Sounding Out Loud...

So I think it is worth mentioning that some of my blog posts are now being used on a new music review web site called Review Posse.  CHECK IT OUT!!!

How to Make a Jewish Brisket...

So a few weeks ago I made my first brisket.  Brisket is a delicious, cheap, and impressive way to feed a large crowd, or feed yourself to the point of considering vegetarianism.  On top of all that it is incredibly difficult to screw up.  A lot of people barbecue brisket but for a jewish brisket the basic principle is to braze the meat in enough liquid for long enough to get an incredibly flavorful sauce with a delectably tender cut of meat of course infused with the aforementioned incredible flavor of the sauce.  The sauce is usually more like a stew, filled with soft pieces of vegetables and infused with the flavor of the meat.  For the type of brisket I like the basic flavor platform for the brisket should be sweet, dark, rich, and highly aromatic.  In the brisket I made I did this with mushrooms, a little ground coffee (which was in a rub for the meat), worcestershire and wine for richness, coke and brown sugar for sweetness (also in the rub),  carrots, onions, bay leaves, and celery as the aromatics.  In addition to this I used some homemade pizza sauce to add to the liquid as well as impart more sweetness and tartness to the sauce. None of these ingredients are essential but the idea of their collective flavor I think is.  Here is a list of some common ingredients including the ones I just mentioned

Vegetables:                    Liquid:                                  Spices:

Celery                            Simple Tomato Sauce           Any of your favorite barbecue rub

Carrots                           Red Wine                              Salt (you don't need too much maybe 1 or 2 tsp)

Potato                             Coca-Cola (one can or so)    Pepper

Onion                             Ketchup                                Bay Leaves (I love this flavor in my brisket)

Mushrooms                    Chili Sauce                            Thyme

Tomatoes                       Coffee                                   

Any combinations of those flavors and a bit of creative discretion should yield a rich and very flavorful brisket, but the preparation is important too.  For this brisket I used a crock pot to keep the juices in the pot and ensure the tenderness of the brisket, but a baking pan covered in aluminum foil should get the trick done.

To cook the meat, if you have chosen to use a spice rub, cover the meat with your rub. Whether or not you have a rub I recommend browning the meat in your crock pot or a large pan on each side.  Some people think that this seals in the juices of the meat, this is debatable.  However what this does is create a chemical reaction on the outside of the meat that yields the deep flavor of seared meat without burning or drying out the meat.  After this preheat oven to around 300 F and chop vegetables how you want and put them in the pot with brisket.  Add liquid and spices, cover, and bake till fork tender (should be around four hours or more).   

Here comes the tough part, waiting.  After your brisket is done, you can sample and enjoy but 99% of that brisket (after it has cooled) should go into the fridge overnight to let the connective tissue that has now converted into gelatin solidify because after gelatin has solidified, it is much harder to revert to a liquid state thus making your meat tender yet able stay together when you slice the brisket.  After waiting  jewish brisket is not pulled like many bbq recipes, it is sliced ACCROSS THE GRAIN of the meat into strips.  Serve strips with sauce on the side or ladled on top, make sure you've got some challah around and enjoy.  Soooo Gooood...

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Homer: Happy 20th Anniversary Simpsons!

