Expect Odd Things

SURFPUNX: The Mixes - One For My Baby

2012-02-14T10:07:00.000-08:00

To celebrate Valentine's Day 2012 I thought it'd be nice to post a mix for all of the lovers out there. Press play and relax to the soothing sounds of artists from yesterday, today, and tomorrow as they sing some of your favorite love songs.

Created a few months back this mix was created especially for the love of my life. It matters little that this mix was created for one person as the two hour mix goes from Dru Hill to Lil Wayne, Aretha to The Beatles, Elton John to Dr. John and more. Each song exudes one simple feeling. Unending love, in it's various forms.

So please close your eyes and imagine your loved one is near, cuddle up to them, or embrace them as you dance to "One For My Baby" from our very own Es Digga Tee. Enjoy!

One For My Baby - A Love Mix by Es Digga Tee on Mixcloud

SURFPUNX: Year 2012 - Let's Warm This Up a Bit

2012-02-05T06:27:00.000-08:00

While the winter months continue to pile on cold weather, (it seems mother nature forget to bring the snow this year) we struggle to keep the blood flowing in our bodies buried beneath blankets and sweaters. I say NAY! Let's pop on this mix and progress from head bobbing, to feet tapping, to torso swaying, right onto legs standing, and before you know it you've been dancing two and half hours wrapping up up the celebration with Kurt Cobain backed by some French House beats.

We've pieced together some remixes and mash-ups of your favorite Top 40 songs from yesterday, today and tomorrow. We're back in the mix after a hiatus of a few months. We hope to be back giving you mixes to listen to on a regular basis. Thanks for following our work and we can't wait to more of what we've been working on!

Press play and get that body moving to "Let's Warm This Up a Bit - A Mid-Winter Heater!"

Let's Warm This Up a Bit - A Mid-Winter Heater! by Es Digga Tee on Mixcloud

Our 20 Favorite Halloween Movies

2011-10-14T10:36:00.000-07:00

Holiday movies. It seems that this is the only time of year we welcome the talents of teen and child actors in droves. At no other part of the year is one half of Hollywood's viled co-workers so welcomed. ("Never work with children or animals." W.C. Fields) The holiday season is a time where the family can go to the cinema together and enjoy rather wholesome delights at the cineplex. Halloween is the first of said holiday season and we take a look at twenty of our favorite films to watch under the Hunter's moon.

A specific caveat must be mentioned with this list. We're not fans of the horror genre. That being said, it eliminates what many people consider to be staples in the Halloween movie collection, like the film Halloween itself or any slasher/gore flick for that matter. We derive our list more from the former mention of family-friendly films. However, our list isn't all Disney-fied or happy go lucky. There are some films that skew the lines between horror, comedy and thriller. Enjoy!

#20. Practical Magic (1998)

#19. Addams Family Values (1993)

#18. The Craft (1996)

#17. Casper (1995)

#16. The Others (2001)

#15. Monster House (2006)

#14. Corpse Bride (2005)

#13. Hocus Pocus (1993)

#12. Scream (1996)

#11. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)

#10. Se7en (1995)

#9. Ghostbusters (1984)

#8. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

#7. Idle Hands (1999)

#6. Sleepy Hallow (1999)

#5. The Sixth Sense (1999)

#4. The Addams Family (1991)

#3. Shaun of the Dead (2004)

#2. Zombieland (2009)

#1. The Shining (1980)

SURFPUNX: The Mixes - Summer's Send-Off

2011-09-03T09:24:00.000-07:00

Happy Labor Day Weekend!! For this final soiree of summer we've put together a little something to send it off into the sunset. Cast the memories of Summer 2011 off to sea with song. The Foo, Pearl Jam & The Smashing Pumpkins kick it off with a rock and roll flavor. The Doors live, Joe Walsh and Wilson Pickett help the elder crowd faintly remember summers of yore. Ratatat & then Redman, backed by Reverend Al Green, help get the party back to recent times.

A DJ Mei-Wun mash-up of Nelly & Lynyrd Skynyrd, old-school Warren G, & a drop from Lil Wayne's last mixtape give the mix a 'lil mo flava'. Summer kicks from Gaga and Kid Rock bring the party into full swing ready to hit the dancefloor.

