A Back-Up Thomas (Encore Episode 132)

Encore - 132

This week’s episode of Encore is with special guest Deanna Chapman. (Thomas is on vacation and watching football games and stuff.) On this episode we talk about how the music scene has changed over the years and what first drew us to it. I’m always curious about what brought other people into this music scene, how it differs today, and the role technology and social media has played in shaping it. We also talk about Batman: The Animated Series, some of our favorite apps, Apple Music/Spotify/Bandcamp, and other fun stuff.

As always, thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy.

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Forgotten Free Time (Encore Episode 131)

Encore 131

This week’s episode of Encore has us discussing what we think is the best way to “roll out” an album. What should bands do to maximize the hype and avoid being too overexposed? We also tackle the idea of “free time” and what it means to us as we get a little older. How do we decide what to do with those precious few hours and decide between playing video games, listening to podcasts, or reading a book? The answer is never easy. We also touch a little on Thomas seeing Blink-182 and The Menzingers’ live, new music from Jimmy Eat World, Every Time I Die, and American Football, and I guess college football is coming back and people are excited.

Also, we have released another bonus episode for supporters where we discuss our top three breakfast foods. Supporters can find that in the supporter forum.

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Planes Fly Fast (Encore Episode 130)

Encore 130

This week’s podcast finds the hosts talking about traveling and the routines related to flying. We discuss (as spoiler free as possible) ‘Stranger Things,’ we gush about the new The Menzingers’ song, and we talk about Green Day’s new one as well. We also talk about looking up tour dates, song lyrics, and what bands may end up standing the test of time and why. We finish up with some Olympics talk. Because OLYMPICS!

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Background Music Monsters (Encore Episode 129)

This week’s main topic of Encore is focused on when we listen to music, and specifically: background music. Do we listen to music in the background while working? What about while doing other activities? What kind of music? What genres? Can we watch TV while working in the background? When do we listen to podcasts? And on top of that there’s talk about music’s role in our lives as we get older and grow up. What role does music have in our lives now? We also discuss some follow-up about last week’s Blink-182 episode, My Chemical Romance teasing things, Pokémon Go, and much more.

Also, we tease a special supporter bonus episode that is all about our “Top 3” pizza toppings and drinks. Supporters: that is now up in your awesome thread.

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I Have Takes That Need to Be Heard (Encore Episode 128)

Encore - Episode 128

This week’s episode of Encore is all about Blink-182 and their new album California. Thomas kinda really hates it. I like it more. We discuss our history with the band, what we think about the songs, why I’m more positive on the album and the “feel” it gives off, and why Thomas thinks it’s super boring. We also have some talk about Snapchat and the NBA making us excited and sad all at the same time. These are the episodes that are a lot of fun to do — I like when we disagree.

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Best of 2016 … So Far (Encore Episode 127)

This week’s episode of Encore looks at our favorite albums so far from 2016. Next week we’ll be posting our contributor and moderator list feature, but, before that you can hear your favorite podcast hosts explain what albums they like the best and how they came up with their very scientific lists. We also talk about beer, the NBA finals, Yellowcard saying goodbye, Paramore, Every Time I Die, Eisley, and a little about Blink-182 (but expect much more on that album in the next episode).

We’d love to hear what albums you’ve been enjoying this year as well, so please hit the the little quote bubble to join us in the forums and let us know. Also, feel free to leave any questions you’d like us to tackle in future episodes. Thanks to everyone who listens.

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It’s Been a Good Two Weeks (Encore Episode 126)

Encore 126

This week’s episode of Encore looks at a lot of the music that’s come out in the past few weeks, specifically: The Hotelier, PUP, Thrice, and Saosin. We also look at the new music from Descendents, Sum 41, Yellowcard, and A Day to Remember. Plus, there’s a nice tangent all about Less Than Jake, because those guys are still somehow not given enough credit for how awesome they are. This is a fun one! We hope you like it.

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I Too Am A Nightmare (Encore Episode 125)

Encore 125

The obvious topic this week is a look at Brand New’s new single “I Am a Nightmare.” Do we like it? Where does it fit in the band’s discography? Has Thomas finally come around on Daisy? It’s Brand New, so of course we’re talking about it for a while. We also spend some time talking about the new Chorus logo, the (great) Riot Fest lineup, and how Bandcamp has figured out a sustainable business model. We end by talking a little about what defunct pop-punk band we think we’d most like to come back for the summer. As always, thank you for listening!

