Click (Music): Celery Root, Johnny Kills, Smash Boom Pow and SOFI TUKKER

I've been doing the celery root/white bean shuffle this week. Here's how it played out in the music I listened to (and the videos I watched):

"Pitted" by Sløtface

Happy Saturday night. Right now I'm playing "Never Have I Ever" with a group of friends. While they load up on utterly loathesome bulls**t like Coors Lite and Milwaukee's Best, my cup is full of Matthew Biancaniello inspired cocktails made of celery root. Not the best things I've ever downed from a cup but at least I'm not pulling strings from my teeth like I was during my initial celery root phase.

Last round I made the statement, never have I ever skipped going out so I could watch Netflix with the sound off while listening to a Norwegian alt-rock band get all anthemic about spirited introverts on their debut album. Everyone just stared at me. I took my shot.

I give you "Pitted" by Sløtface. The song that just cost granted me a shot made from alchoholic infused celery root.



"My Shirt Guy is High" by Johnny Kills

Johnny Kills described "My Shirt Guy is High" as summer evening slacker-psych music. I would call it unshaved bikini line in the dark pool music. Maybe the best approach is to marry the two and say "My Shirt Guy is High" is unshave your bikini line because you are a slacker in a dark pool on the summer evening...psych music.

Sorry dude, gotta run. Spin Magazine (the online version) is currently on my cell phone. They said they want to hire me because of my "nobody understands what I'm talking about" song descriptions.



"Way Too Much" by Smash Boom Pow

Smash Boom Pow is a blood brother duo from Vancouver, BC. Brother Ulysses [vocals/guitar] came up with "Way Too Much" to quell two primordial needs: therapeutic release and indie rock fanboy.

The brothers have pointed out that the chorus “you’re asking way too much of me” is not written because their mom expects them to clean their rooms (or some other unreasonable labour request) but rather a response to unfair emotional demands that can inflict some serious psychic damage. Be true to yourself, compromise for the sake of the relationship or move to a farm during rainy season and watch your prized celery roots swell, crack and brown at the heart? That is the essential question "Way Too Much" sets out to illustrate.



 "Subtitles for X, Y, Z" by Creo

Creo's new song, which is the title track from their upcoming EP mind you, is "all about getting out of your own head, fucking off agendas and accepting that those innocent quirks you try to hide need to be loved by yourself, first and foremost.” Take a page out of the celery root's playbook. Don't be afraid to let your warts, knobs, rubbery roots and meshed tentacles hang out for everyone to see. You'll be all the better for it.



Videos:

"She Believes in the Devil" by Send Medicine

This video can best be summed up as Woman claims this mid-century bungalow house as her own. She then has her way with it.



"F*ck They" by SOFI TUKKER

It took a while for this song to sort of grow on me. Actually, strike that, I'm still not convinced it has grown on me. As far as the video goes, I'm way down with the bar/restaurant in it. All those crazy colors, slaughtered vegetables and freaky movements. What's not to like? Just wish the celery root could've gotten a bit of love.



"A Place to Drown" by John Joseph Brill

In case you missed last month's Food Flavored Album review of John Joseph Brill's latest EP, I said that "A Place to Drown" might be tragically romantic or it might just be tragic. Either way it is haunting. The only thing that I would like to add to that breakdown, after seeing the video, are the words celery root. I haven't quite figured out where they fit but there is absolutely no denying that they belong in their somewhere.



"Pitted" by Sløtface

Two things have occured tonight thanks to Sløtface's "Pitted." I'm getting really gøød at making the ø øn my cømputer and I'm alsø develøping a bit øf an affinity før Prøseccø as a celery røøt chaser.

Cheers!



Get All of 2017's Click Tracks (when available) in One Spotify Playlist:

Click (Music): Sacred Hearts Club, Punk Super Groups, Plastic Picnics and Nine Inch Nails

"Miss It Still" by Plastic Picnic

A picnic in paradise. Edible flowers strewn all over a plastic tablecloth laid out in the sand. A delivery guy riding a scooter bringing bags full of Cuban food. Fried yucca. Yellow rice. Black beans. Garlic dipping sauce. Crushed styrofoam containers ditched underneath the lifeguard chair.

That's "Miss It Still," the first ever release from Roll Call Records new singles label Highland Park.



"Here With You" by Lost Frequencies & Netsky

Brunch at a tiny cafe located alongside the riverwalk. People dodging in and out. You hardly notice because it is just you, her (or him) and the giant Belgian waffle covered with fresh fruit compote. A street performer comes up and busts a move. This time you do notice. You offer him a waffle as payment. He takes it down the street holding it like a wrapped burrito in his hands.

That's "Here With You" by Belgian hit machine Lost Frequencies and producer Netsky.



"Glass" by Sunset Lines

A dingy bar. A weird stained glass window stuffed into the corner of the men's (or women's) room. Your favorite guilty pleasure starts playing on the jukebox. You grab a hot chocolate from one of those 70's style vending machines and make your way to the dance floor.

That's "Glass," the debut single from San Francisco based Sunset Lines.



 "Bicep" by TR/ST

A narcissist suffering from an elongated battle with impurity and worthlessness. Taking a walk through a field in the middle of nowhere. Picking wild onions. Stirring them into a soup that is left behind uneaten because of a lack of hunger.

This is "Bicep" by Toronto based musician TR/ST.


Videos:

"Legends" by Sleeping With Sirens

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, your new official song for Team USA on their road to the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics..."Legends" by Sleeping With Sirens.



"Less Than" by Nine Inch Nails

A lyric video in which the lyrics are written in a video game. How awesome of an idea is that!



"Witches" by Good Kid

A lyric video in which the lyrics are written in a video game. How awesome of an idea is that! Wait, what? Didn't I hear that somewhere else recently?

I do think I'd rather play this one.



"That Thing" by Hazel English

Hazel English's video for "That Thing" is an ominous experience in isolation. The lone figure on screen throughout is English and she finds herself sitting on a bed, in an empty theater and swimming in a pool. At every twist and turn it almost seems as if the person watching the video shouldn't be there, like you are some dirty peeping tom. The exception seems to be the theater. There it was the shadowy figure on the stage that seemed like they didn't belong.

The filmmakers for this video, Kelia Anne and Luca Venter did an awesome job with the colors. Each scene and outfit have connects which just adds to the eeriness.



"If There Was Ever A Time" by Armstrongs

The "super group" called Armstrongs consists of two famous elder Armstrongs and two of their younger relatives. We've got Tim Armstrong. Tim has spent the last three decades in band's such as Operation Ivy, Rancid and the Transplants. Accompanying Tim in Armstrongs is his nephew Rey. And we've got Billie Joe Armstrong. Billie Joe has been in Pinhead Gunpowder, Foxboro Hot Tubs, The Network and, most famously, Green Day. Accompanying Billie Joe in Armstrongs is his son Joey (of SWMRS fame).

Armstrongs first release "If There Was Ever A Time" is being released via Hellcat Records. All proceeds from the song, yes 100 percent of them, will got to 924 Gilman: a DIY, nonprofit, all-ages venue for music, art, and community events in Berkeley, California.




