Heavy elctro-blues men The Black Keys know how to construct hooky but rugged tunes that do not get stale because they are not that sweet. “Next Girl” from 2010’s “Brothers” is good example of their gritty but pop-savvy sensibility. Check out the lyrics, wah-wah and thump. And remember, fellas: The look of the cake, it ain’t always the taste…
Plug it into your Pandora or download it from iTunes or Amazon.
Cannot stop wanting to play this damn song, although really the Colin Meloy live version not necessarily this studio version. But this’ll have to do for infecting you all with it, as it’s certainly close enough and I need to share this damn itch.
Plug it into your Pandora or download it from iTunes or Amazon.
Hot summer days have many good points and one of the best is that they were made for outdoor grilling. And the most fun type of grilling, in my opinion, is slow cooking. Not only does it allow you to drink more beer while you grill longer, which is nice, but it also enables the grillmeister to demonstrate a bit more finesse and technique than a 5-minute steak (not that there’s anything wrong with that either).
One of my favorite semi-slow grilled dishes is classic hickory-smoked chicken. This can be cooked on a standard Webber kettle-type grill (no smoke box required), in about an hour and a half to 2 hours depending on the size of the chicken pieces or whole bird that you’re using. This would be considered a “hot smoking” method and looks like this (this pic was taken closer to the end than the beginning FYI. And yes, that is a kielbasa and yes, I am happy to see you!):
You can see that we’re banking the charcoal to one side and the chicken and kielbasa is actually placed over the area of the grill without the coals, the cool side, so as to receive indirect heat. We don’t have to sear the chicken first with this recipe–it’ll cook just fine anyway with a delicious caramalized skin.
So here’s how we do: Continue reading
Just a (not so) brief primer for the beginners on the kinds of things to think about when you start looking for a vintage watch.
First off, most of the watches that us vintage buffs are into have plastic crystals. This can be alien to a lot of people who are used to modern timepieces with their ultra-hard synthetic sapphire crystals. And yes, acrylic crystals are prone to scratches. But you can polish those out easily with some cotton balls and a neat little product called Polywatch. It’s a light abrasive that will smooth out scuffs & nicks. In a pinch, even toothpaste will do. Once you become accustomed to the warm look of an acrylic crystal you won’t be so hung up about it, I guarantee you.
In fact some watches are so iconic, like this mid-1960s Omega Speedmaster Professional (aka “The Moonwatch”), that the companies still put plastic crystals on them today despite the superior hardness of modern crystals. They know very well: don’t mess with a classic!
Secondly, what to buy? And my answer to this is: buy what you like. Continue reading
Here’s a really cool article over at Ben Clymer’s Hodinkee watch site authored by Vintage Heuer guru Jeff Stein on the integral relationship between Heuer’s iconic Autavia and Brown & Williamson’s Viceroy cigarettes:
How the Number Three Cigarette in America Made Heuer a Household Name
Smooth tobacco flavor–I’m timing it!
Smoking is bad, m’kay, but you’ve got to love those retro ads and chunky chronos. Not to mention that vintage Heuers from this period are some of the hottest collectibles going & Jeff really knows his stuff. Click over to Hodinkee to check it out–its a fun read even if you’re not a big watch buff.
How the Number Three Cigarette in America Made Heuer a Household Name
David Ruffin‘s “Rode by the Place (Where We Used to Stay)” just belted out of my “MellowMix” playlist right now.
Hey girl, can I get next to you?
Ruffin was the co-lead singer along with Eddie Kendricks of the awesome 60s R&B act the Temptations. He could not only rock a pair of geek glasses but had a slightly gruff delivery that was the perfect counterpoint to Kendricks’ controlled falsetto. In classic Soul Man style, he will sometimes jump up into a pained scream for maximum emotional effect. This wonderful quality of his is shown beautifully on this solo effort, which is never maudlin or hysterical, but is still suffused with the longing for bygone days, an irrevocably changed past that ain’t coming back. The galloping beat and Ruffin’s understated delivery cannot hide the pain from the memories stirred up driving by his old house and hood. Gives me chills every time, which doesn’t happen too often on such an up tempo pop song. God bless classic R&B for its sweet sounds wrapped around such serious and soulful themes.
Plug it into your Pandora or download it from iTunes or Amazon.
Hi all,
A big thanks to Jim & the boys for having me aboard and hopefully I can contribute to the fun around here. Seems like a cool place to prop up one’s feet, crack open a beer and shoot the shit with some bros.
As some of you may know, I am a serious watchaholic with a special soft spot for vintage pieces. I have a pretty large collection and have bought and sold many, many more. Mostly they are watches produced prior to the 1990s and usually between the 1950s and the late 1970s. The watches from this era have great panache both visually and in what I like to call their “superpowers” (chronographs, divers, GMT watches, etc.). Before the 70s quartz revolution forced ever smaller margins in the Swiss watch industry and pretty much exterminated the American one the quality of these mass produced mechanical marvels was really top notch. Which is why even today, some decades after their manufacture, you can enjoy them and wear them just about the same as you would a brand new watch. But with the added huge plus of vintage style that can’t be beat and adds to your individual overall look. Trust me, when you strap a nice vintage wristwatch on, you’re going to feel badass, manly and ready for the challenges of the day.
I’ll be talking about vintage watches in all price ranges because I firmly believe that there’s something cool to be had for any guy’s budget. It doesn’t take a ton of dough to sport something cool and this ain’t no dick measuring contest. So I’m cool with a watch like this…
…a nice late 60s Zodiac Sea Wolf diver that was often favored by the soldiers and navy men over in Nam and will run you around $700 give or take… Just as I’m cool with this baby…
…a very hard to find mid-60s Rolex 6240 Cosmograph with water resistant screw down pushers and large crown, which will run around $30k…if you can find one. Continue reading