The music that stuck out to me from last week are the Uriah Heep album and the Eric Dolphy album. I think I am in the mood for heavy music from around 1970 right now. Stuff like that and Deep Purple for example. It's probably more of a needing to hear sound that isn't compressed or digital.

For the Eric Dolphy one, I searched all the artists in the title. Found a bunch of albums to check out in the future. Finding ways to find more music is as important as finding music sometimes. Also just a cool record. I keep going back to Eric Dolphy lately.

• Uriah Heep Look At Yourself #rock
• Eric Dolphy At the Five Spot, Vol. 2 [feat. Booker Little, Mal Waldron, Richard Davis & Ed Blackwell] #jazz

Despite a week of chaos and tension, I did manage to listen to some music. I did notice though that when I get really stressed out, I turn off all sound. These three albums were wonderful though. To be fair to them, I should re-listen to them in the future when I can focus on them more.

• The Dream Syndicate These Times #indie
• Taiheiyousiranuigakudan Taiheiyousiranuigakudan #indie
• Cecil Taylor Conquistador! #jazz

Also getting some areas of the blog a little more ironed out. Slow, steady, and whenever it's fun is the schedule.

I got a Genre page set up with a full list of genres. On my genre tags, genre is in the beginning, so I thought something needs to be there. I doubt anyone would ever try to see if something was at /genre when they saw /genre/jazz. Better safe than 404 though.

Didn't know what to put there, so I quickly grabbed a list of all the genres. It's interesting to see them all together and to notice what I get from the list. 

When I see the list, I keep waffling on whether I regret not getting more specific with the genres. I tag something "jazz" or “punk," but there are so many flavors of them. It would be cool to see this list be wider and deeper.

At the same time, I just want to put on some music and quickly note what I am listening to. Knowing me, properly being a librarian of music and filing each one with proper sub-genres would cause me to miss the first song of each album researching.

Such is the life of a waffle.

Went through the list of last week's music, and I could only recall one. Like a favorite hoodie is how I would describe Yo La Tengo. I need to remember how good they are for when I need some sound to get some things done.

For a brief moment, I wondered if only being able to recall one album is a sign of mental stress or memory loss. Actually what is happening is a lot of people are in town for the cherry tree season. It is throwing my normal routine into chaos.

There were friends in town and I went on a weekend trip to the mountains. I tend to listen to podcasts on the train which include music podcasts. That reminds me I should write a post on music podcasts I love.

Eric Dolphy is becoming one of my favorite jazz artists for sure. I always leave an album thinking about how much I liked it.

The Pleasure Seekers album completely wiped out all other music from my brain. People into garage rock…here you go. Punk before punk. Features a member who went on to be a legendary 1970s rock star.

• The Pleasure Seekers What a Way to Die #rock
• Eric Dolphy Quintet On Prestige #jazz

I pushed play on the first album of the day and then opened the app where I do my free writing. Found a good way to let the mind ramble about:

• Type the name of the album.
• Take the last word of the album title and use it to start a new phrase.
• Keep going until 200 words.

Seemed to add a lot more variety to the kinds of words that popped up. The repeating word thing “…[last word]. [first word]…” created a nice rhythm which was kind to my foggy, morning mind.

More on the writing exercise: 200 Words a Day for 4 Months

Went through the list from last week and was surprised by how much I could hear in my head. I got me wondering if knowing that I am going to look back to see what I can remember is making me try to remember albums more.

That album from Sly & The Family Stone had so many "whoa" moments on it. The Minutemen rule, but it's kind of a sad listen. Replace the name of the president they were singing about with the current one and check it out. The Hippy Boys got me thinking about how there used to be a lot more instrumental music a long time ago. The album by Cecil Taylor is amazing because it is music built on modules. I love when an album makes me want to go to a place, and the Sir Douglas Quintet did that. Grant Green reminded me how much I love when guitarists make a decision and go with it. Be super sharp and treble-y or take off all the treble.

• Sly & The Family Stone There's a Riot Goin' On #Soul
• Minutemen Introducing the Minutemen #Punk
• The Hippy Boys Reggae with the Hippy Boys #Reggae
• Cecil Taylor Unit Structures #Jazz   
• Sir Douglas Quintet The Mono Singles '68-'72 #Rock
• Grant Green Grant's First Stand #Jazz    

After a big show the next thing after it feels a little flat (ex: rehearsal or show). If it is a rehearsal, it’s ok to do something easy.

Like our last rehearsal we practiced our set kinda slow.

We also dusted off an ancient song and tried it a new way.

We practiced a half hour less. We took a half hour walk after rehearsal instead. We talked business (ex: merch ordering schedules).

The important thing is we showed up and plugged in. At the same time we also respected that after an energy spike there is a trough. The higher the spike, the deeper the trough feels.

I just ran through the list of albums I listened to last week. So much good stuff but a few stuck out for me. The drums on the Cecil Taylor album was amazing. I went back to the song Air a few times. I was into the Tyla Gang album. One song had some marimba in the background that ruled. The Ex & Brass Unbound is an amazing album. They are one of the rare bands that get better with each album.

Hard to choose favorites. So much good music out there.

It's been fun setting up the podcast for our band. Four episodes into it, and I'm learning a lot. Noting some observations now while it is in its infancy. Future me can come back to this and have a laugh or a think.

Length

Started the podcast with every intention of it being short. With each episode, I am noticing a temptation to make it longer and longer. An intro here...an ad there...and then the episode is long.

If future me is reading this and the show is now an hour long, you need to get it back to ten minutes or less.

Outside Influence

When I was searching for answers on how to get my podcast XML file to validate, a lot of "how to make a podcast" links popped up. I clicked around a few and was quickly bored. So much about how to make podcasting "pro". Not so much about how to have fun.

If future me is reading this and the show sounds like a talk show right now, you need to get it back to the first four episodes vibe.

Intention

We have listeners that speak Japanese, English, a little or a lot of both, and neither. I am fully aware of this and am keeping it in mind with each episode. I want there to be something to enjoy no matter what languages you speak. It is more of a challenge than just getting on the mic and yammering for a while. I think some people are going to think we are trying to be art-y, but for real, it's all about making things that can be enjoyed anywhere.

If future me is reading this, can everyone still find something in the show to enjoy?

Links

Podcast Feed: https://1000sofcats.band/public/feeds/podcast.xml

Website: https://1000sofcats.band