GoneTrending

In his songs, Bill Callahan tackles the big subjects: love, nature, death, the passage of time, how the stillness of everyday life belies constant transformation. But he has a way of approaching these weighty topics in a weightless manner, whether it’s inserting a dryly witty lyrical aside into an existential crisis or approaching his words with a remarkably understated vocal, which over time has come to resemble a cross between Leonard Cohen’s stoicism and Willie Nelson’s nimble emotionalism.

That the 56-year-old indie-rock veteran has produced so much good work so consistently over the course of more than 30 years — both as the man behind the ’90s lo-fi outfit Smog or under his own name — ought to not make his latest album due Friday, Reality, any less special. Described by Callahan as a reaction to the forces (political, cultural, technological) that have undermined the verisimilitude of daily existence, the album leavens philosophical musings with music that melds Townes Van Zandt Texas folk with ethereal jazz splashes and starry-eyed psychedelia. It is, of course, beautiful and moving music.

In conversation, Callahan talks the way he sings — softly, deeply, and with thoughtful contemplation. When asked to place Reality in his overall body of work, he pauses. He thinks. And then he is unsure.

“As a whole, I can’t really wrap my head around my entire back catalog as one thing. When you look back at yourself, there are puzzle pieces that don’t seem to fit the way that you think of yourself now. It’s like, “Oh yeah, I was living in this apartment, and why would I ever live in that awful place?” But at the time, you were fine with it. I think the records are kind of the same, especially if you’re covering that much time.”

Ahead of Reality‘s release, I asked him to talk about nine of his albums. I could have asked about twice as many, but for the sake of time I selected most (though certainly not all) of the Bill Callahan/Smog albums that mean a lot to me.

Julius Caesar (1993)

That was a very important and surprising record to me. The arrangements are often quite strange and daring, I would say. But they work and I think the songs are strangely catchy. It’s the first time that I made a record where all the songs are great, in my opinion. I think maybe three-quarters of the record is recorded at home on a four-track, but then there’s a few songs that I did in the studio. That was the first time I’d ever been in a real recording studio. And it’s an important record in that respect, too, because I was growing up.

I needed to work with a four-track because it was baby steps. I wasn’t ready to work in a studio. The nature of the way that I worked would’ve cost billions of dollars. There was a lot of exploring and rule-breaking, in unconventional and not aesthetically pleasing ways. I don’t know how I would’ve even done that in a studio, a real studio. And I need to in complete control, which I wouldn’t really be in a studio.

It was all about the lyrics and the overall feel or sound of a song. The type of things that I was trying to achieve didn’t involve pretty singing or nice guitar work. That just wasn’t on my shopping list.

Red Apple Falls (1997)

That is also a very important record. I’m not going to say that about each one. [Laughs.] It was the first time I worked with an engineer or a producer — Jim O’Rourke — who actually cared about the sessions, who liked the music and was enthusiastic. I’d had a bunch of not-so-great experiences leading up to that with just picking random, “Oh, here’s a studio near my house” places. [1996’s] The Doctor Came At Dawn, that album was recorded mostly in a studio, but just with whoever was there when I showed up.

I had recorded some with a drummer leading up to that, but this was the first record where I’d tracked the whole thing with a band. You realize how much the drummer just adds to a song — to the power of a song — so easily. A friend of mine was listening to “Inspirational” — it’s the second to last song on the record — and she was like, “Were you smiling when you sang this song?” And I was, just because the drums made me so happy.

I had ideas of what instruments I wanted on the record, and for a lot of it, I would just hum something for the player to play. I know definitely on Knock Knock, which was the next one, that I wrote some very basic ideas on keyboards, and then Jim wrote them out and made them more musical. He wrote notation for the players.

As I started playing live more, that made me want to make music that could be played live. Whereas the early records were kind of the opposite goal. I wanted to make something that never be recreated again. I started small with the intention of never playing live. I don’t know why. I probably just knew that I couldn’t handle it, so I made up that little excuse.

I did my first show in about ’91, I think. I realized then how different it was. But back then, at least, it was the only way to get people to your music, to just show up on some bill and play it for them, I think I was hoping that there was some other way, but there isn’t really.

Knock Knock (1999)

That’s a very important record. I’m just kidding.

It is though!

Actually it is, yeah. With Red Apple Falls, I believe we recorded and mixed that in five days. That sounds crazy. At the most, it was seven days, but I think we recorded it and mixed it in five days. So that record is just what happened, basically. There wasn’t a lot of time for working on things. With Knock Knock, it took a little more time, probably 10 days or something. Also, as with Julius Caesar, I was surprised by how many good songs I had.

A lot of times I’ll make records where there might be an introduction-ish song to the rest of the record or to a bigger concept. On Reality, the first couple songs, “First Bird” and “Everyway,” they are fine songs, but they’re also very much playing an introductory role to some more freestanding songs. With Knock Knock — I don’t know what’s on there, 10 songs? — they’re all kind of freestanding and they could all be singles or greatest hits. There’s no bridge or introductory or groundwork type of songs. They’re all hits.

Dongs Of Sevotion (2000)

I tend to look at that as a trilogy: Red Apple Falls, Knock Knock, and then Dongs of Sevotion. That record was more pieced together in different recording sessions. I worked with different people, different drummers, and different people for different tracks. And it has the specter of death. There was a guy, Phil Bonnet, who was the engineer for Red Apple Falls and Knock Knock, and he was a good working pal of Jim O’Rourke’s. It was an intense but short work with this guy, and then he died in a car crash after Knock Knock. But I liked the studio that he had worked at and I did some of it there, and that was kind of spooky because Phil wasn’t there anymore.

“Dress Sexy At My Funeral” was the only poem I’d ever written. I wrote it a few years before all the other songs, and I thought, “There’s no way I can sing this” And I just put it in a drawer. I do find that whenever I get an idea to do something that isn’t music, that is writing, I tend to tell myself, “Oh, you’re not a playwright, you don’t write movie scripts, you’re a songwriter, sorry.” Everything becomes songs because that’s what I know how to do. So, that’s a prime example of that.

I have to ask about the album title, as it’s one of the great titles of all time. How did you come up with it?

I think I was considering calling it Songs Of Devotion, and I saw that Depeche Mode had a record called that. So just to make it unique and make it mine, and I stumbled on that.

A River Ain’t Too Much Love (2005)

I moved out of Chicago to Austin, Texas because I was trying to make some big changes in my life. I suddenly wanted to live in a house instead of an apartment. I wanted a yard, I wanted a driveway to park my car, and all these things that are very hard to achieve in Chicago unless you have lots of money. I also learned to finger-pick for that record, and I switched to nylon string, classical-style guitar. So, that was a big difference — learning a new thing, a new thing I was embracing. When you stop strumming and you start finger-picking, there’s a hole in the middle of the song. Because a guitar strummed is the center of the song, basically. If you take that away, that leaves a big space. I was trying to use my voice in the center instead of a strumming guitar with a voice on top.

I wanted to release A River Ain’t Too Much Love under my own name because of all these big changes. It was like, “What is this stupid name that doesn’t mean anything to me?” Someone goes in a record store and they see something by Smog and that plants something in their head — could be appealing, could be unappealing. I didn’t want to plant this thing that didn’t mean anything to me. I didn’t want to then expect people to be like, “Oh, I’ll ignore that name and I’ll listen to this record,” which no one does.

It was all part of starting over. But my record label — they apologized for this — but they freaked out and got scared when I said I wanted to use my name, for obvious reasons. So I went with Smog for that last record, and then I changed it on the next one. Some people are still confused, but as far as sales go, they stayed the same. It was not like I was starting from scratch in that respect.

Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle (2009)

I was ready to make a record with strings again, like I had done for [1995’s] Wild Love. A lot of strings and horns. I think I was thinking in those terms as I was writing the songs, because with something like “Faith/Void,” the feel of the strings is pretty integral to that song taking off the ground and achieving flight. So, if I remember correctly, I was picturing strings and horns as I wrote the songs.

