It was also odd in that my raw counts were off for planting stock. It seems that some years produce more cloves/head than others and this year I was on the low end of that equation.  In the end, I still wound up with just over 10,000 heads.  I dropped a variety (Music) due to the fact that I’ve had trouble getting the timing right with regards to harvest and just don’t want to go down that road again.  I’m also adding German Red and Russian Red.  I’ll probably have sale-able quantities of German Red in 2 years and Russian Red in 3-4 years.

-Music Awards 2010-

As for music (not the garlic), I held my annual “Songs to plant by” contest in my head.  I was debating whether I should bother with this because last year Yo La Tengo won, and to date I haven’t followed through on my obligations to deliver garlic.  That will change when I go to one of their Hanukkah shows in December.

So the winner(s) for this year are the Vehicle Flips, a defunct 90′s band that made some amazing indie pop records.  The track that stuck with me of the several that popped up on shuffle was Song for Pahaquarry, NJ (1824-1997) from the album For You I Pine. Perhaps it was just the timing, but a song that starts with the line “What is it like to vote yourself right out of existence?” resonated with me during this excruciating election season. Hyperbole seems to rule the political day right now, and this is the opposite of hyperbole.

Frank Boscoe is incredibly adept at telling a great story within the course of a 4 minute song and that’s something I’m always drawn to.  In this case, he takes a vote surrounding a township that had dwindled to a population of 12 and makes it into something personal rather than political.  The song conveys isolation which is something I can relate to after a few hours of crawling around on the cold dirt.

It also may have influenced my decision, but I know both Frank and John Lancia (the drummer).  I also worked with both of them on the most recent Gazetteers record (which you should check out as well).  Whatever…it’s my fake contest and I can do what I want!

So..Frank, John, Tim.  I owe you garlic.  Since I’m effectively sold out at this point, you’ll get it next year in the Aug/Sep timeframe. Congratulations on your dubious honor.

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So.. while I was planting all of that garlic, I had to pass the time somehow.  The iPod was plugged into the truck stereo and thrown into shuffle play.  Now, there really isn’t anything on my iPod that I wouldn’t want to hear, but there are definitely songs that seem to match the moment so perfectly.  No…I don’t have any songs about planting garlic in my iPod, but there’s definitely songs that keep me moving forward and possibly make me work just a little faster.

To keep my day moving, I decided that I’d have a contest.  The song that popped up on shuffle that pushed that “awesome” button in the best way would win.  What would that artist win?  A small bag of garlic for each band member.  There were, of course, a couple of disqualifying points.  The artist can’t be dead.  The artist has to reside in North America.  With all due respect to our European (and other) friends, I’m not messing with customs.

OK….so drumroll please.  The winner is:

Yo La Tengo – Nothing to Hide

So, James McNew, Georgia Hubley, and Ira Kaplan your garlic awaits you.  Now to track down an address…

Update: It looks like YLT are pretty solidly on tour until December.  I’ll be sending the garlic to their PO Box then.  Congratulations YLT.