Music Friday: "Lay It Down Clown" & "Left of the Dial"

The Let It Bleed reissue edition of Tim by the Replacements came out last week, and I purchased a copy because the band is one of my favorites. 

In fact, my first real concert was seeing the Replacements play at a theatre in Cedar Rapids, Iowa when I was in high school. If I remember right, it was the band's tour after Pleased to Meet Me came out. 

Tim competes with Pleased to Meet Me as my favorite album by the band. 

And the Let It Bleed edition that came out last week clears up the weird production quality of the original album. It's much cleaner and sounds a lot better. 

The reissue also provides a recording of a live gig the band did in Chicago in January of 1986. 

I'm prattling on. 

Here are two great songs from Tim. 

Unpopular Opinion: The Lyrics of Bon Jovi Suck

I was listening to the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame SiriusXM channel the other day, and a Bon Jovi song came on. 

I immediately turned the channel. 

Bon Jovi's lyrics are terrible. 

It's like the dude picked a bunch of cliches and patched them together. It's just bad writing. 

Take, for example, the lyrics of one of the band's biggest hits, "You Give Love a Bad Name."

Here is a list of tired cliches from that song:

• shot through the heart
• you're to blame
• you give [insert noun here] a bad name
• put me through hell
• loaded gun
• nowhere to run
• damage is done
• play my part
• play my game
• blood red
• school boy's dream

I could go on and on, but I'd rather not analyze more bad lyrics. 

Listeners should demand better songwriting. 

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Pepperoni Pizza Chicken Cutlets

I've made these before using a cast iron skillet and then finished them in the oven. Now that I have a Blackstone griddle, I did them on it. 

Ingredients 

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Marinara sauce

Small slices of pepperoni

Grated mozzarella cheese

Salt and pepper mixture

Process

I have a four burner griddle, so I got it going with two burners set on medium-high and the other two burners on low. 

I cut both large chicken breasts in half and pounded them out with meat mallet/tenderizer, so they are of uniform thickness. I pounded them pretty thin. Use a mixture of salt of pepper on both sides. I used a combo I created that is a mixture of salt, pepper, Penzey's roasted garlic powder, and Penzey's smoked paprika. 

With the one side of the griddle scorching hot (475-500 degrees), place the chicken cutlets and press down if you want. I used a solid brick wrapped in aluminum foil on each cutlet for about 20 seconds to get a good sear.

Once you've seared both sides, cut off the burners to the smoking hot side and move the cutlets to the low heat side of the griddle. Put pepperoni on top of the cutlets first, top with marinara, and finish with cheese. 

Cook for a little while to melt the cheese, and they should be ready to go. 

Stay Positive: In Praise of Cottage Cheese

Probably because I follow a number of cooking-related sites on FB, an ad/article came across my feed today touting an article by The New York Times titled "Cottage Cheese Makes a Comeback."

The line below the title says, "The diet staple of the 70s is jiggling back into the mainstream--bringing with it a host of benefits." 

I don't have a subscription to that great paper, but I got intrigued by the health benefits of cottage cheese. 

And I've always liked cottage cheese. It looks weird - sort of like really white brains - and it tastes good. 

I grew up in Iowa. One of the best dairies in the state is Anderson Erickson out of Des Moines. They have some great cottage cheese and chip dips. Their cottage cheese is excellent. It's old fashioned. 

So I did some sleuthing on the InterWebs and found a few articles I thought I'd share.

"7 Reasons Why Cottage Cheese Is Good for You" from the Cleveland Clinic

"Cottage Cheese: Are There Health Benefits?" by WedMD

"Why Cottage Cheese Is Super Healthy and Nutritious" by Healthline

It's high in protein and gives you a good helping of B12, selenium, riboflavin, and phosphorus. Also, people also recommend it when one is trying to lose weight. 

I've always been a fan of cottage cheese. Now I like it even more. 

[Belated] Music Friday: "Say That to Say This"

When I was working Thursday, I listened to all of the Trombone Shorty albums I have. 

Here's the opening tune of the same titled album. 

Sunday Hangover: Ole Miss

I haven't had a chance to watch the whole game yet since I got back from Nashville this afternoon. However, I did get to watch the majority of the game at a bar there. If I remember right, I think I got started watching the game when Ole Miss was up 7 to 3. 

So I got to watch the ineptitude on offense in the first half from Alabama, and then the offense played much better in the second half. 

What's a major positive is that the Tide held Ole Miss, who is usually a high-scoring offense, to only 10 points. 

The Rebels hit some long pass plays, notably one on 4th and forever that made me blow a mental gasket, but overall Alabama had a good pass rush with five total sacks and nine quarterback hurries. 

A major concern is about how hurt Lawson might be, but I haven't heard anything about that injury yet. 

In contrast to last game, McClellan was the main contributor at running back with 17 carries for 105 net yards and a touchdown. 

