Argyle Nation

Cover Songs

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 07:49:16 -0500

Short version: I love ‘em.

Long version: I understand lots of folks disagree, either because of an earnest preference for an artist’s original, “definitive” take or because it’s simply the zeitgeist to thumb their nose at covers by default (and sometimes you’ve got a bit of a venn diagram overlap going on).

And, yes, sometimes it’s just an infatuation rather than a true love affair. Sometimes the newness of the arrangement, the promise of something better mixed with something familiar, creates a slightly dishonest emotional connection in my brain. But who can blame me? Who isn’t taken with something that simultaneously calls back the past while teasing the future?

I look at it like this: the original recording is a starting point, and, no matter how good it is…it can’t possibly “do everything” that the song is capable of. It’s “1.” And 1 may be very good, and already explore a lot of options and possibilities locked within the structure of the melody and the changes. But it’s a launchpad. There are a thousand possibilities for each song, and for someone like me, who has such a hard time finishing my own stuff, this way of thinking is liberating.

Good cover songs show us the unlimited possibilities of music, and how just because you’re adhering to the basic structure of a piece doesn’t mean you have to necessarily take the approach you think you have to take (MAYBE THAT ALSO APPLIES TO LIFE LOLZ BIG PICTURE).

Also, the idea that the first interpretation is the best has always confused me. This doesn’t just apply to others re-imaging an artist’s work, either. Often times when a new song has become an old one, after years of evolving on the road, it takes on a greater focus and brighter shine and provides a more interesting experience than the original one-off track ever could.

And yes, to be fair, there have been plenty of terrible covers of great songs. But I meet too many people who are so infatuated with the idea of being seen as artistically pure that they refuse to admit that an outsider’s re-imagining of somebody else’s art could ever have merit.

To me, the song and the recording are two different beasts, and their individual greatness is often mutually exclusive. Let one’s brilliance feed the other’s inventiveness.

New Product Idea: Ode de Motel

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:26:00 -0500

There’s nothing like a romantic getaway. The excitement of travel, combined with the presence of the one you love, is a powerful aphrodisiac. However, we can’t always be on vacation; eventually, we have to return to our normal, everyday lives.

But what if there was a way to feel like you’re constantly on one of these excursions? Gentlemen, I give you “Ode de Motel,” a fragrance meant to remind you—and the one you let get close—of your time away from home. Patterned after that distinct smell of new carpet, cleaning supplies and an unrelenting air conditioner, “Ode de Motel” will use the powerful memory trigger of this pleasant* odor to make you feel like you’ve always just arrived on vacation.

* Actual pleasant reactions may vary.

I’ve been having some (supposedly) unexplainable neck pain...

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:55:00 -0500

I’ve been having some (supposedly) unexplainable neck pain the past few days. After some thought, however, I’m beginning to think it may be linked to the strange way I sleep. The above diagram is not an exaggeration.

Back in college, Dave and I hosted a regular Saturday night...

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 17:20:00 -0500

Back in college, Dave and I hosted a regular Saturday night party at his place, dubbed “J.D.’s Cocktail Lounge.” I was the J, he was the D, and the house served as a gathering spot for all our friends to get a little classy, listen to jazz records, dance and enjoy ourselves.

A few years ago, when I had a on-air radio shift, I had Dave be my “correspondent,” which amounted to calling him on the phone and doing 2 minute comedy bits about pop culture or anything amusing that popped into our heads. Not long ago, I found the file on my computer with mp3s of all these bits, and thought, “You know? Not only was this a lot of fun, but these aren’t half bad.”

So, enter this podcast. I figured doing a podcast would be a whole lot of fun, and that combining an extended take on our radio stuff with the backdrop-gimmick of actually being AT J.D.’s Cocktail Lounge would be a good call.

SO, CHECK US OUT! Download/Listen HERE

In the premiere episode, we discuss that annoying “What my [somebody] thinks I do” Facebook meme, the sad state of Family Video, the seemingly impossible, proposed sequel to “I Am Legend,” the surprisingly revelation that I actually know who Jeremy Lin is, and how to handle a really awkward conversation with a new neighbor.

Optometry Woes

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:44:00 -0500

Going to the eye doctor is stressful because I feel like I’m going to get the answer wrong to a question without a right answer. “Is this lens better, worse or about the same?” my doctor will ask and I’ll struggle to remember the subtle differences between lens 1 and 3, followed by the nuances that made lens 2 stand out from lens 4. And, since there is truly no wrong response to a question only I can know the answer to, I realize my stress level over an eye exam is both A) stupid, and B) probably indicative of some deeper issues. But dammit if I don’t still worry.

After a long weekend devoted almost entirely to work, I had to...

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 23:07:34 -0500

After a long weekend devoted almost entirely to work, I had to relax tonight by making this.

Back in the day, my grandma was a school teacher. When she...