“Jim Cain” is your most streamed song. Any thoughts on why that track in particular is popular?

Well, I don’t know if a lot of people love it. A lot of people have heard it, maybe at a very low volume as they listen to a playlist. Those numbers can be misleading. I just think that happened to get on a playlist or two that was popular. I do think it’s one of my best songs, so that is why I’m constantly streaming it.

Ha! So you’re the one admiring your own handiwork.

I was reading a lot of James M. Cain. I read a little bit about his life and it seemed like he wasn’t really as embraced as much as I felt he should have been. I think he maybe was an alcoholic and died at a pretty early age, if I remember correctly. So I wanted to write a tribute to him. If you feel someone is under-appreciated, you can’t really control popular opinion. All I can do is make my own celebratory song for someone, and that’s kind of what that is.

Apocalypse (2011)

When I first moved to Texas, I always felt like I was in a Western. Austin was a lot less developed then, so there were a lot more old buildings and things just crumbling and it had a very Western feel. So, I think that just kind of seeped into my perspective. I believe that’s the first record that I worked with Matt Kinsey. Am I right? Do you know? I’m pretty sure that was the first.

It was.

I had done a couple little one-off things for compilations with him, just as I was getting to know him and finding out what he was capable of. He had a key role in Apocalypse, the record’s moving into that direction. Matt is capable of playing anything. He can play on a sheer noise record or a top 40 pop song. Without Matt, I don’t know what these records would’ve sounded like.

That record, like all my records, is basically the band recording live, and then we might add some overdubs or fix a vocal word or two. But everything’s live, including the vocal, which applies its own energy and cohesion. And it’s also much quicker, as I found out recording Shepherd In A Sheepskin Vest. That was definitely the longest I’ve spent on any record. And that was partially due to the fact that, for the first time, I went in, recorded my parts, and then I started adding people to it, which for some reason really slows down the process. When you record the band, there might be one part by somebody that’s not their best take, but you have to pick the most good version. And it always turns out fine, because the bass note that I hated but decided to live with is actually the coolest thing on the record.

Do you remember recording “Riding For The Feeling”? The performance on the record always transfixes me.

That was probably really easy, probably first take or something. It’s the kind of song that plays itself, because it’s just kind of slow and easy and it’s very obvious.

It’s my favorite vocal of yours.

Well, if a song plays itself, that takes a big burden off of my mind. Kind of like with “Inspirational,” which I referred to earlier. It’s like this song is just an 18-wheeler cruising down the empty highway and I don’t have to do anything but sing. I’m just relaxed and happy.

Shepherd In A Sheepskin Vest (2019)

Is it true you considered quitting music after becoming a father in the mid-2010s?

I couldn’t find a kind of reconciliation point of going down the path of being a father. There didn’t seem to be any stops along the way that involved making music. It felt like a very full path already. Also, I was learning something brand new, which used up all my brain power and my body power. I was not getting enough sleep for a few years and not having time to myself. I started seeing a therapist to try to help me have a life where both things are possible. It was strange, because we lived in Santa Barbara for about 10 months, so my wife would go to grad school. I thought I’d always wanted to live on the ocean or very close to the ocean. I finally got that chance and I found it actually more of a distraction because whenever I was in my house I was like, “I should be at the ocean now.” It was so close. So that was a lot of energy, as time was absorbed. I got out just in time.

Reality (2022)

I watched the world fall apart, as everybody did. I watched the country fall apart. I watched the world fall apart in slow motion. And I saw clearly that we had no leader, at least not one that was going to lead us out of this. I just felt like I wanted a guide — somebody smart to tell me what the fuck is going on, what is real, what is propaganda, what’s really going on here, somebody. So I looked to various philosophers and comedians, but no one really worked. Some people would say some things that made sense to me or rang true, but then they would say something else that negated that. And I eventually decided the important thing was focusing on myself and my family and my neighbors and the neighborhood, and that was the best path for me to carry on. What I learned by going through that was I wanted to turn that into songs, in case anybody needed some guidance or corroboration for their thoughts. Just someone saying the same thing that they may be thinking.

Also, there’s the big mess that social media is, and how we haven’t evolved yet to be able to handle that. Everyone talks about how great this shit is, but no one ever talks about how maybe it’s too powerful, it’s too different, that we can’t actually handle it. It’s addictive, in the same way that we shouldn’t all be taking heroin. It’s not going to work, if we’re all taking heroin. Society is not going to last very long.

This is, in a way, a protest record. But you don’t mention a specific thing you’re protesting, which makes it more universal and timeless.

I think in some way that a lot of good songs are protest songs, because they’re protesting the silence of no song. Usually if someone is writing a traditional protest song, there’s a utopic vision somewhere in there of, “Don’t do this, we should all do this.” I do think that songs are little utopias for people to live in for three or four minutes.

There’s dream imagery that recurs throughout the songs, which is not new for you. Why are you interested in dreams?

We don’t pay enough attention to our dreams. Most people treat them as a novelty. Like, “Oh, listen to this silly, crazy thing that I dreamed last night,” But a dream is a hand of tarot cards — you can read it or try to read it. I wonder what would happen if we focused more on dreams. I’ve always said politicians shouldn’t give those stupid bullshit speeches full of platitudes and lies, they should just talk about what they dreamed about last night and then we could decide if we think they’re the person for the job.

I haven’t been dreaming lately. It’s hard when you don’t remember your dreams.

When you remember your dreams, do you remember good dreams or just bad dreams? Because I feel like I only remember bad dreams.

They’re usually somewhat troubling or so puzzling that they upset you because obviously our brains want to make sense of everything, our conscious brains. But I think I remember good dreams, too.

You said you haven’t remembered a dream in a while?

Yeah. I think it’s because I started taking these CBD gummies before bed and I think that blocks, well, all that stuff. It slows down the sleep cycles. It makes the cycles longer and I think it keeps you in the non-dream state for a lot longer than normal. I’m planning on taking some days off from the sweet, sweet gummies.

The Muppet Christmas Carol is the only adaptation of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens that matters, but at least Spirited found a new angle. The musical-comedy, which stars Ryan Reynolds as Ebenezer Scrooge and Will Ferrell as the Ghost of Christmas Present, is told from the perspective of the ghosts.

The teaser trailer, which you can watch above, promises elaborate song-and-dance numbers with Reynolds, Ferrell, and Octavia Spencer, and the Ghost of Christmas Present reminiscing about the first kid that he saved. “It was this little sick kid. What did they call him?” he wonders. “It was Tiny Tom,” Scrooge interjects, but the Ghost is sure it was Little Larry… or maybe Micro Mike… or possibly Super Small Steve.

Here’s the official plot summary:

Each Christmas Eve, the Ghost of Christmas Present (Will Ferrell) selects one dark soul to be reformed by a visit from three spirits. But this season, he picked the wrong Scrooge. Clint Briggs (Ryan Reynolds) turns the tables on his ghostly host until Present finds himself reexamining his own past, present and future. For the first time, A Christmas Carol is told from the perspective of the ghosts in this hilarious musical twist on the classic Dickens tale.

Spirited comes out in theaters on November 11 and Apple TV+ on November 18.

Both Elon Musk and Vladimir Putin are denying a recent report that the two spoke to each other ahead of Musk sharing a Russia/Ukraine peace plan that resulted in the Tesla CEO being widely criticized on Twitter. It was so blatantly conciliatory to Russia that even Lindsey Graham came out of the woodwork to chastise Musk.

According to an Eurasia Group report from journalist Ian Bremmer, Musk allegedly spoke to Putin ahead of the tweet, which is why the peace plan was filled with a grab bag of goodies like ceding Crimea to Russia. As the report went viral, Musk denied speaking to Putin when asked if the allegations were true.

“No, it is not,” Musk tweeted. “I have spoken to Putin only once and that was about 18 months ago. The subject matter was space.”

