The Podcast Worm: Inside Star Wars

Deanna Chapman Jul 5, 2019

I started The Podcast Worm with the intention of keeping it up regularly. The first one went live around 9 months ago now, so clearly, that didn’t happen. However, much like Halloween Unmasked, Inside Star Wars was a podcast that really caught my attention.

Mark Ramsey is the host, who has teamed up with Wondery for multiple series that dive into certain movies like Jaws and Psycho. I haven’t listened to those just yet (but I have plans to). With Inside Star Wars, I was able to learn things about the cast that I didn’t know before.

Liner Notes (July 5th, 2019)

Jason Tate Jul 5, 2019

This week’s newsletter is brought to you by fireworks and scared pets.

In this week’s newsletter, I write about the new music sharing pages I created, talk a little about the Taylor Swift/masters thing, share some thoughts on new music out this week, and go through my usual media diet rundown. There’s also a playlist of ten songs I loved this week. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.

If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.

The Best Albums of 2019 (So Far)

Drew Beringer Jul 5, 2019

It’s crazy to think another mid-year list is in the books – the first six months of 2019 have flown by. Thankfully, there has been plenty of music for us to discuss, debate, love, and share. Once again, the Chorus.fm is an unique list – a diverse one that beautifully shows off the collective, eclectic taste of our staff and contributors. So without further ado here is our favorite twenty albums of 2019 thus far – we’re excited to see what the next six months have to offer.

Note: You can share your own lists in the forums and clicking the artist name and album title will take you to the album’s streaming page featuring quick links for all streaming services.

A Simple Streaming Music Sharing Page for Chorus

Jason Tate Jul 1, 2019

The music streaming service revolution has been one of the biggest, and most exciting, developments to the music and technology world in my lifetime. We went from driving to a store to buy music, often without ever hearing it beforehand, to having countless hours of music in our pockets with virtually no limits to what we could discover and listen to with the mere press of a button.

As someone that runs a music website, and now a weekly newsletter, that often includes recommendations about new music, I’ve long struggled with just how to share those recommendations with the most people. On this website, I often link to the YouTube video in the post itself for instant listening and then will link to Apple Music and Spotify when appropriate (or if the song isn’t on YouTube yet) since those are the two biggest streaming platforms. I like those short URLS that a lot of labels and PR people are using these days that aggregate all of the streaming platforms into one place for easy sharing; however, what I really wanted was something that I had a little more control over. What if I use a service like this and then it goes under, and all my links die? All of a sudden hours of meticulously linking music recommendations on this website or my newsletter could end up having dead links. So, after coming across the excellent Song.Link service and their API, I decided I would be best served in creating something for myself. That way I could easily create a place to share a song or album, and I wouldn’t have to worry about the URL going away in a few years or it not being updated as streaming services come and go.

The end result is a page that includes links to all the big streaming services, as well as a YouTube video for quick streaming if it exists, and links to purchase the music as well. For example:

Interview: Tanya Batt of BATTS

Mary Varvaris Jul 1, 2019

Tanya Batt is many things. First off, she’s a proud Gecko mum. Then, she’s a musician, an actress, she nannies, and she even works in a theatre. You wouldn’t know it by glancing at our table in the busy Melbourne café, The Hub, but Tanya Batt – who performs under the musical moniker BATTS – played a show in a packed Hamer Hall just a week earlier. Hamer Hall is one of Melbourne’s most beautiful venues, a room Tanya never thought she’d play in. Following a string of concerts as a special guest for Sharon Van Etten (“Sharon is the best. She watched my sets from the side of the stage”), Friday night saw Batt end her album launch shows with a special hometown performance.

Liner Notes (June 28th, 2019)

Jason Tate Jun 28, 2019

This week’s newsletter is brought to you with a massive craving for pizza.

In this week’s newsletter, I share a new fun productivity tip I started using this week, talk a little about the current project I’m working on, and share thoughts on music, movies, and TV shows I enjoyed this week. There’s also a playlist of ten songs I loved and a rant about political debates. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.

If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.

