Bowlful of Crickets
music, books, soda, food, miscellany
Cover Version Round-Up: Duran Duran, Talking Heads, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg
Original by Duran Duran
Cover by Lostprophets
Lostprophets is a nu-metal band (from Wales, no less), so they haven’t registered on my radar until now. Not only did I discover their nice, metallic take on a Duran Duran song, they also do Justin Timberlake’s
Cry Me A River and The Cure’s Boys Don’t Cry. All are worth at least one listen.. Naive Melody (This Must Be The Place)Original by Talking Heads
Cover by The Arcade Fire
I’ve heard the Arcade Fire in the record store, and I think I liked it, but I’m not positive. I may have to pick it up before I do the Timmy Awards, along with a dozen other things. Here’s their take on a pretty Talking Heads song- dig the steel drums!
What’s Your Fantasy?Original by Ludacris
Cover by Travis Morrison
I’m not very familar with the emo band The Dismemberment Plan, but this is their singer doing his rendition of the recent Ludacris hit. If you’re familar with Ludacris’ version, you should find this hi-larious.
Drop It Like It’s Hot Hot Hot- ImmuzikationA mash-up of Snoop Dogg’s "Drop It Like It’s Hot" over The Cure’s "Hot Hot Hot"
Not quite a cover, but it’s a nice mash up of what’s one of the catchier songs out now and a Cure classic. It’s nice when a mash-up has a clever concept/title AND actually works as well as this one does…
Jackass Soda: Faygo Rock ‘N Rye
Alleged Flavor: "Cream Cola"- the can itself
Actual Flavor: "Hey, who spilled flat, generic coke in my red cream soda"
Fruit Juice Content: Not a drop
Carbonation Level: Low. Drink it fast or you’ll miss it entirely
Color: An ugly red with a pinkish hue. I thought it was brownish-red from across the roon. but nah, pukey pink red
Tasting sample was from: aluminum can, poured into glass
At the same time I picked up the 12 pack of Faygo Peach, I did the same with Faygo RockN’Rye. I had to try it for the name alone, but the fine print revealing it to be a "Cream Cola" intrigued me all the more. Hey, I like Cola. I even like Vanilla Cola. Surely Cream Cola would be tasty?
Er, not quite.
Faygo is the cut-rate soda out of Michigan, and I think they produce a cheaper beverage by cutting corners. Definately on carbonation- it hisses when you open the can, then it’s gone like the summer wind.
As for the taste of this one…well, it’s not quite red cream, and it’s definately not cola. It’s a "You’ve got peanut butter in my chocolate" experiment gone bad.
And I don’t know why they call this stuff Rock N’ Rye.
I’ll probably drink the rest of the cans I bought, but I make no promises.
Rating: 3 out 10
And, boy, was I pleasantly surprised.
The winner was TV On the Radio. I was expecting Franz Ferdinand, who was equally deserving, won the Mercury Prize, sold more records, is more photogenic and generally better known. Or maybe even Dizzee Rascal, who has quite a buzz going and won the Mercury Prize last year.
TV On the Radio was definitely the dark horse of the candidates, no pun intended. Their 4/5 black membership (of their touring lineup- the group on the album was 2/3 black) makes them quite an anomaly in alternative rock. Their music is also quite different, mixing elements of doo-wop, soul, glam and electronics into a wall a guitars. An interesting and rewarding debut, and nice to see a true outsider (their album is on Chicago-based indie Touch & Go) get some recognition.
The Shortlist Finalists for 2004 were:
Air – TALKIE WALKIE
Dizzee Rascal – BOY IN DA CORNER
Franz Ferdinand – FRANZ FERDINAND
Ghostface Killah – THE PRETTY TONEY ALBUM
The Killers – HOT FUSS
Loretta Lynn – VAN LEAR ROSE
Nellie McKay – GET AWAY FROM ME
The Streets – A GRAND DON’T COME FOR FREE
TV On the Radio – DESPERATE YOUTH, BLOODTHIRSTY BABES
Wilco – A GHOST IS BORN (Nonesuch)
and the Mercury Prize Finalists were:
Amy Winehouse – Frank
Basement Jaxx – Kish Kash
Belle & Sebastian – Dear Catastrophe Waitress
Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand
Jamelia – Thank You
Joss Stone – The Soul Sessions
Keane – Hopes and Fears
Robert Wyatt – Cuckooland
Snow Patrol – Final Straw
The Streets – A Grand Don’t Come for Free
Ty – Upwards
The Zutons – Who Killed…… The Zutons
Top 40 Bands in America Today
Check out the list compiled by
Information Leafblower. He asked 20 music-obsessed bloggers for their Top 10, and compiled the results. The comments that follow the resulta are preety interesting- this list really got some folks going…Below is the consensus Top 10, along with my thoughts- they belong here, they’re ranked too high, I don’t know enough about them to say one way or the other. Mind you, the music I hear is different from most would-be critics as it relies on my own wallet and not free promos or college radio station libraries. Also note that rappers and solo artists were eligible, not just bands.