"Sit Next to Me" by Foster the People

Only one week left until the release of Foster the People's new album Sacred Hearts Club. Seems like the perfect time for a new single. So here it is:



"Don't Delete the Kisses" by Wolf Alice

This video confused me for about two minutes when I first saw it. I hit play and immediately clicked into a new tab. Every time I looked back at the tab with this video the picture was the same but the music continued to play. I couldn't figure out why my computer was glitching so bad. Turns out, it wasn't my computer. This video has no movement in it. "Don't Delete the Kisses" comes from Wolf Alice's upcoming album, due out in September. Of course, you could go ahead and pre order the album and get "Don't Delete the Kisses" as an instant gratification gift single. Your call. Are you patient? Or not?



 Get All of 2017's Click Tracks (when available) in One Spotify Playlist:

Four For the Fourth: Mushroom Ceviche

Poem for America

Well America, we made it another year.
For a time there I wasn't sure you could do it what with all the people who seem to be willing to sell you to highest bidder.
But you hiked up your bootstraps,
pulled your red, white and blue bloomers tight
and drug yourself across the finish line.
You may be battered and bruised but,
at least for now, you are still standing.

In honor of you and your ever remaining hereness, I am spending the day basting a sh** ton of mushrooms in lime juice and calling it a Ceviche.

Here's the four songs that will accompany that yummy textural conundrum:

MR. RUSSIA can best be described with the following math equation: Bass + Drums - Guitar. His work is designed to show how much can be done with only a tight rhythm section and cantankerous. MR. RUSSIA's new album, Big Noise, is scheduled for release on August 18th. One of the two singles that have already reached the internet is "Bang Bang Romance." Check it:



The video:



LA-based riot pop act WASI released an EP back in May. The EP, called Coup, features a collection of songs that are about finding the power within oneself as well as within activism and community. As a staunch supporter and participant in LGBTQ/feminist causes, perhaps nothing speaks louder this 4th of July.

Here's the video for "Floor Talk." It follows a group of all female sky divers as the fall towards the ground.



Just the sounds:



Disco Fries are back and serving up a delicious summer helping of their seasoned dance music. The track, "Reckless" combines smooth drums with seamless melodies and the powerful vocals of Jared Lee. "Reckless" comes from the Fries' forthcoming EP, DF, which is due out later this summer.



And finally, the Tambo Rays. The band says about new single "Always Down": "'Always Down'" is an uplifting song written about being there for a friend going through dark times. While holding a strong, loving space, all we could do was acknowledge their sadness and bare witness, gently knowing we're always there." America definitely needs to hear that sometimes. Now is probably one of them.

Food Flavored Video: Hobart by Sail On! Sail On!

We all know them. Maybe. They are the beefy guys at the party who show up with a bag of chips, do a couple of bro hugs and start raising the roof while the other party goers chant "Dip! Dip! Dip!" They are the slimy greasers who take an ice cream scoop of pureed chickpeas, slop it on some lady's breasts and proceed to dip those babies clean. They are the loud male sports fans at the bar high-fiving and plinking Sabra tubs together when their team scores a point. They are the people that suffer from hyper toxic hummasculinity.

Over the last week Sail On! Sail On!'s social media has been besieged by these hummus bros bragging and belching about how they can eat more hummus than the band. It all came about because of the band's video for their single "Hobart." Skinny, one of the members of Sail On! Sail On! asked some friends to bring a plate of vegan food over to his house. 90 percent of them brought hummus. So Skinny and Ethan (another band member) decided that during the 2:50 song they would attempt to eat 1kg of hummus while also taking turns singing the lines of the song. The band completed the video in one take, no way they would be able to eat that much hummus again, and uploaded it to Youtube. Then the hummus pissing contest began. Vitriol like "DZ and Dunies were at least impressive. This just nasty and music doesnt suit :/" and "mate, you can't even finish a 1KG tub of hummus between the two of you" was sent their way. The band calmly suggested that if people wanted to try the challenge themselves they could film it and send it to the band. If anyone could successfully sing the lines in the song while finishing a 1kg tub of hummus in 2:50, Sail On! Sail On! would send them a free record. Just by attempting the challenge a person could earn a free download of the album.

Watch Sail On! Sail On!'s hummus challenge:



Hummus Free Version:

Click (Music): Veggie Both, Panama, BANNERS and Sealing Things With a Kiss

"Undertow" by Panama

Traditionally my cooking "undertow" of choice is a big glob of semi frozen olive oil. Pop that thing into almost any pan and watch the crispy, caramelization take hold. With the doctor ordered fat drive shifted way down to low, olive oil has been off the table. It's been veggie broth for days. I can't say it has been easy, it definitely took some readjusting the way I handle certain things, but I'm finally feeling like I'm getting the hang of it. As for Panama's "Undertow," this track is a beautifully written, slow burning, heartbreaker. The track is actually a letter that Panama wrote to a friend who committed suicide. "Undertow" can be found on Panama's sophomore EP, Hope for Something, which hits the streets on June 23rd.

 

"Let Me Down Easy" by Gangs of Youth

One of my social media sites caught fire last week when I suggested that veggie broth is where vegetables that have made nothing of value are "given a platform to take things of value and treat them as nothing." Some of my veggie loving friends were super pissed. Of course their straw man arguments kept returning to cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. I let the haters down easy by relaying that everyone knows you don't put those veggies in a broth because it leaves it bitter and lonely.

In a similar vein, Gangs of Youth spent some time internet dueling last week after they suggested that the internet is "the place where those whom have made nothing of value are given platform to take things of value and treat them as nothing." A follower fired off a long, angry response, only to eventually realize that a) he was demonstrating their point and b) they were quite possibly in agreement with each other but had trouble conveying that over the interwebs.

Grab some popcorn (simmered in veggie broth of course), fire up Gang of Youths Facebook page to watch the fireworks and turn on "Let Me Down Easy." Trust me, it will fill in the missing piece that is needed to complete your day.



"Someone to You" by Banners

I've pretty much spent my last two days riding my bicycle around town, handing out free quarts of veggie broth and blasting “Someone to You” by Banners. This track is uplifting and magnetic. It captures all those warm, cozy feelings that are associated with falling in love/pouring a fine veggie broth into a steaming hot pan. "When someone loves you (and your veggie broth), you feel like a rock star, like a hero. This song is about that, about wanting that and about making someone else feel that too,” says BANNERS.



Covers:

 "Sealed With A Kiss" by You Are Number Six

You Are Number Six celebrated the 30 degree first day of Summer by releasing a cover of "Sealed With A Kiss." The track is sung in half-french / half-english and features Anissa's innocent voice over a bed of dark melancholic melodies. Now, where have I heard that description before? Oh yeah, I used that same description in my first cookbook when introducing my veggie broth recipe.



Videos:

"I Still Wait For You" by XYLO

The stripped-down video highlights how the band's mesmerizing vocals and hypnotic chords can play anywhere, even a garage.



"We Could Run" by Beth Ditto

"We Could Run" is the third single from Beth Ditto's upcoming debut album (Fake Sugar, due out on June 16th). The song highlights Beth's powerful vocals and resonating lyrics in an 80's power ballad sort of way. I can definitely see one or two similarities between "We Could Run" and say "Pour Some Veggie Broth On Me."



