Song Addiction of the Moment

While listening to Spectrum last week (I was taking a break from SiriusXMU, okay?) I was caught off guard by an exceptionally solid song.  Unfamiliar with the artist's name, I wasn't quite sure whether the music was current or from another era, as it possessed a nostalgic quality and sounded undeniably similar to Van Morrison.  After the song ended, I committed the name "Brett Dennen" to memory and later looked him up - he is in fact a modern musician and may or may not be a big deal, but it just so happens that he is coming out with a new album, Loverboy, mid-April. 

Hope you enjoy this song as much as I do :)

{Mp3} Brett Dennen - Sydney (I'll Come Running)

Bonus:

Not only is the above photo compliments of Daytrotter, but the below track also is:

{Mp3} Brett Dennen - Make You Crazy (Daytrotter Session)
 

Tonight : DJ Kishka Saves Christmas!

In just a few mere hours we are getting out of work and heading to The Happy Dog to experience the cultural phenomenon that is a DJ Kishka Happy Hour. This evening with a nice holiday twist he will be performing live "How The Kishka Saved Christmas". We've been looking forward to this for weeks. You can get some great info on him here.

For the last week or so we were trying to compile some of the best Holiday mp3's in that have come across ours this season and as luck would have our work was done for us with this mix complied by Verbicide Magazine that was in our inbox today.

Here you go   for sure to be check out the tracks from Slow Club, Deer Tick and Summer Camp

Let's Not Talk About That Four Letter Word On Everyone's Mind...

A friend of ours said this on facebook today "Please don't complain that you hate the snow if you choose to live in Cleveland. It's like a sailor complaining he hates the water".

Could not have said it any better ourselves, on to a song that has been brightening our day since we first heard if a few days ago it's called "If I was" by Young Rebel Set who hail from the U.K., just like Mumford Sons, they a grittier more raw version of those chaps.  Enjoy!



(mp3) Young Rebel Set - If I Was

December means it's time for Christmas Indie Rock!

Rabbit, Rabbit everyone :) 

We love this time of year for music, as you hear all of the golden oldies like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Burl Ives etc. and then you hear Christmas-inspired tunes from all your current and past indie artists. One such track that has already caught our attention this season, is Crystal Antlers "10,000 Watts" which you have most likely enjoyed in one of the latest commercials from Target. You can get it for free from HERE, along with other holiday inspired tracks from Bishop Allen, Best Coast w/ Wavves, Coconut Records, Blackalicious and Dark My Love.

If you just want that song here you go - enjoy*

(mp3) Crystal Antlers - "10,000 Watts"

Don't you want to get Lost on Purpose?

A few years ago, Kelly and I were contacted by Will VanderWyden about posting some music for his band Lost on Purpose on our blog.  How fortuitous because not only does his music appeal to us because it sounds reminiscent of the best of Bright Eyes and Elliot Smith but also because Will is a native to North East Ohio, Amherst to be exact (although he lives out in L.A. now) and because he is a former Redhawk or ahem Miami REDSKIN.

We always like to promote his band because the music is undeniably infectious and because he long suffering Cleveland sports fan like us. This morning while killing some time on facebook before heading off to work, we noticed that Will had posted a video for  a new track "Outside L.A. Tokyo". He is currently over Japan it looks like having a blast with his lady.

The scenes in Tokyo definitely make one think of Lost In Translation. Speaking of Lost in Translation we can't wait for the new Sofia Coppola movie "Somewhere" to come out soon! :)

Back to this song it is perfect for a day like today, where you might be dreading what this week has in-store and you are looking for that little bit of sunshine to keep you going. I've only listened to it once and it is already resting comfortable inside my head.

Seven Years Ago Today We Saw Kill Bill Vol 1

Today marks that 7 years ago we had our 1st date. It is a date that is very meaningful for us considering it changed it our lives going fwd and led to us getting married almost 2 years ago.  You may wonder what we did on our 1st date, well I didn't have a car so Kelly came and picked me up and we went to Chagrin Cinemas to go see Kill Bill Vol. 1 ( I picked the movie, good idea right?). After the movie we went to La Cave Du Vin, Kelly had her friend Jackie come and meet us there you in-case I was a weirdo and because this was the 1st time we were meeting in person since we had met on Friendster. Won't go into our 1st kiss here, but let's just say it almost involved a car cash. Last week we learned that we had been selected as of one of Metromix's final selections for Cleveland's most interesting couples found on twitter and facebook (the link is up now so please go and vote :).  It seems only fitting and at the same time very coincidental that on the 7th anniversary of our 1st date that you can vote for us as interesting couple ;)

Another thing you can help us we want to renact that date tonight by going to the movies and then going to La Cave.  I recently saw The Social Network so Kelly would prefer to see something tonight that we have not seen, we were considering The Town, Easy A, Catfsh or It's Kind of a Funny Story. Please let us know in the comments or tweet at us if any of these are worth seeing.

