Musical Pairings: ‘Hype’ – The Word on the Street
November 22, 2009
Interestingly, the Oxford English Dictionary defines the word “hype” as follows: “[t]o short-change, to cheat; to deceive, to con, esp. by false publicity.” Interestingly, nearly all of the examples of modern usage provided relate to the music business. For example, the Sunday Times in August of 1968 stated: “[h]ype is an American word for the gentle art of getting a tune into the pop charts without actually selling any records. Its methods are various: from the crudest bribery to devious techniques for upsetting the . . . calculations of chart compilers.” But I don’t feel like this definition reflects the full nuance of the modern usage of the word. Specifically, my problem with that definition is that it suggests that all hype is deceptive, and intended to short change , and is therefore it is presumably undeserved. In practice though I think we use (or at least I use) the word as if it is synonymous with “promote” and in a manner that suggests that some hype can be a good thing.
And speaking of well-deserved hype: San Francisco’s Girls have been receiving their fair share of buzz.. And as another blogger noted in a tweet: anyone who says Girls are overrated is kinda wrong about that. Girls are led by Christopher Owens, a songwriter whose music is both anchored in the psychedelic pop of the late 1960′s, but is also forward looking and thoroughly modern. Although San Francisco is only Owens’ adopted home, he is clearly an artist who understands the Bay Area: Girls’ debut, Album, is a snapshot of San Francisco in 2009. Its a great album to soundtrack summer days spent hanging out in Dolores Park, shopping for records at Amoeba/Aquarius, playing slosh ball in McArthur park, or hanging out and over-indulging with friends in a small two bedroom apartment anywhere in the Bay Area. In fact, like the city that Owens has adopted as home, each song is like a micro-climate of a greater, cohesive whole, which is to say the result is that songs are sometimes sunny, sometimes foggy, but most are a little of both.
Girls - Hellhole Ratrace
Girls – “Hellhole Ratrace”
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Musical Pairings: The Bay Needs Guitars!
October 25, 2009
It is Fall in the Bay Area, and like most other places on the West coast, that means it gets dark earlier in the evenings, stays dark longer in the mornings, and we are already seeing some monsoon-like rains that will be more and more frequent in the coming months. And although there is nothing wrong with throwing on The Morning Benders’ excellent Bedroom Covers album or the Papercuts’ fantastic You Can Have What You Want and pulling out a bottle of red wine and choosing to accept and deal with the weather (great albums for that purpose by the way); a healthy dose of defiance/denial can occasionally be just the trick to keep yourself sane. And what better way to do that than with some romping, energetic electric guitar-laden rock n’ roll? And of course I have just the albums for you: Silian Rail’s And I You, To Pieces and French Miami’s eponymous debut.
San Francisco two-piece instrumental Silian Rail are one of the Bay Area’s most powerful live performances. With only two musicians they absolutely own the stage: Robin (guitarist) and Eric (drums) deftly craft complex melodies based around repetitive rhythms and melodies. Kinetic drumming blasts forward alongside muscular, yet intricate guitar work. As a result they’ve developed a “sound” that is both distinctive and compelling. And although their album, And I You, To Pieces, doesn’t entirely capture the explosiveness and energy of their live performance, it does demonstrate dynamic song-writing and agile musical instincts. A cerebral and intricate debut, And I You, To Pieces is a recommended addition to your collection. Head over to their MySpace page to pick it up – and definitely keep your eyes peeled for their next release. These guitar licks are so heavy, they are almost metal, and for this reason, I recommend Kasey’s cast iron skillet-seared cod with mushrooms recipe as a great musical pairing for this recipe.
Silian Rail - Tituba
Silian Rail – “Tituba”
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Musical Pairings: How To Fight The Fog
September 27, 2009
I know fog isn’t the constant companion of everyone who lives in the Bay Area, but it is a fact of life for many of us who live in San Francisco and other areas closest to the coast. One day it is sunny and warm, and the next thing you know cold, damp fog is rolling down the street pushed forward by strong, chilling winds from the Pacific. And for me, taking long treks from neighborhood to neighborhood for any purpose loses a lot of its appeal on these windy, foggy days. The secret is that you learn to roll with the fog. To accept it. Make the most of the fact that the weather outside makes you want to hole-up inside. And the best way to do that? Make a warm, comforting meal with some friends or a loved one and listen to warm, comforting music, of course. And it goes without saying, but a bottle or two of wine helps contribute to the atmosphere. Unsurprisingly, I have recommendations for recipes to prepare and albums to listen to and have ready for this contingency: Papercuts – You Can Have What You Want and Evening Empire – Build The Myth Backwards.
