The Clutterer

Barcelona Eats: Can Ros

2009-07-08T21:54:00.000-07:00

After a few nights of nouveau Spanish cuisine, we were hurtin' for a paella. We asked a few locals where one can get a good paella in Barcelona, and the inevitable answer was always "go to Valencia." That just plain wasn't helpful, Spaniards.

Now that we live in The Age of All Info All The Time, a quick search landed us at Paella Professor. If you've got a whole blog devoted to one dish, I figure you gots to be a pro. Dr. Paella assured us Interpeeps that good paella does indeed exist in Barcelona, and mostly in Barceloneta. It's no coincidence, then, that this was the second most popular answer when we asked other locals.

Barceloneta is basically the port and beach part of Barcelona. The port side is a hop, skip and jump from Born, and features a big mall, a museum, and, uh, boats. The beach side has a W hotel under construction that looks like it could easily have been in Dubai, clubs that line one end of the beach, and the Gehry fish.

The contemporary architect that gets bagged on most seems to be Gehry. Fair enough, but he's payin' the bills, which is more than most people can say. Dude took this fish to Tiffany's and has enough cash to buy the Elephant Man's bones from the Estate, so there ya go, haters. This fish is in the middle of an odd mini-mall complex that has mostly nice nightclubs/lounges as tenants.

As you'd expect, then, the whole area features high with seafood joints, and that inevitably means paella. The one tricky thing about finding a good paella in Barcelona is every single place has one, mostly to draw in the tourists. There's a lot of crappy paellas: it's common to find a paella with exactly two shrimp, two mussels, two clams, two blah blah blah...you get the idea. It takes the soul out of it, and a good paella is a pretty soulful thing. Can Ros was recommended on a few different lists (including Paella Prof). It's located on a quiet side street that takes you from the port side to the beach side, and it feels more like being in a small beach town than in a bustling world city.

We got to Can Ros at 8pm or so, as we didn't want to miss the sunset on the beach, and we were still one of the first tables in. The place is old school traditional, and you get the sense that they've got their act down and don't mess around much.

With a paella on the way, we didn't order too much else. But, in keeping with habit, we ordered the tomato bread. It wasn't much to rave about, and the picture shows it all: two slices of good bread, two tomatoes, and a jar of ~~mayo~~aioli. I really just wanted to show this so that you get a sense of how amazing the Inopia and Bubo versions are.

I also had to get the razor clams, cause I just can't get enough of them. I've never had razor clams this fat and meaty, and that's not even an inappropriate pun. Apparently a lesser family of razor clams are avail in the Pacific NW, but I've never seen them in Vancouver. People, we have to get on this.

To forewarn you, the picture of the paella doesn't seem like much. What we didn't realize was: (i) Can Ros does table-side paella service, meaning that they bring out the gorgeous paella pan to show off, and then serve it for you, and (ii) yours truly is too slow to take a picture once he's got a day of sun and a glass of wine (or two) in him.

What I can say about the paella is that it indeed was THE BEST PAELLA I HAVE EVER HAD. I've tried to make paella at home, thought I did an okay job, but I'm going to toss our pan out now. The rice was perfect: flavorful, with just the right amount of saltiness and acidity, soft but still slightly chewy. The rice's importance in a paella cannot be overstated: fuck it up and you've ruined the whole thing. Make it amazing, and you serve it in the heaping portions you see here.

This was the "Fisherman's Paella", and chock full of seafood. When I had first asked our server as to its contents, he had explained that it only had fish, but we soon realized that "fish" included "shellfish." This paella had everything, including giant crayfish, which isn't a usual thing. The key part of it, though, was that the seafood wasn't overcooked, which tends to be a common problem with run-of-the-mill paellas.

Can Ros has a lot of other seafood features on the menu, many of them non-paella. If I were that Japanese hot dog eating champ, I would've ordered the whole frigging menu. Instead, I had to take a picture of what the table across from us ordered, which was a seafood feast. I took this picture after they had already taken a few items to their plate: when it originally came out, it was probably closer to a 7 inch high seafood bounty of everything one can find underwater. Another table ordered a fish baked in sea salt. It might take an unhealthy amount of gluttony and envy to be eating the best paella ever and still crave every other dish around you in the whole restaurant, but I defy you to not feel the same way. It ain't weakness, it's instinct. After Can Ros, I can only imagine how amazing Valencia must be - now that we're home, I'm trying my damnedest not to think about it.

MJ Sleeves

2009-07-06T21:54:00.000-07:00

(1) I remember being in grade school when the red MJ Beat It jacket went retail. It was full of zippers, and you could detach the sleeves. This is not a good feature when you are 7 or 8. Soon, the playground was littered with red (or black with red trim) sleeves. The lost and found was full of 'em.

