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the413joint · 3 years ago

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A Conversation with DJ Mike Torch

The 413 Joint gets a deeper look at DJ Mike Torch — the man behind ‘Inapproreality’, ‘For The Culture’, and the highly-anticipated ‘Spliffield III’ Event in Western Mass. Read more for conversations on his musical background and how his time serving as a Marine has shaped his music taste.

The 413 Joint: Describe your musical background?

Torch: “I think everyone knows this by now, I’ve said it so many times. My father was a DJ and my grandfather was as well. So, like, music has been around since before I was even here. Before I was even thought of. So, just literally, I remember being five, six, seven years old and running around with my dad. He was putting on a bunch of festivals; every year he had festivals going on for, I don’t know, ten plus years. Called the ‘Get Ill’ Picnic, people’s parents out here might have went to it way back when. Everybody knows my parents, because of events like that. They did a lot. So, I remember being a kid, just watching that and obviously it’s an influence on me. It’s what I’m doing now. It’s what I’m doing today.”

Is there any specific kind of sound you aim for as a DJ?

“No, because you can put me anywhere. It’s, to that point, because I’ve been to so many different people and cultures. And not just been around them but been in-depth with those cultures. Like I wrestled in high school, so not a lot of Black people wrestle. So, I’m around a lot more white kids; now I’m listening to their music. You’re around their culture, I had friends, I had sleepovers and all type of stuff like that. Now you get to put yourself in their shoes. You get to see a different mindset [that] you wouldn’t have had without being there. So, being on the wrestling team and then joining the Marine corp got me comfortable with listening to rock and heavy metal and all types of country. It was just a lot of pastime music, especially when we were in Iraq. People would share whole Zune playlist with everybody and just switch music. That’s how we all understood each other then, that way. So, it’s another way that I got introduced to more music. And then being in California and going to raves and being apart of crazy EDM festivals. I just been around a lot -- a lot of different types of music and different types of cultures. So when it comes to the music, everything I was born into plus all the cultures added on to what I’ve done personally, I just have a very, very, very open-mind and a very, very, very crazy library of music stored in this brain.”

What’s the most unexpected thing you listen to or do you have any guilty pleasures?

“I think it really is that, it really is the rock and the metal. Because it puts me back into certain places in Iraq, like when I mention ‘Seven Dust’ came to perform for us out in Iraq. It was one of the dopest things I’ve ever seen in my life; it was amazing. As I got introduced to them then I started tapping into their catalog. And listening to a lot of ‘Lamb of God’ because they love Marines and they shout-out Marines in their music all the time. So now I’m screaming and going crazy in the gym just listening to ‘Lamb of God’. I wouldn’t have otherwise known that, unless, like I said, being in those different places and being different people. So definitely the rock because even for St. Patrick’s Day, I was playing a bunch of it and [with] Bia Javier, I was like, ‘You don’t know this song? You never heard this before?’ And she’s like, ‘No, no. Like no, what is going on?’”

When I spoke to MacWay yesterday he mentioned that you’re in film school. Obviously that helps with the podcast but talk to us about how that’s going?

“Yeah, it kind of happened on accident. We, as a unit, came through a bunch of different photographers and videographers, that like came on the team and for reasons they either walked away or it just wasn’t working out. So, I got tired of my visuals looking the way that they did. So I was like, ‘You know what, I’m going to just take this into my own hands. And not just wing it, but let me learn professionally. I have this G.I. Bill in my pocket, let me go to school and learn something. Let me do this myself.’ And it went from that to as I’m learning, because I went to a film school. I decided to go to a film school. If I learn how to make films I can run a podcast. So I’m, like, ‘Okay fine, now that I’m learning about film, I’m like, man I might want to get into directing or actually being a cinematographer.’ Or anything, anything that has to do with this. Because I’m learning a lot and it’s very interesting and fun. It’s become something that’s absolutely a part of me and I can’t wait to just see where this takes me. Because I have no idea, I had no plan for this. I really don’t, I have no idea where this is going to take me. So it’s very exciting.”

Talk to us a little bit about your plans for the podcast this year?

“This year, I plan on, it’s been like a resume builder really, I’m trying to put as much stuff on our plate as possible. I’m trying to work the hardest so that way, I think people already know this but I want to make sure it’s without a doubt, you know that we are the hardest working people. Me, MacWay, and Karla. Like you have to know this, you have to know this. And we’re gonna put in that work, so we’re everywhere right now putting on all types of events. And we’re just gonna keep working and just keep getting at it. Until it takes us to where we want to go because it’s going to happen.”

And of course, Spliffield III is coming up right around the corner. Talk to us a little about that.

“This is the third one we’ve done. It’s the first of its kind, the first one was actually, it was an accident. I just wanted to have a massive smoke session and that’s what it was. I overdid it, I had thirty plus vendors. It was ridiculous, a lot of people came, damn near like three hundred people showed up in a tight area. People were in and out. It was amazing, I had comedian Rob Santos, who is amazing. He came out, I was supposed to have people perform there but I just felt like the setting wasn’t right for it. So I canceled it on the spot. Shout-out MUDA!, I’m so sorry. He was so mad at me. He was so mad and I’m like, ‘MUDA! MUDA! Look around like, it’s just not the spot for this right now. It’s just not.’ But I definitely gave Rob the mic and he did a good job. But then last year, last year’s was a little bit smaller because I thought I overdid it. So, I was like, alright, it was a little smaller and I had people perform there. This year I feel like I got the perfect medium. It’s a dope space, you guys will get the address soon. And I just want to push New England here and push Springfield out into New England. So I’m bringing artists from all throughout Eastern Mass and Connecticut here. And try to build this community up because I feel people don’t travel enough. So I’m going to bring it to our backyard and see who’s really serious about this or not. Because I’m telling everybody, ‘If you hate me, if you hate my guts, so what? This is an opportunity for you to talk to people. This is an opportunity to talk to managers because they’re going to be in the building. Other photographers, videographers, they’re going to be in the building. People that are not from here, you want your music heard elsewhere? This is an opportunity for it to happen, even if you don’t perform. Just go and talk. Network.’ People don’t do that as well, get out.”

Spliffield III is sponsored by Chico Dusty, who’s been involved in putting on some pretty interesting events. The 413 Joint wants to just give a quick shout-out to Chico Dusty honestly.

“Chico and MacWay and I -- and Ovo Rell, shout-out Ovo Rell. A lot of people, we all went to Duggan together. We all went to the same middle school together. So we’ve all built these relationships, this is the reason why we’re so tight today. Like we’ve known each other for a very, very long time. And Chico is one of those people that I’ve known for a very, very long time. He’s an absolute comedian and another workaholic. You see it, he’s always putting on events. Always thinking of creative, different type of events that people come out to to have a good time. When it comes to entertainment, I think I mean, he might be the G.O.A.T. out here when it comes to entertainment and putting out these type of events no bull. Even the ‘Anything But Cups’ Event like that’s different, people were showing up with all types of things. Just being different and creative. Having radio shows or being a part of radio shows, having high positions at those shows. Like having podcasts and having his own spaces. Putting on I don’t know how many sessions, like it’s nonstop work with that guy. And definitely proud of him no bull.”

Speaking of Facebook comedians, there’s been some comments about you as a stand-up comedian. Will that ever be in the works for DJ Mike Torch?

“I absolutely love stand-up, like it is, I can probably name as much stand-up comedians off top as artists. Like, well maybe not. But close to, but close to. But I’ve always been a fan of stand-up comedy so being a goofball, that’s where the podcast came. That’s how the podcast came about, was my Facebook posts. Like people have always known me as the ‘meme’ guy, always cracking jokes on Facebook. So I realized I had a following just for that and I was like, ‘How the hell can I capitalize off this?’ And then, it was like boom, just have a podcast. This was when I was still living in Florida in 2015, 2016, brewing this idea up. And then, I got inducted into the Hall of Fame for football and wrestling in 2017. And when I came back for the induction, I was like yeah, I’m moving back. And then once I realized I was moving back, that’s when I hit up MacWay. I hit up my original engineer Matt, I hit up my original photographer and cameraman Tom. And we just got it rolling as soon as I came back. That’s how it started in 2018.”

When does the ‘For the Culture’ brand fit into your journey?

“Shout-out Chris Lombardi, if it wasn’t for Chris Lombardi, this wouldn’t happen. That’s an artist out here, he invited me to DJ one of his events that he put on at the Middle East (Bar and Restaurant) out in Boston. And because I knew I was going out there I was like, ‘Dang, this is a good opportunity for me to play peoples’ music out there.’ So I made a post, ‘Hey, I’m going out to Boston. If you want your music played out in Boston, send me your music.’ And my email got flooded. I was like, oh shit, I had no idea this was gonna be like this. Alright so, I go there and I start spinning regular stuff. Regular music, regular hip-hop that everybody knows. And the people that were there, they was just dead. I was just like, ‘Dang, how I am not getting any reaction out of things, that as a DJ, I’m looking at peoples’ reactions. Like aren't I getting a reaction out of everybody? Or anybody at all at this music? So then I switched it up to all local stuff, all independent stuff that I got sent. And then I started getting a reaction out of all these people from music they don’t know. I’m like, oh shit, this is really different. So then boom, I go live. But I have the camera facing me, people don’t really see that it's not really crazy packed. It’s really not, but the illusion of it and people did appreciate that I spun their music out there. And enough people did hear it, enough people did rock to their music to the point where I got a lot of respect for it. And then I was like, ‘Damn how can I capitalize off of this? How can I keep playing peoples’ music?’ It was just perfect timing, boom, COVID happened. So now everyone’s in the house. So that’s why I started the every Friday thing, people are looking for things to do. So now I’m live, it started with the battles. We picked two artists and people sent me their music and people judged in the comments. Shit we were the Verzuz before Verzuz, I swear to God. I swear, it’s documented. I’m lying, I’m lying it was around the same time. But we started doing that, battles going back and forth with artists out here. Then it went to that from just spinning peoples’ music to let’s do live shows with this. We started having people come out, shout-out Green Screen Studios for letting us use their space for the time that we did. And we started doing live shows there and it just kept going. I really didn’t have any plans for that either. I just had an idea. I had a small idea and I just kept working at it. And it grew bigger and bigger to what it is today.”

Favorite film or top three if you can’t do one?

“Okay, definitely ‘The Wood’, ‘Friday’ is in there, ‘How High’ is in there. Oh man, I could do this all day, like these are movies that I’ve watched constantly. Oh man, ‘Players Club’. Like The Wood like that is my shit. That is my shit and ‘Friday’, I feel like everybody can recite ‘Friday’ from front to back. Like that’s an instant classic. My dog’s name is Silas. If you watch ‘How High’, Method Man’s character is named Silas.”

If you could choose any actor to play you in a biopic who would it be?

“Oh wow. Bow-wow for sure. Absolutely, got to, like that’s a given. That’s the first person I thought of but it’d be hilarious. People have been talking about that guy since forever. It’ll just be funny. It’ll just be another joke, it’d be hilarious. Bow-wow got to do it.”

