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NPR Chat with me. Lately my listening habits have been focused solely on a genre of music called dub techno. I tend to get sucked into a certain style of music until I've run out of air. This happened about 5 years ago with a quirky brand of electronic music called tech-house or micro-house. And more recently I leapt back to the early 20th century to explore western swing. Unlike earlier instances where I can't pinpoint how I was suddenly swept up by a particular genre, this time I can say I know exactly when dub techno got ahold of me. It was Thursday July 31st at 7:09pm. I was commuting home and listening to Boston College radio when I heard a track called "Distance" by Rhythm & Sound (mp3). I already had some Rhythm & Sound in my collection, but not their self-titled debut album. Looking back, the track isn't particularly mind-blowing. But for some reason it caught my ear and pushed me to dive into my dub techno CDs when I got home that night. Ah the wonderful Basic Channel metal tins from the mid '90s. Clever design, but the CD is left extremely vulnerable to scratches. Beautiful vinyl too. Part of the enjoyment is the thrill of the hunt for these rarities. Because, after all, how much of this stuff do you really need to own? But over the last few months, through various sources like Beatport, eMusic, iTunes and some independent sellers like Polybonk and Juno, I've tracked down a mammoth amount of releases. Dub techno is a blend of electronic music and dub which has its roots in reggae. One of its originators, owners of the Basic Channel label were interviewed in 1996 by The Wire magazine which offers a pretty good description of the music. In general, dub techno is downbeat, slow and warmer than traditional techno. Occasionally you'll have some singers involved, but primarily it's instrumental music. I find it a great match for driving, reading, or working on the computer. It's repetitive and discreet enough to work just fine as background music; but I find it rewarding when listening carefully too. So it's feeding my music obsession quite well. It's been a long time since I've created a podcast and this could be a good topic for a new one. But I'm taking the lazy route and offering up some samples in a zipped bundle. If you follow the link, here's what you'll get: Dub and Dubber Pack (~300 MB) DeepChord Presents Echospace "First Point Of Aries" (The Coldest Season) If you're up for it, drop a note in the comments and let me know about your favorites. 7:15 PM Comments (2) Has it really been over two months since I was last here? I guess things have been very busy for me lately. I just returned from a 10-day overseas work trip that took me to Luzern, Switzerland and Berlin. I arrived back in Boston to be greeted by the crisp, cool air that can only mean that autumn is upon us. I'm trying to shake my second cold of the season. This second one was probably mostly my fault from being out way past my bedtime last weekend at Maria am Ostbanhof. A fantastic night of live music, but I don't have the endurance for the late night shows like I once had. Now that I'm back, I think a good hearty soup is what I need to get back on track. So I think the menu tonight will include a new recipe. We'll see how it goes. Chickpea Tagine with Cinnamon, Cumin, and Carrots North African cooking often features cinnamon in both savory dishes and desserts. Carrots and raisins make this a slightly sweet stew that's best served with a dollop of sour Greek-style yogurt to complement the flavors. 2 Tbs. olive oil 1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and sauté 2 to 3 minutes, or until onion slices are soft. 1:53 PM Comments (3) I always thought EMusic would be a killer. But it turns out that Beatport will be the death of me. In unrelated news, I was driving through the center of my town today and noticed a sidewalk sign outside of the local greasy spoon. It was advertising "Cape Cod Pancaks." What do you suppose those are all about? What's a pancak? Does it come with lobster? 1:06 PM Comments (2) Ever play that game? Trying to decide what era and what location you'd want to live in if you had your choice? Lately, I think New York in 1977 would be pretty incredible. Sure, a lot of people consider that to be one of New York's most dangerous and chaotic times. But you can't beat the music. I recommend catching NY77 when it's on TV. It inspired me to toss together this mixtape: WhenNewYorkWasNewYork. 11:08 AM Comment (0) I've been searching for the best book for my upcoming vacation. I have a lot of unread books to choose from. They've been sitting dormant on my bookshelves for months (some of them have been hanging around for years). But a new book popped into my possession today that will trump all others: Ballad of the Whiskey Robber written by Julian Rubinstein. Chris recommended it to me as we perused the Borders bargain bin, and he treated me to the book - thanks Chris! I'm not sure how to prepare myself for a book with a back cover synopsis that starts with "Attila Ambrus was a gentleman thief, a sort of Cary Grant—if only Grant came from Transylvania, was a terrible professional hockey goalkeeper, and preferred women in leopard-skin hot pants." What?!? Like I said, thanks Chris. 10:04 PM Comments (3) Last weekend was a blast. The weather was perfect and reminded me of the first days of warm weather in college, and short term! From the right field rooftop seats, we watched the Red Sox come from behind to beat the Rangers on Sunday afternoon. It was the first time I scored an entire game since I was a Cub Scout watching the Paw Sox. Plus we enjoyed a great new recipe: Jamaican Curried Tempeh Tacos The yellow curry filling, mustard greens (although we used baby spinach), and red pepper strips lend these spicy tacos the colors of the tropics. 