(2) I loved the Moonwalker video game for Sega Genesis. LOVED. Even more than I loved Golden Axe, which it clearly ripped off. Instead of the little gnome/elf thing coming around with sacks of extra magic or health points as in Golden Axe, Bubbles the Chimp would come out and you had to pick him up. Instead of magic thunder bolts killing your enemies, you could make MJ dance and the bad guys would (assumedly) die of exhaustion copying his moves. Sheer brilliance.

(3) Without disputing the indisputable fact that MJ was, by all accounts, nuts, the dude was acquitted on charges that had a shaky evidential basis in the first place. I still remember the bit from Mos Def's "Mr. Nigga":

"You can laugh and criticize Michael Jackson if you wanna/ Woody Allen, molested and married his step-daughter/ Same press kickin dirt on Michael's name/ Show Woody and Soon-Yi at the playoff game, holdin hands/ Sit back and just bug, think about that/ Would he get that type of dap if his name was Woody Black?"

(4) Here are a few of the mixes from the Japanese Soul Source series, which never made it over State-side. I have posted the DJ Spinna mix again and again - still one of my faves - but here are others:

J5 "Get It Together" (4Hero rmx)

J5 "Hum Along and Dance" (United Future Organization rmx)

Monday Michiru "I Wanna Be Where You Are" (J5 cover)

J5 "Darling Dear" (Muro rmx)

J5 "Ben" (Hiroshi Fujiwara & KUDO rmx)

Barcelona Eats: Bubo and Bubo Bar

2009-07-05T22:43:00.000-07:00

Nestled in La Ribera, east of La Rambla, is the neighbourhood of Born, which is apparently a revitalized neighbourhood with a rougher past. One wouldn't be able to gather that from the neighbourhood as it is today, which is hopping with tourists visiting the Museu Picasso and with locals working their way through a myriad of boutiques, designer shops, bars and restaurants. This is a hipster neighbourhood, with the new Disseny Hub Barcelona featuring exhibits on contemporary urban planning/architecture/design and the Vitra showroom within a stones throw of each other, but also where dessert reigns supreme.

When I say dessert, I'm not talking about dessert as we know it. Instead, it's dessert in a contemporary, tastemaker context, where cookie/chocolate shops like Demasie can win graphic design awards for packaging while serving amazing dark chocolate/orange biscuits.

Our favorite of these places, hands down, was Bubo. Bubo is the brainchild of Carles Mampel, who had once been at the famed Espai Sucre. Bubo is tucked behind the Santa Maria del Mar, along a boulevard lined with tapas joints, a cooking school and other boutiques.

When you enter Bubo, it's automatically clear that you are in a dessert shop operating at a completely different level than most. The fact that you can sip on champagne with your sweets doesn't hurt, either. Presentation is key: these gellies, which look alot like coloured sugar cubes, were just one minor assortment of sweets that gave the place a great technicolour appeal.

Other corners featured chocolates with hints of curry, chocolate lollipops, and so on.

We ordered two desserts, each amazingly intricate to the point where I can no longer remember all of the details. The one on the left had a mandarin orange layer with green tea caviar on top, and the red cherry looking orb on top of the one on the right was not a maraschino, but instead a molecular gastronomy type orb with a dark cherry liquid inside. Lesson learned: carry a notepad at all times, because all I can remember clearly was being in candyland heaven.

As a general rule, I never go back to the same place twice when traveling, mostly because I want to ensure that I've been to a wide array of places. But we had to go back to Bubo. To change it up, we went to Bubo Bar, which is their tapas/savory restaurant two storefronts down.

If Bubo (proper) re-conceptualizes dessert, than Bubo Bar tries to do the same thing with traditional tapas fare. For instance, the usual tomato bread that we always ordered came out as amazing bread sticks with a tomato mousse of sorts. As with all places in Spain, this version of the tomato bread also reminded us of the virtues of a good olive oil, and not to spare on its use.

We also had croquettes, which I remember being a bit different but great, though the picture we took turned out like crap. That was followed by jamon/cheese finger sandwiches with fig paste, which were again a good re-interpretation of the classic jamon tapa sandwiches we ate at more conventional Basque-fare tapas bars.

This was a bocconcini-type cheese/tomato salad nestled on top of pastry. The tomato was slightly roasted. I don't remember alot about this, mostly because we were in anticipation for the next dish.

