116. Beirut - ‘The Flying Club Cup’ + Champs Elysees

Beirut - ‘The Flying Club Cup’ + Champs Elysees

Ingredients: 1 ounce cognac, 1/2 ounce yellow chartreuse, 1 ounce fresh lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 1 dash aromatic bitters (optional).

Mixing Instructions: Shake all ingredients together in shaker filled with ice.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Notes: When I was in high school I remember seeing a 1970’s French film and thinking that everything the French did seemed epic.  Even little things like making a meal appeared to be done with a sense of sacredness and artistry…nothing was “just” something.  Beirut’s second album, inspired by a turn of the century (19th) Parisian balloon festival, captures the same sprit of bon vivant that so intrigued me as a teenager.  Each track of the album is linked to a different French city, the result being an album that feels like riding a carousel horse through the early nineteenth century French countryside.  Paired with a Champs Elysee cocktail this isn’t an album, it’s an ethereal experience that will take you somewhere unexpected, somewhere good.

purchase vinyl:   Amazon   ||   Insound

115. Cody ChesnuTT - ‘Landing on a Hundred’ + Apricot Brandy Sour

Cody ChesnuTT - ‘Landing on a Hundred’ + Apricot Brandy Sour

Ingredients: 1 ounce apricot brandy, 1 ounce fresh lemon juice, 1/2 ounce triple sec, 1 teaspoon grenadine (optional), orange juice, ice.

Mixing Instructions: Pour brandy, lemon juice and triple sec in a shaker then fill halfway with orange juice.  Add ice then shake vigorously.  Strain into an ice-filled highball and float a teaspoon of grenadine (if you desire).

Notes: When discussing certain albums with friends I often refer to them as consisting of “music music.”  It’s music that isn’t flashy, has nothing to prove and seems to be made for nothing more than soul soothing, foot tapping and storytelling.  After going off the grid to raise his family following the success of his 2002 double LP The Headphone Masterpiece  and “The Seed 2.0” with the Roots, ChesnuTT has returned with some music music.  Twelve tracks of temptation, class struggles, faith and a persistent questioning of modern life’s promises…it might all seem a bit heavy, but his musicality contains the gospel-like thread of hope to tie it all together in a beautiful way.

purchase vinyl:   Amazon   ||   Insound

114. Local Natives - ‘Gorilla Manor’ + Pogo Stick

Local Natives - ‘Gorilla Manor’ + Pogo Stick

Ingredients: 2 ounces dry gin, 1/2 ounce freshly squeezed pineapple juice, 1/2 ounce freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, 1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice, 1/2 ounce Monin pure cane sugar syrup (2:1 sugar water).

Mixing Instructions: Blend all ingredients together in a blender with a 12 ounce scoop of crushed ice.  Pour in a drinking container.  Serve with straw.

Notes:  "The best comparison perhaps is that they’re sort of a West Coast Grizzly Bear…Yet whereas Grizzly Bear’s Yellow House is a cozy, isolated New England seaside shack, Local Natives’ Gorilla Manor is a squalid Orange County party pad.”  At V+C we try extremely hard to tune out the noise and form our own opinions when listening to an album.  But, when re-visiting Local Natives’ 2010 debut I came across the above description from Pitchfork’s Ian Cohen and quickly resigned myself to the fact that his comparison would henceforth be eternally lodged in my brain.  He’s right and it is (lodged), but more importantly so is the album.  Listen with a joyful heart and a cheeky cocktail.

purchase vinyl:   Amazon   ||   Insound

113. Beck - ‘Sea Change’ + Bitter Cocktail

Beck - ‘Sea Change’ + Bitter Cocktail

Ingredients:  1.5 ounces gin, 3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice, 1/4 ounce green chartreuse, 1 dash Pastis, 1/4 teaspoon sugar

Mixing Instructions:  Shake ingredients into an iced cocktail shaker and strain.

Notes:  Although this album is beautiful for a million and one reasons and can be enjoyed on many different levels, I’d say that there is no better break-up album in existence than 'Sea Change'.  You don’t have to be depressed and isolated to enjoy the album in its entirety though—heartbreak and loneliness never sounded so good.  Some of Beck’s best work, it deserves an hour of your time and a mysterious and delicate cocktail.

purchase vinyl:  Amazon  ||  Insound

112. Kopecky Family Band - ‘Kids Raising Kids’ + Vieux Carre

113. Kopecky Family Band - ‘Kids Raising Kids’ + Vieux Carre

Ingredients: 1 ounce rye whiskey, 1 ounce cognac, 3/4 ounce sweet vermouth, 2 dashes Angostura bitters, 2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters, 1/2 teaspoon Benedictine, lemon twist for garnish. 