Another star on offense was true freshman Jalen Hale. When he caught his first pass in the game, I was confused about who he was. 

During the game I bitched about the offense not throwing to the TEs enough. The TEs caught four passes out of a total of seventeen, but I'd like to see them pass to them more often because of the obvious mismatches they create. 

The game saw Alabama get more of its murderball personality back. I'd like to see more of that come out when the Tide travel to Starkville on Saturday. 

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Spicy Peanut Chicken & Vegetables

I can't find the original recipe on the website of The Washington Post, but that is where I got this recipe that I slightly modified. 

The recipe calls for using a wok. I don't have one of those, so I did it even better by using my four-burner Blackstone griddle. 

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into small pieces

half of a yellow onion, roughly chopped

half of a bell pepper, roughly chopped

2 carrots, cut into skinny medallions

2 cups of broccoli, cut into small florets

1-2 cups of sliced baby bella mushrooms

1/3 cup of creamy peanut butter

3-4 TB of low-sodium soy sauce

2 ts of red pepper flakes

1-2 TB of minced or grated fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, minced

Juice of half of a lemon

Rice

Salt and pepper to taste

Soy sauce

Vegetable oil

Process

I first made the spicy peanut sauce. In a large bowl, combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, ginger, garlic, and lemon juice. Bring together with a whisk. If it's too sour tasting because of the lemon, add a little water to smooth it out. 

Coat the griddle with vegetable oil and get it to medium-high heat on one side of the griddle. Set the other side to low. 

Start with the chicken and season and fully cook. Toward the end add in some soy sauce. Move the chicken to the side of the griddle on low. 

On the hotter part of the griddle, add the vegetables and cook thoroughly. Just like with the chicken, season and add some soy sauce at the end. 

Put the chicken and vegetables in the large bowl with the peanut sauce and coat thoroughly. Serve over rice. 

Sunday Hangover: South Florida

That was a win that doesn't inspire much confidence in Alabama making the playoffs. 

If the Tide can only muster a meager win against the Bulls of USF, I think we're in for a rocky season in the SEC. 

Buchner got the start and looked shaky at best. They finally went to Ty Simpson in the game. He did okay. 

But just okay is not good enough if you want to challenge to win the SEC West. 

I'm worried. 

Based on what I've seen, I think they either go back to Milroe or stick with Simpson. 

The shining light on the shit show that was yesterday's game was Roydell Williams. He had an outstanding game, racking up 129 net yards. He may take over as first back in the game when Alabama plays Ole Miss. 

The Tide has to improve and do so soon. 

Music Friday: "Move Over Mama"

23 years ago this week Justin Townes Earle put out what is arguably his best album, Harlem River Blues. 

Here's the third cut from that great album. 

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Cayenne Shrimp Roll

I stumbled across an intriguing recipe in The Washington Post. It's called a "Spicy Shrimp Roll." 

I modified it to fit the needs of the Nasty household since my son doesn't like horseradish. Also, I didn't have raw shrimp, so I just thawed a pound of fully cooked shrimp and cooked it quickly on my Blackstone griddle. 

Ingredients

1 stalk of celery, finely chopped

1 lb. of frozen fully cooked shrimp

1/2 cup of mayonnaise 

5 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper

2-4 tablespoons of chopped Italian parsley

2 tablespoons of butter

Hot dog buns or better rolls to sop up the goodness and serve as the sandwich-like base

Smidge of Old Bay seasoning

Smidge of roasted garlic seasoning

Salt and pepper

Process

After thawing out the shrimp, take off the tails and roughly chop up the shrimp. Add the chopped celery and set aside. 

In a separate bowl, combine half of the parsley, the cayenne pepper, lemon juice, roasted garlic, and salt and pepper. Mix together and set aside. 

On a griddle or in a skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and add in the shrimp/celery mixture. Add in the Old Bay. Sauté for roughly five minutes. 

Move the shrimp to the bowl with the mayo mixture and mix well and add in the rest of the parsley. 

Spoon the ingredients into a good roll. I made the mistake of using regular hot dog buns. They worked okay, but the eating would have been much better with more substantial rolls. 

Sunday Hangover: Texas

There isn't enough beer or bourbon in the world to erase that performance from the Crimson Tide last night from my memory. 

It was a bipolar game from Alabama--mostly on the depressing side. 

The lot was made about the penalties from the broadcasters during the game because of the terrible amount of penalties in the previous matchup. It's true penalties were a factor. 

However, the main factors that lost that game were giving up big pass plays, the state of the Tide's pass blocking, and quarterback decision making. 

Alabama gave up too many explosive plays in the passing game. It's that simple. There are the two bombs for touchdowns, which were great throws by Ewers, but there were also intermediate passes with the TE and other receivers roaming free. 

The Tide has talented personnel in the secondary along with a number of veterans, but Sark, like I expected him to, targeted the green players. 

