22. Fugazi....just Fugazi

I wouldn't be much of a fan if I put a beer with anything Ian Mackaye was a part of. So today, take a day off and listen to Fugazi...loud!

23. Spacemen 3 and Left Hand Smoke Jumper Imperial Porter

There may have never been a better 1-2 punch than Sonic Boom and J Spaceman. What they created together defies categorization and stands up as truly timeless. They wore their influences on their sleeves no question; Velvet Underground, Suicide, Doors, gospel, drugs, tremolo, and they mixed it all up and out came this blissed out bit of troubled brilliance that left us in the end with a catalog full of slow burning hazy classics.

Choosing a smoked beer as the perfect companion to Spacemen 3 is kind of obvious, there has never been any question about the drug use of the band, and through a staggering use of an array of effects everything they did had this feel of being enveloped in this thick smoke, where everything slows down and is all pitch bends and technicolor.

So why a porter vice something like a smoked lager? Simple, I am of the opinion that no style of beer says rock and roll like a porter does. That jet black pour like dark sunglasses, that dirty-peaty taste is perfect for layers of gritty distortion and fuzz, the chocolate matching the sexed up overdrive, coffee for the comedown, big ABV because if you're going to do it you might as well as do it up proper, but when a porter or a great psych band hits just right, as this offering from Left Hand does and everything from Spacemen 3 did, it can also be so sweet and fucking smooth.

Every Spacemen 3 record deserves to be played at a pretty decent volume, as such any beer has to match that volume, it needs to be full of big flavors. With Smoke Jumper you get that huge roasty flavor and loads of big smoke, coffee, caramel, brownies even (making it even more fitting). But in spite of being fuzzed out and all rock, there was never a real rush to get anywhere with a Spacemen record, everything just rolled along and got where it was going whenever it got there. That makes this beer even more perfect for them as I can pour a tulip of this and just sip away for 45 minutes or so, just building my buzz slowly but very surely (at 9+% this will do some damage).

It's unfortunate that we will never see a Spacemen reunion, Jason just isn't going to have it. But their legacy and influence is stunning. From the post-rock blitz that occurred the latter part of the 90s into the early part of this millennium, to the blissed out drones of Emeralds, and the stunning minimal guitar work of guys like William Fowler Collins, they have reached across the spectrum of artists making challenging, exciting, music for over twenty years now and their influence continues to grow as people go in reverse from Spiritualized and Sonic Boom's solo projects and find themselves rediscovering this band. Similarly, I expect at some point in the near future we will see the porter explode within the craft beer market. The IPA and APA have been just about hopped to death, stouts have been pushed to crazy limits the past few years, but the porter has continued to not get the respect it deserves, it has kind of sat on the shelf and largely been ignored. When that time comes I am pretty sure Smoke Jumper will hold up as a gold standard and many of the flavors and the balance found here will be touched on by other brewers trying to create black gold.

 I started this by stating that there may have never been a better 1-2 punch than Sonic Boom and J Spaceman. Sure there are a lot of contenders there; Marr and Morrisey, Yorke and J Greenwood, Lee and Thurston, Kim Deal and Frank Black, Dre and Snoop, the list could go on forever, and I won't deny that anyone can make a legitimate case for any of those and many others. But for me, Spacemen 3 have always touched a certain nerve that no other band can. I don't really know what it is, it's kind of like that feeling of sitting on your couch across the room from your wife but you're not really engaged with her. She is reading and you are working out a new synth patch but there's comfort and warmth in knowing she is still there. That strange but wonderful feeling of being completely alone in the loving company of someone else...that is Spacemen 3 for me, and nothing goes better with that feeling than this jet black pour of a damn near perfect beer; sweet, warming, heady...just bliss.

24. Unwound and Hair of the Dog - Matt

Let's just get right to it here; Unwound were fucking amazing. Even as I write this I can't understand why I have them all the way down at #24 (there is a formula used here adapted from one John Sellers came up with a while back that I will get around to explaining at some point). I will sadly admit however, that I initially missed the bus with this band and had never heard a note of their music prior to their last album. With that said, I will unapologetically admit that this was the first band that I developed a completely unhealthy obsession with and found myself transformed into Unwound Super Fanboy #1 overnight.

After my first listen to Leaves Turn Inside You I immediately went on a mad scramble to track down everything I could find by these guys. I found myself involuntarily having to share the gospel of Unwound to complete strangers who had the good fortune of stopping next to me at traffic lights; Me with car stereo turned up vulgarly loud: "Dude, you hear this?" Guy in car next to me: blank stare. Me: "It's Unwound. They're pretty much the best band ever." Guy in car next to me: horrified stare rolling window up. Me: "You're welcome, dude". This went on for months...okay, it is still going on, only now I have this blog that apparently five people read, which is five times more powerful than that one guy at the stoplight on Nimitz Highway headed into Honolulu. I'm still pretty sure I changed his life though.