Mixing Instructions: Rinse a chilled old-fashioned glass with Benedictine, then apply two dashes of Angostura and Peychaud’s bitters.  Add in rye whiskey, cognac and sweet vermouth, then gently lower a large ice cube into the glass.  Stir ingredients briefly (5 sec) then garnish with a lemon twist.

Notes: The Vieux Carre (pronounced voh-care-eh).  Kopecky Family Band (pronounced Kopecky-family-band).  One is 1930’s French Quarter cocktail.  The other, a six-piece Nashville band.  Both are complex creations that blend together several unique parts in a beautiful way.  For the past five years the group has been coming into their own banging out two EP’s and a split 7”.  They aren’t really related, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t family.  

With their first full-length album one immediately senses a level of vulnerability and intimacy that simply couldn’t happen without the deep trust of shared history.  Lead singers Kelsey and Gabe dutifully execute a push-and-pull 1950s rock vibe that ranges from playful to heart-wrenching.  In the end this album is about love and all the tension that accompanies it.  Unlike most bands, however, when the Kopecky Family sings about love, you know deep down they actually believe in it.  

purchase vinyl:  here

111. The Decemberists - ‘The Crane Wife’ + The Pledge

The Decemberists - ‘The Crane Wife’ + The Pledge

Ingredients: 1 ounce Lustau East India sherry, 1/2 ounce Benedictine, 1 bottle oatmeal stout (such as Sixpoint), grated nutmeg

Mixing Instructions: Stir sherry and Benedictine and pour into pilsner glass.  Top with the stout and garnish with grated nutmeg.

Notes:  When listening to the songs of The Decemberists you often wonder if Colin Meloy missed his real calling as an English lit professor.  Few songwriters are able to pack as many historical and literary allusions into their lyrics in such a natural and unpretentious manner as the Portland-based band leader.  When The Crane Wife came out in 2006 (their first release under a major label), they stayed true to their craft by creating an album based around a Japanese folktale broken up into three parts and creating “The Island”— a 12-minute Shakespeare hat-tip that could inspire Led Zeppelin fans to transition to the indie world.  Pile onto those a track about a butcher gang, a war song about the Siege of Leningrad, and several other story-telling tracks and you have yourself a masterpiece on vinyl. 

purchase vinyl:   Amazon   ||   Insound

110. Miles Davis - ‘Kind of Blue’ + Martini (Dry)

111. Miles Davis - ‘Kind of Blue’ + Martini (Dry)

Ingredients: 1 1/2 ounces dry gin, 3/4 ounce dry vermouth, lemon peel or olive for garnish.

Mixing Instructions: Pour all ingredients into a mixing glass with ice.  Stir well and strain into a chilled martini glass.  Squeeze oil from a lemon peel or garnish with an olive.

Notes:  The best-selling jazz album of all time carries so much legend and weight that one feels completely foolish when trying to describe it in writing.  Even the words of a great poet could do nothing more than dance in the shadows of its true substance.  Like things that are mystical in nature, much of the album lies beyond description…you just have to feel it for yourself.  

Brought together for this album were the following jazz musicians, all in their prime: John Coltrane, Julian “Cannonball” Adderley, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb, and of course Davis himself.  It’s scary the amount of talent that was contained in that group.  Davis gave the musicians some outlines of the songs, but nothing more as he wanted to capture the spontaneity that he knew contained much of the magic of jazz.  It all worked just as one would expect, perfectly.  Take a night, tune everything else out, make yourself a martini and let yourself feel beauty and greatness.  

purchase vinyl:   Amazon   ||   Insound

109. Bob Dylan - ‘Desire’ + Fernet Branca shot(s) w/ Ginger Ale Chaser

***Hurricane Sandy Pairing***

Bob Dylan - ‘Desire’ + Fernet Branca shot(s) w/ Ginger Ale Chaser

Ingredients: 1 bottle Fernet Branca, 2 cans of Ginger Ale

Mixing Instructions: The hurricane is coming, just pour man…POUR!!!

