Vinyl + Cocktails

Vampire Weekend - ‘Modern Vampires of the City’ + Park Avenue

Ingredients: 3 ounces gin, 1 ounce pineapple juice, 1/2 ounce sweet vermouth, 1/2 ounce orange curacao.

Mixing Instructions: Mix ingredients in a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice.  Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled couple glass and serve.

Notes: It’s hard to think about Vampire Weekend without some sort of collegial association. This angers me because I know the whole thing is overblown, yet it’s tough to shake the music media mind morph. Fans and critics of their 2008 debut each zeroed in on the boat-shoed Ivy League air that flowed through their music; fans lauding them for putting their brains to use in their songwriting, critics dismissing them with vague accusations of yacht club elitism. Regardless, the college vibe flowing through their debut was distinctly undergraduate. It was easy to imagine them playing these songs in the quad while philosophy students drunkenly debated reality next to the Zeta Tau bake sale.

Their third studio album, on the other hand, is the band’s PhD theses — their 10,000 hours album.  Leaving behind the Afro-pop cheekiness of their youth they create a sound that is more round and ear-pleasing, while still retaining the lyrical sharpness and instrumental complexity that softens even the most critical listeners.  Songs like “Step” “Hannah Hunt” and “Ya Hey” are all songs that ordinary bands could hang a career on, yet in the context of the album they show up simply as slightly brighter stars in a large constellation.  After their first two albums it was still possible to debate with some credibility the overall merits of the band…with this album one can make a cocktail, put the record on the platter and drink to the fact that the debate is over, they’re good.

purchase vinyl:   Amazon   ||   Insound

Thee Oh Sees - ‘Floating Coffin’ + Root of All Evil

Ingredients: 2 ounces bourbon, 1/2 ounce Cointreau, 3/8 ounce Fernet Branca, 1/4 ounce Maraschino liqueur, 2 dashes orange bitters, orange peel for garnish.

Mixing Instructions: Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish with orange peel and serve.

Notes: The ability to bottle up a Molotov cocktail of emotion and energy, light it on fire and fling it unflinchingly at the listener is what makes the San Francisco garage rockers, Thee Oh Sees, a magnetic listen.  Like their Bay Area brother Ty Segall, they exude a rawness that makes you wish you were in a band, or at their show, or a groupie, or pretty much anything that involved getting to stick your head next to a stack of amps pumping out their biting guitar riffs, deep/dark bass lines and thundering drums.  An album filled with head-boppers, slower psychedelic beauties and noise, hypnotic noise - wait until you’re bored with the limpness of everything else you’re listening to and give this a spin with a S.O.B. of a cocktail.

purchase vinyl:   Amazon   ||   Insound

The Shouting Matches - ‘Grownass Man’ + Diamondback

Ingredients: 1 1/2 ounce rye whiskey (such as Rittenhouse), 3/4 ounce applejack (such as Laird’s), 3/4 ounce green Chartreuse

Mixing instructions: Combine ingredients in an ice-filled mixing glass. Stir for 30 seconds then strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry… or not, it’s your drink! If it’s too sweet, dial back the chartreuse a bit.  

Notes:  You know what I like about The Shouting Matches debut album Grownass Man?… Everything.  Sure, you might recognize one of those guys on the cover more than the other two, but this is a cohesive group playing off each others talents in a way that makes you feel like they’ve been playing together their whole lives.  We’re confident this album will stick with you well beyond this years best-of lists. Careful though, this Diamondback cocktail pairing will knock you on your Grownass, Man… don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Vinyl Me, Please is the best damn vinyl of the month club out there and this album was chosen as their record of the month for May 2013. Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a membership—Physically owning your music has never felt more rewarding. 

purchase vinyl:  Amazon   ||   Insound

V+C Live Twitter Listening Party #6: Daft Punk - ‘Random Access Memories’ + Hennessy Ginger

WHEN:  Tuesday, May 21st, 2013 — 7PM PST —> HIT PLAY/START album

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Pre-purchase Daft Punk - ‘Random Access Memories’ (here: Amazon || Insound)

2) Purchase the following drink ingredients for Hennessy Ginger cocktail(s):