Papercuts – You Can Have What You Want (paired with brandied plum clafoutis)
San Francisco’s Papercuts are led by Jason Roberts Quever, a singer/songwriter whose already developed a reputation for tight, well written songs that have an almost detached day-dreamy quality that is both breezy and soaring. These qualities are a result of the excellent use of reverb enhanced vocals and tentative, but uplifting melodies. Indeed, Papercuts’ third album, You Can Have What You Want, is one of the best albums I’ve heard this year, and I can strongly recommend it. It is a warm, soothing album that is perfect for curling up with a relaxing glass of red wine, sharing good conversation with friends after a delicious meal, or sharing a meal for two in a dim-lit living room on a cold, foggy day.
Papercuts - Future Primitive
Papercuts – Future Primitive
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Musical Pairings: The Weird Bay Area – Maus Haus and Casy & Brian
August 30, 2009
If you are a Bay Area resident or watch a little television, you’ve probably noticed that the Bay Area is a place that embraces the eccentric and unusual. Even our oddness is somewhat peculiar in its diversity. This unique offbeat nature plays out in some interesting ways in Bay Area culture. You see it at elaborately whimsical house parties thrown by tech-industry residents. You see it in the diverse range of punks, hipsters, and unclassifiables hanging out in Delores Park on pretty much any day of the week. You taste it when you order creme brulee from a cart or puffed escargo from a truck parked on the side of the street. For many of the Bay Area’s culinary enthusiast’s this embrace of the eccentric finds its way into home-kitchen experimentation. Kasey’s watermelon gazpacho and the unique banana bread recipe that includes ginger and chocolate chips that she prepared are perfect examples of this phenomenon. And you can hear our love of the fringes in the music from the Bay too. After all, the same geographical area that served as the launching pad for Green Day was also called home by Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart, hyphy music, and the Dead Kennedys. Of course, in that light, bands like the duo Casy & Brian and San Francisco’s Maus Haus are really pretty normal – at least depending on what side of the looking glass you find yourself on.
Maus Haus – Lark Marvels (paired with watermelon gazpacho)
This watermelon gazpacho recipe is a personal favorite. It is unique in concept, but pleasingly familiar to taste. Because the primary ingredient is watermelon, it is sweet, but the mint and jalapeno add complexity and spice to it. Ultimately, it is playful, spicy and a little off-center. For this reason, it serves as a good companion recipe to San Francisco’s equally “off-center” band: Maus Haus.
When asked by the San Francisco Guardian to identify a film soundtrack that Maus Haus’ music would best match, Maus Haus’ Joshua Rampage suggested the following: “If Wes Anderson had written and directed ‘Alien,’ starring Bill Murray instead of Sigourney Weaver, and turned it into a social-political jag on how we’ve got to find a medium ground, how we’ve been eating too much and thinking too much (or not enough) and getting ready to become puddles of ourselves.” Although one would rightfully suspect that Rampage’s answer isn’t meant entirely in earnest, it isn’t as off the mark as you might imagine.
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Maus Haus – Reaction
Lark Marvels draws to mind bands Self, Grandaddy, the Silver Apples, Soul Coughting (minus Mike Doughty), and on tracks “Rigid Breakfast,” “Secret Deals,” and “Reaction,” there are even hints of Dayton, Ohio 1990′s style avant punk a la Brainiac. Opening track “Rigid Breakfast” starts with a fantastic sonic freak-out featuring squealing, ominously-spacey synth and warmly tonal and repetitive keyboard rhythm. The second cut on Lark Marvels, “Secret Deals,” is light-heartedly dark and slightly off-kilter, primarily sounding like a sci-fi homage to jazz and 60′s era psychedelic pop both as a result of the instrumentation and lyrics: “stop being a robot, be a regular man.” They are both excellent tracks, and combined they provide a perfect set-up for the rest of the album. Relying on an assortment of drums, synthesizers, electronic toys, flutes, saxophones, bass guitar, and flute, Maus Haus craft a wonderful debut that is sonically compelling and playfully paranoid. Lark Marvels is definitely recommended. Other highlights on the album include “We Used Technology (But Technology Let Us Down),” “Reaction,” “Irregular Hearts,” and “Dead Keys Drop.” Head over to the band’s MySpace page to order a copy of Lark Marvels or to stream more tracks from the album.