If there's one type of seafood that I remember most fondly from Spain, it's the squid/octopus. Perfectly cooked octopus is a force to be reckoned with: juicy and tender, instead of bland and rubbery. This was a take on Galician octopus, which is usually served with a host of potatoes and swimming in olive oil, with sprinkles of paprika on top. This didn't have as much olive oil excess as other places, which was a pleasant change.

You see egg dishes alot more prevalently in Madrid, where a traditional fave is the huevos rotos, basically fried eggs mixed up with a host of potatoes. Here they had a fried egg nestled on top of a hollandaise/gravy type sauce, and it wasn't until you dug into the bottom that you realized it was resting on a bed of potatoes.

The one thing to forewarn about is that Bubo Bar has a smaller dessert choice than Bubo, mostly because they bring over what hasn't sold in that day from Bubo, which is usually very little. This was a chocolate-raspberry mousse. I remember the sticks being raspberry flavored as well.

The other dessert we had was a chocolate affair, which the website describes as a "guanaja sponge cake, guanaja cream, guanaja chocolate mousse, and guanaja chocolate crunch." I'm still not quite sure what guanaja is, but I remember this being a layer of chocolate mousse on top of a denser peanut butter cake of some sort, all resting on top of a crunchy layer.

With Bubo and Bubo Bar anchoring the area for us, we found ourselves in Born again and again each day that we were in Barcelona. North of the Santa Maria is an old market that they're tearing down, which the neighbourhood is none to happy about. So, to protest, they organize occasional concerts at the square in front of the cathedral facing the market, with graffiti artists doing these one/two hour exhibits where they made a little shack where each wall was rotated/replaced with the hour. That's the type of protest I can get behind (and I apparently did: they took my picture for some blog for their protest).

And with a small mom n' pop place that only serves hot chocolate and churros, Born is a neighbourhood I can get behind.

Barcelona Eats: La Bodegueta Provenca

2009-06-27T18:48:00.000-07:00

North of Las Ramblas and the Placa de Catalunya lies the Passeig de Gracia, which features a couple of Gaudi-designed private residences. One can probably assume that these were posh places at the time, and that descriptor still applies to the area. High end shopping features extensively in L'Eixample (Chanel, Gucci, etc alongside cheaper faves like Muji, the ubiquitous Zara and Mango), which brings with it plenty of fine eats.

After a day of walking for hours on end, there's nothing quite as appealing as a busy local eatery in a well-groomed neighbourhood, and La Bodegueta fit that bill. The restaurant's main location is on Rambla de Catalunya, and known for its wine/vermouth selection and charcuterie. The place is small and cramped, with patrons lining up outside amidst the smokers. The overflow goes to their second location, which is kitty corner to it on Provenca.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love, love, love to drink outside. Which means I love, love, love to eat outside. The strict bylaws/zoning/bullshit that limit sidewalk cafes, restaurants, etc. in Canada don't seem to have any historical root in Europe, so wtf? Is it the cold? We gots to get right with that shit. Anyway, we ate outside, with the daily specials board behind us. Again, as with many places, the daily specials almost outnumber the items on the regular menu, so it's always hard to narrow down our choices.

Not being able to read Spanish is definitely a handicap: we really should have brought a Spanish/English dictionary with us, and there don't seem to be any good (read: free) ones on the iPhone apps. We told our waitress that we wanted sardines, and had picked something out on the menu. She explained that most of our picks were from the 'non-fresh' (ie canned/preserved) menu, but recommended these sardines (out of numerous choices) to us. It's weird eating canned food that's just as tasty as fresh food, but there ya go.

We also picked a few things off the dailies list, figuring that they were probably the freshest items for the day. Our waitress took time to attempt a translation: apparently the different kinds of clams have different names in Spanish. These were the meatier, juicier type of clams with a darker and thicker shell, lightly tossed in olive oil and cooked over the stovetop or grill until they opened. Simple and great, with just the right amount of char on the shells to give a great scent and taste to them.

I also knew that I really wanted some squid or octopus. Perfectly cooked squid or octopus is a holy wonder to behold. Tender instead of rubbery, these baby octopus were sauteed in red wine, garlic and olive oil, with a hint of smokiness to them. Probably among the best octopus we had in Spain.

We also hadn't tried any suckling pig yet, which seemed totally wrong and needed rectification. This was a more contemporary take on it, with candied pineapples to pair. I cannot emphasize how great the skin was on the pork: nice and crispy and salty. I seem to remember the sauce being apple-y or pineapple-y.

After days of eating as much as humanly possible, we toned it down for this one. Probably because we had dessert, chocolate and churros and tapas midway through the day, or maybe not. Overall, this was a great casual place for when you still want great food but without much fuss, instead of mere sustenance, and a good no hassles pick out of a neighbourhood of higher end dining.

