The Force Awakens (Episode 109)

Jason Tate Dec 29, 2015

With the holiday weekend coming up we wanted to make sure you had enough time to download this week’s episode of the Encore podcast early! So, we’re coming at you today. That way you can download the episode for any long flights, drives, or just needing a way to drown out some drunk relative. This week’s episode, as promised, is actually a special edition episode all about Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It contains many, many, many spoilers. So, do not listen to this podcast if you haven’t seen the movie yet! We basically run down every character, every plot point, and discuss what we liked, why, what we didn’t like, what didn’t quite work, and if our expectations were met and what we think this means for the franchise going forward. Both Thomas and I would like to wish everyone a happy holidays and a warm thank you for listening to us each week. You’ll find show notes, ways to subscribe, and links to stream and/or downloaded this episode in the replies.

You Don’t Want Demoitis (Episode 108)

Jason Tate Dec 17, 2015

Today’s episode of Encore looks at the lead up to Star Wars (of course), before looking at this week’s topics: Brian Fallon’s new song, The 1975’s new song, Paramore losing a member, Cartel releasing an acoustic album, The Starting Line releasing a new song, and some weirdness in the Bad Timing Records camp related to Bonfires. You’ll find show notes, ways to subscribe, and links to stream and/or downloaded this episode in the replies.

Cool App: Next (Expense Tracking)

Jason Tate Dec 15, 2015

Federico Viticci, reviewing Next for MacStories:

Next is on my Home screen on my iPhone and iPad. I use the app every day, and I log every expense (whether it’s cash or an expense from my bank account) as soon as I can. My perspective of my spending habits has considerably changed since I started using Next, and I’m making more informed decisions thanks to the overview that this app offers and its elegant design combined with astounding ease of use.

I’ve been using Mint for quite a while to get a good overview of my finances (#adulting), but recently I realized I had two main categories that I wanted to better break down for budgetary purposes: food and shopping. I wanted to have a weekly food budget, and a monthly shopping budget, and make sure I could keep track of just those two things with relative ease. Enter: Next.

I’ve been using this system for the last month and am really impressed by how much it does help me make purchasing decisions. Being able to quickly glance at my week of food spending keeps me from buying that extra 6-pack of beer after my weekly store run. I like the simplicity of this system because instead of having to remember a variety of categories within my budget, I can keep two numbers in my head: food per week, shopping per month.

While I still like (not love) Mint for being able to give me a bigger overview of everything in my financial world, Next is the first budget app I’ve actually felt some delight in using each day.

Plex on the Apple TV

Jason Tate Dec 15, 2015

The new Apple TV interface, married with our own design touches, gives you the slickest navigation and search experience yet, showcasing all of your media in an elegant and intuitively organized way. Now, finding what you want is easier and more simple than ever before. And with Apple TV’s new top shelf, you can see your featured Plex content right on your Apple TV home screen.

I had tried Plex about six or so years ago and it didn’t seem for me. I liked the basic idea but this was before the wave of little pucks attached to TVs really took off and it was cumbersome to get it to work right. Instead, for the past few years, I’ve been using the old Apple TV with Home Sharing through iTunes. I used iFlicks 2 for adding metadata to any extra media I had in my collection, and, all-in-all it worked pretty well. However, recently I felt like I was spending more time managing and organizing the files while troubleshooting weird network issues (like stuff not showing up if the computer had been asleep too long). So, after hearing basically everyone gush about Plex over the past few weeks, and reading the reviews about the new native app for the new Apple TV (which I really love), I decided it was worth giving it another look.

I’m really glad I did.

Jason Tate’s Top Albums of 2015

Jason Tate Dec 14, 2015

2015 will go down as a memorable one for me. The music we got this year was fantastic and the memories it soundtracked will stay with me for a lifetime. As we move into the new year I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy year. I think what’s in front of us is always more exciting, and far scarier, than what’s in our past. I think the future’s bright. I think it’s exciting. Let’s not let it scare us.

Very Bowl of You (Episode 107)

Jason Tate Dec 10, 2015

This week’s episode of Encore has Thomas working in as many puns as possible to the show now. On this week’s episode we talk about the idea of banning cell-phones from shows using a new service called Yondr, our thoughts on the new versions of Brand New’s Leaked Demos 2006 (Note: This was recorded before #nobodymovesgate), speculation on why Sal Villanueva never produced more albums, Mailbox shutting down and what our email solution will be going forward, the semi-return of Set Your Goals, and Facebook selling concert tickets. There’s (of course) some basketball and Star Wars talk peppered throughout. You’ll find show notes, ways to subscribe, and links to stream and/or downloaded this episode in the replies.

Review: Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams

Craig Manning Dec 6, 2015

A year and a half ago, Coldplay released their best record. Let me stop you before you start trying to figure out how that warped timeline can get you back to 2008’s Viva la Vida or 2002’s A Rush of Blood to the Head. Sure, those records had big world-beating singles and a lot of ambition, but as an album, nothing in this band’s catalog touches Ghost Stories. A stark, spectral disc about a Chris Martin’s broken heart, Ghost Stories was great precisely because it played so against type for Coldplay. These guys were supposed to be stadium rockers! Where were the hooks? Where was the celebration? Where was the consummate hugeness that they’d been leveling up gradually for a decade? For most of their history, Coldplay have been a band about you and we, not a band about me. But on Ghost Stories, the key line was “Tell me you love me, if you don’t then lie.” It wasn’t a record that was meant for communal gatherings in stadiums or arenas; hell, it didn’t even sound like a record that was supposed to escape Chris Martin’s heartbroken, insomniac brain, so personal and intimate was the music within.

Jason Tate Dec 3, 2015

After a wonderful little holiday break, Encore is back with an episode spanning everything that’s happened over the past two weeks. We talk about our Thanksgivings, real vs fake Christmas trees, Adele flat out destroying sales records, Foo Fighters releasing a surprise EP, Thrice recording a new album, Brand New releasing their leaked demos on tape and the story about the first time I heard them, the rumor that Apple will kill the 3.5mm audio port, and all sorts of other goodness peppered throughout. You’ll find show notes, ways to subscribe, and links to stream and/or downloaded this episode in the replies.

Stream Punchline’s New Album ‘Thrilled’

Jason Tate Dec 2, 2015

After being gone for over three years, Punchline are back with their new album Thrilled. From classic pop-punk jams to contemporary pop tunes, from electronic flourishes to indie influences, this is the ever-evolving group’s most eclectic effort yet. The album drops on Friday, December 4th via InVogue Records. Stream it by clicking read more.