non-coffee stuff | Coffee, It's a Helluva Drug

Salt & Pepper Diner Essential Song of the Day for 9/14

RIP to Daniel Johnston. If you can get your hands on the magnificent Johnston tribute album which contains this song, do it, it’s magic. In the meantime, this is a perfect tune to put on blast 21x in a row.

Salt & Pepper Diner Essential Song of the Day for 8/24

Thirty five years ago when I arrived at my dorm for freshman year of college, I found out that I had been assigned a single room in a suite of six guys. When I opened the door I was disappointed to find that one of the other five had already claimed the room. Since I was the last one to arrive, I ended up sharing a double bedroom in the suite with a guy named Andy.

Two things immediately caught my eye when I walked in: Andy had a lot of soccer posters, mainly of Juventus – this was back when being a fan of European football in the US took a lot of work – and he had brought a stereo, which in that day and age meant a small tower of components. Andy had a lot of records, which included the entire catalog of the Beatles.

Salt & Pepper Diner Essential Song o’ the Day for 8/2

Some days you hear a song you haven’t heard in ages and are reminded of how much you love it.

Today was one of those days.

If you don’t know it, this one may sound like an odd, loud mess at first. Stick with it. Perfect example of a song that should never be covered by anyone else because the original band nailed it. Listen to it 21x in a row and I bet you’ll agree.

Salt & Pepper Diner Essential Song o’ the Day for 7/15

hey, something from this century for a change! this banger (isn’t that what the kids call it these days?) came up on my daughter’s playlist when we were in the car together yesterday, and hearing it for the first time in forever reminded me how much I love this song.

cuteness overload

Completely unrelated to coffee……

Yesterday my family and I visited Warrior Canine Connection for puppy petting. WCC is an organization which breeds, raises and trains service dogs for military members living with PTSD and traumatic brain injury and their families.

Salt & Pepper Diner Essential Song of the Day for 6/27

This song, sonically speaking, is haunting and beautiful and the best kind of earworm. But it’s the lyrics, I just can’t quite figure them out. Is the narrator someone to be admired, pitied, or despised? Listen to it 21x in a row and let me know what you think.

Salt & Pepper Diner Essential Song o’ the Day for 5/27

Anyone who was over the age of 12 in 1998 is biologically incapable of singing along to this song. Go ahead, try it, even if it takes 21 plays in a row.

Salt & Pepper Diner Essential Song of the Day for 4/29

Kate Pierson just celebrated her 70th birthday. It’s hard to pick just one song that best showcases her amazing voice, between her work with B-52s (the layering of her voice with Cindy Wilson’s here, yowza!) and guesting with acts like REM. But let’s show some love for one of the finest vocalists of our time by enjoying her collaboration with Iggy Pop 21x in a row.

Salt & Pepper Diner Essential Song of the Day for 4/5

I didn’t particularly care for this song when it came out, back when dinosaurs ruled the earth. Too corny, too mainstream. I mean, look at the hair on these guys, particularly the lead singer. And c’mon now, the album title? Pfffft.

But sometimes things that are mainstream and popular can still be really damned good, as I now realize is the case with this song. Give a listen to this one 21x in a row and you just might agree.

field report: New Haven Apizza

I recently spent a long weekend in New Haven, CT, the home of the world’s finest pizza (I shall brook no opposition to this statement). I achieved the New Haven Apizza* Grand Slam, which is something I just completely made up: 4 nights, 4 pizzerias.