#the413joint #the413archive #dj mike torch #dj talks #independent blogger #music blog #creative interviews #east coast #east coast music scene #massachusetts music #boston music #a413joint

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scmyr · 5 years ago

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luka sabbat. cis male. he/him. ／ samyr delcine just pulled up james joint by rihanna — that song is so them ! you know, for a(n) twenty-four (24) year old retired actor / singer and rapper, i’ve heard they’re really -temperamental, but that they make up for it by being so +creative. if i had to choose three things to describe them, i’d probably say smoke filled recording studios, messy handwriting, tattoos. here’s to hoping they don’t cause too much trouble ! ( LJ, 20, est, they/them )

career claim: roddy ricch, dababy, the weeknd

hey y’all! guess who’s back at it again with a new muse? it’s LJ, @kcia‘s mun, and this is my second baby, samyr. i’ve actually had this idea in mind for a while, and i’m finally bringing him into fruition. if you’d like to plot with him, just drop a like on this post!

basics.

NAME: samyr delcine. PRONOUNS: he/him AGE: twenty-four. BIRTH DATE: july 16th, 1995. BIRTH PLACE: port-au-prince, haiti. HOMETOWN: compton, california. CURRENT RESIDENCE: los angeles, california. NATIONALITY: haitian-american. ETHNICITY: afro-haitian, unidentified white side. RELIGION: non practicing christian. OCCUPATION: singer, rapper, songwriter, producer, retired actor. LANGUAGES: haitian-creole (native), haitian-french (native), english (fluent). SEXUAL ORIENTATION: confused. ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: confused.

visual.

FACECLAIM: luka sabbat. EYE COLOR: dark brown. HAIR COLOR: dark brown. HEIGHT: 6 feet, 1 inch. WEIGHT: 149 pounds. TATTOOS: here, here, here. PIERCINGS: ears. NOTABLE TRAITS: lips, height, hair.

background.

he was born in port-au-prince, haiti to a single mother. he never met his father because his father was someone that his mother hooked up with while she was studying in the states. it was her last year in college and she didn’t know she was pregnant until she was about three months along. she took a year off and went back home so she could have him. she considered putting him up for adoption, but as soon as he was born and she looked into his eyes, she “fell in love with him and couldn’t part from him”, or that’s what she always tells samyr.

when he was six years old and his mother was twenty-seven, she decided to go back to school and get her degree. she spent the first six years of his life working two full time jobs and a part time job just so she could provide for him and save money at the same time. after she saved enough money, she packed up their things and moved them to america, california to be exact, so she could graduate and get a better paying job. she finished up her criminal justice degree and got a job working as a law clerk while she put herself through law school. she finally graduated, passed the bar exam, and now she’s a highly sought after criminal attorney in the states.

his childhood was a hard, yet happy time for him. hard because he and his mother lived in california while his mother worked for a very low salary. it was difficult for them to make ends meet, especially when she was still in school. even though she eventually became an extremely wealthy lawyer (she started making money around the time samyr was fifteen, but by then he was already making money from his show), things were hard at first. he was still a happy kid though. his mother gave him a lot of love, and he had friends and a cute puppy named chichi (she’s still alive, with her old ass ;-;)

samyr’s first taste of the spot light was at a young age. he did a little bit of modeling for stores and brands, but didn’t really get his big break until he was 12 and landed one of the lead roles of a children’s sitcom. he loved acting when he first started doing it, and worked hard for the several seasons that he was apart of the show before it ended. he was nineteen when the show ended. he did cameos on other shows, and acted in a few movies during the course of the show too.

he’s a very passionate and dedicated person, but once he’s finished with something and wipes his hands clean of it, he’s finished indefinitely. he felt as though after several years of acting on one show and doing other acting jobs, that he was ready to bring to a close the chapter of acting in his life. he enjoyed it, still does, but he wanted to pour all of his time and effort into the next aspect of his life - music.

he had actually started getting into music around the middle of his show’s run. he had been in the industry for a while and started making friends with musicians who had introduced him to the art of music. he quickly fell in love with it, not just singing and rapping, but the technical aspects of the music industry as well - producing, sound mixing, composition, e.t.c.

he released his first music project while he was still acting. it was in 2011, and it was a mixtape that he dropped out of the blue. people didn’t know who it was at first because he just dropped it on soundcloud and his account wasn’t under his own name. but some fans ended up doing some digging and made the connection.

after that, he would occasionally drop music projects here and there (i’ll eventually make a little timeline of his music releases, more so for my own means of keeping track, but to also give you guys an idea of what he’s released so far!)

now he focuses primarily on music. overall, his sound and lyrics are explicit, but there are still two sides to him - the ‘hard’ side (dababy, roddy ricch) and his softer side (the weeknd). he likes having that kind of duality, because it gives him the freedom to explore himself as a musician.

personality

he’s a very hard worker, and extremely prideful. he doesn’t like accepting help from others, especially if he thinks they’re pitying him. he and his mother used to get a lot of “offers” of help, which were honestly just people feeling sorry for them, which he absolutely hated. he doesn’t even like asking for help when he knows he needs it. if you ever catch him asking for help, you best believe it’s because it’s his very last resort.

if samyr’s face and name weren’t connected to his music, no one would even think that he was the one rapping and singing on his tracks. a lot of his music has explicit sexual innuendos and undertones, and holds a little aggression from time to time. it’s a complete contrast to samyr’s lowkey personality. what most people don’t know is that writing music is his outlet. he doesn’t get frustrated or angry (most of the time) because when he feels those things, he channels it into his writing.

that being said, he does have a little bit of a temper. it’s something that his mother says he gets from his grandfather, a man he had never met because he passed away before his birth. he has a high tolerance for things, but if he’s pushed over the edge, he gets black out angry. he hates that though, which is why he stays ‘medicated’ most of the time (lmao he stays high)

he’s so deep in the closet that he’s finding christimas presents. he knows that there’s nothing wrong with being gay, he’s an avid supporter of the lgbtq+ on social media platforms and such, but it’s just something that he struggles to accept about himself. his mother is very open minded, but he has a lot of family members who aren’t, and he doesn’t want them to disown him.

kinda gets angry/upset if his own sexuality is brought up? maybe not really angry or upset, but just really defensive? again, finding christmas presents lol

very particular with and protective of his hair lol has definitely smacked a few people’s hands for trying to touch it

wanted connections

girl(s) that he’s dated in the past to as a way to somehow force himself to be straight. most of them ended due to him not being able to fully invest himself emotionally. we can discuss if they’re on good/bad terms!

a few best friends, he definitely needs those

if anyone has a muse that has songs with a male rapper featured, samyr’s your guy

the first guy he’s ever kissed

relatives on his father’s side (he just recently started searching for his father, so it’d be interesting if he had cousins or half siblings around!)

someone that he confides in about his sexuality

a guy who helps him explore his sexuality

pr relationship(s)

pr friendship(s)

media fueled rivalry

enemies

frenemies

celebrity friends that are always seen out together (events, award shows, sports games, out shopping, e.t.c)

literally anything?? i’m open to anything and everything!

#excess:intro #this got a little long whoops lmao #mun.

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johannesviii · 5 years ago

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Top 10 Personal Favorite Hit Songs from 2004

15 to 16 years old. A chaotic year for sure, but with a high quality soundtrack. So here’s a top ten list in which, as usual for that decade, several painful cuts had to be made.

Disclaimers:

Keep in mind I’m using both the year-end top 100 lists from the US and from France while making these top 10 things. There’s songs in English that charted in my country way higher than they did in their home countries, or even earlier or later, so that might get surprising at times.

Of course there will be stuff in French. We suck. I know. It’s my list. Deal with it.

My musical tastes have always been terrible and I’m not a critic, just a listener and an idiot.

I have sound to color synesthesia which justifies nothing but might explain why I have trouble describing some songs in other terms than visual ones.

To provide the usual personal context, that year, being that-weirdo-in-the-back-of-the-class suddenly became great when OTHER people were also considered weirdos-in-the-back-of-the-class, and together, with a guy who kept falling asleep in class because he had insomnia, another guy who had elocution problems, and a girl who arrived directly from Cameroun in the middle of winter and was kinda depressed, we formed some sort of losers club and suddenly things weren’t so bad anymore. Unfortunately I completely lost contact with these people after highschool and that’s one of the biggest regrets of my life.

And then in September I once again ended in a completely different class in Terminale (equivalent of Senior Year in the US unless I’m mistaken) and made another great friend. So while life at home was still pretty bad, at least it was much better at school.

At this point my parents also stopped checking what kind of singles I was buying, which means that instead of this madness from 2003 where I had to hide some purchases with other ones...

...I only bought this in 2004 and the rest were actual albums.

Also, I found some old tapes and oh my goodness look at the label on this one. Late 2002/early 2003 at its finest right there. Kyo written with a typo, next to Eminem, next to Mylène Farmer. Love it.

With all of that out of the way, here’s a list of honorable mentions first. A very, very long list.

Yeah (Usher feat Lil Jon & Ludacris) - Thank goodness I thought this song was pretty cool, otherwise I’d have been miserable while listening to the radio in 2004.

Milkshake (Kelis) - Ooooooh daaaaangerously close to the So Bad It’s Good category.

Let’s Get It Started (Black Eyed Peas) - Don’t have anything to say, it’s a lot of fun.

Dragosta Din Tei (O-Zone) - This took like four more years to chart in the US but we heard it all summer here. And it wasn’t unpleasant at all to be honest?

Heaven (remix) (DJ Sammy) - Hang on, wasn’t this on the 2002 honorable mentions? Yeah but it took two years to chart here so it was elligible for 2004 as well.

Turn Me On (Kevin Lyttle) - A quality earworm that somehow isn’t annoying? Sign me up.

Call On Me (Eric Prydz) - Hey, look, another repetitive dance track in my collection of repetitive dance tracks!

What You Waiting For? (Gwen Stefani) - I think this is the only Gwen Stefani song that never made me turn the radio off after a minute. Pretty good.

It’s My Life (No Doubt) - Love the original. This version, not so much.

Parce Qu’on Vient de Loin (Corneille) - Favorite artist of my best friend that year. That song was so moving and well-written. Never got tired of it but never actively listened to it either. If I had better taste it would probably make the list.

The Reason (Hoobastank) - I thought this was ok and pretty nice if a bit bland, and didn’t deserve the success nor the hatred it got. However, thanks to the rock journal I was buying at the time which was like “hey, please listen to the album itself, it’s great!”, I followed that advice, listened to the album at the cd store and bought it instantly. If you dislike this song, please listen to the rest of the album, I swear you’ll enjoy it. Here’s the first track, Same Direction, to get a general idea!

Don’t Tell Me (Avril Lavigne) - Her second album was very good, wasn’t it? What happened to her in recent years?

Je Saigne Encore (Kyo) - This was the last cut (HA, get it? cut?? ok sorry that was terrible) from the list. While I loved it back in the day and while I’m willing to ignore how cringy some stuff I loved as a teenager can be now, I'm not willing to ignore how this is basically a song about a white boy being dumped for the first time and hurting himself because he can’t deal with the mere concept of jealousy. And I’m like “holy shit calm down dude and please drop that knife”.

And now, the actual list.

