Keep It On The Down Low

Recently, I posted a playlist on the occasion of my (sort of) birthday. It consisted of newer, fashionable music, for the most part. However, I must admit that I wasn't always so hip. I started to develop an awareness of popular culture in the early 1990s and, in all honesty, I was conflicted from the very start. How could one not be? I was supposed to be developing into a man (a traditionally masculine one, that is), yet I was being bombarded by some of the most affecting, sensitive ballads of our time. On the one hand, I tried to act tough by professing a preference for hard rock and hip-hop; but then I would flip on MTV and get misty-eyed watching the videos you see below. I hated that I loved these songs; it embarrassed me thoroughly. But, looking back, I think my instincts were right and I'm now prepared to admit my affinities, which I've kept on the down low all these years. Who's with me? (Songs after the jump...)

Playlist for Drinking Alone on One's Birthday

Despite the title, I assure you I'm not seeking sympathy with this post (though, if you're offering, I might take just a little...). Honestly, I've had incredible birthdays the past couple years when nearly all the best lads on the eastern seaboard descended on me for joyous weekends of carefree frolicking (easy, not like that). It was much more than I deserved and I'm incredibly grateful to have such wonderful friends; it would be selfish to ask for more (but if you guys are coming to surprise me, that doesn't mean you should scrap your plans or anything). So, in that magnanimous spirit, I thought I'd give a little something back, rather than my usual taking. Unfortunately, I don't have much; hence, I offer music. 

Contrary to the melancholy title, I would characterize this playlist as a smooth, pleasurable listen, with enough bounce and variety to keep things interesting and fun, though I must admit that it does end in a somewhat wistful, doleful (but hopefully not unpleasant) manner. All in all, it's not unlike myself: smooth, pleasurable (that's gross, sorry), interesting, fun... well, maybe not, on second thought. But the end is, at least. Wistful, doleful, hopefully not unpleasant: Yes, that's more like it. In any case, whether alone or with others, raise a mug of the sweetest white wine you can find and enjoy. (Playlist after the jump...)

Belly's Wednesday Wine & Food Pairings

I realize it has been a while since the last BWW&FP. However, this time I have a good excuse for my apparent slothfulness! Plus, in the meantime BWW&FP gained a veritable anthem in a wonderful song by Blondes, titled simply "Wine." 

(Incidentally, I make an appearance in the video around the 3:00 mark.)

Now, why have I been tardy in bringing you your weekly wine knowledge? 

Belly's Birthday Wish List

Remarkably, another year of my life is about to expire. Although, now that I look back on the previous sentence, I suppose such an occurrence isn't particularly remarkable; with each passing day each and every one of us draws closer to the cold, dark end; to oblivion, to Elysium, to the Inferno, or to whatever awaits us beyond the threshold of our current experience that we so casually call "life" or "reality," whether accurately or not. That being said, the anniversary of one's birth (or the mile-markers along the way to one's death, however one wants to look at it) should clearly be employed as an opportunity to accumulate much-needed material possessions. 


So, I will take this opportunity to note that I have spent innumerable hours slaving away selflessly at this enterprise, which has been entirely for your enjoyment, dear readers (as one of my favorite chanteuses, Lana Del Ray, sings in "Video Games:" "It's you, it's you, it's all for you..."). Additionally, I know many of you have enjoyed my efforts, as the newly installed visitor counter on the right sidebar attests. Well alright, perhaps that's not an overwhelming number. In any case, as I am positive that none of you are mooching socialists, I thought you might like the opportunity to give something back to help sustain my hitherto philanthropic philosophical endeavors. If you are so inclined, below you will find a brief list of suggestions for gifts; just a few items that have tickled my fancy lately. Thank you in advance.

Valentine's Day Gets My Goat

Need I offer an explanation as to why Valentine’s Day is irritating? Methinks I don’t. In fact, let’s switch gears: Instead of focusing on the negative and spewing some petty, vitriolic tirade – a frequent occurrence here at Belly Blog, I realize – we should give in to the (hollow, meaningless) spirit of this (sham) holiday. And so, let us celebrate a tale of love involving our friend, Pan, to whom I introduced you a short while ago. Remember him? Handsome fellow.

Arnold Böcklin, Idyll (detail of Pan), 1875; oil on canvas; Munich, Neue Pinakothek.