On the unrelated tip here is a tasty piece from Twin Shadows to help you on this Monday morning, happy Columbus Day by the way.

(mp3) Twin Shadows - Castles In The Snow 

God Bless the Indian Summer

Hooray the sun came back!!! We thought it might be gone for a few more weeks but thankfully it has not go south for the winter like the birds do yet... With everyone and their mother sick right now (Jose was down but is now on the mend) it is going to do us all in Cleveland some good to get some good old fashioned vitamin D (since we are all deficient). With the mood being uplifted it only made sense to share with you a track that on the surface promotes the optimism we both have that we can still have an "Indian summer" since we don't want to see the sight of snow anytime soon. Pedro The Lion is extremely talented and if you ever had the joy of seeing him live you know what we are talking about, the band is alas no longer together but David Bazan the lead singer is still making some great music. Two covers of his worth checking out are him remaking Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You" and Leonard Cohen "Hallejuah". Now back to this song listen to the tone pay and attention to the lyrics they really capture our current frustration. Let's focus and keep our eyes on the prize because the weekend is almost here :)

So this is how Uffie has reinvented herself to get away from Ke$ha

You may be wondering what we are talking about with the title of this post, to some this is nothing new but to those who don't know let's drop some knowledge for you. Back in 2006 Uffie was on fire in the indie dance scene she was part of Ed Banger records, a crew that was just an unstoppable force of Parisian DJ's and producers the likes of include Justice, SebastiAn, Mr. Ozio etc. This ex-pat living abroad, only 19 years old had dropped out of college to pursue her music career. She just oozed cool, with an anti flow she layered perfectly on top of dance, synth, house and club beats.  When she was at the top of her game she got married, got divorced and had a baby in less than two years. During that time she dropped off the radar and then Ke$ha appeared out of nowhere bringing the almost identical swagger and musical styling as Uffie. Check it here for more info on these two electro-pop princesses. The whole point is Uffie did it first and we are glad she is back with a new improved sound listen for yourself.



Uffie - Difficult
Uploaded by Uffie. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Catchy song that speaks that truth

It's a Tuesday night that feels like it could be any night of this past glorious summer. This song we are going to share with you is not specific to any season but the fashion trends depicted definitely are more in the line with the cold weather that we hopefully do not experience for a few more weeks. Long live Indian Summer.

A Pumpkin Ale that is a Beer and not a Dessert

 Lately we have been enjoying some great beers from Portsmouth, New Hampshire's Smuttynose Breweing Co., as they are now distributing in Cleveland. We have been hooked after sampling the goods at this year's Blues & Brews (see our recap from a couple years ago) at Stan Hywet Gardens and continue to see what Smuttynose has to offer by purchasing a variety of their creations at Heinen's.

(picture courtesy of Smuttynose Brewery)

This evening, after finally seeing Inception, we stopped by Heinen's and amoungst the many offerings of pumpkin ales and/or Octoberfest styles, ultimately deciding to purchase the Pumpkin Ale from Smuttynose ($8.99 for a 6-pack) - because we have not had a less than superb beer from them yet.  Thus far, we have quickly and gleefully gulped down Smuttynose's Big A IPA, Finestkind IPA (highly suggested!), and Farmhouse Ale.

We love the fact that Smuttynose's Pumpkin Ale resisted the urge to be over-powering, tasting of sweet things like molasses or coriander.  Instead, the beer encompasses a savory element - a nice balance between cinnamon and the smoothness of pumpkin pureee.  Atypical of what one might expect from a  Pumpkin Ale, this is not a dessert where the essence of the pumpkin it not taken literally, where the beer does not slug your tastebuds like some of the others.

Basically, this pumpkin ale is what we hope our autumn months will feel like - calm, serene, welcoming, and far from overwhelming* 

Bonus: What is better than having music to enjoy while drinking some fall-inspired brews?!  So, here you go  ;)


[Mp3] Land of Talk - Quarry Hymns
[Mp3] Villagers - Becoming a Jackal
[Mp3] Menomena - Queen Black Acid

Have a wonderful Holiday Weekend everyone!