10 - Hey Ya! (Outkast)

US: #8 / FR: #41

Who’s surprised. Come on. Everyone loved it. I even bought the single! And to think I almost considered leaving it out of the top 10 to put friggin Kyo on it, of all things. The indignity. But yeah, I genuinely loved this. The only thing I can say against it is that it’s a bit too exhausting to be listened to on a loop.

9 - 100 Years (Five For Fighting)

US: #77 / FR: Not on the list

I only heard this a couple of times that year and never paid much attention.

Then I heard it again in 2018 right in the middle of a very, very bad year, after losing my grandfather, and it absolutely destroyed me.

It’s very, very good.

8 - Face à la Mer (Passy & Calogero)

US: Not on the list / FR: #11

Very overplayed that year. A delight every single time it was on the radio, though. Don’t have anything else to say about it.

7 - Modern Times (J-Five)

US: Not on the list / FR: #26

A hiphop song sampling a scene from Modern Times with Charlie Chaplin. It peaked at number 1 here! Not kidding! I bought the single after hearing it exactly once. It’s fantastic and I’m really sad time buried it like it did. If you’ve forgotten about it or simply never heard it before, please give it a listen, it needs more love.

6 - Hit My Heart (Benassi Bros)

US: Not on the list / FR: #74

Remember last time when I said I was a major sucker for Benassi Bros? Well this isn’t an exception. That is a killer drop right there. It looks great and dark and glittery all at once and, by the way, the sunny and summer-y music video completely contradicted how the song looked like in my ears, haha.

5 - My Happy Ending (Avril Lavigne)

US: #54 / FR: Not on the list

I’m not entirely sure what went wrong and when in Avril Lavigne’s career the shift happened, but a couple of years after that song her music got a lot less interesting. I may have enjoyed her first album Let Go a lot, but this song might just be her best one ever.

The sudden shift from “YOU WERE everything” to “HE WAS everything” near the end, in particular, is great writing. Love that.

4 - Left Outside Alone (Anastacia)

US: Not on the list / FR: #76

Usually, voices, good or bad, have zero impact on me except when they border on unlistenable, or when they are physically painful to hear/look at. The guy from Muse for example has a voice that looks like the equivalent of a flashlight in the dark and it hurts, and I’m like dude. Can you please tune that down a little bit. Please.

This lady’s voice right there is fascinating though. Her voice is green and dark and it’s such a strange, rare voice I’m charmed whenever I hear it, and in this song in particular. This was on SO MANY of my tapes it’s not even funny. And the chorus is fantastic and a joy to sing along with even if you don’t have a good voice yourself.

3 - Orchestra (The Servant)

US: Not on the list / FR: #97

So we were on vacation, and they were giving away free cds at one stop. And I put the one I got in my portable cd player, and wasn’t that excited by the first tracks.

And then the fifth one started. And I was instantly captivated.

You already know I absolutely adored Placebo at the time (sadly, Protect Me isn’t elligible here either), and that guy from The Servant had a similar voice and the song was roughly in the same ballpark, and the lyrics were so, so weird.

There's an orchestra in me, Playing endlessly I even hear it now They play in the devil's key, An endless symphony I even hear it now And I listen to the music, Beautiful music Yes I listen to the music, Beautiful music

And, again, I’m terrible at describing sounds but the colors are so disquieting and there’s an unpleasant vibe except the song itself isn’t unpleasant? It’s so damn weird. And that band never struck gold again after that.

I still don’t know what happened or how all of this works. It’s a mystery. A very beautiful and curious mystery. This would have had a good shot at winning the #1 spot if it hadn’t been for [shakes fist] these other guys.

2 - Breaking the Habit (Linkin Park)

US: #79 / FR: #89

Only #2? Does... does that mean Linkin Park isn’t going to top my lists three years in a row? Holy shit, dodged a bullet there.

Should I really repeat my whole speech about Meteora. Should I really. Come on. It starts with the sound of a closing door, then broken glass, and then guitars explode in your face. The first line of the album is “sometimes I need to remember just to breathe”! Somewhere I Belong is one of my favorite songs from the band! I was trying to match the flow of Faint even if my English was still extremely shaky and my accent terrible!

And then there’s Breaking the Habit, which sounds almost pleasant compared to the levels of aggression displayed by the other songs. But it’s weirdly tense and stressful for that exact reason, because this relative calm sounds like a menace.

It works even better out of the context of the album, where it sounded a tad more aggressive than the average pop song, but still tense and stressful. And the music video is fantastic. I had it on a giant poster. I know I’ve kept it folded somewhere. If I only knew where it was, I’d show it to you. Covering up the (bright pink) walls in my room back then was a lot of work.

Edit: Nevermind. Found it:

Gotta say one thing though. At least they aren’t #1 for the third year in a row. What’s left of my dignity has been saved.

1 - Enjoy the Silence 2004 (Depeche Mode, Mike Shinoda remix)

US: Not on the list / FR: #89

Waiiiit a second. This was remixed by Mike Shinoda, wasn’t it. Mike Shinoda. From Linkin Park.

I guess Linkin Park IS topping my lists three years in a row in the end sdfghjhgfdfghjkjhg end me

But yeah. So. Enjoy the Silence tops a second list of mine, then. 14 years after the first one. I’m not gonna repeat what I’ve already said about that song. It simply got a brand new coat of paint, but still, even if it’s basically street art painted over a framed painting, what a masterpiece. Was genuinely gawking the first time I heard it on the radio.

And then Depeche Mode released one of their best albums ever the very next year, and it was the album of the year for me, and I became a big fan. So yeah, thanks for introducing me to their music, Mike Shinoda.

Bonus: I noticed my trusty old radio/cd player was in the background of a pic my brother took around that time! I miss that radio. It was pearl-colored and I had added stickers of birds and insects on it. So everytime I say “on the radio” in these posts, just picture this round little thing which was at the center of my universe back then.

Next up: Not the best song of the decade but pretty close

#Johannes’ bad not good pretty terrible music lists #music #long post #eye contact tw

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scriptshrink · 8 years ago

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Hi!! Do you know anything about colour synaesthesia! (or synaesthesia in general) I'm writing a character with it and I recently saw that people with autism can experience it? I've also heard people with psychosis can experience it! I've done a lot of googling and I haven't really found anything concrete on it and what it can be a symptom of and synaesthesia in general Thank you!

Answers courtesy the Scriptshrink consultants!

Snail

With synaesthesia there is a link between different senses, so a stimulus is experiences in an unusual way. If your character has colour synaesthesia, consider which senses are linked to the colours. For example:

Robert sees letters in different colours. A is crimson red, B is tangerine, et cetera.

Momoko insists that Sunday is aquamarine.

Shouq can describe the shape and colour of each of her friends.

Elijah loves it when the grandfather clock chimes because the colours shift between oranges and reds.

Your character might experience synaesthesia in only one area, or in multiple areas.I suggest one of the first things to think about with your character is whether they projective or associative synaesthesia. If they have projective synaesthesia they will actually see colours when they hear certain sounds. If they have associative synaesthesia they will not see the colour in their field of vision, but might describe their best friend’s voice as being “cherry red”.

Your character may or may not realise that their way of perceiving the world is unusual. I have associative synaesthesia between tastes and shapes/colours. To me, flavours have different shapes and colours. However, I did not realise that that was unusual until very recently – I was cooking a meal for a friend and asked what spices she had because I needed to add a spiky orange flavour. It was frustrating when she didn’t understand what I meant. Later, I asked what round brown sauces she had so that I could add a little one of the side dishes. Her response was “well, I’ve got some HP at the back of the cupboard, but that’s the only brown sauce I have”. I clarified that I wanted a sauce whose flavour was round and brown, but she didn’t know what I meant then either.To me it was completely obvious that flavours have different shapes and colours. Ketchup is tall and spiky, in the same way that miso is a wide, shallow arc – they just are. Although I know that flavours don’t literally have these colours and shapes, to me those are undisputedly the colour that they are. It’s the same way that most people would describe Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT7_IZPHHb0 ) as “sad” – it’s just a bunch of notes strung together, but it still makes you feel an emotion. To have someone not understand what I meant when I described a flavour using shapes and colours was like someone not being able to understand me describing a song as sad. “It’s a taste, so how can it be a colour?” is the same as “it’s just sounds, so how can it be an emotion?”

Although I am autistic, you don’t need to have autism to experience synaesthesia. Interestingly, there was a study published recently about the potential link between autism and synaesthesia - http://www.sussex.ac.uk/newsandevents/index?id=39479

0asis

You don’t need to have psychosis or autism to have synesthesia. I experience grapheme-color synesthesia and I don’t know that there’s any correlation to that and mental illness. It’s just a unique way of looking at things.

Letters have certain colors in my head. People have certain colors. One of my characters is dark blue. I just think of blue when I think of him and it’s due simply to the fact that his eyes are blue. The name of an album is red because the cover is red. Your senses are somewhat crossed anyway - lose your sense of smell, and your sense of taste significantly diminishes. It’s just associating things with other things. It’s deeper thinking, a deeper perspective.

Anon32

Color and visual synesthesia is rare for me, but I get it where sound has a feeling pretty much daily, the road noise of some asphalt makes my teeth hurt. The texture and look of pressed board clipboards is nails on a chalkboard. But I can also sometimes get color to sounds/music, and other color associations, but they are faint and I don’t really pay attention to them because they just, feel normal to me. Like, if my mother is a soft lavender then that’s just part of who she is like having brown hair, it’s background information to me. But the first two things, those are jarring so it’s hard to ignore them.

Followers with synesthesia, do you have anything to add?

Disclaimer

#Anonymous #asks #synesthesia #sensory #scriptshrink consultants #consultant #personal experiences #anon32 #0asis #snail #this is not psychological or medical advice #this is writing advice #psychosis #autism #autism spectrum disorder

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gaytrashgoblin · 7 years ago

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BAAAABY GAAAAAAAY!!!!!!! 2 (:D), 6, 7, 10, 17, 26, 35, 41, 55, 57, 58, 65, 67, 69 (*wink wink*), 77, 82, 83, 91, 95, 105 (head up: rio is cool), 115, 149, 187, 188, 208, 215 (

ISAAAAAA!!!!!!! You can never send me too many questions/asks/messages. It’s like, your job or something as my Big Sister.

2. Post a pic of yourself (:D)- I’ll add one later, if I can remember. I’m on desktop rn

6. Age you get mistaken for- Around 14/15 if I haven’t spoken yet. If they’ve heard me speak they usually shoot around 17 so they’re accurate

7. Your zodiac/horoscope and if you think it fits your personality- Taurus. And yes, it’s very, very accurate

10. What is your hair color? Brown naturally. About halfway down to the ends it’s a faded yellow and faded blueish. I’m growing it out so I can do a full bleach so I can get lighter colors like pink and stuff.