According to Business Insider, the Kremlin also issued a denial and essentially said the same thing as Musk: The two last spoke a year and a half ago. The only difference between the statements is the Kremlin didn’t specify what the two discussed.

Bremmer, however, has already pushed back on the seemingly coordinated denials. He issued a statement on Twitter defending the report:

“Elon Musk told me he had spoken with Putin and the Kremlin directly about Ukraine,” Bremmer said. “He also told me what the kremlin’s red lines were. I have been writing my weekly newsletter on geopolitics for 24 yrs. I write honestly without fear or favor and this week’s update was no different. I’ve long admired Musk as a unique and world-changing entrepreneur, which I’ve said publicly. He’s not a geopolitics expert.

(Via Business Insider)

Elon Musk and Nick Cannon are seemingly competing to see which family can start their own basketball team by having so many offspring. Both celebrities have fathered a small army of at least 9 children, and the probably won’t stop! But, as we know, Musk is not one to back down when he is challenged by a peer.

Musk keeps revealing various infants that he has produced (much after the fact), so it’s really hard to be sure how many he actually has. While speaking with The Financial Times, Musk was asked if he would have more kids anytime soon, to which he said that he is “pretty sure there are no other babies looming.” That sounds like a veiled threat!

The billionare didn’t rule out the possibility of new kids, saying that he is an “autumn chicken.” If a spring chicken is a young chicken, it an autumn chicken mean he’s on his way out and wants to have even more kids? Who is really to say? It seems like he made up that phrase anyway.

Most recently, Musk had a second child with Grimes in December 2021… one month after welcoming twins with an executive at one of his companies, though that wasn’t revealed until months later. Aside from those three, Musk also has another set of twins and a set of teenage triplets, one of whom is currently estranged from the billionaire. Musk has said, “I have very good relationships with all the others. Can’t win them all,” which is a really nice thing to say about a human being that you brought into the world. He is probably much too busy trying to think of a good joke to impress Nathan Fielder, so he has no time for more kids. Hopefully.

(Via Page Six)

How does a band followup a massively successful platinum album with four Billboard charting singles packing anthemic adrenaline rush choruses that can electrify a whole stadium of people? For Imagine Dragons, the obvious move was to link up with legendary producer Rick Rubin and record a two-part follow-up at his Shangri-La studio in Malibu. But Imagine Dragon’s Mercury — Acts 1 & 2 (the second part of which released just this summer) isn’t a loud and proud victory lap that chronicles Imagine Dragons as they continue to solidify themselves as one of the biggest rock bands of the 2020s. Those stadium-ready bangers are still in adequate supply, but at its heart, it’s a deep and contemplative two-part album that chronicles loss, grief, loneliness, and, especially in Act 2, a celebration of what it means to be left alive in the aftermath.

“We went into it not knowing it was going to be two albums. We sat down with Rick Rubin who produced it and went through a lot of demos that I had worked on over the previous years” singer Dan Reynolds tells me over Zoom, “There were two prevalent themes that Rick had pointed out. I dealt with quite a bit of loss. I lost quite a few people in my life. Then there was also really a prevalent theme of, ‘and then what?’ Post grief and seeing the world differently, we really felt like we couldn’t tell that in one album properly, and so, it was Rick’s idea actually to do two records.”

While that all sounds incredibly heavy, Mercury — Acts 1 & 2 isn’t full of somber sounds and depressing dirges, Imagine Dragons hasn’t gone and made their Radiohead record, they’re still bringing that sonic intensity that has earned them multiple stadiums worth of fans, but they’re doing it in a totally new way. This is best exemplified by Mercury — Act 2 single “Sharks,” which is playful in a way the band rarely is and features a music video that explores Reynolds home town of Las Vegas. It serves as a celebration of the city that made them the band they are today.

“I’ve lived in Vegas my whole life. Vegas is the reason our band is successful. None of us had parents that were giving us money to live, so the only way we paid for rent was playing cover gigs at the hotels on the side. We’d do six-hour shows at O’Shea’s, which is the cheapest beer on the Strip, so we really owe a lot to Vegas.”

That deep love is mutual. There aren’t a lot of other bands the city would let surf the Bellagio fountains, but Imagine Dragons do just that in the “Sharks” video directed by Drew Kirsch, which follows Reynolds in an Ocean’s Eleven-indebted tribute that thumbs its nose at all the people who have written the band off as too serious. “Sharks” is a lot of fun, and it’s informed by Reynolds’ own relationship to the city that made him.

To get a little more acquainted with Reynolds’ Las Vegas, we asked the singer for his favorite Vegas haunts, from the finest hotel eats to the hidden gems off the beaten path. Let’s dive in!

What’s your favorite Las Vegas breakfast spot and what’s the go-to order?

Neighbors

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by neighbors (@neighborscafelv)

I love this place called Neighbors. It’s in the Summerland area, I just love typical, normal, boring breakfast. Eggs, bacon, pancakes. I don’t need it to be fancy. In fact, I don’t like it to be fancy. I just want greasy spoon breakfast. I’m hungry, actually, right now talking to you about it. Salivating. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, so I get really excited to go there and just sit down with my kids or friends, and have a good meal.

What is one Vegas bar people have to visit?

The Chandelier

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by emily (@em_young_)

Aside from the local stuff, I would say if you’re just looking for a great bar in Vegas to try a special drink, I would go to the Cosmo Bar, and get a drink called the Sichuan Flower. It’s this special drink that they have where you eat a flower and it’s very strange tasting, but it changes your taste buds. You try the drink before you have the flower first, to understand what the drink is and then you chew up the flower and it changes your taste buds and the drink tastes completely different. It becomes sweet and interesting, and it’s just a fun experience.

It’s at the Chandelier bar, I believe it’s called, because there’s this huge chandelier over it. But you feel very Vegas. You’ll sit in that chair and you feel like you’re in an Ocean’s Eleven movie or something. But if you’re looking for a more dive bar-type scene, the Bunkhouse is the go-to.

What’s your favorite hidden gem in Las Vegas?

The Outdoors

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Roy Coffee (@roy.coffee83)

The Bunkhouse is a really cool venue [recently closed], and the Beauty Bar [permanently closed]. I don’t know if the Beauty Bar is still there, actually. I haven’t been to the B Bar in a while. Both cool venues with local acts that are great. And I really love the outdoors. So, not a lot of people know that Vegas draws in tons of bikers and climbers, like Alex Honnold.

A lot of people live there because there are great trails, and the Red Rock Mountains are beautiful, and Lake Mead is there, so you can go to the lake. There’s camping and skiing not that far out, with Mount Charleston. There’s just a lot of cool outdoors available to people that live there. It’s like anytime I tell someone I’m from Vegas, they assume I was raised in a hotel, or something. Bathed in the Bellagio fountains. People really don’t understand that there are houses, and parks, and there are farmer’s markets. Vegas has got a lot to it. And you can have the party on the Strip, if that’s what you want, but you can also have the mountains, or you can have suburbia. It’s whatever you want it to be, Vegas has that.

Circling back to the venues, what makes them special?

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Josh Alves (@xjoshalvesx)

The Bunkhouse and the Beauty Bar both have this local feeling to them, where everybody who’s in the music scene knows each other and it feels small, even though Vegas feels huge, it also feels very small in some ways. People in Vegas love to celebrate its localness. For instance, when the Golden Knights hockey team moved in, everybody was there every night. It was completely sold out. They get behind it, it’s on every car. Vegas wants to have culture desperately so there’s a real passion to the little bit of local culture that there is. It’s not Seattle or something, where it’s just booming with culture, and tons of farmer’s markets. It doesn’t have that California thing to it. But it’s on the up and up. And when it does happen, it’s because there’s really passionate, awesome people that put on neon reverb festivals, that’s been a staple there for a long time. That’s literally because there are just a few creatives that make it happen. It’s pretty rad. A lot of effort is put into it, but you appreciate that when you’re there, and celebrate anybody who’s really making that happen.