Enter DJ BC and his mash-up of Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott & Madonna, Alexander Robotnick's "Problèmes d'Amour" from A-Trak's '09 Infinity+1, and mash-up stars Loo & Placido's "Superstar". Follow that with Mike Posner's club hit "Cooler than Me", Cheekyboy, and another club hit in 2 Eivissa & David Tavare's "Hot Summer Night".

Wrap it all up in a neat Love Rollercoaster care of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and place a timeless classic in The Doors' "Summer's Almost Gone" and you have yourself our very own Es Digga Tee's latest, "Summer's Send-Off."

Summer's Send-Off - Labor Day Weekend Mix by Es Digga Tee on Mixcloud

SURFPUNX: The Mixes - One More Again

2011-08-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

Inspired by cricket-filled twilight nights and cool dawns, this is our tribute to Summer's fleeting moments. Our penultimate summer mix provides a banging backdrop from one last summer poolside party!

This mix is filled with mash-ups of iconic songs and some of today's best with yesterday's jams to keep it rolling along smoothly. So turn up the volume, and jam out by yourself, with your boo, or a houseful of friends it's time to get down "ONE MORE AGAIN".

Another mix brought to you by the kind folks at Expect Odd Things!

One More Again - A Penultimate Summer Mix by Es Digga Tee on Mixcloud

SURFPUNX: The Mixes - Pick In Hand, Distortion On

2011-07-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

Amp on. Volume Up. Pick In Hand. Distortion On. Ready to Rock? Good!

Get ready to rock out to three hours of guitar riffs, unforgettable licks, and bevy of chorus that beg you to sing-a-long. We primarily stick with the 70's & 80's bands with an occasional dip back to the late-60's or the one random 2010 drop-in. Bands like Dokken, Cinderella, ZZ Top, Styper, Scorpions, Great White, W.A.S.P. & AC/DC grace this rockin' set.

Another mix brought to you by the kind folks at Expect Odd Things.

Pick In Hand, Distortion On - A Guitar-Centered Mix by Es Digga Tee on Mixcloud

SURFPUNX: The Mixes - Lights Off, Volume Up

2011-07-22T19:13:00.000-07:00

Here is our take on a two-hour electro-house/trance set featuring the likes of Tiesto, Benassi, Oakenfold, Kaskade, Afrojack, Deadmau5 and many more of your favorite electronic artists. It's entitled "Lights Out, Volume Up," because we just got our DJ's lights in and we wanted something to pump and make the lights dance in the darkness of night. We suggest you do the same and dance in your own world to monitor light or bust out your decades old strobe light and have a party of your own.

This mix was made especially for the poi-spinners, hula-hoopers and flameologists out there. Throw this mix on as you practice or perform tossing fire in the air for all to awe at. Enjoy the beats!

Lights Off, Volume Up! by Es Digga Tee on Mixcloud

SURFPUNX: The Mixes - Maiden Voyage at McNinney's

2011-07-08T18:30:00.000-07:00

A mix created in celebration of Mr. McNinney's housewarming party. The Maiden Voyage at McNinney's will provide the perfect backdrop to get inebriated, intoxicated, hammered and otherwise just generally fucked up.

We've favored Robin Skouteris & Mark Ronson heavily as well as a trio of songs from Grace Potter and the Nocturnals in addition to our usual smörgåsbord of artists.

Not McNinney? Than this will suffice any party from 2 - 2,000. Enjoy.

Another mix brought to you by the kind folks here at Expect Odd Things.

Maiden Voyage at McNinney's by Es Digga Tee on Mixcloud

SURFPUNX: The Mixes - FHS 10 Year Reunion Special

2011-06-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a lower-quality version of our set from the Fredonia High School 10 Year Reunion in Western New York. Essentially a 101 on how to throw a party, this mix has 101 songs to rock your face off. Our very own DJ Digga busted out of the bedroom and into the scene with a six and a half hour set. It starts fresh with cocktail tunes, mellows out for dinner time, picks back up with some instrumentals for post-dinner chatter, then finally drives home some unforgettable 90's classics.

