Tag: chickfactor polls

we’re publishing a few of our polls that were left out of CF18.

daniel handler (lemony snicket):if I didn’t live near amoeba records and wander the aisles once a month, I would have absolutely no idea what is going on.
stephin the magnetic fields:without convenient access to record stores, it has become practically impossible to find anything I like from this century. on the other hand it has become much easier to find french baroque harpsichord music. 
sukhdev cf: I don’t listen to much american music any more. sweden, france, japan are more important to me. (perhaps that’s chickfactor’s influence.)
shawn belschwender:without chickfactor, I’m like a blind man groping an elephant. I don’t know what anything is. so I rush right back to the safety of NWBHM bands.
clarissa cf: in the early days of chickfactor, my musical discovery sources were equal parts kim’s underground, wfmu, going to shows by artists I liked and getting there in time for the opening acts, and people on whom I had crushes sending me mix tapes. these days, my main source of musical discovery is looking at joel whitburn’s top r&b singles 1942–1996 and then finding artists I’ve never heard from it on spotify. I’d also say going to starbucks, but for the past eight months the only song they’ve played is rostam’s “bike dream” on continuous repeat. also, the golden age of chickfactor, as well as everything else, is right now.
mac merge/superchunk:weirdly not much—though I throw away fewer tapes now that everyone’s demo is a soundcloud page. bandcamp is a great way to discover stuff which didn’t exist then, but there were more record store employees to recommend stuff back then.
gaylord cf/wfmu: it really hasn’t, though nowadays I can’t bend down to look at records without throwing my back out.
ashley cf: I’ve died a little on the inside. I just listen to NPR and podcasts now. I hear it’s much easier to discover new music now but it just seems overwhelming. 
michael white:  like everyone else, it’s mostly online now—which, of course, isn’t as romantic as, say, seeing something interesting looking in other music and taking a chance on it, but it also means I don’t waste $35 on some japanese import I subsequently discover is terrible.
evelyn cotton candy: I guess I don’t read zines as much, so new music is more word of mouth.
kevin the hairs: I feel a bit more out of touch. I see what friends are listening to or what reviews I come across or what bands my friends are listening to or recommend.
lisa levy: I still mainly hear about bands through friends, though pandora and spotify also occasionally come through with something interesting.
joe the pines/foxgloves: I’ve gone from listening to radio 1 to listening to radio 2 to listening to bbc 6music. the same disc jockeys eventually turn up on all three, and steve lamacq is still playing mega city four and kingmaker.
jeff drawing room records: hmm… well… the internet has sped up my discovery to ultra-fast light-speed. I tend to self-research more instead of seeking out the good tastes of friends and acquaintances. as I’m older too, I’m more open to lots of different sounds than when I was younger and stauncher in terms of music I enjoyed.
tom square cotton candy:being currently 28, my musical discovery process pretty much began around chickfactor’s golden age.

describe your kid’s/kids’ taste in music.

alicia the aislers set / magic trick: well, she is very moved by music. her current favorites are journey, katy perry, elvis presley, david bowie. she’ll occasionally ask for alice cooper, the ramones, joan jett, stevie nicks, the grease soundtrack. her first vinyl lp that she would put on and dance to was steely dan. she knows what’s good when she hears it. nothing but honesty from that kid! if it’s a bad song on the radio, she’s like “turn this off! put on some journey!!!”

jessica would-be-goods: bowie, t rex, early elvis costello, classic disney songs (e.g. “everybody wants to be a cat” and “I wanna be like you”) — and the would-be-goods, which is very touching. she used to threaten to kill me if I told any of her friends I was in a band but now she thinks it’s OK and even plays them our music.

mark teenbeat/unrest: one likes lady gaga and the other classical music, though they won’t complain when the kinks are on the hi-fi.

corin tucker: it’s ever changing, but this week it’s skrillex and deadmau5.

dawn cf / agoraphone: it’s a strange mix. folk music of all sorts: woody guthrie, pete seeger, fairport convention, laura viers. then wild flag, ramones, and the fave david bowie (mostly ziggy stardust). I can’t really explain it.

daniel handler: otto started out loving late-period kraftwerk, went through a beatles phase, is now a big fan of stars, metric and (not my fault) chromeo.

andrew eggs/talk it: my oldest son likes music with loud guitars and melodies. he loves melodic punk music like strike anywhere as well as airborne toxic event and stuff that comes on DC101. my younger son’s two favorite songs are “donald where’s your troosers [sic]” and “tie me kangaroo down,” so he’s harder to classify. sometimes he requests music with “people screaming.”

