A terrific show from the UK band at the Wonder Ballroom, playing a mixture of music from all their albums. I was surprised and a tad disappointed in Portland for not packing the house more, it’s rare they’re touring here. But, more room for me!
V was my top album of 2017, so glad I could finally see them live. Even got a signed CD, I’m a sucker for signed merchandise.
1) Bob Mould – Patch The Sky
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLKIkmiLCzM
2) Poliça – United Crushers
https://youtu.be/fG8JMSMDICI
3) Kaytranada – 99.9%
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKlA5tRu6f0
4) Aesop Rock – The Impossible Kid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npcGql9Ir6Y
5) Kate Tempest – Let Them Eat Chaos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDnC7ma3Q0o
6) A Tribe Called Quest – We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO2Su3erRIA
7) St Paul & The Broken Bones – Sea Of Noise
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XqQsKxiKT0
8) Run The Jewels – RTJ3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jl-BeR4M4c
9) Nada Surf – You Know Who You Are
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4WDRYPttLI
10) Steve Mason – Meet The Humans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6pII42seo8
11) DJ Shadow – The Mountain Will Fall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Oyti58LzS8
12) Lush – Blind Spot EP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD4O20ePnXo
13) Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI2oS2hoL0k
14) Rogue Wave – Delusions Of Grand Fur
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4ubQOyvHuo
15) Danny Brown – Atrocity Exhibition
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVyGxlgeAjc
16) Samaris – Black Lights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilqhgHiQ1l4
17) Martin Courtney – Many Moons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvN4wroh2Wc
18) Band Of Horses – Why Are You OK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV99ErubyMI
19) Rolling Stones – Blue And Lonesome (2016)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrIjMzBr-ck
20) De La Soul – and the Anonymous Nobody…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWpmWvJThkQ
I was recently given a supremely interesting gift, an invitation to a record club. “Record club” brings back memories of the Colombia House 12 CDs for a penny era, but this one is quite a bit cooler and is truly just records, er, LPs.
Vinyl Me Please produces an album each month it deems as a must own. They’re pressed just for them (and me) so it’s not something you can just go out and buy. It contains additional inserts or artwork, vinyl is custom colored, and comes with a cocktail recipe to be had while listening.
Genre wise, it’s all over the board, which it should be. Check out the past albums here. I wish I would have gotten in on that Sylvan Esso limited edition, I just have the dumb ‘ol standard vinyl, heh. My 1st arrival was Youth Lagoon’s The Year of Hibernation, which is an example of the discriminating choices VMP makes, because it came out in 2011. It’s great. And although I’d heard a song from it here and there, I find that it’s really an album that needs to be listened to in its entirety. It’s also a bright blue, which is nifty.
As the East Coast is about to get smacked with a crippling snow storm, weather in the NW this January has been amazing. I seized on this by hitting the beach this weekend. After the beach I was thirsty and figured Astoria was only 15 minutes away so I searched for “brewpubs”. I’ve been to Fort George, which I enjoy, but saw a new one that I needed to try, Buoy Beer Co.
Didn’t get too much food because I hit Camp 18 for breakfast earlier in the day. But what was had was really good. The shrimp cocktail had the cutest little Oregon shrimp, with great texture and flavor. Fried cheese curds were quite good but the Romesco sauce bumped it up to great. The Lager Lomito was a beer braised pork sandwich and had great savory flavors (although the contents kept trying to slide out). Loved the beer, I tried the Czech Pils and the Coffee Brown. They’re from opposite ends of the spectrum but both were flavorful, and highly enjoyable.
The space is really cool though, it’s on the Columbia river in an old cannery, so yes, it’s ON the Columbia. You can even see it underneath via the glass peek-through. The main draw for me were the floor to ceiling windows, where you lose yourself gazing at the river and the cargo ships slowly moving by. Glad I was thirsty.
What a great year for music. The 1st 7 picks could really be in any order, they’re all amazing and my order seems to change daily. If I had to recommend one to everyone, it would be Real Estate, so damn pretty and catchy. If you’re looking for an album to play late at night, I can’t say enough about HTRK. My favorite of course is Sylvan Esso, fell in love with them after seeing them on KEXP. Bob Mould continues to amaze so many decades on, and I really should have worn earplugs to his show.