So the the list of my major childhood development goes as follows. At about age one I ate my first real food when I broke down at the dinner table demanding I had the same pizza the rest of my family was eating. Five years later, I had my first piano lesson. And finally in fourth grade, I first watched and fell in love with the Simpsons. From then on out I can safely say, any place I've been to anything I have done, if not being directly related to one of the three has probably been vaguely (sometimes not so vaguely) influenced by my perspective on them. 
This realization is not new to me or those who know me well (another important developmental landmark worth mentioning perhaps was my journey into manhood at age thirteen with my Simpsons themed "Bart-Mitzvah"), but tonight I was reminded how special the Simpsons truly are in my heart. While watching the Simpsons 20th anniversary special this evening, I could hardly keep the grin off of my face hearing all the producers, actors, and writers talk about the show. Though my dedication has waned (I have gone from watching it three times a day, to about once if that) nothing makes me happier than hearing Mr. Burn beckoning for his hounds to be released, or seeing America's favorite family plop down on that same old couch at the beginning of every episode. 
One of my favorite things about the Simpsons though, is its music. Along with its theme essentially now firmly placed among the American popular musical canon, all episodes are completely scored by Alf Clausen, and scored well to boot! Before my CD case was stolen/lost in 8th grade I would listen religiously to Songs in the Key of Springfield, enjoying both the tunes and the memories of their respective episodes. 
Though the Simpsons mean a lot to me one thing I easily recognized watching the special tonight was that I am by no means the only one. So today, to represent this point I am going to share with you some of the best Simpsons songs sung by random everyday fanatics like myself, plus a real version of Flaming Moes (cause that one's, I think, my fave). Some are pretty good, some are others just goofing around, though each to me represents the same curious power the Simpsons had on me at the young age of ten years old, that has brought it into history and to the far reaches of the globe. 

Seasongs Greetings From Sound Out Loud... (feat. a Beatles Christmas)

Just because I'm jewish doesn't mean I cant celebrate the birth of our true lord and savior.  Well at least thats what my this guy yelling on the street told me.  I am tempted to believe him, I mean why shouldn't I?  Should the opportunity Christmas provides be that exclusive? Shouldn't succumbing to the pressures of social obligation and consumerism in order to shamelessly curry favor among our closest friends and family be a global right?  An opportunity, a time of renewal when we can admit our wrongs with the veil of sincerity that only the "Holiday Spirit"could provide to even our most proud and childish actions of self preservation.  Like that time you made fun of your Aunt Gladys's goiter at Thanksgiving in order to ensure that the whole family knew that YOU, had the best joke about the abnormal protuberance on her neck.  Now only a month later one has the perfect opportunity for a most appropriate apology, while maintaining your untouchable reputation, and without the worry of having to sound like you mean it.  In fact it may be the perfect opportunity to include an inconspicuous slight, referring to her unusually large jowls or perhaps her gluten allergy.  A sample apology for this situation could go:

"Hey Aunt Gladys, I am so glad I could see you this year for Christmas.  I think the goiter is looking much better now actually, and that necklace makes it almost unnoticeable.   I really hope that we can forget about the comment I made over Thanksgiving.  I would hate it if the memory of my immaturity was to ruin this years Christmas, I even made special effort to find gluten free flour, so as not to repeat last years bloating incident. "

Yes, let the season do the talking.  No one wants to be blamed for "ruining the holidays" by holding grudges because of something frivolous or especially  something they are told is frivolous.  This is the lesson that people of all races, religions, and ethnicities from the whole world take to heart at Christmas time: forgetting all wrong doing  in order to come together and exalt mighty Jesus, despite the heinous problems of accuracy still plaguing current editions of his biography.  So while we go forth through this holiday season keep my advice in mind.  Go repair some burnt bridges, so as to burn them again.  This season, is a veritable playground for all the malevolent self-interested games you know you love to play.  But why should you create a scene in the middle of dinner and deal with everyones immediate scorn, when you can assert your unreasonable sense of entitlement not on but through Christmas, to New Years, and well into easter by learning some false sincerity, all while behaving in accordance to your obvious superior standing.

-Sound Out Loud


Seasons Greetings From The Beatles - The Beatles (1964)

Happy X-Mas(War is Over) - John Lennon


(For all Beatles Christmas Recordings Click Here!!)

Gourmet's Best Cookies: A sweet goodbye.

Watch Cookie Monster Muppets Sesame Street Letter C in Entertainment  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
Since this last November, Gourmet magazine has shut its presses.  This tragedy in the world of food journalism is both a telling sign of the times and a chilling reminder of Bon Appetite's monolithic presence as the cold indifferent journalistic face of big-agro and big-food-services(well....maybe not so much).  Anyways, to relive this magazines historic journey and explore the ever evolving American palate, they have posted a journey through the best cookies of the past 70 years.  Because of my particular geography, I am deciding to single out the black and white cookie as a recipe to post.

