The Album
Forever Turned Around
Forever Turned Around acts as a soundtrack to memories of golden years that only exist in your faintest memories.
The Chicago band’s second album lights a flickering warmth inside of you that pulls some of your fondest memories from the past to the forefront of your mind’s movie theatre. There is a sense of sadness that the memories only exist the past, but solace is found knowing they happened.
There is a loneliness to the album, akin to watching old home videos alone, without those you made those memories with. Emotions spread from a glint in your mind’s periphery into an encompassing self-reflection, when you allow them to. This is exemplified “Used To Be Lonely”, which begins as a structureless exploration of emotions and ends in a cathartic explosion, with emotion driven less by the lyrics than an intertwined release of energy from the chorus of instruments.
The album certainly has its freer moments as well. Listening to “My Life Alone” you can taste fresh air, bringing you back to the top of a mountain or the side of the sea. “Rhododendron” is cheeky and intrepid, offering a cohesive sound while allowing each instrument to take on a personality of its own. Mirroring a walk through the forest, each individual element of the song begins insignificant, but its magnitude is realized when you appreciate how it fits into the experience as a whole.
But then it is over as quick as it began, and you are back to reality. But don’t fear – your memories will always exist an album and a pair of closed eyelids away.
The Food
Pork Chops Basted in Savoury Garlic Rosemary Sauce
Pork chops are simply one of the tastiest and savoury foods that can be eaten. The taste of pork is modest and pure yet so tantalizing, whether it be the slight salty and sweetness of the meat to the juicy crunch experienced with each bite. Complement each satisfying fatty bite with a dip of rich, earthy rosemary butter garlic sauce to truly bring out the tenderness of the meat.
Adding to the earthiness of the meal, the pork chops sit elevated next to a brussels sprout salad. Brussels sprouts can taste bare on their own, meaning that what sits next to them in a mix is vital to the experience. This is why bacon is often a compliment to these leafy buds – but instead of laying on the ham, we’re calling for pleasantly tart dried cranberries and smoky toasted almonds (or pine nuts). This gives an ecosystem of flavours that only add to the juicy pork.
Add in an oaky chardonnay to tie the earthiness of the meal together, and you can practically taste nature calling.
The Experience
The album that inspired this site. I could not separate tastes from the sounds from the images in my head - so I decided I had to spend hours of my life exploring why this was.
Delicate and savoury, a bite of this recipe will sit with you for a long time. This recipe combines simple flavours into a thoughtful bite where each ingredient can be recognized, although the best way to enjoy is to soak it all in.
Whitney has a sound, a singular sound, a holistic sound; but listen upon listen you realize the intricacies that twist and intertwine so magically together. It is not overdone but it is just enough.
You feel peace. It is reflection. It is the feeling of peaceful days. It is as boundless as the great white north. Like nature, you can feel alone or together based on perspective – solitary as a tree standing alone on a hill, or as intertwined as each leaf holding tight onto that tree - and can seamlessly switch between them at the change of a chord.
When I think of pork I think of a juicy, flavour, natural experience. Nothing is overly dressed up; you get exactly what you ask for and it is impossible not to cherish. It is raw and natural, something that is understated but truly takes you for a journey.
Together these sounds and tastes help you experience freedom, evoking flashes of gold and brown and forest green. Many of these songs begin unassuming and soft and end with an emotional release. The same is true with the flavour of the pork and the sprouts. They are each so simple, such primitive flavours – but together, the experience of freedom and nature is second to none.
I could spend my life Out where the Redwoods grow I could pass the time Watching the rivers roll
'Til we're back together, dancing slow To the sound of the radio And I remember lonely nights Waiting for the sunrise
Recipe:
This one is pretty straight forward - no need to overcomplicate a classic.
Season pork chops with salt and pepper on both sides and let them reach room temperature. Heat olive oil over medium-high then add the pork chops for 4 minutes (or desired golden-brownness) per side.
Mix slightly melted butter in a bowl with rosemary and garlic. When the chops get off the oven, cover pork chops in butter. Cook pork chops in the oven at 375 for another 10 minutes and let sit. Cover in more garlic butter if desired.
Wash brussel sprouts, halve them, and sprinkle with olive oil, dried cranberries, and toasted pine nuts or walnuts. To toast nuts, heat olive oil over medium-high heat and mix in nuts for 2-3 minutes.
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