What’s the best late-night dinner spot? Somewhere to go post-casino?

Secret Pizza

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mark | SoCal To Vegas Foodie (@food.marks.the.spot)

Okay, so, there’s a couple things. There’s this hidden pizza spot at the Cosmo. So, if we’re talking about the Strip and you’re thinking, “What’s cool little gem?” This is it. It doesn’t even have a sign. You just have to know where it is. You go around this corner, and then you’re in this little pizza shop. It’s in the middle of the Cosmo, which is weird. A lot of people probably just walk right by it. But the pizza’s actually super good. I think it’s called ‘Secret Pizza’ or something like that.

Kame Omakase

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Calvin’s Food Journal (@that.1st.bite)

If you’re off the Strip, though, that’s where the magic really happens. I think Vegas has the most Michelin stars in a city in the world. If you’re looking for fine dining, look at all those hotels, it’s awesome. But to be honest with you, where the real magic is off the Strip, on the west side. There’s this incredible sushi place called Omakase that… I’ve had sushi all over the world now, and it really holds up… You feel like you’re in Japan, it’s incredible.

Nittaya’s Secret Kitchen

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nittaya’s Secret Kitchen (@nittayas_secret_kitchen)

There’s a place called Nittaya’s’s Secret Kitchen… I think it is called Nittaya’s Secret Kitchen. Why is everything secret in Vegas? Something feels a little weird about that. I want to get it right, though, because she’s really awesome. It’s a Thai restaurant and it’s so good.

La Strega

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by La Strega (@lastregalv)

It’s a really great Italian restaurant. Highly, highly recommend.

Lotus of Siam

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lotus of Siam (@lotusofsiam)

So, if you love Thai food, there’s Nittaya’s Secret Kitchen on the west side. But if you’re on the east side, there’s this place called Lotus of Siam that would blow — actually, I’m going to give this as my number one recommendation in Vegas. If someone’s passing through, and everybody’s like, “Well, we could go to the Bellagio,” and you want to be super cool and be like, “Well, why don’t we get off the Strip just a little bit and go to this local place?” It’s the best type of food ever. It’s on Sahara, East Sahara, and it’s so good. It’s crazy good. It’s actually pretty hard to get in, because it’s just always packed. But I highly recommend it.

What’s on the itinerary for the best day in Vegas from morning to night? Without the casino stuff.

Farmer’s Market/Hiking at Red Rock/Walking Old Vegas

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by S A S (@moharanasasmita)

I would start your day out by going to the farmer’s market… And I’m just going to suppose you’re there on the weekend. Go to Farmer’s Market at the Summerland Mall, that is a fantastic farmer’s market. Lots of great produce, surprisingly, and local people that make incredible food and just bring it. There’s everything you could want, from local beef jerky to vegan sweets. There is always someone out playing music, and they’re actually really talented, which isn’t always the case at farmer’s markets. So, I’d start the day by going to the farmer’s market.

Then I would probably go to Neighbors for breakfast, that place I recommend to you. I would then go take a hike at Red Rock which is just 20 minutes, it’s not a hard drive at all. So, 20 minutes, go to Red Rock, go on a hike. There’s also some really beautiful lookout spots there that you can see the whole Strip, and take it in from the beauty of nature. You could also go on a bike ride out in Red Rock.

Then as the evening draws in, I would look at what local band is playing the Bunkhouse. Then I would wander to Fremont Street. The Fremont Street experience is old Vegas. A lot of people are like, “Oh, let’s go to the Strip,” and they go to Cosmo, and all these things, and it’s great. But I would recommend you go to Old Vegas. Walk it. There’s lots of performers, kind of that old weird Vegas vibe that’s the best part of Vegas. The weirdness and lots of sloppy drunk tourists that will make you smile. They have these deep-fried Oreos, and deep-fried Twinkies that are just so good, but so disgusting at the same time. And then, for me, typically it’s have friends over at the house, and cook some good food and have some cereal. Late-night cereal. That would be a Vegas Day.

Charlie Puth is a legitimate TikTok star thanks to the entertaining content he posts on the platform, including videos of himself creating songs in unconventional ways. Puth brought that energy to The Tonight Show yesterday, where he quickly put a new song together that’s actually pretty good.

Towards the end of the interview, Fallon wanted to test Puth’s philosophy that music can be made from just about anything. So, the two looked around for a bit for an object that Puth could use to demonstrate his point. They eventually came up with a coffee mug, which Puth tapped with a spoon. Fallon then produced a laptop, microphone, and MIDI keyboard, which seemed to genuinely surprise Puth; He noted, “I thought your producer was joking when he said that he…”

Then, over the course of just about three minutes, Puth made the seed of a song. He began by recording a sound of him tapping the mug. From there, he maps the sound to his keyboard and records three instrumental layers using that sound, changing the pitch to give the song depth. Everything really comes together, though, when he introduces a kick drum, at which point Puth’s impromptu creation starts to sound like a real song.

Check out the interview above. He also performed “Left And Right” and “Loser” on the show, so find that below.

Charlie Puth is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

(House of the Dragon spoilers will be found below.)

This week’s House of the Dragon yielded so much chaotic glee, which sparked hard-hitting emotions. Vaemond Velaryon f*cked around and found out what it was like to keep one’s tongue while losing one’s head. And after Daemon Targaryen pulled off his part of that stunt, he later participated in the funniest interaction of the of the week, but before that happened, a quieter and profound moment went down in the throne room.

That would happen during the agonizing walk of King Viserys I — also literally on his deathbed throughout the episode — as he hauled himself onto the Iron Throne to reaffirm Rhaenyra’s place as heir. Members of the Targaryen/Hightower and Velaryon houses (assembled to hear petitions on the succession of Driftmark) stood and watched Viserys as he demonstrated incredible resolve despite his many ailments (for which, not incidentally, Paddy Considine has offered insight). As the king struggled to ascend to his intended destination, his crown fell off and clattered to the floor. Rogue Prince Daemon scooped it up, proving that he (finally) had his brother’s back.

This followed an unusual display of discomfort from Daemon while he and Rhaenyra first visited Viserys’ bedroom, and Daemon struggled to make eye contact with his brother, who was in terrible pain. As it turns out, though, the crown did not fall off Viserys’ head in the script, but when magic started to happen during rehearsals and shooting, and Matt Smith improvised picking up the crown, director Geeta Patel felt that this should happen onscreen. Via Entertainment Weekly:

“When we were shooting that — I think the rehearsal again, the first day — the crown fell off of Paddy’s head and Matt picked it up and we just kept going. We didn’t stop [filming]. There was a discovery there of this moment. So then the three of us got together and they were like, ‘We felt this. This felt like the turning point in our relationship.’ … We decided to shoot it both ways with the crown falling off and with the crown not falling off… I was so thankful that accident happened, that the crown fell off because it proved to be, at least for me, quite a heavy moment and quite a turning point for a storyline that had started in the pilot: Hey, I want your crown and by the end here I’m gonna put the crown back on your head and I’m gonna help you to your throne.”

The moment was a telling one with Viserys still insisting that he was “fine” and both he and Daemon knowing that wasn’t the truth. The squirrelly brother then ended up helping his more upstanding counterpart in the seemingly smallest but most powerful way. As Patel revealed, Daemon’s scripted speech during the subsequent dinner scene actually got axed because this crown moment did the job in communicating the brothers’ repaired dynamic. Then the show bid farewell to a Targaryen king and (thanks to an inadvertent communications f*ck up from Viserys while delirious on milk of poppy) hello to a bigger civil war.