Get All of 2017's Click Tracks (when available) in One Spotify Playlist:

Food Flavored Video: Barf Day by Diet Cig

Ever wondered what a birthday party featuring members of Diet Cig, Daddy Issues, Pardoner and Plush would include? Well wonder no more. Diet Cig gives you a little taste, excuse me, a giant vomit dripping taste in their video for "Barf Day."

The birthday starts dull enough. There is some burgers being flipped by a grill master who definitely has better places to be. Then the crew joins each other in a kum ba yah half circle around a juggling clown (who also acts like he has better places to be. Come on man, look alive. Do you know who you are performing for? That's Diet Cig, dude. That person there? Daddy Issues. Yep, Pardoner and Plush as well). The clown is so dull that one of the party goers, I believe it is Alex from Diet Cig, resorts to digging in dirt.

At this point, the ballon circled cake comes out and everyone pledges allegiance sends happy thoughts to the birthday girl. Here's where things go a bit awry. Instead of slicing the cake and sharing it, Alex smashes it on the table and runs from the party singing "I just want to have ice cream on my birthday." As she leaves the party, of course, she finds an abandoned ice cream truck (ok, there is a driver in front but seriously, he doesn't put up much of a fight at all). She climbs in through the window and starts doling out cold sweet treats to the party goers who have followed her. Then, Diet Cig steals the truck and proceeds to turn it into a moving concert vehicle. This signifies the end of an absolutely perfect "Barf Day."

See it all yourself:



Just the sounds:


Diet Cig Upcoming Tour Dates
June 08 - Columbia, MO @ Rose Music Hall #
June 09 - Indianapolis, IN @ Musical Family Tree #
June 10 - Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe #
July 23 - Seattle, WA @ Capitol Hill Block Party
Sep 07 - Hamden, CT @ The Ballroom at The Outer Space *
Sep 08 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom #
Sep 09 - Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre *
Sep 10 - Portland, ME @ SPACE
Sep 11 - Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall *
Sep 12 - Ithaca, NY @ The Haunt *
Sep 13 - Pittsburgh, PA @ The Funhouse at Mr Smalls *
Sep 14 - Gambier, OH @ Horn Gallery - Kenyon College
Sep 16 - Lancaster, PA @ Lizard Lounge *
Sep 17 - Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery *
Sep 23 - Tourcoing, FR @ Le Grand Mix
Sep 25 - Paris, FR @ Supersonic
Sep 26 - Antwerp, BE @ Trix VZW
Sep 28 - Lausanne, CH @ Le Romandie Rock Clubl
Sep 30 - Osimo, IT @ Loop
Oct 02 - Vienna, AT @ B72
Oct 04 - Munich, DE @ Orange House
Oct 05 - Berlin, DE @ Berghain Kantine
Oct 06 - Denmark, CP @ Stengade
Oct 07 - Hamburg-St. Pauli, DE @ Molotow
Oct 09 - Köln, DE @ Blue Shell
Oct 10 - Münster, DE @ Gleis 22
Oct 12 - Norwich, UK @ Norwich Arts Centre
Oct 13 - Nottingham, UK @ Rough Trade Nottingham
Oct 14 - Lancashire, UK @ Lancaster Library
Oct 16 - Manchester, UK @ Soup Kitchen
Oct 17 - Edinburgh, UK @ Sneaky Pete's
Oct 18 - Glasgow, UK @ Broadcast
Oct 19 - Leeds, UK @ Headrow House
Oct 21 - Bristol, UK @ Simple Things Festival
Oct 23 - Cambridge, UK @ Portland Arms
Oct 25 - London, UK @ Moth Club
Oct 26 - Brighton, UK @ The Hope & Ruin

# = with SPORTS
* = with Ratboys

Click (Music): Quinoa Bowls, Cathedrals, Scrambled Eggs and a Heavenbound Mt. Wolf

"Heavenbound" by Mt. Wolf

Maybe it was the vanilla coffee I was heavily under the influence of but I swear I saw Jesus in my red quinoa this week. I tried to grab the nearest person for confirmation. Unfortunately, that happened to be a priest, and things got way too convoluted between my mouth and his ears. It probably shouldn't come as a surprise that Jesus chose to show his face in the dark, rounded Peruvian grain that became a staple of my many varied vegan bowls this past hebdomad. I mean, I was doing a lot of soul searching, reflecting and meditating and most of the time there were some pseduocereals involved. Speaking of pseudocereals, Jesus and meditation, have you checked out "Heavenbound" by Mt. Wolf yet? This anthemic little single feels a bit like the National in terms of its melodic songcraft. Add in the sky-scraping atmospherics that have become sort of a Mt. Wolf trademark and you've got the type of thought-provoking single that men have hummed while walking through amaranth fields for centuries.



"Link in Bio" by Diet Cig

I'm in the store getting some avocados and broccoli, because what is a quinoa bowl without those two ingredients, and I see some old guy checking out. He's talking to the lady at the cash register. Well, probably it would be more accurate to say he was talking at her. Somewhere in the midst of his conversation he suggested that the lady should smile more because life isn't that awful. After that suggestion, I couldn't help but think about "Link in the Bio" by Diet Cig.

As Alex Luciano notes, "'Link In Bio' unpacks this idea that women + femmes should be any specific way and says uh NO. It's an extra special fuck you to the notion of a 'chill girl' that I swear was created by cis men to make women + femmes feel bad about voicing their feelings. It's me screaming that it's okay to be loud and bossy and sensitive and kind and weird and angry and ecstatic and literally any other emotion that you feel because YOU ARE A RADIANT AND NUANCED HUMAN BEING WHO IS GOING TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD

Old man...if that lady behind the cash register wants to be pissed off because life recently took a shit on her, then she has that right. You don't get to decide how she should or should not feel.



"Man Up" by Everywhere featuring Rebecca Nohr

Along the same lines as Diet Cig and the old guy in the grocery store, "Man Up" by Everywhere explores themes of unfulfilled expectations, dominant partners and living up to an old fashioned idea of what it means to be a man.

I've done some being a man exploration this week, thanks in large part to a series of radio spots by a frozen cheesesteak company that I heard way too often. From these ads I discovered that "manning up" absolutely cannot take place on a vegan diet. Real men eat frozen cheesesteaks! Terrified that I wasn't a real man, I decided to enroll at The Real Man Institute hoping that I could be cured of my lack of manliness. The institutes gauge whether you have been cured of your non manliness is sort of rorschach test involving Everywhere's "Man Up." They play the line from the song,"You gotta man up, or I will eat you whole" and then ask you what you are thinking about. The first few times I told the institute's technician that it was avocados I was thinking about. He sighed and sent me back in for more "treatment." Finally I got wise and told him cheesesteak. I was thinking about cheesesteak. He gave me rubber stamp and an "I am a real man" sticker and sent me on my way.

In GQ terms (is that manly enough for ya?), "Man Up" is dressed in an electro-pop suit, sports funky basslines, analog synths, and features an appearance by Swedish singer/songwriter Rebecca Nohr. "Man Up" could be a part of Everywhere's album that they are currently working on. There is nothing set in stone yet but they hope to have it out this fall.



 "Try to Fight" by Cathedrals

If the previous tracks were the veggies and quinoa in the bowl, "Try to Fight" by Cathedrals is the sauce that ties it all together. You want it sweet? Salty? A combination of the two? You want it hot? Spicy? Somewhere in the middle of it all? Those are the questions that "Try to Fight" sets out to answer. I interpreted "Try to Fight" as a vinegar, soy sauce, peanut butter and sweet chili paste combo. But, as the scorpion and the frog always say, you do you.



