On Friday, CR readers were asked to "Name Five Cartoonists/Comics-Making Teams And The Comics That You Would Like To See Them Remix." This is how they responded: Jamil Thomas * Jason, The Left Bank Gang * Morrison/Quitely, JLA Earth 2 * Paul Pope, Heavy Liquid * Mike Allred, Red Rocket 7 * David Mazzuchelli, Batman Year One ***** Tom Spurgeon 1. Richard McGuire, "Here" 2. Steve Ditko, Amazing Spider-Man #33 3. Dave McKean, Cages 4. Richard P. Butler, Albuquerque Ben 5. Kevin Cannon, Far Arden ***** Marc Arsenault 1. Frank Miller, Ronin 2. Don McGregor & P. Craig Russell, Killraven 3. Katsuhiro Otomo, Akira 4. Tom DeFalco, Herb Trimpe & Barry Windsor-Smith, Machine Man 5. Enki Bilal, The Nikopol Trilogy ***** Matt Seneca 1. Guido Crepax, Valentina 2. CF, Core of Caligula 3. Jim Steranko, "Frogs!" (he actually said he was gonna do a webcomics remix at one point but never followed through) 4. Paul Pope, 100% 5. Any of Bernie Krigstein's subdivided-panel stories ***** Buzz Dixon 1. Carl Barks, Scrooge McDuck "A Financial Fable" 2. Ted Dawson, Spooner 3. Alex Raymond, Flash Gordon "Power Men Of Mongo" 4. Chester Gould, Dick Tracy "Flattop Jr." 5. Dan DeCarlo, Betty And Me "Cool It" ***** Justin Colussy-Estes 1) Steve Ditko, Strange Tales 126-127 (Dread Dormammu, Mindless Ones, Clea -- this is Dr. Strange on overdrive, and, for me, Ditko at his weird best) 2) Matt Fraction, Gabriel Ba, & Fabio Moon, Luxuria (This series practically remixes itself as it goes along.) 3) Jim Rugg & Brian Maruca, Afrodisiac (Jim Rugg's talent has always been on display, but I haven't seen anything that demonstrates his range as much as Afrodisiac, and that's the challenge of the remix, isn't it?) 4) Trina Robbins & Kurt Busiek, Legend of Wonder Woman (anybody remember this? I put it here because I think remixing the material with a more... Marstonian approach? could make it that WW project people have been looking for for the last 20 years. Or maybe I just want Colleen Coover to take on the Amazonian Princess) 5) Floyd Gottfredson, The Seven Ghosts (I've never been able to get over his pacing, and I think he would be able to create and recreate totally different beats of suspense and humor, like stretching out silly putty and squishing it back together again.) ***** Douglas Wolk 1. Chester Brown, Paying For It 2. Gilbert Hernandez, Sloth 3. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, "Chronocops" 4. Karl Stevens, The Lodger 5. Apollo and Lewis Trondheim, Bourbon Island 1730 ***** Sean Kleefeld 1. Art Spiegelman, Maus 2. Jack Kirby, The Hunger Dogs 3. Jim Starlin, The Death of Captain Marvel 4. Jim Steranko, Captain America #110-113 5. Mike Saenz, Shatter ***** Sean T. Collins 1. Grant Morrison et al, Seven Soldiers of Victory 2. Kevin Huizenga, "A Sunset" 3. Al Columbia, Pim & Francie: The Golden Bear Days 4. Junji Ito, Uzumaki 5. R. Crumb, "The Begats," from The Book of Genesis Illustrated ***** Mark Coale 1. Stan Lee/Jack Kirby -- Avengers #4 2. Neil Gaiman/Charles Vess -- Sandman #19 3. Grant Morrison/Charles Troug -- Animal Man #5 4. Howard Chaykin -- American Flagg #1 5. Dean Motter/Los Bros Hernandez -- Mr. X #1 ***** Joe Keatinge 1. Jean "Moebius" Giraud, The Airtight Garage 2. Paul Pope, Hugo Pratt's Ballad of Salt Sea 3. art spiegelman, Chester Gould's Dick Tracy: Mrs. Pruneface 4. Ross Campbell, Eastman & Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 5. Howard Chaykin, American Flagg ***** Jamie S. Rich 1. Peter Milligan & Brendan McCarthy, Skin 2. Chris Claremont & John Byrne, Uncanny X-Men #141 & #142 3. Dean Motter & the Hernandez Bros., The Return of Mr. X 4. Mike Mignola & Patrick McEown, Zombieworld: Champion of the Worms 5. Adam Warren, Gen13: Magical Drama Queen Roxy ***** Max Fischer 1. Bizarro World 2. Zooniverse 3. The Fifth Dimension 4. The enclosed continuity of Kyle Baker's Plastic Man 5. Birdland ***** Max Fischer 1. Matt Howarth, Those Annoying Post Bros. 2. Noel Friebert, Extreme Troglodyte Comics 3. Brandon Graham, Multiple Warheads 4. Jim Woodring, Frank 5. Chester Brown, Louis Riel ***** topic suggested by Jamil Thomas; thanks, Jamil! ***** *****