Fredonia High's 10 Year Reunion Set by Es Digga Tee on Mixcloud

SURFPUNX: The Mixes - Close Your Eyes, Feel the Sun

2011-06-10T06:30:00.000-07:00

With the summer in full swing we'd figure that we'd piece together a nice lil diddy to throw on when you're out soaking up some rays. Here is our very own DJ Digga getting down on the one's and two's to bring us, "Close Your Eyes, Feel the Sun". Do just that as you listen to the soothing sounds of summer from Es Digga Tee. Enjoy.

Close Your Eyes, Feel the Sun by Es Digga Tee on Mixcloud

SURFPUNX: The Mixes - Summer Starter Set

2011-05-27T06:30:00.000-07:00

Here's a set of tunes to help kickoff the Summer this Memorial Day Weekend. We have everything from 80's classic to today's Top 40. Enjoy.

Summer Starter Set by Es Digga Tee on Mixcloud

SURFPUNX: The Mixes - The For-Peace Band

2011-05-13T14:30:00.000-07:00

On this week's mix we have a celebration of the rock band. Whether they be a two-piece (Black Keys), a three-piece (Jimi Hendrix Experience), the traditional four-piece (Van Halen), a five-piece band (The Rolling Stones), or more (Chicago) this five-hour mix is all about Rock 'n Roll!

The For-Peace Band by Es Digga Tee on Mixcloud

SURFPUNX: The Mixes - Beastie's Beats Remixed

2011-04-29T16:20:00.000-07:00

This Tuesday, May 3rd, the Beastie Boys are dropping their 8th studio album, Hot Sauce Committee Part 2. In honor of their latest release we've put together an All-Beastie mix on our favorite mix-site Mixcloud.com.

Rather than travel down the traditional route and give you our favorite songs from Adrock, MCA & Mike D we've chosen instead to pick from our favorite remixes. You can purchase their latest album below via Amazon.com.

Enjoy the weekend and bump the mix from our very own DJ Digga - Beastie's Beats Remixed.

Beastie's Beats Remixed by Es Digga Tee on Mixcloud

Weed Wednesdays - 16:20 Don't Be Late!

2011-04-20T04:20:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen. I give to you. A one time return post to an oldie but a goodie, Weed Wednesdays...

This time around we have three-hour plus mix featuring the best Rap & Hip-Hop, Rock, Reggae, & Dance tracks that possibly are about the mysterious herb that celebrates a counter-culture holiday on this day. So without further ado, here is 16:20 Don't Be Late!

16:20 - Don't Be Late! by Es Digga Tee on Mixcloud

Mad-About-Music Monday - DJ Digga's Fused for Another

2011-03-21T05:01:00.000-07:00

Every other Monday here at Expect Odd Things we've been unveiling new mixes that we've been putting together here at HQ. This mix was originally intended to burn to disc and sent out to friends. However, we have been compiling various styles of music and we'll be distributing the 1st Official Expect Odd Things Mixed Set within the coming months. Until then please enjoy "Fused for Another."

Esdiggatee: Fused For Another by Vegasjoker on Mixcloud

Tuesday Brewsday - Brew's Best 2011

2011-03-15T06:20:00.000-07:00

Last spring we wrote a preview highlighting what to expect from the Inaugural 2010 Brew's Best Festival held at Lake Las Vegas, Nevada. We had an overwhelmingly good time last year, so much so that we never got around to producing any sort of follow up to that article. Well in case you were curious what the gathering and the surroundings look like we have your back with coverage from the 2011 Brew's Best Festival.

This biannual festival is hosted by Southern Nevada's New Vista Community. The proceeds from the festival go on to benefit the New Vista Ranch. As stated on their website, "New Vista Ranch is the premier facility for housing and empowering adults with disabilities in Nevada.Founded in 1984 by parents of disabled individuals, New Vista Ranch is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing quality housing and support services to developmentally disabled adults."

Here is Expect Odd Things' footage from the 2011 Brew's Best:

Click here to view in HD.

Mad About Music Mondays - DJ Digga's Mix 2.011

2011-03-07T04:00:00.000-08:00

Here is the next installment of our presentation of SURFPUNX: The Mixes by our own DJ Digga a.k.a. Es Digga Tee. This time we have a mix that highlights some of what we've been listening to lately at Expect Odd Things Headquarters. Enjoy Mix 2.011!