Videos:

"Heavenbound" by Mt. Wolf

The official music video for "Heavenbound" captures the essence of a man’s final minutes, projecting the sense that love will always be so much stronger than hate.



"Losing It. Finding It." by Empty Lungs

The video for "Losing It. Finding It." by Belfast's Empty Lungs is a sort of tour diary, filmed when the band was touring down the east coast last year on their way to FEST. Yes, that fest. The one in Gainesville. The band even played the pre-fest show that takes place in Ybor. Yes, that Ybor. The one right down the road. Why wasn't I there? Um, I stayed home to rinse my pseduocereals. In hopes that it makes me a little less lamer, I've regretted not going to New World Brewery every day since I've seen this video.



"After the Party" by The Menzingers

"After the Party" brought all those memories of brushing my teeth with my fingers outside of the Dairy Queen, laundromat fights, karate battling the ATM and dining and dashing back full force. It also reminded me that, after the party, it is just me and you (and a big bowl of quinoa, veggies and sauce). A sobering reality unless you like the one your with.



"Skin" by Rag'N'Bone Man

I usually avoid videos that have upward of 8 million views but sometimes there is power in numbers. It feels good to fight alongside 8 million of my friends for once.



"Scrambled Egg" by Eat Fast

I'm pretty sure I've made this video a thousand times before. The only difference is my eggs are usually called "egg like product." Egg like product really goes well with quinoa and veggies.



"If U C My Enemies" by Rubblebucket

The story behind the video for "If U C My Enemies" is that there is this kitchy haunted horror cabin where people go and just hang out on their cellphones. No chatting, just texting. A gender ambiguous fashion witch comes on the scene and takes the cabin crew hostage. This villain teaches her/his victims how to love and be present with each other (bloodily killing them is so 2010).



Get All of 2017's Click Tracks (when available) in One Spotify Playlist:

Click (Music): Barbacoa Cauliflower, PSSY PWR, Cold War Kids and Black Honey

"Rodeo" by Pssy Pwr

I'm standing around for forty-five minutes just waiting to gain entrance to my local five and ten. I think, when I finally get a seat, that I'm going with the norm, a bowl of vegan lentil soup. Across the way I see an absolutely gorgeous lady eating a double shot of tacos. I approach her and inquire about what she is currently placing onto her tongue. She smiles and says "Barbacoa cauliflower tacos." My mind is spinning a million miles an hour when she adds, "These will make a man scream hallelujah!" I took out my journal and jotted down the following list:

Things that will make a man scream hallelujah (in no particular order):
1. PSSY PWR
2. Barbacoa Cauliflower Tacos
3. Rodeos



"I Still Wait For You" by Xylo

Graffiti written on the wall in charcoal at our local barbacoa joint: "Every second feels like forever, where the fu** you been? Are you listening?" I get that same feeling every time I think about those cauliflower tacos. Where the fu** you been all my life?

On another note, I challenge you to find some who that utters the word fuck in a sweeter way than Paige Duddy. I could listen to her say that word for multiple hours a day.

 

"Somebody Better" by Black Honey

If only all of our journey's to be better could sound so splendid.



Remixes

"I Got You" by Bebe Rexha (White Panda Remix)

I got you...a barbacoa panda.

I don't even know.



Videos:

"Biggest Fan" by Will Joseph Cook

Absence, and falling oranges, make the heart grow fonder.



"Your Love" by Haerts

There's some fire, a man running and a couple nude bodies. Other than that, I have no idea what I'm looking at. Thankfully the audio is so much clearer. Welcome back Haerts.



"So Tied Up (Los Feliz Blvd)" by Cold War Kids featuring Bishop Briggs

In my humble opinion, Cold War Kids are like chipotles in adobo sauce right now.



"Mother" by Idles

Well played Idles. Well played.



 Get All of 2017's Click Tracks (when available) in One Spotify Playlist:

Food Flavored Video: Patriarchy Tripping in the Food Desert According to Diet Cig and Dreamers

Before getting into the post, I have a quick disclaimer:

While I normally reserve food flavored video posts to one new video that features some kind of food encounter in it, I decided that this post required a two pack. For reasons that will soon become obvious, I saw some similarities in the settings of Diet Cig's video for "Tummy Ache" and Dreamers video for "Sweet Disaster." My editor wasn't too happy (think about the blog hits, man!) but it just made too much sense.

Diet Cig has had enough of all this girly sleepover trash that seems to rule the world of literature, movies and television. Just because a group of females decide to spend the night together, doesn't mean that they have to just talk boys, do each others nails, freeze bras and have pillow fights. The band's new video for "Tummy Ache" splices scenes of a day-in-the-life of them as touring musicians with the story of some girls having a sleepover. The girls, played by members of the Willie Mae Rock Camp in NYC and Girls Rock Philly, subvert the girly sleepover idea by turning it into a zine making, convenience store food eating, patriarchy smashing craft fest. Diet Cig wanted to show that there is "power in friendship and while it may be hard to be a punk while wearing a skirt," the band is loud, powerful and always ready to show up.

"Tummy Ache" is featured on Diet Cig's upcoming debut album, Swear I'm Good At This, coming out on April 7th via Frenchkiss Records. The band will be touring the world in support of the album and in support of the next generation of young female rock musicians. They will share the stage at a handful of shows with Girl's Rock Camp affiliated camp bands and other young musicians (at the shows in DC, Richmond, Carborro and Atlanta).

Just the noise:

Just like with "Tummy Ache," the video for "Sweet Disaster" by Dreamers finds itself in the aisles of its local convenience store. The difference is that while "Tummy Ache" only hung their for a bit as it had better places to go, "Sweet Disaster" decided just to go ahead and make a night of it. According guitarist/vocalist Nick Wold, this is because the video is meant to pay homage to the movie Clerks. The video was filmed all night at a corner store in Echo Park (Los Angeles). Nelson (bass/vocals), Jacob (drums) and Marissa Luck play the store clerks, while Nick plays all the customers. Everything is going pretty par for the course, you know shotgunning Red Bulls and sword fighting with Slim Jims, until the slushy machine breaks. Then the eggs get faces, the Slim Jims become glow sticks and bubbles appear EVERYWHERE. Why the trippy take on Clerks? Nick suggested that "With all the serious stuff going on in the world we wanted to use the video to escape reality, and hopefully laugh for a few minutes. The video is about the inner mind of all dreamers, as they live out their own sweet disasters in every day life."

"Sweet Disaster" is from the band's 2016 release This Album Does Not Exist. They are currently touring with the Griswolds in support of it.



Eyes not working? Try this:

Click (Music): Me Not You, Felicity, Jay Som and Lettuce Wraps

"Relief" by Me Not You

When “Relief” by Little Daylight turned Me Not You members Nikki Taylor and Eric Zeiler crossed my desk, I was two week's deep in one of those gluten overload diets. It was all pasta soup and sandwiches all the time. "Relief" opened my eyes to how bad I was feeling from all that gluten. The track's crunchy, dynamic pop-rock got me thinking, how can I free myself from this painful eating rut I've created? Crunch...crunch...crunch. Then it dawned on me, the solution to all my problems was lettuce wraps.

