R.I.P. Glen Hansard

This morning I awoke to a notification on my phone from one of my brothers. I don't usually check my phone first thing in the morning, but something compelled me today. I do use my phone as my alarm, but I usually just turn that off, then start my day. Today was different. I think maybe it was due to the fact that he sent me a story on two different sites. I had to check. What I read really bummed me out today. My brother sent me a few stories to let me know that Glen Hansard had tragically died in a motorcycle accident.

For those that may not know, Hansard is a musician and actor of note. Growing up in my house we watched the movie "The Commitments" a ton. My parents have always liked old soul music and movies that are about bands making music. My brothers and I all have very eclectic taste in music. We cross paths a lot, but we also all have our own taste. And everyone in my family likes odd movies. Some of us, me specifically, like weirder movies than others, but we do enjoy independent movies. I have not gone back and watched "The Commitments" in years, I have heard it isn't as great as I thought. But I do remember Hansard very vividly in that movie. He was a guitar player in the band, he had long curly hair and it was bright red. He instantly grabbed my attention as a kid. I have never seen hair like that before. It didn't hurt that he was an outstanding guitar player as well. His character and performance always stuck with me, all the way to adulthood in fact.

Then, like most of the world, I fell in love with Hansard and Marketa Irglova all over again after seeing the movie "Once". "Once" is one of the best movies ever about forming a band and making music that means something to you. I saw the movie multiple times in theaters, bought it the moment it was released on DVD and still revisit it from time to time. I also wore that soundtrack out. I listened to it over and over again. I knew every nook and cranny of that soundtrack. Sure, "Falling Slowly" is an all time hit and Oscar winner, but I also loved tracks like "Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy", "All The Way Down" and especially "Say It To Me Now". These songs became a part of my everyday life after watching the movie and buying the soundtrack. I was totally hooked. And his performance, along with Irglova as well, was beautiful. "Once" worked on every single level for me. I adore the movie to this day and I will be watching it again very soon in memory of Hansard.

After the movie became a hit, Irglova and Hansard went on a tour, and I was lucky enough to see them in Saint Louis. The show was spectacular. Those two really knew how to play together and they crushed it at The Pageant. I remember sitting in the venue with my dad and him telling me he could tell I was just in awe of their talent. That show has a special place in my heart because it was one of the best, yet most stripped down live concerts I've ever seen.

After watching that show I decided it was time to listen to Hansard's band, The Frames. I really dove deep into their stuff. They were like a rock band, but they had some heavy folk influences. It was wild to hear them play music with distortion, but whenever Hansard's powerful vocals would show up, I knew I was in very good hands. He had this amazing voice that would take over everything in the best way possible.

After Eddie Vedder made the soundtrack for "Into The Wild" I was fortunate enough, again, to see him play live at the Fox here in Saint Louis. I was already hyped for the show, and then I read that Glen Hansard was going to be the opener, and he was going to be playing solo, acoustic versions of his work. This made me even more hype. I made sure that the people I was going with knew that we had to see Hansard perform that night, and boy am I glad they obliged. He was magnetic. He was playing the guitar he used in "Once" and it was a glorious opening set. Hansard played for about 45 minutes and hit every song I wanted to hear him play with just his voice and an acoustic guitar. He even joined Vedder for some songs and they played very well together. I remember leaving that show and being in a wonderful mood. Vedder is a superstar, but getting to see Hansard in that way in such a prestigious venue, that is another show I will never forget.

I don't know all the details of what happened, or how the accident occured, but I do know that his passing has made me very sad this morning. He was so young, still in his 50's. I'm sure he was still making music. I am going to have to go out and find what he made before his untimely and tragic death. I am going to miss him very much, and I didn't know him at all. I was, and still am, just a big fan of his work.

Rest In Peace Glen Hansard. I know you are plucking your guitar wherever you may be right now. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Physical Media Lives Again

Earlier today I took my 14 year old to sell some of my dad's old CDs. He had no use for them, I don't own a CD player and my son strictly listens to Spotify. I got rid of my CDs almost a decade ago. I do own and buy vinyl now, but that is simply because I want to be as cool as my brothers and my friends. My son is all about digital media. That is what he likes, that is what this generation likes and I have to assume my daughter will be the same when she gets her phone next year.