MINI BLACK-AND-WHITE COOKIES

MAKESABOUT 5 DOZEN COOKIES

• ACTIVE TIME:1 HR
 
• START TO FINISH:1 1/2 HR

DECEMBER 2005

The unofficial cookie of New York City is shrunken down to dainty proportions just right for the holiday dessert tray. Using a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch tip, pipe rounds 2 inches apart.

This is just one of Gourmet’s Favorite Cookies: 1941-2008. Although we’ve retested the recipes, in the interest of authenticity we’ve left them unchanged: The instructions below are still exactly as they were originally printed.

FOR COOKIES

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg

FOR ICINGS

• 2 3/4 cup confectioners sugar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 to 6 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

• 
  

  SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: 

  a small offset spatula
  
  

MAKE COOKIES:

• Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 2 large baking sheets.
  
  
  
  
• Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.
  
  
  
  
• Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture, and mixing just until smooth.
  
  
  
  
• Drop rounded teaspoons of batter 1 inch apart onto baking sheets. Bake, switching positions of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed, edges are pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 6 to 8 minutes total. Transfer to a rack to cool.
  
  

MAKE ICING WHILE COOKIES COOL:

• Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl until smooth. If icing is not easily spreadable, add more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time. Transfer half of icing to another bowl and stir in cocoa, adding more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to thin to same consistency as vanilla icing. Cover surface with a dampened paper towel, then cover bowl with plastic wrap.
  
  
  
  

ICE COOKIES:

• With offset spatula, spread white icing over half of flat side of each cookie. Starting with cookies you iced first, spread chocolate icing over other half.
  
  
  COOKS’ NOTE: Once icing is dry, cookies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature 4 days.
  

An Audio Representation:

Black and White World - Elvis Costello

Avante Undergrad: the Undergraduate Composers Concert

So last night we had the undergraduate composers' concert in the Silver Building at NYU.  This is the highly anticipated recording of our concert that I made.  If anyone else in the class has recordings let me know if/where you post them online.
To those of you who weren't in attendance this recording is the culmination of my principals of composition course that I took this past semester.  It was a great night with a great array of different sounds and insights into the compositional process. Thanks a lot to prof. Kampela for being such a dedicated instructor and everyone in the class for providing your insight.  It was great seeing what we all did this semester, I wish you all the best with your music in the future!

Introduction

A Display of Mackerel - Adam Waller

To Whom it May Concern...

(or: To the Customer Service Dept. at Shoe Mania in Union Square) - Joshua Cahan

Fluid Foliage - Nana Kaneko

Sunrise Blinding - Melisa Magrath

But you have a song - Christine Malvasi

Flutequartet Paralysis - Chris Shim

A Transfigured Home - David Aragona

This is what I wrote about my piece:

First and foremost I would like to thank prof. Kampela for guiding us all along our way with our pieces.  Without his direction, insight and gentle critical hand my piece, to its detriment, would not have taken the form it did.  To Whom it May Concern... is about ideas and memory.  About the places we go in our mind that excite and intrigue us.  Whether writing a letter or composing a piece of music, turning conception into representation at any level requires fluency, logic, and the common decency of art.  But what occurs between an idea and its eventual representation; the carving, the molding, the frustration, inspiration, and resultant feelings involved are all part of the creative process.

The mysticism with which the creative process is represented, as being ascribed to genius or the result of an opportunity, I feel dilutes the emotional journey involved in art, science, or even something as mundane as writing a letter.  Roland Barthes speaks of Einstein as being popularly characterized by his simultaneously magical and mechanical brain.  This places the realm of creativity relegated to a gifted few at one end and tediously manufactured by drones. at the other.  Neither is true in my mind.  My conception of conception, so to speak, is closer to that of a feeling grounded by experience, delving into the essence of ones intuition. That making and recognizing beauty is an act of involving oneself in ones undertakings speaks to the very impulse of art, thought, and science. Which is what I attempt to represent and present with To Whom it May Concern... .

