Tales of the Salty Bag

I recently picked up a copy of Adam Ant's Vive Le Rock. I don't believe I've ever heard anything from Adam (and the) Ant(s) but I recognized the name of Adam Ant so I figured why not, it was pretty cheap and I always love 'new' music. On the cover Adam's dressed almost hair metalish holding a semi hollow body..the back everyone's dressed 77ish. I got home and tossed the album on. New wave you say. From my experience, mid 80's (85) new wave is generally pretty..um..yeah. (There's some interesting parts here [rip down has some infectious yodeling?] and there but for the most part) This album's inoffensive mid tempo radio friendly rock, so..yep. I was hoping for something with a little more of an edge..or up tempo..or interesting. That being said, The Cars first 5 albums are absolutely fantastic (I can't say I've ever really given Door to Door or Move Like This a listen [I should get on that]). A couple nights ago I tore into a bag of Cape...

Crack open a bag of Kettle Brand Krinkle Cut Dill Pickle Potato Chips and you'll be slapped in the face with that very pleasant smell of Dill Pickle flavour chips. This may lead you to think, "Are these going to be aggressively dill pickley..maybe heavy with the vinegar burn?". Well, saddle up partner because as soon as you throw one of these crunchy ridged thingers in your mouth..you get an average level of run of the mill dill pickle flavour. The first whiff may be a little misleading, but they're a completely adequate dill pickle chip. As a Kettle Brand chip, you better make sure you have socks on because they're on the greasier side of the chip spectrum. Word to the wise, if you're gonna step into these you may want to have some dip handy, not because the flavour needs to be covered up but because gee golly these are some sturdy chips. You won't find the crunch to be a turn off but I'm pretty sure one could eat a brick of cream cheese with these an...

Limited edition..whether it's motivated financially or strictly due to marketing, limited edition can be a real bitch for one that enjoys collecting. When you're at the top of the food chain (purchaser zero) it's not such a bad thing to want the limited pressing of a record, however if you miss the boat and find yourself in need (want) of a limited pressing, bummer. There are far too many greasy turds out there that will snatch up a record and flip it on ebay/discogs/what have you. These people bum me out..that and record store day pressings. Record store day can (for the most part) eat a dick. Big labels with big name bands releasing limited pressings not because they have to but because they can, ugh. Anyway, I'm not really here to talk about limited edition/pressings. I'm here to talk about pressings that are limited...then repressed because why not. I specifically have the Slayer Vinyl Conflict box set in mind. When this box set was released in 2010, at the time...

Every once in a while the "Lays do us a flavour/flavor" gimmick produces a tasty chip flavour..but in general they usually produce bland if not offensive, fit for the garbage can, duds. When I read both the Canadian and American entries for 2015 I was, well, disappointed. It read like a rundown of taint influenced salty snacks. There were some (somewhat long shot) potentially tasty flavours (mostly to the south of the 49th parallel). I only managed to procure 1 American flavour for 2015..I've had New York Reuben and Montreal Smoked Meat collecting dust in the salty cellar for a minute. I assumed that they'd taste almost exactly the same (salty faux meat) and didn't anticipate a recommendation to come out of the review (it should be noted that I entered Reuben on Kettle Cooked into the Canadian contest). My sister in law thoughtfully picked me up a bag of New york Reuben when she was in Vegas this past summer. I was interested in trying these chips, however the m...

Have chip bags always had "Best Before..Fresh Until..blah blah blah" dates? Maybe I just didn't pay attention when I was younger but I want to say that these dates were an invention of the mid to late 90's. I could try to research their origin but what's the use? When I see an interesting bag of chips that I've never consumed I'll snatch 'em right up knowing very well that I may not get around to going to crunch town on them for months. And I don't just mean a month or two, I mean MONTHS...shit, it may even get to a year. It's partially due to the fact that if it's a rare bag I don't want to not have them any more..and partially because I somehow end up with a lot of bags in the salty cellar and I don't necessarily want to consume a new flavour whenever I have chips, you can't neglect the good ol' flavours (or good new flavours that demand a repeat). What I'm getting at is that these 'Best Before' dates, as far a...

In late October 2006 I was living in Calgary and went to see Hatebreed for the first time. Before going I wasn't sure exactly what to expect from the pit. I had assumed that there'd be slamdancers/2 steppers/spin kickers...blah blah blah. When me and my buddy Ryan got to the show and the festivities commenced I noticed that there were 3 basic groups of attendees. The people standing on the outside; nodding and such, maybe dancing a bit..but mostly just soaking in the music, the stage show and the antics going on within the pit. There were the people on the outer edges of the pit; 2 stepping a little maybe throwing in some other dance maneuvers that hardcore kids like but not being (in my opinion) dickholes with the flailing and kicking. Then there were the people in the 'middle' of the pit swinging their arms giving 110%, spin kicking and all around douching hard. At the core of the melee there was a young? man fully dressed in a santa suit who I have to assume spent 4...

I've had a bag of Kettle Brand Pepperoncini chips cooling in the salty cellar for a minute. I honestly haven't been in that much of a rush due to the whole Kettle Brand usually being a disappointment thing [even though I find the pepperoncini flavour beyond intriguing]. Finally tonight I figure I'd step into this lime green bag of (hopefully) goodness. When I opened the bag and took a whiff I was met with a smell similar to salt and vinegar. The chips have green flakes on them and don't look dissimilar to sour cream and onion. I popped one in my mouth and hot dang, the initial crunch released a faint salt and vinegar flavour..followed by a heat that is similar to black pepper, however, with a bit more of a kick. The chips have a nice crunch and (for being Kettle Brand) aren't overly greasy [compared to almost any other kettle cooked chip they're still pretty greasy]. The grease however doesn't overpower the "pepperoncini" flavour which is a *thumbs...