HBO’s House of the Dragon airs on Sundays at 9:00pm EST.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

Fast food is an industry that feels the need to constantly innovate, even when… maybe it doesn’t always need to? Changing things up has become a bit of a double-edged sword for the consumer. One on hand, every few months we get a bunch of new food to snack on but on the other hand, a lot of times that food is straight up bad. Limited menu items are limited for a reason — they often don’t deserve a permanent spot on the menu. What’s worse is that sometimes in order to make room for these new “flavor innovations” means ditching someone’s favorite menu item to make space. We’ve seen it happen to the Mexican pizza, Wendy’s spicy nuggets, KFC’s potato wedges, and for awhile, the vanilla Frosty, only for fast food brands to later reverse course. It can be pretty frustrating.

What’s worse is, sometimes it seems brands are hellbent on not innovating for the sake of keeping things classic when a change or tweak seems like an obvious win. Why doesn’t Taco Bell have a plant-based taco? Why won’t In-N-Out add bacon to the menu? Why doesn’t McDonald’s change anything that isn’t a chicken sandwich? There is no winning!

To celebrate the worst mistake made at every single fast food restaurant, we decided to make a big list for all our fellow complainers out there. Got a fast food gripe of your own? Add it in the comments, we sincerely want fast food to be better, and sometimes the only way to do that is by making some noise. Let’s dive in!

Arby’s — Discontinuing The Diablo Chicken Sandwich

Where They Went Wrong:

I will never forgive Arby’s for giving us the hands-down spiciest chicken sandwich ever, only to take it away. The Diablo Chicken sandwich was introduced at the beginning of this year and featured multiple layers of spice courtesy of the ghost pepper jack cheese, spicy cayenne-dominated seasoning, grilled diced jalapeños, and spicy barbecue sauce.

The spicy notes on this sandwich were capable of taking your taste buds on a ride, beginning with the bright citrusy habanero-tinged barbecue sauce, bringing the fire with the ghost pepper cheese, and exploding with vegetal notes of freshly diced jalapeño. It was truly a feast for the senses, and one of the best chicken sandwiches on the market.

The Bottom Line:

Better than almost everything on Arby’s menu but sadly, it’s gone for the foreseeable future.

Find your nearest Arby’s here.

Burger King — Pretty Much The Whole Menu

Where They Went Wrong:

Look, I’ve been covering fast food extensively for two years now and, in that time, I’ve developed an intimate knowledge of each fast food chain’s menu. So I say this from a place of authority: Burger King’s menu is trash. The king does one thing well, the Ch’king sandwich, everything else on the menu, including BK’s flagship burger, the Whopper, could do with a good revamp.

Each of the burgers is incredibly bland and dry, the chicken is questionable, the shakes are watery, and the fries are so salty they’re almost inedible. What is going on at Burger King and how is it still in business? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to see Burger King fail, it’s the opposite — I want them to do better. I want them to revamp the burgers, like they did with their chicken sandwich, and give places like McDonald’s a run for their money.

Until then though, I’ll never stop criticizing this wack menu.

The Bottom Line:

You go to Burger King for the Ch’King sandwich, anything else just isn’t worth ordering.

Find your nearest Burger King here.

Carl’s Jr. — The Green Burrito Menu

Where They Went Wrong:

Some Carl’s Jr restaurants have a section of the menu referred to as “The Green Burrito,” and if you’re wondering what that’s all about we’re here to tell you. The Green Burrito originally started as a taqueria in the Southern California city of Hawaiian Gardens in the 1980s that sold Tex-Mex and Cal-Mex-inspired food. The success of the restaurant brought it to chain status throughout the Southland until it was acquired by Carl’s Jr. in 2001 and integrated into the menu.

These days it’s a lot harder to find Carl’s Jr. restaurants with the Green Burrito menu (the co-branding has all but disappeared) but they do still exist at certain Carl’s Jr. restaurants and it’s worth exploring if you find one.

I’m not mad at the Green Burrito menu but I think Carl’s Jr. hasn’t been utilizing it correctly. The menu consists of a wet green burrito, grilled burritos, crunchy tacos, taco salads, quesadillas, and taquitos, — if those menu items don’t sell it’s not because there isn’t an appetite for them. People in America love Mexican (and Mexican-inspired) food, but Carl’s Jr. isn’t doing a good enough job representing it. When you’re falling behind the marketing efforts of Taco Bell and Del Taco, you know you’ve got issues.

The Bottom Line:

The lack of Green Burrito’s presence on Carl’s Jr menus in 2022 isn’t a sign that Carl’s Jr should give up on Mexican food, it’s a sign that they should try harder.

Find your nearest Carl’s Jr. here.

Chick-fil-A — The Lack Of Spicy Nuggets

Where They Went Wrong:

Sometimes fast food chains make boneheaded decisions that just don’t make any f*cking sense. Everybody loves spicy nuggets, look no further than the popularity of the Wendy’s spicy nugget and the number of hot chicken chains that have opened in the last two years, and yet Chick-fil-A, one of the most successful chicken chains in the nation, weirdly hasn’t tried adding spicy nuggets to the menu.

Why? How?!

They have a spicy chicken sandwich, and it’s better than their non-spicy version (especially if you order the Spicy Deluxe), which is hand-battered in restaurant — so they have the ingredients! Why isn’t this a part of the menu yet? It’s guaranteed to sell, wouldn’t cost Chick-fil-A anything extra, and would expand Chick-fil-A’s simple menu in a logical way that wouldn’t challenge people’s expectations.

It’s not like we’re adding burgers to the menu, we just want nuggets with a kick! Is that too much to ask?

The Bottom Line:

There isn’t a single logical reason why Chick-fil-A doesn’t offer spicy nuggets when they have a spicy chicken sandwich. Maybe Chick-fil-A is doing so well that they don’t need to innovate, but if they did, they’d only make their already solid menu even better.

Find your nearest Chick-fil-A here.

Chipotle — Those Lime Ass Chips

Where They Went Wrong:

I get it, a fresh squeeze of lime on tortilla chips is delicious, who doesn’t love that? But what Chipotle does to its chips is practically abuse. Just how many f*cking limes does this place kill in order to season these things? Because they taste like pure lime juice and salt. I’ve never tasted a tortilla chip that tastes less like a tortilla. The seasoning is so overwhelming that the citrus flavor still dominates even after you dip them in guacamole, salsa, queso, or salsa.

That’s not normal.

I’m not asking Chipotle to get rid of the lime, like I said, I love lime on tortilla chips, I’m just asking Chipotle to chill out a little bit. Maybe use half the limes? Chipotle would be saving money and saving your taste buds from being burned off by citric acid. I swear I can feel the enamel stripping from my teeth every time I eat a side order of this stuff.

The Bottom Line:

Don’t ditch the lime, just chill the f*ck out Chipotle — stop covering up your bland food in sour lime, just use some real seasonings for Christ’s sake.

Find your nearest Chipotle here.

El Pollo Loco — Discontinuing the Fries

Where They Went Wrong:

El Pollo Loco used to have fries, and sure, it was weird that they tasted vaguely like churros (they were fried in the same oil) but they were a great addition to the menu. Throwing a few fries in a flour tortilla with beans and topping it with chicken and avocado salsa was my favorite build from this place, it was like some sort of delicious spin on the California burrito! Now, I can’t make it.

You could argue that the fries weren’t very “traditional” but what from El Pollo Loco is? They have mashed potatoes and gravy and Mac and cheese on the menu, so clearly anything goes here. What’s frustrating is that El Pollo Loco routinely brings back the fries as a promotional item. It’s like they’re playing with my heart.

Fries are the ultimate side, anywhere, and the El Pollo Loco menu is just a little weaker without them. I mean just imagine, birria pollo fries? Tell me that doesn’t sound amazing!

The Bottom Line:

I might be writing this one for an audience of one, but I really miss those El Pollo Loco fries!

Find your nearest El Pollo Loco here.

KFC — No Original Recipe Tenders/Popcorn Chicken

Where They Went Wrong:

If you’re eating at KFC it’s safe to say you’re coming here for that Original Recipe chicken. With a mix of 11 herbs and spices, the Original Recipe offers a flavor profile that no other chicken chain is attempting, bringing together herbal oregano, basil, and thyme notes together with black pepper, garlic, onion, paprika, ginger, and mustard powder, resulting in the most flavorful chicken breading on the market.

