This week, we rock out with returning guest, Consequence of Sound‘s Nick Freed, to talk about the psychedelic 1975 rock opera Tommy! The product of Pete Townshend’s musical genius, Ken Russell’s frenetic direction, and (presumably) a whoollle lotta drugs, Tommy tells the tale of a ‘deaf, dumb and blind kid’ in post-WWII Britain who endures abuse and torment before finding his calling as a pinball wizard and leading a spiritual movement. The songs are crazy, the design is goofy, and we just couldn’t get enough of it. Check out our episode along with our custom cocktail and drinking game!
(Thanks to our sponsor Second City as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
LISTEN HERE OR DOWNLOAD:
THIS EPISODE’S DRINK: Behind Blue-ber-ies
Our exceedingly psychedelic take on the Tom Collins (a classic British cocktail) has us swapping out soda water for prosecco and adding some blueberries. Y’know, for the pun.
5-6 fresh blueberries
3 parts Old Tom gin
2 parts lemon juice
1 part simple syrup
splash, prosecco
Muddle blueberries in shaker, then add ice, gin, lemon and simple and shake vigorously until combined. Strain into a Collins class and serve up.
DRINKING RULES FOR TOMMY:
- Circular or spherical imagery (orbs, balls, pinballs, bombs, the sun)
- Anytime someone calls Tommy “blind, deaf and dumb” or a variation thereof
- Whenever Ann-Margret’s character changes outfits
FINISH YOUR DRINK WHEN:
Tommy sings, “We forsake you / Gonna rape you” (yeesh!)
Join us next week as we see what happens when Tippi Hedren meets a tiger in the cult film Roar!
