The first 5 sets of 5
From sen_no_ongaku: Things you really like that nobody else does:
"Nobody" is a tricky word. If I were truly the only person in the world who liked something, it would almost certainly need to be something I'd invented and could make myself, as most other things are built or manufactured by people who must have liked those things enough to build them. So I'll interpret that as "things I really like that other folks generally fail to appreciate".
Kenkey. It's cornmeal mixed with water, wrapped in a banana leaf and left to sit in the sun for a day. It comes out funky, sour and pretty strange, but delicious, I think. While the Ga people eat a good bit of it, no one else really does.
DTW airport. Minimalist, yet lofty. Cold, yet oddly cosy. A mile long, yet intimate. A place of transit, yet a second home.
"Jackamo" by Annie "Anxiety" Bandez I used to play this song in on my (very strange) college radio show. It was the only track I played that caused listeners to call in and beg me to stop. I love it, actually, though generally am scared to play it for people.
Green and Gold A can of Genesee Cream Ale mixed with a can of (original, grapefruit-flavored) Fresca. Others who've tasted it claim to like it, but I've yet to see anyone mix themselves one, so I think they're just lying to protect my feelings.
Skipping CDs There are several CDs that I like better when they're skipping than when they're played as the artist intended.
From sigerson: Things that make you go Hmm.
- SUV's that have clearly never been driven off-road.
- Fake mud that can be sprayed onto SUVs that have never been driven off-road to prevent people like me from glaring at the driver.
- Artfully distressed denim.
- Food with expiration dates ten years in the future.
- Well-rehearsed political rhetoric, either left or right.
From ltlbird: Five misconceptions/assumptions you'd like to correct about Africa.
- That it's corrupt. (Corruption is a huge problem in some countries, almost nonexistent in others.)
- That famine is widespread in Africa. (While food shortages in some countries are common, they're usually brief and more related to tarrif barriers and problems moving food between neighboring nations than due to a failure to grow enough food.)
- That violence is widespread. (See corruption.)
- That African governments are undemocratic. (See corruption and violence.)
- That life in Africa is somehow so different from life in the North that it's not comprehensible.
From minyan: Five things you would like to build.
A proper ger. The new year's gers are just a warmup. The next ger has a wooden floor, a window, over twice as much floor area and a wood stove. I think it might become my new office.
A curio table. I try to buy old wooden type trays when I find them for sale in antique stores. My hope is to build one into a table, so that it can hold dozens of small items, protected by glass, making for a side table that's also a miniature gallery.
A late 1940s Ford pickup truck I guess this isn't building, strictly, but restoring. I'd love to buy a beat-up 1949 F-150 in driveable condition and customize it.
A wooden boat. Boats are amazingly challenging to build - making wood curve is both easier and harder than you'd think, and producing something seaworthy is a good and proper challenge.
My house. I have no plans to move soon, but I think everyone who likes to build stuff fantasizes about building their own house from scratch.
From sanj: Top five musicians or bands that never get the airplay they deserve:
Okay, this one is hard to limit to five. I'm going to interpret the question as being specifically about bands and artists that should and COULD have gotten radio airplay (i.e., are in genres where people actually do get radio airplay, rather than listing my favorite performance artists, like Rinde Eckert.)
- Big Country. Early to mid-80s (though they recorded until their lead singer killed himself a few years ago...) Scottish. Anthemic pop with lead guitar lines played via ebow, which gave them the sound of bagpipes. Most of their music makes me want to march into battle and fight for what's right. No wonder it never caught on in the US.
- Jane Siberry. Became a professional singer/songwriter in her 30s, after careers as a waitress and a microbiologist. Capable of writing songs that are both unbelievably weird and surprisingly beautiful. Made the world safe for Tori Amos. (Unclear if that was a good or bad thing.)
- Jim White. The Tom Waits of country music. Far too weird for Nashville, far too earnest for the college music scene. Writes songs with titles like "If Jesus Drove a Motorhome."
- John Hiatt. A songwriter's songwriter. You've heard his songs even if you don't know his name. Got to record with some of the most amazing musicians in the world because he's considered royalty by other musicians, though not by fans or radio programmers. Richard Thompson could also fit this description and this slot.
- Tack>>Head. Early rap music was recorded with live bands playing funky licks. One of the best of those bands backed The Sugar Hill Gang, the folks who recorded "Rapper's Delight". When rap moved to turntables and samplers, the backing band started hanging out with legendarily strange UK record producer Adrian Sherwood. They made angular, funky electronica that sounds bleeding edge today, almost twenty years later. But you'd never get it on the radio today, either.