For whatever reason, that blend of herbs doesn’t result in very crispy chicken, but fried chicken doesn’t always have to be crunchy and craggily like Popeyes to be good. The Original Recipe is great, but KFC only offers its chicken tenders, popcorn chicken, and chicken sandwiches in the Extra Crispy batter — which is crunchier but way less flavorful. I believe they used to use a similar blend of spices on their potato wedges, but they replaced those with french fries. Why does KFC hate Original Recipe?!

If KFC had Original Recipe tenders, they’d be in the running for best tenders in all of fast food. Instead, they settle for mediocrity, which is why no one ever talks about their chicken sandwich or chicken tenders. This simple change could make all the difference.

The Bottom Line:

If KFC is looking for a way to bring back customers (and they are, look no further than the Jack Harlow meal) they don’t need a new chicken sandwich, or a side of Mac and cheese packed with chicken on top. They just need to show their Original Recipe more love and utilize what made them an icon in the first place.

Find your nearest KFC here.

In-N-Out — No Bacon

Where They Went Wrong:

I’m from California so I’m just geared to believe that In-N-Out makes one of the best burgers in all of fast food. You can disagree (you’d be wrong) but you can’t deny that for the money, no other fast food chain makes a burger this flavorful and high quality. A Double Double will cost you under $4, you can’t say the same for any burger from Shake Shack or Five Guys.

But I can’t for the life of me figure out why In-N-Out doesn’t have bacon on the menu. Can you imagine how much a bacon Double Double would slap?! I get that In-N-Out has a “classic” menu and their whole modus operandi is staying consistent, but if they can add the monstrosity that is Animal Style fries, and allow you to add chopped chilis on their burgers, or wrap them in lettuce as part of the secret menu, why the hell can’t we get some bacon too?

The Bottom Line:

If In-N-Out added bacon to the secret menu, they’d have one of the best bacon burgers in all of fast food. As of now, they’re not even on the list, and that just seems wrong.

Find your nearest In-N-Out here.

Jack in the Box — Discontinuing The Bacon Cheddar Potato Wedges

Where They Went Wrong:

Like Taco Bell, Jack in the Box is beloved for its stoner-friendly menu. This is the sort of place you eat at when you’re not of a sober mind, it’s the whole reason they have the Munchie Meal, those weird mini tacos, curly fries (how do they get them curly man?), whatever the hell a Chick-N-Tater Melt is, and the Sriracha Curly Fry burger. JiB is at its best when it’s assaulting your tastebuds with madness, and the Bacon Cheddar Potato Wedges, with their molten cheese sauce, crushed bacon, and crispy wedges, was a near-perfect encapsulation of that ethos.

Then they inexplicably ditched them this year. Without the Bacon Cheddar Potato Wedges and Mozzarella Sticks (also discontinued) JiB has less options for cheeseheads, and that’s a true loss.

The Bottom Line:

If we can’t get the Bacon Cheddar Potato Wedges back, at least give us the Mozzarella Sticks!

Find your nearest Jack in the Box here.

McDonald’s — The Stunning Lack Of Innovation

Where They Went Wrong:

I understand the argument that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and clearly McDonald’s, with its 38,000 locations across the globe, isn’t broken, but the lack of innovation out of McDonald’s is shocking. Most of the new promotions out of McDonald’s are just remixes of what’s already on the menu.

The BTS, Travis Scott, and J Balvin meals all consisted of items already on the menu. It’s the same thing with the new adult Happy Meals made in collaboration with Cactus Plant Flea Market — don’t give me toys McDonald’s, give me new f*cking food! McDonald’s released a series of menu hacks this year, which seemed promising but then required you to assemble them yourself! It’s like McDonald’s is hell bent on never offering us anything new.

The Bottom Line:

McDonald’s menu is strong, but if they ever decide to add a new breakfast item, or a new burger build, we’ll be the first in line to try it!

Find your nearest McDonald’s here.

Popeyes — No Proper Spicy Chicken Sandwich

Where They Went Wrong:

This one is a bit like my gripe against KFC ignoring the Original Recipe. Popeyes makes the best fried chicken sandwich in all of fast food, clearly, but they could have an even better chicken sandwich if they breaded their boneless breast filet in the same cayenne-packed batter as their spicy-style chicken. Why don’t they? They have all the ingredients!

To be fair, Popeyes does have a spicy chicken sandwich on the menu but it’s made spicy by way of the sauce which is really sweeter and smokier than it is hot. It just doesn’t bring the heat. I know Popeyes is the GOAT and they don’t need to do anything to compete with what else is out there, they’ve already won, but they’d be wise to take a page out of Chick-fil-A’s playbook and offer a proper spicy chicken sandwich. Then they’d have that top spot on lock.

The Bottom Line:

Popeyes can make a great sandwich just a little bit better, but they seem to be holding this one in their back pocket. We’re ready for it Popeyes, bring it on!

Find your nearest Popeyes here.

Raising Cane’s — The Chicken Sandwich

Where They Went Wrong:

Raising Cane’s chicken sandwich is garbage. Seriously, Raising Cane’s sells the best chicken tenders in all of fast food, and the chain has accomplished that by focusing exclusively on the chicken tender. But a chicken sandwich with three tenders thrown haphazardly between two thick buns is just a stupid idea for a sandwich.

It’s impossible to eat this thing without it falling apart, you don’t even need to bite into it for a tender to come plopping out of the sandwich, gravity does that! If Cane’s doesn’t want to add a breast filet to their menu, I can live with that, but why not throw a single tender between two pieces of grilled Texas toast as a mini sandwich? They could easily do that and would save money by not buying this terrible dry sesame seed bun.

The Bottom Line:

One of the stupidest chicken sandwiches you’ll ever eat.

Find your nearest Raising Cane’s here.

Shake Shack — Those F*cking Crinkle Cut Fries

Where They Went Wrong:

Shake Shack sells gourmet Pat LaFrieda blend burgers, hand-breads fresh chicken in-house for their sandwiches, mixes up their own sauce, and yet their fry game is weaaaaaaaaaak. In-N-Out gets a lot of shit for their bland fries but I’ll take freshly peeled and fried potatoes over this frozen crinkle-cut bullshit any day.

The crazy thing is, Shake Shack knows they have shitty fries. At one point they even tried to go a more natural route until a bunch of Shack heads complained and they brought back these frozen travesties. They should’ve weathered that storm, and eventually, people would’ve gotten over it, and we’d all be better for it.

I love French fries and I also think Shake Shack makes one of the best burgers in all of fast food, but there have been many occasions where I’ve opted against going to the Shack just because I didn’t want to eat those shitty fries. That’s a true shame.

The Bottom Line:

All we’re asking is for some high-quality fries that match the rest of the Shake Shack menu. That isn’t too much to ask!

Find your nearest Shake Shack here.

Taco Bell — No Complaints [Except The Beef Mexi-Melt! – ED]

Where They Went Wrong:

Honestly, I don’t think Taco Bell has the best menu but they don’t really need to change anything. Taco Bell is doing its thing and that’s why people love it. Sure, you could complain about discontinuing the Mexican Pizza, or get frustrated over how often Taco Bell brings fries back onto the menu, and then ditches them (we count six since the launch of the Nacho Fries — make a damn decision, Taco Bell) but so long as Taco Bell has food like the classic taco, the Crunchwrap Supreme, and those grilled burritos, there is always something worth ordering.

And at least right now, the Mexican Pizza is back on the menu, so no… complaints!

Except… wait — my editors inform me that they love the Beef Mexi-Melt and I really whiffed this one and TACO BELL NEEDS TO BRING IT BACK IMMEDIATELY BECAUSE IT WAS CHEAP AND ALMOST MIND-BOGGLINGLY TASTY!