17. Say 8 facts about your body

1. Short as hell

2. Great ass

3. I can move both eyebrows individually

4. I’m strong as fuck for my size

5. Nice calves

6. Size 6 shoe in US women’s (I think that’s around a 36 for European sizes)

7. I can crack my knuckles by making a fist/clenching my knuckles

8. My skin is really pale and uniform (except my cheeks which are naturally like bright ass red). Which is great for tattoos so :)

26. Something you are working on right now- So many things

35. Say 3 facts about your personality-

1. I’m stubborn as hell

2. To strangers I usually seem very emotionless/blank

3. I’m sarcastic to a fault

41. Share 2 habits-

1. I bite my nails

2. I bite/chew my lips/inside of my lips a lot

55. A random fact about yourself- Uhhh, I can use a pogo stick pretty well

57. An unknown fact about your life- I didn’t like PP when I saw it. I didn’t get into it until after I had seen the second one (bc by then I had started coming to terms with the fact that I was gay/was in other queer fandom spaces online) which I hadn’t even really wanted to see. I hated the first one when it came out. I know now it was because I was still in denial about being gay at the time and I really wanted Bechloe to be real so I just didn’t deal with it/let myself think about why I didn’t like it.

58. Share something about yourself others might think is weird- I don’t like/hate a lot of really popular franchises. (ex. Harry Potter, LotR, most Disney) I’ve gotten a lot of flak for that, tbh.

65. Weird things you do when you’re alone- I can’t think of anything, honestly.

67. 5 things you want to change- Idk if this means about me or not so here

1. My mom’s health

2. My health

3. The sorry excuse for a government we have in the US

4. The overall bigotry the world has towards others

5. More gay

69. Leave me a compliment (*wink wink*)- Isa is one of the most genuinely nice people and I hope everyone has some like her in their lives/rooting for them :)

77. What is your least favorite word? I’m going to assume I’m supposed to exclude slurs because that’s a whole list of garbage I have a deep hatred for the word moist. In any context. I also cannot stand when people pronounce gif incorrectly. It is not up to interpretation, the man who invented the word said it is pronounced with a j sound. Like jiff. Please just say the fucking word right if you’re going to use it.

82. Describe your favorite texture- Soft cotton. It’s like heaven.

83. What is your favorite flower?Don’t really have one

91. Say 2 facts about your favorite things-

1. My family- they’re always there for me no matter what

2. Diet soda- it tastes like heaven and keeps me awake and doesn’t make my sugar go crazy :)

95. Say 9 facts about your family-

1. I have 3 brothers

2. I only have 1 grandparent

3. I never met my grandfather

4. I was named after my mom’s great aunt

5. One of my older brothers was given our granddad’s name as a middle name

6. My oldest brother went to college like 3 times, but is currently a chef

7. My older brother is in college to be an accountant

8. My mom was a dental hygienist

9. My baby brother is 2 smert. he has like a 4.7 weighted gpa (WTF HOW HE DO THAT)

105. Top three places to visit(heads up: rio is cool)-

1. JAPAN JAPAN JAPAN

2. Probably around Europe a little bit. France/Germany/Italy would be cool

3. Definitely somewhere in South America. Probably Argentine or Brazil. Maybe Portugal. idk yet.

115. Say 5 facts about your bestfriend(s)-

1. Baby brother is my bestest friend ever. I could tell him anything

2. My momma- is the best mom ever, like for real.

3. Big Sister Gay™- the older sister I never got. Go to for sharing things/when i need to vent to a fellow gay about stuffs

4. Morgan- super cool/talented bean that looks cool in sunglasses

5. Ryder- my favorite nb bb. they are v cool and v nice and i am lov

149. Say five ways to win your heart

1. Go out of your way to learn about my illnesses. For real.

2. Try to be understanding of my illnesses and all that they entail.

3. Share music with me that you think I’d like/ that reminds you of me/ made you think of me

4. Please know that if I tell you something personal (like about my health/past/etc) that it is extremely hard for me to do that and understand/ appreciate that I was willing to share that with you.

5. Pizza/diet soda help too :P

187. A song that’s been stuck in your head- Heartthrob by Superfruit

188. Put your music player on shuffle and write the first ten songs that play-

1. Run to You- Lea Michele

2. Lil Tokyo- gnash

3. YOUTH- Troye Sivan

4. Boy Problems- Carly Rae Jepsen

5. Rolling Stone- Falling in Reverse

6. Wild Things- Alessia Cara

7. New Americana- Halsey

8. A Day in Falsettoland- Falsettos 2016 Broadway Company

9. I’m Alive- Next to Normal Original Broadway Cast Recording

10. Supermarket Flowers- Ed Sheeran

208. 5 things within touching distance

1. My DS

2. A McDonalds cup with diet coke

3. A bag of cough drops (im not sick they’re just on my desk)

4. My cell phone

5. A large container of jelly beans

215. YOU have to leave me a cute message- what does this mean Isa (if it’s for you from me then ily sis)

229. Which movie character do you most identify with and why- From any movie ever I’d pick Beca Mitchell. And I mean freshman Beca (yknow, then real Beca Mitchell but w/e). Sarcastic, distant, trust issues, music is life, doesn’t like cliches, shitty flirting from average boy does not interest me, flustered around attractive women, tattoos, piercings, give-no-fucks attitude, short, brunette, no likey dresses, loves plaid. She’s literally me but with eyeliner.

232. Say 5 things you love unconditionally

1. My mom

2. My brothers

3. My doggy

4. My friends (especially you Isa)

5. My soulmate, diet soda.

233. What motivates you in life?Spite

234. Something that you’re proud of- Myself for being clean/making it this far. My baby brother for how well he does in school/life. My older brother for he person he is. My mom for always being a positive happy person despite all of the shit she’s had to deal with.

235. Five words/phrases that make you laugh- I don’t think there are any phrases or words that would make me laugh with no context. Not that I can think of right now, at least.

264. One thing you’re excited for- The good movies coming out this year, tbh. I think I’m gonna get another tattoo and/or piercing for Christmas too, so that’s cool.

268. Make a confession- I’ve loved several people, but I’ve only been in love with one person.

#asks #freaking-isadorkable #here are some things about me #thats a lot of questions #here you are #Isa #Morgan #Ryder #friend mentions

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conndixon · 6 years ago

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Tagged by: @pour-some-rocknroll-on-me

Put your music player on shuffle and answer the questions about each artist. You can skip any repeats if you’d like, but you don’t have to, all the questions are original!

What is this artist? The Zombies

What genre of music do they play? Classic Rock

How old are they? From the 60’s

Have you ever heard them on the radio? Yes

Have they released any new music within the last year or two? No

Do they have a male or female vocalist? Male

What is the artist? Styx

Would you recommend them to someone else? Absolutely.

Do they write their own music/lyrics? Yeah

What are their album artworks like? Surrealism/abstract artwork and heavy symbolism.

If they stopped making music, would you be sad? Not exactly since they haven’t put anything new out in a little while :P

Do you know what they look like without searching? Yeah, I’ve seen them in person enough I should know lmao

What is this artist? Blue Öyster Cult

Are they popular and well-known? People probably know (Don’t Fear) The Reaper or Burnin For You but I don’t think they’re a common household name or anything anymore.

Have you ever seen them perform live? Yes! Just this year actually.

How did you find out about this artist? I’ve always been into classic rock since I can remember and I grew up listening to bands and music from the 60’s-90’s.

What is their sexuality, if known? Not a clue. Don’t really care ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Is their music easy to dance to? If you aren’t a pussy, yes.’

What is this artist? America

Do they play instruments? Yes

Would your mother/father listen to them? Yeah, my Da has almost the exact same music taste as me lmao.

Are they still making music today? No

Would you want to meet this artist? I would’ve loved to seen them perform!

How many songs by this artist do you have? I have Sister Golden Hair and Horse With No Name.

What is the artist? Nazareth

When did you discover this artist? Around 12/13? I started listening to classic metal and heavier stuff around then from exposure to Pink Floyd (The Wall mostly).

How many albums do they have? Like 16?

Do you think they are attractive? Nah

Have they gone through any line-up changes? Can’t remember off the top of my head.

Is their music more fun or serious? I think it’s fun. Hair of the Dog is my favorite but Love Hurts is such a guilty pleasure.

What is the artist? The Kinks

Do they play your favourite genre of music? Yes

What gender are they? Male

Are they someone you’d want to be friends with in real life? Probably not. To many family issues between the brothers.

Did somebody recommend this band to you? Nope, just got into it through exposure.

Would you play their music at a party? A couple songs maybe but generally the stuff I listen to isn’t really played at parties (at least in this decade,,,,)

What is this artist? Queen

How many people are in this band? 4

When did they start making music? 70’s

Do they have any songs that are well-known? So damn many.

Do you listen to this artist regularly? Yes

How would you describe their music? “Fuck you it’s Queen.” Huge range of music from almost classical to ballads to rock to almost metal… they’ve got something for everybody.

What is this artist? Guns n Roses

If they use a stage name, what is their real name(s)? William Bailey, Michael McKagan, Saul Hudson, Jeffery Isbelle, Steven Adler

Do they regularly make popular charts? In the 80’s&90’s yeah,,,,

Have you ever met this artist? No but I’d love to meet Duff, he seems like such a cool and down to earth kind of guy.

If they toured in your city, would you go see them? Already seen them here but absolutely would see them again in a heartbeat.

What is this artist? Pink Floyd

Are they known for anything else? Political stances and charity

What is their nationality? British

Would you be embarrassed to admit you like this artist? Never, I’ll die a Pink Floyd fan.

Are they older or younger than you? They’re old enough to be my grandfather.

Has this artist ever toured in your country/state/city? As Pink Floyd, yes (decades ago) and as solo artists yes (I’ve seen Roger Waters & Nick Mason, David Gilmore is the last one my Da and I are waiting for!!!)

What is this artist? Wall of Voodoo

Do you know much about their personal life? Nah, I think Stan Ridgeway is incredibly interesting though. I’d like to read about him more at some point.

Have they ever gone on hiatus and did they return? I honestly don’t know.

What instruments do they use? Guitar, drums, bass, synth, lots of effects

What city are they from? Los Angeles, CA

Do you think this artist has a lot of fans? Not really. They deserve way more because their sound is so unique and out there, it’s kind of gothic and angry and almost punk with elements of new wave. Just go listen to Dark Continent/Call of the Wild.

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tebbyclinic11 · 7 years ago

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Obsessed: Garrett Oliver on Brewing Better Beer

New Post has been published on https://kitchengadgetsreviews.com/obsessed-garrett-oliver-on-brewing-better-beer/

Obsessed: Garrett Oliver on Brewing Better Beer

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[Photographs: Vicky Wasik, except where noted]

Editor’s Note: Welcome back to Obsessed, the interview series in which we talk to uniquely driven amateurs and professionals from all across the food world. We hope to shed light on the passions that inspire enthusiastic food nerds, from home cooks to chefs on the line to veteran butchers, fishmongers, and farmers. Hopefully we’ll also pick up some of their favorite tips, tricks, and food wisdom along the way. Know somebody who you think would be perfect for this interview series? Email us!

For many people now reading this, Garrett Oliver doesn’t need an introduction. As the brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery, Oliver has for decades been one of the strongest and most eloquent advocates for the craft beer movement. While his primary passion is beer and its brewing, Oliver has impressively expansive tastes and a seemingly perfect sense of taste memory, a combination that led to the publication of The Brewmaster’s Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer With Real Food in 2003, in which he makes the convincing case that food pairs better with good beer—or “real beer,” as he calls it—than with wine.