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Advance Music Culture (Encore Episode 124)

Encore - 124

This week’s episode of Encore looks at “advance music culture” and what the expectations are for music bloggers that get sent music in advance. Has the music press become too “braggy”? Does talking about an album too much ruin the album for fans by building up expectations too high? What about bands that don’t want anyone to “hype” up their albums? Alongside the main topic we talk about Captan America: Civil War, Radiohead, Modern Baseball, and answer a few listener questions as well. You’ll find all the download and subscription information below, and, as always — thanks for listening.

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Bored to Death (Encore Episode 123)

Encore 123

This week’s episode of Encore spends a lot of time talking about all of the Blink-182 news over the past week. We talk about the band’s new song, their new album, the entire thing about the song going up a day early and what happened there, and the band’s massive upcoming tour. We also talk a little about the new Drake album, answer a couple of listener questions, and, of course, talk about beer and basketball as well. You can find all the information to stream and/or download the episode below. I hope everyone has a great weekend.

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Song Clip Fiasco (Encore Episode 122)

Encore 122

On this week’s episode of Encore we mourn the passing of Prince, discuss Beyoncé’s surprise album release and look how perfect the marketing behind this roll out seemed to be, and try and predict what the new Blink-182 song you’ve all heard would sound like three days early. We discuss Bayside’s new album, The Hotelier releasing a new song, and then tackle some listener questions. We discuss the “image” of bands, our favorite vinyl, how we read websites and why, and then debate if we can declare that emo has been “revived.”

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Teaching a Brand New Fan to Fish (Encore Episode 121)

Encore 121

This week’s episode of Encore tackles a bunch of listener questions, things like: why would anyone defend The Story So Far kicking a fan? What were our favorite bands growing up and do we still listen to them? What services we use to discover new music? And why do I post about mainstream music these days? We also talk about Taylor Swift and Jimmy Eat World, Moose Blood signing with Hopeless Records, and Green Day, Blink-182, and Brand New.

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No Guilt, Just Pleasure (Encore Episode 120)

Encore 120

This week’s episode of Encore looks at the first week of the website and how things are going so far, then we tackle a bunch of upcoming movies (Star Wars, Fantastic Beasts, Civil War) and give some thoughts on Batman v Superman. This leads to a little talk about comic books. Then we dive into this week’s main topics: Record Store Day, do we believe in “guilty pleasures” for art, our thoughts on buying albums when they’re on sale from a label, and if a bad album from a band can ruin future albums for us. We end by talking about if we’d leave our jobs for “The Ringer” and, of course, talk about Blink-182 finishing their new album.

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chorus.fm (Episode 119)

Encore 119

It was difficult finding something to talk about on this week’s episode of Encore. We almost thought about just continuing our little hiatus because we just weren’t sure if we had any good topics. We ended up settling on one and pretty much spend an hour or so discussing this new website, what led to its creation, some of the decisions made along the way, and what we hope the future holds. This episode is kinda like The Format’s “I’m Actual” and I feel a little awkward spending the whole time talking about me, but, we got it out of the way. Next week we’ll be back with a more regular episode about news and answering questions and stuff. Feel free to hit up the comments (click the little quote button on this post) and let us know if you have anything you’d like us to touch on. Thanks for dealing with our little break — we’re really excited to be back.

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The Great Tank Top Purge (Episode 118)

On this week’s episode of Encore we start by talking a little about the Academy Awards, do some follow-up on last weeks “best 10 albums of the last 15 years,” and then tackle some reader questions. Thomas recounts his history with Set Your Goals, we give some updated thoughts on The Wonder Years’ last album, and we look at how we’ve changed or matured how we handle conversations on the forums. We talk a bit about “where to start” with different forms of art by well known musicians or authors or filmmakers and then get into some of the big news over the last week: Transit have broken up, Yellowcard are back with Hopeless, and The Hotelier have released the track listing and album art for their new album. We end with some talk of Rolling Stone’s top 40 emo albums and The 1975 aiming for that number one spot on two charts. And there’s the return of the siren. Rejoice.

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