O'Fallon 5 Day IPA: Proof that a Smooth Drinking IPA is not an Oxymoron

It's always difficult when you have your favorite seller of beers and you see a different one that sounds great and tempts you, but if you never heard of the brewery you might be skeptic like us, but so is true with indie rock often the best bands (er, beers) are yet to be discovered.

Case and point: O'Fallon 5 Day IPA.  Smooth IPA might seem like an oxymoron, but that's what this is - nice amber color, very drinkable, nice with cheese (we're enjoying with a Savoie from Heinen's), lighter style, winning best St. Louis beer in 2008.  Much better than some other brewery also based in Missouri, whom we won't mention.

For those not fans of the hop, embrace a local jam maker - for us, we purchased a lovely "Train Wreck Everyberry Jam" via Lyons Market (located in Garrettsville, OH yet can bet purchased at your local Heinen's) that adequately balances and compliments the bitterness.

When served closer at room temp, the IPA tastes closer to something more familiar - these hops are never going to knock you out like something from Hop Devil, Hopslam, or Hopback.  However, this is most definitely the perfect beer to introduce somebody to hops with*

Bonus: While creating this post, in addition to being fueled by the ingredients above, the soundtrack was provided by (the pretty much always amazing) Arcade Fire. We strongly endorse this track from their new album, The Suburbs, out NOW.

{mp3} Arcade Fire - Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

Enjoy!  And have a wonderful weekend  :)

Can you feel this tranquility?

This was the first image I saw this morning as I stepped outside to head to the gym. Thought it was worth taking a picture of even it was just with my blackberry. Instantly upon viewing the clouds in this formation The Orb classic 'Little Fluffy Clouds" popped in my head as I  completed my walk. You all probably remember it from when it was used in v-dub ad back about 10 years ago. When I used to be in my "raver phase" I used to love to listen to stuff like this, Moby, Fluke, Keoki, Chemical Brothers etc. This is the shorter version, the original house version of this track is like 8+ minutes in length. Still a nice song to help you easw into your morning as we slowly transition from summer to fall. Here is hoping to an Indian Summer this Fall!


(mp3) The Orb - Little Fluffy Clouds

Win Two Tickets: Grace Potter & The Nocturnals THIS Saturday, June 19th

Who adores Grace Potter & The Nocturnals? Well, not only are you in luck because they are coming through Cleveland this coming Saturday, June 19th to The Beachland Ballroom - but also because we happen to be giving away two tickets to the show :)

All you have to do to enter to win is post a comment and give your own interpretation of their sound - the one that is closest to our personal opinion (or perhaps {ahem} even better) will be awarded the tickets*

Check out the below video and download this undeniably catchy track

{Mp3} Tiny Light - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

And let us know your thoughts!

Monday Night Epiphany

Recently, we've been kind of in love with listening to Sirius' online media player as opposed to doing our usual streaming of mp3's via Hype Machine.  This evening, Kelly decided to change it up from our usual Sirius XMU station to 1st Wave - where we've been enjoying some nice new wave jams, such as Echo and the Bunnymen, The Thompson Twins, The Smiths, Psychedelic Furs, etc. . .

So, when the jam "West End Girls" by The Pet Shop Boys started playing, it dawned on us that the synth driven stacatto like, almost rap-speak intermittent segments with singing on the chorus sounded mighty familiar to us.

[We racked our music brains and thus the epiphany occurred]

The truth had reared its ugly head - Flight of the Conchords quite obviously taken much inspiration from "West End Girls" for their "Inner City Pressure" track.

So be honest - is it just us???

Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls

Flight of the Conchords - Inner City Pressure

Tonight: Noche De Guayabera at Wall Eye Gallery

Who: You!

What: Good Latin Food, Wine, Music, and Art hosted by The Young Latino Network

Where: Wall Eye Gallery on 5304 Detroit Avenue (Cleveland)

When: TONIGHT!  [6pm - 10pm]

Why: Despite the fact that Jose is the President of The Young Latino Network, we need to do our part as Clevelanders to support the many Young Professional groups doing great things to brighten our community's future*

Hope to see you there  :)

Bonus:
{Mp3} BoomBaptist - Latin Love

Saturday Afternoon Battle

This past Saturday we (Kelly and I along with a few of our friends and some newly met acquaintances) went to the first ever Fathead's Brewery Heavyweight Brewers Battle. Most of the tasty libations on draft on this great Saturday were more than 8% alcohol.  It was a tough task for a Saturday afternoon, but we were more than ready to battle with these high alcohol beers.

