As important as dry rubs, cold beer and hardwood charcoal are to a good barbecue experience the right music is critical. Great tunes makes everything taste better. Great music makes the party hop.
Like barbecuing (verb) one of life’s simple pleasures is when you discover and introduce new music to family and friends. It’s kind of like stumbling upon a terrific recipe or technique. As a music reviewer for our local, independent radio station, WYCE, I have the opportunity to listen to a lot of “out-of-the-mainstream” music. Frequently, these new releases are “OK” (working under the philosophy that all music is good….to the right audience). This week however, I hit the jackpot. Two CD’s that were absolutely terrific.
Both are from the singer/songwriter schools of John Prine, Townes Van Zant, Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan, Guy Clark, Butch Hancock and many other similar troubadors.
Adam Carroll’s. Old Town Rock n’ Roll has all of John Prine’s humor, phrasing, vocal nuances and story telling, but with a Texas perspective. I think I would pair this CD with a spicy brisket, beans, corn bread and a cold wheat beer.
Peter Cooper’s Mission Door is terrific in it’s Nashville/steel guitar way. Peter is an interesting cat. He is a country music professor at Vanderbilt University, and a columnist for the Nashville daily newspaper and a contributor to Esquire. Mission Door would be good with barbecued or grilled chicken breasts (skin on…please), corn-on-the-cob, homemade coleslaw (the rough cut variety….not any mass produced slop) and a cold lager….maybe Dos Equis…
I guess it doesn’t really matter what you eat with it, but please turn the music up loud, enjoy a few beers or cocktails, have the the grill smoking and I think you will be approaching the state of mind, best described as grilladelic.
