Food & Music Pairing - Tenacious D

Tenacious D - Rize Of The Fenix

is best enjoyed with...

Grilled cheese with smoked gouda and spicy, seasoned fries with chimichurri dipping sauce 

Saying this will date me pretty easily, but Tenacious D's first album brings me back to middle school, where Jack Black and Kyle Gass's blend of crass comedy and semi-serious theatrics hewn from a pure rock core might as well have been commissioned for kids my age. Fast forward to modern day, and The D's newest release puts me right back in the frame of mind where I'd rather pay attention to JB's less-than-subtle euphemisms for sex than Dave Grohl's drumming contributions or the (actually) great production value. Therefore, the food pairing is a direct flashback to the best of my middle school's cafeteria with a few grownup modifications. Sure, fancy cheese and Argentinian dipping sauce might make you feel older and mature, but when it's all said and done, you're still eating a grilled cheese sandwich and munching down on spicy fries. And Tenacious D is here to reminds us that there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Food and Music Pairing - Battles (Remixed)

Battles - Dross Glop

is best enjoyed with...

Fried ice cream atop a waffle

So you've listened to Battles' Gloss Drop more times than you count. You know not only the names, but the correct pronunciations of every member of the band, as well as the guest artists. You sing along to every song, even when those songs don't have words. You've even come up with a Klosterman-esque theory about how the album unintentionally predicted the rise and fall of Herman Cain.

Something tells me you're still not ready for the album to be remixed by some incredible hip-hop and electronic artists. Artists like Shabazz Palaces, The Alchemist, and Hudson Mohawke all take a crack at this great album, and the results are astounding.

To accompany this reimagined album, why not try a classic food with a new twist? Take good ol' fashioned ice cream (I wonder where the inspiration was for that food choice?). Roll it in coconut flakes and batter, fry it up, and replace that waffle cone with an honest-to-goodness waffle. It's got all the flavor you know and love, but served up in a new way to let you rediscover something you've adored for years.

Food and Music Pairing - The Safety Fire

The Safety Fire - Grind The Ocean

is best enjoyed with...

Tri-bean chili in a rustic, English bread bowl

London-based prog metallers The Safety Fire come racing out of the gates with their debut album, and a hearty bowl of chili is the only thing to match it. Grind The Ocean has chunky, mathy riffs that seem to evolve every time you hear them. Morsels of ground beef and tri-bean blend offer a similar experience to your palate. Lyrics on the album are halted, brutal poetry, and the vocal deliverance is visceral. Your chili's hot and spicy one-two punch meets that gutpunching power. Finally, just when you think you've drowned, lost in the dark, djenty murk forever, you hear the clean vocals, harmonies, carefully paced segments reminiscent of more traditional British indie rock. Similarly, your bread bowl will catch you, pick you up, and give you the tool to tame the delicious sludge. Once more into the fray--for the reward is well worth the effort.

Food and Music Pairing - The Touré-Raichel Collective

The Touré-Raichel Collective - The Tel Aviv Session

is best enjoyed with...

Kalbi tacos

Ok, so maybe the fusion angle is kinda the easy way out. In the album, Vieux Farka Touré of Mali combines his incredible guitar virtuousity and weathered voice with the songwriting, vocal inflections, and keyboardsmanship (real word) of Idan Raichel from Israel. In the food, Korean marinated beef or pork ribs are placed in a tortilla, topped with cilantro and other Mexican-inspired additions. Both result in civilizations  blending, meshing, and informing each other, creating something as old as the cultures they're from and as modern as the interconnected Youtube world we live in. One of them you can get from a food truck.