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.
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.
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.
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.
This week’s episode of Encore is almost as delicious as macaroni and cheese stuffed chicken wings. This week we look at if an early leak will hurt Adele, the idea of an “infinite” movie franchise, going to shows by yourself, what can impact the price of vinyl, if an artist contributing music to a political campaign bugs us, and the big topic: How would we “fix” Apple Music, the death of Rdio, and the retirement of the Zune. You’ll find show notes, ways to subscribe, and links to stream and/or downloaded this episode in the replies.
The Matches have (sorta) returned and graced us with new music, and it only seems right that we get a music video to go along with it. While the band released a version of the video a few weeks ago, we’ve got the group’s directors cut. They’ve dropped the lyrics from the video and added a little tweak for good measure. Hit read more to watch the video for “Life of a Match.”
Read More “The Matches – “Life of a Match” (Director’s Cut)”
This week’s episode of Encore tackles world building in movies and where it works (Star Wars, Marvel, etc.) and where it fails (Spectre). We talk quite a bit about Star Wars in this one — spurred by a certain someone live tweeting their first viewing of the series mere minutes before we started recording. We also look at the death of Cobra Starship, Brand New recording, and answer a variety of listener topics: how often we go to shows, do we play instruments, should Blink-182 re-record old music with Matt Skiba, is pop-punk trying too hard, did pop-punk rule the world this year, what is up with cassette tapes, what do we think of @FutureAltPress, do our significant others shape our musical tastes, more Star Wars, and what happened to the very, very old versions of this website. We hope you like this one, thanks for spending an evening with us. You’ll find show notes, ways to subscribe, and links to stream and/or downloaded this episode in the replies.
Ever wonder about the first time I heard Good Charlotte? Probably not, but you can get the story in this week’s episode of Encore. This week we look at why pop-punk no longer seems capable of writing a hook and can be painfully un-catchy at times, if we like “deluxe” albums, what albums we play most on vinyl, following up the Victory vs Spotify kerfuffle, Good Charlotte is back, we may get new The Starting Line music next year, ESPN shut down Grantland, and Conde Nast buying Pitchfork. Also a huge thank you to everyone that bought Encore t-shirts! Please send us some photos once you get yours. You’ll find show notes, ways to subscribe, and links to stream and/or downloaded this episode in the replies.
This week on Encore the pop-punk ladder explains to me what it means to be “posi.” I learn something new about all these youngins every day. This week’s topics include: Basketball is back, the Star Wars trailer was released and watched, some bands do “follow backs” on Twitter and that’s kinda weird, music being listening to exclusively on YouTube, advice for someone wanting to be a music producer, Spotify vs Victory Records vs Streetlight Manifesto, Adele, Google Play Podcasts, the new Apple TV, and favorite singles so far in 2015. Please note: This is the last week you can get a t-shirt if you want one! So pick one up. You’ll find show notes, ways to subscribe, and links to stream and/or downloaded this episode in the replies.
I’m not sure I’m used to typing Encore yet when introducing the new podcast episodes. However, here we are with episode 101. Just a quick reminder that there are 12 days left to pick up our limited run of Encore t-shirts on teespring and thank you to everyone that has ordered one so far. I can’t wait to see pictures of people wearing the new logo. This week’s episode has us discussing some football, talking a little about other podcasts we like to listen to, the idea of “self-titled” albums and if they should have a certain “feel” to them or not. Then we discuss Thrice’s Vheissu turning 10 and how much that album in particular meant to me, Fall Out Boy’s re-release of “Irresistible,” some Panic! at the Disco stuff, and other random things spliced in there. Note: This episode features special guest Drew Beringer as Thomas had some family commitments this week. You’ll find show notes, ways to subscribe, and links to stream and/or downloaded this episode in the replies.
We made it to the 100th episode of our podcast — now it’s time to shake things up. Today we’d like to introduce you to the new podcast: Encore. We’ve undergone a name change, a little re-brand, and we’re coming at you with a brand new special episode this week. This week’s topics look at the reasons we decided to make this change, the process we went through in picking our new name and logo, the announcement of a special teespring campaign for limited edition Encore t-shirts, a special segment with guest Drew Beringer (where we talk about new music, what Drew’s been up to, technology, and all kinds of stuff), and then — of course — we end talking about Jesse Lacey’s emotional speech and the thoughts of Brand New calling it a day. We think it’s an episode worthy of this milestone.
I’d just like to take a moment to thank each and every one of our listeners for going on this journey with us. When we started the podcast I had no idea what it would be or become. I had no idea that I would end up looking forward to recording an episode each week. I had no idea we’d be able to grow it to the audience we have. It sounded fun to try and it has ended up being one of the highlights of my entire career here on the website. So, from Thomas, Drew, and I — truly thank you. I hope you enjoy this episode, and maybe the next 100, as much as I know I will recording them. We’re very excited about the new launch, logo, and t-shirts — they’re only available for about three weeks, so act fast. And if you like our show, we’d love it if you could help spread the word. Maybe tell a friend about the podcast, post about it on Twitter or Facebook, share our new logo, recommend it on Overcast or rate it in iTunes. Any of those things really would go a long way in helping us continue to grow the show and reach even more music fans. If everything goes to plan you won’t need to re-subscribe to the podcast (the new version should show up in your podcast player of choice). You’ll find show notes, ways to subscribe, and links to stream and/or downloaded this episode in the replies.
I recently came across this Italian pop-punk band called NOW.HERE. Usually when I hit play on a band labeled “pop-punk” cynicism gets the best of me. My history with the genre is as old as my history online and most of the time I just sort of feel like I’ve heard it all before and that nothing can excite me in this space anymore. Then I stumbled onto the new EP by NOW.HERE. These four songs, crafted by 5 kids from Italy, hit me in a way that very little in the genre has in years. There’s an urgency and energy that reads as authentic and fresh to me. I went from “man, this would be my favorite find if I was in high-school” to “I keep coming back to this more than I expected” to “fuck, this is really good” to “see, I still do like pop-punk” to “yeah, this is one of my favorite finds in a while.” If you’re looking for a great pop-punk EP or maybe just looking for something to relight that air-guitaring jump-kicking part of your soul — start with NOW.HERE.
Cartel hit the studio with Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount to record some acoustic renditions of their favorite tracks off their classic album, Chroma. You can find a playlist featuring a special video performance of these five songs after the jump.
For Christmas I got a few Amazon gift cards, and because these things apparently just burn a hole in my mind — I decided to buy myself a couple presents with them.
One of those was the Logitech UE Mini-Boom.
The problem I was trying to solve was how to give myself a very easy way to listen to podcasts while in the shower / getting ready in the bathroom. The rest of my place has speakers where I can be anywhere and hear them with clarity; however, the bathroom (especially with the shower running) drowns out almost all of the sound. So, I wanted something I could easily listen to while in the shower or shaving. And how’s this device solve that problem? With flying colors.
motifsinthecity asked:
You’ve mentioned several websites that have become staples in my morning Feedly reading. I was wondering if you had plans for a “Recommendation Post” like your technology one—a post that culls together a list of your essential morning reading for news on tech, art, pop-culture, etc. Personally, I’d find something like that invaluable.
Thanks for the compliment! Here’s a rundown of websites and authors I read practically every day (most of these I subscribe to via RSS, some of them I browse). I’ll try and keep this updated when new things get added into my daily routine.
Read More “Recommended Blog Reading”