So, going to V Stock, a local store that buys and sells old media, I figured there wouldn't be much of an inventory. I was very, very wrong. First off, my dad had a bunch of CDs to sell. There was a Rubbermaid full of CDs. I didn't think we'd sell that many, but there was only 1/10 of that bin left after we were done. That should have been my first clue that physical media is having a moment. But it wasn't until I walked around the store did I truly realize how much people still buy and collect older things.

V Stock was full of CDs, DVDs, Blu Rays, old collectible toys, older gaming systems, vinyl and they even had VHS', among other random nonsense. I immediately went to check out the vinyl. They had a solid selection, but it was a little too pricey for my blood. They did have some older, used records for a solid price, but there was no gold to be found. But it was the CD and DVD/Blu Ray selection that really blew my mind. They had so much. They had shelves stocked with them. They had Criterion Collection Blu Rays. They had a whole DVD section that was strictly classic movies. They had Marvel and DC movies on their own end caps. They had a whole section of TV series on DVD. I remember buying those up when it was the only option.

The CD section was, possibly, the biggest section in the store. And they had old, new, used and special CDs in the store. They had rare stuff. They had a bunch of live CDs for sale. They had stuff in alphabetical order, but much like the DVDs, they also had certain CDs in their own special section of the store. I saw a bunch of Black Keys CDs, both new and old, and I have, at one time in my life, owned every single one of them. I even thought that maybe they had some of my old ones there for sale.

The VHS section had me floored too. First off, I remember when VHS went the way of the dodo. I remember getting rid of them and not even being all that sad. But V Stock had a bunch of them for sale today. They even had the old puffy Disney VHS boxes. I have not seen those in years. I know some people collect those, so if you're reading this, go check out V Stock now to get the puffy box VHS. I also really enjoyed the collectible toy section. They had them all sealed in bags, but you could still see what they were.

I saw a bunch of old He-Man toys that one of my brothers had. They had a bunch of "Thundercat" toys there. They were up to their ears in collectible Funko Pop toys. They had some from series or comic books that I have never even heard of before. Funko Pop toys are cool and all, but this place made them feel super special. It kind of blew me away to be honest with you all today.

I know that some people are really into physical media, but this really opened my eyes. I like that physical media is having a comeback. I hope it sticks around for a long time. I have really been happy to be collecting vinyl again. I love the artwork and all the added stuff records provide for the buyer. I've heard people talk about Blu Rays and Criterion discs, but it didn't really hit me how important this stuff is to collectors today. They had a Super Nintendo for sale today, and I kind of wanted to buy it just to play the games I used to play growing up.

While the trip to the mall and to V Stock today went on way longer than I expected, I was very happy with what I saw and witnessed this afternoon. Physical media has always had a place for a bunch of people, and right now it is having a moment. That makes me smile and I want to see it go on for a long, long time. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Listens to "Film Scores for Films that Don't Exist"

I'm a fan of Eric Andre. I've seen him do his show live. I loved "The Eric Andre Show" when it was on Adult Swim. I'm actually hoping for another season. He was my favorite part of the very underrated show "Man Seeking Woman". When he pops up in a movie I get stoked because I know he is going to bring it. "Bad Trip" is one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time. I'm stoked that he is going to be in the new "Street Fighter" movie. So when he was on social media recently talking about a new album he was going to release, it piqued my interest.

Andre is a very accomplished musician. He went to Berklee College of Music for a while. He has shown a propensity for upright bass. He is talented. But for him to put out a record, I didn't know what to think. I then saw the title of the album, "Film Scores For Films that Don't Exist" and it had me even more intrigued. It was released last Friday, the same day as the new Black Keys record, so it took a little time before I finally listened. I tuned in later last week and I'm here to tell you, this record is fascinating.

The album only has eight songs that last about 31 minutes, but it left a mark. The record is all instrumental. It is truly scores for movies that haven't been made. The record has strings and all of the usual stuff that you expect from film scores. But then some wild stuff starts to happen in a few of the songs. The strings will be doing their thing, playing like the experts they are, but then some metal music will start. There will be heavy guitars and drums. The guitar and drums come on late and strong. It hits like a ton of bricks in the best possible way. It is so unexpected and adds so much extra to the scores they have created.

Blarf is a project that Andre has been doing for some time with his buddy, the electronic musician The First Seed. Andre also has Prateek Rajagopal as a producer. It has also been rumored, and most likely confirmed, that Blarf is an alter ego of Andre's. He used to perform, very rarely, as Blarf wearing a Ronald McDonald mask. Now though, at least on this record, Andre acts as the conductor of this orchestra on this album and it rips.

