music Tagged

by Hadrian, Lifestyle & Beauty Director

A time to reflect on the year that was, and we’ve compiled a list of some of our guilty pleasures, the Top 10 Obsessions of 2010:

1. Coconut Water

Oh-so refreshing Coconut Water!

I was koo koo for oh-so yummy coconut water in 2010 because I could practically find it everywhere, which was never really the case growing up because I would have to go to a specialty Latin or Asian market just to get it.

Coconut Water makes our list for its wholesome goodness, and its lightweight, refreshing taste. It’s rich in potassium and electrolytes, and low in calories so its great as a post-workout thirst quencher, and for its super-hydrating capabilities.

Available with or without pulp, Coconut Water follows the popularity of a few years back of the Pomegranate, when everywhere you looked there was some kind of drink or brand that had it.

My favorite brand of Agua de Coco (Coconut Water) is by Goya  and can be easily found at smaller markets or bodegas, O.N.E. for it’s versions with mango and guava, and also Amy & Brian Coconut Juice because of its coconut pulp and generous 17.5 oz can. Although some flavored versions have more sugar (and typically taste better), unflavored coconut water is lower in sugar. Not only is it good to drink, but coconut water is also great for your skin and hair!

2. Antoine Dodson

Antoine Dodson. Photo by Shelli Langdale

The news story about him and his sister’s home invasion, and the autotune song about the whole incident became an internet phenom.

During a summer day in July, Antoine Dodson was featured and interviewed by NBC affiliate WAFF-48 News in a news clip about the local police searching for a man who broke into the Dodsons’ home in the Lincoln Park Housing Project in Huntsville, Alabama and then tried to assault his sister in bed. After a brief struggle, the intruder escaped through a window and Antoine said the suspect left behind his shirt and fingerprints.

The song about the bed intruder created by the Gregory Brothers was ingenius and catchy. We were often found ourselves humming the lyrics “he’s climbin’ in your window, he’s snatching your people up, trying to rape ‘em so y’all need to hide your kids, hide your wife, hide your kids, hide your wife.” It turned an unfortunate situation into one of the most hilarious and funny parodies around and catapulted Dodson into an internet star.

Here is the actual news clip, and the Bed Intruder Song created by the Gregory Brothers.

3. GLEE

Gleeks took aim and quickly launched the Fox show into an instant TV pop comedy smash. Loaded with Top 40 chart hits and musical tributes to Madonna, Lady Gaga, Rocky Horror, and Britney Spears, and fresh off it’s freshman year with two Emmys and guest stars like Neil Patrick Harris, Carol Burnett and Gwyneth Paltrow, Glee has sang and danced its way to become the new America’s Sweetheart.

4. James Mathé

It’s no doubt that music keeps the spirit alive and London-based James Mathé’s sweet, fuzzy rock sounds has kept my music player busy and reawakened my soul.

Armed simply with a Casio Casiotone MT-70, an Omnichord, and some 808 beats, his music includes “Pallyacho”, and a  cover of  Terence Trent D’Arby’s “Wishing Well”, as well as other low-fi electro soul gems.

This artist formerly known in 2007 as Barbarossa has an excellent EP of demos called the Bedrume Cassettes. These demos provide a glimpse from the upcoming full-length record titled, Care Cracks. I’ve also heard the title track “Care Cracks”, “People Talk” and “Bloodlines”, and I can hardly wait for the finished album!

Sometimes the best music is simple and melodic with a soulful voice, without all the polish and all the unnecessary bells and whistles!

Watch and listen to Pallyacho and see what all the hoopla is about!

Pallyacho

5. iPad

The eagerly awaited launch from Apple quickly sold 3 million in the first months of sales. In the tablet world, the iPad continues to define the category and weighs only 1.5 lbs and has a lightning quick operating system.

Apple iPad

Apple tauts it as revolutionary, with a 9.7 inch touch screen, and amazing new apps, it does things no tablet PC, netbook, or e-reader could, and we couldn’t agree more.

The iPad also benefits from an enormous and growing selection of applications written specifically for it, and that’s one of places it earns high marks. I  have been seen toting around one and stuck on stupid playing the app Angry Birds. Its fun, compact, so portable, I love it, but as a fellow Tangeriner has called it the latest gadget for mid-life crisis-ers…, I couldn’t disagree more, it’s just a great toy for adults!

(But for you non-Apple sympathesizers, alternatively there is Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, by its specifications and features alone, would be the obvious trade off for iPad-refusers. But this smaller and lighter Android device doesn’t have an equally shrunken price, and could run you about $600 – 650 without a 2 year wireless-data contract).

6. Steven Slater

JetBlue flight attendant that almost goes postal

We absolutely love us some drama, and that’s exactly what Steven Slater gave us one fateful day in August. The gay, Jet Blue flight attendant who garnered national media attention and notoriety for quite simply having had enough from a passenger at the end of a flight.