Es Digga Tee - Mix 2.011 by Vegasjoker on Mixcloud

Tuesday Brewsday - Stone Lukcy Basartd Ale

2011-02-22T04:00:00.000-08:00

While we write about them often, it has been roughly one full year since writing about our favorite brewery, Stone Brewing Company. Since our last writing, Stone has released a couple new beers to the market. Some are apart of their ever-evolving collaboration series, some are the annual additions to their Anniversary and Vertical Epic series', others are special releases.

Stone has released SIX new beers in the last year (here are five of them):

Collaboration Series:

Stone/ 21st Amendment/ Firestone-Walker El Camino (un)Real Black Ale

Stone/ Victory/ Dogfish Head Saison du BUFF (Brewers United for Freedom of Flavor)

Stone/ Kelsey McNair/ Ballast Point San Diego County Session Ale

Anniversary Series:

Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial I.P.A. - a British-inspired I.P.A.

Vertical Epic Series:

10.10.10 - a grape-happy beer meant to be aged (preferably until at least 12.12.12)

Their final beer new beer to the mix they've added over the last year was a special release celebrating the 13th anniversary of Stone's most well-known product, Arrogant Bastard. In an action similar to that of a fine chef, they took two recipes they knew had fantastic results, Arrogant Bastard and Double Bastard Ale, blended them together added a hint of their OAKED Arrogant Bastard to create the 8.5% ABV monster now known as Lukcy Basartd Ale.

Official Stone Media release:

“Lukcy Basartd is a dry-hopped meeting-of-the-Bastards in a in-the-fermenter-blend of Arrogant Bastard Ale and Double Bastard Ale…with a perfect balance of the essence of OAKED Arrogant Bastard Ale. All in all, one awesome Bastard. Lukcy Basartd Ale will be released in November and should be available in many of the enlightened locations where the liquied Arrogance is typically found. This is a ‘once only’ special release commemorating the 13 year anniversary of when Arrogant Bastard Ale was first released upon the unsuspecting public. That is, ‘once only’ unless we decide to make it again. 8.5% ABV.”

SURF PUNX The Mixes: DJ Digga's Eclectic Energy

2011-02-21T04:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to a bi-weekly auditory feature here on Mad About Music Mondays highlighting some of the music we love to listen to and enjoy. First up we have your's truly tackling many styles in this week's mix. Contained within is a four-hour journey through what we believe is the necessary backing to a kick-ass good time.

Sit back, crank up the speakers and let your ears enjoy the melodic tones of
"Es Digga Tee - Eclectic Energy".

Es Digga Tee - Eclectic Energy by Vegasjoker on Mixcloud

Free-For-All Fridays - ADBOWL® 2011

2011-02-04T04:00:00.000-08:00

In little more than 48 hours most of the nation's attention will be drawn to FOX Sports and their presentation of Super Bowl XLV. While they broadcast live from Dallas, Texas at Dallas Cowboys Stadium, we will sit anxious as the countdown to kickoff gets shorter and shorter. Finally once the first kick is returned, they will immediately go to commercial. If you didn't realize it, in the course of the average five-hour Super Bowl broadcast there is only about 14 minutes of actual gameplay. The rest of that time is filled by the team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman & the unforgettable Super Bowl commercials. And that's when the real games begin, the commerce games dubbed ADBOWL® 11.

Since 2001, the Albuquerque, New Mexico advertising firm of McKee Wallwork Cleveland, LLC has produced the advertising battle known as the ADBOWL®. Now in it's tenth year of production the ADBOWL® has increased its reach to your mobile phone. iPhone users can download the free app that allows you to vote on the commercials in real time from wherever you may be.

Download the iPhone app below or sign up on their website today so you can submit your picks for this year's winner of the ADBOWL® 2011!

ADBOWL® is also on Facebook and Twitter.

Click the image to download the iPhone app.

Here's a recap of the best ads from 2010:

10. McDonald's: The Showdown

9. Hyundai: Old Brett Favre

8. Budweiser: Bridge Out/Beer Truck

7. Bridgestone: Whale of a Tale

6. E-Trade: Girlfriend

5. Doritos: Underdog

4. Google: Parisian Love

3. Volkswagen: "Punch Dub" Game

2. Doritos: House Rules

1. Snickers: You're Not You - Betty White & Abe Vigoda

Transient Thursday - Spencer G.'s Look at Life Through Quotations

2011-02-03T04:00:00.000-08:00

I love to read quotations from various sources. I've decided to take twenty quotations and put them together in this write-up. The main focus is life. Take the time to read each quote and enjoy them for yourself.