Barcelona Eats: Dos Palillos

2009-06-25T22:13:00.000-07:00

I wouldn't normally go all the way to Europe just to have Asian food, but when we passed by Dos Palillos, I had to give it a try. It had been one of Food and Wine's travel issue picks as one of the top places to go in Barcelona, and it was on the way to Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona. And continuing from the Inopia vein, it is the home of former El Bulli executive chef, Albert Raurich.

Dos Pallilos isn't the most obvious place to find: it is the restaurant in the Camper Hotel, as in Camper shoes. The hotel in itself just features a bright sign that reads "Hotel," and Dos Pallilos has a bright sign that reads "Bar." It isn't until you notice Raurich's old El Bulli chef whites displayed on the street until you realize that this is indeed the place, with a subtle sign located to the left. What's more, when you walk in from Elisabets, it looks like any other neighbourhood bar, until you realize that there's an Japanese style bar in the back, in the same color scheme as L'Atelier Joel Robuchon. Certainly a marked difference from El Bulli.

When you walk in, it's just dark and red. Only after your pupils adjust do you notice the cute little Asian affects decorating the walls, like the little rice hat jars on the wall, or the wood squids, etc. in the window boxes.

Instead of going for the fixed lunch menu, we opted to pick a few things ala carte. The chefs are also the servers. This is also novel, considering how many people travel from around the world to work with Raurich. One of our servers spoke fluent Spanish through the thickest Scottish accent you could imagine. The menu features Raurich's take on traditional Asian (mostly Chinese and Japanese) small-dishes, all of which he lumps under his co-opted usage of the term "dim sum". We tried these Chinese glazed walnuts, which you can generally find in any Asian market, sweet/spicy glazed with sesame, although these ones seemed less chemical-y than the store bought ones. It wasn't too far from the usual.

What came next, then, totally set the tone. An "Onsen Tamago," which was a slow-poached egg, cooked at 63C to emulate an egg cooked in a Japanese hot spring. The egg is then drained from the water, and placed in a dashi/bonito broth, served with shiso leaves and soy sauce crystals. Once you crack the yolk, the whole thing mixes up into something amazingly broad in flavour, though light at the same time.

We also ordered the tempura cherry tomatoes. A completely simple idea, but not one that we'd ever seen in any Japanese restaurant in Vancouver. The tempura batter was tremendously light and delicate, far better than many Japanese places we've been to.

Next came the steamed shrimp dumplings, which I don't remember much about. I do remember that they made the dumpling wrappers using "de farina de patata," which meant they had a perfect texture to them without being as doughy as in some Chinese restaurants. They were stuffed with pork and shrimp, and some other bloggers claim a bit of foie gras. I don't remember much about it, apart from being a decent dumpling, so perhaps that says it all.

My uncle in Hong Kong always claims that any good Chinese chef ought to be able to make a good char siu bao. He's somewhat right: it's hard not to overdo the bun, so as to make the whole thing too doughy, and it's even more difficult not to fuck up the BBQ pork, so as to make it too saucy or sweet. So, I had to order the BBQ pork buns at Dos Pallilos, which were completely different than anything you've ever had before.

For starters, it's completely savory, without any hint of sweetness. This is why, I suppose, they also serve the buns with a side dish of Chinese mustard, which I though was a bit unnecessary. There are also pine nuts in the mix (or was it peanuts?), which completely took it out of the ordinary. In a way, it was almost shocking.

We had also ordered a grilled Chinese braise pork belly, which took 20 minutes or so to slow grill. It's not too often that you see an executive chef actually do any of the cooking, but Raurich actually came out to handle the grill with his chef de cuisine for most of the time (his wife was busy entertaining other guests). It was probably the furthest thing I assume El Bulli's kitchen to function, so it was a pleasant surprise.

In the meantime, the chefs kept asking us if we wanted to order anything (other than booze) to snack on while we waited. During this time, we watched one chef prepare the Thai red curry razorclams right in front of us, so we ordered those as well. These were, of course, incredible. The Thai red curry was more of a light drizzle of red curry infused oil, with sea beans and seaweed to accompany. These were a real highlight: emphasizing the natural flavour of the razor clams, with the red curry notes in the background.

At long last, the Chinese braise pork belly was served. The braise was close to a traditional Chinese sweet and salty one, one that we would probably have at least twice a month growing up at home, and sort of reminiscent of a traditional Shanghainese braised pork hock. Coupled with the fat of the perfectly prepared pork belly, each slice just kind of melted in the mouth.