So… do that, Taco Bell. (Also, it’s a huge oversight that Taco Bell doesn’t have a plant-based taco on the menu yet, but they’re working on it, so I won’t hold that against them.)

The Bottom Line:

Taco Bell isn’t perfect, but they don’t need to be. They’re Taco Bell! (But seriously, my editors want that Mexi-Melt back asap.)

Find your nearest Taco Bell here.

Wendy’s —No All-Day Breakfast Menu

Where They Went Wrong:

Not every fast food chain has an all-day breakfast menu, I get how logistically that’s a tough one, but with Wendy’s it feels like a real loss because the breakfast menu is too damn good not to want all day. Potato wedges, Breakfast Baconators, Hot Honey Biscuit Chicken Sandwiches, and croissant sandwiches are just some of the gems on offer.

Look, it doesn’t have to be all day, I’ll settle for breakfast hours and late night (after 10 pm), but you shouldn’t have to roll up to a Wendy’s before 10:30 AM to enjoy food that is this good. If you’ve never experienced Wendy’s breakfast, just imagine McDonald’s breakfast menu, but amazing instead of just novel.

The Bottom Line:

Wendy’s has the greatest breakfast menu in all of fast food, I just wish there was another time of day you could order it.

Find your nearest Wendy’s here.

Ahead of The 1975’s next album, Being Funny In A Foreign Language, dropping this Friday, lead singer Matty Healy took to his Instagram stories to share… a few of his thoughts. While Healy usually posts random memes and is what the kids would call a sh*tposter, yesterday he included journalists in on the bit. “Hey Journalists,” the first (now-deleted) video was captioned, as Healy notes that everyone should give the band’s album a good review.

The following video found Healy working out at the gym. Between scenes of a punching bag and him doing pull-ups, it gave the implication that Healy was ready to fight if BFIAFL didn’t receive five stars.

Thankfully, Uproxx actually seems to be safe from Healy… for now. The singer posted a screenshot of our recent review, seeming pleased by critic Steven Hyden’s impression of it. “FINALLY!” he captioned, in exact full caps. Another publication, Gigwise, gave it a ten-star review, to which Healy replied, “GIVE ME STARRRRS!!!!”

Healy’s posts soon made the rounds online by fans and writers alike. However, those of us who follow and frequently watch his chaotic posting between Instagram and Twitter weren’t surprised — knowing it’s all (mostly, hopefully) in sarcastic, good fun.

Continue scrolling for a few internet reactions to Matty Healy’s messages to journalists.

I have a weird disconnect where I drink gin fairly often (mostly in martinis and gin and tonics; I also like it in a bloody mary, aka a bloody margaret) but, up until recently, don’t really pay much attention to actual brands. This is admittedly pretty weird, considering the amount of variation under the “gin” umbrella. And how much I geek out on the craft and flavors of other spirits.

Gin is generally a distilled, un-aged spirit (though you can age it, and there are a handful of barrel-aged gins out there) that’s steeped with botanicals (generally including juniper berries) and then redistilled. Unlike the rules on bourbon, which are pretty strict (stipulating grain, barrel type, country of origin), all a gin has to have in order to be called “gin” in the United States is 40% ABV and the flavor of juniper berries, with no real stipulations on what has to be in the mash or what botanicals or additives you can use, outside that juniper.

“London Dry gins” tend to be some of the most popular (Tanqueray, Bombay Sapphire, Beefeater), and refer to gins with no artificial flavors added (only those from the distilled botanicals) plus no added sweeteners. Those are traditionally juniper heavy, and many include citrus peels, while some other, newer varieties of gin have expanded to other botanicals and leaned towards different flavor profiles — Hendrick’s, for example, is a popular gin flavored with rose and cucumber.

One can get deep into the weeds of gin distinctions if one wants, but the point is there’s a lot of variety out there and it seems worth figuring out which style one prefers. The great thing about them is that even the fancier, craftier gins aren’t particularly expensive (especially relative to bourbon and scotch).

The Test:

The tough thing about tasting gin blind is that, like I said, I normally drink gin as a component of cocktails. But it’s hard to appreciate all of a gin’s particular qualities when it’s diluted with other things, and also, not only are there a lot of gin cocktails to account for, you’d have to account for all the different variations on those cocktails (the different vermouths for a martini, for example).

For this test, I opted to split the difference a little. I tasted all of these gins straight, BUT fresh from the freezer, because that’s generally where I store my gin (the better for making ice-cold martinis). I might miss some of the subtler qualities of the gin, but I figure why taste something warm if I’m never going to drink it that way?

Today’s Lineup:

For this blind, I tasted the handful of gins I already had on the bar against some samples of newer, craftier stuff I’ve tried before — to see if I could tell the difference, in either price or taste. They are:

• Tanqueray London dry gin
• Humboldt Distillery Hemp Seed Infused Vodka
• Glendalough Rose Gin
• Mulholland Gin
• The Botanist Islay Dry Gin
• Glendalough Wild Botanical Gin
• St. George Dry Rye Gin
• St. George Terroir Gin
• St. George Botanivore Gin

The Rankings

9. St. George Terroir Gin (Sample 8)

Price: $29.99 from Total Wine

The Gin:

St. George Spirits is a Bay Area craft distillery founded in 1982. The 45% ABV terroir was one of three St. George gins I received a sample of, and as they describe it: “Inspired by hiking the trails on California’s Mt. Tam, we created St. George Terroir Gin as an ode to the wild beauty of the Golden State. Made from a host of evocative botanicals, it’s an olfactory snapshot of the lush landscape surrounding the Bay Area.”

Original Notes:

This has a richer, buttery nose that I’m struggling to identify. Is that kettle corn? There’s something caramel-foward, sweet, maybe even with a hint of cinnamon about it. On the palate… Oh, this is very herbaceous and “grassy” — it’s overpowering. This absolutely has to be the hemp one.

Sadly I do not enjoy this flavor, it reminds me of swallowing the roach. If you want something that tastes like hemp, this will be great, but I feel like I’m drinking patchouli here.

Rating: 4/10

Bottom Line:

Probably I’m undermining my own authority but having my first entry be a gin that I totally misidentified the flavor of, but I swear if you tasted this one you would understand. This is a gin supposedly designed to express the terroir of Mt. Tam in Marin County (where I’ve spent a lot of time; I lived in San Francisco for almost 10 years). But it’s such an intense mix of pine, herb, and grass that, knowing one of these was hemp flavored, I assumed it was this one.

Anyway, this was just a LOT. I may try it in a G&T or a negroni to see if that pungency is an asset there, but as a stand-alone flavor, it was just too much for me.

8. St. George Dry Rye Gin (Sample 7)

Price: $28.49 at Total Wine.

The Gin:

St. George’s 45% ABV Dry Rye gin is distilled from 100% malted rye and flavored with lots of juniper, caraway, and black pepper.

Original Notes:

This is another that smells like a vaguely butterscotchy, vaguely corn-neutral spirit. This just tastes like young liquor to me. It’s not off-putting by any means, it just doesn’t give me much.

Rating: 5/10

Bottom Line

Even though they came from the same distillery, I disliked this for basically the opposite reasons as the last one — this one felt too mild and neutral whereas the other was a chaotic flavor bomb.

This one wasn’t bad and it drank fine, it just wasn’t super memorable compared to the other gins.

7. Humboldt Distillery “Humboldt’s Finest” Hemp Seed-Infused Vodka

Price: $24.99

The Gin, er, Vodka:

Humboldt Distillery bills this one as “a vodka that drinks like a gin,” which is to say that, just like gin, this consists of a distilled spirit flavored with botanicals. But since none of those botanicals are juniper in this case, it can’t be called a “gin.” Anyway, this vodka grew out of customers constantly asking Humboldt Distillery founder Abe Stevens why he hadn’t married his sugarcane-based organic vodka with Humboldt’s most famous export — cannabis.

The customer is always right, so, voila, this hemp seed-infused vodka (which also has “notes of pine, cucumber, green tea, lemongrass, and basil.”) at 40% ABV.

