Credit where credit is due

Saskatchewan's population has jumped by over 6,000 since the beginning of July. What's the reason? Probably this blog. It must have been around July that I started my series of Saskploitation posts (actually it was August, ed.), and brought the idea of Saskatchewan to the masses (or the five or six people who read this blog for something other than Howling Hex mp3s).
Or maybe word had simply spread since August of 2006 that I was no longer there. Either way, I'd like a lapel pin or something.
In other Saskploitation related news, the Sask Party dropped their plan to drop the wheat sheaf logo. Probably because Brad Wall and his dubious hairline read my blog and changed his party's policies to reflect my knee-jerk reaction.

mp3: "Ride the Funky Mule" by King Kong

Ten Great Songs 2007 #10: Bad Kids

There's a little over ten days left in 2007, so let's do a year-end countdown. I've definitely listened to less music in 2007 than I have in any other year since I was, I dunno, 15 or so. So I'm not going to pretend I know what the BEST tracks or albums of the year are. But until the end of the year (or into the new one, if I get behind schedule--a distinct possibility), I'm going to post some songs that I was very glad to hear this year.

#10: "Bad Kids" by Black Lips

This is almost a novelty tune from Atlanta's garage-rocky Black Lips, with it's fake 50s sounds (and jingly bells=seasonal!) and doo-wop pretenses. It's quick, bratty, catchy as hell, and in a perfect world teenagers would be singing along to it at pit parties somewhere in the great suburban night. It's not the BEST song on Good Bad Not Evil (that would be the hellacious strut "Veni Vidi Vici"), but it's built around a terrific gimmick: sassy, unapologetic, juvenile deliquency. Works for me.

mp3: "Bad Kids" by Black Lips

This Bread is Bananas: B-A-N-A-N-A-S

In my life, in my entire life, I have made three banana loaves. Therefore, I am an expert, and have devised a recipe of my very own that I'm sharing with you now. I'm no Raymond Sokolov, but I'm pretty handy with a spatula, if you know what I mean.
The key to cooking is confidence. Strut while you stir. Don't let a recipe push you around. You know what you like, and you're the one who's gotta eat it. Cooking isn't rocket science, and it's not alchemy, either. You put stuff together, you mix 'em up, and then you (sometimes) heat it. You gotta eat anyway, you might as well eat well.
I created this banana bread (which is, like the best cooking, my favourite parts of different recipes) because I bought a bunch of bananas and then forgot to eat them. You know how it is. So Nicole was kinda on my case about these blackening baneeners, and I wasn't saying a thing. I was doing my homework, putting together clues, buying a loafpan. You can get a decent 5x9 loafpan for about $10. You can get a crappy one for $1, or a supersonic deLuxe loafpan that will mock your beginner cooking skills for about $30. I recommend the $10 version. If you only make three banana loaves in a year, you'll get your money's worth.

Okay, so here's what you're going to need, aka

INGREDIENTS

4 to 6 bananas, the blacker the better - here's the deal, not only are black bananas sweeter, but they're also softer and easier to work with.
1 tsp of vanilla extract - treat yourself right and use the real thing rather than that cheap synthetic vanilla. You're not saving that much money, and you get to feel like a big shot.
1/3 cup of sugar - I know that seems like a lot of sugar, and it is. But it's actually less than most recipes call for. Most call for a full cup, but I think you're better off using the following ingredient to reduce the sugar in your banana bread.
1 tbsp of vanilla yogurt or unsweetened applesauce - don't use any more than this or else your banana loaf will be soggy rather than moist.
2 cups of flour - I use wholewheat, but it's really up to you.
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda - and don't just take a scoop out of the box in the fridge. That's gross.

OPTIONAL EXTRAS

a tsp to a tbsp of cinnamon - highly recommended, feel free to add even more
a large handful of walnuts - also highly recommended, but not if you're allergic to nuts. It's a good idea to crush the walnuts
some amount of ginger - some people like ginger, I don't so I don't bother

