Some Ideas that Were Lost
I was rather absent from this blog a few weeks back. I hope to make amends for this egregious error in presence over the coming days and weeks. I did well last week to post five times. So far, this week has been more of the same.
The funny thing was that during my brief hiatus, I tried to write several times. However, I just couldn’t muster the ideas or time to finish my thinking. Below are snippets from a few of those lost posts…
Mail-Order Happiness
I actually didn’t write a thing for this post. I just remember sitting around, waiting for a shipment from LetsPour after receiving several packages from Insound. When one lives in a smallish city, two hours from any major (or mid-sized) city, mail and UPS often provide a respite from small-town drudgery. I may still write this post as I get at least one Insound shipment every-other week and am always contemplating another order from LetsPour.
[untitled] – I thought for sure I published this, but a quick search of my archives suggests otherwise. Here’s what I had…
No, this isn’t about the nostalgia drummed up by Pitchfork TV’s documentary about Modest Mouse’s 1997 album The Lonesome Crowded West. Rather this is a bit o’ nostalgia over the West Coast IPA, the style of beer arguably most responsible for starting this whole American craft beer boom than any other. IPA’s alone are quickly taking the place of pale ales and lagers as craft brewery flagship beers, but the West Coast IPA set the standard. It took me a while to come back to these beers. Before “getting into craft beer”, I was drinking quite a few IPA’s. Then, I discovered the DIPA/Imperial IPA and I was blown away. Boundaries were pushed. If a beer wasn’t approaching double-digits in ABV and triple digits in IBU’s, it didn’t interest me. From there it was sours, imperial stouts, numerous Belgian styles, and so on. The more “extreme” the better. Somehow the unbalanced West Coast IPA was too ordinary, almost a session beer. Then, Missouri saw an influx of West Coast breweries enter the state. Lagunitas, Stone, Green Flash, Deschutes, Caldera, etc. all came to the Show-Me state with IPA’s in tow. So, our shelves and taps…
Summer Melts Pretentiousness Away
Something happens every summer where all the normal stresses are lifted. The world feels fresh and new again. Of course, having worked in education for 15 years means that summer is vacation time or at least a slower work time. Still, the summer seems to melt away all those things we are typically preoccupied with that don’t really matter.
Beer and rock ‘n roll are two of those things that lose a lot of pretentiousness when warmer weather rolls around. Beer somehow becomes lighter and colder, often consumed straight from the can or bottle. Rock music becomes less complex and…
Explaining I Have to Do
There are good reasons for my absence. - That’s where it ended.
Imperialist Pale Ale
The legend of the IPA has been told and retold and corrected and told again. So, I won’t go there. Instead, I’ll write a bit about a favorite beer and a nice meal prepared by a friend.
I mention imperialism in the title ’cause it’s on my mind. I posted this link making fun of British athletic prowess or, more specifically, their lack of athletic prowess. I directed the jab at some British friends who quickly came to the Queen’s jocks’ defense, but I countered by pointing out their imperialist history. Long story short, the thread fizzled from there.
I digress.
This evening, our friend Srirupa prepared a wonderful Indian feast for us. I chose to pair the meal with…well, what else? An India Pale Ale. - I honestly can’t remember which IPA I had that night.
Pucker Up
My beer club met Sunday afternoon to sample some lambics, sours, and a few fruit beers. I can only assume the inclusion of “fruit beers” was to give our tongues a break and to hopefully not scare away those who feel intimidated by sour beer.
I’ve Got Style, Miles and Miles
So much style that it’s wasted.
A nice discussion happened on Twitter and was picked up at A Good Beer Blog over style and whether or not it even matters. It seems the limitations of textbook style can be frustrating. Either we’re disregarding entire collections of beers that don’t match our own style preferences or we’re left with beers we don’t know what to do with because it doesn’t fit a particular style. Either way, style can be limiting.
Beer styles are like musical genres. They are both based on key characteristics that make it easy to categorize a beer or band, respectively. However, beer and music rarely stick to prescribed style and genre guidelines. You pigeonhole something so that you either limit its uses or never even give it a try in the first place.
There’s one thing we should all remember in the instance where style or genre stops all thinking: Constructs were built to be torn down.
That’s not to say that style doesn’t serve a purpose. It’s a neat compartment which one can place a beer. It’s shorthand for describing what you like (or dislike). Genre does the same for music…
So, what do you think? Are any of these worth revisiting?
I Just Can’t Quit You
During the last few weeks or maybe even months, I’ve contemplated giving this whole blog thing up. However, I’ve come to find that it’s such a big part of who I am that I just can’t give it up. Of course, I’ve now lost a good portion of my readership. They’ve surely given up on me at this point. Still, I want to carry on.
