Playlist: Unconventional Xmas

"Tomorrow, I'm going to get into the Christmas spirit...my own way."

Thanksgiving has passed. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m not ready to jump into the Christmas spirit with both feet. So I made a bizarre little playlist to ease into the holiday. Whether you’re sick of traditional Christmas music and want a change, or just love love love all things Christmas, these are fun, interesting songs, and I think you’ll enjoy them. This is the kind of playlist you listen to with headphones while you wait for the bus.

I tend to feel that way about most playlists.

In any case, after preparing and listening to my Unconventional Christmas Playlist, I suddenly crave snow. I think that’s a sign of success!

Most of these songs qualify as indie rock or folk, but I threw in some other gems. The first song is J-pop. Nothing says “Christmas” like J-pop! (Who knew?!) 
1. Shonen Knife- Sweet Christmas
2. Dressy Bessy- Hopped Up (on Xmas)
3. The Polyphonic Spree- A Working Elf’s Theme
4. Frightened Rabbit- It’s Christmas So We’ll Stop 2008 (Remixed by David Karsten Daniels)
5. Arthur & Yu- My White Elephant
6. Slow Club- Christmas TV
7. The Raveonettes- Christmas Ghosts
8. The Be Good Tanyas- Rudy
9. Of Montreal- Christmas Isn’t Safe For Animals
10. Deer Tick- Holy S%!t, It’s Christmas!
11. The Four Corners- My Gift To You (It’s Me)
12. The Weepies- All That I Want


It’s Christmas So We’ll Stop and Rudy have exceptionally beautiful (and sad) lyrics.
Check them out:
http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858740351/
http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858560161/

Eat Your Veggies: Southwestern Baked Potatoes

"Tomorrow, I'm going to eat more vegetables."

"Eat Your Veggies" is a pseudo-weekly series featuring easy, seasonal veggie recipes.  

This recipe was invented as the result of my attempts to create a seasonally appropriate Taco Salad recipe, one that did not rely on fresh lettuce and tomatoes as its backbone.  I ended up morphing it into a vaguely southwestern type of baked potato.  

Instead of lettuce, I used crunchy cabbage mixed with beans, seasoned with a paprika olive oil dressing.  I’ll admit that back in the day, I dismissed cabbage.  Before I started cooking with it I thought of it as bland and uninteresting.  Yet when cooked properly (as in not boiled into stringy oblivion) its actually really sweet and plays well with many genres of food. I thought it was a good choice for the somewhat mexican flavors in this dish.




Southwestern Baked Potatoes
Serves 4

4 medium russet potatoes
½ head green or napa cabbage, diced
2 cans black beans
½ cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 ripe avocado, sliced
olive oil

Dressing:
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons paprika
2 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
pinch of red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon sea salt flakes
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Prick potatoes all over with a fork.  Bake in a 400F degree oven until easily pierced with a fork (about 45min- 1 ½ hours, depending on the size of your potatoes)

Make dressing: gently heat olive oil over medium low heat until warm.  Add all other ingredients and let the flavors blend while you prepare the rest of the dish.

Saute cabbage in a few tablespoons olive oil over medium heat until just tender.  Add dressing and black beans.  Cook until heated through.  

Cut open baked potato and top with cabbage/bean mixture.  Garnish with cheese and avocado.

Source: Dressing adapted from 101cookbooks.com

Genre Love: Early 1900s Blues

“Tomorrow, I’m going to learn about the origins of blues music.”

For my research into the most influential blues artists, I listened to as many of these particular artists as I could find. I chose the songs for this week’s playlist when I had a strong emotional reaction to them, or a physical response, as I frequently found myself bobbing and swaying.

Because of the genre’s name, the blues has a reputation as the music of heartbreak, but an incredible variety of subjects are represented in these songs. “Love Lost” is a strong theme. However, there are many songs about poverty, crime, railroads, and other aspects of life as a black man in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The artists I’ve listed below are so incredible, on the first night of my research I stayed up way later than I should have because I wanted to listen to more and more. Don’t you love that I can use the present tense (“are incredible”)? We are so fortunate to have recorded music.

With my playlist, I’ve included links to excellent biographies of these affecting blues artists.




