Archive for April 2011
Frontier Mixology: ‘Ti Punch
Posted on: April 29, 2011
What you know as rum isn’t really rum. The light rum from, for example, Bacardi with which you’ve been making mojitos is more akin to a vodka, one that happens to have started its life way-back-when as sugar cane. It is distilled from molasses, and is produced in such a way as to remove fermentation by-products known as congeners, which also provide distinctive flavors to spirits. Thus, because of the way they are made, most light rums do not have much inherent flavor, and so a strawberry daquiri tastes, not of rum, but of… well, strawberries, I guess. This is all well and good, if that’s what you’re looking for.
- In: Concerts | Music
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Northern Virginia's Filene Center at Wolf Trap
With the majority of the Mason-Dixon Line above us, DC can and should be lumped with other large Southern metropolises. We know it’s getting to be summer when the Republicans start breaking out their seersucker. As almost a two year resident of Washington, the heat of summer has become something I both long for and fear. Luckily, artists and concert promoters have put together a stacked summer schedule to get you through these sticky months.
As always, after the jump are all the upcoming announced shows in DC with tickets still available that we recommend. Expect a separate post for all the Fort Reno shows once the schedule is announced, as well as further updates on new shows. Stay cool.
Frontier Photography – Amy Stein
Posted on: April 29, 2011
Truck Driver, Interstate 10, Florida
I have spent the past five plus years driving across America photographing stranded motorists. Finding subjects is a matter of chance and every encounter is tense because of the unusual circumstances of our interaction and the inherent danger of the roadside environment. Most of the photographs from this series can be found on a Google Map that documents my travels across the US.
Chic Fatigue – The Transition Coat
Posted on: April 28, 2011
Woodstock anorak
One day, it will be summer. Until then, most of us still need a coat.
Now, I love, love, love my two-year-old water-wind-sleet-whatever-proof Postcard jacket (nickname: “The Fortress”). If my house were on fire, I’d save that coat, my laptop, and my vintage Balenciaga sunglasses. But after March 20, I want The Fortress out of the daily rotation, for, among other reasons, my entirely unscientific belief that wearing lighter jackets can initiate an atmospheric warming trend. Hence the need for what I call the transition coat: a medium-weight jacket that can be worn from March through May, in whatever weather those months see fit to deal.
Brooklyn Mac and Cheese
Posted on: April 27, 2011
This mac and cheese recipe is not for the faint of heart. Nor is it for a slothful midnight refrigerator run. This recipe is for those who want to prepare macaroni and cheese that deserves a shrine and a theme song, for those self-taught gourmands who want to run with giants and emerge king.
- In: Music | Record Reviews
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Fleet Foxes
Once again, the focus of the band is singer Robin Pecknold, whose chilling tenor dominates the sound and makes every lyric sound bittersweet. On Helplessness Blues, his voice is complemented by reverb-heavy layers of vocal harmony, acoustic and electric guitars, and minimalist percussion, plus the occasional piano,flute, and strings. Overall, the album’s folky sound recalls Simon and Garfunkel, Crosby, Stills & Nash, and The Grateful Dead circa Workingman’s Dead, with echoes of their contemporaries in Grizzly Bear.
(Every other month on Frontier Psychiatrist we round up the best records from the previous 60 days that we weren’t able to review. Staying current in the modern musical landscape can be a Herculean challenge, particularly if one also wishes to stay employed. We hope to make it a little bit easier for you. If you missed our January-February roundup, you can read it here. We hope you enjoy the more-or-less new music.)
After something of a slow start to 2011, the last two months have witnessed an explosion in great new records. From indie stalwarts (TV On The Radio, Panda Bear, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart) to new stars (Frank Ocean, tUnE-yArDs, The Weeknd), we at FP have been overwhelmed with fantastic new music from across the genre map. Inevitably, some things passed us by on initial release. Below are some of the best records from March and April that passed us by. When you’ve finished, make sure to check out our Best of Mar/Apr 2011 Mixtape on Grooveshark.
J Mascis – Several Shades of Why/Bill Callahan – Apocalypse/Cass McCombs – WIT’S END
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- In: Photography
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Dreams (2008)
My photographs blend surrealism and realism to refer to collective feelings and fears. Shot on a 4×5 camera, they are mostly photographed at night in quiet, abandoned places and explore themes of transience, longing, and alienation.
- In: Music | Record Reviews
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Panda Bear, Tomboy
Why would I, a classical pianist by training, choral director by trade, and Hindustani singer by aspiration be drawn to Tomboy, the new solo release by Noah Lennox, a.k.a. Panda Bear of Animal Collective? Last spring, a student of mine, tired of me extolling music he’d never heard of, issued me a challenge: listen to Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion. He said the album would “completely change” the way I hear music
Not quite, but Animal Collective and Tomboy have changed my underwhelmed view of indie “band” culture. Even if Tomboy, Panda Bear’s fourth solo album, is heavily produced psychedelic rock with a debt to the Beatles and Brian Eno, it’s also bristling with originality and intelligence.
- In: Music
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In celebration of District Department of the Environment Green DC Day, a preemptive celebration of Earth Day, I’d like to present to you the first Frontier Psychiatrist mixtape: I Wish I Had Glaucoma. Inside are 17 handpicked tracks bound to stimulate, awaken and soothe your percolating mind. We know, 2011 has been rough at times. Take this evening to enjoy some tunes while posting up on your couch, porch or refugee camp.
Frontier Psychiatrist 