A lot went on musically in the Bay Area this past year--just take a gander at our favorite fresh albums to drop in 2010. That said, it's time to move onto 2011. Here are 7 bands we think are going to make waves in the very near future:

Moon Duo

You wouldn't think droning krautrock could have a sexy swagger to it, but somehow Moon Duo nails it. Sanae Yamada and Ripley Johnson (of Wooden Shjips) had quite the 2010, with the splash of their ghostly, mesmerizing debut LP Escape (Woodsist) in April and the ton of shows around the world that followed. In their dense, dreamy jams, Johnson's voice occasionally bubbles out of the fuzzy ether, but the core of the tuneage is the woven-together grind of Johnson's sludgy riffs and Yamada's rock-steady keyboard melodies that push and pull at eachother like flirting lovers. In 2011, look for Moon Duo's second LP Mazes (Sacred Bones) in March, followed by a hefty tour for all of March and April.

Dominant Legs

This band, still blazing on the heels of their breezy debut EP, Young At Love and Life (Lefse) and a feature on NPR, is poised to wow the unfamiliar during their coming-out performance at Noise Pop 2011. Amidst the moody, cynical and too-serious music flooding the scene right now, Ryan Lynch and Hannah Hunt's earnest synth pop and child-like wonder are positively captivating--just check out their sparky paean to the Giants' World Series title "Finally Champions", or the grown-up perspective on youthful awkwardness in "About My Girls". This is the kind of music that speaks to the unbridled joy that lives in all of us.

Wax Idols

Heather Fedewa is repping hard for girls in our music scene. She can seemingly play almost any instrument with a ton of attitude to boot. Once the drummer for Oakland's Bare Wires, she now bangs the skins for Lilac, sings/strums/drums for Blasted Canyons, and has taken the lead in Wax Idols, a scrappy quartet that plays blistering, airtight songs in the vein of the Wire or the Fall--just take a listen to barnstormers like "Dead Like You" or "Gold Sneakers". So far, Fedewa's written all of the songs, but the group is feverishly working on new material together for a proper release in 2011. A 7-inch, featuring the excellent "All Too Human", is out in January on Hozac Records, plus a gallery show January 15th at Parklife and more dates to come.

Glitter Wizard

Already a cult favorite, Oakland's Glitter Wizard holds nothing back. Go to one of their shows and your neck will ache for days from headbanging, yet when you see singer Wendy Stonehenge strip down to his rainbow skivvies on stage, you might not know if they're serious or not. But if you stop and listen to their songs, like the wailing "Black Lotus" or "Mirror Man", you'll instantly be reminded of Hawkwind's trippy space rock or Black Sabbath's stoner riffs. Mired in the noise are unironic flutes and saxophones (Jethro Tull, anyone?). It's the kind of music that'll make your neighbors pound on the walls until you turn it down; the kind that makes you nostalgic for your teenage-rebellion phase. Their debut LP drops in 2011, which could just explode their star beyond the West Coast.

Exray's

First put on the map when they landed their song "Hesitation" in The Social Network, Exray's is a new multi-faceted band whose self-titled LP, set to drop on January 25th, is hard to categorize--and that's exactly what'll keep you listening. Lo-fi pop, grimey garage, art rock. . .they're all swimming around the songs that feature a slew of notable musicians like Nate Query (Decemberists), Tim Cohen (Fresh N' Onlys) and Jason Kick (Maus Haus). Starting off the year in a big way, they'll celebrate their album's release at Cafe Du Nord on February 4th, followed by music videos (one done by an editor at Pixar), a national tour, and a spot at SXSW 2011.

Soft Moon

The Soft Moon's spooky self-titled debut just dropped (and made our list of the year's best local albums), and the buzz it's created will undoubtedly bubble over into the New Year. But this one-man band, helmed by multi-instrumentalist Luis Vasquez, would never rest on that success alone. Thanks to his genre-bending disc that artfully enmeshes darkwave with psychedelia, the fate of Vasquez's 2011 is already sealed. He'll tour North America in March and April, jet off to Europe for May and June dates, followed by festival spots in Japan and Australia in July and August. In between all the action, Vasquez still says he'll "unleash a few more singles and music videos". And you thought you were busy!

Lil B

This Berkeley MC is more prolific than Lil Wayne: the guy's only 21 (been rapping since 16) and has over 1000 tracks to his name, dozens of music videos, 100 Myspace music accounts, a social media empire and has self published a book called Takin' Over. This year, however, made Lil B legit on paper when he signed to Soulja Boy's label Stacks On Deck, with rumors of possibly signing to G-Unit as well. Label wars aside, B's also part of The Pack, a veteran local rap collective which just dropped its second LP, Wolfpack Party, this past August. On the strength of his internet stardom, Wolfpack Party, and his upcoming solo disc Rain In England, he'll likely be the first rapper to put the Bay back on the map in this new decade.

Nasty Gal is an eCommerce fashion retailer with offices in Los Angeles and Emeryville, CA, and is currently experiencing explosive growth. We specialize in new clothing, shoes, and accessories from independent designers from around the world as well as one-of-a-kind true vintage pieces. We're a small, entrepreneurial-minded and driven team considered a leader in the online fashion space.

