making/listening

MAKING: i have a terrible jaw and should really never let a bagel into my mouth but I CAN’T HELP IT. they are just so satisfying and filling, like a hot, marginally nutritional donut. this one is made of wheat; one half just has goat cheese on it, the other is smothered with goat cheese and this delicious raspberry rhubarb jam some friends brought back to CA for me from my hometown in MA. such a thoughtful/useful/tasty gift! yay carol and josh! thanks again!

LISTENING: the beach boys, pet sounds

records that keep me from throwing myself in front of a bus for $400 please, alex.

MAKING: tomato soup & toast with goat cheese. a lazy man’s grilled cheese, if you will.

LISTENING: cults, cults

there are bands that i’ve loved for years and never seen live, and then there’s cults, a baby of a band whom i managed to catch three times this summer. the first show was at the eagle rock community center, which is exactly what it sounds like. it had one bathroom and would be better suited to children’s art fairs and town meetings than rock shows. so bad. so good: both writer and guards opened, so i was in HOG HEAVEN.

the second time was at the FYF fest, in the hot hot L.A. sun. i drank a potent combination of hendrick’s gin and fresh watermelon juice on the way to the festival, so this was a fun show fersure! the third time i saw cults was during fashion’s night out, at the 3.1 phillip lim party. the singer wore the exact jacket i had ogled in the store (brown leather, slim fit, zip closure, embellished with rhinestones, priced at $2,000). i could have jumped on stage and wrestled it off of her, but i held myself back. cults isn’t really that great live, but they do come out to the ‘twin peaks’ theme song, so how can i hate?

MAKING: french toast lovingly smothered in massachusetts maple syrup with a smattering of blackberries. my usual weekend jam, yo. so very yummy.

LISTENING: bob dylan, the freewheelin’ bob dylan

this cover kills me every time. the slushy nyc snow! the perfect VW bus! the sheer optimism and joy in suze’s face, clinging to this insanely talented and enigmatic dude she somehow snared and will one day lose! SHE IS LIVING WITH BOB DYLAN AND HE IS OBSESSED WITH HER. i can’t imagine he’s ever been a good roommate, so i’m only a little bit jealous.

MAKING: a wheat bagel with tons ‘o butter & a handful of blackberries

LISTENING: camper van beethhoven, vampire can mating oven

i bought this ’80s-college radio gem at a now defunct record store in greenfield, massachusetts that was called about music. it was run by two super-nice/socially awkward dudes and i literally cried like a baby when they closed (only to be delighted when newcomer john doe, jr. set up shop on the same street!).

when i brought this ep up to the counter, the dude who helped me got so very excited that i was buying it, breaking character to loudly profess his love for the band. usually, homeboy was pretty quiet. maybe he wasn’t into anything i’d bought up until then? i was buying a lot of melanie in those days, so that’s entirely possible. i’d understood that this guy was a bit older than me, but it didn’t really hit home until he bragged about how “ice cream every day” was one of he and his friends’ favorite songs IN HIGH SCHOOL. this record/that song came out in 1984, making me exactly two years old when they were listening to it in real time, tooling around in cars, blasting david and the boys through shitty speakers, the wind in their heavily gelled hair. was i jealous? YOU BET YOUR BOOTS. camper van is so goddamn good.

MAKING: a filling bean and rice burrito from the trader, plus corn chips, salsa and RAW kale (because i live close dangerously to the edge y’all)

LISTENING: neil diamond, shilo

this 1970 compilation record has so many hits it’s absolutely mind-boggling. ready? “shilo,” “kentucky woman,” “girl, you’ll be a woman soon,” “cherry cherry,” “i’m a believer,” “red red wine,” and my personal favorite, “solitary man” (click ‘listening’ to hear it). NEIL 4-EVA.

MAKING: egg pappardelle pasta with cherry tomatoes, corn, kale & boring mushrooms

LISTENING: the microphones, the glow pt. 2

in 2009 i bought this record from phil elverum himself, out of the back of his tour van that was parked in front of the iron horse in northampton, ma. i was sick and sweaty by the time it was my turn to peruse the milk crates of vinyl that phil sat behind, sporting a gorgeous brown and cream sweater in a fair isle pattern. i think i managed a “hi” before grabbing the first record i saw (this one) and then loudly exclaiming “fair isle!” while pointing to said sweater.

“what? oh yah, fair isle. right,” the most talented/inspiring musician of my generation responded, in a super nice but obviously bewildered manner.

“i’ll take this,” i said quietly, gesturing to the record, embarrassed at having told the man nothing he didn’t already know about his own goddamn sweater, embarrassed at having nothing to offer this bastion of hope and sanity and genuine goodness.

“oh great, yeah, that record is cool because-“

i didn’t even let him finish. “yeah i’m really psyched. thanks,” i muttered, shoving the record in my tote bag and handing him money.

“you’re welcome,” he said carefully, having moved beyond bewildered and into the realm of fear. what in the hell was wrong with me?

i turned to walk away, but suddenly whipped around before another superfan could take my place at the feet of this rock ‘n’ roll deity. i stared earnestly into his kind brown eyes. “you’re like, the number one,” fell out of my mouth, valley-girl style. oh. no. before i could even register his reaction, i turned and walked swiftly away, mortified. it took me a few days to recover from that interaction.

but you know what? phil elverum IS THE NUMBER ONE. i stand by it.

MAKING: white cheddar mac ‘n’ cheese with mixed greens and plum tomatoes

LISTENING: janis joplin & the full-tilt boogie band, pearl

the perfect chanteuse for my goddamn life right now (fml). LOVE THAT OUTFIT SO SO MUCH. oh, and for those of you just joining the train wreck that is making/listening, a heads up: you can always click ‘listening’ to hear the song that lent its lyrics to the title of the post!

MAKING: angel hair pasta with tomato sauce & homegrown basil

LISTENING: john lennon & yoko ono, double fantasy

winner on this record: yoko, hands down.

MAKING: fake chicken, carrot and cabbage over brown rice

LISTENING: neil young & crazy horse, zuma

fervent hope: i end up having twin boys so i can name them diamond and young.