LINKS: Wooo hoooo-- Blurry cheese

By Erica



I have found proof that cheese can change lives. Alex James, former drug addict and bassist of Blur, the band that brought us such jewels as Song No. 2, is now a cheese maker. Yes, he currently lives on a farm in a small village in England with cows and other lactating creatures.

Apparently, James has always loved cheese. In an interview he gave when he first delved into the world of curds and whey, he said, "The first time [Blur] went to Japan, they said, you have to say what you like, because the fans will want to give it to you. They'll find out what you like, and give it to you. And I could only think of cheese. I was 22 at the time, and really, really skint. So we arrived in Japan to this like regal state welcome, ha ha! And they all gave me cheese. They threw cheese at me!"*

In 2006, he, along with a more experienced cheesemaker by the name of Roger Crudge, made his first cheese, a soft cow's milk cheese named Geronimo after his son.

His journey "from music to cheese" is documented in the online video series "The Cheese Diaries". If you skip to the 4:15 mark of episode one, you can see James' version of our tasting videos as he bites into a goat cheese by the name of "Little Wallop" (pictured below). I hate to say it, but I think we've got him & his cheese partner Juliet Harbutt (hamming it up in the picture above) beat. Except for, perhaps, the part where he says of the cheese, "It's got a bite, though... a bit of a wallop," causing dear Julie to belt out one of the most amazing cackles ever caught on tape. Seriously, go to the 5 minute mark to experience this fantastic moment.



James has come a long way since 2006, and in the summer of 2009 was contracted to be Prince Charles' cheese supplier and then given a morning radio program. James seems to have figured it all out, and he has some words of wisdom for all of us:

"I think as you get older, you kind of know what you like-- And I like cheese."**

*The Guardian

**Current.com