• Hennessy V.S Cognac
• Ginger Ale
• limes for garnish

3)  Throw a Party!  Invite your friends over to join in the fun on 5/21/13

4)  Logon to Twitter (**HIT PLAY at 7PM PST**).  Follow @VCListenParty on Twitter for instructions + live-tweet stream // As album plays join the conversation by tagging tweets w/ hashtag #RAMVC

Low - ‘The Invisible Way’ + Lion’s Tail

Ingredients: 2 ounces bourbon whiskey, 1/2 ounce pimento dram, 1/2 ounce lime juice, 1 teaspoon simple syrup, 1 dash Angostura bitters

Mixing Instructions: Mix ingredients in cocktail shaker half-filled with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a a chilled cocktail glass. (via Cafe Royal Cocktail Book)

Notes: The simple fact that Low’s 10th album was produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy was enough to rouse me from my slumber and give it a spin. Thankfully, the music is good.  Maybe it’s the fact that in 20 years playing together the Duluth-based indie band has well over the requisite 10,000 hours and has morphed miraculously into a single entity, but the whole thing feels effortless.  Mimi Parker leads on nearly half the album and tugs at the soul in much the same way Heartless Bastards’ Erika Wennerstrom does with a powerful, melancholy voice.  Songs like “So Blue” and “Waiting” contain the ingredients that carry much of the album, sparse instrumentation that combined with the vocals create a sound that is surprisingly full.  Make a Lion’s Tail cocktail, put this album on after dinner and enjoy a band that truly understands their sound.

purchase vinyl:   Amazon   ||   Insound

Kings of Leon - ‘Aha Shake Heartbreak’ + Southern Harmony

Ingredients: 1 1/4 ounces Jack Daniels Tennessee whiskey, 3/4 ounce Southern Comfort peach liqueur, 4 ounces sweet and sour mix, 1 splash lemon-lime soda, 1 lemon wedge.

Mixing Instructions:  Build over ice, stir and serve in a sour glass.

Notes:  Trying to follow up a debut album as viscerally satisfying to the rock ‘n’ roll soul as ‘Youth & Young Manhood’ is damn hard work.  Luckily, the Followill’s had a key creative ingredient on their side as they worked out their sophomore effort - obscurity.  While the response to their music in Europe was immediate and massive, the scene in America at the time was dominated by boy bands and rock groups like Creed…the cultural equivalent of walking around with cotton-stuffed ears.  

Thus, ‘Aha Shake Heartbreak’ began where number one left off, but with a natural progression of artistic maturity that resulted in downtempo songs like “Milk” and “Day Old Blues”, broadening the range that the foursome was capable of pulling off.  The sound no longer felt like it was coming from the basement or garage, but it was still far from the stadium finding itself perfectly at home in a smoke-filled dive bar - intimate, emotionally jagged and raw.  One of the greatest one-two punches in rock history, stir up a Southern Harmony and sit down with this album ONLY after listening to their debut in full.

purchase vinyl:  Amazon ||  Insound

Phoenix - ‘Bankrupt!’ + Peach Soju Cocktail

Ingredients: 2 ounces fresh peach juice, 2 ounces soju, splash of Welch’s grape juice.

Mixing Instructions: Mix peach juice and soju in an ice-filled cocktail shaker.  Shake and strain into an ice-filled rocks glass.  Add a splash of grape juice and serve.

Notes: Phoenix, the endearing French foursome, made us wait several years for a follow-up to their beloved 2009 release, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.  During that time they found themselves suddenly at the hazy indie/mainstream borderlands, winning a Grammy, hitting the late night circuit and playing every major festival.  Ironically, in 2010 they also contributed to a film score for Sofia Coppola’s tale of celebrity boredom, Somewhere.  This exploration of the perils of the soul when faced with immense privilege and success is central to their latest album, Bankrupt!.  