Liner Notes (June 21st, 2019)

Jason Tate Jun 21, 2019

This week’s newsletter is brought to you by the immortal phrase, “I wish it were longer.”

A whole lot of music stuff to write about this week, including thoughts on the new Blink-182 single, the three-album drop from Dashboard Confessional, a bunch of new music, and my first impression of the new Banks album. Plus, I go through my regular media diet rundown, share a playlist of ten songs I loved last week, and write about some other stuff. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.

If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.

Liner Notes (June 14th, 2019)

Jason Tate Jun 14, 2019

This week’s newsletter is brought to you by those newly formed habits you never thought’d have.

In this week’s Liner Notes, I write about new features in the forums, share some apps I really like, and offer thoughts on a whole bunch of new music that’s been coming out these past few weeks. There’s also my regular media diet rundown and a playlist of ten songs I loved this week. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.

If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.

Liner Notes (June 7th, 2019)

Jason Tate Jun 7, 2019

This week’s newsletter is brought to you by a belly full of funfetti cupcakes.

In this week’s newsletter, I write about Apple’s WWDC keynote and announcements, share thoughts on new (and old) music I listened to this week, and do my usual media diet rundown. There’s also a playlist of ten songs I loved this week and some Chorus wallpapers. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.

If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.

Liner Notes (May 31st, 2019)

Jason Tate May 31, 2019

This week’s newsletter is brought to you by my two-day schtick of using sarcastic Taylor Swift gifs around the website.

In this week’s newsletter I reminisce on the 20 year anniversary of Blink-182’s Enema of the State, talk a bit more about The Dangerous Summer and everyone’s reactions to hearing the new songs, and share the three bands I’ll buy anything from before hearing a note of music. Then I go through my usual music, movies, and TV rundown of stuff I enjoyed this week. There’s also a playlist of ten songs I liked this week and this week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.

If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.

Gabe Maas and the Bruins – “Collapse” (Video Premiere)

Adam Grundy May 28, 2019

Today we’re excited to premiere Gabe Maas and the Bruins’ new video for their great new single, “Collapse.” Filled with synth-laden riffs and haunting vocals, this track is sure to stay in your mind for days on end.

Liner Notes (May 24th, 2019)

Jason Tate May 24, 2019

This week’s newsletter is brought to you by a lot of caffeine, sparkling water, and the letter Q.

In this week’s issue I give my first (or more like seventh) impressions of the upcoming album from The Dangerous Summer (spoiler: I like it), go through some of the other music I enjoyed this week, and do my usual media diet rundown. There’s also a playlist of ten songs I loved, and this week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.

If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.

Liner Notes (May 17th, 2019)

Jason Tate May 17, 2019

Welp, we made through another week.

In this week’s newsletter, I look at my relationship with pop-punk in 2019, share some recommendations for ’80s sounding and/or inspired music, and give some thoughts on the new Carly Rae Jepsen album and other music released this week. Then I go through my usual media diet rundown of movies and tv shows I watched, and share ten songs that I enjoyed. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.

If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.

Liner Notes (May 10th, 2019)

Jason Tate May 10, 2019

New Blink-182 music week means I’ve got a lot to say.

I’ve decided to try something a little different, and I’m going to start sending out this newsletter to anyone that would like it via email. If you’d like to have it delivered to your inbox each week, you can sign up here. On the website itself, it will remain a supporter only feature, but I put a lot of time into it each week and want it also to reach more people. And I’ve heard from some supporters that they wish they could share it with a few friends, so I’m going to try this and see if it may be a happy medium. I hope that if you sign-up to read it, and like it, you’ll end up becoming a supporting member so that I can keep writing it. To give you an idea of what you’ll get each week, I’ve made this issue free for all.

In this week’s roundup, I write a lot about Blink-182’s new single and everything surrounding its release. I also share some thoughts on new music I heard this week and the albums coming out that I think are worth your time. Then I go through my usual weekly media diet, share a playlist of ten songs I loved this week, and share some of the new things I rolled out around the website.

This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.

Reminder: If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week, you can sign up here.