Nasty Gal is seeking a full-time Executive Personal Assistant to the CEO to work in our Los Angeles, CA offices.

The Executive Personal Assistant to the CEO will be responsible for supporting the CEO's projects and communications while optimizing her time, energy, and focus. This individual must have the street-smarts and foresight to know what's around every corner. You must have the ability to keep an airtight calendar, drive any car, pick out the freshest produce, and write like a genius -- all while maintaining impeccable professionalism and an upbeat attitude. You will be an assistant, but occasionally will fill the role of friend, manager, confidante, and more. You'll work some long hours, run some mean errands, and eat some great meals while having the opportunity to experience firsthand what it's like to be an integral part of the life of a CEO at one of the country's fastest growing companies.

Responsibilities:
*Calendar coordination and planning
*Transportation arrangements - booking flights, hotels, and rental cars/driving as necessary
*Travel in support of the CEO
*Help ensure that the CEO has appropriate meals planned
*Personal shopping, including following up with any returns or exchanges
*Help organize CEO's life at home and at work, including grocery shopping, decorating, organizing, etc.
*Coordinate hairstylists, doctors, trainers, and all personal appointments
*Write on behalf of the CEO
*Greet guests and provide support during meetings
*Ensure all personal bills are taken care of
*Research as assigned

Desired Qualities
*Thorough and intuitive -- you must anticipate things before they happen. From locating a parking garage (or having quarters for a meter) to keeping extra phone chargers around, you'll have to make sure every base is covered
*Motivating -- you'll have to play manager from time to time, ensuring the CEO (who is a creative type) is ready to hit the dance floor--er, office
*Positivity under pressure! Your goal is to make things as easy as possible, regardless of the scenario
*Persistence and follow through, keeping the CEO in the loop at all times
*A quick wit
*Strong sense of discretion
*Excellent written and oral skills
*65+ WPM typing speed

Qualifications
*4+ years in a fast-paced executive assistant role
*Excellent written and oral skills are a must
*Must possess strong negotiation skills
*Proficiency with Mac and PC operating systems, as well as MS Office, Googlemail and Google Calendar. Photoshop experience is a plus!
*Must be a self-starter with an entrepreneurial attitude and an ability to thrive in a fast-paced, rapidly evolving environment
*Experience in a hyper-growth, entrepreneurial environment is a plus!

Compensation commensurate with experience.

Resumes without cover letters will not be considered. Please include salary requirements.

Click here to apply.

Rapidly growing online fashion boutique is seeking a full-time Executive Personal Assistant to the CEO to work in our Downtown Los Angeles offices.

The Executive Personal Assistant to the CEO will be responsible for supporting the CEO's projects and communications while optimizing her time, energy, and focus. This individual must have the street-smarts and foresight to know what's around every corner. You must have the ability to keep an airtight calendar, drive any car, pick out the freshest produce, and write like a genius -- all while maintaining impeccable professionalism and an upbeat attitude. You will be an assistant, but occasionally will fill the role of friend, manager, confidante, and more. You'll work some long hours, run some mean errands, and eat some great meals while having the opportunity to experience firsthand what it's like to be an integral part of the life of a CEO at one of the country's fastest growing companies.

Job Responsibilities:

* Calendar coordination and planning
* Transportation arrangements - booking flights, hotels, and rental cars/driving as necessary
* Travel in support of the CEO
* Help ensure that the CEO has appropriate meals planned
* Personal shopping, including following up with any returns or exchanges
* Help organize CEO's life at home and at work, including grocery shopping, decorating, organizing, etc.
* Coordinate hairstylists, doctors, trainers, and all personal appointments
* Write on behalf of the CEO
* Greet guests and provide support during meetings
* Ensure all personal bills are taken care of
* Research as assigned

Desired Qualities

* Thorough -- you must anticipate things before they happen. From locating a parking garage (or having quarters for a meter) to keeping extra phone chargers around, you'll have to make sure every base is covered.
* Motivating -- you'll have to play manager from time to time, ensuring the CEO (who is a creative type) is ready to hit the dance floor--er, office
* Positivity under pressure! Your goal is to make things as easy as possible, regardless of the scenario
* Persistence and follow through, keeping the CEO in the loop at all times
* A quick wit
* Strong sense of discretion
* Excellent written and oral skills
* 65+ WPM typing speed

Qualifications

* 2+ years in a fast-paced executive assistant role
* Excellent written and oral skills are a must
* Must possess strong negotiation skills
* Proficiency with Mac and PC operating systems, as well as MS Office, Gmail and Google Calendar. Photoshop experience is a plus!
* Must be a self-starter with an entrepreneurial attitude, with an ability to thrive in a fast-paced, rapidly evolving environment
* Experience in a hyper-growth, entrepreneurial environment is a plus!

Compensation commensurate with experience. Resumes without cover letters will not be considered.

The Executive Personal Assistant to the CEO will be responsible for supporting the CEO's projects and communications while optimizing her time, energy, and focus. This individual must have the street-smarts and foresight to know what's around every corner. You must have the ability to keep an airtight calendar, drive any car, pick out the freshest produce, and write like a genius -- all while maintaining impeccable professionalism and an upbeat attitude. You will be an assistant, but occasionally will fill the role of friend, manager, confidante, and more. You'll work some long hours, run some mean errands, and eat some great meals while having the opportunity to experience firsthand what it's like to be an integral part of the life of a CEO at one of the country's fastest growing companies.

