corey's blog

    'Tis the season to blog about the best albums of 2008. This is a little difficult for me because it doesn't seem like a got that many albums this year. Thinking back, only a handful of albums stand out. Judging by my iTunes, it seems like 2008 was a pretty uneventful year as far as releases go. There were only two albums from 2008 that made it onto my "most played" list. Off the top of my head there are only two albums which I listen to semi-regularly which were released this year. After putting a bit more thought into it, I've come up with a couple lists to sum up the year's releases. I'm calling it 'The Good, the Bad and the Liam' meaning there were obviously good and bad albums which came out as well as a group of releases that were somewhere in between. These were the albums which should have been good, or albums that I really wanted to like but something was missing...

    I HATE pale ales. I hate IPAs, I hate APAs, I hate all of the extremely hoppy beers. I like hops as a compliment to other flavors and textures. I don't like hops as the only flavor in a beer. I can understand when people don't like fruit beers or specialty beers that have a strong alternative flavor, and that's how I about IPAs. Don't get me wrong, I like a good hoppy beer, Oktoberfests and Ambers are among my favorite types of beers, because they have that hoppy bite. I don't see the point of drinking a beer that is all bite, where's the flavor... So, enough anti-Pale Ale rant. What does all of this have to do with Jingle Beers? Aren't Christmas ales supposed to be warm, dark and a little sweet? Well, I think so... This is where Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale come in. Celebration ale is the 4th beer on our Jingle Beer list.

   Our second Jingle Beer is Samuel Adams' Winter Lager. Boulevard's Nutcracker Ale was a great way to start the holiday ale season but how will Sam Adams' offering stack up? I'll preface this by saying that I'm not a big fan of Sam Adams most of the time... That's not to say I hate their beer, they make a fine product. It's just not my favorite beer... that being said, I do enjoy their Oktoberfest seasonal quite a bit. The Sam Adams Oktoberfest has a warm and mild flavor, just like this Winter Lager. Sounds like we're off to a good start, but I expect a little more out of a good christmas beer...

    Jingle Beers has officially begun! After a minor hick-up, our inaugural Jingle Beer this year is Boulevard's Nutcracker Ale. Boulevard is a local brewery here in Kansas City. They have a pretty decent selection of beers to choose from. My favorite would have to be their plain Wheat beer, followed by the Bully Porter. Boulevard's seasonal beers are pretty hit or miss though... I was never much of a fan of their Oktoberfest seasonal, Bob's 47. I like hops as much as the next guy but I don't think your Märzen should taste like an IPA. Call me crazy. But anyway, the Nutcracker is a different story. Boulevard did a great job with this seasonal.

    It's that time of year again, when brewers start churning out their seasonal Christmas beers. When I think of holiday beers I usually think of warm (in taste, not actual temperature...) brown ales with a slightly higher than usual alcohol by volume. Nothing fancy, just beers that go well with a smoked ham or a plate of chocolate chip cookies. As it turns out, there are a myriad of different holiday ales that run that gamut from fancy to fanciful. This December we're chronicling a spirited romp through more than 25 of these X-mas seasonals, from Delerium's Noël to Boulevard's Nut Cracker Ale. Blackenheimer's coverage of this year's month-long event begins on December 1st, so check back early and often for the delicious details on this year's Jingle Beers.

    The Social Services are a kitschy band from Sweden. I recently came across the first single from their recently released album, It's Nothing Personal, It's National Security, titled The Baltic Sea. This song is about how Sweden is awesome, but how the people suck... Yeah, they are bitching about how sweet it is to be Swedish but they hate how people don't smile at each other. Boo Hoo. But don't get me wrong, this isn't some emo crybaby with an acoustic guitar and a funny accent just complaining about his 15 year old scenesteress girlfriend. This song is a tongue-in-cheek look at Swedish society. It's not terribly deep, but just good fun, well worth a listen.

    When I first heard about pumpkin beer it didn't sound too awesome. A few weeks ago I read a brief review (not of Schlafly's Pumpkin Ale, but another pumpkin beer) that described a pumpkin micro brew as tasting, "most like the inside of a jack-o-lantern than a pumpkin pie." That pretty much turned me off. I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin pie to begin with, though I usually end up eating a slice anyways... Honestly, the whole idea of a pumpkin beer sounds a bit too much like a Jones Soda flavor. I'm thinking of something along the lines of their holiday Yule Log flavored soda. Yum?

    French Horn Rebellion are two guys from Wisconsin that make indie/garage dance music with plenty of beep-bop boop-bop in it. Their songs aren't all that groundbreaking, but they're fun to listen to. They currently have two videos on YouTube for Broken Heart and Up All Night. I've embedded the video for Broken Heart to the right. I think it's the superior video of the two. If you're anything like me you probably had flashbacks of any number of Flight of the Conchords episodes when you first saw either video.

    I'm really digging Broken Heart, it's a great song, it even has a guitar solo. The video is just icing on the cake. It's hilarious. I won't spoil the surprise but there is plenty of pay-off for sitting through a few minutes of watching these guys flail their arms around out of sync. It's great fun.