Original Notes:

I’m searching for anything other than alcohol on the nose here. On the palate… this must be the vodka? This one tastes like corn alcohol, though not in an unpleasant way. There aren’t any unpleasant notes here, it just feels very neutral to me.

Rating: 6/10

Bottom Line:

It seems this vodka drank more like a vodka. That being said, I think it’s probably a credit to Humboldt Distillery that their hemp seed vodka wasn’t overpoweringly hemp-y. It could’ve been a little more poweringly something though, maybe it could’ve used a higher ABV. This felt like it would’ve done much better in a vodka competition, but against gin it just doesn’t seem as flavorful by comparison.

6. St. George Botanivore Gin

Price: $29.99

The Gin:

The “most traditional” of St. George’s gins, the 45% ABV Botanivore is infused with 19 botanicals, from anjelica to cilantro. Oh hell, I’ll just list them: angelica root, bay laurel, bergamot peel, black peppercorn, caraway, cardamom, cilantro, cinnamon, citra hops, coriander, dill seed, fennel seed, ginger, lemon peel, lime peel, orris root, Seville orange peel, star anise.

Original Notes:

This one is sweet and briny on the nose, with a subtle butterscotch. Sort of bright and sweet on the palate with a subtler pineyness. It’s… fine.

Rating: 6.5/10

Bottom Line:

Supposedly the Dry Rye had more juniper than this one, but you could’ve fooled me. This one tasted like a fairly traditional gin, to my palate, and again, there wasn’t anything off-putting about it. On another day I could see having this higher, but it just didn’t seem that memorable compared to some of the others.

Very drinkable though.

5. Tanqueray London Dry Gin (Sample 1)

Price: $17.99

The Gin

It doesn’t get much more classic than this quadruple-distilled, London Dry Gin, created back in the 1830s by Charles Tanqueray. It comes in at a spicy 47.3% ABV, and is supposedly made from a wheat-based neutral spirit from the same source as Smirnoff.

Original Notes:

This smells exactly how I imagine gin smells. Clean, piney, lots of juniper. That’s about all I get on the nose, besides alcohol. On the palate, it comes on sweet and actually kind of briny. This reminds me of the sea. Surprisingly smooth, I thought this was going to make me shudder and it didn’t.

Rating: 7.5/10

Bottom Line:

I threw this in there as the baseline option, based on the fact that I happened to have one available, as many people do. It functioned exactly as I imagined, landing perfectly in the middle. I was more impressed with the taste than I imagined though — while it may lack the “flair” of some of the pricier and craftier stuff, it’s still solid and would make a fine martini, negroni, G&T, etc.

Gotta love that mod green bottle too. One thing I would note though, is whereas lots of “well” whiskey and bourbon labels come in at a fraction of the cost of the craftier stuff, with a lot of these gins the difference was only 10 or 12 bucks, so it’s not like this is a huge value decision.

4. Glendalough Rose Gin (Sample 3)

Price: $28.99

The Gin:

You may have noticed the lack of accent above the e in the name there, and that’s because this product of Glendalough, a sustainable distillery in Ireland, is made with roses, not rosé. It was supposedly made to honor the head distiller’s mother, Rose, who also grew roses (sheesh, confusing much?). “Carefully-tended flowers from her rose garden are slowly vapor distilled with wild roses and plants from the mountains around the distillery to make this an intensely floral gin.

After distilling, the gin is then further infused with even more roses to deepen the flavors and give it its lovely pink hue.” It comes in at 41% ABV.

Original Notes:

This one is pinkish in color. I forget what the pink one was, so this is still a fair blind. On the nose, this one is REALLY piney, not just the needles but the wood too. I feel like I’m inside a Christmas tree. On the palate, I get, expectedly, a really strong hit of Christmas tree, complete with the sap and pitch, which gets me right at the back of the throat. The sap is a lot. And yet… it’s not offputting as I would’ve imagined something so redolent of pine sap to be. The smell is strong, but there isn’t a huge bite, either from the pine or the alcohol.

It kind of comes on strong on the nose and then smoothes out. This is never going to be my favorite flavor, but it’s better than I thought. I could see this being great in a cocktail.

Rating: 7.5

Bottom Line:

Interestingly, I did not get “rose” vibes from the pink gin. This one just tasted intensely piney, like being inside a sawmill. In my head, that sounds like something I wouldn’t enjoy, but it wasn’t bad.

More “interesting” than “I love this,” but your mileage may vary.

3. The Botanist Islay Dry Gin (Sample 5)

Price: $33.99

The Gin

This 46% ABV product of the Bruichladdich Distillery in Scotland, which is otherwise better known for Scotch, is reportedly made with 22 locally foraged botanicals from the isle of Islay (plus nine other ones tossed in just for fun) including one called “yellow bedstraw,” “a yellow plant that was once used as bedding and has a distinctive Tonka-Bean like aroma of fresh, creamy hay.”

Original Notes:

This one just smells like alcohol on the nose. There’s like a sweet, butterscotch thing going on on the palate though it’s fairly washed out. These are more drinkable than I was imagining but harder to differentiate. This one has a nice mouthfeel but the other notes in it seem subdued compared to the others.

It’s very nice and drinkable though.

Rating: 7.75/10

Bottom Line

I’ve had this in my bar for awhile — after Zach rated it his top gin of 2020 — and I’ve even bought it for my father (a martini drinker) as a gift. He immediately asked me where to get more. So yeah, it’s a pretty solid bottle of gin (with a very handsome bottle). I think the subtlety of it that’s normally one of its best qualities may have hurt it a little in this blind.

2. Mulholland Distilling Gin (Sample 4)

Price: $27.99

The Gin:

Finally, a celebrity gin! This product of Walton Goggins‘ Mulholland Distilling is sourced in Missouri and bottled in Ukiah, way up in Northern California. It’s distilled six times from non-GMO corn and flavored with cucumber, lavender, and lime. 48% ABV.

Original Notes:

This is very neutral smelling, like craft vodka. I get maybe just a hint of yellow corn on the nose? On the palate, yep, this definitely tastes like corn liquor, with just a hint of… cucumber, right? I’m pretty sure that’s cucumber. The cucumber is just there, not overpoweringly strong, and with a bright, clean, slightly sweet finish.

Yes, this is very nice.

Rating: 9

Bottom Line:

It was extremely close between my top two today, and it really only comes down to whether you prefer an old-school juniper-heavy gin or a more contemporary cucumber one. I do enjoy these cucumber-flavored gins a lot, and this one may have benefited from being the only cucumber-flavored option in the mix to scratch that Hendrick’s itch.

I was a bit surprised considering I was not a big fan of Mulholland’s whiskey — but perhaps that shouldn’t be too surprising considering how much longer it takes to create an aged product than a distilled-and-flavored one.

1. Glendalough Wild Botanical Gin (Sample 6)

Price: $28.99

The Gin

This other product of Glendalough in Ireland is made with foraged botanicals from the Wicklow Mountains just south of Dublin, which “go fresh (not dried) into the still within hours of foraging.” It’s sort of the Ireland equivalent of The Botanist, with a host of unique, herbaceous and floral botanicals including watermint, “a weedy, hardy plant with a mint-like character that grows in damp marshes all across Europe.” 41% ABV.

Original Notes:

This one is very different. On the nose, it’s strongly herbaceous and grassy, maybe even slightly medicinal. It smells a little like chartreuse. On the palate, this one, as expected, comes on very herbaceous, but it finishes sweet with just a hint of brine. Wow, that wasn’t what I expected at all.

This one feels like a journey.

Rating: 9/10

Bottom Line

Like I said above, this really came down to whether you prefer an herbaceous, floral gin like this or the cucumber-heavy botanicals of the Mulholland. In the end, I think I chose this one simply because it was more surprising and more complex. There was just so much going on with this one and part of the surprise was that none of that complexity was offputting.