Lager. Underworld built a career on it...literally, and metaphorically ("Born Slippy", 1994). But man shall not live on lager alone. Black beer - stout specifically, perhaps porter - is to beer what red is to wine: comparable to coffee and green tea in antioxidant content. Yes, Guinness is good for you. But St Patrick is near a half year hence. The Great Pumpkin Ale (another salubrious brew, given its healthful spices and of course, gourd) season began with the month of September, and October brings another excuse to consume mass quantities, as the Coneheads said. This Thirstday the first features a beer garden at Sunset Grille in the afternoon with all you can drink German marzens (in sample sizes) for $15, so put your drinkin lederhosen on. In the interim here's my second directory of carbonated beverage centric (not suds centric - no suds on the black stuff, lads and lasses) tuneage, a followup of sorts to my article of August 22 of last year "Three Years Of Beers" (view all archives: click below). And no, we don't do obvious here - no disrespect to Captain Obvious - so no Irish music shall be cited. Besides, that ship sails with the Ides Of March. New bands take priority here. So we begin with...
FIDLAR: "40 Oz. On Repeat"
    First track on sophomore stormer from tempestuous Los Angeles skate (pop) punks.  Noisy, quirky (for the musically frithminded deballed commercial pop punk genre) garage rock with snotty, petulant, frequently filtered vocals from frontman Zac Carper, who ironically cleaned up whilst writing the new album, the lamely titled Too, a quasi concept record about rehab and recovery as a still raw scab of the psyche and attendant conflictions. Or something like that. No such cognitive dissonance accompanies old songs "Blackout Stout" and "Cheap Beer".
THE PIETASTERS
    From 150 miles northwest, the DC ska institution, celebrate 25 years with a new album this year. Admittedly I lost track of them after their second major lineup change at the end of their first decade. Before that, Awesome Mix Tape, their sixth album (counting the two that comprised demos and preproduction sessions), included "Let's Get Wasted" from late bassist Todd Eckhardt: "Drinkin beer for breakfast makes the whole day painless/gettin shit from my friends who shall remain nameless/can't be led around by other people's standards/when the way you feel's the only thing that matters." Amen brother, RIP. Prior to that was "One More Bottle Of Beer" (1996), twelve bar blues with a ska bluebeat, and "Maggie May", a tribute to the band's official bartendress, from early 1995.
REVEREND HORTON HEAT: "Beer, Write This Song"
    The Rev. of rockabilly's bibulous catalogue was, well, catalogued in the aforementioned article, but this newly released single left off of last year's Rev covers familiar country honk ground. After nearly thirty years, Heath is losing his singing, if not preaching, voice, but admirable that his original turbobilly duo still has his back. And
Cheers to Marco!
REVOLTING COCKS: "Beers Steers And Queers"
    How the hell I neglected this industrial Ministry side project classic from early 1990 I don't...OK, I kinda know; probably an excess of the subject at hand. Massive distorto percussion (cymbal free symdrums), a mind bending reverb refrain, and ironic rap verses from by now well unhinged Al Jourgensen, who BTW is also drug free, having kicked with the dawn of the new millennium.
JIMMY BUFFETT
    OK, this is an obvious entry. I could devote this entire space to references by Bubba but his 1973 debut shall suffice (precluding the two debut albums he subsequently disowned, which are in fact superior to his output since the eighties). A White Sportcoat And A Pink Crustacean included "The Great Filling Station Holdup" and the amusing quip "we're wanted men we'll strike again but first let's have a beer." When the going gets tough the tough have a beer. Honorable album mention to the inevitable "barmaid bring a pitcher/another round of brew...Why Don't We Get Drunk And Screw." Everybody now!
    My advice to you is drink heavily.