#199 - jonesin'.

today is a time for rejoicing, eat!drink!snack! groupies. what you're currently reading is the 200th meditation i've written here on eat!drink!snack! you may be saying to yourself, "WAIT, JERK. WHY IS IT LISTED AS POST #199? WHAT UP WIT DAT?" well, sherlock holmes, it's meditation #200 because back in the semi-early days of the blog, i did a two-part post (#80a, #80b) about the two national semifinal games of the 2009 NCAA final four. yay, basketball. for our 200th post, we're going to talk about drugs. that's right...the funny stuff.

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#198 - pop rock.

in my college years, i transformed from a gangsta-rap-lovin' high schooler into an embracer of all things alt-rock, specifically music of the "grunge rock" variety. later in life, i moved onto "indie rock" & throughout, many of the artists that i've listened to were signed to sub pop records, the seattle-based label best known for putting out the first nirvana album. BEFORE nevermind. that's right, unhip losers. nirvana had an album called bleach a full two years BEFORE the "teen spirit" song took over MTV. said debut album was kinda good.

if the idea of "grunge music" makes you want to punch somebody in the face, you should probably aim your fist in sub pop's general direction.

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#197 - the end of the world as we know it.

way way back round the end of march, i received a film in the mail via netflix--the 2011 indie film bellflower. i discovered it after reading roger ebert's review & learning of its nomination for an independent spirit award and a full seventy-seven days after its arrival in my home, that same film is still here, preventing all the other films in my queue from coming my way. sorry, cedar rapids. i'll get to you soon! usually, when i hold onto a film for such a ridiculous amount of time, it's because i'm too busy to set aside two hours or because i'm a lazy ass & can't be bothered to press the "eject" button on my dvd player & watch it. in this case, other than the laziness, it's a whole other thing...

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#196 - tracks & snacks 2011.

for the past two years, when this time of year rolled around & i sat down to compile my top ten tracks & snacks of the year, it's been a relatively painless process. not so this year. in the past, i've always been able to open up itunes, take a look at my list of most played tunes & easily compile a list. this summer, my computer finally decided to kick the bucket for good, taking all the precious "most played" info with it & forcing me to rely on my memory, a task which is a dicey proposition at best. 

...so there's inevitably something i'm forgetting but i have to give nods to das racist, st vincent, cut copy, adele, shabazz palaces, los campesinos, atlas sound, pj harvey, destroyer, girls, anvil hands & cities aviv who, if this was a top 22 list, all had songs worthy of being on it. in the end, each artist on this year's list has never been in my top ten before although three songs from the albums on my mid-year top five list made it into the 2011 top ten.

...so if you're the type who's looking for a shiny new band to call your own, there are ten great candidates below & links to videos for eight of the songs & "listen" links for the other two. ALSO, since spotify has finally made its way to america, i've tossed up a playlist of the nine top ten tracks that are available on it, so if you swing that way, have at it here. BRING ON THE TRACKS! BRING ON 2012! SMELL YA LATER 2011!

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#195 - links & drinks 2011.

well...so today, for the first time in almost a year, i actually went back & checked out last year's top ten links & drinks list. in it, i described 2010 as an "often-shite year." hmm...i thought that 2011 was the often-shite year. who knew? 2011 was a year that, with that whole "lack of steady employment" thang going for me, i spent a LOT of time on the internet. on TWO separate occasions this year, i got my google reader down to ZERO. somebody please design me the appropriate nerd merit badge.

as is par for the course, much of my interwebz time was spent perusing food & drink sites, as i dreamed of all the things i could be cramming into my piehole. along the way, i came across a bunch of new blogs & tumblrs & whatnot, many of whom worked their way into the regular rotation.

all told, this year's list is comprised of eight new sites & two repeat members from last year's list. if you're looking to waste all your precious time on the internet, you can't go wrong with adding any of these sites to your daily regimen...enjoy!

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