Notes:  As the East Coast hunkers down for a potentially fierce hurricane one would be right to ask the question, “What shall I listen to as Sandy comes my way…better yet, what shall I drink?”  Come now, V+C has just what you need.  Bob Dylan’s seventeenth studio album is quirky, gale force Americana at its best.  Released between the two legs of the Rolling Thunder (fitting right?) tour this album was one of his most collaborative efforts, a swirling storm of creative inputs.  ”Oh, is that one song…” You mean “Hurricane” - yes, it is the opening track.  You’ll play it over and over for half a bottle or so of Fernet before continuing on to the rest.  By the time you’re done you’ll be ready to stare fiercely into the eye of the storm and with raised fist exclaim, “Not today my friend, NOT TODAY!!!”

purchase vinyl:   Amazon

108. Devendra Banhart - ‘Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon’ + El Dorado

Devendra Banhart - ‘Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon’ + El Dorado 

Ingredients:  2 ounces Jose Cuervo Gold Tequila, 2 ounces fresh squeezed lemon juice, 1 tablespoon honey, lemon slice garnish

Mixing instructions:  Stir honey into tequila until dissolved.  Add lemon juice and mix in a cocktail shaker.  Serve with ices, garnish with the lemon slice.

Notes:  For listeners new to Devendra Banhart, his unorthodox style is one that many might pass on after an initial listen…not entirely unexpected considering his style is often described as “freak folk.”  However, such a quick dismissal would be unfortunate as many people will vouch for the sincerity of his songwriting and the beautifully crafted songs that make up his body of work.  For those of us who have passed the threshold though, we know that after meddling through some of the harder to accept albums and songs, there is an album so well finished that we think everyone should hear it.  At well over 60 minutes, you might imagine the album doesn’t have the fortitude to play that long… but keep with it, the highlights are met comfortably on each side of the vinyl and the LP rounds out beautifully with the incredible “I Remember” and “My Dearest Friend.”

purchase vinyl:  Amazon ||  Insound

107. Gap Dream - ‘Ali Baba’ 7” + Death At Dusk

Gap Dream - ‘Ali Baba’ 7” + Death At Dusk

Ingredients: 1/2 ounce creme de violette, 5 ounces sparkling wine, 1/4 ounce absinthe, 1 maraschino cherry for garnish.

Mixing Instructions: Pour the creme de violette and sparkling wine into a champagne flute.  Float the absinthe on top, garnish with a cherry and serve.

Notes: When I was 13 I got high on a sufficiently long chairlift ride to the top of Storm Peak in Steamboat Springs, CO.  It was one of those futuristic chairlifts with the bubble that came down over the top of you to seal you and your gaseous discharges in, while keeping the snow and wind out.  The three Rastafarian-looking snowboarders with me each busted out small ceramic pipes, looked my way, decided the 13-yr old white kid with a purple headband wasn’t a threat, and got really high…and me by default, the increasingly introspective boy in the hotbox.

I haven’t gotten high since for a lot of reasons, none of which a result of the above experience, which I actually enjoyed quite immensely.  But listening to Gap Dream’s ‘Ali Baba’, a two-track burst of out-of-body goodness, was the first time in a while that I’ve thought about that time that I was high.  I know it’s easy to associate psychedelic music with drug use, but let’s just say I didn’t think about it with Tame Impala’s ‘Lonerism’  (an album I’ve been really enjoying) and I did with this dreamy surf-psych 7”.  Draw your own conclusions.     

purchase vinyl:   Insound

106. Jay-Z - ‘The Black Album’ + The 40/40

Jay-Z - ‘The Black Album’ + The 40/40

Ingredients:  2 ounces Stolichnaya Vanilla Vodka, 4 ounces Godiva White Chocolate liqueur, splash of half-and-half, Chocolate Syrup

Mixing Instructions:  Put all ingredients (except syrup) in a shaker with ice.  Mix well and strain into a cocktail glass lined with chocolate syrup.

Notes: Remember that joke when Jay-Z said he was retiring in 2003 and was putting everything he had into one final album?  Well, it wasn’t a joke—it just didn’t last.  Looking back, we can’t imagine the current musical landscape today without his continued contributions and we’d be hard-pressed to believe anyone could.  The Black Album marked a moment in time that will be remembered for decades to come as a highlight in an incredible career for Jay-Z and for hip-hop music moving forward.   As it turned out, the album is incredibly well finished because Jay did plan on it to be his lasting impression… lucky for us it just wasn’t his last.  As an advocate for art, music, and culture, we’re excited to recommend you revisit this classic album with a drink off the 40/40 club cocktail menu.