claudia the magnetic fields: I think at this age, the parents dictate that. my friends keep telling me to play her shonen knife or the ramones, or other upbeat punk music. and she does respond well to that. she also seems to love rihanna, from her outbreak of dancing in restaurants to her. but at home we play pretty much peaceful folksy kids records, elizabeth mitchell, putumayo collections, dan zanes, some other kids records like wiggleworms, a bit of latin female vocalists like cesaria evora, some country female singers, some classical, some joni, etc. I think if I were a jazz fan, eve would probably be into jazz right now. she just attaches on to whatever’s playing, including dancing to embarrassing electronics that make little songs.

matt lorelei: ursula likes the family cat, vince guaraldi, polyrock, and burl ives. stephen’s son niko has a brazilian nanny so he’s listening to and digging os mutantes quite a bit.

kim baxter: his current favorites are vampire weekend and the english beat. I play nick drake in his room every night as he’s going to bed but the other night he asked for jeremy enigk instead.

kelly velocity girl: whatever it is they like, they listen to incessantly. here is the honest to god play count from itunes for the past few months from songs the girls picked themselves:

“goody two shoes” – adam ant 146 plays

“sensible”- small factory 154 plays

“dancing queen” – abba 192 plays

“choco la la la” – mr. g 137 plays

“crystal days” – echo & the bunnymen 140 plays

“under the rotunda” – the lucksmiths 138 plays

“suggestions” – small factory 105 plays

“do they know it’s christmas” – band aid 169 plays

“the ramblin’ rover” – silly wizard 146 plays

when they’re born one thinks please let them like good music. when they do they listen to music, good/bad/indifferent it is with such repetition that one prays please let them take up literature.

pete paphides: our 11-year-old is obsessed with coldplay. which is fine. I’d rather not have “edgy” children. she also loves goldfrapp. the 8-year-old is partial to dexys’ too ry-aye album.

gordon the fan modine: my littlest is always turing the radio up and bobbing his head no matter the genre. his older brother can’t get enough rick james.

mike black tambourine / manatee: theo’s gone through a few phases, getting really into one band of genre for a while and then moving on, though he always likes the old stuff too. the first music I think he stated a strong affinity for was jazz, specifically late 50s/60s hard-bop. then he went on a beatles jag, concurrent big troubles and teenage fanclub crazes, and has more recently moved on to punk rock, which he will happily state is the best music and that he’ll “love punk music forever” and “funky” music like james brown and the meters. a chip off the kid frostbite block, I’d say!

bridget st john: definitely in spirit and in desire to play different instruments. she has a great feeling for and love of music. and is an extraordinary poet and writer.

tim dagger: the beatles.

photograph of alicia the aislers set by tae won yu. 

what meal do you wish you could re-create at home?

fran cannane: really great curries especially those from malabar restaurant crows nest in sydney. (listen to a new cannanes tune, “bumper,” from their forthcoming small batch EP out on march 19)

corin tucker: japanese traditional udon soup. I’ve tried making it at home but there’s a lot of expertise there.

james dump/yo la tengo: cookie puss. (yo la tengo has an ace new album out called fade; two dump LPs are being reissued this spring on morr music)

kim baxter: conveyor belt sushi with the conveyor belt coming out of the kitchen into the dining room. (kim baxter’s latest album comes out march 15 on blue vinyl; her band is touring europe in april)

daniel handler: cruda at esca.

stephin the magnetic fields: the tomato cobbler at mary mac’s tea room in atlanta, GA. I bought the cookbook, but I can barely boil water.

rachel blumberg: I once had these tomatoes at a venue in italy. the tomatoes were the reddest red I’ve ever seen. they were grown in the volcanic loam on the side of mt. etna in sicily. they were served with fresh basil and olive oil. it was amazing. so good it made me weep. we had that with the most amazing bread and there were mushrooms too, sauteed in garlic and wonderful wine. it was all so simple and perfect. the only way I could ever recreate it would be to transport those tomatoes through a portal. I dream about those tomatoes. (rachel, who is interviewed in the latest chickfactor paper issue, has a new shop here)

gordon the fan modine: coal-fired pizza. (fan modine have a new one out this year)

hannah grass widow: pierogis.

joe pines / foxgloves: a steak that stephen wood would consider worth eating.

matt lorelei: I’ve been trying to re-create tartine bakery’s sourdough bread at home. getting close.

ian musical chairs: burekas!

tim dagger: that pasta/sausage with vodka sauce at la buca in portland.

bridget st john: a meal made entirely of ‘raw’ food.