Yes, we have been to quite a few beer tastings (ie - Brewzilla, Blues & Brews at Stan Hewett Gardens, et al), but never before did we look at the list and feel the need to proceed with caution  ;)

Jose getting knocked out by the Heavy Weight Mascot

A sold out crowd, giving it their all, battling to the last drop

Jennifer and Kelly were among a small number of ladies, nonetheless they were troopers and held their own

Below is a list of the delicious drafts made available to us. We went to the 1pm-4pm session - we highly doubt that all of these were available for the evening session!

Fat Head’s - Head Hunter (Draft; CASK) & Bean Me Up Coffee Stout
Rot Weizen & Battle Axe Baltic Porter
Buckeye - Aquarius DIPA*; Zatek Imperial Stout*
Cornerstone - Devil’s Advocate Barleywine; Evil Entity Black IPA
Willoughby - Apricot Ale; Pride of Willoughby Peanut Butter Porter
Brew Kettle - Cabo Wabo* Old #21 IPA; Tunguska Imperial Stout
Black Box - Javelin Rye; Crooked River ESB
Great Lakes - Wit’s End*; Lake Erie Monster DIPA
Rocky River - Hoptimus Prime IPA; Hell of a Bock Maibock
Thirsty Dog - Hoppin Dog Belgian Pale; Toil and Turmoil Imp Dubbe*
Indigo Imp - Gatekeeper Porter; Sour Gatekeeper*
Columbus Brewing - IPA; Creeper Barleywine*
Gordon Biersch - Maibock; Czech Pilsner
Pennsylvania Brewing - Zwickel Kaiser Pilsner; Maibock

Bear Republic - Crazy Ivan Belgian Blend*; Ryevalry Belg Rye IPA
Founder’s Double Dry Hop Centennial IPA (CASK)*; Double Trouble DIPA
Victory - Samragd Belgian Pale; Smokin Oats Smoked Oatmeal Porter*
Sierra Nevada - 2008 Bigfoot Barleywine*; Summerfest Lager
Bell’s - Third Coast Old Ale; Expedition Imperial Stout
Troegs - Sunshine Pilsner; Hop back Amber*
Stone - Old Guardian Barleywine* & Levitation Amber
New Holland - Imperial Mad Hatter IPA
Dogfish Head - Burton Baton*;  Raison d Etre
North Coast - Brother Thelonius Belgian; Red Seal APA

*denotes a beer we recommend you try

Two New Recipes That You'll Want To Try

This evening presented a rare break in our schedules, allowing us the opportunity to do something we hadn't done together in weeks. . .

Cook a fun little meal  :)

The inspiration for the recipes we chose to prepare was drawn from none other than two lovely local foodies whom we respect and enjoy their company: Heidi Robb and Michelle Venorsky (aka Cleveland Foodie)

After a conversation with Heidi regarding a recent purchase of a Donna Hay cookbook that was unknowingly written in Spanish (she was so taken by the beautiful photographs that she didn't notice that the recipes were not written in English), we were pleasantly reminded that we have quite a few Donna Hay magazines we somehow forget to peruse while brainstorming for recipe ideas.  As a result, we experienced no shortage of creativity while revisiting the breathtaking food photography contained within the pages of Donna Hay.

And, thus we arrived at the following delicately indulgent hors d'oeuvre:

Lemon and Zucchini Puffs

Note: Be careful while frying and don't try to burn down your place like Kelly nearly did


3 large zucchinis, shaved into ribbons (courgettes)
3 eggs
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves sliced thinly
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Oil for shallow frying
Sea salt and cracked pepper

Lemon Aoili
1/2 cup mayonaise (we forgot to buy, and simply used lemon and garlic, still fabulous)
2 tsp lemon juice
1 garlic clove, crushed

Whisk mayo, lemon and garlic and set aside.

Combine zucchini, flour, eggs, mint and seasoning. Heat 1 cm oil (1/3 inch) in a large non stick frying pan. Add 2 tablespoonfuls and fry in batches until puffed and golden.

***
And, after reading Michelle's Quinoa post a little while back, we became very excited to not only try the Mark Bittman recipe but the following NYT recipe as well:

Baked Quinoa with Spinach and Cheese

1 6-ounce bag baby spinach

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 plump garlic cloves, minced

4 cups cooked quinoa, (1 cup uncooked)

2 large eggs

3 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (3/4 cup)

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage

1 ounce Parmesan, grated (1/4 cup)

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Oil a 2-quart gratin or baking dish.

