Fuck It, It’s Fucking Friday
I sat down to review both Samantha Crain and Noah & the Whale for your Friday perusal and after about a sentence of each, I just couldn’t be arsed.
So here are some bits and random pieces for you. I got this email today:
Dear Matthew,
you didnt ask me for any advices, BUT I think anyone who loves music
should give brazilian music a chance.I mean it.
P2P is out there, blogs as well, I dont need to teach you how to walk
your way home.Perhaps a brand new world will be open in front of you. Perhaps not.
Take care
Heitor
And fair enough, he may be right. I just liked the way the email was worded, so I printed it. And imagine, using P2P to discover whole new worlds of music instead of just to rip off poor hard-working artists and to support communism! Who would have fucking well thought.
In other news, I am probably skipping gigs this weekend in order to sit at home and work with video. I’d sort of like to go to both Retreat Festival shows this weekend, but may end up attending neither. It’s also about time that instead of going to sleep at 2am with square eyes I considered spending some time with the lady to whom I have given my life. You know, to prevent a messy divorce.
We’re going out to dinner tonight actually, to one of Mrs. Toad’s favourite restaurants down at the Shore in Leith. Within a block there are two Michelin-starred restaurants, one transplanted former Michelin-starred one (you lose the star if you move the restaurant) and at least a dozen (maybe more actually) of the best restaurants in Edinburgh. There are also a good three or four brilliantly cosy little pubs. Leith is great.
When we were first going out, coming back and forth from Edinburgh to London every other weekend, we would usually walk down to Leith, fetch up in a restaurant at about five and then slowly eat and drink our way through to closing time, just chattering. On one rather memorable occasion we ended up in a fearsome row about whether or not a corporation deserved the same rights as a human being (of course they fucking don’t) but for the most part these were wonderfully romantic evenings. I really like that we enjoy spending time together doing not very much.
She’s a good lass, is Mrs. Toad. She even lets me out to play with you miscreants on a regular basis – what is she thinking?
I’m not sure there’s anything else, really. I still haven’t tidied the house yet, since the last Toad Session. And I found this website with a positively liver-curdling quantity of rather fine-looking gins. Have fun over the weekend. I will probably post some interviews as and when I finish them. Oh, and those two reviews I couldn’t be arsed writing today.
Songs with which I wooed her:
Bob Dylan – Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You
Eels – Good Old Days
Clem Snide – All Green
And one I didn’t: John Prine & Iris DeMent – In Spite of Ourselves
Gin is a wonderful thing. I, too, strongly favor Tanqueray (London Dry). I’ve been known to drink a bottle or two of Plymouth, but really find Bombay Sapphire very unappealing. Hendrick’s? The cucumber is a bit of deal-breaker for me. Have a very wonderful weekend.
Yep – if it comes with cucumber, it’s not a gin and tonic thank you very much. Remember to enjoy respo… ah fuck it, go out and get wasted, David, and have fun doing it!
Oh and the fucking cucumber is no more important than the ice is to Magner’s – it’s just a marketing gimmick to give them an angle and deserves to be ignored completely.
I’ll likely be on Leith’s prestigious Shore tonight – my favourite place in the world. I work, live and frolic there! Have fun!
Seriously? A silent reader who is also local? How about that. We’ll be in the Shore Bar & Restaurant for a G&T before the meal if you happen to be around – from about 7ish.
Ohmigod. Izzy is your boss, i just know it, we’re DOOOMED i tell you, DOOMED
I’m out in Leith tonight as well! Leith fuckin rules.
*Arrr, this is a local blog. For local people.*
My my my, how the other half lives. You can all take your G&Ts at 7ish and your gourmet dinners and your holding hands during a 10:30 pm sunset and your indie rock in the Oregon woods and fuck yourselves. Have you no concern for the feelings of others? Jesus, look who I’m talking to…of course you don’t. Why don’t you two have some children so you can be miserable and poor like the rest of us.
Christ, if the wife sees this I’ll be made to write “children are a blessing” 100 times on the fucking blackboard. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get my apron and go scrub the toilets.
I love it when you ramble.
Well, I was born a ramblin’ man.
Children? Jesus, that would involve staying up till 2am and doing sex stuff instead of blogging. You have the kids and he’ll write the muso musing and I’ll avoid a fanny like a bin bag. Everyone happy!
Friday night, Amarone after midnight…tasty. A sub bottle of Bekka Valley in the wine rack. eBay could see some action on Soviet memorabilia, video cameras, submarine gear and bust Edwardian couches tonight.