According to Nikki Taylor, "Relief" is indeed all about a painful, yet freeing experience. Her's had nothing to do with gluten though. It was more along the lines of getting kicked out of Catholic High School. "Relief" was written to capture the "anxiety-ridden catharsis" that marked that period of her life.



"Pilot With a Fear of Heights" by Felicity

The idea behind Felicity's “Pilot With A Fear Of Heights” came from a flight into New York. She was looking out the window and realized how high the plane was. She started thinking about fears, how people have different ones and that a fear of heights is not really that uncommon. This is where her imagination took over. What if a pilot was afraid of heights? What if people are so destined for something and yet are so afraid to fulfill it? She was so tickled by this thought that she turned it into a song. When I think about this idea of not fulfilling something because of fear my mind quickly shifts to mushrooms. I know lots of people that are so scared of mushrooms because of their texture, growing style or look. This fear, at some moments, does not allow mushrooms to fulfill their destiny. It is a destiny that, when done absolutely right, should be full of pine nuts, pistachios and, of course, lettuce.



"1 Billion Dogs" by Jay Som

Thanks to an interview with Jay Som (aka Melina Duterte) on Pitchfork, I now know that cat cafe's are a thing. This, in turn, led me to the lettuce wrap of my dreams. If you are more of a dog fan, I'm sure you can just wrap a vegan hot dog in lettuce and call it a meal.




"Ego" by Milky Chance

"Ego" is a carefree, tropically-tinged track about a "distance that is impossible to overcome." This is Milky Chance's strength, their ability to display the painful realities of being human in a way that is smooth, fun and easy to bob your head to. In lettuce wrap form, "Ego" looks like this minus the chicken and cilantro (ugh, gag, gouge my tastebuds out with soap and water).




"Don't Get It" by Empty Lungs

Empty Lungs want you to know this: '"Don't Get It" is a fuck you to a culture that warps young people into thinking that self-image and selfishness are the core values of our modern society. Those kinds of attitudes create an atmosphere that alienates anyone that doesn’t fit the mold. The youth culture that we love revolves around tolerance, art, activism and social change. Unfortunately these aren’t the dreams being sold to many of us.'

A quick Google search of "art, activism and lettuce wraps" brought me to this fantastic looking wrap. It also showed me that there is a real need to continue to explore the political side of the lettuce wrap.


Videos:

"Paris" by The Chainsmokers

Yes, you can find Paris inspired lettuce wraps. Unfortunately they are full of canned fish.



"Fucked Up Young" by the Dirty Nil

Hamilton rock 'n' roll trio The Dirty Nil will be releasing a number of tracks from their back catalogue on April 28 (via Fat Wreck Chords). The album, entitled, Minimum R&B is comprised of eleven tracks from a combination of 7's (including the fabulous "Guided by Vices") and the Smite EP. It will also include one new track. The compilation’s inspiration was “fuelled by broken vintage fuzz pedals, girls night out wine, smashing reverb tanks with hammers, a small lake of black coffee, general negligence, recording vocals naked, beer, blood, broken bones, broken instruments, broken ears, inescapable loudness, screaming, unresolved girl problems, exposed wiring, no shoes, making our producers drink more than they wanted to, and a dozen donuts.”

Unfortunately, for me, no one wraps donuts (or coffee) in lettuce.



 Get All of 2017's Click Tracks (when available) in One Spotify Playlist:

Click (Music): Powers, Turn to Crime, Zuzu and Loose Buttons

"Dance" by Powers

I remember exactly where I was the first time I heard "Dance" by Powers. I was preparing to step foot in the adult ball pit at BallieBallerson in London. A drunk dude decided to run into the lady that was in line right in front of me. All of a sudden a riot broke out. Things got way out of hand. I decided to forgo the balls and just head upstairs for a bottomless batch of veggie balls and spaghetti. It was there that my bluetooth accidentally took over the restaurant's soundsystem and sent the highly energetic, nineties-style guitar driven, dancefloor call-to-arms playing for all to hear. I paid a huge fine to the band for releasing the song before it was cool to do so but...man....watching all those balls fly fast and furious like made it all so worth it.



"Between Brick Walls" by Loose Buttons

I know exactly where I was when I first heard "Between Brick Walls" by the Loose Buttons. Me and my girl were still knee deep in dragging out the very dead corpse of our relationship. I couldn't let go, she couldn't let go, even though we knew things weren't right. I challenged her to an animal cracker and cheez whiz eating contest (vegan of course) and she won. Right at that moment, possibly the lowest I had ever felt, the bluetooth on her phone kicked in and "Between Brick Walls" started playing. I heard frontman Eric Nizgretsky's admission of making a mistake and trying to keep a dead relationship alive just because he was "insecure about being alone" buried beneath an Arctic Monkeys-esque delivery. I decided to face that dreaded loneliness head on.

I took my vegan cheez whiz with me but left behind the animal crackers. I wasn't going to make this break anything less than amicable.



"Sand Drone" by Eat Fast

I know exactly where I was when I first heard "Sand Drone" by Eat Fast. I was having some huge fight with an old lady at the bar. She told me that young people were "lazy and out of touch with the economic reality of our times." I said that I knew a lot of "smart, creative people my age that were being brickwalled and stifled while picking up the bill of the last generation. It saddened me." All of a sudden her phone rang, it was her daughter asking to borrow some money. The old lady's ringtone?

"Sand Drone."




"Thick as Thieves" by The Menzingers

I know exactly where I was when I first heard "Thick as Thieves" by the Menzingers. I was at a local art gallery being painted by some artist. I flirted with her, she flirted with me. I planned on giving her a huge ass tip and my phone number. Turns out she was an abstract artist. She put my nose where my ears were supposed to be, made my head into a straight line and made my nude body so much less appealing than I thought it should be. I refused to pay her. She rummaged through her paint supply box and pulled out a portable stereo. "Thick as Thieves" started blasting. I guess this refusal to pay thing happened a lot.




"Chasing" by Turn to Crime

I know exactly where I was the first time I heard "Chasing" by Turn to Crime. My band, Face The Church, was having our very first practice ever. The lead guitarist started playing this song and, despite none of the rest of us having ever heard it, we covered it almost exactly like this. Who says near death experiences don't create altered senses in people? Right OA?



Videos:

"What You Want" by Zuzu

Because who doesn't spend their days seeking out existential detectives?



"Wild Ones" by Crusoe

You've probably heard the new song from Crusoe, "Wild Ones." I mean it has only been on like every television show ever. It was on "The Hills," "Degrassi," "Born This Way," and Season 2 of the Netflix show "Love." I think I also remember it from a 90210 episode my sister made me watch years ago...or that could just be the trauma talking.



 Get All of 2017's Click Tracks (when available) in One Spotify Playlist:

Artist's Cookbook: What's Cooking with Kristine Mirelle?

As a five-year-old in Podunk, Pa, I spent my days worrying about missing Scooby-Doo, why Amish people don't own televisions and how to use scissors. When independent singer/pianist/entrepreneur Kristine Mirelle was a five-year-old she was already hard at work learning her family's tortilla chip business and planting the seeds for a fruitful future in both the food and music world.

