KQED Music: 2008 Awards

As the good ship 2008 nears the end of its voyage, it's time to look back at the year's musical peaks and troughs. But rather than heap yet more praise (or derision) on the artists and releases I've already written about, the following unscientific, arbitary, misguided awards are intended to fill in any gaps I missed. Which means I won't even mention that my favorite albums of the year were ...

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KQED Music: Bill Drummond - The17

The founding principle of The17 is the idea that all recorded music is dead, destroyed by the ease and carelessness with which we now access and consume it. The17 is an attempt to wipe the slate clean and return to a musical Year Zero; Pol Pot wins a prominent mention among the many people Drummond credits as influences. It is his attempt to reimagine music as if no music has gone before.

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KQED Music: The Late, Late Shows

In San Francisco, music venues seem happy when shows drag on well past bedtime, regardless of whether it's a weekend or a school night ...

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Chow: MYO Fizzy Water

How adding carbon dioxide can reduce your carbon footprint.

We all know that drinking water from the tap is better for the environment than buying bottled. But what if you like the bubbly stuff?

Well, now you can make your own carbonated water with the Soda-Club home soda maker. Simply fill one of the supplied bottles from the tap (or a filter jug, if you prefer), place it in the machine, press the button a few times to add CO₂, and voilà! Your water now sparkles.

The beauty is that you can add as much effervescence as you like. Granted, it won’t taste quite the same as a fancy frizzante naturale water imported from Italy, but it is cheaper, more convenient, and a lot better for the environment than buying it from the store. You can even add sweet syrups to make sodas.

By Keith Laidlaw. Read this article in its original setting here.

Chow: Archive

2009

• Gordon Ramsay's Live Nightmare (Dec 16)
• The World's Cheapest, Greenest Oven (Apr 13)
  
• Kenclucky Fried Chicken (Mar 9)
  
• Your New Kitchen Tool Has a Motherboard (Mar 9)
  
• Foie Gras for Grown-Ups (Mar 6)
  
• Drink Beer, Save the Planet (Feb 6)
• Manhattan Maple Mystery Solved (Feb 6)
  
• When Probiotics Kill (Jan 27)
  
• Saved by Whiskey (Jan 27)
  
• Burn Dinner, Destroy the Earth (Jan 27)
• Chinese Melamine Milk Kills Two More (Jan 26)
• Some People Can't Help Being Thin (Jan 23)
• BBC Butchers Reality TV (Jan 15)
• Hard to Swallow (Jan 12)
• Squirrel-Flavored Snacks (Jan 12)
  

2008

• MYO Fizzy Water (Dec 11)

Last updated: January 25, 2010