This relatively new seasonal beer style is becoming one of my favorites. These hop harvest or “wet hopped” ales are basically medium octane IPA with a huge, fresh hop aroma and taste. Apparently the hops are thrown directly into the kettle fresh off the vine so oils and resins are still still intact.

It is important to drink these ales fresh. I’ve noticed that once they are stored a few months, the hop aroma wears off quickly, so drink that sixpack as soon as you get it!

One of the originators of the style is Sierra Nevada. I was fortunate enough to pick up a case of their Harvest Ale last year.

Since the harvest season is upon us I picked up a couple new bottles this weekend- Weyerbacher Harvest Ale from Easton, and Founders Harvest Ale from Michigan. How’d they compare? It wasn’t even close. The Founders completely blew away the Weyerbacher. I don’t know if i got an old bottle (I doubt it) but the Weyerbacher was bland- not much flavor and only slight hop nose. The Founders on the other hand was magnificent.

I visited the South Philly Taproom last night and the barkeep informed me that they had it on TAP last week and she said it was wonderful. I had to settle for the bottle.

If you’re interested in this style then definitely check out Johnny Brendas NEXT Saturday, November 14 for their first (annual?) Wet Hop Rodeo. The Beer Lass has the mostly local lineup.
I’ll see you there.

My large friend Corey went to this Ted Leo show at Kung Fu Necktie on Halloween. I shoulda joined him.

Pitchfork has 5 videos.

My favorite Misfits song:

This is Philly, yo. Dude’s still around, trying to hit it big again.
One of my all time favorites.

I first heard this song from a cassette given to me by my childhood friend Andrew Pattison. He lived in Mt. Morris, MI which was more urban than where I grew up. He’s basically the dude who saved me from album-oriented arena rock, ala Styx/Journey/Boston/Supertramp which was played on the radio ad-nauseum in 1980.
I’m still looking for a similar song that was on that same cassette. Been looking for 20 years cuz I can’t remember one single lyric. I’ll know it when I hear it though.

More early hip hop ala 1980:

This is considered by many to be the first hip hop song. 1979, The Fatback Band:

I need sleep. I have kids who’ve literally been waking me up at the crack of dawn for over 5 years now (except school days, of course). They’re FINALLY getting old enough to the point where they’re sleeping in until 7:15.

Just in time for the squirrels to move in.

Now, at exactly 6 am every morning these rodents start running around in the ceiling right above my bed. I spent hours upon hours and two entire Saturdays sealing every possible entry point in my eves that the criminally poor builders left wide-open to the elements, and they’re still finding a way in.

Since they’re only active in the morning I actually had to take a vacation day last week just to hunt the bastards. [By the way-save the hate mail- I recieved a bunch of it the last time I posted my hunting excursion]. keep in mind that I really am a pacifist or whatever- I don’t enjoy killing. But these varmints are really asking for it.

For some reason, even after tuning in the sites on my trusty Daisy pellet gun i still couldn’t manage to hit one of the bastards even at point blank range, so I borrowed my buddy’s high powered air rifle with a scope. I finally nailed the two culprits as they tore apart the large pumpkin in my back yard. Yes, it was sad, but it had to be done. The war is finally over.

Coincidentally enough, my old high school friend in Cleveland was going through the very same problem at the very same time, but his situation was worse: He was dealing with raccoons. Squirrels running around the drywall are LOUD. I can’t imagine how much louder a 10 pound carnivore would be.

I just happened to get this email today. I realize he sounds like some lunatic redneck madman. That’s because he is: he’s a brilliant, bragadocious, gun-loving ex-Army Ranger who daylights as a banker. Here’s his account, including pictures. His last sentence had me laughing till milk squirted out my nose:

From: Stacey, xxxxx
Subject: Stacey 2, Raccoon 0

Sunday morning 0700 HRS.  Broad daylight.

While not as majestic as a one-armed shot at ~140 feet in the pitch
black of night like the first one, the triumph of defeating these little
striped rats is still satisfying enough to share…

—–Original Message—–
From: Stacey, xxxxx
Subject: Stacey 1, Raccoon 0

Most of you know that we have had a raccoon in our attic, terrorizing
our house since last October.  It has caused a ton of damage to our
house including prying up an exhaust flange on the water heater piping
and causing water damage by allowing rainwater to destroy the drywall
over the master bedroom.  We have made numerous attempts to trap it
and/or drive it out, including hiring two different professional
trappers that have attempted, charged me for trapping “non target”
animals such as squirrels, and then given up when the little bastard
outcrafted them by stealing the bait and leaving the trap still set.