Anyways, Unwound were fucking amazing. There was so much thought and craft and balance in everything they did. The perfect blend of dissonance and harmony, drones danced alongside pounding drum beats, synths and guitars played off of each other in times and tunings that I will never understand--this is songcraft. Similarly, with the release of Matt, Hair of the Dog produced a great example of what is meant by "craft beer." Layers upon layers of flavor, perfectly synched, complicated, it's a beer that requires you to think about it while enjoying it, something Unwound does to me. Both of these are very cerebral experiences in my opinion.

I am going "The Light at the End of the Tunnel is a Train" here for comparison sakes (though I could have easily chosen any of fifty or so other songs). The opening on that track with the dilapidated  syncopated guitar in the forefront, the hook behind, then the theremin-esque entrance, it's so smooth and pretty. In the same way the nose on Matt is just leather, smoke, dark fruits, and just a touch of apple--dense and layered but earthy and still feels grounded. Smells that are familiar, pleasant, pretty, thereby for me comforting and relaxing even.

Around the 2:30 minute mark though the drums kick in. The guitars start to swirl and sweep things start going in a different direction. There is noise and excitement and attitude--it's that weird combination of brash and tempered that Unwound did so well. Again with Matt it's a very similar experience. The nose will draw you into this lull, and then that first sip things immediately pick up, so much happening. You get vanilla up front, chocolate on the finish, molasses from beginning to end, a hint of bourbon, caramel, cherry, fig, and that golden apple again. It's a total heady swirl of flavor that can send you absolutely reeling for a second.

Well, around the 5:00 mark Unwound gives you a bit of a comedown. Synth pads just kind of roam around, feedback buzzes in the background, a sort of recovery moment to let things sink in, and to establish pace. This works well with Matt as this provides a moment to really take in that flavor. Decide if they went too far or if they balanced this perfectly (I will tell you now it's the latter, save yourself some thought).

The comedown doesn't last long though. Somewhere around 6:30 minutes the drums come back in and pick up the pace, pounding, pulsing, and then immediately switching to an almost primitive beat with some plinkering in the background. Lo-fi samples come layered in and find their place in the perfectly orchestrated mess and there is just this excitement and rock 'n roll feel that comes shining through. For me, it is a similar feeling with Matt. There is so much here, it is exciting to know that someone out there put that much thought into making this beer. Every sip tastes just a bit different than the last. Each time it threatens to all just fall apart but something brings it back and makes it all work here. Something that Unwound did better than just about anyone, flirt with disaster and find perfection.

This is the spirit of rock people, push the fucking limits, take chances, put everything you have into defining your sound. Unwound did this on every song. They never rested on their laurels. They were noise, punk, post-what-the-fuck-ever...screw that...they were just Unwound. Nothing will ever be like them again. I fell the same way about Matt. I get that it technically falls into the Strong Ale world, but it certainly does not play by the rules. This beer is a golden standard of craft brewing. Unmistakably independent in spirit and probably won't be appreciated by as many people as it should be...something that can certainly be said about Unwound. I figure though, neither them or Hair of the Dog did it for anyone else but regardless it makes me happy to know that bottles of Matt and Unwound LPs exist in the world. It can't be too bad of a place with that, right?

25. Can and Allagash Curieux (Bourbon Barrel Aged Tripel)

I have been slacking on this project, apologies. As an attempt to move forward this kicks off a countdown of sorts. The next 25 posts will be my 25 favorite bands paired with 25 of my favorite beers. The order will be based on the bands vice the beer, but all quality guaranteed regardless.

To kick this whole project off at #25 is CAN. This may seem odd to take their catalog as a whole as you can definitely split CAN's output from the Malcolm Mooney records to the "classic" records when Damo came on board. However, I am of the opinion that though both front men deserve credit for being two of the best of their time, the backbone of the band with Shmidt, Czukay and Liebezit were what made CAN truly great. As such, it doesn't matter if you throw on Monster Movie or Ege Bamyasi, you are still going to have your mind blown.

Chances are if you are reading this I probably don't need to really convince you of CAN's brilliance. It is generally accepted (and deserved). However, if for some unknown reason you need convincing take a listen to "Yoo Doo Right" and "Oh Yeah". A listen to each of those will do way more for you than any amount of praise I can levy here on this page.