"Nobody" is a tricky word. If I were truly the only person in the world who liked something, it would almost certainly need to be something I'd invented and could make myself, as most other things are built or manufactured by people who must have liked those things enough to build them. So I'll interpret that as "things I really like that other folks generally fail to appreciate".
Kenkey. It's cornmeal mixed with water, wrapped in a banana leaf and left to sit in the sun for a day. It comes out funky, sour and pretty strange, but delicious, I think. While the Ga people eat a good bit of it, no one else really does.
DTW airport. Minimalist, yet lofty. Cold, yet oddly cosy. A mile long, yet intimate. A place of transit, yet a second home.
"Jackamo" by Annie "Anxiety" Bandez I used to play this song in on my (very strange) college radio show. It was the only track I played that caused listeners to call in and beg me to stop. I love it, actually, though generally am scared to play it for people.
Green and Gold A can of Genesee Cream Ale mixed with a can of (original, grapefruit-flavored) Fresca. Others who've tasted it claim to like it, but I've yet to see anyone mix themselves one, so I think they're just lying to protect my feelings.
Skipping CDs There are several CDs that I like better when they're skipping than when they're played as the artist intended.
From sigerson: Things that make you go Hmm.
- SUV's that have clearly never been driven off-road.
- Fake mud that can be sprayed onto SUVs that have never been driven off-road to prevent people like me from glaring at the driver.
- Artfully distressed denim.
- Food with expiration dates ten years in the future.
- Well-rehearsed political rhetoric, either left or right.
From ltlbird: Five misconceptions/assumptions you'd like to correct about Africa.
- That it's corrupt. (Corruption is a huge problem in some countries, almost nonexistent in others.)
- That famine is widespread in Africa. (While food shortages in some countries are common, they're usually brief and more related to tarrif barriers and problems moving food between neighboring nations than due to a failure to grow enough food.)
- That violence is widespread. (See corruption.)
- That African governments are undemocratic. (See corruption and violence.)
- That life in Africa is somehow so different from life in the North that it's not comprehensible.
From minyan: Five things you would like to build.
A proper ger. The new year's gers are just a warmup. The next ger has a wooden floor, a window, over twice as much floor area and a wood stove. I think it might become my new office.
A curio table. I try to buy old wooden type trays when I find them for sale in antique stores. My hope is to build one into a table, so that it can hold dozens of small items, protected by glass, making for a side table that's also a miniature gallery.
A late 1940s Ford pickup truck I guess this isn't building, strictly, but restoring. I'd love to buy a beat-up 1949 F-150 in driveable condition and customize it.
A wooden boat. Boats are amazingly challenging to build - making wood curve is both easier and harder than you'd think, and producing something seaworthy is a good and proper challenge.
My house. I have no plans to move soon, but I think everyone who likes to build stuff fantasizes about building their own house from scratch.
From sanj: Top five musicians or bands that never get the airplay they deserve:
Okay, this one is hard to limit to five. I'm going to interpret the question as being specifically about bands and artists that should and COULD have gotten radio airplay (i.e., are in genres where people actually do get radio airplay, rather than listing my favorite performance artists, like Rinde Eckert.)
- Big Country. Early to mid-80s (though they recorded until their lead singer killed himself a few years ago...) Scottish. Anthemic pop with lead guitar lines played via ebow, which gave them the sound of bagpipes. Most of their music makes me want to march into battle and fight for what's right. No wonder it never caught on in the US.
- Jane Siberry. Became a professional singer/songwriter in her 30s, after careers as a waitress and a microbiologist. Capable of writing songs that are both unbelievably weird and surprisingly beautiful. Made the world safe for Tori Amos. (Unclear if that was a good or bad thing.)
- Jim White. The Tom Waits of country music. Far too weird for Nashville, far too earnest for the college music scene. Writes songs with titles like "If Jesus Drove a Motorhome."
- John Hiatt. A songwriter's songwriter. You've heard his songs even if you don't know his name. Got to record with some of the most amazing musicians in the world because he's considered royalty by other musicians, though not by fans or radio programmers. Richard Thompson could also fit this description and this slot.
- Tack>>Head. Early rap music was recorded with live bands playing funky licks. One of the best of those bands backed The Sugar Hill Gang, the folks who recorded "Rapper's Delight". When rap moved to turntables and samplers, the backing band started hanging out with legendarily strange UK record producer Adrian Sherwood. They made angular, funky electronica that sounds bleeding edge today, almost twenty years later. But you'd never get it on the radio today, either.