As a mind begins putting idea to paper, knowledge from all areas are drawn upon, compared, related, and prioritized.  Often we prepare, but if we are ruminating over the years or days we meander through our momentary recollections. If, through our efforts, we are lucky enough to land upon something exciting or intriguing (regardless of intellectual weight, revolutionary implication, or even individualism), pride bubbles through in that we can now hold on to a new facet that may have never appeared weren't it for the chance encounter of mind, effort, and experience within ourselves.  Confusion, anxiety, rays of hope, and (in the case of this piece) triumphant conclusion are all part of the story of art, science, faith, relationships, and study.  Day in day out.  Sense, common sense, and uncommon sense are all manifested through  passion and insight - always producing, jotting down, remembering, reconciling, relating and often times relenting, walking through a world with ones head blissfully above the clouds, but only if we listen...

                                               piano m.26 

Cookin' W/ Sharon' : Sharon and her Dap Kings on IFC's Cooking with the Band

So being related to both food, one of my very first blog posts, and one of my favorite bands I was super excited to hear that Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings would be making an appearance on IFC's new show with LES tattooed hipster chef Sam Mason  called "Cooking with the Band".  Food and music, together? Like that would ever be interesting... What type of twisted individual would ever think of syndicating a show focusing on two such disparate topics?  Well the Village Voice didn't much care for the new show, calling it "the end of reality cooking shows or the death of indie rock or both".   Really Village Voice? I mean really?  Frankly I would expect more from the Voice.  Indie rock has clearly been dead for at least a year.  And who ever said they had enough of Padma Lakshmi?

Well anyway, being a fan of the band (I know admittedly little about the guy they are cooking with, besides that I always go running past his restaurant, W-50,  on Clinton St.), I certainly enjoyed the episode although I would have preferred that Sharon or some other members of the band had shared their own recipes instead of just kinda awkwardly standing around.  I learned a few things too from the show.  For starters I never knew that drummer Homer Steinweiss has a food blog and I am definitely going to use my food processor to make a marinade out of cilantro at some point in the near future.  Anyways, my business is not in TV reviews, so my advice is to check out the article and video preview on the New York Times website.

For your enjoyment I am going to put up the song that got me hooked on Sharon Jones oh about two and a half years ago.  This song is, in my opinion the best protest song I have ever heard from this past (understatement) tumultuous decade entitled What if We Stopped Paying Taxes?  Also coincidentally I ran into my friend Evelyn who works at Human Rights Watch and gave me their new fundraising cd entitled Causes 2 produced by the record company Waxploitation (of Danger Mouse and Gnarls Barkley fame) which includes a new track by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, covering Bob Marley's tune It Hurts to Be Alone.  This is a great new little number.  I don't think that Sharon has the best vocal performance on this one but there is most definitely something about those horns. The thing about the Dap Kings, being a great band, is that they always pull through.  Yes, something about those horns indeed...

The Momofuku : David Chang

Meet David Chang.  I mentioned one of his many east village establishments not too long ago, Momofuku Milk Bar, with their very delicious pastries and cereal milk soft serve.  A new "it" chef, of sorts, in New York City, Chang is quite the character.   This is a great video of him getting drunk, eating korean fried chicken, and then cooking up some munchies... its as good as it sounds. If only they could find someone. in addition to Anthony Bourdain, to do this on T.V.



David Changs Pork Recipe (From video)

"A couple teaspoons of salt

Some black pepper

And a couple hours of don't fuckin' worry about it."

