It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.
In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.
YRP (Young Rising Phenoms) is Klassik’s follow-up to In the Making, and it is a heady, ambitious mixture of hip-hop, jazz and soul. The first single, Boogie, is built around a sample of Blame it on the Boogie by the Jackson 5 and will definitely make you want to put your dancing shoes on.
Klassik “Boogie” Music Video from DADO on Vimeo.
But there is more than one way to party. And so here is Klassik to tell us about some of life’s quieter pleasures.
A Good Drink
A sazerac will do me just fine. Unless I have to make it (I am not handy behind a bar, in a kitchen, or really in any food & beverage capacity haha). Then it’s just Black Label on the rocks. Scotch is perfect for all occasions; well, at least that’s what I tell myself. So, I’ve got my two ice cubes, and I’ve got my glass about a quarter filled. Step one complete.
A Good Listen
Now we need tunes? I’m gonna have to say one of the multitudes of Steely Dan greatest hits collections. I grew up loving that particular blend of jazz/progressive rock and immaculate production. The songwriting was always beyond my comprehension as a youngster, but with scotch in hand, I can relate to the darkness, beauty, and irony of a song like “Deacon Blues”. The horn arrangements, the sax solo at the end. Bliss.
A Good Read
We’re almost there, but we need a good read, huh? Admittedly, I don’t read nearly as much as I like to, but I really enjoy deep, philosophical and/or inspirational literature. My most favorite as of late, and a perfect balance to the deacon’s blues (see what I did there) would be Don Miguel Ruiz’s The Four Agreements. Chock full of guidelines to keep your spirit righteous, and ways to keep the positive energy flowing. Somehow all of that mixed together, the scotch, the Steely Dan, and some philosophical food for thought, keep me inspired and center me when life gets a little crazy.
