A Meandering Post that Almost Comes Together at the End

I started reading Tim Lawrence's book Love Saves the Day: A History of American Dance Music Culture, 1970–1979 despite my general apathy towards non-fiction, because The Atlantic included it in their list of "Five Books About Going Out That Are Worth Staying In For."  They said:

Versions of this story have been told before, but what distinguishes Love Saves the Day are the more than 300 interviews Lawrence conducted with promoters, partiers, and legendary DJs such as Frankie Knuckles. It’s full of wisdom from the elders of American club culture: how to stagger straight and gay crowds on a Friday night, how to find the next great floor-filling single, how to build a DJ set like a furnace that can burn all night. Lawrence also folds in a number of select club “discographies” so you can reproduce Jimmy Stuard’s set from 12 West, circa 1976, at home (on nice speakers, perhaps, or an iPhone placed in a cereal bowl). 

so I said "Why not?"  I'm about halfway through and I'm not sure that I'll finish, I'm so bored by non-fiction that I haven't taken a history class since high school.  And my main motivation to finish the book--compiling a playlist of all the mentioned songs--was obviated when I learned that someone already did it.

I am not, however, bored by podcasts about non-fiction and I recently stumbled across the One Song Podcast, a show where DJs Diallo Riddle and Luxxury break down the backstory to a song or album.  This isn't just stories about the first time they heard the song or why it's one of their top ten songs, there's some serious music theory.  Here's Luxxury explaining why the bass line to Nas's N.Y. State of Mind sounds so menacing:

The whole episode is great but many of you aren't into Nas and probably don't care who DJ Premier sampled and how he looped it.  Here's an episode I suspect most of you will enjoy.

But the real reason I'm posting all this drivel is their interview with Fab 5 Freddy.  It's two parts and only the first one is out yet, but they talk about some of the clubs and records from Love Saves the Day, so if you don't want to read 400-plus pages of non-fiction just listen to Fab 5 Freddy talk about the good old days of the NYC disco scene, how DJing was invented, the making of Wildstyle, and lots of other interesting stuff.

The Fall of a Sparrow

Some quick filler for you... here's something to listen to on these sunny spring days. Or when you're commuting to work, for those of you that still do. 

My old friend Ned is a musician whose work I've shared with you before. He's a nicest guy ever and knows his way around a whole lot of instruments. Here's the Spotify link to his work. 

A number of years ago, he composed and recorded a song that he brought to our 20-year high school reunion. Much loved by the gathered crowds, it remained in that time's medium (compact disc) until he recently re-recorded and released it on all the streaming sites. It's just called 20, and here it goes...

(listen closely to Verse 2 for a gheorghie namechecking)

Since you asked, yes, Les Coole and the Cukes indeed have a recent release. This came out in March, a vague recounting of a concert my high school chums and I took in at William and Mary Hall in '87. Athens band. Enjoy, if you can. 

At least enjoy Symphony member and friend Jake Fowler on cello. And chuckling at the end. 

And finally, it's been shoved down your throat before, but Garden State Dave's podcast is soaring. Get on board now.

If you wonder what Dave's podcast name refers to, go no further than what is arguably Shakespeare's most famous play. 

Horatio
If your mind dislike anything, obey it. I will forestall their repair hither and say you are not fit.
Hamlet
Not a whit, we defy augury. There's special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come. The readiness is all. Since no man knows aught of what he leaves, what is't to leave betimes?

Not a whit indeed! I certainly couldn't do a podcast like this.

Cheers...

The Test 56: Politics, Naps, and Canine Mating Rituals

While the producers of The Test are certainly not as knowledgeable as Rob in the political arena, we do our best (and we could kick his pansy ass in the actual arena . . . Stacey is six foot one in flats and Cunningham is very, very sarcastic).

On this week's episode, Cunningham asks some pointed political questions, both general and germane, and Stacey and I do our civic duty (with some help from God) and participate in the ongoing discussion of who should run our country and how they should do it. We attempt to unravel how our political process works.

While we're not Tom Torlakson, we're trying (although we do get sidetracked by important issues of the day: napping, how to mate a great dane with a Boston terrier, the benefits/detriments of exercise . . . pretty much anything to avoid explaining just what the fuck a caucus is) and we hope our efforts will be helpful to the voters come November. And, remember: three more months of this shit!

Give it a whirl, keep score, and see how you fare.