Oliver went on to edit The Oxford Companion to Beer, a task he undertook in large part to share what he’d learned over the years, although he describes it in more selfish terms. As he put it to me: “I ended up doing the Oxford Companion because you get more out of most things by giving them away than trying to hold on to them.”

And, of course, all the while, Oliver and his crew over at Brooklyn Brewery have been busy making a whole bunch of real beer. I spoke with Oliver both over the phone and by email, and, though our (very long) conversation ranged across many subjects, we’ve managed to pare down and isolate all the bits that are about beer.

[Photograph: Matt Furman]

Name: Garrett Oliver

Age: 55

Day job: Brewmaster, Brooklyn Brewery

Instagram: @igarrettoliver

Facebook: facebook.com/GarrettOliver

Twitter: @GarrettOliver

What is your earliest memory involving beer?

Garrett Oliver: My uncle Bill drank beer and favored Miller. I’d constantly ask to taste it, and he’d turn me down. One day, when I was 12, I asked and he handed me the can. I took one swig and spat it out into the lawn. It was pretty awful, in a way that sticks with you. The old cans seem to have had a definite flavor to them, so the beer was grainy in a bad way, and it was metallic at the same time. Not a pleasant combination. I wasn’t at all interested in beer for quite a few years.

After my grandfather died, I found out that he’d home-brewed during Prohibition. Unfortunately, he passed before I started home-brewing—it would have been a cool thing to share with him.

I read that you studied filmmaking in college, as opposed to anything related to brewing beer. What was it that drew you to filmmaking?

GO: I’m a very visual person, perhaps something I got from my father, who was an art director working for a top advertising agency. He was an old-school “mad man,” and in those days, storyboards and other visual designs were drawn by hand. I didn’t want to be in advertising, but I did want to be involved with design.

Do you think your interest in filmmaking and your interest in design have any connection with what you do now?

GO: Oh, absolutely. In fact, in a certain weird way, I feel they are essentially the same thing. If you think about film, you can be a film director and direct a summer blockbuster. You have good actors, and the actors’ teeth are all shiny, and the car chase happens, and the cars look great. It’s a film that looks great on the screen—the car chases are executed perfectly—but there’s no real heart to the script. Everybody’s just phoned it in. It can be technically brilliant, but when you leave the theater, that’s two hours of your life that you’ll never get back, and you say to yourself, “Why did I think that this was going to be something that I wanted to see?” To me, that’s what mass-market brewing is like. There’s all the money and all the technology, but the actual aim is so insipid that there’s really nothing there but money, in the end.

On the other hand, when you’re watching student films, you might see flashes of brilliance, real heart, see that someone’s poured their soul into a film, but the lighting is no good, and the sound sounds like it was done in somebody’s bathroom. The person has something to say, but they don’t have the ability to say it.

To me, the balance that a great brewer should have would be to have both—they have to have something to say and the ability to say it. I think there are probably only a few brewers that I know who can really do that, and I’m not claiming myself as one of them.

People will say that Anheuser-Busch can’t make beer. Well, that’s not true; they can make beer the same way that there’s a lot of musicians that can make music. Kenny G can play the saxophone. It’s not like he can’t play it; it’s just that you never in your life want to hear it. He has skills, but there’s no soul in it. That’s why no one that I know, anyway, is ever going to mention Kenny G as a great artist. Does he have chops, can he play? Of course he can play.

I guess that’s kind of, in a way, part of what makes craft beer. I think the spirit of American craft beer is so strong partially because we all had other lives first. We had other intentions, we meant to do something else, and then we basically threw it away for love. And that is what takes this from a job into a movement. Almost everyone gave up their degree, whatever they got their degree in, and had to go back to their parents, probably, and tell them, “Guess what? You paid for me to go to college, et cetera, and that degree in whatever I got—I’m not going to do that. I’m going to go make beer.” Believe me, 20 or 30 years ago, that wasn’t exactly a cool-sounding thing.

There is an actual, rather stringent definition of craft beer, isn’t there?

GO: To me, there are many definitions of craft beer. Now, the craft beer definition you’re talking about, which is promulgated by the Brewers Association—a lot of craft brewers don’t agree with that definition. It’s a rather complicated, almost legalistic definition. I think, in certain ways, people are asking the wrong question. The Brewers Association—I don’t blame them. In order to defend and promote something, you have to actively define what you’re defending and promoting, especially as a nonprofit organization. So they had to basically make this Frankenstein monster of splitting hairs about who was going to be a craft brewer and who wasn’t. But craft brewing, to me, is the product of an individual vision, one that’s trying to make something beautiful. And that’s what really distinguishes craft beer from other beer.

An actual auteur is trying to make something that is going to move you and has a meaning to it. I think that you can be a huge brewery and still be a craft brewery at heart. You can be a tiny brewery and have sold out at the very beginning. It’s not necessarily a matter of size. It matters what your intention is, which is a thing that you can’t really put down on paper, which is almost impossible to define, but it is one of those things that when you see it, you know it.

I think at your average craft brewery, there are at least some people, whether they’re beer geeks or not, who know who the head brewer is. If nobody’s ever really heard of the brewer, you can be pretty sure that’s not a craft brewery.

Were you a beer drinker in college? What was your preferred brand or style? Was it something that you paid much attention to?

GO: Basically, we drank pretty much anything in college. So-called “cocktails,” like Long Island iced teas, screwdrivers, kamikazes, the works. When it came to beer, to tell you the honest truth, when we had a little extra money, we bought Budweiser. Budweiser tasted like water, but the other stuff was genuinely nasty: Knickerbocker, Haffenreffer, Mickey’s Big Mouth…awful stuff. Sometimes we’d find a bottle of Guinness and spike three or four Budweisers with it; that was about as good as it got.

In your book, you have a very evocative description of your discovery of “real beer” in London after college. What year was that? You say in the book that you thought, upon your arrival, that it seemed appropriate to mark the occasion with a beer. Do you think you can recall the way you thought of beer before that pivotal first taste of real ale? Was it just a beverage you drank as a matter of course when celebrating?

GO: My first real beer was truly astonishing to me. I wasn’t even sure I liked it, but it was definitely one of the most interesting things I’d ever tasted. We drank beer in college any time we went out, which was pretty much every night. But we never truly liked it, or at least I didn’t. I didn’t actually like beer until I moved to London. That was 1983, and then in ’84, I traveled across Europe and discovered that the world of beer was larger still. But I was only slightly geekier about beer than my English friends…everyone I knew there thought that cask-conditioned beer was awesome. I’d never seen a “beer culture” before, but England definitely had one.

When you started home-brewing, you say in your book that it was mostly because that was the only way to taste the flavors and kinds of beer you had experienced abroad. What kind of resources did you have to work with? Where did you turn for instruction and guidance about brewing beer?

GO: My only resources were Charlie Papazian’s book The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, and, eventually, my fellow home brewers. It’s hard for people to imagine it now, but this was more than a decade before the internet. I bought ingredients from a place called Milan Labs, in what would later be called Noho, at the edges of the East Village and Little Italy. They had sold winemaking supplies to Italian immigrants for generations, but by the ‘80s, their old customers were gone, and they turned to beer. They knew nothing about brewing, and they weren’t interested, but they did sell the equipment.

How did you find like-minded home brewers back then?

GO: I’m pretty sure it was a classified ad in a newsletter put out by Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School, which became the Institute for Culinary Education. Somebody bought an ad saying that they were looking for other home brewers. We coalesced around Brewsky’s, a bar on East 7th Street, down the block from McSorley’s. In those days, it was one of the very, very few places that carried relatively exotic beers. This was in 1987 or something like that. In order to tell everybody when our meetings were going to be and whatever else, it was all done by mail, which sounds crazy to us now.

What did you all do at these meetings?

GO: What it was was pooling shared experience. You might hear about the American Homebrewers Association, and then you’d say, “Oh, I should join that,” and then you’d start getting their magazine. You might see some old brewing books, but there weren’t many home-brewing books around at all at the time. You’d get advice from home brewers, or, occasionally, from a professional brewer, about how to improve your beer. “Clean stuff in this way, rather than in that way,” or “Don’t add such huge amounts of sugar.” You might go to a meeting, and you’d learn one thing, one small-seeming thing, but it would kind of change the way that you did everything.

What was the first beer you brewed?

GO: My first home-brewed beer was a pale ale called “Blast.” It was loosely based, at least in my mind, on Samuel Smith’s Pale Ale, a favorite for me in London. Unfortunately, I followed the instructions in the home-brewing kit, which called for large amounts of white sugar. The beer had some nice flavors, but was marred by an acrid, cider-like tang. I later learned that the white sugar was the culprit; the instructions were really for making cheap beer, not good beer. The home-brewing kits were all British, and the British could all get good beer at the pub. I got pretty good quickly, though.

Do you think that serious beer aficionados (or beer snobs, as some might say) get a bad rap?

GO: I think pretty much all rabid fans of pretty much anything tend to look and sound ridiculous to other people. My eyes roll when I hear people talking sports stats, for example. People seem threatened, though, by any sort of connoisseurship of anything, and I have little sympathy for that attitude. People are having an awesome time with whatever thing they’re into…what does that have to do with you? You can learn to love that thing yourself, or you can roll your eyes, but actually worrying about someone else’s fandom is bizarre. No one should care that I think being rabid about corporate sports teams is ridiculous…and I don’t care that they think my devotion to craft beer is ridiculous.

I know you got into a bit of a back-and-forth with David Chang in GQ about bad beer. What would you say to someone who insists that all they want out of a beer is that it be light and insipid? Would you try to change their mind? How would you go about doing it?

GO: If someone actually wants something insipid, and they know that it’s empty, I’m not trying to talk them out of it. All I can do is tell them, “You’re missing a lot of great stuff, and that’s a shame for you.” If they show any interest, then they don’t need to know much to really improve everyday life. I mean, I don’t eat mac and cheese out of a box anymore, or white supermarket bread, or standard supermarket cheese. I escaped those things at the very first opportunity, and I’m not even slightly nostalgic for them.

What do you think defines a “good beer”? Is it dependent on styles? Or is there a common rubric you use when judging beers?

GO: Structure, balance, elegance, and deliciousness. That’s what I want, each and every time.

I don’t think many people think of beer that way. Most people are thinking of beer as a refreshment that rinses down hot dogs and potato chips. You’re not looking at the Budweisers of the world and saying, “Hey, that would make a nice food pairing.”

“Balance” really means you don’t want one character within the beer to overwhelm everything else—screaming bitterness without any sweetness or malt character, sweetness that doesn’t have any acid or bitterness to play against it. And I think it’s possible to overdo almost anything. We see this in food, where somebody might use so much coriander that you can’t taste anything else.