1 Tbs. olive oil 1. Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, and cook 3 to 5 minutes, or until onion is softened. 10:28 AM Comment (1) A fun new web app just emerged that lets you create your own mp3 mixtapes. Muxtape is genius in its simplicity. Although I wonder how long this little service will be able to stick around. My mix is a showcase of my favorite dubstep ditties: nervousmusic.muxtape.com. It's heavy on the Burial tracks, but he's my favorite. Be sure to crank your bass for these gems. 12:07 PM Comments (3) Out of pure coincidence while cleaning out the kitchen cabinet tonight, I discovered that my final box of Candy Cane Joe-Joes expires today. Well, I guess I have some serious eating to do in the next three hours. 8:37 PM Comment (1) A year has flown by since I last dropped a "five things" list here. So it's time for another list. And considering I've been consistently uncovering new music each month with my eMusic subscription, it seems fit to dedicate this go-round to music exclusively. These albums have been part of my soundtrack this winter. All tracks are available at eMusic, except for the first one which you'd need to grab from iTunes Plus which is their DRM-free wing of their music store. Enjoy! The Field "A Paw In My Face" - from the album From Here We Go To Sublime Belong "October Language" - from the album October Language Ellen Allien & Apparat "Jet" - from the album Orchestra of Bubbles Japancakes "Blown A Wish" - from the album Loveless Studio "Out There" - from the album West Coast 5:51 PM Comment (1) This recipe might not be the right choice for Super Bowl Sunday, so that's why we're making it tonight. This is our second time making Moroccan Harira and it's a fun alternative to the usual minestrones and stews that you might usually make. This traditional soup is thickened with a tadouira—a mixture of flour, tomato paste, and cilantro—and served with lemon wedges. Because of the vermicelli, the soup may thicken when cooled—simply add a little more water or broth when reheating. Harira Tadouira 1. To make Harira: Cook lentils in pot of boiling salted water 2 minutes. Drain. 6:54 PM Comment (0) Well, that was a month-long hiatus. I haven't had much to report here lately. Made it through the holidays with a nice vacation. Dove back into work including a trip to India, where I've returned with a massive head cold that's just starting to clear up. One noteworthy item is that my New Year's resolution was to officially slide over to vegetarian status. So I've done that (with the exception of eating a few prawns in India, but who can resist them?) It wasn't much of a change for me. We've been eating mostly vegetarian food at home for a long time, plus I haven't had any red meat in close to two years, I'd say. Oh, and I also picked up this lovely hand-carved white sandalwood and rosewood chess set while in Chennai. So I'll be polishing my skills over the next few months. Watch out Viswanathan Anand!
10:28 AM Comment (0) Last month I summarized Yo La Tengo's answer to my freewheeling question. Now thanks to the great Boston music blog, Bradley's Almanac, you can hear it for yourself at about 2 minutes in to "freewheeling banter 11" not to mention the entire early show from November 15th. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! 2:27 PM Comment (0) I have to get the podcast engine going again soon. It's been a nine-month gap which is inexcusable and the last one included my favorites from the beginning of the year. Here we are in the final stride of 2007 and I suppose my next podcast should round out the year with my other favorites. All I know is that Daft Punk's Alive 2007 will top the list. Have you heard this thing? I stopped paying attention to Daft Punk five years ago, but wow, this live album from a June show in Paris is stellar. Check the video clip. What are your favorites from the year? 8:57 PM Comment (1) For those in New England, we have snow in our near future. The coastline will probably be a messy mix of snow and rain. But here in central Mass we could be getting anywhere between 3-6 inches, maybe more if the storm dips south a bit. This won't be the first snowfall of the season, but it's close enough that it's time to pull out Coil's "The Snow." I've talked about this in the past and posted the track here before. So this time, let's go with a couple remixes both courtesy of Meat Beat Manifesto. Coil "The Snow (Answers Come In Dreams I)" (mp3) 12:36 PM Comment (0) Thanksgiving was wonderful. Excellent food and some relaxing time with both sides of my family. On Thanksgiving afternoon, we took advantage of the unusually mild weather to wander the driftway in Scituate. The air was clean and it was perfectly quiet except for the rustle of marsh grass as we looked out onto Fourth Cliff and parts of the shoreline. We drove around town and I was reminded of some areas I hadn't seen in a long time, including Veteran's Park where my name is engraved in a wooden walkway for donating and helping with its construction. We also saw the new shingles on my parents' house. The construction was done by one man and he did an outstanding job. After a visit to my hometown, we drove to central Mass where we shared a lot of laughs over the construction of our gingerbread houses. I was inspired to put a keg of mini-pretzels to good use and make my own maze. At first I considered an all-Peep tree maze a la The Shining, but quickly decided against it with only one package of Peep trees. A few more photos after the jump.
1:40 PM Comment (0) Bringing you Nervous Music since October 2003. Grab the feed.
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