Roasted Pumpkin and Fingerling Potatoes with Thyme and Black Mission Figs

So this is a riff on a recipe I got from my old Harmony and Counterpoint professor Jairo Moreno, who you may remember from my roasted chicken post. He mentioned the original pumpkin free recipe in class last fall and I have been trying to make it for some time, but I must admit finding all the proper ingredients all in one trip to the grocery store is a little tricky. Even the humongous Whole Foods on Houston St. has fingerling potatoes only sporadically, and happening upon a pumpkin, especially small enough to not be eating pumpkin for the next two weeks, forget about it... Luckily if you want to whip this up in a flash you could use any gourd or small baking potato you prefer though I have to say that the fingerling potatoes have a suppleness and a certain bite size elegance hard to find in other varieties.

The original recipe I heard from Jairo didn't have the pumpkin but a few weeks ago I was invited to a pumpkin food party, and with the right pantry items on hand, I couldn't resist myself.  This is a perfect fall meal.  Hearty, rustic, and elegant this dish would be sure to impress next to your favorite roasted pheasant or quail recipe.  Come on, you know you are tempted...


Fingerling potatoes
Dried mission figs
Oolong Tea
Thyme
Olive Oil
Salt

Boil and prepare the tea in enough water to cover all the figs.  Cover the figs with hot tea and keep submerged till enough tea has been absorbed and the figs are turgid such that they will stay moist during cooking, this should take an hour or two.  Preheat oven to 400.  Put figs in baking pan w/ potatoes (cut lengthwise in half if you prefer) and drizzle with olive oil.  Add salt and thyme, then mix till seasoned evenly.   Bake at 400 till potatoes are for tender (around 45, probably more)

Bulgarian Choral Singing

So I apologize about not posting much this semester. Ever since I lost my big desk, started guitar lessons, and cancelled my Facebook (I highly recommend it, but if you don't care to thats cool too) I haven't been spending much of my free time on the computer.  Needless to say I still have been accumulating sonic and culinary goodies to share with you, my digital friends.  Now procrastinating on a Celtic music paper, I feel inspired to make a quick post.
This friday I met with my thesis advisor to talk about my project on the Old Town School and my plan for next semester.  When I got there I heard some really intriguing and entrancing music coming out of his office.  Being a scholar of post Soviet Russian and Eastern European music, Martin was just showing a fellow music major some Bulgarian choral music, and invited me in to listen.   He explained that the classically composed music I was hearing is based off of their traditional musical language but has been gaining larger recognition in the folk and art music world of late.   So I thought it would be nice to share some with you.
The singers that you hear are all trained to sing in the traditional Bulgarian style in a conservatory setting,  as opposed to the classical conservatory one would find in "the west" .  You can tell that their tone is brighter, sharper, and pure.  I am no expert on Bulgarian singing but this sound is most likely achieved maintaining their tongue much more forward in their mouths when they sing and using more of their "head voice" (though I would imagine, sufficient support from the diaphragm is needed to not ruin ones voice, head singing as its called can be quite tough on the vocal chords).  The music is marked  Also what is strange about the music, as mentioned before is the meter, this first song is  in 7/16.  This means that there are 1 + 3/4 quarter notes per measure,  which means in short pretty weird.  See if you can tap it out on your foot, its difficult. I think it should go "One, two, three; one, two, three, four" with the emphasis on both ones.  The second one sounds much more classically western, I don't really like it as much but its still good.

Bobby Womack: Fly Me to the Moon

The name Bobby Womack never really had great associations in my mind, for one reason or another. The other day however I was really taken by his version of the standard Fly Me to the Moon and decided to check him out. Now I think he is one cool chameleon, if I may say so myself.

I have two selections today. Fly Me to the Moon, is the first song off of his 1969 album of the same title and is a very clever reinterpretation of a classic but, in my opinion, oft tired song. Luckily in this version there is really something to the swing of the band and the way the instrumentation and feeling progresses. The opening guitar riff is warm and natural; and an instant hook. You can hardly recognize the song the weren't it for the horns along with the heavy two's and four's.