Fuck sake. And my night? Well, I’m gonna walk the dog and then I think the kids are gonna make me play Indiana Jones on the Wii. Then maybe I’ll take a leak and go beddy-bye. For your information I had a very tasty shrimp dish for dinner, along with a frisky bottle of Stella Artois, which I finished off with a toothsome ice cream sandwich. Soviet memorabilia? You know, I hear there’s quite a bit of it to be had just now in Tbilisi. Actually, a friend of mine’s father picked up a Soviet tank commander’s helmet in 1992 or thereabouts; apparently the owner was selling it on the street in Moscow or some other city. And so my friend’s father now uses it to accessorize his Halloween costume. It does make an impression.
And the coke, C&B? And the whores? When do they fit into your evening’s schedule?
And they aren’t shrimp, by the way, unless they’re really tiny. They’re prawns. Fucksake.
Prawns indeed. Everyone knows that if it’s the same size as your index finger or smaller it’s a shrimp. Honestly, I don’t know how you live with yourselves over there. You and your prawns.
I just walked the dog by the way, so things are really heating up Stateside!
You RAWK!!!
Right – any one who is getting pissed need a good amp.
This. Is. The . Daddy.
Tried to buy itr on eBay got outbid every tine:
http://www.silverpioneer.netfirms.com/sx-1980.htm
it fucking rocks.
You can buy it right now on eBay from a feller in Paducah, Kentucky for $998. What’s that? About 500 pounds? You spend that on dinner. Strike, girl! Strike!
http://cgi.ebay.com/vintage-Pioneer-SX-1980-Stereo-Receiver-Audio-on-ebay_W0QQitemZ130248904212QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item130248904212&_trkparms=72%3A134%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
I was in Stockbridge this evening and that’s nearly a mile from The Shore.
Now I’m back home in Newhaven which is around half a mile from The Shore.
I lived just off The Shore until six months ago but I still think The Shore’s fucking brilliant – love it.
Newhaven’s pretty cool though.
Hendrick’s Gin is an unusual product as it distilled using a Carter head still which allows the more delicate flavours of the primary botanicals; cucumber and rose, to stand up to the obligatory juniper.
Reducing the amount of juniper flavour means the harsh, astringent cut of citrus is no longer necessary to combat the robust spice berry flavour. Instead the milder, more savoury taste of cucumber can be used to enhance the herbal and floral notes of what is a far more refined and intriguing drink.
Did you two (Mr & Mrs Toad), Izzy and Anonymous all meet up for a gin in The Shore bar then this evening?
I feel like I’ve tuned in at the end of a soap opera!
And can I just reiterate that the cucumber in a Hendrick’s is not a just a marketing gimmick.
Honest to goodness, some people.
I was anonymous. and no we did not. would have gladly met izzy and mrs toad but I think mr toad had probably had enough of my nonsense on thursday night whilst taking in kartta and popup and some young band – who’s name I forget and I won’t be trying to remember.
Morning Gin heads – i did not go out for Gins for 2 reasons;
1 – up at bloody seven to go back to work (i have to work on saturdays, pity me people!)
2 – i was drunk the night before and despite managing to shower and dress, i collapsed on my bed and fell asleep til the wee small hours – balls!
So feeling fresh as a daisy this morning if a little cheated out of my friday night. Plus i think if i turned up for a gin with Matthew he would scoff at my Hendricks and cumber, or if in the Shore – which is devoid of Strongbow – my Magners, yes with ice! I feel like the biggest philistine right now, but hey, whatever floats the boat!
Working tonight in my favourite bar on the Shore – Kings Wark, give it a go!!
PS – Dylan, I think you are my new best friend!!! Refined!
Ooh! A cider drinker too! My first pint since last Sunday arrived last night – and it was a Strongbow. Coincidentally; so were the next four.
I love the King’s Wark.. More of a foodie pub than a drinking pub though. Great for a good meal all the same. I tried razor clams there for the first time a while back. Not sure if I’d rush to try them again – but hey – it was an experience. I love the chowder with the paprika mayonnaise.
I used to mainly drink in the Carriers’ when I lived round the corner – but it’s not been the same in there since Pete (and Henry) left last year.
I think my favourite pub on the Shore now has to be the Malt & Hops. If I’m not mistaken, Matthew knows the place, too.
So, Izzy, if you’re a cider drinker based on the Shore, you’ll be familiar with Addlestone’s Crazy Cider, won’t you?
King’s Wark is a bloody brilliant pub. I go in there pretty much every Friday for lunch with work and, but Mrs. Toad and I only recently went there together for a meal for the first time. The food is fucking fantastic (and has won an award recently I believe) and it’s just a shame that lovely pork belly has recently vanished from the menu. Still, one of my favourite places to eat, and now I’m sorely tempted to go in for a pint this evening and try and guess who the mysterious Izzy might be.