Turn your oven on and set it to 325 F.
Lightly butter your loafpan.
Take your bananas, peel them, remove the hard nubby thing at the bottom and slice them up into a bowl. If your bananas are nice and soft, the edge of a spoon will work for slicing. Add the sugar, vanilla, and yogurt or applesauce (fun fact: if you use applesauce, this is a vegan banana bread, but you don't have tell anyone, least of all your vegan friends). Mix it up good until it's all gooey.
Next, in a separate bowl, "sift" the flour, baking powder and baking soda. I don't really know what "sifting" entails since I don't have a sifter, so I just lightly stir them all together with a fork.
Now toss in the banana mash, as well as any other customizations you want to add, and mix, mix, mix until the whole thing is of one smooth consistency.
Pour that into your loafpan, stick the loafpan in the oven, and find something to do for 1 hour to 1 hour, 15 minutes. Do your laundry, watch a couple of episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm, wash the dishes. I don't really care what you do, and I don't want to know about it.
Soon, your kitchen will smell awesome and basically that's half the battle won. If anyone comes home or comes over while your banana loaf is in the over, their opinion of you will rise. Once an hour or so has passed, check on your loaf. Stick a fork or toothpick into the middle. If it comes out clean, your loaf is done. If it comes out with doughy stuff all over it, you've ruined the whole thing. Just kidding. It just needs a few more minutes. Check in every five to ten minutes. Pretty soon, you will be the proud owner of your very own banana bread. Eat it.





MP3: "Black Bananas" by RTX

It's not Bertrand Russell, but what do you want?

I work the nightshift. Four nights a week, every week, since May of this year. I'm part Travis Bickle, part Bodhisattva. I see the worst and quite often the best this city has to offer about 350 times a night. And I listen to a lot of classic rock.
Things I've learned from listening to classic rock in a room full of constantly changing people:

• Everybody loves CCR. It's totally foolproof.
• Joni Mitchell, not so much, surprisingly.
• If you're desperate to hear the words "Turn it up, man!", lay a little Back in Black on a brother.
• AC/DC, reportedly, has a better song than "Who Made Who".
• That song might be "You Shook Me All Night Long".
• Sometimes Jonathan Richman does sound like Neil Diamond.
• "Coney Island Baby" from the album of the same name just might be Lou Reed's best song ever.
• When AC/DC gets overplayed, reach for the Nazareth (but avoid the ballads).
• People like the Band almost as unanimously as they like CCR.
• If you turn off Led Zeppelin's "Ramble On" and turn on Jay-Z's new album, you will get your ass beat.
• Even the toughest thug (of a certain age) will soften a little for the Bee Gees' "How Deep Is Your Love".

mp3: "Sunset to Dawn" by the Sadies

You have got to be kidding me

Just as it's come back into fashion, the wheat sheaf emblem of my dear home province is getting kicked to the curb. While I'm not that a big fan of the yellow on green logo, I'm a giant fan of the yellow on brown motif. It's simple, it's clean, it's cool. It represents something real.

Hopefully, the Sask Party task force assigned to finding a new logo will come up with something more credible than Brad Wall's hairline.

RIP: Ike Turner

So, yeah, not much bloggering lately. That might be a sign of the times, or it may not. I'm not saying. I'm not saying nothing. But Ike Turner is dead, and that's kinda sad.

The Minor Thirds to become even more minor

got this note from Chris of Portland, OR's the Minor Thirds:

THURS, DECEMBER 6: The Minor Thirds (along with, uh, some other bands, not listed on the McMenamins website) at the WHITE EAGLE 836 N Russell St (suspiciously near a yellow MAX stop). Show starts at 8:30, costs $4, and we go on last (11ish?). Some of you have heard the rumors, and sadly they are all true: Barring the unforeseen and miraculous, this will be our final show as an ongoing full band. There will be more tM3 shows -- most just me, some with some subset of the tM3 line-up you've grown to become fanatically devoted to, some perhaps with me and new people (possibly you). But our current levels of awesomeness are unsustainable and wreaking havoc on our musicological ecosystem.
For the good of the community, and bypersonal request of Al Gore, we are playing one last show as a five-piece. If you don't come see us next Thursday, then you will not see the likes of us again. See you there.
Yrs,Chris,and Charlotte and Jake and Casey and Martin.

So there you have it. The band that pretty much invented Saskploitation (though I was the one who named the concept, and have since become the number one Saskploiter) is calling it half-quits. Here's their video for their chart-busting hit from the Saskatchewan EP, and if you follow the "Aquaman" tag at the bottom of this post, you'll find an mp3 of a song from their latest and last album, Nebraska From Afar. If you find yourself in Portland on Thursday, go bid adieu.



mp3: "The Thieves' Guild" by the Minor Thirds, from their album Dishwasher Thief