Purchase Vinyl:  Amazon  ||  Insound

105. A.C. Newman - ‘Shut Down the Streets’ + Canadian Cocktail

A.C. Newman - ‘Shut Down the Streets’ + Canadian Cocktail

Ingredients:  1 1/2 ounces Canadian whiskey (such as Canadian Club), 1/2 ounce curacao, 1/2 ounce lemon juice, 1 teaspoon simple syrup (optional), 1 dash Angostura bitters

Mixing Instructions: Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well and stain into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass.

Notes:  The third solo album from A.C. Newman finds The New Pornographers’ founder tackling his most personal songs to date following the passing of his mother.  While the mood of this album is more subdued than previous efforts, it doesn’t mean the songs don’t have bite.  Newman’s technical abilities in both songwriting and production ensure the perfect amount of well-crafted melodies and chord progressions.  ”I’m Not Talking” is an elegant example of Newman’s genius and “Encyclopedia of Classic Takedowns” is a full-up New Pornographer’s romp complete with Neko Case harmonizing.  It does mean, however, that this album needs a few spins to let the flavors fully develop…a process best done with a Canadian Cocktail in hand.

purchase vinyl:  Amazon  ||  Insound

104. Bat For Lashes - ‘The Haunted Man' + Hot Toddy

Bat For Lashes - ‘The Haunted Man' + Hot Toddy

Ingredients: 1 ounce whiskey, 1 teaspoon honey, 2 cloves, half a cinnamon stick, slice of lemon.  *Note: if you’re short cloves/cinnamon just substitute a tea bag.

Mixing Instructions:  Put honey and whiskey in a mug or heatproof glass.  Add two cloves and half a cinnamon stick then top with hot water (just before boil).  Stir in a slice of lemon and add enough lemon juice to balance the honey.  Drink as soon as your lips and tongue can stand it.

Notes: The voice of Natasha Khan is like a warm caramel apple…or maybe a cashmere sweater.  When listening to her pour out songs like “Laura” “Deep Sea Diver” or “Marilyn” on her third album, The Haunted Man, one has the feeling of being wrapped up in its tone.  It is powerful without being shrill or brassy, calming without being boring.  The blanketing effect stands in contrast to an album with many bare and intimate moments, times when all one can do is enjoy and quietly hope for more.  This music pairs well with a dimly-lit evening or cloudy afternoon, holed up on the living room couch with an equally soothing Hot Toddy.

purchase vinyl:   Amazon   ||   Insound

*special thanks to Caitlin White (@harmonicait) for the pairing suggestion

103. Johnny Flynn - ‘A Larum’ + The Naked Ape

Johnny Flynn - ‘A Larum’ + The Naked Ape

Ingredients: 1 1/2 ounces Jamaican dark rum (such as Coruba), 1/2 ounce Jamaican gold rum (such as Smith & Cross), 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice, 1/2 ounce cinnamon syrup, 1/2 ounce banana liqueur, 1 dash Angostura bitters

Mixing Instructions: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and fill with ice.  Shake well and strain into a rocks glass filled with ice.

Notes:  It’s difficult to witness British singer-songwriter Johnny Flynn and fellow folk queen Laura Marling perform together without at least getting a flash of Dylan/Baez.  The two, along with Mumford & Sons are largely responsible for the revival in British folk.  Released in 2008, Flynn’s debut album , A Larum, was received extremely well by fans and critics alike showcasing a sharp, troubadour-like style.  Flynn, an actor and poet in addition to his music, whips out lyrics like “Tickle me pink and rosy as a flushed red apple skin/Except I’ve never been as sweet” so effortlessly that it’s easy to miss the depth of this album while getting lulled by the shimmering waves.  A fitting companion to Marling’s I Speak Because I Can, pair this album with an adventurous  banana-flavored rum cocktail and enjoy the performance.

purchase vinyl:   Amazon 

102. Laura Marling - ‘I Speak Because I Can’ + Le Petit Hibou

Laura Marling - ‘I Speak Because I Can’ + Le Petit Hibou

Ingredients: 2 ounces Pinot Blanc or New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, 2 ounces Lilet Blanc, 2 ounces apple juice.

Mixing Instructions: Pour all the ingredients into a collins glass filled with ice.  Stir gently with a spoon or swizzle stick and serve.

