My Latest Obsession

It seems like this has been the summer of caffeination for me--despite my wife's recent switch to decaf for pregnancy reasons. I always start my day out with a nice cappuccino, but lately I've also been adding in an afternoon iced coffee.

Yesterday started off as a bad day: I slept horribly and had bad dreams, and I was grumpy all morning. A trip to a random baby store in Korea Town didn't help either. I decided my pick-me-up would be Chicken Nachitos from La Grande Orange in Pasadena (perhaps the best nachos ever) and an iced coffee. Deciding to spur the ubiquitous StarBean or whatever is on every corner, I found Jones Coffee Roasters in Pasadena. In addition to picking up some much needed espresso for my morning brew, I ordered probably the best iced coffee I have ever had. Seriously. The best. Suddenly my afternoon of baby shopping wasn't so bad. You might say I actually enjoyed it. (note: we were shopping for stuff for our upcoming baby, not shopping for actual babies. I was confused too.)

The people at Jones cold-brew their iced coffee for 24 hours. I usually go 12-16 hours. But 24 was rich. For my home brew, I fill a French press about 1/4 way with coarsely ground coffee (usually as much as will fit in my grinder at one time), fill with filtered water and let sit overnight. The next morning I depress the plunger and pour the coffee concentrate into a container in the fridge. To serve, I pour about 1/3 of the concentrate into a glass, diluting slightly with some sweetened water (in which I dissolve about a half tablespoon to a tablespoon of sugar; it's not quite simple syrup) and a splash of skim milk.

Here are two great recipes for iced coffee, along with pictures that make me think it's just about time for an afternoon Iced Delish: GQ and SF Gate.

The Daily 5 - Weekly Edition!

Daily posting is still my ultimate goal, but until then I'm thinking of naming this feature The Weekly Five. Anyway, without further ado, here are five new songs that have been rolling through atmosphere around me this week.

1. "Hollywood" by Codeine Velvet Club: Besides an awesome band name, the Codeine Velvet Club has something else going for it: Jon Lawler (better known as Jon Fratelli from the Fratellis). While I don't actually know much about the Fratellis--I always avoided them because the name makes them sound like some gooey teenage pop--apparently Jon Lawler is awesome. And I've been into a ton of Scottish bands lately (Frightened Rabbit, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Camera Obscura). After listening to this CD three or four times, I'm beginning to agree about Lawler, plus I love the retro, 1960s big band sound.

2. "Terminally Chill" by Neon Indian: The first 10 seconds sound like Daft Punk and then the song breaks out into a nice 1980s synth-jam. This song makes me want to drive to Palm Springs and snort cocaine with Julian--but (SPOILER ALERT!) hopefully not die in the car ride back.

3. "Sun Hands" by Local Natives: Apparently this LA-area band killed at SXSW (according to my friend Jeremy from New York). I'm into almost any song with a catchy, sing-along section that you can clap to (see: "15 to 20" by the Phenomenal Handclap Band). Before you go overboard there with the clapping, I said "almost." Maybe I should dial that back to "some" before you drag me to a karaoke bar and force me to sing along with "Saturday Night" by the Bay City Rollers. (And yes, I am now thinking about So I Married An Axe Murderer. And no, I don't think I digress too much.)

4. "Stranger" by Dr. Dog: I was a huge fan of Dr. Dog's last album, Fate--especially the Beatles-esque "Army of Ancients" and "The Beach"--and this follow up of the recently released album Shame, Shame continues along with the same, smooth sound. So far, this might be my early-summer anthem. I'm seeing Dr. Dog (along with Deer Tick) in a few weeks at the Fonda, and I'm excited.

5. "White Punks on Dope" by the Tubes: Inspired by my t-shirt today(which says "White Dopes on Punk"), here's an old track by the Tubes. You better know where you came from, son.

Evolution of Heartbeats

I had these songs running through my head last night and I thought I'd put them together in a playlist.

Though it's not in order of release (I know the Knife's version came first), I think this flow is better as it builds as the songs go on. José González starts it off with his cover of the Knife's 'Heartbeats,' which comes second. Finally I threw in the Get Busy Committee's new track, 'My Little Razorblade,' that builds off the Knife's version and adds some much needed attitude to the electronic rhythm. Also, I highly recommend the Get Busy Committee's album Uzi Does It, because who doesn't love koalas, machine guns, and good samples?

Ladies and gentleman, introducing the Evolution of Heartbeats:

Evolution of Heartbeats

The Perfect Space

Today's song of the day is "The Perfect Space" by the Avett Brothers.

I want to have friends that I can trust, who love me for the man I've become not the man that I was.

This sounds like a sleepy piano ballad but there's a great tempo change about halfway through. The Avett Brothers are from Concord, NC, the same town as a few good friends of mine. My friend works at a school, and apparently the librarian or something was their early manager, but my friend never saw them. They are one of the many bands playing Coachella this year (a fact about which I continually remind my wife). Check out the rest of their album "I And Love And You" when you have some time to spend introspecting.

The Perfect Space - The Avett ...

The Daily Five Returns!

After a long hiatus, Diabolical H. Crazy is pleased to present the return of the Daily Five! But first, here's the Diabolical February iMix playlist. It should have been a little longer, but some of the songs didn't match up with iTunes. Anyway, on with the Daily Five!

Portugal. The Man. Here's a band I didn't know anything about until last week when I downloaded the "American Ghetto" album. I particularly like "The Dead Dog" and "1000 Years." I'm amazed such a rocking sound can come from Wasilla, AK ("The Home of the Palin Moose Burger!"). It must be the Portland in them. You can get "The Dead Dog" for free below:

I've been on a bit of a French pop kick lately (no, not the crappy French pop. The more soulful stuff by Carla Bruni, Autuor de Lucie, Josephine Baker, Valerie Leulliot, and others. Maybe I should do a French pop Daily 5?), which is how I found this song, in both English and French. Plus I'm a sucker for the Moody Blues. I remember walking down Broken Fence Way listening to "The Other Side of Life" on a boom box on my shoulder (updated review: it's a really, really, really bad album. But I thought I was cool).

Nights In White Satin - Midnig...

Mes Reves De Satin - Midnight ...

I missed seeing Local Natives during their last two LA Shows, and then their album got yanked from eMusic and re-released by another label. So I waited and waited to finally check it out (legally). I like what I hear. And though I missed their shows, you can find me clapping along to this song at home.

Sun Hands - Local Natives

I'm taking the easy way out today and posting another Local Natives song. What, do you think I sit around and blog all day? NO! I gots to make money somehow.

Wide Eyes - Local Natives