Job Responsibilities:

* Calendar coordination and planning
* Transportation arrangements - booking flights, hotels, and rental cars/driving as necessary
* Travel in support of the CEO
* Help ensure that the CEO has appropriate meals planned
* Personal shopping, including following up with any returns or exchanges
* Help organize CEO's life at home and at work, including grocery shopping, decorating, organizing, etc.
* Coordinate hairstylists, doctors, trainers, and all personal appointments
* Write on behalf of the CEO
* Greet guests and provide support during meetings
* Ensure all personal bills are taken care of
* Research as assigned

Desired Qualities

* Thorough -- you must anticipate things before they happen. From locating a parking garage (or having quarters for a meter) to keeping extra phone chargers around, you'll have to make sure every base is covered.
* Motivating -- you'll have to play manager from time to time, ensuring the CEO (who is a creative type) is ready to hit the dance floor--er, office
* Positivity under pressure! Your goal is to make things as easy as possible, regardless of the scenario
* Persistence and follow through, keeping the CEO in the loop at all times
* A quick wit
* Strong sense of discretion
* Excellent written and oral skills
* 65+ WPM typing speed

Qualifications

* 2+ years in a fast-paced executive assistant role
* Excellent written and oral skills are a must
* Must possess strong negotiation skills
* Proficiency with Mac and PC operating systems, as well as MS Office, Googlemail and Google Calendar. Photoshop experience is a plus!
* Must be a self-starter with an entrepreneurial attitude, with an ability to thrive in a fast-paced, rapidly evolving environment
* Experience in a hyper-growth, entrepreneurial environment is a plus!

Compensation commensurate with experience. Resumes without cover letters will not be considered.

Planning the menu for a dinner party is all about being realistic, balancing the different dishes not only in terms of flavor and style, but also in terms of workload. If I opt for a main course that's a bit elaborate, and I know I won't have much time or energy to devote to dessert, the fruit crisp or crumble* is my wildcard choice. (The trifle, too, but we'll talk about that another day.)

A fruit crisp requires very little work (throw the topping together, cut up some fruit, sprinkle, bake), it is seasonally flexible (you can use whatever fruit is available locally), it is the least time-sensitive item on your list (you can make the topping a couple of days beforehand, bake the crisp on the day of, and reheat just before serving) and, more important, everybody loves a good crisp: it speaks of warmth, comfort and simplicity, and even those who never go for seconds may be caught spooning out just a little more from the dish.

This particular recipe is adapted from Claudia Fleming's dessert book The Last Course, which I mentioned in my Best of 2009 list and is, unfortunately, out of print**.

In the book, the recipe appears as a Spiced Italian Prune Plum Crisp, and I was intrigued by the spiced topping, involving cinnamon and cardamom, the proportions for which are quite different from my usual crumble formula.

This topping calls for melted butter, rather than cold butter that one would rub into the dry ingredients. And ever since we decided we didn't really need a microwave oven, I've used one of two methods in such situations: I'll either piggyback on the preheating oven, as described here, or just, you know, heat it in a saucepan on the stovetop. And when I use the latter method, a miniature knee jerks in my head: butter? melted? in a pan? why not go the extra mile and brown it?

Really, it takes just a few minutes to go from melted butter to beurre noisette, but the benefit is considerable in the depth of flavor it lends to baked goods. (I think of it as using just the right foundation for your skin: few people will be able to pinpoint the source, but everyone will notice the glow.)

I haven't owned the book long enough for us to have been through plum season together, but the brown-butterized crisp -- which I also altered by using hazelnut flour in place of ground walnuts, and adding salt and pepper -- was a delight on apples, and I think it would be a perfect fit for peaches, apricots and mangoes, in addition to the original plum idea.

A note on cardamom: the original recipe calls for 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom, but I prefer to keep whole pods (in a submarine-airtight container, their smell is so pervasive) and grind the seeds as needed in a teeny mortar and pestle I got at a garage sale in my California days.

~~~

Do you know what formspring is? It's an simple site that allows you to set up a Q&A; page for yourself. I've enjoyed following Grace Bonney's (she's the delightful creator of Design Sponge), and I thought it might be fun to create one as well. So, if you have questions to ask me that are not related to a particular post, I invite you to submit them here!

~~~

* Some say a crisp becomes a crumble when the topping includes rolled oats; some use the two terms interchangeably. To me, "crisp" has a slightly more elegant ring to it, so I use it when the dessert feels a bit more sophisticated that a good old crumble.

** However much I like the book, I am in no way encouraging you to pay absurd amounts of money for it. You can always look for it at the library, ask around to see if a friend or coworker has a copy, keep an eye out for it when you visit used book shops, and -- it's worth a try -- contact the publisher to express your interest in a reprinting.

Continue reading "Brown Butter Spiced Crisp"
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Exercise can help your pet avoid health problems related to obesity.

Let's not kid ourselves: Things are tight, and people are learning to make do with less. That's the bad news.

