New Music from St. Vincent

On October 13th, St. Vincent released her 6th full length album "MASSEDUCTION". It's incredible!!! It's a breakup record set to pop music. I love it, and have been listening to it pretty much non-stop since its release.

The song Pills is my favorite thus far. It's a great example of what St. Vincent does musically on this record. 

The Revenge of Analog

Photo Credit: www.amazon.com

I was browsing a book store in Hyde Park two weeks ago, and I came across a book by David Sax entitled "The Revenge of Analog". The theme of the book is how many analog technologies such as record players, paper books/journals, and film photography are making a comeback in the digital age.

Not just a comeback, a very big comeback. I'm only two chapters into the book, but thus far Sax is arguing that we (humans) need to have some sort of connection to certain types of objects in order to have a connection. With digital technology, we can own "stuff", but they are just codes. Nothing we can hold. But if we have a vinyl record of Rubber Soul, we have something in our hands that represents that art.

I'm really enjoying the book thus far. I do find myself drawn to more analogy technologies recently. I try and listen to a record an evening. Cut down on my phone time, and watch DVDs instead of streaming. (I know DVDs are still digital, but you still can hold them in your hands.) I almost feel like I'm more connected to the analog/physical object than the digital.

I sense that this may be a future topic for my podcast series 'The Looking Glass'.

Four Formats

Over the past month or so, I've been thinking of ways to improve my podcast series "The Looking Glass". Overall, I feel that the show has many bright spots, but it is in danger of becoming stagnate. After listening to a wide variety of shows, speaking to friends, colleagues, and family, I feel that I might have thought of four "formats" that I could employ that will help improve my series drastically. Here are my ideas, and I should not that none of these format ideas are original. They've all been employed by other broadcasters, but nevertheless they will be new to me.

1. First person storytelling. Little to no narration throughout the entire piece. This will allow the guest to tell their story.

2. Documentary Style. Interviews. Soundbytes. The public interviewed for opinions. Narration used to tie the story together. Very traditional style.

3. Current Style. Interview cut up with narration connecting the pieces together.

4. Unabridged Interview. Air the interview as is.

I'm excited about these new styles, and can't wait to employ them into my storytelling.

Star Trek Kick

Photo Credit: Star Trek.com 

I've been on a Star Trek kick recently. I think part of it is I have the opportunity to see Wrath of Khan in the theater. Just rewatching the films reminds me how unique and interesting the series is. Plus it's ultimately just a good old fashion adventure show, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Sound Designing for The Looking Glass

I had a great lunch today!! Not only was the food terrific, but I came away with some incredible ideas for my podcast series, 'The Looking Glass'. First some background. For the past few months I've been slightly dissatisfied with my podcast series. Ultimately, I've seen it as an "over-glorified" interview series. Yes I still thought it was good, but I feel like there was nothing that helped it stand out. When people listen, I really want them to know that they are listening to a project that I worked on.

Which brings me to my lunch today. I had lunch with the man who literally created the college radio station I over see, WXAV 88.3FM. His name is Chuck, and he's worked for Oprah, the Super Bowl, the Today Show. He is legit in every single way possible, and is also one of the nicest people you can meet. I brought this up to him, and he mentioned that I should look into creating some sound designing elements.

Basically what I'm looking at doing is utilizing some type of SFX or musical inter log to serve as a transition between topics. He also encouraged me to allow the person to tell their story as much as possible. So I should look at ways of using less narration. It's gotten me really excited about working on the project again, and I can't wait to begin work on the future episodes.

BTW I wrote this blog while listening to the new LCD SoundSystem album. It's fantastic, and I highly recommend you go and check it out. The name of the album is American Dream. Thus far, my favorite track is Oh Baby.

A Relevant Superman Story

I was online earlier today and found this old Superman radio drama online that is incredibly relevant to the events of the past few weeks. The story arch aired originally in 1948 on the Mutual Broadcasting Network, and it's about Superman fighting the racist organization known as the 'Knights of the White Carnation'.

The Jonathan Goldstein Interview

I meant to share this earlier, but below you will find my interview with Jonathan Goldstein. I've been reflecting on this interview for the past few weeks, and I think it turned out well. I'm always looking for ways to challenge myself, and I think this interview was a challenge for me.

I'm thinking of re-purposing this interview for my podcast series "The Looking Glass". Maybe I'll experiment with how I will present it for that series to make it different from the straight interview for WXAV. But I digress.