Notes:  There are some albums that one guards as closely as a member of their own family.  They are the ones quietly kept hidden when friends ask to hear your collection, too delicate to be offered up for greedy ears.  The sophomore effort of British singer-songwriter Laura Marling is one of those albums — pure and beautiful folk music that can stand confidently in the midst of such legends as Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan.  ”Rambling Man” is a giant of a song that reveals a steel underbelly hidden beneath Marling’s sterling silver voice.  A breakthrough album that captures the sentiment of Fall’s slow transition into the twilight of the year, this is simply one you can’t afford to miss.

purchase vinyl:   Amazon  ||   Insound

www.vinylandcocktails.com

101. Milo Greene - ‘Milo Greene’ + Bulleit Old Fashioned

Milo Greene - ‘Milo Greene’ + Bulleit Old Fashioned

Ingredients: 2 ounces Bulleit bourbon, 3 dashes Angostura bitters, 1 sugar cube (1/2 teaspoon loose sugar), splash of water or club soda, orange peel.

Mixing Instructions: Place the sugar, bitters, orange peel and water in a shaker.  Crush the ingredients with a muddler, spoon, pistol barrel, etc.  Fill the shaker half-way with ice and pour in the bourbon.  Shake thoroughly and strain into an ice-filled old fashioned glass with an extra slice of orange peel for garnish.

Notes:  The initial Siren-like cry in “What’s the Matter”, the opening track of Milo Greene’s debut album, offers a flashing glimpse into the DNA of this L.A.-based quintet.  At first listen the sound is indistinguishable from that of a train whistle, or steam ship coming into port.  Soon, however, one realizes they are listening to the haunting, but beautiful voice of Marlana Sheetz.  It’s industry cliche to describe one’s voice as an instrument, but in the case of Sheetz and the rest of Milo Greene it’s true.  The effortless harmonizing of the four gifted vocalists is the centerpiece of their sound, a delicate smoke floating over a water of cinematic instrumentation.  

Milo Greene is an invented character, not a member of the band.  While likely not their original intent, the fictional British gentlemen is one of the group’s biggest assets, providing a collective identity that in turn frees up each of the members from ever feeling like they have to control the sound or creative process.  It’s this polished wholeness that makes songs like “1957” “Cutty Love” and “Autumn Tree” levitate.  Mix yourself a Bulleit old-fashioned (a variation with extra ice and orange enjoyed by the band @ the Haberdasher in Mobile, AL) and let this album take you away.

purchase vinyl:   Amazon   ||   Insound

100. Radiohead - ‘Kid A’ + Penicillin

100. Radiohead - ‘Kid A’ + Penicillin

Ingredients: 2 ounces blended scotch (such as Famous Grouse), 3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice, 3/8 ounce honey syrup (3 parts honey, 1 part water), 3/8 ounce fresh ginger juice (slightly sweetened with granulated sugar), 1/4 ounce float of Islay single malt scotch (such as Laphroaig), slice of candied ginger for garnish.

Mixing Instructions: Combine lemon juice, honey syrup, ginger juice and blended scotch in a shaker filled with ice.  Shake well and strain into an old fashioned glass half-filled with ice.  Float Islay scotch on top.  Garnish with slice of candied ginger (can use fresh ginger too).  If this cocktail seems intimidating watch this video.

Notes:  Radiohead’s fourth album was chosen as our 100th pairing because it demands the type of deep, active-listening that we champion and offers immense rewards for those willing to tune out the rest of the world for 49 minutes 57 seconds and engage it.  To some it may seem an obvious pick, but if so, it’s obvious for a reason.  Kid A is more than a great album, it’s an emotional experience that changed the way many thought about music.

Upon hearing the opening notes of “Everything in Its Right Place” one senses, somewhat uneasily, that this is not a rock album.  It is Radiohead taking everything about the genre, everything about themselves as a group, all the press, marketing, and corporate greed, dousing it with gasoline and breathlessly lighting the match.  They weren’t pushing the boundaries of their music they were completely cutting the cord.

The instrumentation is complex, inspired by everything from Aphex Twin to Charlie Mingus.  The lyrics are intentionally cryptic (for some lyrics Yorke reportedly cut up words and phrases and drew from a hat) and at times nearly inaudible. The combination, however, captures not just the mood of the current times, but of those to come.  In 'Killing Yourself to Live' author Chuck Klosterman described the album as an, “…unintentional but spooky foreshadowing of the events of 11 September 2001 attacks.”

