As I sat and reflected upon the last couple weeks, and the growing that ensued, I enjoyed an extremely fine unfiltered Belgian farmhouse ale. It was, quite simply, outstanding. Something called Saison Dupont, of which I hadn't heard before, and will certainly be revisiting again. A smooth, interesting flavor, yet not overwhelming, very subtle. The nose is complex, aromatic, a number of different spices in there, earthy. The taste bursts in your mouth upon reception, rather than waiting until it reaches the back of your mouth. It explodes on your tongue and washes back through your mouth. The finish was dry, subtle, yet very tempting. Every taste was exciting.
Upon what did I reflect while enjoying this ale? Mmmm, mostly that my earlier preconceptions concerning my bespecked-with-gray-beard were unfounded. Happily, I have only about 4 or 5 grays littering the artwork. For that I am relieved. Not that I would have been devastated otherwise, but it's nice nevertheless. My about-to-be-glorious facial helmet could not have come at a better time. The air is certainly crisp. I'm telling you, once the daylight savings hit, the mercury plummets at dusk. Plummet of course being relative to my locale, but plummet it does. A beard and a hearty sweater are the only armour I'll need to make it through methinks.
While I'm adorned with yet another hat, what lies beneath is a tangled mess of woofing. I can't tell at this point whether my beard is outgrowing my hair or my hair is outgrowing my beard. All I know is that a battle has begun and it likely won't be decided until a sharp pair of shears are introduced to the picture. And we know that my beard will be kryptonite to the scissors. Be warned hair. Your day is coming.
I think I'd like to introduce a final little nugget going forward. I'm not sure if it will receive it's own lofty status upon its own post, or as is the case right now, be melded into a weekly update. For now, it will have to march in step. The post, drumroll please, will be a song of the week that was written or performed whilst the singer/songwriter/musician, is sporting a beard. I fear calling it glorious because not all of them were in fact glorious (see Dylan, Bob, circa 1973). That beard, as inglorious though it might have been, was like a touch of cinnamon. It's always that one ingredient you can never put your finger on in a dish, but you know without a doubt that whatever you're eating is better off because of it.
Anyway, our first song of the week is...well, actually before we get to the song of the week, I have to throw in the song that should be the first song covered, however, at this point, I have been unable to prove with certainty that it was performed or written during a beard-growing venture by Jeff Tweedy. The song, Bob Dylan's 49th Beard. I mean, you have Dylan and beard in the title of the freaking song. If anyone can produce definitive proof of Tweedy's beard while performing/writing this song, please send along the evidence ASAP.
After that ridiculous diatribe, on to the song. We're going to start out with the 12-plus minute version of Thorn in My Pride by the Black Crowes. It goes without saying that Chris Robinson had a ridiculously great beard, worn for multiple seasons at length. Not only that, but the dude can put on a hellacious show. The song is great. If you find it on i-Tunes or something, the acoustic version, do yourself the favor of downloading it. Sit back and listen to Robinson's searing and soaring vocals. An earthy jaunt wrought with blues and cigarettes.
That's it for this week. Maybe we'll have something special in store for next week. Who knows?
No comments:
Post a Comment