Archive for January 2011
All Sounds Like a Dream: A Review of Destroyer’s Kaputt
Posted by: L.V. Lopez on: January 31, 2011
The time has come for devoted fans to admit: Destroyer is never going to make it big. The band’s mastermind, Dan Bejar, has been churning out records under the Destoyer moniker since 1996 (when you were either in high school or college), and yet you’ve likely never heard one of his songs. In fact, if [...]
The Top 5 Music Videos of January 2011
Posted by: L.V. Lopez on: January 29, 2011
Because we still care about music videos, and we think you should too, each month we’ll be bringing you our five favorites from the previous 30 days. In our first installment, we find murder, intrigue, robots, broken furniture, and the Japanese. Please enjoy: 5. Sleigh Bells – Rill Rill Just one man fewer between you [...]
Frontier Mixology: FP Originals
Posted by: L.V. Lopez on: January 28, 2011
Over the past nine months the Frontier Mixologist has taught us all how to get inebriated in a cultured, historically informed fashion. While we have learned a great deal about certain classic cocktails (the Manhattan, the Negroni, the Jack Rose), we have also been treated to five never-before-mixed cocktails, drinks conceived and lab-tested in the [...]
French Women Eat A Lot of Dairy – Nonfiction by Micaela Blei
Posted by: Keith Meatto on: January 27, 2011
After a sad, sugarless breakfast, during which she watched her boyfriend eat a large crepe with Nutella and bananas, she went to la pharmacie. The sky was gray and sad; it had been for days. Inside the wide glass doors she saw two people behind the counter: an older gentleman, whose attention would be extremely [...]
A Sixth Helping of Cake – Review of Showroom of Compassion
Posted by: fprevivalist on: January 27, 2011
Showroom of Compassion (Upbeat Records) is the first new Cake release in seven years. Best known for their 90s break out hit “The Distance” and 2001 chart topper “Short Skirt/Long Jacket”, they continue to deliver more of their signature head nodding grooves and funny lyrics. In his signature off-beat and snarky manner, vibra-slap master and [...]
Even Washingtonians Get the Blues: The Dismemberment Plan Reunite
Posted by: Peter Lillis on: January 26, 2011
- In: Concerts | Music
- 3 Comments
Despite what many Washingtonians may say, life is good. We haven’t had too many WMATA faulted deaths, we’ve had a better winter than most and even Congress is trying to be “bipartisan”, as evidenced by last night’s national pat on the back State of the Union Address. But in order to “win the future“, as [...]
Hercules and Love Affair – A Review of Blue Songs
Posted by: Keith Meatto on: January 26, 2011
- In: Music | Record Reviews
- 4 Comments
Hercules & Love Affair’s impressive debut included “Blind,” a pulsing, emphatic dance track (featuring the lovely, melancholy vocal of Antony Hegarty of Antony & the Johnsons) that ushered in a throwback to long play disco. On their sophomore release Blue Songs, band mastermind and New York-based DJ Andy Butler assembles another collection of soulful dance [...]
Bike Snob – Book Review by Will Kenton
Posted by: Keith Meatto on: January 25, 2011
- In: Book Reviews | Books
- 1 Comment
I have a friend, a novelist, who lives in Jackson, Wyoming. You probably know Jackson as the home of great skiing and Dick Cheney. It features spaces so wide open they had to order an extra-big sky, and mountains so perfect a couple of French guys named them “the big tits” (i.e. Grand Tetons). This [...]
Tennis, Anyone? – A Review of Cape Dory
Posted by: Keith Meatto on: January 24, 2011
- In: Music | Record Reviews
- 6 Comments
Though the album cover is decidedly ‘80s-inspired, the music on Tennis’s debut album Cape Dory goes even further back, recalling the atmospheric instrumentation of Santo & Johnny’s “Sleepwalk” and the sha-la-la’s of early ‘60s girl groups. The songs on this new release are about adventures on the high seas, but the music brings to mind [...]
Frontier Mixology: Lion’s Tail
Posted by: Roddy Rickhouse on: January 22, 2011
As Dean Martin put it, “Baby, it’s cold outside.” Indeed. As Dino well knew, it’s the time of year where the holiday glow has receded, and a good cocktail is needed to lift the winter gloom. To such end, an ingredient that always seems to make sense around now is Pimento Dram. Banish all connotations [...]