All in all, Raurich finds an interesting balance of Asian small plates within a Spanish tapas context, and Dos Palillos was one of those places that, while serving Asian food, was still uniquely Spanish. It wasn't so much any one dish that completely floored us, but the sum of the parts added up to what was probably one of the most memorable meals we had in Spain.

Barcelona Eats: Inopia

2009-06-23T20:34:00.000-07:00

I'll confess: Inopia was a Gwyneth Paltrow pick, from her e-newsletter Goop. This is a lot to admit to, as we hated every episode of On the Road Again we watched (as did Anthony Bourdain, apparently): the incessant yapping just didn't fulfill the potential that you would have expected from Batali and Bittman on board.

Her Barcelona picks, however, came out on during our first day in the city, which was enough to pique our curiosity. Inopia was one of her top picks for tapas (we couldn't make it to the local pick, Commerc 24), and its location - away from the general tourist areas, east of El Raval in the Sant Antoni/Poble Sec area - was appealing. The fact that it is run by Ferran Adria's brother, Albert, didn't hurt either.

We had heard that it was impossible to get into Inopia if you didn't show up around the 7/7:30 opening time. We weren't sure whether to believe the hype or not, as 7/7:30 is insanely early for dinner in Spain; most people don't seem to eat until closer to 10. It was a good thing we didn't chance it, though, because the place gets packed as soon as its steel gate opens.

As with most places, Inopia has its menu, and then a slew of daily features written on the chalkboard. Many places have English menus, but Inopia does not. We relied pretty heavily on our server's basic English, and he did a pretty good job of explaining the choices to us whenever he could, though the high volumes meant we were guessing most of them. There are also pictures of popular dishes hanging from the ceiling, and little chalk pictures on the chalkboard. To round out the decor, there are guest-book tags in Jiffy marker all over the tiled wall, with pictures of famed celeb chefs (or just plain celebs) posted as well. These ones are of Ferran Adria, and Gael Garcia Bernal/Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu/Javier Bardem; pictures of Heston Blumenthal, Wylie Dufresne, etc. flanked them, with copies of an El Bulli book were perched above.

As I mentioned in the last post, we always ordered the tomato/garlic bread, mostly to balance out the other tapas dishes.

For instance, the bread goes pretty hand in hand with a plate of nothing but anchovies in oil. As many writers have noted, Spain is one of those odd places where canned or preserved foods are often as appreciated as fresh food, and anchovies are a great example. Inopia had three or four different types of anchovies to choose from, and we picked the higher grade. This meant it was a bit less salty, and less earthy tasting than most anchovies I've had.

We also picked white asparagus which you could buy in jars from Inopia - it seemed like they canned/preserved them themselves. I've seen white asparagus plenty of times here, but never quite as thick as the ones we had in Spain. Inopia served them with a light hollandaise sauce, and they were a great clean counterpoint to the anchovies.

Bacalao is another preserved mainstay. It's basically a salted cod fish, but in many variations. We had bacalao salad with tomato, and as with everything, it was swimming in olive oil... but in a good way.

Croquettes are a universal item on tapas menus as well. We picked a standard, stuff with potato and Iberian ham. These were among the better croquettes we had, where the outer shell was thin and delicate.

The other potato dish that seemed ubiquitous at every table was the patatas bravas, which is potato chunks, cut like larger hash browns chunks, served with a slightly spicy tomato sauce and mayo. I don't really get the appeal, but I suppose it's like ordering fries as a side.

As one of the many daily specials, Inopia featured ribs. Instead of your standard pub food short ribs, though, these were rabbit. They were great: gently fried, moist, and light enough to eat in large quantities. Served with a mayo/horseradish type sauce.

Our server really pushed this cheese dish, and for good reason: the cheese, torta Cañarejal, is insanely creamy, and a gold medal winner at the international cheese competition. The closest thing I could compare it to is obviously brie, but this was much creamier, and served lukewarm instead of the usual oven-hot baked brie. An excellent finish.

While not at Inopia, Albert Adria is the pastry chef at El Bulli. There didn't seem to be anything remotely close to that end of cooking at Inopia - not that I'm complaining - but here's a video of Albert Adria doing his thing, in support of his recent book, Natura (also featured in one of the Bourdain episodes):

Barcelona Eats: Taller de Tapas

2009-06-21T08:45:00.000-07:00

We spent our first dinner in Barcelona at Taller de Tapas, which was tucked away in one of the many squares off Las Ramblas, one of the main pedestrian drags that caters to tourists and locals alike. The place is a real maze, so we picked what looked like the least touristy place. As we found it later, Taller de Tapas is a chain of tapas restaurants, with numerous locations spread around town.

The first thing that we had to order was a plate of jamon. It's hard to critique one plate of jamon to another: not much bad one can say about perfection.

