"Seriously, Dude, Gimme Me That Chili Recipe" Tuesday

[Moetown]

Well Caw, when your out there in the trenches, moving vans and dinners at 8:00 don't do much to keep your battalion alive.

[Poop Fresh-Herbed Pickles]

i wound up in this site and was pleased to discover that Grifters are SAFE!

Yay! Now I don't have to wear condoms on my ears when I listen.

[Moetown]

You do if you're trying to prevent the spread of infection diseases.

[Moetown]

So it's Spring Break and I've got about 70 or 80 hotties (male and female) dancing in their bathing suits to hip hop beats.

[Moetown]

I think Kelly Clarkson's supposed to show up soon to kick this party into high gear.

[Moetown]

News flash: Sammy the cat is very ill. I'm quite worried about him. If you could please say a prayer, do a dance, perform a sacrifice, or some other ceremonial activity for him, we'd all appreciate it.

[Moetown]

Meanwhile, I'll be scouring the countryside for a better avatar.

[Poop Fresh-Herbed Pickles]

I think Kelly Clarkson's supposed to show up soon to kick this party into high gear.

What the hell am I watching?

If you could please say a prayer, do a dance, perform a sacrifice, or some other ceremonial activity for him, we'd all appreciate it.

I don't see why not.  He can't piss on any of my stuff from over there.

Hang in there, Sams!

[Poop Fresh-Herbed Pickles]

Do you like Stephen Chow, Moe.  Have you seen "God of Cookery" yet?

[Poop Fresh-Herbed Pickles]

(Kicks at the ground and mutters...)

I was just trying to give him an obscure Hong Kong movie so he doesn't go and kill himself.

[Pogo!]

and as usual, the most important ingredient in all cooking is what music you choose to have on in the kitchen while working.   drinking the proper booze comes in a close second.

Amen.
The key to any good chili is slow cook it for about 8 hours and make it as unhealthy as possible. No lites, don't drain the fat from the meat, and put a bunch of everything in it. Thats pretty much all it takes.

[Pogo!]

and chili with no meat is bean soup

[Bizarro]

i don't want to harsh on gocat's mellow with the bishop allen peoples, but i heard them featured on Weekend Edition Sunday on NPR several months ago and both shelley and i were recoiling in disgust at how smug they seemed and how obvious it was that they were trading on their East Coast Ivy League Connections^® and how many bands never get a national media outlet plug like that despite the years of work and how serious they take their craft.  and we both laughed at their twee li'l "songs."  but that's not to say they won't be able to save you from suicide, moetown.  we're just a couple of bitter jaded breeders up here in the dairyland.

Just to reiterate: last night I saw a show that wasn't mentioned in a single media outlet. It featured a band of four extremely personable, painfully average people who patiently waited for their turn to play which came during the intermission of an open mic night. The cover for this show was $3. Before the show, they took turns selling their self-pressed CDs and self-made t-shirts, and spoke affably to everyone who came their way. Their set was played to approximately 75 people, exactly 6 of whom by my count (including me and my two friends) seemed to have the foggiest idea who they were. The others were mostly people waiting for their turn to do bad Natalie Imbruglia covers. Even so, the band I saw played a balls-out, sweaty set to complete strangers, grinning, jumping, and dancing, all the while.

If there is privilege or advantage involved in that story, I am baffled as to where it might come in. What's more, this seems to be fairly typical for Bishop Allen. For example, last year, when there wasn't a venue in Oklahoma available when they were coming through, they played my friend Steve's dad's porch and slept in his parent's basement. They also made friends with Steve and his friends well enough that when I saw them last night almost a year later, they were tickled to meet one of Steve's friends. (Steve, by the way, like most bartenders in Tulsa, has precious few East Coast Ivy League connections.)

So from what I've seen and heard and what my friends have seen and heard (and experienced while hosting them in their homes) Bishop Allen are fairly cool, nice, average people distinguished mostly by their unabashed, even exuberant love of rock songs with hand claps and "way-oh" harmony vocals. Goofily sincere, you might say.

Whether their songs are twee is, of course, up to the listener, but given what I've seen of them, it seems unlikely to me that they're garnering undue attention based on background. It seems altogether more likely that any exposure they might be getting (or not... again - their gig last night wasn't mentioned in a single local paper) has to do with the fact that they play tons of gigs a year, even on porches and at open mics, and that a lot of people (including me) think their record is really really good.

But hey, you forgave me for hating that Breeders record, Tom, so tastes may vary.

[matthew]

That Breeders album was pretty terrible.

Next thing we know, The Pixies will reunite and release 3 new songs.

[matthew]

Pogo's signature moves. I like things that move.