By nearly going postal, he blasted his frustration over the airplane intercom, he then grabbed two Blue Moon beers, activated the emergency inflatable chute, jumped and slid down with his bags, got on the AirTrain to the parking garage and drove himself home to Queens.

It doesn’t get any better than this, “To the passenger who called me a motherfucker, fuck you. I’ve been in the business 20 years. I’ve had it. That’s it.”

7. Korean Style Mexican-American Food

yummy Korean Kalbi Taco

Hmm hmm good…Kalbi tacos (Korean-style barbecued short ribs)  served on tortillas and garnished with onion, cilantro and a hash of chili-soy-dressed lettuce, and Bulgogi burritos are some of the many Korean foods being fused into popular Mexican and American dishes.

The Korean taco and burrito was popularized and pioneered by Roy Choi and his Kogi Korean BBQ-To-Go catering truck in the Los Angeles area in 2008, this new style of Korean cuisine has been sweeping both coasts and everyplace in between ever since.

Other Korean style foods include a Kimchi Quesadilla or a Kimchi-topped Hot Dogs,  and Korean Salsa Roja.

8. Loca for Locavores & Farmer’s Markets

A locavore is someone who eats food that is locally produced, food not moved long distances to market. The food is usually grown in home gardens or by local farmers  interested in keeping the environment as eco and clean as possible and selling food close to where it is grown. Some people consider food grown within a 100-mile radius of their location local, while others have other definitions.

Farmers markets are growing in every possible way all around the country.  New markets are springing up everywhere. While the trend is growing, over-saturation and non-regulation is becoming a worry. More small farmers are appearing at the markets offering an even wider range of products like unusual varieties of produce, heirloom, and foraged foods.

And this is where it can get crazy, advocates of local food production have done a world of good in terms of bringing fresh food closer to home, but most of us must admit that in many cases we really haven’t a clue if the local farmers we support run sustainable systems. And to make matters even worse, the current face in farmer’s market fraud is for vendors to sell goods from conventional farmers with misleading signs and false labels who don’t utilize the costly and time-consuming organic certification process. The result is often shoppers who don’t get what they pay for.

So, my kinda crazy is to make sure you know what you eat, how it is produced and where it is from! Just because you buy it from a Farmer’s Market, it doesn’t mean that it’s fresh or natural, or even organic. The best locavore is to grow your own, and someone who will bike, run or walk and not drive to a reliable grower in a quality Farmer’s Market.

9. Black Gardens & Flowers

Black Iris in full bloom

Black has always been the color of choice for me. I’m obsessed with darker hues, black boots, dark jeans, shiny black Italian sunglasses, slate grey narrow jeans, midnight blue liquid eyeliner, fast black cars, black rock-n-roll tees…and now black greenery, or gothic floral gardens.

It’s just the time to paint it black and rethink your garden and the traditionally vibrant colors associated with it by adding a little black to your backyard or patio landscape with some intriguing darker toned fruits, flowers, plants, grasses, and mulch.

Adding dark grasses, plants and black mulch not only offers your garden flower bed with a unique, non-traditional appearance, but is designed to allow the bright colors of other plants and flowers to become more noticeable against a dark backdrop. In my backyard, I’ve introduced darker-hued/black flowers (like purplely Black Iris, and the Black Pearl Cala Lilly) and veggies (like eggplant) too with more colorful ones to add a touch of style and to make the more vibrant blooms pop. Other great flowers include Black Dahlias, Night Queen Tulips, Black Hollyhocks, Penny Black Nemophila and Black Pansies. Maybe this is definitely not the most widely accepted approach in home gardening and decor, but how exciting and different it is that flowers and gardens are now sporting some black too. It’s just so 2010 (and 2011) of you!

10. Eataly

The menu at Le Verdure

I heart Eataly!  Eataly is New York City’s 50,000 square-foot, massive food emporium devoted to the artisanal food and wine, and culinary traditions of Italy.

There are 14 places to dine here, four of them actual restaurants, with the ability to seat about 600 in these various restaurants. Il Manzo is the only restaurant in Eataly that will take reservations.

The primo spot in Eataly is right off entry foyer and is called is Le Verdure, the mostly-vegan resto. It serves a super delish sweet corn bruschetta with roasted garlic as one of their specials. You can also find fresh veggies simply cooked in olive oil and sea salt, as opposed to the obligatory faux-meat fare often found at vegan spots, as well as discovering the outstanding quality of the oils and vinegars used in their menu. The heirloom tomato and radish salad is pretty tasty too.

Among the many things you’ll see at Eataly, you’ll also find a fresh pasta counter, a crudo bar, a macelleria (aka butcher), a paninoteca, a roticceria, a pasticceria, a gelateria, and of course an espresso counter featuring Lavazza coffees, to name just a few of their treasures.

Eataly is a must-see when in New York. It’s located at 200 Fifth Avenue (at 23rd St.) in Manhattan.