In 2009, Kristine decided to start making and selling her own brand of tortilla chips. She called them Lil' Kristie's. With next to no money to help her get things rolling, Kristine sold her chips to small gas stations and friends. She would stand in line at grocery stores and hand out samples of her product in hopes that people would buy some. Sometimes Kristine would also set up performances in these stores. She would sing about her product and gain attention to her brand. Now-a-days Kristine's chips are doing pretty well. You can find them in over seventy-five stores in New Mexico. These include Whole Foods and Sprouts Markets. What's Kristine cooking up in her kitchen currently? Pretty much anything and everything that will be enhanced by her chips. Take, for instance, this chicken that is marinated and then breaded with the crumbs of her tortilla chips:



With the cooking done and Lil Kristie's on somewhat more stable ground, Kristine has been able to focus some of her energy back on her music. As a youngster, Kristine had a pretty successful classical piano career. This included winning the National Sonata competition four years in a row and being inducted into the International Piano Guild at the age of 12. In recent years, Kristine has taken her piano talents and applied them to covering other people's songs as well as writing her own originals. Her covers include, amongst others, Kanye, Beyonce, Imagine Dragons and One Republic. On Halloween, Kristine released her brand new original single "Freakin Mess." The track comes with a video that features Kristie and her four foot pal riding around in Hot Wheels, wasting popsicles, holding up bakeries and stealing cupcakes. It is exactly what I could see myself doing if I wanted to go all Bonnie and Clyde on the world. The banks would be safe, the bakeries, not so much. Check it:



Just the sounds:



Aside from making music, selling tortilla chips and going on cooking shows, Kristine works tirelessly to help those in need. To learn more about the causes that are important to her and the people that she helps, check out the about me section on her website.

Click (Music): Burritos, Actors, Knifey and New Milky Chance

"Cocoon" by Milky Chance

If Milky Chance's new track "Cocoon" was a food, it would probably be a burrito. Burritos were invented when beans, rice and salsa decided to give a great big middle finger to the world. They no longer wanted to be a part of it. They were tired of the sh** their lettuce, guacamole, cheese and onion counterparts kept dishing out on them. So the three of them decided to wrap themselves in a burrito and shut the world out. Throughout the years the cocoon has opened to allow only the most worthy toppings in. "Cocoon" supports this same idea. The idea behind the song is to take that person you enjoy spending time with, lock yourself in a cocoon and stay there as long as you can. The vibes sent forth by "Cocoon" are light and laid back. The track pulls no tricks. It's your classic rice, salsa and bean burrito with a smattering of waxy red potatoes. You know, the kind that holds their shape, retains some firmness when cooked and browns with a bit of crunch as long as your resist the urge to stir them.



"Actor" by whenyoung

From the mouth of whenyoung lead-singer Aofie Power:

Actor is about contorting your character to fit into a disfigured view of the perfect self in order to belong. It's about acting every day and projecting artificial images of yourself through social media and in real life interactions with others. This helps to reassure you that you are important, relevant, interesting and necessary but behind it all there’s a sinking feeling. It’s not you. It’s an act. It’s tiring.

Sounds just like a burrito to me. I mean think about it. No matter what a burrito is inside, it covers all that up and puts on an "act" that is commonly referred to as a tortilla shell. Now, to really blow your mind, my new photography series about the cannibalistic nature of Hollywood. Actors and actresses eating burritos. I call it actors and actresses eating actors and actresses.




"Sophie" by Knifey

According to Knifey, "Sophie" is a song about lost love, or a lizard...or something... I think they left off the burrito part. I mean if we are talking about being locked in a cage, who is to say that there aren't times when the rice, beans and salsa inside the tortilla don't feel trapped. Maybe they are looking for more than their soggy, salty and spicy world has to offer. It makes sense, then, that burritos are so messy. You've got a bunch of innards trying to escape. They see the black hole that is your mouth and quickly steer themselves towards your much less intimidating lap or shirt front.



"Shot the Sun Down" by Ghost Lion

Ghost Lion suggests that this track is about breaking through wheat created ceilings and fighting for what's right even against all odds. It's like that time they overloaded my burrito at Chipotle so much that the insides starting spewing all over the "burrito artist's" workstation. Instead of scooping some out he decided to wrap it all in a second tortilla. Pure amazingness!



"If U C My Enemies" by Rubblebucket

Rubblebucket is many things and nothing at all; it’s a mindset, a legend, a feeling, a mystery; a mischievous, playful, boundary-smashing blast of sound that you can sit still and wonder at, or turn off your mind and dance wildly to. Or both at the same time. As Kalmia (Traver) said, when she handed me one of her now-famous peanut butter, cheddar cheese, cabbage, honey tacos, “This is the weirdest, most delicious thing you will ever taste.”

After a few vegan exchanges, I'm eating those tacos like wildfire.



Covers:

"Linger" by the Cranberries (Covered by Freedom Fry)

Because who wouldn't want a french fry and cranberry burrito? (A quick Google search suggests that no one actually wants this).

Videos:

"All We Know" by The Chainsmokers ft. Phoebe Ryan

The angle this video was filmed at is pretty breathtaking. I feel like some sort of angel/devil just hanging on the guy's shoulder. I find myself imagining, sometime after finishing off that bottle of alcohol and slamming it against the wall, that a midnight burrito run is in order. Riding in a convertible with a fully liquored stomach and no food is never a good thing.



"Bad Catholics" by The Menzingers

There's lots of food featured in "Bad Catholics" by the Menzingers. How can their not be when the setting is a church picnic? Oddly enough, there seems to be a lack of burritos. I think those old, outdated folks standing around trying to eat spaghetti with plastic forks would be much better served wrapping that spaghetti in a tortilla. I mean what flies better in a food fight than loose spaghetti? Spaghetti burritos!



 Get All of 2016's Click Tracks (when available) in One Spotify Playlist:

Click (Music): Japandroids, Stranger Things, Day Wave and Spicy Mac and Cheese

"Near to the Wild Heart of Life" by Japandroids

When I was a child, I ate like a child. My mac and cheese came powdered or in a squeezable foil packet. Now that I am a man, I eat like a man. My mac and cheese comes from cashews, contains Brussels Sprouts and is spicy as hell. This manly version of mac and cheese cooks up so well with "Near to the Wild Heart of Life" by Japandroids. First, there's the constant reference to fire in the song (including the repeated "and it got me all fired up"). That's the same fire that bites my tongue and stabs at my cheek with each bite I take. Then there's the ever present "I used to be good but now I'm bad." Despite the fact that the powdered and foil wrapped processed version of mac and cheese is full of dyes and junk and nothing nice, my friends and family continue to try and convince me just how "good" these versions are. They refuse to even give the time of day to my cashew laden, protein packed, veggie filled version. Fine, you continue to be "good." I'll put that life in the rearview and hang out here on the "bad" side of the dining room table.



"Make it Better" by Hazel English

I'm putting the pieces together of this mac and cheese and it comes time to dump in the chipotles. While I'm thinking two is fine, I realize that the can I just opened will sit in my fridge until it gets moldy. No way am I wasting food. So I live a little and dump that entire can into my blender. I puree that s*** up, pour it into my mac and cheese and take a bit. Holy hell I start to cry. My chest burns, my eyes water and no amount of soy milk can take this sting away. I'm forced, for the remainder of the pot of mac and cheese, to eat it cold. Not sure how many of you like your mac and cheese cold but I'd not recommend it. So, as Hazel English suggest, "Make it Better." I took her advice and made sure that the next time around I only put in two chipotles.