The good news: You don't have to shortchange your pets to save money. By focusing on prevention, smart buys and sharing, you can slash what you spend on your pets. Some tips:

• Work with your veterinarian to cut costs: Vaccinations are no longer recommended annually for most dogs and cats, but that's not a good reason to skip your pet's yearly vet check (twice-yearly for older pets). These "well-pet" examinations can spot little problems before they become expensive ones. Ask your veterinarian to give you prescriptions for medications to be filled elsewhere, or to match prices. Check for short-term promotions such as for Dental Health Month (which is coming in February) or for ongoing discounts such as for multipet families or senior citizens. Consider pet health insurance as a backup in case of emergency – it can help save your pet's life when money is the issue.

• Keep your pet fit and trim: A majority of dogs and cats are overweight, and those extra pounds increase the likelihood of health problems, such as arthritis, diabetes and cancer. If your pet is overweight, get your veterinarian's help to reduce weight slowly to avoid the health risks of sudden weight loss, especially in cats.

• Learn to do things yourself: Most people can learn to handle basic pet grooming at home, from bathing to nail trims. If nothing else, you can probably stretch out time between professional groomings for high-maintenance pets with some at-home care. Check your library for grooming guides and find breed-specific tips with an Internet search.

Another do-it-yourself strategy is more about health: Brush your pet's teeth – it'll lengthen the time between cleanings at your veterinarian's.

• Minimize risk from accidents: Saving the life of a pet who has been poisoned or hit by a car can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars – and these tragedies can often be prevented. Keeping cats as indoor-only pets will prevent injuries and protect them from communicable diseases; a sturdy fence and the use of a leash will do the same for dogs.

Go through your home with an eye toward possible hazards, especially foods, plants and drugs that can be ingested, as well as cleaning supplies, pesticides and herbicides. The ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center offers information on all toxic risks to your pet at ASPCA.org/APCC.

• Consider purchases and buy in bulk: Shopping for pets can be great fun, but that new designer collar may be something you want to postpone if there's wear left on what your pet has now. When it comes to toys, cut them back, but not out – good chew toys have saved many an expensive pair of shoes.

You can save money buying the largest bags of food or litter, or get case discounts on canned goods. Split your dry food purchases with family or a friend, and store your portion in an airtight container. (Do keep product info from the bag, though, in case there are questions or problems.)

• Look for freebies and secondhand items: Check classifieds, Craigslist and the Freecycle network (freecycle.com) to find bargains. Crates, cages and cat trees can often be had for next to nothing – or nothing at all. And don't forget to return the favor: Don't let unwanted supplies rot in your garage. Sell them at a decent price or give them away to other pet lovers, shelters or rescue groups.

• Share services: Other pet lovers are likely also feeling the squeeze, so look into sharing or trading services such as pet-sitting. Remember that bartered services don't need to be the same: You can save just as much money if you can provide one kind of service (such as tax preparation) for another (such as pet-sitting or dog-grooming).

In Part 1 we had a look at some very good 2009 releases, and in other years some of those CDs might have made a run at a Platinum LP. As I said, though, this was maybe the best year for new music since Jimmy Carter was president. So please, give these recipients of the S&R/Lullaby Pit Platinum LP a listen.

The Platinum LPs

Antony & the Johnsons – The Crying Light
There doesn’t seem to be a lot of in-between where Antony Hegarty is concerned. Listeners either get it or they don’t, and while I’m in the “he’s brilliant” camp, I do understand why some find his music hard to access. In a nutshell, it’s probably some of the most painful stuff I’ve ever heard – pure, distilled essence of anguish at times. That said, it’s also infused with the kind of unearthly beauty one only encounters in those who have known genuine suffering.

Antony’s previous release, 2005’s staggering I Am a Bird Now, earned him break-out acclaim (fueled in part by his appearance on Jools Holland’s show in the UK and the YouTube video of that performance), and now, four years later, we get The Crying Light, an effort that’s even more fully realized, more controlled, and more arresting. There’s nothing quite as liberating as having something that personal validated on the world stage, and the accompanying maturation has produced something that I hope we can respect, even as its rawness makes it uncomfortable to embrace. After all, great art should make us squirm a little…

Brendan Benson – My Old, Familiar Friend
In 1996 Brendan Benson released One Mississippi, a critically acclaimed Power Pop gem. Since it was Power Pop, though, he got no popular props to speak of. Ditto for his two great follow-ups in 2002 and 2005. But in 2006 Benson and Jack White teamed to form The Raconteurs, a critical underachiever that sold pretty well. Because Jack White is, you know, Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck and Jesus all rolled into one.

So a lot of people are now paying attention to Benson, which is a good thing because My Old, Familiar Friend is a meticulously executed effort. It perhaps lacks the raw edge of his earlier work, and some critics feel like this is his least effective CD to date. I hear the complaint about the extra layer of polish, but for my money Benson is a far more accomplished tunesmith than he used to be (experience and maturity will have that effect) and the result here is a supremely catchy rock & roll record.