(1)What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. (2)A man should live if only to satisfy his curiosity. (3)What I look forward to is continued immaturity followed by death.

(4)Life does not consist mainly or even largely of facts and happenings. It consists mainly of the storm of thoughts that is forever blowing through one's head. (5)Life is what happens while you are making other plans. (6)Live as you will have wished to have lived when you are dying.

(7)Know the right moment. (8)As you journey through life take a minute every now and then to give a thought for the other fellow. He could be plotting something. (9)It takes two to make an accident.

(10)When a thing has been said and well, have no scruple. Take it and copy it. (11)Go ahead, make my day. (12)My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.

(13)Most people would like to be delivered from temptation but would like it to keep in touch. (14)Sometimes being pushed to the wall gives you the momentum necessary to get over it! (15)Get up, stand up. Stand up for your rights. Get up, stand up. Never give up the fight. (16)I won't back down. (17)Love is all you need.

(18)Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many. (19)And in the end it is not the years in your life that count, it's the life in your years.

(20)Finally, in conclusion, let me say just this.

1-King Solomon, 2-Yiddish Proverb, 3-Dave Barry,

4-Mark Twain, 5-John Lennon, 6-Christian Furchtegott Gellert,

7-Pittacus, 8-Hagar the Horrible, 9-The Great Gatsby,

10-Anatole France, 11-Clint Eastwood, 12-Stephen Hawking,

13-Robert Orben, 14-Peter de Jager, 15- Bob Marley,

16-Tom Petty, 17-The Beatles, 18-Unknown,

19-Abraham Lincoln, 20-Peter Sellers

Weird Wednesdays - Honey I'm Home from Las Vegas

2011-02-02T04:00:00.000-08:00

For many of you a trip to our home of Las Vegas is filled with benders on the craps tables, over-indulgent nightclub tabs, and a few strangers that might have followed you back to your hotel room for the night. That's all fun and games while you're here but if you have a spouse or a significant other to return home to you may have some issues explaining some of your extravagant expenditures.

Well, FEAR NO LONGER! Because here is your average married avatar male's return home from Las Vegas. You can use his sly techniques at divulging those racy details next time you come home from Sin City.

Enjoy Your Weird Wednesday!

Tuesday Brewsday - Super Bowl Beers (not Bud, Miller, or Coors!)

2011-02-01T04:00:00.000-08:00

The Super Bowl is considered by many to be a de-facto holiday in American culture. Each year on this special Sunday we gather our favorite snacks, rally our closest friends, dawn our team's colors, and cheer and holler at the TV together for one last time for a team we usually despise. More often than not, accompanying your snacks in each of your close friend's hands is a beer. Many people try, but Super Bowl Sunday is generally not a day for umbrella-laden cocktails or one to be uncorking and decanting bottles of wine. No, no. On this day; and virtually ever other day a sporting event falls on, save for the Kentucky Derby; beer is the celebrated beverage of choice. (Really though, a mint julep?)

This year instead of picking up a 36'er of bland Bud Light or even a six-pack of Corona with lime, how about you truly support your temporary team and pick a beer from their home state or even better, if you can find it, a beer from their home city.

Unlike last year's limited beer options with New Orleans and Indianapolis, the cities of Green Bay and Pittsburgh actually have decent brewing cultures themselves. If you go and include the rest of their states, one couldn't have picked two better teams to represent the brewing world.

Since the Green Bay Packers are this year's home team, and seemingly home to most of America's brewing history, we'll begin there along with the rest of the Badger State.

Green Bay is home to two breweries, Titletown Brewing and Hinterland Brewing. Neither brewery bottles but both have tasting rooms if you find yourself in Northern Wisconsin on February 6th. The next smallest brewery of note in the Cheese State is the makers of one of the best framboises (Raspberry Tart) you'll find anywhere, the New Glarus Brewing Company from New Glarus, Wisconsin. Their Spotted Cow farmhouse ale is also a great brew that we recommend. New Glarus bottles and distributes regionally, this would be the first Wisconsin brew you might be able to find.

