Grab Bag
I thought I was going to have many new posts for you, but time is running out and some of these topics won’t be as good if they’re not fresh. So, I’ll summarize some topics I was considering. They may turn into full-fledged posts on their own, but for now, they’re here. I guess.
I don’t really listen to much hip hop, nor do I listen to a ton of Shellac, but this story really intrigued me. Basically, Steve Albini (yes, that Steve Albini) called out underground hip hop up-and-comers Odd Future for being rude. More interesting than the simple fact that rock/rap stars were being assholes is the fact that they were in Barcelona (days before I arrived), a foreign country. I don’t know what this is getting at, but there’s something there. Maybe this should turn into a post on American exceptionalism. I mean, I do tend to gravitate toward American craft beer and American indie rock. Moving on…
Stephen Malkmus likes to hang out in record stores. I do as well. However, I live in a town without a good record store in which to hang. I’m not sure it’s a good idea to start up a record store in this economy or in such a climate that doesn’t seem to support independent music. So, I’m thinking there needs to be a beer shop that does what the record store used to do. Enter my next project: a beer store. I’m a long way from anything happening, but there are discussions. I may take some community classes this fall and start asking around. I already have some leads to distributors, an idea for a concept (Bottles and Cans), and a model based on a wine shop that also features a bar. There will be updates, assuming the beer bubble doesn’t burst.
Then, there’s this…
The whole idea of expecting so much more from our heroes has me intrigued. I’m thinking of music fans that expect bands to keep releasing records and tour their town every year, much like Jay Smooth’s point about Lauryn Hill. The beer community isn’t excluded from this phenomena. In fact, craft beer is worse. Beer nerds are incensed that we don’t get certain breweries distributed. When new releases come out, some are pissed that someone beat them to the final bottles in town or that the distributor didn’t send an extra case to their market. There’s a certain amount of entitlement we seem to have and it sort of ruins the enjoyment or takes away the potential of the hunt.
Still, there’s more worthy topics…
I’m still mulling over the beer blog vs. music blog post. There’s definitely a totally different beer blog scene than that of music blogs. In fact, I recently posted for the Sour Session and received a lot of feedback. Plus, any time I post on beer, there’s a spike in my numbers. It even lasts a day or two. This idea, like the others above, is only half-baked and will take some time to figure out…assuming something else doesn’t come up.
This article was shared with me and the ideas within basically encapsulate my entire record collection and/or aesthetic preference. Of all these, this one will deserve the closest look, but I may have to buy the book first.
And finally, I will be doing some sort of post for the 20th(!) anniversary of Nevermind. My entire worldview may have changed at that moment. Of course, I was 16 and doesn’t everyone’s worldview change somewhat at 16? Speaking of teenagers, Francis Bean Cobain is 19.
Oh, and grrrls covering Pavement is always a nice find. This should be worked into an addendum for that girls and Pavement post I did a while back.
Stay tuned…
Beer and Pavement 
Enter my next project: a beer store. I’m a long way from anything happening, but there are discussions.
Very exciting! If you are after case studies, Uto Beer here in London is a good one. They have a stall in one of our more famous/tourist-y markets, Borough Market, and also have a bar around the corner (The Rake – that has had tastings from BrewDog etc). They sell wholesale too. The stall itself is where I get most of my more interesting beers, and they seem to have made the concept work for years now.
The site is ugly, and doesn’t do justice to their selection, but is worth a look: http://www.utobeer.co.uk/home.html
Thanks for the tips. I know it might be crazy to start a business in this economy, but craft beer seems to be the only growing industry at the moment. They saw a 15 % spike this past quarter and it’s been going like that for several years. Hopefully, the bubble won’t burst before I get things off the ground.
People turn to beer in a bad economy, like gold, except you drink it instead of store it in a sock under your mattress.
I’ve been intrigued by the Steve Albini story too, if for no other reason than I’ve had to crank my irony amps up to eleven just thinking about Steve Albini calling out anyone for being rude and jerky.
It’s true. Plus, there’s the argument that we can all drink the best beers in the world while the best wines are beyond our financial grasp. Plus, people aren’t vacationing like they used to. Now, they’re doing stay-cations and whatnot to save some money.
Sure, Albini can be a jerk, but he wouldn’t treat people the way Odd Future apparently treated the shuttle driver and the other passengers. If half of what Albini’s story is true (which I’m certain it is), then Odd Future are a bunch of dicks.
Either way, it’s going to go down as one of the more intriguing musical rivalries of the past few of years. Much better than the Arcade Fire/Flaming Lips spat.
I’m 100% behind this beer shop idea. And as of now, it seems like you wouldn’t have too much/any competition from online sales. Would it be a homebrewing place too? I know a small handful of homebrewers in your area who might be intrigued.
Yes, way better than that rivalry. One could put Albini and Wayne Coyne on their own radio show and just let them tell us what dicks all these alt rockers truly are.
Yeah, if I can swing the space, I’d love to add a home brew component. There’s this beer blogger in KC who promotes “fridging the hops” or something like that. I envision a big cooler with hoppy beers and actual hops sharing shelf space. Then, I’d have general brewing equipment and set up group grain buys. It’s all a pipe dream at the moment, but I should have a better grasp on what’s possible in the coming months.
Watching Shellac was one of my most awkward concert-going experiences. Albini was very…how can I put this…sensitive. I was pleased his bandmates were on hand to relieve the tension a little with an impromptu Q&A whilst Albini had a bout of literal hand-wringing, although I seem to remember that quickly getting tense too…
Albini is pretty awkward. I think his greater contribution has been to the music he’s recorded. The list of bands he’s worked with is pretty impressive and the results even more so. Whatever he does, he’s still an important figure in indie, more than a passing fad like Odd Future.
I’m already trying to think up snarky comments for the Nevermind retrospective.
I’ll be ready as well.
why would you pay retail price for a book?
markup on that shit is more than beer in a bar.
What would you suggest, borrowing it from a library? Yeah, right.
[…] I’ll also refrain from re-posting the video that prompted such a post, but you can find it here if you’re really […]