Click the pic for a closer look. Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly. In this edition of Mass and Class on the American Grid we take a look at things you might adding evening ambiance to the renaissance lad’s bachelor apartment–cocktails, portraiture, vinyl records and late night television. As usual our ratings are pretensions to class or things marketed specifically to those who aspire to aspire; up from the mass; and genuine class.
Cocktails
Soyer au Champagne–a mix of ice cream, cognac and champagne–originated in 1888. During the Victorian era eating ice cream was a status symbol. I’d imagine that nothing said ”you should be impressed” more than adding cognac and champagne to the elite treat. The Manhattan, on the other hand, is an understated classic that earns an up from the mass rating because whiskey was once considered low-brow. But as we know, sometimes you just can’t hold a good drink down. The Jack Rose mixes the quintessentially American brandy, Laird’s Applejack, with grenadine and a splash of lime–totally old school and a little edgy. Why? Laird’s Applejack has become a forgotten treasure. All the while, the apple “martini” mixed with schnapps or flavored vodka abounds.
Portraiture
Hey, Trendy! Please, please leave the bad mid-century oil paintings at the thrift store. There’s a big difference between folk art and amateur crap. Case in point–self-taught Andrew Wyeth was dubbed a regionalist illustrator rather than a “true painter” by his peers though you’d be hard-pressed to find a contemporary artist more skilled at capturing light. Egon Schiele’s aim most surely was to titillate the viewer with freakish explorations of his id fascination. If you can dig deeper and look past the pop, you’ll find his portraits are beautiful and incredibly skilled.
Vinyl
While we’re nostalgic for wax, record companies surely must miss those compact-disc cash cow days. 180 gram vinyl is the industry’s attempt to recapture the time when consumers would easily hand over $17 for a five-cent product. Before plopping down $30 for a 180 gram 12″ note that it’s not merely the weight of the record but rather the quality of the pressing that makes all the difference in vinyl recordings. These newer joints are full of pops and hiss galore because even though the machines to press wax have survived, the artisans who truly know how to use them have not. During the 60′s so many US companies began cutting corners that the art of pressing wax is now all but lost. Blue note has always pressed quality vinyl and the re-issues are not bad. The originals sound stellar and can be had for a third of the price of a new 180 gram record. Japanese vinyl has always been the best. Japanese makers set out to produce a quality product– nothing more, nothing less.
Late Night Television
Does anyone really watch Craig Ferguson because he’s funny? Or, are you watching him because people think that smart people think he’s funny? Snooze. On the other end of the spectrum there’s Jimmy Fallon. Fallon was Tina Fey’s co-anchor on SNL’s weekend update. Now, on his own show, he hits with the Roots every night. Enough said. Jon Stewart, another former SNL sideman, offers up a roast of politics and the media on the Daily Show. It’s an odd mix of satire and journalism that admittedly dangles between truth and fiction. It’s revolutionary stuff, a-play-within-a-play magnifying the state of cultural literacy in a time when few can distinguish pundit from Pulitzer.