Opening with yet another great (though this time shorter, thus one can follow sweeter too) guitar intro is the next song on the album. Baby you Oughta Think it Over, is a textbook example of a great vocal performance. Listen to the saxophones as they emphasize Womack's entrances, each of which he is more than up for the challenge. Really, trust me, listen to it! One of my favorite things about soul music is how the different artists play can around with the many layers of their songs, simply and to such effect. The way that Womack's epic performance is framed by his band makes it that much more valuable, I think. Having a song that fully engages ten to fifteen musicians at all time is a rare thing, and with great soul you can feel the band as a single entity pushing the song forward. This is no exception, but the way that his voice rises above the band is what soul I guess is really about: getting yourself lost in pure unfettered celebration of emotion and then-some...

Caetano Veloso: Sweetness in Song

So this Monday I began guitar lessons with composer/guitarist Arthur Kampela (sweet video included) learning all the ins and outs of the Bossa-Nova style, well... at some point that will be the case but now we are only working on the rudiments of technique. Anyways he gave me some names to check out. Names like Getz, Gilberto, and the so called "Bob Dylan of Brazil" Caetano Veloso (follow link for out of print albums legal for download). Looking up this last name I stumbled upon this little diddy Voce e Linda, and haven't been able to get it out of my head since. The song drips with sweetness, in the smoothness of the voice, the bounce of the guitar, it is everything that makes you want to forget about your work (like now, for both you when you read this and I as I write) and everything attached just to spend your time lost in a world suspended on the six strings of a guitar and the rapidly undulating membranes of Veloso's voice box. Voce e linda, voce e linda, ahh sweetness...

Also highly recommended:

La Flor de La Canela - Caetano Veloso

For No One - Caetano Veloso (Beatles Cover)

Green Papaya Salad

So last weekend I attended a Thai cooking class with my parents at the Institute of Culinary Education, who were visiting New York for the weekend. Armed with a veritable bevy of pungent fish sauce off we went to cook many authentic thai dishes from green curry to steamed fish with a tamarind sauce, and of course the ubiquitous pad thai... with all the fish sauce you ever wanted. Here is what I thought to be the most interesting recipe from the class. It is a recipe for a green papaya (aka unripened) salad. It has a sweet and savory flavor with all the spectrum of flavors that you would expect from a thai dish. Both exotic and refreshing this salad is something definitely worth going out of your way to make, just to try it. And once you do try it, I am sure you will want to make it for company or whoever seems to be around at the time.

For the Dressing:

2 large cloves garlic, pressed/minced

6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

3 tablespoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons palm sugar

1 red bird's eye chili pepper, seeded and minced finely (wear gloves)

Non-Dressing Items:

1 pound green papaya, peeled seeded and coarsely shredded/grated or julienne

2 carrots, shredded/grated

2/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves, washed well and dried

Up to 4 tablespoons peanuts, crushed

1. Make the dressing by whisking together pressed garlic, lime juice, fish sauce, palm sugar, and chili pepper until sugar is dissolved.

2. Add the papaya, carrots, and cilantro to dressing, tossing well. Salad may be made 2 hours ahead and chilled, covered. Bring salad to room temperature before serving.

3. Sprinkle with peanuts and serve.

Summer of Soul Update: Mayer Hawthorne's "Maybe So Maybe No"

This artist was brought to my attention by Soul-Sides the other day with the track

"Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin' Nothin'"

Soul-Sides' originator Oscar Wang called his most recent album too derivative, as if that was bad thing. Though most people think that being derivative is a mark against ones creativity, I think it is beneficial to the creative process as a whole. Commercial music has been obsessed with standing out and sounding impeccable, often times to great result. But the way music is made today is not how it will always be made, this process creates, in my opinion what is an unrealistic expectation placed on artists, to be completely original. Let me remind you we only have 12 different notes in western music. And especially when we recognize that what most of us consider to be a "good" pop song, follows a I-IV-V-I pattern (maybe with a deceptive cadence here, and a quick key change there). Really with most pop songs the key difference is a guitar riff or two and how angry the lead singer tends to be, speaking plainly of course.

