Improved Means for Achieving Deteriorated Ends
Bar Records
My friend Laurette recently asked what 5 records I would play the most if I owned a bar. That is a 10/10 question, the sort of thing I'll happily spend an hour sorting through my record collection to answer ... and so I did. Though I was unable to pick just 5 so I upped the count to 10 and threw in 20 honorable mentions to boot.
For the record, my favorite bar has always been H Harper Station. I would take myself for a drink and a burger after work on Fridays when I was living on my own and chat at the bar with Mercedes. It's where I learned about cocktails and it was the place I took Norma for our first date. It closed down 8 or 9 years ago unfortunately. If I ever do own a bar, the Bufala Negra and Girl from the North Country cocktails will be staples on the menu in honor of H Harper.
The Big 10
- Hank Mobley - Dig Dis
- Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Colossus
- Sea and Cake - Oui
- Real Estate - Days
- Leon Vynehall - Music for the Uninvited
- Floating Points - Shadows
- Air - Premiers Symptomes
- The Avalanches - Since I Left You
- Iron and Wine - Woman King
- case/lang/veirs - case/lang/veirs
These accidentally came in pairs of two. 2 classic jazz records, 2 records that have a summery beach feeling to me and remind me of dad, 2 records of comforting house music, 2 records that could soundtrack a rooftop party, and 2 records that remind me of home and Norma.
Honorable Mentions
- spoon - kill the moonlight
- broken social scene - you forgot it in people
- ambulance ltd - ambulance ltd
- the stills - logic will break your heart
- the radio dept - clinging to a scheme
- tokyo police club - champ
- nilufer yanya - painless
- jay som - anak ko
- clairo - immunity
- james k - friend
- sza - sos
- amon tobin - supermodified
- flying lotus - los angeles
- j dilla - donuts
- four tet - rounds
- anthony naples - orbs
- sam wilkes - wilkes
- resavoir - horizon
- nala sinephro - space 1.8
- daniel villarreal - lados b
I don't know if I'll ever get out of tech, but if I do I hope it's to participate in a community space like a bar, record store, or a code school. There's something about cultivating a space and having a community of regulars that makes every day better.