Entries tagged with “Administrivia” from Malt & Barley Chronicles

Welcome to one and all, especially for those making their way here from the Mountains (Barstool and Big Rock Candy) to see what might give one the courage to volunteer in judging the 100 greatest drinking songs.  The Malt and Barley Chronicles represent my halting attempts to sample and review beers that cross my path.  Along the way, there may be some commentary on beer-related topics, whether music or gadgets or just something that seems malted or refreshing.  Suggestions, comments, criticism are all welcome and appreciated.  Stop in, wander out, whatever suits your fancy ... I'll still be here (or over at Deadly Tango, my music/law/technology site) when you come back around.  Thanks.

I plan to hide this particular St. Patrick's Day -- it's one of those "amateur" days and I have two Irish pubs in my neighborhood that will be overrun with the idiots.  Instead, I have a bottle of single malt Irish whiskey at home and I drank my fill of stout (both Guinness and Murphy's) last weekend, and songs like this for my stereo...

• The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem - Mountain Dew (live!)

I grew up listening to the "Irish Hit Parade" on a Boston AM radio station most Saturday and Sunday afternoons, even though I'm third-generation (and therefore ineligible to claim citizenship). I have very little patience for the "irish tenors" slop, but I will gladly stomp my feet to something like this.  If you can't smile after hearing a classic folk tune reconstructed this way, you clearly need to join the heathens in the pubs this Saturday.  Slainte!

No, I didn't give up beer for Lent... it's just taking a while to finish off the case of River Horse ESB (to be reviewed shortly) that I received after a friend's Super Bowl party.

In other news, however, I've been lucky enough to be selected as a judge to help pick the 100 greatest drinking songs of all time, a project originating with the kind proprietor of Big Rock Candy Mountain.  The list is fairly heavy on country material (as one would expect), but here are a few of my personal favorites for consideration.

• Scrawl -- Green Beer (from "He's Drunk," Rough Trade US, 1988)
  
• Scrawl -- Rot (from "Smallmouth," Rough Trade US, 1989)
  
• Scrawl -- Rocky Top (from "He's Drunk")

Scrawl was a fantastic country-tinged rock band from Columbus, Ohio who had one of the worst runs of record-label-luck imaginable.  These three songs are from their second and third LPs and run the gamut from a song about keggers to a breakup song that ends in drinking to something one might expect to hear at the end of a homesick drunken evening.  It's worth tracking down just about anything they recorded.

• Polkacide -- Who Stole The Keeshka? (from "Polkacide," Subterranean, 1986)
• Polkacide -- In Heaven There Is No Beer (from "Polkacide")

Polka is happiness.  Polka is barroom and dancehall music.  Polka is drinking music.  I could have added the punk/polka version of "Roll Out The Barrel," but I prefer "Keeshka" -- and "In Heaven..." is just too surreal to leave behind.  Polkacide recorded this first album in 1986 in San Francisco and still plays from time to time today, including a gig last Saturday in Oakland.

And from previous posts in the Deadly Tango / Malt & Barley axis:

• Crawling Chaos -- Guinness (from "The Gas Chair," Factory Benelux, 1981)
  
• The Cannanes -- Take Me To The Hotel, Johanna (And Let's Trash The Joint) (from "A Love Affair with Nature," Feel Good All Over, 1990)

I'll be sure to file another report once the judging is in full swing...

From the BBC and Associated Press -- a brew for man's best friend.  I can't say that I'd be sampling it any time soon (beef extract isn't my flavor of choice along with malted barley, even if Guinness has been reputed to have some kind of animal component), but I certainly share the sentiments of its creator.

From Slashdot and The Register -- England Starts Fingerprinting Drinkers.  I can understand some forms of crowd control, but this seems a wee bit over the top.  Then again, England is reputed to be one of the hardest-drinking countries on the planet... there was a great BBC News article on the subject a few weeks back, but I can't seem to find it any more.

Yes, the Malt and Barley Chronicles are now a year old.  About 40 reviews in 52 weeks (along with a few other stories) -- not a bad pace.  Now if I can just keep it up ... not that this is a tough hobby to maintain, but finding new beers (while still enjoying some old favorites) can get a little tricky sometimes.  Here's to another year -- Prosit!

If you've ever visited Deadly Tango, a sister site to these here Chronicles, you know that I have an interest in music that is certainly equal to (if not greater than) my interest in beer.  Happily, those interests sometimes come together -- a night at local watering hole with a solid jukebox or band, or a song that captures the spirit and camaraderie of that kind of night.  From the LP "The Gas Chair" (Factory Benelux 1981), I present suggest that you visit Crawling Chaos and their interpretation of a slightly raucous night at the pub, "Guinness."(*)  If you like this one, head on over to Deadly Tango for a few more selections from Crawling Chaos -- no two songs are even remotely the same, but in a good way. 

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming, already in progress ...

(*) UPDATE, 19-May-2007: MP3 removed at request of copyright holder.  Now that Crawling Chaos has a formal web presence, I heartily recommend that you visit their site (or check out eMusic, with two albums available) and be amazed.