Washing Machine and DFH 90 Minute IPA

Sonic Youth is without question my favorite band of all time and Washing Machine is my favorite record of theirs. Sure, Daydream Nation is a landmark record and honestly "more important". Goo and Dirty were remarkable in their crossover success and introduced me to the band. But there is something about Washing Machine that feels to me like it is just the best example of what each member brings (or brought if it is true we will never see another release at this point). There is a balance between the noise and dissonant tuning and the pop sensibility and nod-along rhythm. There is no star on this record, Lee, Thurston, Kim, and Steve each did what they do best and complimented each other perfectly (check the 4:00 mark until the end of the title track if you doubt me; all guitar hero riffing backed with fuzzed out feedback wash straight ahead drums and sexed up vocal presentation, just fucking awesome).

Similar to this concept is DFH's 90 Minute IPA. Their 120 Minute would be Daydream Nation--special for sure, but not something to share with everyone I guess. Whereas this is just as balanced as Washing Machine. It is a superbly hopped beer, and in this case I figure the hops would be Thurston. They are what you want to focus on, but the other things happening are going to pull you away from just zeroing in on that. There is a perfect balance in each bottle, largely due to the excellent malt backbone (which would be Lee and Steve) here that keeps this from just blowing out your palate. The diversity of flavor comes through more and more with each drink, just as SY moves from tracks like A Junkies Promise to Unwind you can really start to appreciate all the facets of what they are capable of.

In addition, for a big IPA this is poundable for sure. It can be enjoyed during conversation amongst 10 friends without being the conversation point. Washing Machine can do the same. Just throw it on while everyone is sitting on the back porch and everyone can dig it without it becoming the focus of the gathering, but when all is said and done and everyone has had four beers or so, someone is going to ask you to burn them the record and where you got the DFH, success. Smiles abound.

Bottles and Rockets: The Beginning

The craft beer movement in America has exploded over the past couple of years no question. High end special release brews now cause a commotion that can only be compared to dangling a pork chop in a pool of piranhas. New breweries seem to be popping up every week and barring some terrible hop shortage the IPA may someday replace the American Pils and Lager as the staple of beer drinkers coast-to-coast.

High end restaurants that still reach for that young and hip credibility are serving craft beer and food pairings--menus carefully considered to ensure that 2007 Pepe Nero perfectly compliments a smoked game entree. This careful pairing process is without a doubt a labor of love for many at the forefront of the movement and has added to the respectability of the smaller American breweries in the eyes of the masses and as such beer, as a whole, has moved in to a new neighborhood.

In parallel with the growth of the craft beer movement has been the mainstreaming of independent music and artists. This may be a result of more access to a diverse world of music than there has ever been previously. Gone are the days of the mail order K Records and Kill Rock Stars singles clubs. They have been replaced with $0.99 digital downloads and well placed marketing options. Anyone in the world can now access the iTunes store and see the new Perfume Genius record on the front page and take a chance on a song or two without being out any more than what they would have spent on a lottery scratch off ticket.

The Black Keys, Bon Iver, and Arcade Fire are all Grammy award winners and have had their time in the national spotlight. For those who have watched the steady climb of these, and many other artists, from that time when they were just indie-darlings being blogged about on G vs B or Pitchfork to now when they are selling out huge venues worldwide, it has been a remarkably surreal ride (albeit with plenty of backlash).

In spite of the acceptance of these things that were less than ten years ago, still very much a strange sort of educated counter culture, there is of course still some weird feeling of loss. Things that were secret and dear and in-knowing nods at a dive bar jukebox are now plastered everywhere. It's not just the cooler-than-you late twenty something professional's world anymore, it is that guy's little sister in high school, and his father the plumber that are sitting in the backyard pounding some Caldera IPA cans and listening to Cut Copy.

All of that being said, make no mistake, I am no jaded aging hipster that has a problem with all of this. I love it. I especially love that it brings one of the most overlooked problems one can have on any given weekend to the forefront of any social event. A question that has kept so many of us (well, at least a few of us) up so many nights. That question my friends, "What well crafted record do you play to perfectly compliment any given well crafted beer?"

Well, fret no more, as you will find your answers here. That handmade Stereolab C-side compilation that you put together during Napster's high-point will now have a place at your next dinner party when you serve it up along side a four-to-six month aged Saison de Lente from the Bruery. You will no longer have to torture yourself with sub-par swill as you lock yourself in your house listening to Joy Division records and drinking way too much on the anniversary of Ian Curtis' death, nay, you will now reach that perfect state of mind on that day by slowly chipping away at a bomber of Yorkshire Stingo.

I hope that any of you reading this will find both some great records and some great beers that you may have overlooked otherwise, and in the same will let me know when I completely miss the mark. I also hope some of you will share some of your favorites and introduce me to some things I have been unknowingly missing. With that, I reckon the stage is set and I should get started.