1) TED LEO + PHARMACISTS- belongs- winner of my highest
Timmy award last year. Returned with another solid effort this fall.2) WILCO- Hmm. I’m going to have to say just outside of my top 10, so too high.
3) INTERPOL- Haven’t heard their newest album yet, so not enough info.
4) GUIDED BY VOICES- their place here seems like a "lifetime achievement award", as they are splitting up. I like them, but again, a little too high.
5) THE FIERY FURNACES- not enough info, but I plan on picking this up soon…
6) THE PIXIES- they’re having a successful tour, so while they’re here based on reputation, I understand it, but they don’t quite make my Top 10.
7) BRIAN WILSON- Smile is great, but I didn’t hear a lot of positive things on his album of all new material this year. Too high.
LUNA- Another "Lifetime achievement Award", as they are breaking up, too. Too high. 9) MODEST MOUSE- yet another album I’ve yet to hear, so I have to so not enough info.
10) SPOON- a band I like, but nothing new this year, so not in my top 10 right now.
So I agree with one, not enough info on three, and too high on six. So that gives me between six and nine picks to consider. My choices (note: you’ll se a lot of these names on the Timmys this year…) and the Information Leafblower # after them if they made the Top 40.
TV On the Radio (36) Arty alt rock with a splash of doo-wop. Inventive.
Secret Machines (-) Krautrock with catchy melodies from NYC
!!! (-) My favorite of the NYC funk-punk brigade
A Girl Called Eddy (-) sweet-as-honey vocals over Bacharach-like tunes. BTW, look at the lack of female voices on the information Leafblower list (O.K., I only have one woman on my list, so I shouldn’t be all high and mighty)
The Killers (24) catchy if at least mildy derivative new wave revivalists
Rufus Wainwright (-) one of the country’s more interesting voices, both literally and figuratively
The Shins (31) their last album came out in 2003, but I think their influence crept well into 2004
and perhaps instead one of the 3 I haven’t yet heard, Outkast (32) even though their album was from 2003. Barring a real disappointment, their 2 upcoming releases will have them on my 2005 list.
So I haven’t given you a definitive 10, in order. I will do so by the time I finish the Timmys- and I will also have my Top 10 Bands Outside America Today for you real soon.
.shn and .flac- it’s new to me, at least…
One I stumbled across recently is the blog of
Largehearted Boy. Those in the know may recognize that as a Guided By Voices reference, and he is indeed a big fan of that band. Show that should state that we see at least somewhat eye to eye musically. His blog offers lots of snippets on the entertainment world, specifically music.One of the more interesting features of this blog is the abundance of downloadable music, in two formats I had never heard of before stumbling across it here-
BitTorrent (also here) and Flac. These seem to be the format of choice for the modern tape trader, and they seem to concentrate on non-commercially available material, such as concerts and demos. So no copyright laws are being broken here. The sound quality is also considered much better than that of MP3s.While this is designed for the tape-trading community, they seem to be at least tolerant of the newbie who may not have files to trade. I’ve been able to download a Camper Van Beethoven in-store performance (from just a week prior, no less) and R.E.M.’s demos for their Green album. Largehearted Boy offers daily links to the latest and greatest available in these formats.
Butterfinger Crisp
The product bills itself as "Wafers and Butterfinger Candy Créme." Pretty bold of the Butterfinger folks to not only mess with a classic bar, but to take its key feature- the Butterfinger crunch- and reconstituted it into a cream- um, I mean créme- that takes some guts.
The cross-section of the bar illustrated on the wrapper doesn’t hint at the crazy looking top of the bar- it looks like tiny chips of Butterfinger crisps are mixed into the chocolate.