That kind of leads to the idea of structure: A beer has to be put together in an interesting way. The experience of drinking a good beer, it’s like a short story. It should start off interesting, it should stay interesting through the middle, and it should finish satisfyingly. If it can’t hold your attention in some way, shape, or form, it’s probably not very good. It’s tricky, and I think it’s true of any kind of food or any kind of drink. That’s one reason why I wrote The Brewmaster’s Table in a very different kind of form than you often see. It’s written as a form of experience that’s not static or dead on the page, because the way you actually taste things is not in a millisecond. Flavor happens over time, and it happens in a certain way. So maybe something tastes sweet up front and then dries out. We’ve all had dishes that, at first, you eat them and they don’t seem hot, but then they get spicier and spicier and spicier, and two minutes later, your mouth is on fire. We have also eaten dishes that start off really, really spicy, but then five minutes later, you’re fine. They’re completely different kinds of chilies or balances or whatever else, and if you’re going to talk about that dish, you have to talk about what it did, not just what it is.

What about elegance? What is elegant about a good beer? Seems to me that it might be a maker’s value, or a brewer’s value, and, say, the random beer drinker from off the street wouldn’t taste a beer and say, “Oh, that’s elegantly done.”

GO: For me, elegance is similar to balance. It’s a matter of seeming effortless. Balance, structure, and elegance are different ideas in my mind, but they’re certainly interrelated. The random beer drinker might not put it in these terms, but I think people know elegance when they get it. One of the tricky things in making everyday beers is that it’s not hard to make a beer that is impressive at the top of the glass. The first sip of an okay beer generally tastes pretty good, especially if you’ve had a long day. But the question is: What does it taste like when you’re three-quarters of the way down the pint? If you can be really impressive there, when the person who’s drinking it is already looking forward to their second pint of the same beer, now you’ve got something. I can’t tell you how many dishes of food or how many beers I’ve had that start well, but by the time you’re three-quarters of the way through, you’re already tired of it. It just doesn’t come together a certain way.

If it’s a beer at a bar, what you want as a brewer, from a commercial point of view, is, somebody goes and gets a Brooklyn Lager, and what they get next is another Brooklyn Lager. You don’t want them to say, “Well, that was fine, but I’m going to have something else,” or “I’m going to have a margarita.” That’s a failure.

How do you go about developing new beer flavors?

GO: Ferran Adrià broke this down fascinatingly in his book on culinary creativity. Basically, and this is a great simplification, he said that there are four levels of creativity: (1) Copying. You do what you were taught to do, exactly how you were taught to do it. (2) The “twist.” I take standard pale ale and perhaps add vanilla or orange to it. Different, but not really groundbreaking. (3) You invent a new flavor or use a technique that hasn’t been seen before, resulting in a unique beer. (4) You invent a technique or idea so fundamentally powerful that a multitude of new beers can be created from it. On the culinary side, Adrià’s invention of stable alginate foams is a good example. Once you know how to make stable foam, you can then make foams out of almost anything. That’s the highest level.

We practice all four of these forms, and each has its own validity. And frankly, most people never get to level four, and if you do, you’re lucky to get there even once.

Can you talk about the variety of yeast strains you use in the brewing process? What are the most common strains? What are some uncommon ones?

GO: We’ve used dozens of strains over the years. Various Belgian strains (we were very early to those—we were making saisons in the ‘90s, when very few people had even heard of them), German lager strains, weissbier strains, and “wild” yeast strains, like Brettanomyces.

There are two main families of brewer’s yeast: the lager yeast, which is a cold-fermenting yeast, by and large, and ale yeast, which is traditionally a warm-fermenting yeast. From a flavor point of view, lager yeast tends to be very direct and leave you with ingredient flavors. So when you taste a pilsner, for example, you taste malt and you taste hops. You don’t taste that much else that the yeast gives you. It’s not like the yeast is giving you nothing—there are some subtle things that it does—but an ale yeast might taste like oranges or, in the case of wheat beer, it might taste like bananas, cloves, and bubblegum. For a lot of these warm-fermented beers, the yeast flavor is as important as the original ingredient flavor. With lagers, that doesn’t tend to be the case.

So then, when you use wild yeast strains like Brettanomyces, you do it because of the unique flavors that they can give to a beer?

GO: Exactly. In some ways, Brettanomyces explores, in its flavor profile, the funkier side, if you like, of flavors. They run a huge gamut, from smelling and tasting kind of like different dried fruits and cinnamon to, at the bad end, smelling like sewer gas, or smelling like Band-Aids, or any number of other things. The really tricky thing about using these yeast strains effectively is finding the right strains and controlling them to give you the good stuff rather than the bad stuff.

And that’s one reason why Brettanomyces was by and large driven out of brewing for many years. The best stuff you could get from Brettanomyces was more interesting than anything that you were going to get from traditional saccharomyces brewer’s yeast, but what brewers traditionally were looking for was predictability, and if you could deliver the same thing to the consumer every time, that was a thing that was going to make you a success. That’s among the things that brewers like Anheuser-Busch were really able to do and how they outdid their competition.

Is there a beer you’ve come up with that you’re particularly proud of? What about it is important to you?

GO: Not surprisingly, I’m happy about a lot of my beers. Local 1 is a beer that defined a new era for the brewery, and it remains a favorite. Sorachi Ace remains a uniquely compelling beer that people love, despite or because of its oddball character. But the beers I probably connect with most deeply are those based on lees (sediments) collected from wild fermentations of wine and cider. These all take more than a year to produce, but they are among the most complex beers I’ve ever tasted and definitely the most complex that we’ve brewed. These beers bring together a lot of my interests and bridge the gap between science and art.

Are you working on any beers right now? Anything that’s particularly challenging about them?

GO: Scaling our well-loved sour, Bel Air, from smaller batches up to full-scale production is definitely a challenge, but one we look forward to. We have the latest version of our “modern IPA,” Defender, out now, and it’s tasting great, so I’m happy about that. And we’re slowly chipping away at some truly fascinating Brett work. I think sours and Brett have a big future in the near-mainstream, or at least in the mainstream of craft brewing. To read beer publications, you’d think we’d arrived there, but we haven’t. We will, though.

How would you characterize the state of beer in the United States today? Do you think it compares favorably with other countries?

GO: We remain the most feverishly creative of the beer-producing countries, and that’s something to be proud of. Britain, Germany, and Belgium provide the foundation of most of our work, but now we’re running the ball. I think a number of other countries will become exciting pretty soon. Would you believe that there are nearly 1,500 breweries in France? And Brazil is using its natural advantages, such as dozens of fruits that the average American has never even heard of. Which is great, because the current focus on IPA is pretty boring. I love IPA, but…

What does the term “ghost bottles” mean at Brooklyn Brewery?

GO: Those are the great many things that we create but don’t sell. There are probably about 60 or 70 of them right now. Some lead to commercial releases; most don’t. Some pretty much can’t. But we’ll keep doing them because it keeps our creative wheels spinning, and a lot of them are delicious. They are definitely ways to work out new ideas, check out yeast strains and see what they do, check out new kinds of barrels and see what they do. I don’t worry at all whether anything will ever come of them.

There are ways to taste them. Usually, we do tasting-menu dinners at which these will make an appearance. Just because you don’t sell them doesn’t mean that no one tastes them. We do take them out there, and we make them part of what we do. Ghost bottles are kind of part of the backstory of the brewery. Some of our beers start off as an experiment, and then we actually execute the idea. So we made a kriek, which is a type of beer made with cherries, and we released it: K Is for Kriek. We made a sour, kiwi-based beer, called Kiwi’s Playhouse, that we released relatively recently, like six months ago. And both of those were originally ghost bottles.

Recently, at an event in Scotland, in Edinburgh, I served both versions [the released version and an earlier one] of Kiwi’s Playhouse. It was actually a mistake—somehow we ended up with both versions there at the same time. They weren’t supposed to be there, but I said, “Let’s serve both of them; it’s going to be even better.” It’s almost as if you get to see a drawing for a painting you know, see the artist working it out. So at that event, I had an opportunity to talk about what I liked about this beer when I did it, why I thought it was too simplistic to bring out at $20 a bottle, and the things that I did to try to fix it. The original thing is an inspiration, and I tried to elaborate on it for a commercial version.

What do you think about the current diversity of the American brewing scene? I know the lack of diversity—that the industry generally is dominated by white men—has been written about at length, and you are often pointed to as one of the few exceptions to the rule. Is there something about the industry itself that erects barriers for minority brewers to get involved? Or is it simply an issue of image?

GO: I have to admit that this question, which I’ve been asked a lot lately, does get under my skin. The lack of diversity in craft beer has nothing to do with craft beer. You might as well ask about the lack of diversity in serious restaurant kitchens, or restaurant server staff, or dining rooms. Or golf, or ice skating, or in boardrooms, or, actually, most things. Americans are segregated, and the craft brewing culture is based in America. It’s not that people are actively trying not to hire African-Americans; it’s more that they never even think about or consider African-Americans in any particular way. Most people hire people they know, or people who are like people they know. And in America, we generally don’t know each other. That’s a bad thing, but brewers are not to blame for the ills of society.

Do you think the lack of diversity in the industry is changing?

GO: Not much—a little bit, but not much. I’m not nearly the only African-American brewmaster in the United States. I’m just the only one most people know, because I’ve been around for nearly 30 years and I’ve been pretty loud. Things will not really change without active outreach into minority communities. Almost no one tries to sell craft beer to diverse communities, so how are people supposed to know about it? I doubt you see huge participation from the Asian, Latino, or Native American communities either, though Latinos have certainly come along faster.

What are your favorite beers right now to drink? Any beers in particular, either your own or others, that you’d like to highlight as particularly worth trying?

GO: There are genuinely too many to mention. In our area, I’m really enjoying the beers by Hudson Valley, and I had some really nice stuff last night from Folksbier.

Is there one piece of equipment that you cannot make beer without?

GO: One day I want to write or edit a book with a title ripped off wholesale from Julia Child. I’ll call it Stand Facing the Kettle. Many things are negotiable, but it’s hard to get much done without a kettle.

Do you have any tips for aspiring home brewers? Any resources, like online purveyors or blogs or books, that you think would be helpful?

GO: I can’t say I’d know—I haven’t home-brewed in years. But there are a lot of very talented fellow home brewers out there, and these days they are all a few clicks away. These kids today don’t know how easy they have it! Back in my day….

[Photograph: Matt Furman]

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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kevinmoyer · 7 years ago

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Best Real Weddings of 2017 :: Dramatic Forest Wedding in Oregon :: Louise & Cameron

Next up in Our Best Weddings of 2017 is this dramatic forest wedding in Oregon photographed by Christy Cassano-Meyer…

When you get to look at gorgeous weddings all day every day, it’s not very often one makes you gasp out loud. I have never seen anything like this wedding – it’s part fashion editorial, part glamorously dark fairytale – one with a happy ending, of course! Louise & Cameron had their hearts set on marrying in the Pacific Northwest, where Cameron is from, but didn’t let the practicalities of a forest setting sway them from the romantic, elegant day they envisaged. This is no exaggeration – not only did bride Louise wear Oscar de la Renta‘s modern take on a classic silk ballgown and (stiletto!) Manolo Blahnik d’Orsay pumps to walk down the forest floor aisle, but she did it with live grand piano accompaniment! Dive right in now to see more of the seriously special day, and meet the couple who could not only dream of a black tie forest wedding but pull it off with such style.