So, in an attempt to kick start this mother, I am going to write this blog post about how I’m going to write a lot of blog posts. I mean, if I put it in writing, in digital ink that means it will happen, right?
There will be few promises as to what I will post, but I want to post every day. That’s right. I’m going from like once or twice this summer to full-on daily blogging. The posts will vary in size and quality, but something will happen here every day. Every. Single. Day.
Well, today’s done. Maybe tomorrow I’ll tell you about those records that keep arriving in the mail or that beer I had with dinner. Whatever happens, you can expect more Beer and PavementTM on the daily, yo.
So, don’t you give on me. I haven’t.
…
Sorry for the lack of posting. I’ve started to write several times, but it’s not coming as easily as usual. Inspiration and motivation are lacking at the moment.
I have other projects and career opportunities that are taking up my time and attention. I’ll pick this blog up again, but today’s not the day.
Stay tuned…
Indie-Craft Interview #9: Julie Hayes
Julie Hayes bombed the shit out of this town.
What I mean is that she knit-bombed the shit out of this town. Once I learned of her shenanigans, I promptly made sure that my other blog featured her and her other crafty creations. Those creations (and finds) can be obtained for a reasonable fee at her Etsy shop – possibly world headquarters for indie-craft wares – where one can ascertain a pretty good feel for Julie’s aesthetic and a bit of her personality, making it clear why she’s so cool.
I feel lucky to know someone so cool. So I’m introducing her to the Coalition now…
photo by Tony Irons
1. Describe your craft(s).
Well, I went to school for fine arts and ever since I graduated I have done nothing conceptual. I do what’s called “low” art in the art world. And I am an avid dabbler. I knit, sew, embroider, make jewelry, build things from reclaimed wood, you name it! I find that if it has a function, I’m drawn to making it. I think that was my biggest problem with “fine” art, it had no function to me.
2. What’s the importance or benefit of remaining indie?
I have worked with lots of people on lots of projects, but I could never imagine working with someone who I did not know. Being independent allows you to keep control of what you’re making and how you’re making it. I couldn’t imagine someone from the public trying to tell me what to make.
3. How does your craft contribute to society?
In the most basic sense, it makes me a better person. For a long time after I graduated I wanted to make things to sell to people. I think that mind set is changing for me. I think I’m starting to savor making things for myself again; holding back a little what I’ve been giving all those years. It makes me happy to be able to produce a piece that I’m proud of and that makes me a better person. I have done public art pieces in Columbia and I’m happy with the response that I’ve gotten to them. I hope that they make people think and react to them, though I cannot say exactly what those reactions are. I’ve been interviewed for pieces I’ve done and the reaction seems positive.
4. What other indie-craft products inspire you?
EVERYTHING. Literally. It’s hard to not be inspired in todays world. So much is at our fingertips. I remember being in school and having to trudge to the library to look at books put out by artists who have been dead for 20, 30, 40, 100 years. Today, you can sit down, turn on your computer and be hit by inspiration. There isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not inspired by a color, or a project or a scene. It’s incredible.
5. What is your dream of success?
Happiness. Whatever that looks like to me is what I imagine success to be. Right now I am happy. I have a lot of time to myself to make things and to create and that makes me happy. In the future, that may change, but I don’t know. Being an artist is a very personal thing and to me, success has always been a very personal thing too. It’s never been about money or fame. It’s always been about my state of mind and how I feel about my work. My work has changed so much since I started making things so many years ago, and I can only guess that my idea of success will change as well.
You can learn more about Julie at her blog, Yonder. And don’t forget the rest of the Indie-Craft interviews.
Youthful Exuberance
Is it possible to experience youthful exuberance with beer or music not intended for children?
One of the things I love about Tune-Yards (AKA Merrill Garbus) is the fun, youthful naivete she captures in her music. This is perfectly exhibited in her new video for “My Country.” Children dance, lip-synch, and pretend to play instruments, but the energy in the music is even more child-like.
Unlike Kimya Dawson[1], Tune-Yards doesn’t write kid songs. However, her music still appeals to children. My daughter loves Whokill, particularly “Gangsta.” She sings the chorus like a pro even though its sense of danger “crawling out the wood” is decidedly non-childlike[2].
How is something so not meant for children also so filled with youthful exuberance? This can be answered in exploring the joy adults display when their song is played or they discover a beer that completely blows them away. Still, as a parent, I want to know how this all fits into a child’s experience.
My daughter is all I have in regards to a test subject. She dances and sings with the music I play for her. She enjoys songs I sing to her by the likes of Pavement or The Flaming Lips. I still remember the day as a not-quite-two-year-old when she refused to leave the car before school until the Arcade Fire song on the car stereo was finished.
