Music, camaraderie and a recipe (not mine) for some decadent brownies.
THE AD AGENCY WHERE I WORK HAS A FUN COMMITTEE. Their task, which they take quite seriously, is to create events that give us even more reasons to be happy to show up every day. Last Friday, thanks to their efforts, we celebrated Record Store Day a day early.
The first annual Record Store Day was held in April 2008, the brainchild of “independent record store owners and employees as a way to celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding nearly 1400 independently owned record stores in the US and thousands of similar stores internationally,” according to the Record Store Day website. It is now celebrated on every continent but Antarctica, with performances and special events—and often long lines and big sales—at independent record stores everywhere.
At my office, Fun Committee member Erica brought in her portable record player. We were all encouraged to bring in our own favorite vinyl to play, and many of us did. We work in a big open space, and for the entire day, it was filled with an amazing mix of music. Lots of jazz, especially early in the day (clients were in the office part of the morning)—the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Nina Simone, Herbie Hancock. There was also soul, rock and even a movie soundtrack album—Sam Cooke, Sonic Youth, Michael Jackson, the Lumineers, Elvis Costello, the Pointer Sisters, Talking Heads and The Big Chill. There was also a Fraggle Rock single.
In looking at that playlist, keep in mind that most of my colleagues are just into their thirties, or not even. Their appetite for—and often deep knowledge of—some of this vintage music was impressive. We’re talking about making Record Store Day a monthly event at the agency—people are already planning what vinyl they’ll bring in next.
Of course, Fun Committee events always involve food. Sometimes, it’s the focus—we recently celebrated National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day. Other times, it’s just a nice little extra. Committee member Linda baked some truly decadent brownies, using the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook recipe for “Outrageous Brownies.” They were outrageous indeed. The recipe calls for a pound of butter, more than two pounds of chocolate and a half dozen eggs—for 20 brownies. You’ll find the full recipe here on Ina Garten’s website. The gorgeous image above is by photographer Melanie Acevedo.
Wow — that’s a serious amount of butter, chocolate, and eggs for 20 brownies. Unless, of course, the brownies were the size of a mini Frisbee. 🙂 Record day sounds like a fun event. I remember record stores! Not too many left, alas. But I can walk to a good one (on the Loop) that specializes in used records & CDs (many more CDs) and has a fun selection.