Boy, did I ever change my mind. Here’s part one. Don’t gimme no affliction: 25 years of “Moonlight on Vermont” and other bush recordings “It’s very gratifying to say that Captain Beefheart’s [Trout Mask Replica] is a total success, a brilliant, stunning enlargement and clarification of his art. Which is not to say that it’s […]
The beer: Earth Eagle Good Helmet Schwarzbier The headline: “This history lesson doesn’t make any sense.” – Built to Spill, “The Plan” The commentary: At Canobie Lake Park, a teenage boy with an alarming chest rash gathers among friends and wet towels. Nearby—too near, by accident—a man approaching fifty kills time on his phone while […]
Week one The game: Texans at Patriots The beer: Clown Shoes Rexx Imperial Red Ale The result: Win, 27–20; Titans/Jarrod lose (times four), 27–20 Week two The game: Patriots at Jaguars The beer: 603 NH Ale The result: Loss, 31–20 Week three The game: Patriots at Lions The beer: Riverwalk Cash Bus Pale Ale The […]
“It’s very gratifying to say that Captain Beefheart’s [Trout Mask Replica] is a total success, a brilliant, stunning enlargement and clarification of his art. Which is not to say that it’s in any sense slick, ‘artistic’ or easy.” – Lester Bangs, Rolling Stone “If one is to enjoy Trout Mask Replica’s twenty-eight songs on a […]
The beer: Montauk Session India Pale Ale The commentary: “Bitter? Nah.” A little, actually. We almost missed training camp and that would have been a shame. The Patriots only release the open-to-the-public portion of the schedule a few dates at a time with little notice (shocker) and the lack of joint sessions with another team […]
The game: Patriots vs. Eagles The beer: Collective Arts Stranger Than Fiction Porter The result: Fuuuuuuck The commentary: There I was, chain-drinking bombers with the first setting up a presumed—upon winning—deep dive into socialized literature. Said plans, though, were scrapped early when our defense declared “No more!” So what better time to revisit a Super […]
The beer: Great Divide Hibernation English-Style Old Ale The commentary: An excerpt from the—by god—forthcoming “Don’t gimme no affliction: 25 years of ‘Moonlight on Vermont’ and other bush recordings.” During the summer of 1993, which fell between my freshman and sophomore years of college and would prove to be the final extended stretch of time […]
The beer: Ipswich Blueberry Shandy The commentary: I dreamed I was Julian Edelman. On the goal line leading 4–2 (!) over the Buccaneers in the Super Bowl or the opening game—there was tension beyond what the scheduled week-four matchup deserves—“Julian” went in motion behind Brady and told him “I want a touchdown!” I/he scooted past […]
The beer: Founders All-Day India Pale Ale The commentary: Good lord, is it time already? To post every week? These are the problems I create for myself. Instead of keeping the old bloggo muscles in shape—writing about, I don’t know, Captain Fucking Beefheart—I’m thrown into the white-hot cauldron of wordsmithing with no sign of a […]
More Cream Please 