When I first heard that Yuengling was brewing up a fruity beer, that caught my attention. The company’s image is America’s Oldest Brewery and they stick to pretty traditional varieties – a lager, a pilsner, a porter. I went looking for this Yuengling mango beer and it’s a new product positioning for the brewer. It’s called “Raging Eagle” and has a logo like a football helmet.

Raging Eagle Mango Beer is also not available in bottles – just 24-ounce tall boy cans – or what some lovers of big beer cans call a “silo.” Yuengling’s other brews run between 4% and 5.5% ABV. Raging Eagle Mango hits 6%. This new Yuengling might not be aimed at the traditionalist and more at folks who want to get some beer in them quick and easy.

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I was listening to Greg Proops’ podcast, “The Smartest Man in the World” (aka “The Proopcast”), and his wife, Jennifer, dropped in a bit of a recent Blue Note Records release from Dr. Lonnie Smith and Iggy Pop. I liked it and maybe you will too.

Dr. Lonnie Smith has been playing the Hammond B-3 organ since his teens. He started in a band with Grover Washington Jr., played as both a sideman and a band leader for decades, and now at 78, has released his 29^th solo album, “Breathe.” Smith is either called “Doctor” because he likes to “doctor up” melodies with improvisations – or maybe because he didn’t want to be confused with keyboardist Lonnie Liston Smith.

A lot of “Breathe” is 2017 live cuts, recorded about the same time as Smith’s 2018 record “All in My Mind.” The first and last tracks though are new studio work, both covers with Iggy Pop on vocals and Blue Note President Don Was producing. (Was also took that photo of the two up top.) A big part of the collaboration is that both Smith and Pop live in the Miami area now and Pop sat in on some of Smith’s live shows.

The first song on “Breathe” is Timmy Thomas’ “Why Can’t We Live Together.” Even if you don’t know the tune, it’ll sound familiar because Drake sampled it for “Hotline Bling.” Here’s the final track on the record, Donovan’s “Sunshine Superman.” Iggy Pop is in the crooner mode he’s progressed to over the last decade. The song’s not groundbreaking, but it’s a lot of fun.

It’s a rainy Sunday here in Orlando, so I’m staying dry, hunting for the cat when thunder hits, and diving into England Dan & John Ford Coley.  I think the song most folks know best is 1976’s “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight.” I’ll admit I was one of those folks who thought they were singing “I’m not talking ’bout the linen” even before screenwriter Shane Black called us out in  “The Long Kiss Goodnight.”

And to prove it, here’s a live version from “The Midnight Special” where you can clearly hear “I’m not talkin’ ’bout movin’ in.”

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Mark Elliott passed away April 4, 2021. If you grew up watching white clamshell VHS prints of Disney movies, Mark’s voice is forever part of your childhood.

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You can find the four seasons of British sitcom “The IT Crowd” on Netflix – and you should. It’s centered on three people who work Information Technology (I.T.) in the basement of a large London corporation. Chris O’Dowd (“Bridesmaids,” “Girls”) is Roy, the slacker. Richard Ayoade (“Travel Man,” “Submarine”) is Moss, the nerd. Katherine Parkinson is the allegedly normal one stuck with Moss and Roy.

There’s a lot of great small moments between characters, but my favorite episodes are the big farces where small bad choices snowball until there’s no dignified way out. It’s tough to find just one clip that explains all of that, so here’s some “greatest hits.”

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