thankx.

The kids I nanny collect beer bottle caps, which is kind of gross because they keep them all in a jar that smells like our recycling bag, which is full of PBR cans. (ok I think I like Bud- NOT BUDLITE, I'd rather drink Natty Ice--more than PBR. Shame shame. Anyway, I don't drink beer at home anymore. This is my weight loss plan.)

It's interesting to see what kind of beer their father drinks, especially when they kids are driving me crazy and "interesting to see" becomes "this child is annoying me and flaunting beer in front of me when do I get offffff." They are mostly beers I can't afford and don't really like, anyway, ie Magic Hat. (Also, Corona, which I do like, and a lot of Sierra Nevada, which is way out of my price range. The thing about beer is, unlike the orange juice and cheese singles I'm always sneaking from their fridge, people notice if a bottle is gone, and that's some pretty bad work ethics right there, anyway. Despite being bereft on that good old Protestant work ethic, I do have that Catholic fear of being discovered, forcing me to be an honest soul. Though I did use their facewash, once.)

I'm not sure if anybody has actually washed those caps, ever, which I guess is something I should do sometime this week. Anyway, I hope you guys all had a great Thanksgiving, if you celebrate it. I was in freezing cold Lewisburg, PA, pigging out, mostly, including on Shiner straight from Texas (see above photo, Shiner caps for the kids. See how nice I am to small children.)

One thing that I liked about PA-- home of Yuengling, which holds a special place in my heart despite my inability to spell it correctly the first time, ever.

I really want to make sure things start picking up around here soon. I've got some reviews in mind, including the new Star Fucking Hipsters album (so far, eh-bleh, but I need to give it another listen) and a lot of sweet art I've been finding around the interweb. See you soon xoxo!

This is Cool: Japanese Barcodes

"Masters of turning the mundane cute, we recently came across this collection of the clever ways Japanese designers have extended this eccentricity down to the boring barcode" [from Cool Hunting-- visit them for more!]

Those wacky Japs-- as in Japanese--and their insanely cute things. Make sure to visit Cool Hunting for more, some are quite funny, all are stupid cute. You can see the hippie gun barcode over there and more at Barcode Design Gallery, which designs and licenses out the retooled barcodes.

iko iko

There are a few songs I really, really hate-- can't stand. I know it sounds high maintenance but there is something about these tracks that makes me cringe. Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl." Any version (even the Clash version) of "Louie Louie." "Chapel of Love"- "sing-songy, cloying, childish"- by the Dixie Cups, a group which I wrote off for a long time solely based on that insipid, insidious track that stays in your head the way Tootsie Rolls stay stuck to your molars and then makes you get cavities and have to have Novocaine and pay insurance on false advertised filling material that isn't covered by insurance but Dr Dentist Evil failed to mention that before.

Which is too bad, because 1, they're a seminal group that really can sing, etc, and 2, the Dixie Cups do a fantastic (my favorite, probably) version of the oft-covered"Iko Iko" (or "Jock-a-mo.")

"Jock-a-mo" was the original version of the song "Iko Iko" recorded by The Dixie Cups in 1965. Their version came about by accident. They were in a New York City studio for a recording session when they began an impromptu version of "Iko Iko," accompanied only by drumsticks on a coke bottle [Barbara Hawkins: "We were just clowning around with it during a session using drumsticks on ashtrays. We didn't realize that Jerry and Mike had the tapes running". ]. The tape happened to be running and session producers Leiber and Stoller added bass and drums and released it [wikip]

The bare bones beat from those Coke bottles mesh perfectly with the precise, ultra-clean, almost blase vocals. The song is about a fight between two Mardi Gras crewes, which explains the epically threatening lyrics, which kind of form the fun with the contrast to the bright melody. I've also included the version off of the Diplo/Santogold collab "Top Rankin Mixtape," which I listen to more than Santogold's (or however she spells it now) s/t. Enjoy!

• Iko Iko - Dixie Cups
• Iko Iko - Dixie Cups/Diplo & Santogold
  

ps. What??