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:37:10 -0500

Back in the day, my grandma was a school teacher. When she died, my dad came into possession an old reel-to-reel tape labeled simply “Mrs. Anderson.” Not having a reel-to-reel player, he wasn’t able to play it, but when I recently discovered the tape in his office, I took it into the radio station and dubbed off the hidden gem that awaited me.

The tape is from her classroom, probably recorded in the mid-to-late 1950’s. It’s about 30 minutes of kids reading poems and prose, ostensibly to get them comfortable speaking both in front of a group and into one of those newfangled tape recording machines. Occasionally, though, we’re treated to presentations like in the following clip. I have no idea if these two kids wrote this bizarre skit, or if it’s from one of their era’s equally bizarre textbooks, but every time I listen to this it leaves me in stitches. The stereotypical gender roles are like a lazy ad executive’s notes for a TV commercial, but it’s the weird—and unceasing—nonsequitors that make this.

Here’s the skit. It’s only a 1:30.

Vince Gilligan (creator and executive producer of Breaking Bad)...

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:14:00 -0500

Vince Gilligan (creator and executive producer of Breaking Bad) came to Traverse City tonight as part of our town’s National Writers Series, and Erin and I presented him with a set of the valentines we made. He really liked them and said he was going to put them up in the show’s writers room.

I’d say the first week of February was a good one for me.

"Baby, you're aHEAD of the crowd"

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:16:00 -0500

I’ve written many times before about my love of Breaking Bad, so when I came across these Breaking Bad Valentines, I sort of lost my mind a little bit. I sent the link to my sister, Erin, also a huge fan of the show, and over GChat one afternoon we went back and forth coming up with additional taglines for February 14th cards.

Because I don’t have any visual art talent, I couldn’t draw the characters like those fantastic, original Valentines, but I think these turned out pretty well all the same. Erin was on fire with the taglines—of the Valentines I ended up making, probably 80% were her idea. So, I tip my Heisenberg pork pie hat to her.

AVAST! THAR BE SPOILERS UP AHEAD, MATEY. SAIL THESE WATERS WITH CAUTION

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:50:00 -0500

As children, we’re all faced with this question, and as adolescents and young adults we struggle not only to find the answer but then to stay honest to it. Throughout my 27 years I’ve had a lot of different responses; “filmmaker,” “musician,” “writer,” “audio engineer,” “disc jockey.” I rotate wearing each of these hats, but too often I’ve felt as though everything I do is disconnected, like listening to ten minutes of non sequiturs and trying to find a common thread.

I’ve played house with the question for years but never made a serious commitment to answering it until recently. After a lot of thought, I’ve decided:

I want to be an “entertainer.”

Yes, it sounds silly to write or say out loud, but I don’t mean it in the way you’re probably thinking I do. That title conjures up images of old vaudeville guys or a bad magician at a kid’s birthday party. Yet look at the stuff I love; it’s all in the service of creating entertainment. I make stuff; I perform. Sometimes it’s goofy, sometimes it’s serious, but in the end it all serves that same purpose. It’s all connected.

Dustin Hoffman explains to Jason Schwartzman how all of my interests are connected

Most important in this designation is the notion of an “umbrella identity,” something I can look to as a way to unite all my interests. And the way I can share them is this blog. Previously, I’ve thought of Argyle Nation as another disconnected project, an independent vehicle. That way of thinking has changed, though. I now see this site as the stage where all my other interests get presented. A playground for my projects.

———

So…what does this change? Everything and nothing, which is, admittedly, the most infuriatingly pretentious answer I could give. A lot of this realization is just helpful for my own internal thought process, but it will, in turn, help with my organization and productivity….thus, more content here. More stupid stuff, more serious stuff, more pictures of me in weird wigs and videos of me singing songs about food.

So, business as usual, but just…better.

OH GOD THE DARKNESS, IT DESCENDS UPON ME LIKE THE WAVES OF THE...

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:01:02 -0500

OH GOD THE DARKNESS, IT DESCENDS UPON ME LIKE THE WAVES OF THE ATLANTIC IN A FIERCE STORM OF ANGER AND FURY.

Clearly, I’m not pumped about all of this.

This is a drawing of me my friend Brad did with MS Paint back in...

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 07:34:00 -0500

This is a drawing of me my friend Brad did with MS Paint back in college. Something about it just said “Friday” this morning. So there you go.

Bob Vila's Tips for Kids

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:12:46 -0500

As a kid, I never really grasped the concept of what was and wasn’t appropriate for Show & Tell. While other children brought pets or awesome Christmas toys, I had head-scratching items, like a chunk of a rotting tree stump from my backyard. I brought it because it resembled the side of a mountain cliff (?), despite it’s wood-y appearance and mushy texture. Furthermore, I insisted I wanted to start a group at school called “The Cliff Club,” where we would ostensibly talk about…cliffs, because that sounds like something that’d interest 7 year olds.