2. Heat a medium frying pan or a wide saucepan over medium-high heat. Wash the spinach and without spinning dry, add to the pan and wilt in the liquid left on the leaves after washing. You may have to do this in 2 batches. As soon as the spinach wilts, remove from the heat and rinse with cold water. Squeeze dry and chop. Set aside.

3. Wipe the pan dry and heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in it over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir with the onion until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the spinach and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.

4. Beat the eggs in a large bowl and add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir in the quinoa, the onion and spinach mixture, the Gruyère, and the sage. Add freshly ground pepper and stir the mixture together. Scrape into the gratin dish. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top and drizzle on the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Place in the oven and bake until nicely browned on top, about 25 minutes. Remove from the heat, allow to sit for about 5 minutes, and serve. 

***
We are happy to say that both of these recipes will be repeated again very soon.  Each being versatile and unique, having potential to be easily incorporated within a variety of meals/occasions.  Also, it's always a nice bonus when you can enjoy something delicious while being healthy, low-cal, and meat free!

Not to mention, thanks to The Blisslist, we listened to several of her great playlists while whipping up this memorable meal  :)

This was yet another motivator to post a few tracks that have been getting non-stop spins in our household:

[Mp3] Lisa Papineau - White Leather Pants

[Mp3] Peasant - Well Alright

[Mp3] The Radio Dept - Heaven's On Fire

Enjoy!

Bell's Brewery Dinner @ The North End for Jose's Birthday!

On Tuesday night in honor of my Birthday (Jose) Kelly made reservations for us at The Bell's Brewery Dinner at The North End. She also invited a few of our friends out to come celebrate, drink some good beer and cheer on the cavs to a victory over the bulls. The meal was a delicious 6 course meal prepared by the very talented Chef Jeff Jarrett. The beers were paired expertly and served as a perfect compliment to bring out the best in each other.

first course      : Charcuterie/Cheese/Pretzels paired with Bell's Lager of The Lakes

second course : Citrus Mussels paired with Bell's Oberon Ale

third course      :Duck Nachos with Spicey Mole paired with Bell's Amber Ale

fourth course    : Pork Belly, smoked rice, and mushrooms paired with Bell's Consecrator Doppelbock

fifth course       : Bison Sliders with Onion Rings paired with Bell's Hopslam

sixth course      : Ding-Dongs paired with Bell's Expedition Stout

Bloggers on The Bridge!

Last weekend, as you may have noticed from an earlier post that, we had a lot in store for our Saturday. To recap the morning - basically, we woke up way earlier than on usual Saturdays (much to Kelly's dismay) and headed over to the Superior Viaduct to wait in the cold with several others (Room Service, I heart Cleveland, Kitten Kaboom, Cleveland Poet, Icarabout and Jason Murphy) where we all were battered by the wind before a woman from the county came up to let us in the bridge. 

Once inside, our host James Levin (Artistic Director and Founder of the Ingenuity Festival), took us on an hour long tour of the space that will be available to artists for this fall's Event. We also learned that they are making efforts to open the bridge permanently, which would ultimately allow artists to use this space year round as well as enabling pedestrians to utilize the bridge from downtown to easily access the West Side Market. While on our tour, we also got a little bit of history regarding the brief period in Cleveland where cable cars were in use on the former subway.

Below are some snapshots we took while exploring, as we imagined we were archeologists: 

ps - Following our tour, we were famished and in dire need of nourishment - since we were in the neighborhood, we thought we might as well hit up Latitude 41 for the first time.  We normally do not write about things we dislike, however, our experience left much to be desired (ie - the service and food were disappointing).  Needless to say, we will not be going back.  Curious as to how others feel about this place?

Note: The very top photo on the left was taken from Cleveland and It's Streetcars

Win Two Tickets to see The Apples in Stereo (April 27th at The Grog Shop)!

Are you in love with all of those beyond fantastic bands associated with the Elephant Six Collective like we are?  Taking the best of quirky indie rock and power pop, it's pretty difficult not to be.

One of our very favorites from that camp, known as none other than The Apples in Stereo, will be coming to Cleveland's Grog Shop this coming Tuesday, April 27th.

WIN TWO TICKETS by simply commenting with your thoughts about the following music video featuring Elijah Wood (who actually who owns the band's label, Simian Records-through Yep Roc):

The Apples in Stereo - Dance Floor

Also:  Download their single, "Dance Floor" [here]


Bonus:  The Generationals are the opening act, check out Jose's preview on Ohio Authority [here]