The Twelve Days of Gheorghemas: Day Five

On the fifth day of Gheorghemas big Gheorghe gave to me:
Five podcasts for listening
Four posts zman meant to write but never did
Three French Hens
Two in-state rivalries
And a dork with a split personal-ity

We have entered what many are calling The Golden Age of Podcasting. This is odd, because the technology and the means of distribution for podcasting have been around for quite a while. All you need is a microphone, a laptop, and a method of streaming an mp3 over the internet. Simple stuff. So why the increase in popularity? There are an abundance of hypotheses. The boom could be because podcasts are just getting better. It might be because of Serial. Or perhaps because podcasts are so cheap to make. And they can reach a niche audience. Commercials and product placement are more effective on podcasts than they are on the radio. It may be technology: cars and phones work well together now, so people don't have to listen to the radio or SiriusXM. There are apps to pull in all you favorites, and you can subscribe on iTunes. So there are a plethora of reasons, Jefe . . . a plethora.

In other words,  it's a fantastic time to walk the dog (that's when I do the bulk of my podcast listening-- my commute is only a few minutes).

Here are five podcasts for listening. These are all good shows, but I've selected specific episodes, curated for the niche audience of Gheorghe:The Blog. Each one gets the Official Dave Seal of Approval. Enjoy.


1. Planet Money Episode 667: Auditing ISIS

I love Planet Money. It's short, informative, and entertaining, and it makes me feel smart. It's rarely over my head, but I always learn something new.

"Auditing ISIS" goes above and beyond the normal episode-- and it doesn't have all that much to do with economics. It's more about how terrorists think and operate. The Planet Money team analyzes a municipal budget that was smuggled out of ISIS territory. One month of detailed expenditures, disbursements, and collections from the ISIS controlled Deir ez-Zour province of Syria.

You'll learn how ISIS spends its money-- mainly paying their fighters, and how ISIS fighters spend their money-- mainly on hamburgers and chocolate and Ferraris. You'll learn how ISIS makes its money-- oil smuggling and black market antiquities and "licensed" confiscations (the ISIS term for looting). You'll also hear the firsthand account of one man's experience living in this economic nightmare.

2. Radiolab American Football

I'm guessing that neither of the nerdy hosts of Radiolab (Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich) can throw a spiral, but they do a great job on this comprehensive, funny, controversial, and historically informative episode on American Football. They visit the brutal ghosts of football past-- including Pop Warner and the undersized Carlisle Indians-- and then return to present controversies and future speculation. Highlights include an interview with a Georgia football mom who is firmly on both sides of the concussion issue and her gigantic and talented eight year old son, who decided to spurn the sport in favor of soccer, because he felt like a bully when he ran over opposing players, and wishes he could do some "synchronized swimming." His mom's reaction to this revelation is priceless.

"La Mancha Screwjob" is another fantastic Radiolab with a sporting theme: the episode uses professional wrestling to discuss reality, illusion, and the fascinating meta-reality that lies somewhere between the two.

3. 99% Invisible Game Over

This is the closest thing to live audio from an actual apocalypse. The fact that it's not exactly that makes it even better.

I am also to partial to The Modern Moloch-- which is an account of how automobile lobbyists won the battle in America and heavily influenced the design of our cities so that they favor the automobile and punish the pedestrian. Zman will hate this one.

4. This American Life Petty Tyrant

This American Life can be hit or miss for me . . . and most of the time it's a miss, but this episode is fantastic. It's the story of a public school maintenance man from Schenectady, NY whose ruthless rise to power rivals Richard III . . . and once he gains total control, his reign is fearful and intimidating, and his fall is appropriately epic.

5. The Test The Moral of the Story (No Napping on the Job)

The most important podcast on this list is obviously The Test. Whitney guest stars on this episode, and I am also partial to Stacey Demands (More) Numbers and all the other "number sense" episodes.

Once you listen to all the episodes of The Test twice, then you might want to check out season two of Serial. The first episode is compelling on many levels and promises the same slow drip of information as the first season, some of it dredged from the past, some of it culled from recent events, and some of it ongoing.

The Best Test Yet (According to Dave)

If you're going to listen to one episode of The Test, this should be the one. Stacey made a musical clip quiz, and to pass, not only do you have to identify songs and artists, but then you have to connect the answers to recognize an all-encompassing theme. The reason this is our best effort so far is because I get the answer and Cunningham doesn't. She requires an extra hint. Also, I steal her youth. And there is a new outro song and montage.

It's probably not that hard a puzzle-- especially if you know some pop-culture-- but I was still very proud of myself (and couldn't hide it). Cunningham was annoyed that she didn't get it (and also had trouble hiding it). To be fair, some of the songs were before her time . . . but I nailed a more recent one and she didn't (that's when I steal her youth).

This one is fast and fun. Play at home, and see if you get it before me. Or lie to me and say you got it, just to burst my bubble. Or lie to me and say you didn't get it, if you want to make me happy. Whatever floats your boat.

