SOUNDTRACK: THE FRONT BOTTOMS-“Mountain” (2011).
The Front Bottoms have a new album coming out. I’ve liked a lot of their songs and decided to dig a bit deeper in their catalog, and that’s when I discovered this song which led me to realize that they are from New Jersey (Woodcliff Lake, in fact). As a New Jersey band they clearly grew up eating Taylor Ham sandwiches. And so they get the honor of being attached to this book.
The Front Bottoms are a fun lightly punk pop band. The singer Brian Sella sings slightly off kilter and sometimes is speaking more than singing. And their music is energetic and sorta sloppy (but not actually sloppy at all) and it all stems from a great ball of fun that the band seems to be having. The songs are largely guitar and drum, although they have added keyboards and the occasional trumpet to flesh out these simple ditties.
This particular song has some rollicking drums, an introductory trumpet and simple strummed guitars. It also features this perfect lyric:
“I bought fireworks, a big bag in Pennsylvania, I’m gonna light ’em up when I get home to Jersey. They’ll probably arrest me they’ll probably ruin my whole summer.”
Their new album is coming out in a few weeks and features the super catchy song “Laugh Til i Cry.”
[READ: August 22, 2015] The Pork Roll Cookbook
I saw this book at the library and had to check it out. I love pork roll, it’s a treat that my father loved and which my family simply doesn’t eat often enough. Of course, since we’re from North Jersey we called it Taylor Ham.
I wasn’t really interested in pork roll recipes because, well, you really only ever need to eat it with egg and cheese on a roll (or bagel).
But the beginning of the book gives a fascinating history of this local delicacy which barely makes it beyond the New Jersey border. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 