Miscellaneous Recommendations

Jason Tate Jan 20, 2016

Most of my recommendations can be found in nice little categories: Albums, movies, tv shows, books, software, podcasts, blogs, and audio-equipment. Or, when I post one-off recommendations they’re all under the “recommendation” tag. However, this is kind of a “catch-all” post for a bunch of different things that I think are great but don’t really have a place to put them. It doesn’t make sense for them to all be separate posts, so instead it’s a giant long list of links! I’ve added some commentary in a few places as well. I have personally used and recommend all of the products on this list and I’ll try and keep it updated semi-regularly for when you’re looking to buy new toys or find a cool gift for that special someone.

Jason Tate Jan 20, 2016

When it comes to audio equipment my recommendation has always been to do your research, know what you’re looking for, know your budget, and then try and go test things out before making a purchase. People like different sounds in their music and I don’t think there’s a tried and true “best” out there for anyone. Some people prefer a more natural and accurate sound in their headphones, others actively are searching for a heavier bass sound. Only you will know which you prefer and how a specific set of headphones will sit on your ears and feel after a few hours of listening.

This list is what I consider my favorite sets of headphones (and a record player recommendation). This is based off of my personal judgment of sound accuracy, comfort, and relative price. If you’re looking for an in-depth review of a bunch of headphones in all price ranges, I recommend reading Steve Guttenberg and Marco Arment’s reviews. There are also recommendations at The Wirecutter and various internet forums.

Jason Tate Jan 20, 2016

One of the more frequent questions I’m asked is what software do I use for insert a task here. This post hopes to keep a running list of my favorite apps, programs, and tools that I use on a regular basis. I’ve tried to break up the list into helpful sections and linked out to the app store when appropriate. Everything listed here I personally use and recommend. I’ll try and update this post on a semi-regular basis.

Favorite Books

Jason Tate Jan 20, 2016

Trying to keep track of my “favorite” books is next to impossible. However, this is a quick list of books that I would put into that category. It’s nowhere near complete. You can follow me on Goodreads for a running list and ratings of the books I read.

Jason Tate Jan 20, 2016

There’s something about a cold beer and watching a good TV show that is the perfect end to a day. This is a running list of some of my favorite TV shows. It’s by no means a complete list, but I’ll try and keep it updated semi-regularly with stuff that I recommend checking out. You can follow me on Trak.tv for a more up-to-date list of what I’ve been watching.

Jason Tate Jan 20, 2016

This will attempt to be a running list of movies that I consider my “favorites.” It’s by no means complete, but it’s a good starting point for a bunch of movies that I really like and enjoy. If you’re looking for something to watch and haven’t checked these out yet, well, I think it’s a damn good group of movies. I’ll do my best to keep this list updated on a semi-regular basis to track the movies I consider my favorites.

You can also follow me on Letterboxd for a running list and ratings of the movies I watch.

Jason Tate Jan 20, 2016

Looking for some great music and not sure where to start? Here’s a list of some of my favorite albums of all time. This list spans almost all genres and eras and is by no means “complete” — but if you haven’t heard these albums, I recommend getting on that.

Jason Tate Jan 18, 2016

On this week’s episode of Encore we look at the best stretches of three or more songs in albums, our preference of albums over playlists, bands going on hiatus, and if the internet has gotten more hostile lately. We then move into discussing the passing of David Bowie and how to get started on his massive catalog. The podcast ends with us talking about the new Kanye West song and Nielsen’s 2015 report (and of course a little Star Wars thrown in).

Read More “Just Dive In (Episode 112)”

Sound of Sirens (Episode 111)

Jason Tate Jan 7, 2016

Welp, here we are with the first episode of this year’s Encore podcast. This week finds us giving a little follow-up on our past two episodes (Star Wars and End of the Year Lists), before diving into questions about albums we’re looking forward to in 2016, music predictions, the meaning of “production,” and what 10 year tours we’d like to see. We finish the episode giving our first impressions of the new Brian Fallon album, Painkillers, and talk about the new Kanye West song, and the possibilities for Green Day making a comeback this year.

AbsolutePunk.net’s Top Albums of 2015

Jason Tate Jan 6, 2016

This best of list was put together by the AbsolutePunk.net staff in 2015. It used an old system for ranking albums, but has been brought over to Chorus.fm for posterity.

Jason Tate Jan 1, 2016

We hope everyone is having a great New Year’s eve – probably playing a lot of Death Cab for Cutie, right? This is officially the last episode of the Encore podcast for 2015. This week Thomas and I look at our favorite albums that came out during the year, discuss how we picked them, why we picked them, where we put them, and then also talk a little about other “favorites” in the year (movies, TV shows, etc.). I’d like to wish everyone a happy end of the year – stay safe out there! – and say thank you to everyone that checked out the podcast this year.

Read More “Best of 2015 (Episode 110)”

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.

Miscellaneous Recommendations

Favorite Headphones & Turntable

Favorite Software

Favorite Books

Favorite TV Shows

Favorite Movies

Favorite Albums

Just Dive In (Episode 112)

Sound of Sirens (Episode 111)

AbsolutePunk.net’s Top Albums of 2015

Best of 2015 (Episode 110)

The Force Awakens (Episode 109)

You Don’t Want Demoitis (Episode 108)

Cool App: Next (Expense Tracking)

Plex on the Apple TV