Song titles like “S.O.S. In Bel Air”, “Bankrupt” and “Bourgeois” all help keep the theme tightly wound.  And slight departures from the expected pop formulas serve their purpose of never letting the listener completely drift off into a comfortable daze.  It seems Phoenix spent the four years between Wolfgang and now taking stock of their musical progress and coming up against the walls of the immensely pleasurable niche they created - much like Jim Carey in The Truman Show running his boat into the end of his known world.  However, unlike Truman, and much for the betterment of the listener, Phoenix remains just inside that world choosing to playfully explore without busting down the fourth wall — meaning one more highly enjoyable album and one more excuse to drink a delicious drink.

purchase:   Amazon   ||   Insound

Tito Puente - ‘Quatro’ (The Definitive Collection) + Spanish Harlem

Ingredients: 1 1/2 ounce Anejo tequila, 1 ounce sweet vermouth, 1 rinse of maraschino liqueur (like Luxardo), 1 dash Angostura bitters

Mixing Instructions: Rinse the inside of a chilled coupe glass with maraschino liqueur, discard excess.  Mix tequila, vermouth and bitters in a cocktail shaker full of ice, shake, strain and serve.

Notes: It is seldom that an individual has such a profound influence over a specific genre of music that they should be called the “King” of said genre.  Yet, the pronouncement of Tito Puente as “The King of Latin Music” draws nothing, but nods of approval from those familiar with his remarkable body of work.  With a career spanning 50 years, the New York native drew from his Puerto Rican heritage and the liveliness of the Spanish Harlem community in which he was raised to compose and perform music that had a uniquely magnetic pulse - one which enabled his work to transcend both musical and social boundaries.

Any music lover owes it to themselves to spend just one weekend with the beautiful 5-LP box set (180g vinyl) which includes four of his landmark albums with original artwork + a bonus album containing hits like “Ran Kan Kan”.  It is the type of music that caused every single one of my friends who stopped by last weekend while I was playing it to stop, bob their head a few times and say, “whoa…this is good!”  Educate yourself, pay homage to a legend and do so with an aged tequila variation on the Manhattan in hand.    

purchase:   Amazon   ||   B&N (cd set)

*for more info on the box set see here

Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience + “The Maggie”

Ingredients:  1 ounce Gin, 1 ounce Sweet Vermouth, 2-3 ounces Fresca, Fresh Lemon/Lime

Mixing instructions:  Pour Gin, Sweet Vermouth, and Fresca over ice (in that order) and stir.  Squeeze and drop fresh lemon & lime.

Notes:  Justin Timberlake can be a divisive artist, but not in the most typical fashion.  He’s not really controversial, if anything he just seems really nice.  He’s got a lot going for him… a triple-threat if there was one.  He’s funny (not afraid of self-depreciating humor), he can sing (he sounds like you might think you sound in the shower), and he’s seen successes in movies beyond what many actors dream about.  And so the divisive piece comes in when there is typical jealousy, or that other thing where people act like they’re too proud to say they like what he does or appreciate his talents.  Let’s not put ourselves in either of those categories.

Truth is, Justin Timberlake has raw talent coupled with a work ethic that puts him over the top for success.  The 20/20 Experience consists of 10 tracks (so far) of what will turn out to be a larger product when completed in the future.  But this album, these ten tracks, are a complete masterwork in themselves.  There are a lot of ways JT could have gone with it… no shortage of trends he could have jumped on or producers he could have worked with in order to essentially take over the airwaves for the foreseeable future.  Instead, we get a shockingly tight collection of songs with clear vision and direction with Timbaland, his proven partner in previous success.  Artistic and well rounded, and this is just half of the final product.  I, for one, can’t wait to hear the whole masterwork when it’s complete.

Purchase Vinyl:  Amazon ||  Insound

James Blake - ‘Overgrown’ + 10 Dollar Shake

***Listen with us on Twitter @VCListenParty TONIGHT 7PM PST #OvergrownVC***

Ingredients: 1 ounce amaretto liqueur (Disaronno works), 1 ounce kirsch, 1/2 ounce maraschino liqueur, 4/5 ounce fresh lemon juice, 1/5 ounce simple syrup, 1 dash egg white, 1 dash Angostura bitters, 1 cherry with stem for garnish.

Mixing Instructions:  Mix ingredients in a cocktail shaker full of ice.  Double-strain into a chilled coupe glass, add garnish and serve. (adapted from Adrian Gomes, Aberdeen, Scotland)

Notes: With all the anticipation surrounding the sophomore album from British electronic artist James Blake, it’s easy to forget that less than three years ago (heck, probably two if you weren’t working for a music blog) none of us had any idea who he was.  One of my favorite music writers described seeing him during one of his first major U.S. performances,

When he took the stage at that church, he didn’t seem like some Internet Famous Celebrity: He seemed like a scared college kid in over his head. He hardly made eye contact with the audience at first, and was wearing a hoodie like it had a cloaking device. After the first song, he exhaled audibly into the mic; It was like he had just cleared some hurdle. He tried to talk into the mic, but he stammered. He recovered, and said thanks for coming. Then he played one of the most powerful sets I saw that whole festival.