I often ask my daughter if she wants a beer when I pour my own[3]. She, of course, turns me down, informing me that she can only have beer when she’s older. Additionally, she likes to tell me that she’ll help me brew beer once she’s older.
Music and beer that aren’t meant for her still have a place in her life. These interests sometimes make me as giddy as a child. So, there is a youthful experience in things that are not exactly G-rated.
What do you think of this? Is there music or beer that makes you feel young again? Don’t you miss that feeling sometimes? Or is this whole discussion really inappropriate?
Notes:
1 I saw Dawson play a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, I was a bit under the weather and had to skip out early. Before I left, she found half the audience enthusiastically greeting her and the other half back at the bar, talking over the music. Her solution was to lead the audience in a few of her kid songs, which was pretty fun. The sad part was that I knew those songs better than her other work.
2 I recognize that she has no idea what she’s singing, but the combination of words and rhythm can be addictive even when we don’t know the real meaning. She totally caught me off-guard when we got out of the car one day after the song had just been playing and she continued to sing.
3 Obviously, this is a joke, and she knows it. I have some liberal ideas on when kids should first try alcohol, specifically beer. I used to stick my finger in my beer and let her lick it while she was an infant, but I stopped that as she can be pretty demanding. I’m considering giving her a full sip around ten and building from there. I want to make her a beer snob so that she turns her nose up at the swill being served at high school keggers.
Hiatus
I’m going on hiatus for a bit. It seems life has been passing me by and I need to be in the present a bit more. Of course, the last time I went on hiatus, I posted two day later. That was followed by a flurry of posts. However, this feels different. I’m sort of over writing about consumption. I’ve started many posts and have just not had it in me to write anymore about beer and music.
Check in periodically. I’m sure that something will make me want to write. Also, be sure to search the archives. There are some gems in there, you just have to search them out.
-Zac
Videos and Other Filler
It was 85 degrees in Middle Missouri yesterday. That heat carried over the night and I couldn’t sleep. So, I figured I’d share a few videos with semi-witty commentary and other bits for your enjoyment. The first two videos are of the WTF variety.
This one stinks terribly of the old beer guard whining about newbie beer geeks. Yes, let’s squash their enthusiasm so that no one buys craft beer anymore. That’s the crabby/serious take. Otherwise, I find it odd, oddly amusing even. This is how many beer geeks get their start, but there’s usually a second part where they chill out with the beer extremes and blogging it all to find a comfortable spot for all of us. What do you think? Is it insulting or just silly? Or both?
Speaking of silly…
The Shins – My Own Worst Enemy
I have no idea what to make of this. Does James Mercer have too much time on his hands? I’m not sure how I feel about the new record (currently streaming on iTunes at the moment and on the way to my house via UPS). Seriously. WTF is this?
In better musical moments…
Sharon Van Etten and Shearwater cover “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around”
I’m a big Sharon Van Etten fan at the moment. She feels like this year’s Wye Oak or Eleanor Friedberger. For this AV Undercover session – the first of the new season, Van Etten joins Shearwater for a pretty cool take on the classic Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks duet “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around”.
And finally, it’s good to see that Goose Island doesn’t take themselves too seriously…
Still Here
I am still alive. Sorry. It’s been a wild few weeks between work and last weekend’s True/False Film Fest. I have a lot to share in regards to the fest, but I still have some projects at work. Expect some posts this week and things to be back to normal (2-4 posts per week) at some point next week.
I have the first record from Believers to review and plenty of beer to tell you about, including my own Big Black Bitter Black IPA. So, stay tuned.
Programming Note
Yes, I have been a bad, absent father as of late. However, things are happening. I’ve just been too busy to complete any posts. Here’s a quick rundown of posts I have in the works..
- Rubber (a short story)
- a review of every Mikkeller beer I’ve ever had
- Throwing Stones
- On Death
- On Holidays
- By Definition
- On Scarcity
- Something to do with a blind tasting I recently participated in
- A possible note about a road trip to Nebraska recently
Also of note, I will be cracking open the Mikkeller collab sent to me overseas better known as the Royal Rye Wine around noon (CST) tomorrow yesterday. Two friends will be helping me. We’ll record for a new video series I’ve dreamed up called Beer Thousand. Stay tuned…
In the meantime, check out my friend’s radio program, Vile Jelly Radio, on Sunday from 6-8 p.m. CST on 88.1 KCOU in Columbia, MO, or streaming at kcou.fm.
Sorry. This was supposed to post on Friday. Still, the information rings true. Eventually, Vile Jelly will be available online in recorded form.
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