I don't know if they're going to take this on the road, but it is something I'd very much like to see live. I really enjoyed seeing "Blade Runner" recently with a live orchestra playing the score. So, add that with Andre doing his comedy and his antics, that would be an absolute joy for me to see. I'd also love to see him play the upright bass live. He has that skill, and even though I have seen him live, I've never seen him play an instrument live before.

I also appreciate that the song titles are legit film score titles. From "The Final Shootout" to "Piano Concerto No .0" to "Stars Without Light", I could easily see these being in some movie down the line. I'd also like to see Andre take these scores and make a movie out of them. He could kind of reverse engineer it, already having the music and just making a movie from there. I think it could work and it would be super interesting, especially coming from Andre.

Last week gave us two really good, really different albums that I have found myself enjoying for different reasons. The Black Keys new record, which I wrote about yesterday, is a nostalgia bomb in the best way for me. "Scores For Movies That Don't Exist" was a total surprise and knocked my socks off when I heard it. I have listened to it a few more times since then and it is really growing on me.

I say check this record out, but go into it knowing very little. Read up on Eric Andre and then check out the album. it will surprise you in the best way. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Listens to "Peaches!"

As many of you may remember, I was not a fan of The Black Keys last record, "No Rain, No Flowers". I felt that it was too poppy. They went a little too hard on the production. Maybe there were too many cooks in the kitchen. I still listened to it multiple times, but it never got any better for me.

When they announced a new album was coming so soon, I was a little put off. I was worried that it was going to be more of the same. I thought that maybe they were going to take their music in a different direction and change genres. But then I heard a few tracks that they released online. It sounded more like their older stuff. I read some stuff on the internet about the pain and heartache Dan Auerbach was going through when they made this record. I guess his dad was sick and he was spending a ton of time with him while making this record. Then other people who got to hear the record earlier than others said it was like old time Black Keys. All of this got me excited and got my hopes up.

Then, last Friday the new record was released. I turned it off with low expectations and some worries. I was pleasantly surprised by what I heard. This is a return to form. "Peaches!" is one of their better albums. I like it so much more than "No Rain, No Flowers". I think it is better than "El Camino" and "Turn Blue" if I'm being honest, and I really like those records. What makes "Peaches!" so good for me is that it is a straightforward rock/blues record. The songs are covers of older blues songs, with a Black Keys twinge to all of them. The record has a dirty, distorted sound that I love. Auerbach growls more than he sings, and I love that. Carney is hammering away on his drum kit like he used to. When they do have other musicians on a song they have them playing quieter than Auerbach or Carney.

This is a record that really showcases what made me first fall in love with The Black Keys. "Peaches!" reminds me of a more grown up "Chulahoma". I adored "Chulahoma" when it was first released because it was different from their other music. They were doing Junior Kimborough songs in their style. It was amazing to hear for the first time. Then, a few years ago, they released "Delta Kream" to little fanfare. I loved that album. I still love that album in fact. "Delta Kream" came out at a weird time in their career, but it felt so good to hear at the time. It scratched an itch that I needed at the time. And it still hits very well. But "Peaches!" is better than both of them in my opinion. They truly do go back to what made them so unique and interesting when they first started to release music. This has the feel of "The Big Come Up", but they have grown up and become better musicians. This album has elements of "Thickfreakness", which is my personal favorite of theirs, and one of the best records ever released. The distortion that Auerbach uses on this record is right up my alley when it comes to my musical taste. It is so loud, but you can still hear everything they're doing on the album. That is an achievement for me when listening. And Carney's drumming is top notch. The thing I like about Carney is that he has never wavered from his style. He has always gone nuts when drumming, be it live or on a record. He has always been one of the better drummers in the music biz.

I highly recommend listening to this album, especially if you enjoy old school Black Keys. This is a return to form in the best possible way. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty Listens to Angine de Poitrine

Recently one of my brothers told me to listen to this new "math" rock band that he had just found out about. I was a little pessimistic about the whole thing. I don't really know what "math" rock is, and he told me that it was all instrumental. But, I bit the bullet and decided to check this band out, and I've got to say, they're rad.

