I love making playlists on Spotify. Here’s a new one that I’m adding to every now and then: A Life’s Soundtrack. After seeing Concrete Blonde last night at opening night for The Sinclair in Harvard Square, I was reminded yet again how better the world is with music. Cheesy, but goddamn true!
The Soozle Mix :: Volume 1
Several years ago I started experimenting with a summertime cocktail called The Soozle. The ingredients varied each year. This past Memorial Day Weekend at OldJack headquarters in Arlington I decided to settle on the final ingredient list: Fresca, bourbon/whiskey, large orange slice and ice.
What’s in The Soozle?
- 1 tall glass (a beer glass works well)
- Ice (if it’s a hot day outside, fill glass 3/4 full)
- 4-5 parts Fresca
- 1-2 parts bourbon (or whiskey)
- 1 gratuitously large orange slice squeezed and dropped in
This cocktail does an excellent job sneaking up on you. If you don’t think you can’t taste the bourbon, do not add extra bourbon. After a few cocktails, you’ll be bourbon-ed up just fine.
And like any Sooz Creation™, there is a Facebook page that came to life on Tuesday. Click the like button to join The Soozle posse.
And also like any Sooz Creation™, there is a soundtrack. The Soozle Mix :: Volume 1 includes the cocktail’s house band OldJack plus Lloyd Cole, DJ Champion and more. You can listen to it via the 8tracks player below. Additional volumes of The Soozle Mix will be released throughout the summer.
SoozMix: An iTunes Genius mix based on “Born” by Over The Rhine
[tweetmeme] iTunes’ Genius is an awesome way to rediscover music you already have but may not have listened to in a while. Yesterday I told it to make a mix based on “Born” by Over The Rhine. The result was a perfect mix for a moody, chilly Sunday afternoon. It includes songs by Over The Rhine, Patty Griffin, Great Northern, Gillian Welch, Calexico & Iron Wine, Nickel Creek, Dar Williams, Ray LaMontagne and Sarah Harmer.
SoozFavorites: 10 Songs by The Tragically Hip
(Photo of Gord Downie from The Tragically Hip by hernandezfisher on Flickr.)
It’s not exactly easy to select a “favorite band”; but if I have to pick one, it would be The Tragically Hip. The band is immensely popular in their homeland of Canada; but for whatever reason they’ve never really found that acclaim in the U.S. They’ll play stadium shows in Canada and mid-sized venues in Boston. (Think Gillette Stadium versus The Orpheum.) I saw them for the first time Fall 1992 during my sophomore year of college at the tiny Ranch Bowl in Omaha, NE. The place isn’t around anymore, which is too bad. It was a bowling alley, bar and night club. If it had a bookstore and record store, it would have been The Greatest Venue Ever(TM).
Here are ten songs by The Tragically Hip in an iTunes iMix that I recommend starting out with on your journey to becoming a fan of a truly great rock and roll band. Also worth checking out are Hip Base and Hip Fans, two fan sites.
New iTunes Playlist of Music Inspired by Early, Snowy Morning
This morning I had to get up at crazy o’clock to wait for the Peapod driver to show up. It was a late order on Friday so the only available time slot left for today was 7:30am-1pm. Somehow, amazingly, the driver showed up by 8am with my groceries. Brilliant! I don’t usually wake up that early on a Sunday morning. After putting away my groceries I decided to find some music that would make a good soundtrack for a sleepy and snowy morning. This is the iTunes playlist that I came up with. Enjoy!
iTunes Playlist of Music I played at the #pinkslipparty at Betahouse
Here’s the iTunes playlist of a bunch of the songs I played at the #pinkslipparty that @pistachio, @alexa and @tibbon organized and Betahouse hosted on Friday, January 9th. I got there a couple hours early and made chocolate truffles. @digiphile brought his own pans and ingredients to make crepes for everyone towards the end of the night.
If an event could have just the right amount of serendipity+awesomeness, this was it.