My finest “Show & Tell Moment,” though, came in 1st Grade, when I wanted to let my classmates know I’d put together what I saw as a pretty rad ninja costume. It was just black pants, a black turtle neck pulled up to my nose, and then a second shirt worn on my head like a bandana and tucked into the back of the turtleneck. So, the only person who thought this was amazing was…me.

I somehow convinced both my mother and teacher to let me show everybody this earth-shattering discovery, but when I took my backpack into the bathroom to change I realized I’d left the second shirt at home, which meant I was standing in the bathroom, waiting to emerge and wow my classmates with the big reveal of me owning a black turtleneck.

Of my two choices (hide in the bathroom until school let out or try to make this failed costume work), I chose B. I pulled the shirt over my head, resembling this, and leapt out of the bathroom roaring like a neurotic tiger, because we all know ninjas roar (yelling, of course, is ~~a great misdirect~~ not a great misdirect)

Needless to say, nobody understood what was going on or, more importantly, why it was going on. Neither did I.

Not sure why I woke up thinking about this story. I think the lesson here is “double check things” and, in the words of Bob Vila and then dads everywhere, “Measure twice, cut once,” but I’d also advocate for “Show & Tell just brings out the weirdness in already odd children.”

As everybody knows, all good evenings end with a round in the...

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:28:00 -0500

As everybody knows, all good evenings end with a round in the Hurricane machine (with winds up to 78 mph, of course).

Hot date tonight. Don’t wait up.

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:16:45 -0500

Hot date tonight. Don’t wait up.

So, let me get this straight: after saving the Mushroom Kingdom...

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:16:00 -0500

So, let me get this straight: after saving the Mushroom Kingdom yet again by dominating fifteen courses, collecting 120 stars and defeating every enemy to come his way (including three separate showdowns with Bowser), Mario is rewarded with…a freshly baked cake. There’s no sack of money, no parade—hell, he doesn’t even get a real kiss from the Princess. Just a damn cake. Every year my birthday reward for continuing to breathe is the same reward Mario gets for defeating evil personified and freeing a peaceful world from tyranny.

I always forget how frustrating I find the end of Super Mario 64.

Occupy My Heart

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 07:59:17 -0500

A few weeks ago, Dave and I were chatting online, as we are wont to do, and came up with a Knocked Up-style romantic comedy idea set in the midst of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Excerpt: ‪ ———-

Dave: She can whisper in his ear all sexy-like “I want you to occupy… me”‬ followed by tasteful shots of mushing around in a tent somewhere

me: ‪”Wow, it’s going to get so cold out here tonight…I want to stay and continue to fight for justice, but…I don’t know if we’ll be able to stay warm enough.”‬
“Oh, I’ve got some ideas….”
that’s when they walk into the tent
and we’re treated to undressing silhouettes
and then some other occupiers staring and elbowing each other while going “heh heh heh.”

David: ‪a few months later: “Baby, I think I’m pregnant, and I’m 99% sure it’s yours”‬
“I thought I’d never want to be in the 1%… until now.”

———-

Look for Occupy My Heart to hit theaters Summer 20-Sometime.

My Take On Rock's Biggest Debate

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:10:00 -0500

The Beatles are the guys you run into on a Thursday evening after an independent movie premiere. You see each other at the restaurant next door to the theater, and catch-up while also discussing everyone’s interpretation of the film’s meaning.

The Rolling Stones are the guys you go out drinking with on a Friday night. You have some awesomely hilarious conversations in-between shooting pool, hitting on girls and getting kicked out of at least two bars.

Artistic Advantage: Beatles.
Fun Advantage: Stones.

People You May Know

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:28:00 -0500

Being reminded I signed up for LinkedIn only when I receive a “HEY PERSON I KNOW I HAVE A JOB TOO SO JOIN MY ‘NETWORK’ FOR SOME REASON” email notification from them, I don’t ever spend any time on it. This morning, for whatever reason, though, I logged in to see what was going on with the most boring social networking site out there. I discovered two things: 1) my employment information is current as of 2006, and 2) LinkedIn’s “People You May Know” feature is damn eerie. The number of folks it correctly thinks I should know but has no logical way of determining is unnerving. How does it know who my business attorney is? An old friend in a distant city? Somebody I used to buy coffee from 3 years ago? LinkedIn, you are smarter than you should be.

Second Time Around

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 08:17:40 -0500

You ever have that experience where an old song you never liked comes on the radio and suddenly it’s your jam because of your never-ending, nostalgia-fueled lust for the past? This actually happens a lot to me, and often with tracks released around the turn of the Willennium, in my late junior high and high school years. I still won’t even like the song itself all that much, but I’ll still crank it up and love every second of it.

(And, despite not really paying attention to this song the first time around, I somehow know all the words, so…even worse…or better).