The other thing that jumped out was razor clams. I used to eat alot of these in Texas, but for whatever reason, I've never seen them on a menu in Canada (apparently you can get them at T&T or at Chinese restaurants depending on the season). This is the first of a recurring theme. If you've never had them before, they taste sort of in between clams and geoduck. Here they were just steamed with a bit of olive oil, which I like: most seafood shouldn't be messed around with too much.

This was a plate of tomato/garlic toast, which seemed like a pretty common side order at most places. While the tomato and garlic were pressed into the bread here, many places just give you a plate of toast, a sliced tomato and a bit of mayo/aioli. This version was one of our faves. Again, simple without too much fuss.

Grilled sardines are always great. They have a sardine fest in Vancouver once a year; this seems to happen 365 days of the year in Spain.

There's not much to say about this paella. It had two clams, two mussels, two crayfish, and way too much lemon juice. I wasn't overly crazy about it, especially considering the paella we had later in Barceloneta, the beach/waterfront part of the city.

The Overdue Pt 2

2009-05-30T10:24:00.000-07:00

I would have to be completely socially isolated not to notice the ongoing early/mid 90s nostalgia. Yesterday I saw someone wearing actual Cross Colors pants. I didn't realize that they still made those. I am assuming (and hoping) that the summer heat will lead to an obvious delay in Eight Ball jackets coming back.

On that note, I am thoroughly enjoying this Royksopp/Robyn track. I do remember making fun of someone in the mid-90s for their fondness of Robyn, and stand happily corrected.

Royksopp (w/ Robyn) - "The Girl and the Robot"

I am also quite enamoured with the production on this track:
Blaktroniks - "Angel"

The Overdue Pt. 1

2009-05-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

Every now and then I completely obsess over De La Soul's "Stakes is High," which, in my mind, is one of the better hip hop songs through the genre's history - "Every word I say should be a hip hop quotable". This cycle stated anew when the Mos Def cover starting circulating the web.

One of the obvious highlights of the track is Dilla's production, and it's reliance on Ahmad Jamal's "Swahililand." Trying to find the best version of "Swahililand," however, is always a fun task. As far as I can tell, Jamal recorded different versions over and over again. It doesn't help matters much that much of Jamal's output is still out of print.

The easiest place to start is one of the many Dilla original source/sample comps:
"Swahililand" (from some online Dilla tribute)

My other favorite version is on the out of print Jamal Plays Jamal, which isn't too hard to find online:

Keswickland

2009-05-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

At first I was going to write about the ongoing mindboggle that is known as the principal of Keswick High - or, more accurately, why no officials have come out to speak on the issue or reprimand the school officials - but I'd rather expend that energy on listening to version after version of Ahmad Jamal's "Swahililand," which is what I ended up doing.

There's an endless number of different versions of the song - and that's just out of Jamal's own output - but from what I can tell, the one from the out-of-print Jamal Plays Jamal seems to be IT. Thus:

Ahmad Jamal - "Swahililand"

And, for no real reason, the best cover of any song I have ever heard:

El Michels Affair - "Shimmy Shimmy Ya"

Cleanin' the Floors

2009-04-13T22:27:00.000-07:00

My dog does not seem to like anything overly bass heavy or club intensive. Siren samples are touch and go.

Terry Callier - "Fool Me Fool You"

Wax Stag - "And How"

Bun, Donut.

2009-03-24T22:32:00.000-07:00

Lemme tells ya: Langley is a far drive away. Like, a world.
But let's recap:
1. We did not get shot at by a gang member.
2. We did visit a breeder that had framed memorabilia from Graceland.
3. Said breeder left her teenage daughter to explain their puppies. I have never seen so much makeup on one teenager. OR: Every year, the more out of touch I get.
4. We went to a puppy store that was an old converted pool hall.
5. We took two trips to said store.
6. Bun came home this past weekend.

Lowrell - "Mellow Mellow Right On"

Badu - "Soldier"

Endnote: Last Vancouver girl on PR Canada - 90s parachute flared pants, avant-garde? Really? (Iman, voice of reason)

Megamix

2009-03-17T22:47:00.000-07:00

1. Oh, internet and this age of EVERYTHING NOW: my hard drive has committed to your excess. For instance:

Public Enemy - "Fight the Power (Flavor Flav meets Spike Lee)": why was a B side mix of this song done with Flav basically talking out of his ass with Spike Lee? Check out the beef about George Michael midway through.

Public Enemy w/ the Roots - "Bring Da Noise" (from the Jimmy Fallon show): Black Thought does an okay Chuck D, but a not-so-good Flav. Did anyone else think this didn't quite live up to the hype?

