Seven 9s and 10s

High-res My year in audio was mostly predictable. Here’s a rambling recap at 3:30am. I was slightly surprised to see Weezer at the top, but then I remembered just how many times I listened to Pinkerton this year (19.5 times, apparently). You may as well combine Pedro The Lion and David Bazan, which would result in 571, which is much more realistic in terms of what I listened to most this year (and in 2011… and 2010… etc.) As previously discussed… I listened to a lot of WTF with Marc Maron. Junip and The Milk Carton Kids were my two major discoveries. I fell deeply in love with both and the timing is perfect because now I can eagerly await new releases from both in 2013. Nada Surf, Superdrag, TMBG, The Cardigans, Ben Folds Five, Queens of the Stone Age, Toadies… yup… that’s a 100% accurate list of my favorite bands (plus weezer and Bazan/PTL). It’s obvious that ‘94-99 were the formative years of my musical taste. Steve Reich made the list based on number of individual pieces/movements I listened to, but surely Philip Glass earned more actual airtime, seeing as each complete listen of Einstein On The Beach clocks in at a hefty 3:20:42. Far fewer “tracks,” but each is significantly longer than most of Reich’s music. I also spent the most time seeing Glass’ music performed live than anyone else, by a wide margin. Just the two performances of Einstein alone totalled approximately 9 hours and 15 minutes. I’m happy to see “steelopus” on the list. Most of those 241 plays were not from listening back to songs from 40 in 40, but were from playback of voice memos… that became scratch tracks… that became demos of the new songs that I’ve been writing throughout the year. Slow and steady progress. I feel no shame or guilt for not listening to very many new bands or new music. I spend a lot of time listening to the local indie and college radio stations (which are great) and most of the newer music turns me off quite quickly. I’ll happily continue to gorge myself on my favorites. Conclusion.

My year in audio was mostly predictable. Here’s a rambling recap at 3:30am.

  • I was slightly surprised to see Weezer at the top, but then I remembered just how many times I listened to Pinkerton this year (19.5 times, apparently).
  • You may as well combine Pedro The Lion and David Bazan, which would result in 571, which is much more realistic in terms of what I listened to most this year (and in 2011… and 2010… etc.)
  • As previously discussed… I listened to a lot of WTF with Marc Maron.
  • Junip and The Milk Carton Kids were my two major discoveries. I fell deeply in love with both and the timing is perfect because now I can eagerly await new releases from both in 2013.
  • Nada Surf, Superdrag, TMBG, The Cardigans, Ben Folds Five, Queens of the Stone Age, Toadies… yup… that’s a 100% accurate list of my favorite bands (plus weezer and Bazan/PTL). It’s obvious that ‘94-99 were the formative years of my musical taste.
  • Steve Reich made the list based on number of individual pieces/movements I listened to, but surely Philip Glass earned more actual airtime, seeing as each complete listen of Einstein On The Beach clocks in at a hefty 3:20:42. Far fewer “tracks,” but each is significantly longer than most of Reich’s music.
  • I also spent the most time seeing Glass’ music performed live than anyone else, by a wide margin. Just the two performances of Einstein alone totalled approximately 9 hours and 15 minutes.
  • I’m happy to see “steelopus” on the list. Most of those 241 plays were not from listening back to songs from 40 in 40, but were from playback of voice memos… that became scratch tracks… that became demos of the new songs that I’ve been writing throughout the year. Slow and steady progress.
  • I feel no shame or guilt for not listening to very many new bands or new music. I spend a lot of time listening to the local indie and college radio stations (which are great) and most of the newer music turns me off quite quickly. I’ll happily continue to gorge myself on my favorites.
  • Conclusion.
Hey all, my friend Charles could use our support. Rally America is having a tagline contest at their Facebook page and his far-superior submission is currently in second place. Would you please take 10 seconds to click-through to Facebook and vote for “Zero To Dirty in Under 5 Seconds”? Just do it now before you waste any time thinking about it. It will literally take you only two mouse clicks. Thanks for helping out!

Hey all, my friend Charles could use our support.

Rally America is having a tagline contest at their Facebook page and his far-superior submission is currently in second place.

Would you please take 10 seconds to click-through to Facebook and vote for “Zero To Dirty in Under 5 Seconds”?

Just do it now before you waste any time thinking about it. It will literally take you only two mouse clicks.

Thanks for helping out!

High-res Recently I finally hopped on the WTF bandwagon - about 2 years too late. On Halloween night I started with Episode 1 (of 223). I’ve now listened to 97 episodes in just 32 days. Marc has really put together one hell of a body of work with this thing. It’s so much more than just a comedy podcast (though that’s obviously where it has its roots). Beyond the comedy itself, Marc manages to engage in a dialog with his guests that is both brutally honest and compelling. He’s one of the best interviewers I’ve ever heard and I think it’s because he’s hosting people that he is genuinely interested in learning about and the conversational nature of the show gives me the feeling that I’m an eavesdropping fly on the wall more so than a guy who is absorbing a piece of media. Patrice O’Neal died on Tuesday morning and I was surprised that didn’t see a single mention of it here on Tumblr. He was a polarizing comedian, no doubt, but anyone who was able to see past the shock-value was surely impressed by just how intelligent and well-spoken he was. His views weren’t for everybody, but he spoke from his heart and he always had plenty of evidence to back up whatever it was he was offending people with. This episode, released on August 2, 2010 - long before Patrice’s stroke, is a perfect snapshot of everything that makes me love this podcast: it’s consistently funny, sobering, and perception-changing. About 23 minutes into this episode he gives a fantastic analogy about how being a man is like being a sport fisherman; it’s simultaneously hilarious, heartfelt, and honest. You can download or stream this episode from WTFpod.com. If that ever goes away, I’d be happy to share the mp3 with you. It’s well worth repeated listens.

Recently I finally hopped on the WTF bandwagon - about 2 years too late. On Halloween night I started with Episode 1 (of 223). I’ve now listened to 97 episodes in just 32 days.

Marc has really put together one hell of a body of work with this thing. It’s so much more than just a comedy podcast (though that’s obviously where it has its roots). Beyond the comedy itself, Marc manages to engage in a dialog with his guests that is both brutally honest and compelling. He’s one of the best interviewers I’ve ever heard and I think it’s because he’s hosting people that he is genuinely interested in learning about and the conversational nature of the show gives me the feeling that I’m an eavesdropping fly on the wall more so than a guy who is absorbing a piece of media.

Patrice O’Neal died on Tuesday morning and I was surprised that didn’t see a single mention of it here on Tumblr. He was a polarizing comedian, no doubt, but anyone who was able to see past the shock-value was surely impressed by just how intelligent and well-spoken he was. His views weren’t for everybody, but he spoke from his heart and he always had plenty of evidence to back up whatever it was he was offending people with. This episode, released on August 2, 2010 - long before Patrice’s stroke, is a perfect snapshot of everything that makes me love this podcast: it’s consistently funny, sobering, and perception-changing. About 23 minutes into this episode he gives a fantastic analogy about how being a man is like being a sport fisherman; it’s simultaneously hilarious, heartfelt, and honest.

You can download or stream this episode from WTFpod.com. If that ever goes away, I’d be happy to share the mp3 with you. It’s well worth repeated listens.