20 + 10, 2009

Oh yes. It's that time of the year when I scour my iTunes for anything that came out last year that I had possibly missed listening to and perform a mad harkening sweep of it all, and in doing so, get all gushy about the albums that are engraved into my memories of the past year, which my family members then mistake for christmas spirit, of which I have little. So, here you go kids. My top albums and singles of 2009.

Top 20 Albums:

20. Japandroids, Post-Nothing
Favorite song, "Heart Sweats"

19. Cryptacize, Mythomania
Favorite song, "We'll Never Dream Again"

18. Neon Indian, Psychic Chasms
Favorite song, "Deadbeat Summer"

17. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, It's Blitz!
Favorite song, "Heads Will Roll"

16. Frankmusik, Complete Me
Favorite song, "3 Little Words"

15. St. Vincent, Actor
Favorite song, "Save Me From What I Want"

14. The Antlers, Hospice
Favorite song, "Bear"

13. Bat For Lashes, Two Suns
Favorite song, "Daniel"

12. Dirty Projectors, Bitte Orca
Favorite song, "Cannibal Resources"

11. Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion
Favorite song, "Bluish"

10. Grizzly Bear, Vecktimest
Favorite song, "Two Weeks"

9. Major Lazer, Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do
Favorite song, "Hold The Line f. Mr. Lex & Santigold"

8. The Flaming Lips, Embryonic
Favorite song, "Powerless"

7. Dinosaur Jr., Farm
Favorite song, "Over It"

6. Andrew Bird, Noble Beast/Useless Creatures
Favorite song, "Masterswarm"

5. YACHT, See Mystery Lights
Favorite song, "Psychic City (Voodoo City)"

4. Why?, Eskimo Snow
Favorite song, "Blackest Purse"

3. Bill Callahan, Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle
Favorite song, "Eid Ma Clack Shaw"

2. The xx, The xx
Favorite song, "Heart Skipped A Beat"

1. Timber Timbre, Timber Timbre
Favorite song, "Trouble Comes Knocking"



Top 10 Singles of 2009:

10. Jeremy Jay, "In This Lonely Town" off Slow Dance
9. Chromeo, "Bonafied Lovin'" off Fancy Footwork
8. Alela Diane, "White As Diamonds" off To Be Still
7. Beirut, "The Akara" off March of the Zapotec/Holland
6. Sea Wolf, "Wicked Blood" off White Water, White Bloom
5. Miike Snow, "Animal" off Miike Snow
4. Pheonix, "Listomania" off Wolfgang Amadeus Pheonix
3. The Strange Boys, "Heard You Wanna Beat Me Up" off The Strange Boys & Girls Club
2. Apostle of Hustle, "Soul Unwind" off Eats Darkness
1. Maluca, "El Tigeraso" off El Tigeraso EP

Hell yes.

…the filet mignon is the Paris Hilton of meat—lean and completely without personality.

this is not the way to a chef’s heart…the real engine of gastronomy—now that I think of it—is poverty.

do you really think the first person to eat a snail was a gourmet? that was a poor son of a bitch.

(ANTHONY BOURDAIN)

Best Greek pasta salad

I absolutely love Bulgarian pure sheep's milk feta, but you can use any type of feta you'd like. However, I chose Bulgarian because I prefer a rich, buttery feta to compliment the lemon and walnut oil dressing I made the salad with. If you do use a more acidic, pungent, feta, I would suggest cutting back on the lemon juice.

You will need:

Half a package of farfalle (6 oz)
8 oz. sheep's milk feta
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup walnut oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 small-ish Roma tomatoes, diced
8 large fresh basil leaves, chiffoned
2 teaspoons fresh dill, minced
2 teaspoons fresh chives, minced
Salt & pepper to taste

1. Boil pasta as directed. I like to take a minute or two off the cooking time for my pasta, since I like it al dente, and it'll keep cooking once I start mixing everything in a stainless steel bowl.

2. Drain pasta, toss in large bowl with walnut oil, lemon, garlic, and feta, and incorporate so that the feta has melted into the hot pasta a bit. Add the rest of the ingredients, sans tomatoes, and chill for 20-30 minutes. Add diced tomatoes, and here is where I threw in some leftover caramelized onions I made yesterday (such a good idea), and serve!

Doin' fine.

My best friend's bedroom.

Maybe i'll update my blog more often when I move to Seattle at the end of the year.

Until then, sorry, but i'm working forty hour weeks.

Currently listening to:
"Spinnin'" by Speech Debelle

NW Coast beats.

Dang. I can't believe I didn't have these beats this summer.

...

Sometimes, I miss the way he used to be

Said an old friend on Pedro the Lion-
"If I wasn't lonely, I wouldn't like this kind of music".