There’s really no end to what can be drawn from an album that seems to flip Maslow’s hierarchy of needs on its head, starting with self-actualization and sweeping the rest of the more base needs into the dust bin.  The album offers nowhere to stand, nothing concrete to grasp, only fleeting thoughts and questions, but very intentionally so.  Kid A was Radiohead’s attempt to take everything they knew about music and blow it up.  We’ve spent the past 12 years frantically digging through the rubble looking for clues.     

purchase vinyl:   Amazon   ||   Insound

99. Alt-J - ‘An Awesome Wave’ + Americano

Alt-J - ‘An Awesome Wave’ + Americano

Ingredients: 1 1/2 ounces Campari, 1 1/2 ounces sweet vermouth, 3 ounces soda water, orange slice for garnish.

Mixing Instructions: Fill highball glass with ice.  Add Campari and sweet vermouth, top generously with soda (don’t exceed 1:1:2 ratio).  Garnish with orange slice.

Notes: My first contact with British quartet ∆ (pronounced Alt-J) was via their floating and beautiful, “Something Good”, a song about the mending of a broken heart told through the death of a matador.  It delicately strums many of the same emotional strings as Radical Face’s “Welcome Home, Son” welling up in the listener an inexplicable torrent of nostalgia and longing.  What raises the band’s credibility, however, is the rest of the album.  Rather then a let down one finds oneself going from song to song saying, “This is my favorite…wait, no this one is.”  Each song is a unique and compelling character on its own, but fits perfectly into the larger story.  This is music to listen to when you’re bored with music.  It’s a refreshing reminder of what’s possible when people mix love and risk into their art. 

purchase vinyl:   Amazon   ||   Insound

98. Lord Huron - ‘Lonesome Dreams’ + Durango

Lord Huron - ‘Lonesome Dreams’ + Durango

Ingredients: 1 1/2 ounces tequila, 1 1/2 ounces grapefruit juice, 1 teaspoon orgeat syrup, spring water, mint sprigs for garnish.

Mixing Instructions: Shake with ice in a shaker and strain into an old-fashioned glass. Fill with spring water and garnish with mint sprigs.

Notes: The first time I saw the shadowy desert dreamscape depicted on the cover of Lord Huron’s latest album, 'Lonesome Dreams' it reminded me of something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.  Finally it hit me, Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s ‘The Little Prince’.  Saint-Exupery, the French aristocrat, writer and aviator, tells the story of a young prince traveling the Earth meeting various creatures who offer him wisdom along the way.  This wandering spirit is what Lord Huron encapsulates within the opening moments of the first song, “Ends of the Earth”,

Oh, there’s an island where all things are silent
I’m gonna whistle a tune
Oh, there’s a desert that size can’t be measured
I’m gonna count all the dunes

The entire album is the philosophic ramblings of a sojourner with seemingly no place to rest his head and no one he can trust.  The folksy jangling of guitars and echo-y choral harmonies give a nod to old Western flicks, but underneath it all is a very addictive tropical current — something band leader Benji Schneider has explained in several interviews as the result of his love for old Calypso music.  While Lord Huron has a blend of tobacco uniquely their own, their music will undoubtedly find a welcome home with fans of Fleet Foxes, My Morning Jacket and Bon Iver.

purchase vinyl:   Amazon   ||   Insound

97. The White Stripes - ‘White Blood Cells’ + Alabama Slammer

The White Stripes - ‘White Blood Cells’ + Alabama Slammer

Ingredients: 3/4 ounce amaretto, 3/4 ounce Southern Comfort, 3/4 ounce sloe gin, 4 ounces orange juice

Mixing Instructions: Mix all ingredients and serve over ice in a highball glass.

Notes:  Jack and Meg White’s third album, and their first breakout success, came about after one week of practice and four days in the studio.  Recording engineer Stuart Sikes recalled in an interview, “Jack told me more than once not to make it sound too good…Basically he wanted it as raw as possible, but better than if it was recorded in somebody’s living room."  It worked.  With hits like "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" "Hotel Yorba" and "Fell In Love with a Girl" this is the album to pull out for people who lament that all the good rock music happened in the 60’s and 70’s.  Throw it on the turntable and sip an Alabama Slammer while the White’s take them to school.        

purchase vinyl:   Amazon   ||   Insound