So, jumping ahead to the pairing explanation here.  CAN is so often hit with the "krautrock" tag which I just don't buy into honestly. The influence of Terry Riley and LaMonte Young and Velvet Underground and just smoky hazy New York underground of the time is so prevalent, but they took it a step further and blended it with that extremely technical sort of exploration that was happening in Germany at the time and the result is unlike anything that had occurred before or since. It's strange, difficult music, but oddly accessible. Those rhythms are just so sweet and propel things along with a sort of sensibility that still allow a 22 minute side to feel like just a great song vice some sort of epic bit of exploratory wankery which is often the downfall of extended psych freak outs. I don't even like the freak out word there, as they were always in control, which again comes back to that technical ability and restraint--maybe the result of the Stockhausen teachings, I don't know. Wherever it came from it is perfect.

How does that relate to the excellent Allagash offering here? Well, it's a Bourbon Barrel Aged Tripel--not something you see too often. The idea of taking that very American bourbon and blending it with the technical brewing that is so common with Belgians is a huge risk, but in this case has huge dividend. The whiskey comes through, you get that smoky American hit (the NY influence if you will) with that perfectly spice cake sweet unmistakable Tripel taste (the technical playing of the band here) and the result is unlike any other beer out there. In addition, this thing sits at a killer 11%. A bomber of this should be a task to get through, but it goes down so easy. You can just find your pace with a bottle of this and kill a couple of hours no problem, much like what CAN accomplished with their ability to move their albums/tracks along, it's all in the rhythm.

I recommend undertaking this pairing alone, maybe with a significant other. Pour the Curieux into a tulip glass, get that nice hazy straw/goldenrod color leveled out, and then let the hazy tones of CAN come through the speaker. Just fucking chill, listen, nod your head and drink.

Massive Attack - Mezzanine and Founders Dark Rich and Sexy Porter

Unarguably there is one word that will always bind beer and music; sex. It's what made rock and roll what it is. It's what fills the bars with twenty-something singles every Friday and Saturday night. This record and this beer should probably both come with a warning label because of it--this is for when shit get serious, take your Whiz Kalifa mixtape and $1.50 drafts elsewhere--no amateur hour here y'all.

This record, from the second you pull that slab of black wax (and yes, you better have this on vinyl for chrissakes) out from the white sleeve and drop that needle, immediately brings the heat. That deep, slow, pounding bassline and hard kick drum attack that open Angel just beg for low lights, lace, and leather. It sets the pace for this whole record as the whole track moves along with such restrained ferocity, a bit of a tease right before that filthy guitar comes in to call off all bets. The vocals all smoked out and fuck-me-eyed in their delivery just send this over the top right away--but did we learn nothing from Xavier McDaniel in Singles. Be patient as this is track after track of hard-dank-ass beats and beautiful melody, experimentation and familiarity, gruff male aggression and female frailty. Just sexed up as can be from bottom to top.

Now where does the porter come in? Well, in case you hadn't gathered the name of this beer could be the entire adjective bank for the record, Dark, Rich, Sexy, and this offering from Founders delivers on all fronts. This thing pours just jet black, and gives you that earthy, smoky yet sweet, rebellious smell and taste that only a good porter can. It's a slow drinker for sure, matching the pace of the record flawlessly. It's thick and creamy and the flavor just hangs on your breath on lips for what seems like forever. It's aggressive and up front and unrestrained but still so got-danged smooth and full of roasted chocolate that it's hard to not want more.

When put together these create that perfect hazy kind of euphoria. That feeling of only being slightly conscious but fully aware--blissed the fuck out. All senses firing at max capacity for two glasses, sixty-minutes of classic trip-hop. Draw the curtains--no regret.

The Congos - Heart of the Congos and Oskar Blues Brewing Mamas Little Yella Pils

Going in a bit of a different direction today. Reggae and pilsner, two things that have been done so wrong so many times that it might be easy to give up on both. However, when done right there are very few things better, and that is what we have here. 

Lee Perry had a tendency to get a bit carried away at Black Ark, there is no question about that. The Congos got right at the heart of the island though, and Lee let them bring the roots out here. Simple riddims, songs about what they knew, and oh my god those harmonies--Myton's soaring falsetto and the counter of Johnson's flawless tenor lifted these basic, comforting sounds, into the stratosphere ultimately creating perfection from simplicity. 

The same concept works for Oskar Blues here. In a time when so many breweries are so intent on turning up the volume and redefining the American beer, they get back to the beer that beer drinkers drink--the pilsner. It is unifying, it's comfortable, it's poundable and easy--just like roots reggae. As I mentioned before though, so many pilsners have gone wrong that they have unfortunately become identifiable with trash beer. These guys get it right here though. Mind you they haven't reinvented anything, the signature pilsner malt is still there, in color, on the nose, even on the first hit. But then there is this bit of lemon and grass and hint of hop presence that make this beer an absolute work of art. Of course, it also doesn't hurt that these little yellow cans are just oh so fucking dope.