Before heading back up to the northwoods we'll venture into big city of Milwaukee to sample some of their hand-crafted suds. If you're looking for a traditionally brewed beer look no further than the Sprecher Brewing Company located on Milwaukee's north-side. Try their Black Bavarian, one of the best schwarzbiers made this side of Atlantic. You may be able to pin down some bottles of Sprecher, they only come in 16 ounce pint bottles.

Sprecher's Black Bavarian

Appropriately sandwiched between Brewer's Hill to its north and Schlitz Park to its south, Lakefront Brewery has been creating quality craft beers since 1987. Pick up their Eastside Dark Lager or one of their 'Pure Milwaukee Genius Series' like their bike-themed Fixed Gear American Red Ale. They are one of the more available craft brews from Wisconsin.

The most accessible of all craft beers from America's Dairyland is that of the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company from Chippewa Falls in the northwoods of Wisconsin. Best known for their Sunset Wheat Belgian Witbier and their Classic Amber, Leinenkugel's are one of the readily available craft beers nationwide. This is thanks to their being majority owned by Miller Brewing Company since the late 80's. While under Miller's control they have maintained the integrity of Jacob Leinenkugel's original hand-crafted brews and family members still head the company today.

GO OUT AND GRAB A WISCONSIN BEER AND SUPPORT THE PACKERS!

Green Bay, Wisconsin

Titletown Brewing - In-house and guest tapped at select locations

Hinterland Brewing Company - In-house taps only

New Glarus, Wisconsin

New Glarus Brewing Company - Bottle and distribute regionally

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Sprecher Brewery - Bottle and distribute to several states

Lakefront Brewing - Bottle and distribute to several states

Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing - Bottle and distribute nationally

If the American Football Conference and the Pittsburgh Steelers are more your speed, then you should check out the breweries that the Steel City has produced. In addition, the state of Pennsylvania is home to one of America's oldest continually operating breweries. Let's take a deeper look at what the Keystone State has to offer Steeler fans in the ways of the fermented beverage.

Pittsburgh is home to three breweries; two with in-house taps only and one that bottles. The smallest of Pittsburgh's operating breweries is the East End Brewing Company located appropriately on Pittsburgh's east-side. Also located on Pitt's east-side just north of Polish Hill is the Church Brew Works, a brewery located in the restored St. John the Baptist Church. Neither East End nor Church Brew Works have their beer available in bottle so you must be in the Greater Pittsburgh area to enjoy these local wares.

Church Brew Works with brewing equipment in the former chapel.

The only Pittsburgh brewery that bottles is the Pennsylvania Brewing Company which has been brewing beer since 1987 on a site that once held the Eberhardt and Ober Brewery established in 1848. Located not even two miles away from Heinz Field, Penn Brewery produces a Marzen-style beer that beer critic Michael Jackson called, "one my Top 24 American beers." This would be the only Pittsburgh brewery you may be able to locate. The Iron City Brewing Company was formerly located in Pittsburgh and still lists it as their location but they've moved to the old Latrobe Brewery that once produced Rolling Rock before that was bought out and bottled by Anheuser-Busch.

Pennsylvania's largest city, Philadelphia, is home to the Yards Brewing Company which have their own family of wonderful craft brews. In 2003 they teamed up with the historic City Tavern to brew the 'Ales of the Revolution'. Beer inspired by the brewing recipes of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. We suggest trying Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale, superb.

Located an hour west of Philadelphia is Downingtown, Pennsylvania where the Victory Brewing Company calls home. Founded in 1996, Victory is one of the premier craft breweries in the nation. Their HopDevil IPA is uncharacteristically hoppy for an East Coast beer. They achieve this by using whole cone American hops. Few brewers use whole cones because they loose their oils and resins quickly after harvest. Those oils and resins impart bitterness to the beer and balance the sweetness from the malt. To insure quality whole cone hops, brewers must use them soon after harvest. (Hops are generally pressed into pellets that look like rabbit food to retain their desired properties.)

