Another three-day weekend? Already? Don’t you lot have work to do? Where will we end up if we’re all lolly-gagging about enjoying ourselves and indulging in a little self-care and being actual human beings instead of adding to the coffers of the state and big business like we’re supposed to? We hope you’re happy, that’s all we’ll say.
No, seriously. We hope you’re all happy.
Enjoy the long break with us as we offer up a couple of American bar tours, a really good playlist and a primer on how to create an evil empire.
Now is the time. Here is the place. This is The Cut.
Featured image of Reader’s World, Holland MI via Midwest Modern (@JoshLipnik) on Twitter.
A thick slice of our musical upbringing was baked on the streets of Athens, Georgia—an unassuming college town whose thriving bar scene was home to bands like the B52s and REM. That scene still exists today, and Punchdrink has been kind enough to talk to employees at three of the best. Gotta say, a pilgrimage to the 40 Watt Club is a bucket list item for us…
Here’s another bar crawl. This time we’re in New York, exploring the places where some of our favourite cocktails (and some we don’t care for—the Bloody Mary is just cold tomato soup with some vodka in it) were born. They also happen to be some of the most beautiful drinking spots in the city. Worth planning a day trip. Maybe a weekend.
Colonel Sanders is one of those real-life characters who has attained mythic status. In Japan, he’s celebrated in almost the same way as Santa and families will traditionally gather around a Bargain Bucket on Christmas Day. But who was the real Harlan Sanders? Can we parse out the fact from the mythology? Thank goodness for Snopes, who have done just that…
The True Life And Times Of Colonel Sanders
Cheese And Biscuits is one of the better restaurant review sites around. Writer Chris Pople hits the sweet spot between humour, empathy and expressing the delight of a hungry man with a refined palate enjoying really good food. We loved this cautionary tale of a trip to Khun Pakin Thai in Hammersmith, where he and his companion made a basic ordering error in a place largely patronized by the Thai community…
Quite food heavy this week, aren’t we? We obviously have big Bank Holiday dinners on our mind. Food is a community effort, of course. Like most creative endeavours, and especially at the high end, good grub is the sum of a machine comprising many moving parts operated by very skilled people. Restaurants who claim food is the product of one over-arching genius take as ridiculous a position as film-makers who claim their movie is all their own work. Worse still, menus don’t credit the chefs who help put that yummy stuff in front of you. At least films show a long roller of the people involved at the end of events. Amanda Cohen, chef-patron at acclaimed veggie joint Dirt Candy is trying to break that trend. A good start, we think.
Right, we’re full. Step away from the table, let’s have some music. This great list from Far Out Magazine of 13 under-rated songs from 1978 contains some you definitely know. But it’s still a banging set, and one to crank over the weekend. Hit me!
The Wild West. A place where men were men and women were… right alongside them, carving the future out of a very harsh landscape. The films which helped create the legends of the frontier have always been less male-dominated than you’d think. The Power Of The Dog is no outlier in the feminine view of cowboy tales…
We love us a good evil empire. If you want to put your plucky main character up against truly overwhelming odds, there’s nothing better than a villainous mega-corporation or corrupt government. However, creating such an organisation and making it believable takes more than designing a snazzy boiler suit for your minions and coming up with a cool acronym.
And finally. Did you ever have one of those toe-curling moments where you’re watching a film you recommended to your parents with your parents and that gratuitous sex scene or burst of sudden bloody violence comes on? Gods, the cringe of it. Writer Riley Cassidy has decided to lean into that feeling and show her mom some of her favourite films. As Riley works for Daily Grindhouse, you can guess which way her tastes lie. A particular highlight of the run is this screening of Gaspar Noe’s trippy dance-death orgy, Climax. Spoiler: Mom did not approve.
We’re running slightly short this week—the weird structure of the weeks in holiday season has discombobulated the office schedule a bit. We hope to be back to full speed next week. We’ll leave you with a short sharp burst of dirty pop from The Go-Nuts. ‘I See The Mona Lisa In My Pepperoni Pizza’ hits most of our tickle-nodes—art, food and low culture in a perfect two minutes of hot sauce ramalama.
See you next Saturday, you nutters.
EXCUSES AND HALF TRUTHS 