January 20th, 2024 - Einstein's Little Favorite Headache

 

Hey there rockers, rollers and hop freaks!  Happy Saturday!  The Meista here pairing "My Favorite Headache", the brilliant solo album by the legendary Geddy Lee and a crisp and citrusy Einstein's Little Favorite Pale Ale from Equilibrium Brewing Company!  Hell yeah!

Album Info:

• Artist: Geddy Lee
• Title: "My Favorite Headache"
• Recorded: April 2000 at The Peasant's Tent and Reaction Studios in Toronto, Canada,
• East and West and The Factory Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Studio X in Seattle, Washington, and Metalworks Studios in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
• Release date: November 14th, 2000 (1st solo studio album by Geddy Lee.)
• Record company: Anthem Records / Atlantic Records
• Production: Geddy Lee, Ben Mink, and David Leonard
• Album cover art: Andrew MacNaughtan (photography)  
• Personnel: Geddy Lee (bass guitar, vocals, guitars, piano, programming, percussion, and string arrangements)
• Guest musicians: Matt Cameron (drums), John Friesen (cello on "Working At Perfekt"), and Ben Mink (guitars, violins and violas, programming, and string arrangements), Pappy Rosen (backing vocals on "Slipping"), Chris Stringer (additional percussion), Jeremy Taggart (drums on "Home On The Strange"), Waylon Wall (steel guitar on "Window To The World"), and Ed Wilson (additional programming)
• Musical style: Hard rock, progressive rock, alternative rock
• Sound: "My Favorite Headache" starts off strong from the opening notes of the title track - that signature thumping bass of Lee.  And yet, the album as a whole is somewhat mellow, but definitely not week; it is deeply layered.  Songs like "The Present Tense," "Working at Perfekt," "Moving to Bohemia," and "Home on the Strange" embody the intensity and richness of Geddy's playing, while "The Angels' Share," "Slipping," and "Still" provide compelling and mesmerizing melodies.  This is a beautifully balanced album and a must for any Rush fan, prog fan, or hard rock fan!
• Major themes: Life, impressions, states of mind, relationships, music, art, emotions, etc.  Of the album's lyrics, Lee stated: "Most people are like this: They think of stuff during the day. The mind goes to certain places, they remember things, and they try to figure things out. To remind yourself to write that stuff down is a great benefit. Then you come back to it and you analyze it days later, and lyrically shape what you felt when you wrote it down. For me, how I feel about what I wrote down turns into a song."
• Notes: Of the album's conception, Lee stated: "I think I backed into this project. I've never had a great desire to make an individual statement, and I certainly didn't want any more attention. I satisfy so much of my musical self in the context of Rush, so I don't have any great frustrations from that point of view. But once in a while, you'd wonder, 'What's it like out there? What's it like to work with other people?"
• Tracks: 

1. "My Favorite Headache"
2. "The Present Tense"
3. "Window To The World"
4. "Working At Perfekt"
5. "Runaway Train"
6. "The Angels' Share"
7. "Moving To Bohemia"
8. "Home On The Strange"
9. "Slipping"
10. "Still"
11. "Grace To Grace"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Equilibrium Brewing Company (Middletown, New York)
• Website: https://www.eqbrew.com/
• Brew: Einstein's Little Favorite Pale Ale
• Style: American Pale Ale (APA)
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 4.8%
• Ingredients: Citra, Mosaic, Simcoe, and Galaxy hops with a "massive dose of Florida navel orange zest and Madagascar vanilla" 
• Pour: The Einstein's Little Favorite pours a very hazy, pale, golden yellow with a frothy, bright white, 1+ finger head with great sustain and lots of sudsy, sticky, and layered lacing.
• Nose: The nose is characterized by citrusy, sweetness.  There are aromas of creamsicle, freshly sliced oranges, orange juice, orange marmalade, tangerine, vanilla bean, and soft caramel.
• Taste: The taste of the Einstein's Little Favorite follows the nose with lots of citrus, and sweet malt flavors.  There are notes of creamsicle, tangerine, candied oranges, orange juice and zest, rich vanilla, milk sugar, and toffee notes.
• Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is very crisp, refreshing, and juicy, yet smooth and creamy with a dry, slightly bitter finish.

Overall pairing: The Einstein's Little Favorite is a delightfully crisp, juicy, sweet, smooth, yet punchy brew... a great beer for crushing whilst rocking out to the brilliance of Mr. Geddy Lee's "My Favorite Headache"!  Those big citrus notes go great with the fresh feel of the album while the vanilla goes great with all those sweet, sweet melodies!  'Nuff said!

Cheers!!  Rock on!!