I am a Narcissistic Snot

I had something about bargain CDs I was gonna post then I proved myself wrong after overpaying for something by about two or three bucks, so blargh. Instead, here's my top 25 most played songs in iTunes. I don't think there's anything in here I'm particularly ashamed of, which is good.


So that's what iTunes tells me I love. It's pretty close to the mark, but I guess some stuff gets played more by virtue of the fact it got on this list early on. There really should be some Mummies on here at some point, but the highest played track of theirs is "Jezebel" at 22. Hunh. Also, "Make it Rain" is a lot higher than I'd have guessed, particularly as it isn't my favorite Tom Waits song by a long shot.

The takeaway from this:
- Andrew Jackson Jihad is awesome, and you should listen to them
- Inches is a pretty sweet album, and you should probably get that too
- Songs About Fucking? Also awesome.
- Blast Off Country Style? Also yes. (The band, not the album. I've never actually heard the record they took their name from. I should probably change that.)

I (think I) Miss Radio Dramas

Not that I was really around to enjoy them when they were finally dying, but I actually very much dig the Star Wars and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio shows. I'd like more stuff like this, even though I am not what you would call a typical sci-fi fan in the sense that I'm not really receptive to most space things unless toys are somehow involved. The TV HHG2G was something my dad taped when I was like three or four to show me when I was 10, so that kinda stuck. I listened to the Guide before bed last year and am going for a second run-through nowish.

The whole format is really nifty because, well, it's cheap. It's like someone made a cartoon without the drawings. I hear there's a lot of Doctor Who stuff like this out there but I can't say I honestly consider myself a big fan of the franchise. And sure, there's a lot of audiobooks, but it doesn't seem like there's a lot of stuff out there quite like these shows, produced after the late 1970s, that I've seen yet.

If you've never heard these, they're pretty great. The downside of the Star Wars ones is that it's an incredibly long series. Star Wars is a hair over 6 hours, Empire Strikes Back clocks in at 4:22, and Return of the Jedi is the short one at 3:12. Keep in mind, these are based on films which run about 2 hours... so there's a lot of expanded background goofiness here. I hear there's a Dark Empire one but I have yet to find it. Maybe I should do that.

This is going nowhere, other than me getting at "I like this sort of thing." I'm a little surprised NPR or the BBC or someone isn't doing more of this kind of thing for podcasts, just for kicks, but maybe it's too expensive given the audience is probably old-time radio fans and about twelve nerds. There's gotta be more of a market for this kind of stuff. On that note, are they doing the sixth Adams-free And Another Thing for radio? I hear they're reading it over the air but I mean like some fancy-pants production with more than three voices.

...not that I could tell you what I'd be particularly interested in hearing in this format. If I had more time I'd research to see if podcasters were dong anything like this of interest, but if by chance you've heard of something good do let me know. Otherwise it's back to the 1970s for my ears.

Life Magazine

My friend Zac made a crack about a picture I posted on Twitter. So here's what it'd look like.



BEHOLD YOUR FUTURE (six months ago)