I happen to be of the opinion the music is music, and soul is soul, and that I like soul a lot. With most music regardless of genre as long as the song doesn't bore me to death or hurt my ears, I will listen to it. Soul as a musical form, has an uplifting sound that is both easy to identify with and easy to dance to. In addition it also has a pretty well defined sound which makes it easy to copy for the reason that any listener need not know the theory (beyond basic instrumental or vocal competency) because chances are they already are more than familiar with the feeling. And therefore, if one wished, or if millions of people wished, they could all have soul cover bands and have a good time doing it. This is not the case with a form like American Idol style pop because it is largely based on vocal virtuosity and complicated studio polished arrangements for its effectiveness. Rock and Roll on the other hand seems to be too fragmented these days (between emo, indie-pop, indie-rock, pop rock, garage rock, punk rock, pop punk, etc...) to have a sound to be so recognizable. In my nebulous unprovable opinion I think that this drive for originality drove rock and roll away from its initial instinct in terms of feel, and has not found its way back on course since the late seventies, except for maybe a brief period relegated to the the first two Strokes albums (Room on Fire of course originally being chastised for its sameness with respect to Is This It, while six years later both remain among the top rock albums of the last decade). So my advice, find a sound or a band you love, copy the hell out of it/them with a few friends, and see what you get from there. No one thinks you are going to be the next pop superstar, so why even bull shit yourself into thinking to get the best result by "doing your own thing". Imitation is the purest form of flattery, so just give what you love the respect it deserves.

Here is Mayer Hawthorne's cover of Maybe So Maybe No - By the New Holidays which you of course remember from the Summer of Soul: Electric Boogaloo '09 playlist I posted a while back. Its still warm out I guess, and we haven't had the autumnal equinox, so keep that soul kickin'.

Momofuku's Milk Bar and Bill Withers

So the other night I was having dinner at the Redhead, a great restaurant on 13th St. btwn 1st and 2nd with my Sister her boyfriend and a friend of theirs from law school, a foodie and brooklyn native. I had a great burger there and my sisters fried Chicken was excellent as well (maybe, just maybe better than Harold's in Chicago). I didn't taste the tenderloin or the beet green ravioli, but all reports were positive as well. Also the complimentary cookie they provided at the end of the most excellent repast, was superb. A chocolate fudge cookie devilishly garnished with coarse salt on top. After a chance encounter with an old freind of my sister's on the street we continued down 13th to Momo Fuku's Milk Bar, the home of the famed Cereal Milk Soft Serve. I tried a sample of this frozen, sweetened cornflake milk and was pleasantly surprised by the delicacy and non-grossness of its nostalgic corn-flake essence (though I have lately been into weird ice cream flavors. To wit, be on the look out for an avocado ice cream recipe). We also tried their blueberry pie, and compost cookie which was made with everything from pretzels to coffee. My favorite treat however was their so called "Crack Pie", which is kinda like a pecan pie without the pecan's, so needless to say it is pretty rich. This carmely pie with an oat cookie crust I describe "as almost as good as crack, but not really as good as crack". Overall Momo Fuku's was full of delicious surprises with a nice village vibe that helps to keep the place packed on most nights. I don't normally do restaurant reviews, though I have been told I should (and may do more), the reason I am writing about this particular night was because of the music I heard when I first walked in to Momo Fuku's. Though I didn't know it at the time the familiar voice accompanying my funky funky entrance music was that of Bill Withers, the man behind the ubiquitous singles Lean on Me and Ain't No Sunshine. The song instantly hit me, so much so I had to ask my server what we were listening to so I could share it with you, my loyal reader. So here it is a Bill Withers Remix (though it is not too different from the original) of Lovely Day to go with your crack, or your crack pie, or maybe just some old cereal milk you had lying around.