pete paphides: a generic chinese beef curry like the ones you get at take-aways; a lamb balti like the ones you get at brilliant birmingham balti houses. once in a while, a big mac.

gail cf: everything on the menu at angelica kitchen (I have come close to mastering the miso tahini spread, soba sensation and noodle salads) and the mushroom ale pie at mildreds.

what drink goes with what album? (question by daniel handler)

gail cf: veuve clicquot goes with everything. I would imagine the special 20th anniversary “chickfactor” cocktail, created by the acclaimed booze handler daniel searing (from such bands as big jesus trash can, the saturday people and glo-worm), would go nicely with the chickfactor mixtape (pictured below).

daniel handler: rye neat, fire! you liked me five minutes ago

delmonico served up followed by bottle of chianti, divine comedy, casanova

chartreuse martini, st. etienne the sound of water

constantly warmed-up highball, the clash sandinista!

empty out the cabinet and experiment with weird liqueurs, 69 love songs

I could play this all night. and have.

stephen the real tuesday weld: tea, with anything.

james dump/yo la tengo: coffee and/or seltzer pair perfectly with all records.

stephin the magnetic fields: still trying to figure that out.

corin tucker: for me it was whiskey and “my aim is true” by elvis costello. these days it is kombucha and fiona apple.

the legendary jim ruiz: gary mcfarland’s “soft samba” album is best enjoyed with the soft samba coctail. pour two ounces of dry (fino) spanish sherry over two ice cubes in an old fashioned glass. add half an ounce of tropical fruit juice or pineapple juice. add a dash of angostura bitters.

gordon the fan modine: J&B scotch and soda and the kingston trio’s “goin’ places” will take you somewhere pretty specific.

matt lorelei: a shandy for smiley smile. or maybe a dolores park swizzle with st. george’s absinthe (rum, lime, maraschino, absinthe, bitters).

bridget st john: a good red wine goes with most albums in my collection!

fran cannane: red wine goes with all cannanes albums…increasing in price and quality over the years.

joe pines / foxgloves: red wine with loveless, early-evening white wine with bryter later, late-night whiskey with magnetic fields’ distortion, tea and panettone with u2’s war, tea and a biscuit with reading, writing & arithmetic, hot chocolate with deacon blue’s oooh las vegas.

kelly velocity girl:
heavenly vs satan – heavenly
harviestoun bitter & twisted
playing lightly, stinging ever so slightly. best ingested on a mild early summer afternoon.

“strawberry wine” – my bloody valentine
jj prum wehlener sonnenuhr riesling kabinett (cool vintage please)
while the title seems to beg some fruitified concoction, let the mild sweetness and filigreed acidity take you where you need to go. for the spring time please.

suburban light – the clientele
jw lees moonraker
a gentle warm up after “the football crowds have all gone home”. is there is a bit of mist on a late fall afternoon? check.

for if you cannot fly – small factory
corpse reviver #2
turns winter into summer. the punch bowl serves a as suitable object to jump off of when in the throes of pop ecstasy.

photograph of the chickfactor cocktail by daniel searing.

 

daniel handler: I usually foot the bill while dining with musicians.

stephin the magnetic fields: stephen sondheim freely admitting he is unable to cook at all has made me feel better about my own disastrous attempts.

corin tucker: seth, sara and mike (from corin tucker band) are all pretty much foodies and are very adventurous. we had a really fun tour of japan where we tried octopus balls in osaka. I liked the flavor but had a hard time with the chewiness.

ed shelflife: the fat boys.

bridget st john: john martyn revealed the mysteries of indian spices and the joys of grilled tomatoes!

gordon the fan modine: I look after ash’s goats and chickens a lot and get amazing eggs and veggies in return.

darren hanlon: it’s hard not to eat hot chippies while mark monnone (lucksmiths) is around.

james dump/yo la tengo: the fat boys, big pun, poison idea.

stephen the real tuesday weld: don brosnan and I talk about the dukan diet a lot.

gail cf: connie containe/pacific ocean influenced me hugely by cooking vegan food for me a million times and taking me to angelica kitchen. lupe too when we were flatmates as she is the queen of the improv vegan bakers.

fran cannane: james dutton (cannanes) is a fine cook. david nichols is an inspirational vegetarian.

tim dagger: tears run rings, I’ll now try seitan.

allen clapp: jill pries clapp! she’s been vegetarian since the late 1980s. I’ve been a vegetarian for 8 years.

joe pines / foxgloves: my interest in the go-betweens is gradually leading me to consider eating kangaroo. I am told that it is both healthy and tasty.