Good lord. Are any of you ever sober? Is the water polluted in Edinburgh, or what is it?
I’m sober now. Just brushed my teeth!
Ooh! Ooh! Let’s do that – go in the King’s Wark and try and find Izzy. My bet is that it’s a fifty-year-old ex-brickie called Trevor.
What’s funny is that even if we don’t go in the King’s Wark tonight now, Izzy will be looking at all the strangers who go in thinking “I wonder if that’s them..”
“I wonder if that’s those fucking weirdos from the internets”
And C&B, to answer your question: yes, but rarely and not for very long.
Wow! It’d be great to have some visitors, but Izzy isn’t my real name so i will be able to figure you all out first ! (evil laugh!) Actually i might recognise Matthew after watching the Broken Record vid recently!
I am aware of evil Addlestones. Was so excited about trying it for the first time and so gutted it tasted like something piped from the water of leith mixed with Robinsons apple cordial!! I believe i’ll be expelled from the cider drinkers club for such derogitary comments, but you can stick anything cloudy in a pint glass!! i like the other one – Stowfords! (i really wish i wasn’t stuck in an office and sitting on those benches right now!)
By the way things come and go on the menu cos the chef is a live wire and gets bored of cooking somethings! It’s what makes him the genius that he is!
Of course Izzy isn’t your real name! It’s Trevor.
I think that’s a pretty accurate description of how Addlestone’s tastes, and that’s exactly why I like it!
The chef should always keep a menu fresh. I am not complaining at all, it’s just that particular dish was a personal favourite, that’s all. I had the cod fillet in clam and mussel broth with samphire on Friday. Very, very nice.
Haha! you’ve got me all figured out! i’m sitting browsing all the social networking sites in my string vest and my wife’s american tan tights – just don’t tell anyone!
i thought you were a refined Hendrick’s drinker – not a pint of something that looks like a bad sneeze guzzler!
Mwah ha!
Dylan: pwn3d!
i had the cod on Thursday! Yes i like it so much that even when not working – i eat there, and drink there too! I’m sure the Pork Belly will be back, i’ll put in a word for you!
What happened?
Am I the only one who thought this post sounded a bit like an anniversary post? And C&B, yeah, from my visit to Glasgow and other points North in Scotland, I can testify that indeed the Scots are rarely sober. Soap Opera indeed! And we just went to the movies
Anniversary? Me and Mrs. Toad you mean? That was quite recent, actually. We were married two years ago at the end of July.
The site itself turns two in November some time.
We’re off to the pictures tonight actually, to nurse the hangovers we gave ourselves by polishing off plenty of wine and playing music ear-splittingly loud until the wee hours of the morning. We were using the monitor speakers from the Toad Sessions recording setup too, so loud meant fucking loud!
Those little Tannoys?
They’re beasts.
They are very, very loud indeed. My ears were actually a little bit sore this morning.
The John Prine one is brilliant – pushing Tom Waits in the gruff stakes. Haven’t heard it for ages and ages. Gracias.
Hello Jonny old chap. Yes, it is a fine song. A bloody silly one in many ways, but rather romantic nonetheless.
And Mark Everett’s isn’t too dissimilar. Three Speed, which I think was on a podcast yonks ago, is terrific. Can’t wait for the Toad sessions to appear, and will catch the Pickcast A-Sap (I think that’s a Vampire Weekend B-side).
ah tis me that has anniversaries on the brain then! i’m frantic for a present by tuesday, i’ll shup for now! but ya know you’re still newlyweds for the first 5 years, don’t ya? xoxoxo
First five? So you’re legit for two years before the seven year itch kicks in and it all starts to fall apart. Nice.
i once worked at “lancashire’s best g&t pub”. true fact.
That sounds brilliant, where is it? I must make a pilgrimage!
Hendricks rocks, and it’s possibly, the finest gin on the planet next to Plymouth, which is the only gin the Savoy cocktail book allows you to use for a proper gin martini. (Bombay is too heavy on the aromatics, which is why half-wit Gen-Y secretaries ‘lerv’ it.)
Oh and as an ex-pat Edinbugger and one time Leither, (now back in grey, grey Melbourne) I have to say, Leith rocks AND sucks. The redevelopment going on there is ugly, poorly thought through and destructive. I love The Shore and hope it and other ‘legends of Leith’ survive the yah and poser invasion. And yes, there are great places to eat in Leith, Wishart’s is but one (although it has all the ambiance of an operating theatre – Martin is after all, a styleless ned at his core) but The Grainstore is still my favourite restaurant in Edinburgh.
Ah dang it. Now I’ve become all homesick for the ‘Burg. * sniff *