Tales of the Salty Bag

So it would appear that Ruffles are trying to expand the standard American chip flavour pallet on the backs of Canadians. On a trip this spring I picked up a bag of American Ruffles All Dressed "#1 Flavor in Canada". "What does all dressed mean? Find out on back!" and according to the back, yadda yadda yadda.."that somehow taste salty, savory & sweet all at the same time. Sounds good, eh?". As I wanted to find out what these chips that are all the rage in Canada taste like I grabbed a bag. Cracked them open, a slight fragrance of vinegar..with potato chips. My first few snag and crunches..not a whole lot. The seasoning is pretty uneven ranging from adequate to "is there seasoning on this chip?". When I found some with discernible seasoning it tasted like a vinegary bbq.maybe a bit of ketchup trying to make some noise..I dunno, it's all dressed. The chips are standard Ruffles, somewhat thin with tiny ridges. I don't consume Ruffles ver...

I can't remember the first time that I heard of Sean Paul, I want to say that I saw a low budget music video that he released in the late 90's on Much Music (back before they dropped the Music)..but I can't figure out what song it was for (maybe it was a feature?..)..either way, lets just say that I was first introduced to Sean Paul through Money Jane from Kardinal Offishall's Firestarter Vol 1. (Kardi's classic album). It seems that not too shortly after that feature Sean Paul just blew up. The next thing I knew Gimme the Light dropped and wowzers,, he was everywhere. Dutty Rock sold like crazy (I can't say that I purchased the album when it came out..but I managed to hear every song off of it..somehow) and hot dang there were some bangers. I still listen to Gimme The Light , Like Glue and Punkie somewhat regularly. Living in Bdn, MB being exposed to dancehall isn't a regular occurrence (and I haven't taken much time to delve into the genre) so I can...

(I wrote this paragraph before listening to the album or looking at the liner notes) It's Alive Records recently put out the LP version of The Stupid Daikini's 2015 album everything is fine . I've basically avoided knowing anything about this album and/or listening to it (since I heard about it..and that IAR was releasing it physically) prior to having the LP in my hands. I for some unexplained reason assumed that it would be along the lines of folk punk from California when I first heard about the album. Now, it appears (based on the cover and song titles), to be garage punk with an 80's hardcore..possibly Riot Grrrl influence. I believe that the vocals are female and I'm guessing they're going to be closer to yelled/screamed than sang. I anticipate the songs to be drenched with emotion..err anger..and to be bangers. I'm anticipating the songs to be borderline bangers with a little sweet. (I tried these chips a month ago but made no notes so this is off o...

The Raging Nathans play '94 influenced pop punk. You would have never guessed based on the cover of their newest album Cheap Fame . Somewhat snotty melodic vocals with some nice harmonies. The tempos are up, I bet Raging Nathans shows have super fun pits without attracting those annoying spin kicking change picking up twats (there's some heat, but it's not brutally heavy). Nice galloping bass lines throughout the album. In contrast to the music, the lyrics get quite dark and sad. These guys would fit in on a tour with Dear Landlord, The Copyrights or (not just because they share a member) The Dopamines. Great album. I've only had a few spins at this point but with each flip of the LP it gets better and better, 'tis a catchy one. I'd recommend picking up the album from Rad Girlfriend Records ..or you can download it and pay what you want at their bandcamp . It's that time again, another completely necessary blog about a bag of chips brought home fr...

I was recently passing through Duty Free on my way back from Oklahoma and I noticed some personal (57g) bags of chips on sale. They were Joe Chips to be exact. "Retro Potato Chips"..so I grabbed a bag of each of the flavours they had Sour Cream & Toasted Onion, Barbeque, and Sea Salt & Vinegar. The first bag I cracked open was the Sour Cream & Toasted Onion. I neglected to really read the flavour or any of the write up on the back so I was unaware that these were "toasted" onion and also that they're kettle cooked. Prior to reading the back of the bag I made the assessment that these were some sort of hybrid between typical and kettle cooked chips. When I thought they were standard chips I figured that they were on the crunchy side, after reading the back I realized that they're on the light side of kettle cooked, not as many curled up chips as other brands. The flavour is pretty run of the mill SC&O that's evenly distributed throughout...

This past summer a friend of mine sent me a picture of chips that he had found at the..I believe..Rossburn Co-op. They were something I had never heard of or seen before..so I did what any inquisitive person would do, I googled them. Tomahawk Chips . Aboriginal Owned, No Financial Assistance, Friendchip Choice Native Canadian Chip Corporation (Riverton, MB). I had mentioned these chips to people in the following weeks and low and behold, my family was in (I think) Onanole and they found some of them, BBQ and Ketchup to be exact. Now Tomahawk is a strange chip company, the chips seem to come secondary to the packaging. They have a website with an online store, that does not sell chips, just prints and shirts. I believe that their primary goal is to advertise Native Canadian artists through chip bags and raise founds for (it appears) the Riverton Friendship Centre. I dig what they're doing, it's uplifting (my only gripe is that I haven't seen them in Brandon and can't ord...

I remember when Needles//Pins' Shamebirds album came out in 2014, it was on a lot of best of lists at the end of the year. I made a mental note to check it out..but somehow it slipped through the cracks..not sure why. So this past year they released their follow up, Good Night, Tomorrow ..didn't miss the boat this time. Vancouver's Needles//Pins deliver gruff pop punk (sometimes 90's alt[ish] sometimes power popish) with boozey, heartbroken..weathered poetic lyrics. I dig. The vocals register on the higher side of the gruff spectrum with just the right amount of gravel (think Sainte Catherines/Leatherface). The music is mid to up tempo that makes ya nod your head and tap the ol' toe. After I thoroughly take in Good Night, Tomorrow I'm definitely going to take a step into the wayback machine and Shamebirds it up as well. Maybe it's not groundbreaking music but damn is it exquisite..and worth your time. I was in superstore recently checking out the 'nat...