 

 

the legendary jim ruiz: I remember I ate my first tempeh reuben sandwich at the black cat in washington, d.c., in the ’90s. unforgettable.

john the magnetic fields: vega, copenhagen. helsinki hudson is a close second.

hannah grass widow: great american music hall.

corin tucker: I like the burgers at maxwell’s.

james dump/yo la tengo: maxwell’s, now and forever.

ed shelflife: cameo gallery in brooklyn that has the lovin’ cup cafe upstairs. good vegan options.

daniel handler: slow food festival, san francisco.

gail cf: I’ll have to say bunk bar.

pete paphides: festival food is the best food. the stall just beside the main stage at the green man that serves traditional welsh meals. faggots and home made chips with stellar gravy; beef stew with moist, heavy herby dumplings!

stephin the magnetic fields: helsinki hudson, in hudson, NY.

fran cannane: I remember most the butchersville pub in louisville, kentucky, in may 1991 as I was so amazed they would give us food for free. I cannot recall this ever happening to us in australia. no idea what the food was though.

kim baxter: rotown in rotterdam. it was so good that we went back for breakfast the next morning.

allen clapp: slims in san francisco has a wonderful veggie buffet!

matt lorelei: einstein a-go-go in jacksonville, florida. sadly it is no longer, but the spread they had for us was amazing. that’s the best we’ve ever been treated.

gordon the fan modine: the rooster’s wife in aberdeen, NC. they sit everyone down to a home-cooked meal from their garden in a beautiful old southern home.

stephen the real tuesday weld: blois festival france.

jennifer o’connor: it’s all a blur honestly.

ian musical chairs: maxwell’s, hoboken, NJ.

bridget st john: otterton mill, devon, UK.

jim ruiz photo courtesy of jim ruiz.

frankie rose: mexican food. pozole. enchiladas, which I made in glasgow, because there was a little mexican specialty shop that had all the ingredients.

cf: a lot of people in the UK don’t even know what mexican food can be like.

frankie rose: actually they don’t know what they’re eating. what they thought of as mexican food — I think they have tacos and burritos — but an enchilada was like a really foreign… they’d never even heard of it before.

gordon the fan modine: curried beets with beet green and almond “saag” and cucumber raita.

daniel handler: dandelion green pesto on gnocchi with aged gouda.

hannah grass widow: I’m told I make very tasty salads.

stephen the real tuesday weld: peanut butter, slightly burnt toast.

kim baxter: does taking the family out for conveyor belt sushi count? If not, I make a pretty good guacamole.

darren hanlon: wasabi mashed yams.

corin tucker: my son loves my beef tacos. I like to cook for him.

james dump/yo la tengo: v getting food from taco bell and pretending I made it from scratch.

fran cannane: mushroom fajitas this week.

tae won yu: it changes with the seasons. in the summer, I do homemade pasta with pancetta, heirloom tomatoes and basil. I also like risotto with mussels. seafood stew with coconut milk, very easy to make. I rely on seafood stew, never fails, always good. simple, cheap. I love getting an aged ribeye from ottomanelli. a perfect steak seared and basted in butter, that’s amazing.

allen clapp: spinach and cheese omelets. I’ll make ’em for anybody. It’s really the only food I know how to prepare, thanks to my older sister who taught me this skill when I was in second grade.

joe pines / foxgloves: baked salmon with lemon, leek, risotto, rocket salad + pinot grigio. or we could just go to the chinese, it’s only 5 minutes down the road.

matt lorelei: pasta with chard.

jennifer o’connor: vegan cajun cornbread casserole.

pete paphides: apparently it’s my wraps. the sweet potato falafel, tzatziki, red onion, tomato, mango chutney and coriander goes down well – although recently, I’ve been making this: peppered mackerel, tahini, tomato, red onion and toasted pumpkin seeds. also, roast red peppers stuffed with pearl barley, figs, goats cheese, caramelised onions, cumin, chilli and cinnamon. whilst I’m blowing my own trumpet, I prefer my tomato and basil pasta sauce to any other one I’ve eaten elsewhere. liquidised caramelised onions – that’s the key. my kids (and bob stanley) like my wholemeal pizzas.

janice cf: pizza.

stephin the magnetic fields: vegan bento box. I assemble a beautiful lunch.

tim dagger: toast.

gail cf: asian noodle salads. blueberry peach crumble. hummus.

rachel blumberg: I make a really mean eggplant parmesan. did it again the other night. the secret is the sauce. it’s all about ratios and timing and cooking it slow and low! I also love making soup and curries.

bridget st john: roasted vegetables with quinoa.

frankie rose photo by lauren bilanko.