"Wasting Time" by Day Wave

Put Day Wave's shimmering new song "Wasting Time" into a duct taped paint can, swirl it around with some green food coloring, add a little announcement that he has just signed to Harvest Records and voila! You've got Toxic Wasting Time Mac and Cheese. It's perfect for keeping all those hangers-on away from your Thanksgiving table.



"This Glimpse of You" by You Are Number Six

Perhaps it is slightly too warm and not quite dark enough the deeper you get (think more of the rainbow that comes right before the cloudy day dissipates versus being solely the cloudy day) but if I was putting together the sounds for season two of Stranger Things, I'd have to look long and hard at "This Glimpse of You" by You Are Number Six. The layers of synths fit with what I imagine will be more dark unknown creature entertainment. The machine like hums work too. Even the hypnotic vocals that speak of demons and wanting more and feeling the changes would seem at home on the screen backing either monster or Eleven. If that doesn't work for the Duffer Brothers, how about a scene where Dustin makes some mac and cheese? "This Glimpse of You" is just filled to the brim with versatility.



"Public Display of Affection" by Eat Fast

Eat Fast don't just eat fast, they hit the top of the Hype Machine fast. In just 24 hours "Public Display of Affection" hit number one on the artists chart. Fast? Yes. But their rise to the top did take about 86367 seconds longer than it took Travis M. to eat a box of that crappy...er...krafty mac and cheese.

Videos:

"Joyride" by Ceasefire

Ceasefire took the boxed macaroni approach for their latest "Joyride" video. Instead taking a lot of time traveling to a bunch of different locales for "fast paced" shots around the globe, the band just had members of their Ceasefire militia send them their way. The result is a much quicker boil and pour video. I will say, despite the fact that this video came from a box, it seems to be a much healthier boxed version (like that organic one with a bunny on the box).



"Real Thing" by Pale Honey

I drove to my friends' house to watch game seven of the world series (yeah, I don't get regular television stations around these parts) and I noticed that they had built Castle Byers in their yard. Too bad Pale Honey's video for "Real Thing" wasn't one of those boxed mac and cheese ones like "Joyride." I so could've sent in a clip of their front yard and it would've gone perfectly with Stranger Things theme of this video. I could've also filmed their neighbors house because they had the whole alphabet and christmas light thing going on.



"Setting Fires" by The Chainsmokers featuring XYLO

"Setting Fires" is the last single to hit the internet from The Chainsmokers 2nd EP Collages. Some fun notes courtesy of Alex and Drew:

1) Drew sprained his ankle recently at a show so he will be sitting in a stool at their next shows like a wimp...

2) They are performing Closer with Halsey at the AMA's 

3) Closer is now 11 weeks strong on Billboard Hot 100 which is the longest streak of the year for any song

4) Alex is scared of Drains

"Domino" by Animal House

Have you ever wondered how a Domino plays soccer, eats waffles, buys coffee, deals with discriminatory restaurants, gets drunk and fails to make friends? Animal House delivers all these answers, and more, in their new video.



"Bad Catholics" by The Menzingers

The mac and cheese and deviled eggs have been laid out on the picnic benches. All the church members take their places for some food and communion. As you are about to dig into that bowl of cashew cheesed noodles you look across the way and see a lost love. You steal a glance at some of the people around her and they are all extolling her Catholic virtues. But you know a different side of her. You know the "Bad Catholics" side. Shaking your head you go back to looking at the kid across from you with his orange soda mustache while scooping out the cashew mac and cheese with the edge of your spoon.




 Get All of 2016's Click Tracks (when available) in One Spotify Playlist:

Food Flavored Artist: A Double Shot of Honey

What's better than one honey flavored band? How about two. Under one roof. For the same low price. You in?

First up is our sparse, distortion heavy version of that sweet confection. We call it our Pale Honey. There is a lot to love about this brand. It comes all the way from Gothenburg, Sweden. Their newest take is called "Real Thing." According to the beekeepers, guitarist/vocalist Tuva Lodmark and drummer Nelly Daltrey, "Real Thing" is what happens when minds get blown. It's about knowing what you want and going for it. It is both confidence and courage pressed and packed into one song. "Real Thing" will be included as part of the band's second album. The as yet untitled album is expected sometime in spring of next year.



Our second flavor comes from London. We call it Black Honey. This take, dubbed "Hello Today" reeks of shoegaze. It has a more potent, right in your face flavor than the Pale Honey. Being served alongside "Hello Today" is the band's brand new, debut video. The video, directed by Nadia Lee Cohen, finds Black Honey frontwoman/head beekeeper Izzy B Phillips squaring off against a fly-infested heart. According to Phillips, the video is about a girl trying to put her demons behind her. She is followed by an omen (the heart). It drives her to delirium. In an attempt to escape her past, she buries that omen in the desert. Check out the video and audio below:



Just the audio:

Click (Music): Buffalo Cauliflower, Warning Labels, Donald Trump Swipes Right and PSSY PWR

"Cocaine Girls" by PSSY PWR

I ordered a batch of Buffalo Cauliflower while I was out celebrating a coworker's birthday on Thursday night. The texture was just right. The heat came with a warning, be careful, this stuff burns. It may cause permanent damage to your tastebuds. Also sent with a warning? PSSY PWR's new track "Cocaine Girls." +++ WARNING +++ Clunky, unpolished and unapologetic, PSSY PWR’s tongue in cheek lyrics and detonating sound must be played LOUD AF or your device will explode.



"Solid Air" by Bad Sea

Sometimes you swipe right and you get a complete mindf*** of a time (Donald Trump anyone). And sometimes a swipe right leads to fabulous music, mountains of buffalo cauliflower and precious twitter followers (I'm looking at you Bad Sea). Don't take those swipes lightly.



"Under the Grave" by Rozes

I couldn't believe my ears this week. Were middle aged women really telling me how much they love the Chainsmokers and Rozes? I'm going to show myself out, quietly. If you need me, I'll be the guy burying his head in vegan blue cheese (does that even exist?).



"Get Loud" by Trails and Ways

"Get Loud" is a rush of smooth power pop. It was finished 9 months ago on a balcony on the São Paulo coast. Trails and Ways Brazil tour capped a year of destruction for at least one of the band members. They were forced to face up to their vanity and closedness. "Get Loud" is the catharsis that occurs when guards are dropped, flaws are owned and confidence and desire is achieved through rock music.



"WWDK" by Go Suburban

Go Suburban is a Provo family act. It consists of three Swanson's, two of which are a father and son. That's gotta be a pretty cool feeling. I mean who ever thinks, as your driving away from the hospital with your newly born child, some day I'll be in a band with this guy. I know that wasn't what I was thinking. I was thinking, wait, that's it? I get to leave with this new human and noone is going to stop me? "WWDK" is about growing up. It is about all the things you don't know in life. It is about trying to figure out what that first W in WWDK stands for.

Videos:

"I Wanna Boi" by PWR BTTM

Homophobes, homosexuals, straight, trans, whatever, at the root of it I think we are all pretty similar. We just want someone to keep our bed warm.