The band is called Angine de Poitrine. They're a "math" rock/experimental duo from Quebec. If you like music, and watch the internet at all, you have probably heard about them by this point. They had a concert that aired on KEXP recently, and since then they have totally blown up. The duo wears black and white polka dot outfits, masks made from paper mache and they have big paper mache noses, one erect and one flaccid. The guitarist/bassist has a wig and you can only see their eyes through their masks. I know this all sounds weird, probably pretentious to some. But I'm telling you, if you take the time to listen to their music, all of that other stuff will go out the window. They are so awesome at what they do. I, like many others, watched the KEXP show. I was instantly into what they were doing. The drummer rocks. The drummer gets into the music as well. They're bobbing and dancing up and down while playing the music. And the drummer knows how to play really proficiently. They are keeping the beat, for all intents and purposes, but that doesn't mean they can't go off and do some wild stuff, which they do. I love how into the playing and the music the drummer is, and I love that they show it when they're playing. But it is the guitar/bass player that brings the absolute funk to the music. This musician is amazing. They do looping, which is something I'm super into as a fan of music. For those that may not know, looping is when a musician plays something, be it a riff or a bass line, and they're recording it while they play. Then, after recording one part, they will play another part along with what they played before. It is a way to make the music fuller and heavier. I understand it means you need less musicians, but this band feels like it was always going to be a duo, and looping was necessary. Back to the playing. This musician makes me love watching live guitar and bass. Watching them play is an absolute delight. I have seen other people talk about this musician, and the most constant refrain is that they're not from this planet. I think I agree. When someone is that good at multiple instruments, when they play this proficiently, when they can make you dance and bob along without even realizing it, that is the work of aliens, and I'm totally here for it. I also love how much they shred. The strings in the music are some of the best I've ever heard. The way they play, and move from guitar to bass, it is wonderful to see and hear. I will watch them fingering the notes as they play, and while they make it look so easy, the stuff they're playing is divine and very tough.

Once you get past the schtick, this is a band to watch out for. They're going to go on to big, big things. They're too good to just play shows in Quebec and overseas. I bet a world tour is next on the docket. I went to look at their vinyl the other day, and it is so wildly expensive because they don't have much out now. And just by word of mouth they seem to be getting more and more shine, as they should.

I cannot recommend this band enough. I know it all sounds weird and different, but when you look past all of that you will be rewarded with some of the coolest and most unique music you will ever hear. Go check them out. They rule. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Do You Want Your MTV?

mtv.com

On August 1st, 1981, American pop culture was forever changed. At 12:01 am people with cable tuned in to a new channel, saw a rocket launch and then heard the words "Ladies and Gentlemen, Rock and Roll", this was followed by the now iconic Buggles music video "Video Killed The Radio Star". Music Television, later branded MTV, was born.

The early days of MTV are now iconic. Music videos, cool hip Video Jockeys (VJs) guiding us through the day and night, and news just about the music of the day. As the years gave way to decades MTV changed. First a game show called "Remote Control" broke up the non-stop music videos, then more shows followed. The rise of reality television started on MTV with "The Real World" and the network executives at MTV pivoted hard towards unscripted shows and the music videos lost their time on the station. As cable expanded to more channels, MTV expanded to bring music videos back on other stations, but again those stations would bring on more unscripted television and the videos had to be sacrificed. On December 31st, 2025, MTV shut down all their music channels and retained just the original MTV for the showing of reality television. "The Real World" killed the Video Star.

Thanks to a coder that goes by the name FlexasaurusRex, you can have your classic MTV. MTV Rewind provides an easy-to-use archive of music videos. The site connects to YouTube playlists, giving users access to more than 40,000 music videos from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and today. Ads do appear periodically, yet they are ads from the time of MTV's music video dominance such as ads for Ginsu Knives, the Flowbee haircut system, and the California Raisins to name a few. There is an option to donate to the site to keep it truly ad free.

MTV Rewind will appease to all music tastes The site is broken up into several collections, including “MTV 1st Day,” Decades starting in the 70's and going all the way to modern day. It even has genre playlists that harken back to the channel’s signature shows, 120 Minutes, Yo! MTV Raps, and Headbangers Balls. There's a channel of MTV's live broadcast of Live Aid in 1985, a VH1 Pop Up Video Channel, and one that hosts all the "MTV Unplugged" performances. If you can't decide, there’s a shuffle feature that will truly make it Your MTV.

While many of us who grew up with MTV lament it's downfall, there are still people like FlexasaurusRex out there that answer the call of "I Want My MTV". If you need to answer that call, and you have some Aqua Net on hand, then give MTV Rewind a look. At the very least it will help you answer the trivia question "What was the second video ever shown on MTV?".