The offensive line play has to get better, especially at pass blocking. Left tackle Proctor surely has a game that will make him get better by working harder, but he had a horrible game. It was bad. I was surprised he didn't get pulled and replaced in the game. 

While pass blocking was poor, Milroe didn't exactly distinguish himself by passing the ball to open receivers. Sure, he was pressured, but in the first half especially he acted like he was looking to run more than actually passing the ball. 

At least from what I read from the armchair quarterbacks on the Huddle forum of TiderInsider, it sounds like there were receivers open. Milroe was just too quick to run. 

I got frustrated at times from the play calling of both the offensive and defensive coordinators although I wonder how much of the offensive problems last night rest more with the play of the offensive line and the quarterback. 

I got pissed a number of times when we only rushed three on third and long, and Texas easily picked up a first down because Ewers had all kinds of time. Even with rushing four or five, the Tide usually didn't get enough pressure on the Texas QB. 

But what a lot of people will focus on are Milroe's interceptions. They were terrible reads. Texas translated two interceptions to 10 points. 

The Tide lost to the Longhorns by 10 points. 

I don't know if the quarterback competition is back on, but I have to think the coaches are thinking about it based on what they saw Milroe do--both good and bad--last night. 

My son is a big proponent of Simpson getting a shot. 

I agree with him.

Music Friday: "No One Knows"

I shared some post on FB this week that commemorated an anniversary of dropping of the album Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone Age. 

I listened to it today in between classes, and here's one of catchier songs on that fine opus. 

One is an official video, and the second is live recording. 

Unpopular Opinion: I'm Tired of the Mannings

What do the Mannings and Pearl Jam's "Jeremy" have in common? 

Oversaturation. 

I'm a big fan of Pearl Jam, but back when music videos were a staple of a young person's life, the constant airing of the music video of "Jeremy" ruined the song for me. 

It's a great song. However, Mtv at the time had that video in heavy rotation. It seemed like it played once an hour. 

It was relentless. 

To this day, it's not a song I enjoy much from one of my favorite bands. 

As much as it's clear the both Mannings were hall-of-fame quarterbacks in the NFL and had strong college-football careers [a little overhyped in my opinion, but I'm an Alabama alumnus], I cannot take the constant onslaught of their long faces looking at me from the TV screens. 

Whether it's the various damn commercials in which they're shilling for this and that or whether it's their Monday Night Football watch-along show, I've had enough. 

Oversaturation. 

I thought once their careers were over that they'd get less air time. 

I obviously guessed horribly wrong. 

I've seen enough of them for my lifetime. 

Random Notes from a Crank

The past month or so I've been watching Game Show Network on a fairly regular basis. It's astounding to me how stupid the average person is. 

Watching these shows in which people give dumb answers reminds me of the statement by George Carlin: "Think of how stupid an average person is and realize half of them are stupider than that."  

Since I've been a kid, I've had the uncanny ability to stub my little toe on either of my feet about once a week if I'm lucky. The nails on my little toes are bashed to ugliness. 

I've discovered the HBO show/podcast Talking Sopranos that I'm enjoying a lot. I'm revisiting that great series. 

A while back I rewatched all of Boardwalk Empire. I had forgotten what a great TV series that one is. 

I bought a book recently that is likely to be banned by some idiotic parents in school districts because the non-fiction book talks about racism, sexism, and antisemitism, among other issues. It's titled Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka Slater. 

I don't normally read books that are typically labeled "young adult," but this book looked interesting.

Sunday Hangover: Middle Tennessee State

Well, it looks like they started the right QB on Saturday. Milroe ran for two touchdowns and threw three of them to Bond, Burton, and Niblack, respectively. 

I was kind of surprised that Buchner came in second in the game because at least from what I've seen, Simpson has a great arm and has quite a bit of speed to his game. 

That showed up later in the game because both Buchner and Simpson are mobile QBs, but Simpson looked faster on his touchdown run than Buchner did. 

If there's any qualms I have about the team, I have three of them. 

I didn't think the Tide ran the ball well as they could have against the Blue Raiders. We had a some good runs from the running backs, but considering the competition, I thought McClellan and Williams would have done better because of the strength and size of Alabama's offensive line.

At halftime, Coach Saban noted the mediocre pass blocking, and I saw that too. MTSU did a good job of throwing everything at the line, and the Tide offensive line needed to do a better job of protecting the QB. 

My final issue was the run defense. We gave up too many long runs from Middle Tennessee. I thought our line would be more dominant. However, the linebackers, especially Deonte Lawson, played well. 

He was second on the team in tackles, only behind true freshman Caleb Downs who started at safety. 

From what I recall, we had two true freshmen start last night: Downs and left tackle Proctor. 

Next up is a difficult matchup at home against the Longhorns. Sark is a good coach, so I expect the game to be a tough one. 

Music Friday: "Chipping Mill"

Turnpike Troubadours have a new album out titled A Cat in the Rain. 

Here's a tune from that album.