The Ceremony

Why did you choose this location for your ceremony? We knew right away that we wanted to have our wedding in Oregon. No question. Not only because it is where Cameron was born and raised but also because we love the Pacific Northwest. Being born in the Philippines and growing up in Florida, I have always been around tropical places all my life, so when Cameron first took me to Oregon I just fell in love with the place. The tall trees, mountains and all the greenery! It’s just a totally different scenery from what I’ve always been around. Horning’s Hideout provided all that without being too far removed from the city of Portland where most of our guests were staying.

Your ceremony in three words. Fairytale, traditional, intimate.

What inspired you when you were planning your wedding? I’ve always imagined having a small intimate ceremony within tall trees. Birds chirping, a babbling brook – a very organic yet elegant feel. I wanted to stick to a classic and elegant look that was in a somewhat unconventional environment.

Is there anything else that you’d like to share about your wedding ceremony? One day, about six years ago, Clair de Lune by Debussy came on. I’ve heard this piece before but never the solo piano version. It was very unlikely of me, however, I started envisioning it as the song to walk down the aisle to! Yes, I have been dating Cameron already for some time by then, and yes, I may or may not have turned into ‘that girlfriend’ that also envisioned him at the end of said aisle. Haha!

Every time I heard that song, it always struck an emotional chord for me for some reason. I love classical music and there’s just something about the sound of a piano solo that I have always appreciated. So as bizarre as it may have been to get a baby grand piano in the ‘middle of the forest’ it was something I really wanted to include. Cameron was also all for it… and it turned out to be a great talking point amongst our guests asking how we managed to pull that one off. So with that said, I’d like to give huge thanks to all the vendors involved and of course to my amazing wedding planner J29 Events for turning this bride’s dream vision into a reality!

How did you go about planning your ceremony? Did you include any traditions? I had my ideas of what I wanted and then J29 Events helped with the planning and coordination to bring everything together. Cameron and I very much value sentimental traditions and heirlooms. We both wore rings that are very personal to us. My engagement and wedding rings are heirlooms from Cameron’s father’s side (they originally belonged to Cameron’s grandmother and great grandmother.) Cameron wore his late grandfather’s World War 2 Bombardier Ring, as he likes to do on special occasions. It’s his way of including Grandpa in special times like this.

On my end, I wanted to make sure the traditions from my Filipino culture were incorporated, because my parents, their parents (and so on) have also followed them. I wanted to keep that tradition alive, hoping our kids, their kids (and so on) will see what we did and follow the same. We included the following Filipino and Hebrew traditions:

Veil Ceremony: Symbol of being clothed as one in unity. Cord Ceremony: Symbol of the lifelong bond between the couple. Presentation of Coins: Symbol of the couple’s commitment to mutually contribute to their relationship, children, and their community. Signing of the Ketubah: (Marriage Covenant) and Marriage Certificate

Who officiated your ceremony? How did you choose him/her? Pastor Carroll R. Myers. We had such great conversations with him. He is just a really genuine and caring person. Also, we were able to playfully banter back and forth with him a little, which was great since Cameron and I enjoy that kind of good humor!

What were your ceremony readings? 1 Corinthians 13:1-3.

What were your vows like? We went for the traditional vows. We feel these vows encompass all the things one should say when committing themselves to one another. Also, for us, nothing is more meaningful than reciting the same words that have been used by our parents and even other couples from history’s past to bond their marriage for years and years.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding ceremony? From the processional to the recessional, literally every piece of our wedding ceremony held meaning for us. So seeing it all come together in the moment was our favorite. We were just both overwhelmed with emotion. The love, encouragement, and joy that we felt from everybody there was something that we will never forget.

The Reception

Why did you choose this location for your reception? We chose this spot overall because of the tall trees, greenery and landscape. It was just all breathtaking. We also wanted to give our guests who have not been to the Pacific Northwest a chance to enjoy what we love so much, however this time, in black tie style, of course!

How would you describe your reception? Emotionally rewarding, Elegant but relaxed and I gotta say… the food and drinks were unbelievable!

Did you have a signature cocktail? We had four! Blueberry Slims (a pun-ny inspired take on where we first met at Automatic Slims): Portland Potato Vodka, St. Germain, lemons, limes, fresh blueberries, mint and sparkling water // Yokohamade (a pun-ny inspired take on where we had our first date at Yokohama Sushi Restaurant): Portland Potato Vodka, rosemary simple, fresh lemon juice, sparkling water, and fresh rosemary // Groom’s Recommendation, Stubborn Mule: Below Deck Spiced Rum, Cock N’ Bull ginger beer, fresh lime/ / Bride’s Recommendation, Tequila Shot: Olmeca Altos Plata tequila or Olmeca Altos Reposado tequila with salt and lime.

What advice do you have for other couples in the midst of planning a wedding? Everything will turn out amazingly regardless of any imperfections that may happen that only you would be able to see. But really… you won’t notice it on the actual day. Also, think of a rain plan from the start for outdoor weddings (including the ceremony portion!) Your plan B should be just as aesthetically pleasing to you as your original plan. It will help prevent from feeling you had to settle on something you didn’t absolutely love just because of the rain.

What was your wedding menu? It was love at first taste with White Pepper, our caterers. Cameron and I love food, so this was top priority for us. We really wanted to step out of the box from the typical banquet wedding food. We went with their in-season Oregon-style menu that included local ingredients. We chose a family style dinner, as wanted to sustain that intimate feel that we had started with the ceremony. Like having dinner at someone’s backyard with all our closest friends and family.

Passed hors d’oeuvres: Belgian Endive, Sun Gold Tomato Salsa Fresca, Preserved Lemon / Grand Central Brioche Toast, Manchego Cheese, Tart Rhubarb, Compressed Oregon Strawberries / Mary’s Farm Chicken and Lacinato Kale Tartlet, Ricotta and Parmesan Cheese, Romesco / Brown Butter Strip Steak Canapé, Horseradish Cream, Arugula, Black Pepper Toast

Family-style meal: Cedar-Smoked Pacific Chinook Salmon, Parsley Pesto, Lemon, Shallots, Roasted Garlic & Caper Aioli / Grilled Bavette Steak, Padron Peppers, Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes, Romesco, Serrano Pepper and Cilantro Chimichurri / Crisp Watermelon, Grilled Corn Off The Cob, Feta, English Cucumbers, Tarragon Vinaigrette / Orzo Pasta Salad, Sugar Snap Peas, Cora’s Crop Duke Blueberries, Arugula, Lemon Vinaigrette / Thyme-Scented New Potatoes, Jacobsen Flake Salt / Grand Central Table Bread, Sweet Cream Butter

Do you have any budget tips for other brides? Definitely have a budget plan laid out, no matter how big or small your budget is…and try your hardest to stick to it. No matter how many pretty things you encounter and decide you want!

What was your favorite moment or part of the reception? The speeches. They were so heartwarming and very special to us. You’ll never get these speeches again. They were made especially for that moment. So we really appreciated each and every one.

What was your first dance song? Father/daughter or mother/son dance? First Dance: Aretha Franklin’s You’re All I Need to Get By (sung by my sister, Emily) Father/Daughter Dance: Frank Sinatra’s My Way and New York, New York Mother/Son Dance: Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World

If you had it to do over again, is there anything you would do differently? Don’t stress over things you can’t control. Thoroughly enjoy the couple of days leading up to the wedding with family and friends. Especially the ones you don’t see often!

What type of cake or dessert did you serve? We had four mini round cakes served per table. Each side of the long tables had two cakes. One was lemon lavender with blueberry compote and one was spiced cake with an apple compote. Guests were free to cut it up and serve themselves as they please.

What was the best advice you received as a bride? Make sure to take time to soak it all in because the day goes by FAST!

Is there anything else that helps tell the story of your wedding? It truly was a magical day that we want to relive at least a few more times! (Thank goodness for our amazing photographer and videography team; because of them, we will be able to!)

vimeo

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goldlink44 · 8 years ago

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Top 10 Games of 2016

Wow, what a great year for games (and not much else…). Seriously, though, 2016 produced some of the most fun gaming experiences that I’ve ever had. There was emotional wrenching, arcadey shooters, and games that put a smile on my face throughout their duration. I didn’t think that I was going to compile a list of my top ten games, as I wasn’t sure that there were 10 games that I could expound upon. But upon reflection, I found quite a few that I remember very fondly.

That said, there were also a bunch of games that won’t make the list for various reasons. Her Story and Until Dawn came out last year, but are both very very good for what they seek to accomplish.

I don’t own Hyper Light Drifter or Thumper, but they both look amazing and I can’t wait to play them in 2017.

I bought Inside, Oxenfree, Dishonored 2, and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, but haven’t put much time into any of them for me to have any strong feelings that I could back up.

Rimworld is still in early access, but shows some of the most promise I’ve seen in an indie game in years.

Orwell narrowly missed the list, but it is amazing in its own right. It’s a lot like one of my other favourite games from recent years, Papers, Please! but uses social media as its interface, and makes it fun to investigate potential law breakers. You can see my full review of it here.

And so, without further adieu, here’s my Top Ten Games of 2016!

10. Battlefield 1

I learned all about the atrocities that occurred from 1914-1918 when I travelled with my family to The Netherlands and Belgium on a cycling trip that literally took us through the Western Front. It was humbling to see how, 100 years later, the land and the people never forget the seemingly pointless orders sending millions of men to their graves. I gained an appreciation, not only for the soldiers and support personnel that occupied that area of Europe during WWI, but also for the beauty of the land that was torn asunder from the battles.

Returning home weeks before BF1’s release, I was anticipating reviews, knowing that DICE can render fantastic environments and realistic war scenery. Most people were positive on the game pre-release, so I picked up a copy, and was not disappointed. The game is gorgeous, nailing the scenery of what I had seen first-hand, and depicting other fronts of the war in stunning detail. The campaign is incredibly well handled, showcasing the human stories behind the war, never glorifying or over exaggerating the heroics of the soldiers, but insisting that there was a great loss of humanity in The Great War. It’s emotionally on-point, and much better than I ever expected.

In any other year, I most likely would have passed over Battlefield 1, but given my trip to Europe, and the care with which DICE handles the story telling, it definitely makes my list of recommended games this year.

9. Overcooked!

While I may not have played hours upon hours of this co-op cooking game, the time I have spent with it has been incredibly entertaining. Anyone who has played Space Team in the past knows the mayhem that happens while trying to coordinate yourself and three other friends into executing on multiple goals at the same time. Throw this framework into a “too many cooks in the kitchen” premise, and it becomes a fun, delicious adventure that never gets stale.

Made by the team behind the Worms games, Overcooked! has a delightful art style and charming sense of humour that reduces the chance of getting bored with it. That, and each level has different mechanics that keep players on their toes, never letting them rest on their laurels and keep learning and moving to progress.

If I had 3 other friends always at the ready, I would definitely play Overcooked! every chance I got. Alas, I have enjoyed my extended bursts with the game, and can’t wait to get back in their and make some delicious soups.