This Test Goes to Eleven

A short episode of The Test this week, on current events. Cunningham does fairly well, but current events are definitely not my forte-- probably because I don't watch TV or read the newspaper . . . I tend to get my breaking news from the comment thread on Gheorghe.  My performance is not particularly impressive. Perhaps you will fare better.

The Test Turns Ten

The tenth episode of The Test is rather special to me for several reasons:

1) I read Cunningham's mind;

2) I predict Stacey's demise;

3) Cunningham administers a fairly logical test;

4) I edited the entire thing on my ancient MacBook Pro while I was on vacation.

Number four is the thing that makes me the happiest. I took all the little bits and pieces of audio-- the intro and the outro, the heavenly music and the intermission riffs-- and I made them into WAV files and imported them into the cruddy version of Garage Band on my Mac. Then I created the Voice of God with some Garage Band effects. Then I recorded the Voice of God in our beach house, directly into my laptop (and, in the process, surely convinced the three other families in our beach househ that I was a lunatic). My own family already knows this.

But I got the job done and it sounds fine. As William Gibson said, we are living in the future, it's just not evenly distributed yet.

Hope you give it a listen and play along. Also, we are always looking for guests and/or new tests. I am going to try to figure out how to Skype people into an episode and capture a decent audio recording, which should open up some new possibilities and also feel very future-tech. I have never Skyped with anyone . . . you could be the first.

More Tests

Stacey, Cunningham and I are cranking out the podcasts . . . I'm not sure how we'll fare once the school year begins, but as of now we are going strong. Teachers in the summer. We have a new home, on Podbean, and we have a nifty logo (designed by Stacey) as well.

You'll hear some familiar voices in Episode 8, and I learned something about recording audio in a car: you can't put the recorder down on the center console because it will also record all the vibrations from the highway. One to grow on. I also learned that TJ needs to use profanity when discussing octaves.




Episode 9 features some minor improvements that only the most zealous fan will recognize; I tightened the intro and improved the music, and made the theme song a bit clearer. You also get to hear about my nightmare trip to Manhattan . . . if you'd rather read about it, head over to Sentence of Dave.

Play along, see how you do, and we are always looking for guests and/or tests.

Dave Tries (and epically fails) to be a Hipster Douchebag

Greetings from Sea Isle City, my favorite beach town on the East Coast. I should be writing this in an air-conditioned coffee shop, sipping on some kind of exotic coffee brewed from a rare Guatemalan bean, while I sit on a high stool at a comfy little table, accessing the free wifi . . . but, alas, I'm not. I'm writing it in the bedroom of our condo, and it's rather warm (the AC is broken) and I'm slugging down iced coffee.

This is the story of a dream deferred.

The day started wonderfully. My wife and Ian went on a kayaking excursion and my brother brought Alex to the arcade and then to the beach, so I was left with no kids and some free time. And I had done my requisite beach time earlier that morning: I went for a jog and watched the dredging machines, I took my cousin's paddleboard out on the ocean, and I swam some laps. So I was tired and ready for some screen time.

I decided I would pack up the laptop-- my trusty MacBook Pro-- and walk down the street to the hip little coffee shop, Red White & Brew. I would get a coffee, sit at a little table, edit some audio for my podcast, and do some blogging. I would be a total hipster douchebag. I had never sat down in a coffee shop with anything other than a book, and this was very appealing to me . . . to wear my headphones in public, snip some things, amplify some things, normalize the audio, upload it to Soundcloud and write a little post about it. All while drinking coffee in a cool little place, watching people in swimsuits making their way to the beach. Perhaps someone would ask me a question, and I would take off my headphones and say, "What was that? Sorry . . . I was just editing some audio for my podcast. On my MacBook Pro. You wouldn't believe how old it is, but it gets the job done. Never gets a virus." The person would think to themselves: what a hipster douchebag. And I would think to myself: mission accomplished.

But Red White & Brew provided none of this. They didn't have wifi, they didn't have comfortable little tables, and they didn't have AC . . . or I couldn't feel it. It's actually cooler in this breezy bedroom, though I'm not particularly comfortable, lying on the bed with my MacBook Pro perched on my lap. And my mom just asked me something about throwing wet bathing suits in the laundry. You can't be a hipster douchebag when your mom is asking you shit like that.

So that was my big chance to be a hipster douchebag, and I blew it, but my kids are going to 4H camp in a couple of weeks and there's a hip little coffee shop in Highland Park and I'm going to try again. I will keep you guys posted on my progress and maybe I can even take a "selfie." Meanwhile, my mom just walked into the room and plopped a bunch of my kid's bathing suits on the bed and sang "laundry service." Not very hip at all.

Episode 5 of The Test is called "Everyone Fails" because I fail, Cunningham fails, and even Stacey fails . . . and she made the test. So give it your best shot, listen up for a new character, and tell us how you did. Good luck . . . you're going to need it.