Now, Pan has had many amorous adventures, most of which have ended in rejection, unfortunately.

Lana Del Ray, A-Okay

Last weekend, some friends and I got together in Manhattan. Earlier that week, I had emailed one of the guys and asked him the question that seemed to be on everyone’s lips: “What do you think of Lana Del Ray?” 

He replied that he hadn’t heard enough – of her music or, remarkably, of the surfeit of internet chatter – to form an opinion. (For the record, I feel that this is one of the few worthwhile, well-considered articles out there.) So, while having a few beers before going out on Friday night, we put on her recently released album, Born to Die. It was a hit. A half-dozen lads, professionals (and myself) in their mid to late twenties, most of whom had not heard Ms. Del Ray’s music previously and knew little or nothing about the “controversy” surrounding her, were swaying, grooving, and, once we learned the words, singing along. It was a hell of a good time. We put the album on again that night when we returned from the bars. And again the following day. And again that night. You get the idea.

This morning, I had the pleasure of waking up with Ms. Del Ray, by which I mean I left Born to Die on repeat overnight. This came after an evening of binging on boxed wine and singing along with “This Is What Makes Us Girls” (I bloody love that track), which itself followed a day of scouring the internets for videos, interviews, and articles featuring the enchanting young chanteuse. (Who knew unemployment could be so grand?) Yes, I realize that I’m acting like a pathetically besotted fanboy. But the fact remains; I haven’t been so addicted to an album in a long, long time. Even truly excellent recent releases by Blondes and John Talabot have taken a backseat to Ms. Del Ray and Born to Die.

Nietzsche's Nook

Edvard Munch, Portrait of Nietzsche, 1906; oil on canvas; Stockholm, Thielska Galleriet.

Last week, I promised that I would expand on Friedrich Nietzsche’s defense of pessimism and disparagement of optimism, which he articulated in his first published work: The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music (first published in 1872; referred to hereafter as the BoT). I have been meaning to do so for some time, not simply as an exercise in pedantry, but rather as something of a personal justification. Believe it or not, dear readers, but I have been accused of being a pessimist, an individual possessing an overly gloomy worldview. However, I maintain that I have a positive relationship with my negativity, of which these writings are but one example. Instead of giving in completely to narcissism and launching into a rambling attempt to explain something that is likely of little interest or benefit to the world at large, I felt it would be more enriching if I introduced my readership to some passages in which I find great wisdom and solace, which will also serve to provide insight into my own personal formulations on the necessity of pessimism, as well as how it can even be considered a positive attribute. Additionally, Nietzsche is a philosopher about whom many misconceptions and incorrect generalizations exist. By bringing you into direct contact with a bit of his work (and perhaps more in the future), I hope that you can begin to form your own ideas about a remarkable individual who conceived of himself as an affirmer of life, and whose originality, audacity, remarkable mental agility, and furiously intense writing style should be appreciated, even if, in the end, you do not find his actual philosophies to your liking. Finally, I hope that this brief rundown of Nietzsche’s BoT, in which he articulates his conception of Dionysos and the Dionysian impulse in man, may illuminate past and future writings of mine, which frequently mention this primal god, known most commonly for his association with wine and revelry.

Belly's Wednesday Wine & Food Pairings

This week, there is cause for celebration here at BWW&FP. It has come in the form of a luminous golden vision, on the right in the photograph below: 

What you are witnessing, my friends, is booze incarnated in a form so incredibly inexpensive that its existence can be attributed only to divine providence. Here we have Almaden Vineyards' Mountain Rhine Wine (Platinum Medal Winner at the 2011 Consumer Wine Awards), from California. The fact that Germany's Rhine River is located over 5000 miles from California becomes inconsequential when we note that this bountiful box contains five liters of wine – the equivalent of six and two-thirds bottles – for the modest cost of only $14.99 (roughly $2.25 per bottle). I have paired this beverage with a rather curious product: Amnon's Pizza. This foodstuff is apparently the result of pizza being made traditionally in a shop in Brooklyn's Borough Park, then frozen and shipped to supermarkets countrywide. (Why anyone would purchase such an item is beyond me. My mother, while being great and all, is sometimes an imprudent grocery shopper. More on the experience of this pairing after the jump.)