Casy & Brian – Catbees LP and Non-Fiction 7″ (paired with banana bread w/ chocolate & ginger)
I associate banana bread with childhood. I still have lots of great memories of mom’s banana bread, which of course for many years was the only “good” banana bread. This recipe probably succeeded in convincing me of the merit of other banana breads precisely because it is so different from traditional banana breads. In other words, by veering sharply away from tradition, it managed to avoid competition with “mom’s” banana bread, and by doing so won me over. Casy & Brian take a similar course around traditional punk or rock ‘n roll, and manage to succeed in creating some pretty unique and exciting music for that same reason.
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Casy & Brian – Rumble in the Jungle 1974
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Musical Pairings: Vibrant and Upbeat Food & Music from The Bay Area
July 26, 2009
Two descriptive words that come to mind when I think of the Bay Area are the words ‘vibrant’ and ‘upbeat’.  I can’t imagine there are many people who have ever visited here who would disagree with the assertion that the Bay Area is constantly pulsing with energy, optimism and creativity. Personally, as a transplant to San Francisco, and also as a well-seasoned traveler, I’m aware of few places in the word that are so progressive and so enthusiastically forward-looking. In part, it is probably for this reason that so many artists, musicians and culinary visionaries have historically chosen to call the Bay Area home. And musically speaking, the continuation of this tradition is evident in the number of diverse bands, musicians and songwriters working to carve out their niche in the Bay even as you read this. For this post, I am highlighting two Local Pairings previously covered on eating/sf that demonstrate the Bay Area’s vibrancy and upbeat nature: Here Here and Geographer.
Here Here – The Boy With An Orange (paired w/ fish tacos with spicy salsa and marinated onions)
The lush seven piece chamber-pop group, Here Here, is arguably one of San Francisco’s best kept secrets. Their debut release, The Boy With an Orange, features full-bodied compositions, vibrant arrangements, and an upbeat sense of enthusiasm that is perhaps unsurprisingly representative of the Bay Area. The Boy With an Orange’s opening track, “5678,“ is a whimsical intro featuring playing children whose voices melt and blend into an upbeat piano melody and lead singer Christian Lyon’s gentle, but majestic vocals on the second track, “You Sold Your Shadow.†A minute into this track, Lyon is met by a rich, warming violin as the song builds into a dramatic, swirling multi-instrumental composition.
Here Here - You Sold Your Shadow
Here Here – “You Sold Your Shadow”
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Musical Pairings: Country Living in the City
June 28, 2009
I’m frequently reminded of just how lucky I am to live in the Bay Area. There is an endless supply of excellent restaurants and easy, cheap access to delicious fresh produce at the countless farmer’s markets, grocers, and ethnic shops that fill every neighborhood in the city. Likewise, our music scene is full of history, diversity and is teeming with talent. Musical Pairings was conceived as a way to connect food with music, the way a sommelier would pair wine with a meal. Similarly, the “Local Pairings” portion of eating/SF began as a way to highlight some of eating/SF’s best local discoveries both culinary and musical, and when Christian offered us an opportunity to share these discoveries with the Bay Bridged, we were honored. So with this in mind, I’ll offer Musical Pairings for two fantastic Bay Area bands whose music brings to mind simple, clean ingredients reminiscent of low-key country living, Bay Area style: Cousin Chris and Birds & Batteries.
Cousin Chris (paired w/ white beans with chard)
San Francisco’s Cousin Chris’ stunning debut album, Moon Paper, is simultaneously evocative of Elliott Smith and early Modest Mouse records (or at least a stripped down version of MM’s This Is a Long Drive), both of whom are cited as notable influences for Cousin Chris in addition to bands like Do Make Say Think, Leonard Cohen, and the Black Keys. Similar to the way Elliott Smith recorded many of his albums, Moon Paper is the product of the sole efforts of Chris Schreiber, who sings and plays all instruments on the album. We originally paired Moon Paper with Farina in the Mission. However, I think this rustic white beans and chard recipe would be an equally appropriate pairing as both the album and the recipe are rustic, warm and earthy. And Kasey notes that this recipe “is composed of few ingredients–but the right ingredients” and the same could be easily said of Cousin Chris’ Moon Paper.
Cousin Chris - The River
Cousin Chris – The River
