinda Williams - Little Honey
Sonic Youth - The Eternal
Dr. John - In the Right Time (1973 vinyl....groovy. Thanks to Danko for recommendation)
Cosmos - Robert Pollard & Richard Davies (oddly beautiful)

My (Not So New) Favorite Things

1. Applause and high praise for those music labels combining new vinyl releases with a free digital download. Two for the price of one! I've been enjoying the new LP by John Doe & the Sadies on the turntable and in the car on the ipod. Country Club is the name of it and its 15 sweet classic country covers. Stop the World and Let Me Off !! Take These Chains From My Heart!! Detroit City!! Awesome.

2. Record Covers - I'm probably not the only fool to buy a record just for the cover. I've been lucky with that over the years. Chronic Town (rem), Discipline (king crimson), Wh'appen (english beat), Drinkin, Lechin, Lyin (boss hog..hehehe). Well here's another flat beauty collage from Robert Pollard's new Circus Devils record, Gringo.

3. Speaking of Pollard, I just bought one of his original collages. Pollard has been selling off tons of his collages and I feel lucky to have one. It is called "Ladies and Instruments."

Planet Waves

Weekend listening:

Dylan/Band - Planet Waves vinyl

The Band - Rock of Ages vinyl

Felice Bros. - Yonder is the Clock

Steve Earle - Townes (deluxe with solo versions!)

Tim Easton - Porcupine

This is a quite a list. Also fun to mention that Jeff & Keri are mentioned in Easton's liner notes. Very cool. Also the great Kenny Vaughn playing guitar on Easton's record!

Bought Lucinda Williams tix for a coming show at the Vogue. I've seen her only once at an outdoor festival downtown. This is a great venue for her. Can't wait.

Joel had an impromptu cookout last night and we all had a great time. As usual, the pork from the grill was outstanding and the pitch in was plentiful. Joel was playing the new Conor Oberst on vinyl and it sounded great. Have to get that soon.

Started the new Stephen King book of short stories called, Just After Sunset. So far, very good. I haven't read a King novel or any short stories in a long time. Next in line is a book BJ recommended called A Fraction of the Whole. Next after that, The Omnivore's Dilemma.