2. While we're at it, why are there so many different versions of De La Soul's "Saturdays" I've never heard, and so little time to listen to them? (Not to mention attention span). Witness:

De La Soul - "A Rollerskating Jam Named Saturdays (Disco Fever mix)" - features a longer lead in, a few more breaks near the end

Same: "Ladies Nite Decision mix" - features more ladies, a new bassline fatter than deep fried guacamole (google that shit), and (impossibly) even more samples

And more: "What Yo Life Can Really Be mix" - features Dres from Black Sheep, more snaps, a Woody Woodpecker sample, and way less of the "Evil Vibrations" sample

3. The New Yorker article on Lily Allen mentioned that Nellee Hooper used to babysit her. WELL.
Eric B & Rakim - "Move the Crowd" (Wild Bunch remix)

Soul II Soul - "Back to Life" (12" mix; which eliminates the acappella intro, thus enabling one to get the groove on seconds earlier)

ENDNOTE (Boosterism edition):
Past: Gene Poole, will you also be posting my better hearing capabilities from the mid-90s? 'Cause I needs that shit back.
Present: what's with the two Vancouver bitches on Project Runway Canada? Fo' shame. (Also: Obakki, a credential? Really?)

King of Slop

2009-03-10T22:20:00.000-07:00

1. As tonight confirmed, no one has inspired more bad covers than Mike. But seriously: if you could choose any Mike song to cover, would the Jackson 5 cover of "Rockin' Robin" really be it? Really?

2. Also, when did "Jason Mraz-y" become something desirable? Alls I can smell is patchouli, dudes with neckbeads. RETURN.

3. As a matter of coincidence, this mix from the Rub is an excellent Mike primer: the MJ Mix. A particularly high set of props for going with lesser known songs.

4. If you're still not convinced, check the demo of "Don't Stop":

5. Of the gazimillion remixes of Mike, most are absolute failures. Mike does not need arbitrary house beats, breaks, rhymes, etc. Mike did not need that Akon travesty. The more successful ones try not to tinker too much. My favorites:

Jacko 5 - "We're Almost There (DJ Spinna remix)"

Mike - "I Can't Help It (Todd Terje rekut)"

6. Also: Mike, Neptunes - you talkin? Please?

7. I still stand by this (the song, not the video); my DJ friends did not (I'm looking at you, Marco).

Revisit

2009-03-08T23:27:00.000-07:00

1. If Big Love has taught me anything, it is not to pick flowers on the hillside for one's ponytail (or, indeed, to doublecheck that one's ponytail is not jammed in the door).

2. If Watchmen (movie edition) has taught me anything, it is never to have sex to "Hallelujah." If Watchmen (book edition) has taught me anything, it is to never, ever use Bob Dylan as a running quote (also: owls, not as cool as originally thought).

3. There are too many food blogs that tell me nothing.

4. Calgary Cassettes, a plug: the archivalist effort is noble and commendable; the descriptions, chuckle-worthy; the nostalgia good for a day or two. But the comments left by visitors? Bejeezus, quit the 90s.

5. The drums on this track, bonkers: Bat for Lashes - "Glass"

6. OH, WAIT: THE 90's!
Boo Radleys - "Wish I Was Skinny"

Dry.

2009-02-16T23:12:00.000-08:00

Badly Drawn Boy - "Promises (Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve mix)"

Kaidi Tatham - "Do What U Gotta Do"

Snakes, Planes: A Good Evening

2009-02-09T23:36:00.000-08:00

Road 13's "Honest Jons" (2007; 95% merlot, 5% gamay, 100% love): the cute girl that should eventually hit the B-list, or even A-list if she gets that web traffic up. OR: a lesser, but upper-tier, Baldwin brother (William). Blackberry-ish. Good to drink when you what you really want is a good pie. Let that shizz breathe though.

ALSO: burn your hands on the fire that is the Platinum Pied Pipers' Abundance

"Luv Affair"

"Go, Go, Go"

Roast Nuggets

2009-02-03T20:08:00.000-08:00

Lateef & Z Trip & DJ Shadow & Qtip - "Enuff"

Sandie Shaw & the Smiths - "Hand in Glove"

La Coq Rouge (2006; France) - Varietal mix of mostly Syrah, Cab Sauv, Merlot, a bit of Grenache. In other words, a real mutt. The label claims it goes well with vintage Rolling Stones, which should be a warning in itself of boomer mediocrity (per classic rock stations, not Stones output). Tastes like classic rock radio (albeit with a whiff of strawberry/cherry), cougars in mom jeans - thus, let this shizz breathe. Could go well with spicy food, to overwhelm its averageness.