Totally worth it.

MP3: Miike Snow-Cult Logic (c/o TheBurningEar)

MP3: Capleton-Hidden Secrets

Dr. Dog sold out back to back nights at the Fillmore TLA this past weekend. I attended the Friday show and to tell the truth, almost bailed on it since I’d seen them so often and I haven’t been listening to them much lately. Well as soon as they came on stage they blew me away and I can’t believe I almost didn’t go. They had the packed house singing to every tune and the set was amazing- something out of a dreamscape. They played almost 2 straight hours.

Apparently Saturday night’s show topped Friday’s as the band ordered pizzas for the entire audience. I forgot my camera that night so I don’t have any pictures of my own and so far I can’t find any online. However, I did find a video of the pizza party:

Here are a few pictures from earlier in the tour but the set isn’t quite as elaborate as the Philly shows. I’ll keep an eye out for pictures of this magic night.

I wish I could find the original track sampled here…

MP3: Ghostface Killah- Stay (c/o fluxblog)

When I know that you with him, you ain’t calling me back
It be that thing down there that got me way off track

From Ghostface’s EXCELLENT new LP Ghostdini-Wizard Of Poetry In Emerald City

I love October. There’s about 102 thing to do this weekend and next.
Dr. Dog tonight with Jeffrey Lewis, then my youngest turns five on Sunday.

MP3: Dr. Dog- Ain’t it Strange

No Kids are playing three shows in the Philly area starting this Sunday. One of them will be held at my place of employment, Swarthmore College next Friday Oct. 30 w/ Mount Eerie.
I love this No Kids tune- its mellow indie with a dash of dubstep:

MP3: No Kids- The Beaches All Closed

More goods:

Post disco boogie TSOP from 1980:

MP3: Sugar Bear Johnson- When Your Jones Comes Down (re-edit)

MP3: Big Boi- Shine Blockas (c/o fluxblog)

Ike Turner is one of the top five funky figures of all time. The Ikettes were he and Tina’s backing band and hell of a band on their own but didn’t gain fame like other girl groups of the 60s supposedly because of constant lineup changes due to Ike’s constant hiring and firing.

This one is a stomper. Plus it teaches the little ones now to count!

MP3: The Ikettes- Camel Walk

More girl groups I dig this week:

Haunting sound with odd lyrics from the EP Exquisite Corpse released this month.They lyrics simply spell out Billie’s first and last name a few times, then they sing the lyrics to “My Guy”, yet it really works:

MP3: Warpaint- Billie Holiday

Warpaint will be playing the Millcreek Tavern in West Philly this Saturday Oct. 24.

From Minneapolis, Total Babe:

MP3: Total Babe- Gary Coleman

This is my song of the year. NEVER tire of it. Still haven’t gotten my tix for her show at the First Unitarian Church on Nov. 5 and if I don’t hurry I’ll get the door shut on me again.
MP3: Thao Nguyen with The Get Down Stay Down- Know better Learn Faster

I’ll leave you with this northern soul classic:

MP3: Maxine Brown- One In A Million

I managed to get out of the house exactly one time all weekend and that was for the Sea Wolf / Port O’Brian show at the North Star Bar on Saturday:

Van Pierszalowski, the lead singer of Port O’Brian told me that the band has been living off the proceeds from this cute Australian paint commercial for two years. It features my favorite song of 2007:

Port O’Brian’s new LP Threadbare dropped just this month.

They added a couple members for this tour:

MP3: Port O’Brian- Sour Milk/Salt Water

Sara Lov was the opener. She was able to save a bit of money by pressing all of her backing instrumentation onto vinyl:

Sea Wolf was the headliner:

These pictures are a little late in coming, but I also managed to get to the North Star for a show two weeks ago.

Scotland’s We Were Promised Jetpacks:

England’s Brakes Brakes Brakes:

Sorry, I didn’t stay for Twilight Sad.

I took this picture of a woman standing in front of me by mistake but I remember thinking at the time that it’s nice seeing shows in Philly because everyone is so much shorter than people in the corn-fed Midwest where I grew up. After seeing the picture I notice that this woman has no neck… something I see more and more, most likely a product of our ever-fattening society. She looks like a snowman made with only two balls.