Pennsylvania is also home to America's oldest operating brewery in the sleepy town, Pottsville, PA. Once a boom town as the 'gateway to Anthracite Coal Region' during the early 1800's, Pottsville drove many immigrants to it who were searching for a new beginning. One of those was a German immigrant named David Gottlob Jüngling who anglicized his last name to Yuengling and opened his Eagle Brewery in 1829. In 1873 they changed it's named to D.G. Yuengling & Son, as it has been ever since. Dick Yuengling, fifth generation brewer, still brews beer there to this day; over 180 years later. Yuengling Lager is one of the premier lagers in the World. Their Porter and Black & Tan are also highly enjoyable beers.

Play video for a short Yuengling history from ABC News

GO OUT AND GRAB A PENNSYLVANIA BEER AND SUPPORT THE STEELERS!

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

East End Brewing Company - In-house taps and at select locations

Church Brew Works - In-house taps and at select locations

Pennsylvania Brewing Company - Bottles and distributes to several states

Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Iron City Brewing Company - Bottles and distributes to several states

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Yards Brewing Company - Bottles and distributes regionally

Downingtown, Pennsylvania

Victory Brewing Company - Bottles and distributes to 29 states

Pottsville, Pennsylvania

D.G. Yuengling & Son - Bottles and distributes to most of the East Coast

Mad About Music Monday - Norah Jones' ... Featuring

2011-01-31T04:00:00.000-08:00

If you recall, a while back we told you about the trip-hop beginnings of jazz's virtuoso Norah Jones. She began her music career in New York City's Wax Poetic (as we wrote about in Oct. '10) and those groovy beats from her past definitely resurface in this week's Mad About Music post about her latest album.

To attempt to peg her style is next to impossible. Jazz? Folk? Rock? Country? Trip-Hop? Ms. Jones displays of these styles in a compilation of songs recorded between 2001 and 2010 entitled, ... Featuring.

While being interviewed in August by PBS' own Tavis Smiley she touched on her eclectic background as well as her ever-evolving style:

Tavis: So we've talked about country, we've talked about jazz and a few other things in this conversation. Thanks to the record company I haven't had to go to the store to actually buy this. They sent me a couple of these. But if I went to the record store, do you have any idea now where they're putting Norah Jones music by category?

Jones: ... I don't know. I have people all the time be like, "Oh, I love jazz because of you." I'm like, "Well, that's cool, but I don't even know - here, check out 'Kind of Blue' or check out Billie Holiday. That's real jazz." I don't know what I do. I wouldn't call it jazz, but I wouldn't call it a lot of things.

Tavis: Do you like the idea that you don't know and that you're not bothered by where they place you in the record store, as opposed to being stuck in a particular category?

Jones: It doesn't bother me anymore. I think the more you do, the less you care about stuff like that. Categorizing stuff isn't really that important, but it's the way it is. People do it anyway. I've heard people call me a songwriter or just a jazz singer or a folk rock, country singer. I don't know.

Tavis: Just Norah Jones.

Jones: Yeah. Everybody has a different take, I guess.

Norah happily flexes her indistinguishable fluidity through musical pairings with the likes of Willie Nelson, Belle and Sebastian, Herbie Hancock, including amazing tracks with the Foo Fighters, Dolly Parton, Q-Tip, Talib Kweli and Outkast. All of these artists and more are featured on the appropriately titled ... Featuring. Norah is not necessarily the primary artist on each track which provides another reenforcement of the aptly named album title.

Our favorite track is a slow song from the second disc of the Foo Fighters' fifth studio album released in 2005 called Virginia Moon. The latin flavor of the song mixed with a soothing blend of Dave Grohl and a whispery Norah take you away to a quiet beach or an empty Spanish plaza in your mind as you sway its rhythm. So without further ado we'd like you to enjoy one of the tracks from Norah Jones' latest ... Featuring.

*On a side note, Norah recently released The Fall which also furthers blurs the lines of what one could 'call' Ms. Jones' music. Check out the first single, "Chasing Pirates" here.*

Oh the Holidays ...

2010-12-28T08:49:00.000-08:00

The holidays have us a little bogged down at the moment but we promise that another season of fantastic articles is on the horizon. Stay tuned and we suggest you follow our Facebook feed to get the latest news from Expect Odd Things.

Have a Happy New Year and see you in 2011!!