So, you put these two things together at your next cookout. The Congos are playing, people are digging it because EVERYONE has gone through the reggae phase. Drinking Red Stripe, listening to Legend, fogging out the third floor of your college dorm, it is a rite of passage for anyone between the ages of 20-40. This record will get heads nodding, it might even get a couple of people up and dancing. Mama's Little Yella Pils isn't too strange or elitist that your normal Bud Light drinkers are going to turn it away. It's poundable and perfect for warm weather, just like the Congos. Two products here that have excelled by getting back at their roots. In some way they share a sense of quiet rebellion and calm all at once, and maybe that is more of why these are so perfect together.

Sure, the riddims and general vibe are going to get people into the music. But there is a sort of bleary eyed realism at work on the record also. Sometimes what we know and what we do isn't as easy as it seems. The Congos were hanging onto something that was quickly slipping away from Jamaica--an identity. This record dropped some fifteen years after independence and the mechanical urbanization that swept across the island, and by and large the islands plural, after that was an intense change I would assume. Dancehall with it's breakout stars like Yellowman echoed the change in pace. Musically the culture had come to America and there was money to be made here. The Congos songs about fishing and playing the drums and retaining a certain way of life were a call in some way for people to remember where they came from it seems. 

Perhaps Oskar Blues has made a similar statement here. Getting back to cans (which are completely perfect for a day on the river, or camping, or the end of a hike--those simple but perfect things) and abandoning the signature bomber of the craft beer world is a huge statement (one that I fully support and greatly appreciate other breweries such as Andersen Valley, 21st Amendment, and Avery taking part in). In addition, banking so much on the pilsner (I am not discounting any of their other fine beers, but they have put a lot of effort into getting this pils out there) rather than making 25 different IPAs or a stout that has been aged in french oak barrels that once were used for aging some obscure wine that none of us gave a shit about the first time around. Just simply getting back to great American beer. It's a pretty great thing to see people taking so much pleasure and working so hard at just making something right rather than making something new which is something the Congos obviously understood 25 years ago.

Mikal Cronin-s/t and Green Flash West Coast IPA

Rock and roll is alive and well!!! As proof I submit for evidence the excellent record from SF garage hero Mikal Cronin (see also exhibits from The Oh Sees, The Fresh and Onlys, The So So Glos, Sonny and the Sunsets, Nobunny, and Ty Segall, many of whom I am sure will be referenced in depth on this site at a later time). Cronin has played second fiddle of sorts to Ty Segall for awhile but really stepped out of that shadow on this record (which is better, though only slightly, than Segall's effort from last year) and has become one of my favorite new things to happen in quite awhile. There is something in his writing and structure that is so punchy and just delivered with such velocity that it just knocks you on your ass (see Gone as a prime example). Perhaps this is a result of his age (dude is barely legal ladies), I don't know, what I do know is he references everything from great '60s psych, to early '90s college radio heyday lo-fi anthems, to Neil Young anthemic rock and/or fucking roll, and does it better than anyone else right now. It's so completely unexpected to have something, or rather someone, perfect something that has been done for so long and so many times before.

Which brings us to the remarkable West Coast IPA from one of my favorite breweries, Green Flash. The west coast IPA is everywhere. They are generally some sort of hopbomb, caramel colored, off balance micro-trend. Well, so is this, but holy shit is it good. As soon as you open this guy up it is just this huge piney citrusy nose that follows all the way through. This thing will blow out your palate for sure, but you know, in that good way. So many breweries have made this over the years that it is hard to find something that stands out. For me there are two things that make this world-class; the smoothness--most hopbombs are so bitter and just finish on the weak end this is solid from front-to-back, and complexity--there isn't just one note here, there is the floral, the citrus, even some biscuit happening--just crazy richness all around.

So, why put these two together? With Cronin you are likely to be immediately drawn to the blown out fuzz, lo-fi feel, similar to how the massive hop profile is going to demand your focus with the Green Flash offering. But people, there is so much more here. At the risk of being cliched, there is craft in both of these little gems. At the heart of the Cronin record lives a songwriter trying to break out from those young years into a sort of adulthood. Someone that demands respect and speaks to something that we have all probably gone through. But he does so in such a hard charging manner, that sort of arrogance that can only come from someone who: 1) doesn't know any better and 2) is truly ready to take on the world, no more second fiddle. Green Flash is in a similar situation. If you are on the west coast you are going to compete with the big-boys; Sierra Nevada and Anchor Steam, the godfathers if you will. But these cats are ready to take that step and really break away from the pack. The amount of flavor here is so bold, almost challenging the drinker, and the craft beer world-at-large. It's loud and needs a record like the Cronin album that demands maximum volume. Turn it up, tip it up, welcome to the next big thing.