Mark's Mailbag: Pimento Cheese + Bad Songs on Good Records
It's another edition of Mark's Mailbag! Read on as our resident advice guru, Mark Harrod, tackles your tough questions. Be sure to send Mark a question for next month's issue here.
Mark,
Got a good pimento cheese recipe for us?
Kurt
Lansing, MI
Thanks for asking Kurt. I do indeed have a great pimento cheese recipe that you'll get to read (and see) soon enough. This summer I'll be competing against others from Fuzz in a cooking competition which we've loosely dubbed "Cookin' Up Something Good". Regular readers of this column will note that I've teased this segment before. As is the case with many in my generation, I find myself being better at talking about things than actually doing them. (This is certainly a fault, but at least we didn't destroy the global economy by mindlessly trading mortgage-backed securities). Team Fuzz better look out, too. My pimento cheese is unassailable. Here's a hint - the pimientos are the least important ingredient. Editor's Note: We like a good competition. Unfortunately for Mark, he hasn't had our recipe inspired by the pimento cheese dips of South Carolina Grandmothers.
Mark,
One of the things I find real frustrating about listening to vinyl records is that it's inconvenient to skip songs in the middle of albums. Even the greats mix in a stinker or two from time to time, ya know?
James
Atlanta, GA
Good point, Jimbo. I've had this very discussion with friends over the years. While the stinkers to which you refer are likely not viewed that way by the folks who wrote and recorded them, not every song can be for every listener. I think it goes without saying that most of us skip songs while listening to even our favorite albums. Here are a couple that I skip every time:
"Fitter Happier" Radiohead - OK Computer
I listened to the entirety of this song during the course of writing this piece, and it may be the first time I've listened to it all the way through. I needed to make sure there wasn't something great at the end. Spoiler - it's just the 90's computer voice-thingy discussing the daily goals of someone in an office building somewhere in England.
"If Dogs Run Free" Bob Dylan - New Morning
I love this record, but skip this particular song every time. Not sure what a beat-jazz paean is, but I am certain this is the only one I've ever heard the first fifteen seconds of a hundred times.
Got any perpetual skippers? Any other burning questions? Write an email to hello@originalfuzz.com and let us know. You might be featured next month.
Mark is a former lawyer who lives in Nashville. If you see a guy walking a golden retriever in Germantown, feel free to say Hi. You should know, however, that there is another guy who looks a lot like Mark who also walks a golden retriever in Germantown so you might be saying Hi to the wrong dude. It has caused confusion in the past—including one particular incident where the other dude's wife hollered down the street at Mark several times before getting a closer look and realizing her mistake. Anyway, say Hi. You can also find him on the internet at basketofchips.com and @cmharrod.