Cheap Trick – The Latest
A lot of people probably didn’t realize that Cheap Trick still existed. Radio and the whole music landscape being what it is, that’s not a surprise. But the fact is that the band never stopped recording and touring. Of course, it’s also true that their best work happened within three years of their debut release (Cheap Trick, 1977; In Color, 1977; Heaven Tonight, 1978; Dream Police, 1979; Live at Budokan, 1979). That’s about as much ass-whipping, five-star rock as any band in history has released in such a short amount of time, but after Dream Police things tapered off, and from an airplay perspective they ceased to exist until their 1988 megabomination hit, “The Flame.” Then they ceased to exist all over again.

The point is that Cheap Trick is still very much around, and this year they released what may be their best CD since 1979 (although some will argue that 2006’s Rockford was a tad better). The Latest leads with a rollicking cover of Slade’s “When the Lights Are Out” (in truth, a lot of CT’s best songs through the years have been covers), and then launches into a back-to-basics primer in by god rock & roll. There’s never an experimental moment, but that has always been the point with Cheap Trick, who have made a career out of celebrating the raw energy of youth and music – and it’s remarkable that they can still do that credibly at their ages.

By the way, one of the more surprising and interesting things about The Latest is the extent to which it’s almost an homage to The Beatles (in particluar note the reverent tribute to John Lennon in track 6, “Miracle”).

Editors – In This Light And On This Evening
Up until recently I’d been arguing that the three most significant bands of the Nu Wave movement were The Killers, Franz Ferdinand and Interpol, with Interpol anchoring the Joy Division leg of the neo-’80s revival. My first exposure to Editors was along the lines of “hey, they sound a lot like Interpol,” but In This Light And On This Evening has me wondering if I might have it backwards. The comparisons to JD are always going to be there as long as lead singer Tom Smith continues to sound so much like Ian Curtis, but on this, their third record, Editors have swerved their sound off in a more luxuriant, synth-based direction. Moody and dramatic, In This Light And On This Evening immerses the listener in a hot-and-cold running stream of emotional urgency.

None of this should be taken as an indictment of Interpol – with luck we’ll get an even better release from them in 2010 – only that the party has been crashed by an incredibly talented band in the midst of stepping up its game in a huge way.

Eels – Hombre Lobo
Eels release CD. It’s one of the best of the year. In other news, sun rises in east…

We’ve reached the point where it’s impossible to imagine Eels producing something that isn’t platinum level at least, haven’t we? The only real news with Hombre Lobo is the stylistic departure, which sees E augmenting the intimacy of his usual chamber pop approach with raucous, rootsy lone-wolf-howling-at-the-moon moments. Whereas so much of E’s work has been defined by intense thoughtfulness and sensitivity, this disc finds him very deliberately exploring “animal instinct” – cry havoc and let slip the dogs of love, as it were.

So what can I say – like everything else E/Mark Everett has touched in his career, Hombre Lobo is just superb.

Franz Ferdinand – Tonight
The AllMusic Guide calls tonight “a concept album about a debauched night out and the morning after,” and that seems about right. While the CD’s songwriting, construction and production are airtight, Tonight nonetheless has a footloose, freewheeling vibe about it – perhaps not as addled as a debauched night out disc from somebody like Electric Six, but still, this is a party that has taken on a life of its own.

What’s curious for me – and has been since I first discovered FF – is that the whole seems so much more than the sum of the parts. When you dissect their CDs, you get a fairly straightforward art-punk/neo-New Wave dance band prone to snapshots of urban dramatis personae. While this is certainly sufficient, as muses go, there’s a way their songs and albums get put together that makes it all more significant than it ought to be, like a beautiful woman whose face is comprised of individual elements that aren’t all that pretty on their own. If that makes sense.

Gossip – Music for Men
I’ll admit it up front – this is an unlikely selection to the Platinum list, which tends to reserved for more “serious” efforts, those that aspire, at least a little, to art instead of mere entertainment. Every once in awhile, though, we trip across a record that transcends its humble ambitions. Music for Men is just such a record. Basically, Gossip seems intent on making you dance, end of story. Beth Ditto’s lyrics pay a lot of attention to predictable themes – love, relationships, etc. – but they’re delivered with enough self-awareness that they never devolve into the schlock we norrmally associate with dance pop. On the contrary – there’s so much tongue-in-cheek sass and strut to the performance that the whole thing comes off as rather clever.

Meanwhile the music manages to reference everything from ’70s soul to Paula Abdul-style ’80s hit radio disco to Motown girl group to Salt-n-Pepa to early B-52s. They close the disc with “Spare Me From The Mold,” which is as obvious and reverent a “Rock Lobster” send-up as you’re ever likely to hear. Which is fitting – Gossip is the best indie dance party band to come along since The B-52s.

Imogen Heap – Ellipse
Over the past few years we’ve seen Imogen Heap establish a solo presence, then step out into a group project (Frou Frou), then deliver a breakout solo effort (driven in large part by the use of one of her songs in a TV show – because TV is the new radio, I suppose). Given her tendency to never do the same thing twice in a row, we didn’t know exactly what to expect of Ellipse. Which is good, because what we got is a CD that’s not really like anything she’s produced before.

Heap spent some time traveling (she recorded Ellipse in a number of locations around the world) and the experience seems to have challenged her natural gift for conjuring complex tapestries of sound that transmit tone and emotion. All music aims to cultivate mood, of course, but there are very few popular artists who can match Heap’s intuitive knack for communicating through instrumentation, arrangement and production.