"Apple Pie" by Rafferty

The song my be modern but the video and the persona behind it summon the ghosts of tradition. Apple pie may be the best metaphor but buffalo cauliflower isn't far behind.



"All We Know" by The Chainsmokers featuring Phoebe Ryan

See Rozes above. Then pile on more blue cheese.



"Shaky Ground (Acoustic)" by Freedom Fry

One of my favorite songs of the year just got the acoustic, poolside treatment. You won't hear me, or my daughter, complaining.



  "2017" by Wildlife

From the mouth of Dean Povinksy:

"2017" is a desperate song. It's about a very common feeling our friends and others we know seem to be experiencing right now. We collaborated with one of our favorite artists, Anne Douris (Bossie, Stella Ella Ola) to lay a visual backdrop that juxtaposes the song's initially lighthearted sound with the inevitable crush of the question "why"? Why are we moving so rapidly toward such a hyper individualized bunch when we are meant to be more connected than ever? Why do we have all these addictions to what is ultimately such a meaningless, on-screen world, when we know that the way to thrive is to connect in the ways that have served us so well for so long: By locking eyes and holding on for dear life, making new connections and finding meaning in the real. The throwback images of large NYE celebrations-of-old up against the actual lyrics of 2017 create the perfect vibration between the lust after immediacy and the human longing to connect in real time.



 Get All of 2016's Click Tracks (when available) in One Spotify Playlist:

Click (Music): Donuts, Gryffin, Stranger Things, and Where Eagles Dare

Fresh off another trip to Dun-Well Doughnuts in Brooklyn, I've got vegan donuts on the brain. I apologize in advance for any fried dough references which may be forthcoming.

"All I Need" by Cape Cub

One of the "sweetest treats on the high streets" is the spongy, sugary, UK yum yum. Seeing as this doughy dessert calls the same nation home as Cape Cub (aka Chad Male), it would be easy to assume that his new single, "All I Need," is about his affinity for a nice warm yum yum. I've written, what I think are, the lyrics over and over in my journal. I've read them from the perspective of a relationship and a love of yum yums. I'm not convinced one way or the other. Even the press release which has a quote from Chad saying that "All I Need" is about "saying 'things don't feel too good right now, I don't even know what's going on, but without you it'd be so much worse'" does nothing but heighten my confusion. Lover of human? Lover of doughy desserts? I guess you'll just have to decide.



"Where Eagles Dare" by Greta Morgan & Katy Goodman (the Misfits Cover)

Glen Danzing, the man who originally wrote "Where Eagles Dare" showed up in an episode of Portlandia last year. He said, about the experience, that show writers Fred (Armisen) and Carrie (Brownstein) along with the rest of their crew give him a third reason to visit Portland. The first two? Voodoo Doughnut and Powell's bookstore. In their new cover of the Misfits single, Greta Morgan (of Springtime Carnivore) and Katy Goodman (of La Sera) tone down the raw aggressiveness of the original and up the sugary harmonizing. Their version is, as the press release suggests, a full circle return to the girl group and '50s rock & roll sound that initially inspired Danzig while he was penning the track.



"Whole Heart" by Gryffin featuring Bipolar Sunshine

Aside from being a fabulous dance track, "Whole Heart" has actually performed quite a service for society. Before hearing the song I was a somewhat reluctant organ donor. I was totally cool with passing on my lungs, liver, kidneys and even my stomach. When it came to the heart, I was cool giving up my aorta, left ventricle and left atrium but I insisted on holding on to the right ventricle and atrium (I considered them my "lucky" heart parts). But hearing Bipolar Sunshine say over and over "you've got to got to got to go whole heart" convinced me that I was being selfish holding on to my "lucky" heart parts. So how exactly can this be labelled "quite a service for society?" Well, considering I have heard from upwards of a hundred people who have said they "want a piece of me" I've now fully committed to their having just that.




"Eternity" by Communions

It has been a bunch of Stranger Things this and Stranger Things that this week as all my co-workers seem to be going down that path. I hear there are trapper keepers in the show as well as many other fabulous things that made the 80's such a sh***y time. You know what the 80's needed? "Eternity" by Communions. I mean these guys know how to summon the hypothetical 80's pop monster, collar it  and tame it into ET like obedience. How much better would the 80's have been had these guys dropped this track then? Of course, that would mean 2016 would be a lot less nostalgic. I'm not sure I'm willing to trade one for the other. My lingering thought with this track is the line, "I wonder why eternity won't end, here we go again." Replace eternity with the 80's or donuts or the long term effects of lyme disease, it doesn't really matter. The power of constant questioning remains the same. That's when you know you've penned a stellar line.

As a bit of a side note, I'd love for Communions to teach a class on lyric writing to Judah & the Lion. Man, I just feel like that mandolin and banjo are completely wasted because of their do-nothing-for-me lyrics.



"Somebody Else" by Verite (the 1975 cover)

On my last visit to Dun-well Donuts, I ordered a blueberry donut sundae. The vegan ice cream choices were strawberry and peanut butter. The lady checking me out said that a combination of the two would be like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She suggested I go that route. I thought about what she recommended, briefly, and then decided to do my own thing. In short, I let Dun-well and 3 Little Birds (the ice cream maker) do most of the work, but then I put my own twist on the final product. This is very similar to how Verite approaches cover songs. While overall she is not "too keen" on covering songs, every once in a while "things just fall into place" and a cover song happens. With her version of "Somebody Else" by the 1975, Verite tried to embrace the aesthetic (it is simple and relatable) and effective writing of the original. She then took it into her world and reinterpreted it a bit.



"Last Call" by Louis Vivet featuring Mister Blonde

Louis Vivet is a new member of the Liftoff family, a label run by the Disco Fries. Consider him the tiny baby. Only this tiny baby doesn't have to go through the same learning process as everyone else. Nope, the Louis Vivet version of a tiny baby can already make a fabulous dance track. That's something that my toddler still can't do. "Last Call" may not have much in common with J. Dilla, I have to admit that when I hear it, especially in a donut frame of mind, I can't help but think about this.



Videos:

"333" by Against Me!

Natasha, is that you? It took me until halfway through "333" for me to realize that the reason the actress looked so familiar is because it is Natasha Lyonne from Orange is the New Black. I'd have to say she's a pretty good pick when it comes to illuminating the push/pull relationship between repression and free sexuality. I mean isn't that what her character on OITNB deals with a large portion of the time?



"It's Just Us Now" by Sleigh Bells 

"It's Just Us Now" is almost like two songs in one. You've got the Sleigh Bells of old putting their mark all over the verses, I'm talking combining sonic elements, pushing sounds to and past their limits until they sound like an aural chainsaw. Then there is the new Sleigh Bells, the one that has stopped and started the writing of their new album, Jessica Rabbit, over and over during the last three years as they have tried to push free of the box that their previous releases have put them in. Jessica Rabbit found the band trying out new instrumentation and time signatures, swapping guitars for a synth pad, and even inviting in an outsider (Mike Elizondo who has worked with Dr. Dre and Fiona Apple among others) for the first time. The new Sleigh Bells features melodies that zig-zag in different directions, sort of like playing a game of flirtatious tag with those sonic elements. Both song and album are beautiful, ever-modulated, exercises in controlled chaos.



 Get All of 2016's Click Tracks (when available) in One Spotify Playlist: