Skip to main content

Why Does It Have To Be So Hard?

 I have a very thoughtful friend that when they go on a trip they often bring me back a bag of chips that can't be found in the 204. Well, a couple weeks ago they went on a trip and brought me back a bag of straight up Lay's weirdness. It would appear that Lay's has entered into a partnership with IHOP to bring Rooty Tooty Fresh 'N Fruity Strawberry-Topped Pancakes with Syrup & Bacon Naturally (yeah, okay) & Artificially Flavored Potato Chips. Since these are 'merican the nutrition facts on the back are in 28g portions, but these actually aren't all that unhealthy 24% fat (high side of average amongst all chips, but pretty much par for the course for Lay's) per 56g and only 12% sodium. My guess is that these'll actually be decent. In the past I've found that sweet flavours on chips actually goes over pretty well. 

Well, these smell pretty weird..almost like maple syrup and coffee. I've never been in an IHOP, but it sounds about right for a breakfast joint. The chips look like Lay's and have a Lay's crunch (pretty light), if you don't know what Lay's chips are typically like I find it odd that you're reading this blog, they're a gateway chip. Sweet 'buttery' syrup with cooked strawberries that have a bit of a tang. There's something faintly granular with the seasoning, or maybe it's the tang of the strawberry flavour that's tricking my tongue into thinking the seaoning is slightly granular. It's about a 50/50 split in flavour between the 'butter' flavoured syrup and strawberry topping. The bag shows bacon beside the pancakes, but I'm (luckily) not really picking up on it. 

Bad Time Records is absolutely killing it as a record label. They've released ska from absolutely every corner of the world of ska. They've teamed up with established artists, found up and comers that are doing their own weird thing and everything in-between. Tonight I'm going to tip my hat to them for putting out the newest album, Where Did All My Friends Go, from 3rd wave ska punk kings Mustard Plug. Over 30 years in and Mustard Plug is still putting out upbeat ska punk (not punk ska) that is clearly still rooted in the 3rd wave sound but doesn't sound dated. This is an album written by adults that have been through 45 and a pandemic, there's a bit of sorrow but it's generally has an optimistic tilt. Horns galore with the odd organ, melodica, accordion. This albums a skanker. I'd love to see this band live, but I'm thinking if I don't travel that may not be in the cards. I guess I'll just have to settle for another spin of the album and crack a beer. BTR also nailed it with the gatefold and mustard yellow splatter, the artwork and packaging are quite fetching.

Stay hydrated,

Marc

ps. Due to the sweetness of these chips I'd say a 100g bag would have been perfect packaging.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lean On Me

I first saw The Flatliners on May 9, 2003. They were opening for Bigwig/The Planet Smashers on the grind tour and kicked ass. Their sound has changed since that date but it hasn't stopped them from becoming one of my favourite bands both recorded and live. Because of my affinity for The Flatliners I was drawn to The Warehouse (Calgary) on September 26, 2007. Having never heard the other bands that were to be playing that night I had very few preconceived notions (I did very little, super lazy, research), I was just there to see The Flatliners and hoped the other bands didn't suck. To my absolute surprise and amazement, the opening? band (might have been 2nd of 4, I can't remember for sure [it really doesn't matter]) The Peacocks absolutely slayed. This 3 piece punkabilly band from Winterthur, Switzerland owned the stage. There was no fancy lighting, costumes or pyrotechnics..just three guys in jeans and black shirts rocking out. When they played there was pure uncut en
Post a Comment
Read more

2, 4, 5 Trioxin

I recently went on a road trip with my wife (Teresa) and daughter. Covered thousands of km's..Saskatoon -> Fort McMurray -> Calgary -> Home. Throughout this trip we stopped in at 4 record stores, 1 British food import store (to grab some of them uk chips, one of the many flavours was mentioned in The Letter F ) and stayed with friends/family in each city. This trip also resulted in at least 2 gifts that become tales in this here blog in the paragraphs below. The first record store that we ventured into on this trip was the Vinyl Diner in Saskatoon. Whenever Teresa and I go to record stores she usually leaves me to my business and finds a store nearby to browse or just hangs out at the front while I get into the zone. This time however turned out to be different. A few days after we arrived home from Calgary, I found out that with this particular visit to the Vinyl Diner Teresa was doing her own browsing, with the stealthiness of a ninja, that went completely unnoticed b
1 comment
Read more

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 th
2 comments
Read more