Ellipse doesn’t contain any single moments that match “Hide and Seek” (the vocoder-laced a capella high spot from Speak for Yourself), but it’s arguably more ambitious, more even, more mature and more completely realized. The CD is also a testament to Heap’s vision and restraint – a lot of artists might have been tempted to return to the well whence sprung “Hide and Seek,” but doing so would have marked her as a gimmick-monger and done significant damage to her credibility.

Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Phoenix made a lot of best of lists this year, including landing at #1 on The Onion’s coveted AV Club list. It’s easy to see why, too – the sound is fresh, upbeat, crisp, infectious and accessible, deftly balancing a rhythmic sparseness that recalls late-’70s New Wave with instrumental textures more akin to the best of ’80s technopop.

Between Phoenix and M83 (as well as aggressive, if less successful bands like The Teenagers), we might do well to keep an ear on the French indie pop scene.

U2 – No Line On The Horizon
As U2 was preparing to release How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, Bono (apparently under the delusion that it was a great album) noted that “very good is the enemy of great.” Clearly U2 continues to shoot for greatness, but in truth it’s been a lot of years (18 and counting) since they fully and unequivocally achieved it. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb was pretty good and All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000) was very good, but the last time they delivered unabashed greatness was in 1991 with Achtung, Baby! It pains me to say this about my favorite band of all time, but as Neal Stephenson says in Anathem, you can’t believe a thing simply because you wish it were true.

So with each new U2 CD we wait anxiously, wondering if this will be the moment where they jack out another five-star masterpiece. In 2009…well, it wasn’t Achtung, Baby! but it was perhaps their best since. The problem we have with U2 – really, with any band that has established itself as one of the best – is that it’s incredibly hard to evaluate them in a vacuum. How would we regard this CD if we didn’t have all those epic classics establishing a context that can’t be ignored? If we’d never heard of U2 before, would we think No Line On The Horizon is better than we do in light of the band’s history?

Maybe there’s no good way to know, although we have every reason to believe that a band’s greatness does, in later years, become something of an albatross. After all, you can’t raise the bar for everyone else without raising it for yourself, as well.

In any case, U2 aims high on No Line…, aims to be “Magnificent,” if you will. And they come very close. If they don’t quite shoot the moon it’s perhaps because they’re trying to do so much. In one moment they’re trying to embrace the whole world, and in the next they’re questing after a sort of intimacy. In one song they dally (as they have in recent years) with techno, and in the next they’re a garage band.

All in all, No Line… is U2’s most ambitious effort in years, and I’m inclined to give it a solid thumbs-up. Since we live in an age that celebrates the utter lack of ambition, U2’s aspirations are refreshing and essential. If we’re going to evaluate them in light of their own record of epic achievements, it’s only fair that we also take into account the contemporary landscape, littered as it is with so many small successes….

Next: the Super-Platinum LPs…

Stuck on what to get your nearest and dearest this year? Don't head for the shops and a last-minute panic buy; get in that kitchen instead

Some people are natural-born shoppers. And Christmas is the time when they excel at this extreme sport. They flounce through the shops waggling their credit cards and come home laden with gifts for their nearest and dearest, having somehow managed to avoid comedy ties, socks that play Jingle Bells and gingerbread-scented bath bombs. If that's you, I salute you. But I am not of your tribe. I'm the one at the all-night garage on Christmas Eve wondering whether Dad would prefer a jerry can or a set of jump leads.

At least I used to be. Now things are different, because I've discovered one sure-fire way to make yourself popular at this time of year – give something delicious you've made yourself. If you feel the need to give a cake slice that plays For He's A Jolly Good Fellow and Happy Birthday (I was actually given one of these once, so I know they exist) as well as a cake, so be it, but it's the cake that will be most appreciated.

That's why, at this time of year, you're more than likely to find me filling jars and bottles with chutney, pickles, sloe gin, jams, even spice rubs and blends. (My chorizo seasoning mixture is one such winner. To make it you need: 1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika, 2 tsp hot smoked paprika, 2 finely chopped garlic cloves, 1 tbsp sea salt, 1½ tsp lightly toasted fennel seeds, ¼ tsp cayenne pepper, ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper. To "activate", mix these ingredients with a kilo of coarsely ground sausagemeat and a trickle of red wine, then leave in a Tupperware box for 24 hours. Make little patties out of the mix and fry until well browned – serve with scrambled eggs on toast for the perfect hangover comfort breakfast.)

Do, however, target your edible gifts to the known tastes of the recipients, or at least hedge your bets with a trio of different goodies. Not everyone wants another jar of chutney in the larder. But few can resist some homemade sweet treats, especially if chocolate gets a look-in. When it comes to this part of Project Present, I can usually rustle up an army of willing kitchen elves to join me in my work – today's recipes are perfect to share with the kids, not least because small hands are notably adept at rolling, scattering and dipping in melted chocolate. Do try it. After a couple of hours, you'll have a large enough stash of treats for the trickiest giftees on your list. And don't forget to leave something tasty out for Santa.