8. Stardew Valley

While some people may spend their down time trying to relax by reading a book or watching a TV show, I found myself diving into Stardew Valley to destress. In its simplest terms, Stardew is a farming simulator that lets players crawl through dungeons and interact with fellow villagers, to almost simulate a second life (not in that creepy way though…). While this may not sound like everyone’s version of fun, Stardew Valley has such a delicate craft to it that everything feels good and rewarding to do. The kicker: it was made entirely by one person.

The premise revolves around you, the player character (customized any way you want, of course), inheriting your grandfather’s farm in Stardew Valley when you’ve grown tired of the hustle and bustle of working in the city. You hop on a bus and learn the basics of farming and slowly get acquainted with everyone in town.

From there, there’s not too much else to say, as there are so many different options available that it’s nearly impossible for two players to have the same experience. It’s surprisingly relaxing to plant and harvest, fight monsters, and woo potential dates. Checking off tasks feels great, and the music provides a soothing tone to everything. While it may not be for everyone, and I haven’t spent the hundreds of hours playing it that others have, I can’t wait to dive back in on chill weekends and vicariously put my digital life in order to help me deal with my IRL problems.

7. Hitman

Another game that I wish I had spent more time playing this year was IO interactive’s episodic Hitman. I watched a LOT of people playing Hitman, most notably Giant Bomb’s various escapdes with it, but only recently purchased it myself. From what I have played, I really, really like it. So far, I’ve only gotten to two of the available six missions, but I’ve replayed them both several times, trying to master each assassination mission.

The set up isn’t very complex: you are an expert hitman, contracted out to assassinate dangerous targets. The gameplay itself though has a ridiculous comedy to it, that allows players to do nearly anything imaginable to accomplish their tasks. Beat them over the head with a golf club? Sure. Two-hand toss a fire extinguisher into their head? You got it. Sneak up behind, choke them out, and toss them off a bridge? Child’s play.

It may sound like incredibly poor taste to casually mention such gruesome methods of killing, but given the vast amount of murder simulators that inhabit the video game space, Hitman holds a special place for its use of comedy. While many games try to evoke a serious tone, or real repercussions for killing, Hitman knows exactly what it is, and accounts for the uncanny valley aspects inherent in video games. It leans into the silly ways of killing, and rewards players for their creativity. Again, it’s hard to get a handle on why this game works just by reading words, or even by watching it. The magic is only truly woven over those who play it themselves, and even as I type, I’m trying to allocate my upcoming Hitman time. If none of this has convinced you, perhaps this might.

6. SUPERHOT

When I first heard about this game several years ago, it pretty much consisted of one mechanic: time moves when you move. I watched the demo, chuckled to myself, and hoped that the developers didn’t take their neat trick too seriously. Cut to this year, when SUPERHOT was finally released. I had almost forgotten about it, but the distinctive glass-like art style brought back memories of the cool mechanic, and again, I hoped that the game was able to improve on this simple-but-brilliant idea.

They did not disappoint.

I only played through all of SUPERHOT near the very end of 2016, but it was well worth the wait. The level design and player controls all lent to the feeling of playing like some sort of god. The narrative wrapper is also perfectly messed-up and suits this god-like feeling quite well. To fully immerse yourself in the game is to intuit where and when to shoot, throw your weapons, and move so that all of your split-second planning pays off. In total, the game took me about 3 hours, with an insanely difficult final level that outs all of your skills to the test, and succeeds on the initial promise in a way that I never imagined possible. It doesn’t overstay its welcome, and rewards those who stay with it all the way. I loved it. It’s the most innovative shooter I’ve played in years.

5. The Witness

How do I sum up my thoughts on The Witness? For starters, I haven’t finished it yet, and feel like if I were to go back to it, I’d have to start all over again. That said, my time with it felt like school, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Playing Jonathan Blow’s previous game, Braid, hurt my head, but had a touching story that kept me going. With The Witness, there’s not much of a “story” but what fuelled my need to play it was the satisfaction of playing the game. Which is ridiculous when the game is basically just made up of hundreds or thousands of line puzzles. The puzzles start out simple enough, asking players to snake their way through mazes, creating lines in certain patterns that can’t cross over each other. Progressively, the game adds more and more elements to the puzzles, slowly training the player to think in different ways. It never prompts or looks down on you, but instead has an attitude of, “You can do it, just keep going.” There is no praise other than progression, but let me tell you, solving some of the more challenging puzzles makes you feel like the smartest motherfucker on the planet.

I should also mention that I played this with my girlfriend, Rosalie, passing the controller back and forth when we conquered a section, or got stumped by a puzzle. This definitely reduced the frustration, as getting a fresh pair of eyes didn’t let us bash our heads against a wall for too long. It’s hard to describe The Witness as “fun”, but it is beautiful and engaging, and never makes it too easy. The puzzles all build off of each other in such intricate ways, that there are too many “Eureka!” moments to count, all of which feel better than the last. There was definitely a lot of frustration with it too, but when I think back on it, all I can remember is the feeling of solving a puzzle, and feeling like I could conquer the whole damn island. It’s a different kind of pleasure than I normally experience in games, and in some ways, more potent than any other I’ve felt. Overall, it’s great.

4. Destiny: Rise of Iron

This is the third year that I’ve been playing Destiny, and I must admit, I think I’m a lifer. After being disappointed with its original release in 2014 (as seen in my Top Ten of 2014 list), The Taken King expansion from 2015 changed a lot of what I didn’t like about the game, and made it incredibly addictive. Combine that with a group of friends that I can consistently play with, and Destiny was the game I would usually fire up in 2016. To date, I’ve played 444 hours of Destiny since its release. It’s a fantastic game, made better with teammates.

2016’s expansion Rise of Iron was conceived as a way to tide fans over while Destiny 2 got delayed, and unfortunately, it shows. Don’t get me wrong, I loved a lot about getting more content for Destiny, but I feel like I went through it fairly quickly, and didn’t feel the need to keep going the way I did with The Taken King.

That all said, I still loved my time with it. The raid, Wrath of the Machine, is excellent, and the new crucible mode, supremacy, is a ton of fun for my main class and weapon load out - Shotgun Titan. The story was a bit of a let down, but I still enjoyed it. While this particular expansion wasn’t my favourite, Destiny solidified itself in my heart as a game that I will always return to. The shooting feels incredible, and the thrill of raiding is unlike any other experience I’ve had in games. I can’t wait for more content, and to see what else I can do with an already solid base. Here’s hoping Destiny 2 is 2017’s GOTY!

3. Overwatch

I was very late to the party on this game, and never played the betas. I’ve never been great at online multiplayer shooters. I even thought that I had my all-time-shooter in Destiny, but when I finally got my hands on Overwatch during a free weekend in October, I pulled the trigger (nice) and have loved every second that I’ve spent with it so far. Like Destiny, Overwatch is better with friends, as you casually shoot the shit while you shoot the shit (read: opposing team). Each character is unique, and I can play a variety of different ways that I never thought I would enjoy.

There’s been a lot said and hyperbolized about Overwatch, but I honestly think it deserves it. Like a lot of Blizzard’s past games, it perfects a formula, and adds a level of polish that makes everything feel accessible. I could go on and on about specific things to love, but it won’t make sense until you get your own hands on it. It’s fun, fast, and rewarding in the best ways - literally. It only shows positive accomplishments at the end of every match. The K/D ratio isn’t displayed, as killing n00bs isn’t the point. It’s about working together and having fun. To prove my point, I usually play as Reinhardt and don’t get many kills in each game, but I always feel valuable.

For changing my perception of competitive shooters, and for providing so many ways to play, Overwatch has earned a spot in my top 3, despite only playing it for 2 months of the year.

2. Firewatch

When I first heard about Firewatch, I knew that some of the guys behind the Idle Thumbs Podcast and The Walking Dead Season 1 were working on it. As I had been working my way through the Giant Bombcast, Idle Thumbs seemed like the obvious next choice for gaming podcasts. I resolved myself to try and listen to as much of it as I could before Firewatch’s release, so that I could better understand its creators (I guess). I was also a big fan of Olly Moss’s art for movie and game posters, and after listening to hours and hours of Idle Thumbs, I was brimming with anticipation for the release of the game.

When it finally came out on February 9th, 2016, I got home from my closing shift at Starbucks around 11pm. I waited for my girlfriend to fall asleep, and dove in around midnight. From there, i played through the whole thing in one sitting, finishing around 4:30am. My drive to do this was fueled by many things: 1) I loved the atmosphere and the music 2) I was on the edge of my seat, eagerly anticipating what would come next and 3) I was afraid that if I waited to finish it, I would miss something, or the tension would be lost.

My experience with Firewatch is very personal and unique, and I understand people’s resistance to its ending, or some of the tension that is built up throughout the game. For me, it is a fantastic story, full of relatable themes and story beats that pulls on my heart strings in so many ways. By the end, I was an emotional wreck, and I couldn’t have asked for more from such a tight, beautiful experience. I’m grateful to have learned about Idle Thumbs in the process, and will always recommend this game to people who enjoy a good story.

I also ended up playing through this with my friend Alex as part of my 24 hour live stream benefitting pancreas cancer research in November. You can watch it here: Part 1 Part 2

1. DOOM

Video games are supposed to be fun, right? If I had to picture myself as a third party, observing Chris Townley playing video games in 2016, I would have to definitively say that he had the most fun playing DOOM this year. Why? Because the majority of my time with it was spent with a big dumb grin on my face, giggling to myself as I bounced around and plowed through monsters. From the opening 5 minutes of DOOM, I knew that it was going to be an experience that I would treasure forever.

Growing up, we always had Apple computers with very few games on them. It was always a treat when my dad would bring home his laptop with a copy of Doom on it that I could mess around with. I might not have spent a large part of my childhood gaming time with Doom, but it is seared into my heart as a treasured memory. For example, my ringtone for the past 3 years has been the theme for 1-1.

Hearing that a new Doom game was coming out, I dove into nostalgia, and eagerly anticipated playing it, even if I thought it would be bad. Prodded by this interest, I picked up a copy of Masters of Doom by Dave Kushner, a book about the early days of id Software. It’s an incredible book, and one that I think most gamers should read. It also pumped me up for a new Doom. Just to swim around in familiar demonic territory would be good enough for me.

When it was announced that no review outlets had gotten a copy of it before release, I was skeptical but still hopeful. I didn’t play the multiplayer beta, because I knew that wasn’t where I was going to spend my time with it. When the reviews finally started flooding in, everyone raved about the single player. Shortly after, I spent the full price of $80 CAD to play it. I don’t regret it one bit, even though the game has had dozens of sale offerings since then.

Why do I like it so much? It’s dumb and it’s fun and it knows what it is. The original premise for Doom was along the lines of, you shoot demons, and you’re badass. DOOM (2016) keeps this theme alive, along with the speed and ridiculous humour that made the first game so fun. This is especially amazing considering only one person from the original team worked on the new one. It looks gorgeous, the music is perfect, and the mechanics urge you forward, punching and shooting through demons in sprays of blood and guts.

I could go on and on about how much there is to love about DOOM, but perhaps I will sum it up this way: after 11 hours of gameplay, and nearing the final mission, my save was corrupted and I lost everything. I’m not even mad, because I know I get to play through it all over again. Maybe this hyperbole will colour your version of DOOM, but for me, it was the best game I played in 2016.

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