The taste- very much like the original, perhaps a bit "crémier." It’s good. And, an added benefit of this form is the candy doesn’t stick to your teeth as much as the original does. As a veteran of a fair amount of dental work, this is much appreciated.
Thumbs-up to the Butterfinger folks on a nice twist on a classic.
Thumbs-down to their PR people, trying to pass off their new product launch as "the hot new candy for Halloween." Like kids give a damn about about the newest iteration of Butterfinger. They don’t care about that stuff- now if they said "sure to be discussed on blogs by new product geeks", they’d be right.
Let me give you a quote from the press release:
"BUTTERFINGER Crisp is definitely a ‘break out of the ordinary’ candy bar — it’s completely different from anything on the market," said Tricia Bowles, manager, Public Relations, Nestle Confections & Snacks. "It is a wafer-based bar delivering a lighter eat to BUTTERFINGER fans the world over. We expect the momentum we’re gaining from Halloween to continue into next year because the candy bar is that good. It had to be special to be added to the BUTTERFINGER family, which hasn’t changed in 77 years."
Nice way to take all of the fun out of a candy bar, Tricia.
O.D.B. – R.I.P.
Russel Jones aka Ol’ Dirty Bastard aka Big Baby Jesus aka Osirus aka Unique Ason aka Dirt Dog aka Dirt McGirt-
passed away on Saturday. He complained of chest pains during the day- a full autopsy is pending.Media wags have liked to point out that "his rap sheet is more famous than his rapping," but nevertheless, he made the world a more interesting place.
I’m not totally familiar with his music, but what I know of, I liked. And the names he chose for himself were always top notch.
We will have some new music from him- including
a cover version that sounds well worth hearing. His life had his share of troubles, but he will be remembered for his music as well.He would have been 36 years old today.
Alleged Flavor: "Pepsi-Cola with a spicy finish of ginger and cinnamon"- Pepsi press release
Actual Flavor: Pepsi with a splash of fancy, strong ginger ale
Fruit Juice Content: None
Carbonation Level: Moderate to High- fizzy on the tongue
Color: Reddish-Brown…no, Brownish-Red.
Tasting sample was from: aluminum can, poured into glass
Following in the footsteps of many a microbrew, Pespi decides to get out the pumpkin pie seasonings and make a seasonal version of its standard product. And darnit, I actually like the stuff. Have you ever had a small bottler’s ginger ale- the kind that actually burns your mouth a little form the amount of ginger in it? Well, imagine that with a healthy splash of Pepsi- or maybe the other way around- and that’s what we have here. A nice twist on Pepsi- very similar to how the short-lived 7-Up Gold added some spice to 7-Up. It may be a bit spicy for most tastes (like the
Ginger Altoids), and I can’t say this would make my everyday soda rotation, but it’s a pretty palatable beverage that I wouldn’t mind seeing each holiday season.Overall Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Sorry Everybody
Allow me to break from this briefly to point those of you who are less than thrilled about the election results to
SorryEverybody.Com. It’s an interesting concept and some of the entries are even touching. Also note that they have 238 pages with 10 photos per page, and it sounds like they’re inundated with new entries.This is also kind of interesting-
CNN’s page of exit polls. I haven’t seen how Bush did against Kerry by Latino males over 50 who own toy poodles, but I’m sure that poll is on CNN’s page somewhere.Jackass Soda: Faygo Dee-licious Peach
Alleged Flavor: Uh, Peach
Actual Flavor: Peach, but in an artificial way
Fruit Juice Content: Zippo
Carbonation Level: Low- a few visable bubbles, light fizziness on the tongue
Color: A fiery red-orange, like the color of a peach where it was pulled away from the pit. Nice!
Tasting sample was from: aluminum can, poured into glass
So I like out of the norm soda, especially fruit flavors you don’t see every day. And rarely do you see peach soda in this neck of the woods.
My first can of Faygo Peach was unimpressive- I drank it from the can, I don’t think it was too cold, and I drank it quickly. My first impression was that it was a little metallic, and very artificial tasting.
But, I bought a 12 pack of the stuff, so I gave it another shot. Ice cold. Poured into a glass. Man, what a cool color this stuff has. Looks good in the glass, although a few more bubbles would be nice.
I could taste the peach flavor better this time around, and it’s actually not bad. The smell is spot on, and the peach taste is still a tad artificial, but passable.
Overall Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Disturbing Fact: I went looking for a picture of Peach Faygo and
found this site. Well, I guess this truly is a jackass soda.