1. Memphis Jug Band- Insane Crazy Blues
http://www.thebluestrail.com/artists/mus_mjb.htm
2. W.C. Handy- St. Lewis Blues
http://www.biography.com/people/wc-handy-39700
3. Frank Stokes- Tain’t Nobody’s Bizness If I Do
http://www.cr.nps.gov/delta/blues/people/frank_stokes.htm
4. Furry Lewis- Billy Lyons And Stack O’lee
http://www.folkways.si.edu/explore_folkways/furry_lewis.aspx
5. Blind Blake- Come On Boys Let’s Do That Messin’ Around
http://www.gracyk.com/blake1.shtml
6. Mississippi John Hurt- Louis Collins
http://www.msjohnhurtmuseum.com/mjhbio.html
7. Henry Thomas- Jonah in the Wilderness
http://www.cascadeblues.org/History/HenryThomas.htm
8. Gus Cannon- Walk Right In
http://mswritersandmusicians.com/musicians/gus-cannon.html
9. Big Bill Broonzy- Trouble in Mind
http://www.broonzy.com/
10. Blind Lemon Jefferson- Hangman’s Blues
http://www.oldies.com/artist-biography/Blind-Lemon-Jefferson.html
11. Charlie Patton- Banty Rooster Blues
http://www.cr.nps.gov/delta/blues/people/charley_patton.htm
12. Robert Johnson- When You Got a Good Friend
http://www.robertjohnsonbluesfoundation.org/biography

Other useful websites:
http://www.blueslyrics.com.ar/
http://onlineslangdictionary.com/
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2010/mar/23/african-american-railroad-experience/
http://www.acesandeighths.com/blues.html

No More Guilty Pleasures: What I’ve Learned From Spotify

Since I started listening to music through Spotify, I’ve thought a lot about the nature of guilty pleasures. Spotify settings allow the user to choose whether or not to share with facebook. Sharing, in this case, means each song I listen to is listed in the update feed and the most listened to are published to my wall. I decided to leave sharing on because I believe music should be social.

This sort of publicity holds me accountable to claims I’ve always made about music:

1.) I like all kinds of music.
2.) I have no guilty pleasures.
3.) I don’t judge others for their music preferences.

When I’ve asked the question, “What kind of music do you like?” most people I’ve talked to have made statement #1. The distinction has to be made, here, between liking all genres and liking all genres equally. I enjoy variety in music, but I’ve found that the more I experiment with different genres, the more I can pinpoint favorites. Public visibility of my listening habits encourages me to branch out and listen to something different everytime I turn on my computer (or steal my dad’s iPad), which, then, helps me more specifically answer the question, “What kind of music do you like?”

Speaking of my dad, like me and pretty much every other human, he used to claim that he had no guilty pleasures. Sure, sometimes discussions of songs would require a preface: “I know it’s not a good song, but...” So, really, who were we kidding when we said we had no shame when it comes to music? When my dad got an iPad, the first thing I did was download the Spotify app. First, my dad agreed with me that it’s pretty awesome, and then something horrible happened. He “accidentally” (suuure, Dad) listened to a Taylor Swift song and there it was on facebook: Gary is listening to We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together by Taylor Swift. Suddenly my dad had to think about all his colleagues and high school friends that watched as that update crawled up their screen.

Do you have any guilty pleasures? Most people do, and that’s why you shouldn’t care. Even if you repeatedly listen to a track of a screeching sound, and that’s it, I say good for you. Maybe listening to a screeching sound on repeat triggers a euphoric feeling, and I never would have known if you hadn’t shared that track.

Accept the challenge.


(Note: I plan to experiment with other music streaming services and I’ll let you know how it goes.)

Pumpkin Muffins: Thoughts on a Trend

 “Tomorrow, I am going to make something pumpkin flavored.”

A couple years ago, I began to notice that pumpkin flavored things were popping up more and more in the fall.  It started with just baked goods, and pumpkin spice lattes.  This year, I saw ice cream, beer, wine, tea, prepackaged puddings and snack cakes, cookies and everything.  I suspect this is all an attempt to cash in on the wild popularity of Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte.  

I have loved PSLs for many years, but the trend seems to be getting a little outrageous this year.  The manufactured pumpkin items seem to be drowning in sugar and spice, without much pumpkin flavor. And too much of it makes it so much less special. Since we’ve mostly lost our connection to the natural world, its like food manufacturers have to shove these artificial seasonal flavorings in our faces to remind us what time of year it is. This trend seems to be fairly limited to the US:


I think that pumpkin has its place alongside other fall flavors, but I’m a traditionalist. When I want something pumpkin flavored, I start with good old pumpkin puree.  I make my own (two pumpkins worth), and use canned pumpkin after I run out.   And “Pumpkin Pie Spice” is actually just a variable combo of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice and nutmeg (usually).  If you have these, you have pumpkin pie spice already.

This fall, I made these delicious pumpkin muffins.  In my experience, pumpkin is best utilized in baked goods.  It adds a delightful moistness, and sneaking a vegetable into baked things is never a bad idea.  I topped my muffins with roasted pumpkin seeds, and ate them with Earl Grey on a chilly afternoon. That is fall.