I Don't Want to Go Down to the Basement, Either

I like pop punk. Ramonescore..Lookout, Recess, Red Scare, It's Alive records; you know, that ilk. Majority of what I'm exposed to (or expose myself to) is either American or based out of GTA/Ottawa areas. For some reason, it's rare for me to get a record and find out that the band is from the prairies or western Canada. This is not to say that there aren't killer pop punk bands in these regions, it just takes more digging to find them. (I know, you're angry and yelling Chixdiggit! at the screen right now. There's always exceptions). One of these amazing Canadian pop punk bands is based out of Vancouver and go by the name of The Hextalls. I had heard their name before but never really gave them a listen until last January (2014) when I got their LP "Rock You to Sleep". Shit is fantastic. Catchy, cheeky without turning themselves into a joke; straight forward pop punk. With heavy nods to the bruddas, I would be more than surprised if at least a few of the fellas in The Hextalls didn't rock a black leather jacket. I give Rock You to Sleep and The Hextalls a very enthusiastic recommendation to anyone that is open to the Ramones/Weasel/etc sound.

Lay's has released a seasonal "Limited Edition" (the over use of that buzz phrase is really starting to irritate me) chip flavour; Wavy Milk Chocolate. The picture on the bag shows riged chips that are evenly covered in a thin layer of milk chocolate with a sprinkle of sea salt. When I opened the bag I noticed that they may have embellished how evenly coated the chips are. Generally one side of the chip has a thick layer of milk chocolate leaving the other side of the chip bare. The picture is misleading, I would have liked to see a thinner more even coating however that doesn't matter, it's the taste that counts. I pulled a wavy milk chocolate chip out of the bag, quickly surveyed it, then straight into the taste zone. The star here is definitely the chocolate. The chip:chocolate ratio is slightly lopsided with chocolate being the victor, by a relatively small margin. As soon as you bite down on the chip you're rewarded with a nice salty crunch to accent the smooth milk chocolate. All of the chips have a nice dose of salt with some being on the heavily salted side. Don't take this as a complaint, I dig salty snacks. The size of the bag is a perfect 141g, anything larger would be a chocolate overload for this chip enthusiast. My only real beef with these chips is the price tag. I think that just over $5 for the bag is a little excessive. Pretzels are for drunks and hosers, if you want something that's crunchy, salty and chocolate covered give these a throw..just keep your fingers crossed that they go on sale and snatch them up at that time. (A white chocolate variation would be neato as well).

Wait, what ties The Hextalls and Wavy Milk Chocolate Lay's together? They're both sweet and salty *rimshot*. They're also both related to this valentines day. The Wavy Milk Chocolates are 'seasonal' in time for the 14th..which happens to be the day that the new Hextalls cd, Play With Heart, is being released. I for one can't wait to hear what pop punk greatness these Vancouver whippersnappers have concocted this time.

Stay Hydrated,
Marc

P.S. Interesting fact: not only was Ron Hextall the first NHL goalie to shoot and score a goal, but he was born in Brandon, MB (which happens to be where this blog is based out of) and played a season for the Brandon Wheat Kings.