But this follow-up is different - Blake has traveled a million miles in a couple years and seems to be making music that is less scared and fractured, and more intentional.  Only a few dozen spins will answer whether or not much of his magic was contained within his uncertainty, but it’s a tantalizing musical journey to undertake and one that is best done with a spooky good drink. 

purchase vinyl:   Amazon   ||   Insound

Evenings - ‘Yore’ + Leap Year

**April selection for Vinyl Me, Please - the world’s best vinyl-of-the-month club**

Ingredients: 2 ounces gin, 1/2 ounce sweet vermouth, 1/2 ounce Grand Marnier, 1/4 ounces fresh lemon juice.

Mixing Instructions: Combine ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon peel twist (optional…always optional). 

Notes: The debut LP from Harlem-based producer Nathan Broaddus is the type of music I listen to when I’m sick of music. That might seem an odd thing to say…it’s not sick of all music per se, but just the typical day-to-day fare that can begin running too closely together at times. The minimalist, ambient atmosphere created over the course of Yore serves as a welcome reset button, breaking music down to its elements and reminding the listener of how much emotion and energy can be contained within a single note or drum beat.  Don’t be fooled, this isn’t simple music - it has a depth of sound and feeling that is both beautiful and stirring.  The type of album to throw on the turntable (plug the headphones in for full effect) when you feel musically weary, mix a classic cocktail created by legendary London Savoy barman, Harry Craddock, and cleanse your musical palate.     

purchase vinyl: FoF Music

Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - ‘We the Common’ + Dawn Chorus

Ingredients: 1 ounce Southern Comfort, 3/4 ounce port, 1/2 ounce Punt e Mes red vermouth, 1/3 ounce fresh lemon juice, 1 teaspoon grenadine syrup, 2 ounces cola.

Mixing Instructions:  Mix all ingredients, but cola into a cocktail shaker.  Shake and strain into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass and top with cola.

Notes:  The opening track of Thao Nguyen & Co.’s latest album is listed as “(For Valerie Bolden)” a reference to the young woman that Nguyen met during her first visit to San Francisco County Jail with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners.  She did so while taking time away from music to live a regular life after years spent on the road touring with her band.  The result of her musical sabbatical is ‘We the Common’, a punchy folk-jam LP mixed with beats and banjo licks that would draw smiles from fans of Dilla and Sufjan both.  The type of music that begs to be played live, or at least at a party with friends and good drinks, Thao tapped John Congleton (Bill Callahan, St. Vincent, Explosions in the Sky) for the production work and the result is sonic bliss.  Invite the neighbors over, mix up some cocktails that can match the fuzz of Thao’s guitar and lift your glass to an album that deepens your love a music just a little bit more. 

purchase vinyl:   Amazon   ||   Insound

V+C Live Twitter Listening Party #3 **Double Feature**: Devendra Banhart ‘Mala’ + Masala Chai Punch -AND- Phosphorescent ‘Muchacho’ + Leather Hammock

WHEN:  Friday, March 29th, 2013 — 7PM PST —> HIT PLAY/START album

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Pre-purchase Devendra Banhart - ‘Mala’ (here: Amazon || Insound)

-AND- Phosphorescent - ‘Muchacho’ (here: Amazon || Insound)

2) Purchase the following drink ingredients for Masala Chai Punch & Leather Hammock cocktails:

Masala Chai Punch

• Masala chai tea
• rum
• milk
• raw cane sugar
• fresh ground nutmeg

Leather Hammock

• mezcal reposado
• Cocchi Vermouth di Torino
• fresh orange juice
• orange (peel for garnish)

3)  Throw a Party!  Invite your friends over to join in the fun! Tell them to bring their little green hats.

4)  Logon to Twitter (**HIT PLAY at 7PM PST**).  Follow @VCListenParty on Twitter for instructions + live-tweet stream // As album plays join the conversation by tagging/searching tweets w/ hashtag #MalaMuchVC