From "Hot-Plate Heroes: How 5 Restaurants Work Wonders With No Kitchen/Tight spaces with minimal equipment — often not even a stove — are loved by chefs who leverage the limitations to turn out thrilling dishes" (NYT)(lots more, plus pics, as that free-access link).
For the annals of Things I Asked Grok: "I'm reading 'Hot-Plate Heroes' in the NYT and wondering about the general situation of taking advantage of limitations. What are some other areas of human endeavor where the limitation is an inspiration? An obvious example is poetry. You don't have to write in the sonnet form, but you might do better with it. And also in living your life: Having a family."
From Grok's answer: "MUSIC. Constraints like using a single instrument or a short time limit inspire creativity. The 3-minute pop song format forces musicians to craft catchy, concise hits. Lo-fi genres, limited by basic recording tech, lean into raw, authentic sounds—think early Beck or modern bedroom pop."
Bedroom pop? Never heard of it. I went to Spotify and searched for "Bedroom pop" and was, at first, astounded to see that someone had assembled a 100-song playlist titled "Bedroom Pop." But then I saw my name:
"Made for Ann Althouse." Spotify assembled the list — in one second — just for me. "Dreamy melodies and hushed vocals." Could I have put any 2 words together and generated a playlist in that newly invented genre? I don't think so. I tried "Cruel Neutrality." I think Bedroom Pop is an actual genre. I go back to Grok to ask but wonder if Grok and Spotify are robots in cahoots and yanking my chain.
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I dont think the 3 minute format "forces" musicians to write "Catchy Tunes". Its easier to write a 3 minute song that will hold people's attention than a 5 minute song. Most Beatles songs for example, have a weak last verse. when its not just a repeat, its forgettable. The songwriters have a hard time writing 2 good verses - and the last one is just filler.
when i listened to the Beatles songs in the Gym, I'd start to skipping to the next song after about 90 seconds.
In the restaurant business, a small, efficient, kitchen is a thing of beauty. Designing such a kitchen space is more art than science.
The intersection of Flight Of The Conchords and "Bedroom Pop" is their song Business Time:
Oh Yea
Girl, Tonight we're gonna make love
You know how I know?
Because it's Wednesday
And Wednesday night is the night that we usually make love
Tuesday night is the night that we usually go to your mother's place and I teach her how to use the video machine again
But Wednesday night is the night that we make love
When everything is just right
You're not too tired from your afterwork social netball team practice
There's nothing good on TV.
Mmmmm...
Conditions are perfect for making love.
You turn to me and say something sexy like, "I might go to bed. I've got work in the morning."
I know what you're trying to say, baby.
You're trying to say "Aww, yeah. It's business time."
"Bathroom Pop" Wednesdays...awww yissss.
The very worst thing for an artist is unlimited commission. Restraints make the art.
I think Bedroom Pop is an actual genre. I go back to Grok to ask but wonder if Grok and Spotify are robots in cahoots and yanking my chain.
For decades on Boston radio, there was a 8 to midnight program on WMJX ("Magic") radio called "Bedtime Magic" with your host, David Allen Bucher (Bu-shay). He'd introduce mellow pop songs in a deep, slow, hushed voice. Presumably meant to facilitate sex and sleep.
https://youtu.be/KXCgt6p3nrA?si=4Ts9Ppr3f9Ye562P&t=127
You can cook anything on a panini machine. Because the constitution guarantees freedom of the press.
The best last verse run out riff in the Beatles canon is the very funky wordless James Jameson influenced riff on the "The Word" on 1965's Rubber Soul album. Ironic in that there there are no words for a song named "The Word", just a very funky dass driven full measure run out and lingering fade.
I work a lot with upscale group travel and a personal bane I have is all the unecessary time restaurants use for plating for large groups. I get that it's important that the food looks good on the plate and people do appreciate all the little flourishes. But the most important thing is that the entre comes out hot to the guests, which often doesn't happen when they spend too much time plating. So yes to getting backing to simplicty in the kitchen.
Funny, I'm on hold right now with tech support because I'm having trouble installing the upgrade that enables my robot harum to cahoot.
They aren't yanking your chain. They're more like those guys with the brooms in curling, gently clearing all obstacles and smoothing the path they want you to take.
Howard Stern was much funnier when he had to work against the constraints of the FCC. When he went to satellite radio and could say anything he wanted, he became much less clever.
Howard Stern has to be the ugliest motherfucker in show business. Its amazing that cameras dont break when they are pointed at him.
Why are so many of our comedians on TV/Radio either poisonous dwarfs or weird looking freaks like Stern? Jerry Seinfeld has to be Robert Redford of comedians.
"Business Time" is one of my husband's and my favorites - the part about the wife wearing the T-shirt she got at the team-building workshop, the part about talking out the trash as foreplay....
I came across something a few days ago that gave the source for cowboy slang. It said that cahoots came from cohorts. Others were tan galante to ten gallon (hat), and vaquero (cowboy in Spanish) to buckaroo.
More Spanish to English: piquenos ninos = pickaninny.
A NYT reference to "bedroom pop" from almost 20 years ago:
https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/21/nyregion/music-in-their-rooms-shrinking-violets-sing.html
There's quite a lot of Wild West slang that came from Spanish. "Lariat" and "riata" both come from "reata". "Lasso" comes from "lazo". "Chaps" from "chaparreras". "Rodeo" from "rodear". "Remuda" is a herd of spare horses owned by a ranch that belong to no individual and can be ridden by any cowboy working for the outfit, and comes straight from the Spanish. When a cowboy ropes an animal and wraps the rope around the saddle horn, that's called "taking a dally" and comes from "dar la vuelta" or "give it a turn". "Vamoose" from "vamos", let's go! "Hoosegow" from "juzgado" -court of law. "Savvy" comes from "saber", to know. Armadillo, bronco, corral, stampede, cinch, canyon, cargo, mesa, desperado, jerky, hackamore, palomino, mustang, poncho, quirt, vigilante, tornado, stockade, ranch/rancher, siesta, and more have Spanish antecedents.
I have limited counter space, no real oven and a 120 volt line. I've done pickled onions, raspberry jam, cornbread and Kung Pao chicken. You definitely have to plan but that said you can make all kinds of meals, pickles and jams; they taste great because they are much fresher and don't have additives, stabilizers, food dyes, gluten or too much sugar. The only thing is I've never been able to stop frozen berries and vegetables from turning into mush and I've never been able to make good pickles or jams with out of season fruit from far away. There's something dull-tasting about berries and vegetables which have been picked when green that becames very apparent when you boil them down. So I really look forward to spring and summer. Dreaming over flower catalogues and pickle recipes is a nice part of winter; dashing about trying to get early berries is summer fun.
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