Pfeffernüsse

These look like such perfectly glossy little snowballs (pictured overleaf), it's almost a shame to bite into them – though you most certainly should. They're spicy and toothsome and fragrant, with all the scents of the season. Makes about 40 biscuits.

2 eggs
230g soft light brown sugar
2 tbsp marzipan, warmed to a soft paste
250g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1½ tsp ground mixed spice
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 egg whites
Around 500g icing sugar
1 tsp kirsch (optional)

Line two or three baking sheets with baking parchment. Beat the whole eggs and sugar until fluffy and pale, then beat in the marzipan. In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, mixed spice and pepper, then sieve this mix over the beaten eggs and stir to combine. Turn out on to a lightly floured work surface, knead into a smooth dough, cover and refrigerate for an hour. Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2.

With lightly floured hands, roll the mixture into about 40 balls of around 3cm in diameter and place on the baking sheets. Bake for 16-18 minutes, until starting to turn golden around the edges. Peel the balls off the baking parchment while they're still warm, and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the icing, you will need around one part egg white to four parts icing sugar, so weigh your egg whites before you start. In a scrupulously clean bowl, beat the whites until stiff. Sieve the icing sugar and gradually fold it into the beaten whites until smooth. Stir in the kirsch, if using.

Dip each biscuit into the icing until coated all over, then place on a wire rack to allow the excess to drip off. Put them back on the parchment-lined trays and return to the now cooling oven, with the door open, for five minutes to help them harden. Make sure the icing is fully hard on top and bottom before you try to move them.

The cookies will be very hard at first, though they will soften slightly with time. The flavours will develop and improve if you keep them in an airtight tin for a week or so.

Crystallised orange and lemon peel

These make a wonderful treat with liqueurs or coffee after dinner, either in their glistening, naked state or dipped into melted chocolate. Makes about 50 pieces.

4 organic, unwaxed, thick-skinned oranges (navels are good for this)
4 organic, unwaxed, thick-skinned lemons
500ml water
500g caster sugar
300g dark chocolate (optional)

Wash the oranges and lemons, then score through their skins from top to bottom until you reach the flesh; do this several times, working your way around the fruit, so you can pull the skin off each one in six to eight strips. Bring two pans of water to a boil and simmer the slivers of orange and lemon skin in separate pans for four minutes. Strain and repeat twice more to remove any bitterness.

Put the water and sugar in a pan, and heat gently, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil, then add all the strips of blanched peel and simmer very gently for two hours – do not boil. Lift out the peel with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool completely on a rack.

When the peel is cold, you can either just toss it in a little more caster sugar or go a step further and dip it in chocolate. To prepare the chocolate, melt it in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and then, using tongs, dip in the citrus pieces until they are completely submerged (or dip them in just enough to cover only half of each strip). Transfer to a tray lined with baking parchment until set. They will keep for a month or so if sealed in an airtight container.

White and dark chocolate bark

These look wonderfully glamorous, but are simplicity itself to make – even the smallest members of the family will enjoy scattering the fruit and nuts over the top. Makes two generous pieces of chocolate bark.

For the white chocolate
400g white chocolate, broken up
180g walnuts, lightly toasted and chopped
100g dried cranberries

For the dark chocolate
400g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), broken up
150g almonds, very lightly toasted and roughly chopped
60g dried apricots, roughly chopped
40g raisins
4-6 pieces stem ginger, roughly chopped or thinly sliced
A good sprinkling of flaky sea salt (optional)

The method is the same for both "barks". Line a baking sheet with foil. Place a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and put two-thirds of the broken-up chocolate into the bowl. Melt the chocolate slowly, stirring, until smooth, then remove from the heat and stir in the remaining chocolate until melted. Return to the heat and warm until it just reaches a pouring consistency – melting the chocolate in this way tempers it so it will stay glossy when it sets.

Pour the melted chocolate on to the foil-lined tray, spreading it out with a spatula until it's a bit more than 0.5cm thick. Scatter over the dried fruits and nuts. For a slightly more adult treat, sprinkle some sea salt over the dark chocolate one. Chill until firm, peel off the foil and break into irregular pieces.

Spiced nuts

This winning combination of sweet, salty and spicy nuts makes a great nibble with drinks, especially if you warm them slightly in the oven just before serving. It's also a delicious way of using up any nuts you might have left over after making Christmas cakes, puddings and mincemeat. Makes 500g.

1 egg white
25g light muscovado sugar
2 tsp flaky sea salt
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp five spice powder
500g nuts – a mixture of cashews, almonds, pecans, walnuts and macadamia nuts works well

Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/gas mark 3. In a large bowl, whisk the egg white until thick and foamy. Stir in all the rest of the ingredients, apart from the nuts, then fold in the nuts and stir until well coated with the spicy mixture. Tip on to a large baking sheet and spread out into a single layer. Bake for 15 minutes, then take the baking sheet out of the oven and give everything a good stir with a wooden spoon, scraping off any nuts that have stuck to the sheet (they're quite sticky at this stage). Return to the oven for seven minutes longer, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the baking sheet – they'll crisp up as they do so. If you like, add an extra sprinkling of sea salt at this point. When they're completely cold, seal in an airtight jar and eat within three weeks.

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