The Beer List: Fox Tail Gluten-Free Ale

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The Beer List returns for another week with a review on a specialty beer that was given to me as a joke. I’ve always harbored considerable disdain for the gluten free movement, as over the last handful of years, California yoga moms began condemning themselves and their children to lives without bread without any direction from, you know, DOCTORS. I have the utmost sympathy for people who actually have celiac disease or some other medically viable diagnosis of gluten intolerance, especially that which leaves those people with more than just temporary abdominal discomfort but rather poses long-term danger to their health. Continue reading →

Growing Up 90’s: The Refreshments- “Banditos”

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“So just how far down do you want to go?

Or we could talk it out over a cup of joe

And you could look deep into my eyes

Like I was a supermodel, uh-huh”

If you lived through the 90’s and were old enough to be cognizant in the least of the popular music scene, you know that the decade was rife with one-hit wonders. That’s no insult – I’ve never recorded a hit song, and many one-hit wonders will be remembered for decades for that singular musical gem, enjoying royalty checks in perpetuity, so there’s that. Continue reading →

The Beer List: Hibernation Ale

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Truth be told, dark beers are usually not in my wheelhouse. Once in a while the mood strikes for a good porter, but stouts are even more seldom given a second thought. However, when you’re enduring yet another miserable New Jersey winter and a beer by the name of Hibernation Ale comes along, it’s almost as if that beer understands exactly what you want to do until it’s time to bring out the flip-flops again. Continue reading →

Funko Friday: Iron Man

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Honestly, who doesn’t love Tony Stark? Played by the incredible Robert Downey Jr. in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Stark is a brilliant, charismatic, and borderline alcoholic scientist and weapons guru who after being kidnapped by mercenaries out in the desert, has his heart removed and replaced with an energy source, builds a mechanical suit that enables him to fly, shoot lasers from his hands, and protects him from much damage. Once rescued and brought back to America, he’s approached by Nick Fury, who convinces him to join the Avengers Initiative, a program which assembles a team of assorted superheroes that come together to save the world when evil strikes. Continue reading →

Growing Up 90’s: Gin Blossoms- “29”

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“Time won’t stand by forever

If I know it’s true

And I’ve learned not to say never

Or else I’ll seem the fool

Twenty-nine, you’d think I’d know better

Living like a kid

‘Cause when my lies may seem less than clever

Is when I fall for it”

Gin Blossoms are one of my favorite bands from the 90’s, and when I got their breakthrough New Miserable Experience on cassette after it came out in 1992, it left a lasting mark on my taste in music. For my money, contemporary rock music has never been so rife with talent, and has never been so utterly enjoyable than it was with this band. Continue reading →

Growing Up 90’s: Oasis “Don’t Look Back In Anger”

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“Slip inside the eye of your mind

Don’t you know you might find 

A better place to play

You said that you’d never been

But all the things that you’ve seen

Will slowly fade away”

The musical centerpiece of this week’s edition of Growing Up 90’s comes from Oasis, the band whose guitarist Noel Gallagher pulled a page from the John Lennon playbook and once claimed were “bigger than God.” The aforementioned song is “Don’t Look Back In Anger” from the band’s 1995 breakthrough album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory, which is not only my favorite song on the record, but from the band as well. Continue reading →

The Beer List: Asbury Park Beerfest 2016

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Last Saturday, I made my way to Asbury Park, New Jersey, with a belly full of delicious pork roll and pretzel necklace draped around my neck to partake in the much-anticipated flow of suds at the city’s annual Beerfest. Convention Hall was the place, situated at one end of the town’s famed boardwalk, hosting taps and bottles from over 40 breweries from around the country. Continue reading →

Funko Friday: Jules

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Another week is coming to a close, and if you’re a toy collector, or just a nerd, what better way to kick it off than with another Funko Friday entry here at The No Seatbelt Blog? This week, we’re reaching for the classic that is Pulp Fiction once again, as Vincent Vega’s partner in bloody crime, Jules stands front and center to curse at you, pump you full of bullets and then abruptly change his ways after he witnesses what he believes to be a miracle.  Continue reading →

Growing Up 90’s: Reel Big Fish- “Sell Out”

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“Well, I know you can’t work in fast food all your life

But don’t sign that paper tonight

She said, but it’s too late”

A handful of songs by Reel Big Fish (along with No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom, perhaps) was about as close as I ever got to getting into the ska-punk scene. While I’ve always thought bands that featured a horn section were unique and fun, the sight of badly-dressed kids “skanking,” which was typically a stupid circular dance that required aimless flailing as if your skeletal system had been removed from your body, at the ska concerts at which I found myself was vomit-inducing.  Continue reading →