Your Downturn Is Boring Me

2009-01-29T22:35:00.000-08:00

This:
Laurent Garnier "Man With the Red Face"

then this:
Build an Ark "You've Gotta Have Freedom"

A huzzah! for all friends with blogs; please update them so I have something new to read at work.

And So It Goes

2009-01-20T21:48:00.000-08:00

"For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace."

Well, the first day was pretty exciting. Godspeed on the next 99.

Nina Simone - "My Sweet Lord/Today is a Killer"

Chaser

2009-01-11T10:57:00.000-08:00

Redtree cab sauvignon (05, Sonoma): tastes a bit like grape or raspberry jam, or, more accurately, like a fruity red wine. Not dry in the least, but not sickly sweet, either. Good for a burger, some cornflakes, whatev - a generalist.

Deepside - "III"
(Deepside is Ludovic Navarre, of St. Germain fame)

Underworld - "Born Slippy"
(This is the A Side mix of the original 12"; the lager lager version seems to be a B Side remix.)

A Strong Start

2009-01-06T19:57:00.000-08:00

the dB's - "I'm In Love"

"Here's why Daniel Boulud's burger is better than yours: Ordering the original DB Burger...buys you ground sirloin stuffed with succulent braised short ribs, foie gras and preserved black truffle, made to order on a freshly baked Parmesan bun...In what must be a culinary first, the superthick stuffed patty sees the shredded short ribs actually cutting the fattiness of the foie and sirloin. What's more, the short rib stuffing involves numerous steps, the most impressive being pouring three bottles of dry red wine into a saucepan and then setting it aflame. Boulud has taken an essential yet basic piece of Americana and spirited it into a technique-driven masterpiece."

(from Amy Rosen's "Someone's in the Kitchen With Daniel," En Route, whose associated airline I can not endorse)

First.

2009-01-01T16:22:00.000-08:00

Massive Attack "False Flags (UNKLE Surrender Sessions 2)

Lost In Trees "Mvt II Sketch"

Best Meals, 08:
1. Guy Savoy, Las Vegas
2. West, Vancouver
3. Ad Hoc, Napa

Albums Downloaded and Actually Listened To and Remembered (no particular order):
1. Erykah Badu, whatever that album was called
2. Portishead, whatever that album was called
3. Cut Copy, whatever that album was called
4. Jamie Lidell, whatever that album was called
5. Hercules & Love Affair, whatever that album was called

Songs that I Could Not Remove From My Mind, for better or for worse:
1. Kanye, the song with the taiko drums
2. MGMT, the electric eel song
3. the Very Best, the song with the steel drums
4. that goddamn Lykke Li song
5. all those iPod commercials

Artists who piqued my interest that I can attest to having listened to (ie. honorable mentions):

1. Air France
2. Tindersticks (the new album, that is)
3. Liam Finn
4. ATrak
5. Flying Lotus

Archivalist material that I am happy to have freeloaded on from downloads:
1. Emitt Rhodes albums that have not been re-released
2. Ahmad Jamal live from Oil Can Harrys
3. Dorothy Ashby, Soul Vibrations
4. older Tindersticks albums
5. the Willie Hutch soundtrack for the Mack

Honorable idea:
1. the US election
2. Kanye, for releasing one of few hip hop break-up albums (for the life of me, I cannot remember any other). Hopelessly flawed, though I believe that was an unintentional point: the autotune has a purpose.

Advice for 2009:
1. Buy low, sell high.

Stand Up, Sit Down to Get Up, Get Down

2008-12-06T15:44:00.000-08:00

Pharoahe Monch - "Simon Says"

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - "Get Down Lover"

BTW: if you're ever stuck in Richmond at night and can't be bothered to travel downtown, or if you're sick of downtown and want a quiet class of wine and charcuterie, head down to Gudrun in Steveston. It's nestled behind the storefronts on the main strip: look for an incredible courtyard with a large banquet table surrounding an old tree. Don't be too thrown off by the pricing: the cheese/charcuterie platters are almost twice the size of Salt's.

Radio Radio

2008-11-10T22:24:00.000-08:00

I tuned into college radio for the first time in years. In a span of 20 minutes, an Australian (a constant fixture up and down the dial these days) and his foul-mouthed compadre went from Kung Fu Panda ("hated it!") to rating systems ("1.5 out of 10") to the current price of gas ("it's why gas is below $1.00!") to Rogers Video ("those assholes!") to blank media levies ("they enshrined an approval for piracy!")(they didn't, actually). (All paraphrasing overly generous.)

Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Freaks for the Festival (v1 and 2)