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing.

My Vinyl Record Problem

I had been contemplating getting a record player for a while now, and on my birthday my buddy actually bought me one. This was very unexpected and very much appreciated. Believe me, I have thanked him many, many times to this point. Let’s discuss.

When I first got the record player my parents had given me three records that they didn't play anymore. They have given away most of their records because they no longer own a player. I played these three pretty immediately because I was psyched about my new gift. Then about a week later I went out with my dad and my buddy that bought me the player to go record shopping. This was great. I found three albums that I wanted to try out on the player, they weren't all that expensive, and when I got home all three got played. I also bought my wife a Fleetwood Mac album because that is probably her favorite band. Then I took a break from shopping for albums because the holidays were fast approaching. I got a few more albums for Xmas and ever since then my record buying has become a minor problem.

I was worried this was going to happen. Having a record player is wonderful because it means I have gotten back to listening to music daily. I was mainly listening to podcasts for a good long while. I still prefer podcasts when I run and when I do errands. But at home I have gotten back into strictly listening to albums when I do housework or any other chores that need to be done. This morning, after grocery shopping, I put on a record and did all my prep work for the week as far as food stuff goes. I chose to listen to "Good Kid M.A.A.D City", and having that playing in the background on my record player was amazing. When I play video games at home I have the record player going. My kids went with me to the record store over the weekend and each got to pick an album to have, and we have listened to them multiple times already, especially my daughter who was literally hugging her album, "Life of a Showgirl" after we brought it home. The record player was great simply because it has reopened my love for listening to music while hanging around the house.

But, the downside, as I mentioned a minute ago, the purchasing of records is going to become a problem. I can already tell. This was the main reason why I was so hesitant to get a record player. I was the last of my brothers to get one. All of my close friends have players in their homes. I would go to their houses and look and pour over each record they had and think to myself that it was time to get one. I just never went through with it. Now that I have one though, I'm fully back in on getting albums. As a teenager and early 20 year old I bought countless CD's. you can ask RD. He used to make fun of the size of my CD books, and those bad boys were totally filled up. I fear I may be doing that with records already. My wife got me a record holder for Xmas, and that is already half full. I mentioned my kids got records over the weekend, well, I bought three for myself on that same trip. I grabbed "Good Kid M.A.A.D City", "Midnight Marauders" and "Stop Making Sense". When we went to check out the total was much more than I had anticipated spending. I went to a local store about a week ago and easily blew about ninety dollars on three records.

I have been making lists of what I want to get next. My grand idea when I first started to collect was that I would only buy records I wanted for the album artwork. That was always a big selling point for me with CD's. I loved the artwork, especially the artwork in late 90's, early 2000's hip hop records. The more boisterous the better I thought. But now I'm simply buying albums because I just want to hear them on a record player. For example, "Stop Making Sense", the version I got, is just black and white with some writing on it. There's nothing too special about it. But I do like the simplicity of it. A few records I have, "Chromakopia" for example, have very cool artwork and cool inserts, but I truly love that album and wanted to hear it on a different player. "Igor" is very simplistic in its packaging. I try to tell myself that I'm going to buy the most basic record because I just want them for the music now, but even the most basic album costs anywhere from twenty two to fifty bucks. I got "Getting Killed" for twenty four dollars and I felt like I got an excellent deal. I need to pace myself because this will only get worse before it gets better.

Damn it I'm thrilled that I have a record player and I feel like a kid again when I go shopping for new albums. I'm not much of a looker when I go to stores. I want to be as efficient as possible. But if you put me in a record store, filled to the brim with music, I could shop for hours and be very, very happy. But I will also spend too much money and feel bad about it afterward. I hope this doesn't get too out of hand too fast, but at the rate I'm going right now that seems to be the case. Oh well, I guess the best thing to do now is buy more storage for the inevitable influx of new records coming my way. This is a good problem to have I suppose. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

SeedSing Classic: Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Music: Day 22 - Patton Oswalt talks about The Christmas Shoes

ed note: This article was originally published on December 22nd, 2015

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we are looking back at the great holiday music, movies, television episodes, and food of this great season. Enjoy.

Day 22: Patton Oswalt talks about The Christmas Shoes (language NSFW)

Opened doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten,

 Eleven Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen,Sixteen,Seventeen,Eighteen,

Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty One

I really love Christmas music. This entire Advent Calendar project is a way to show the people who hate Christmas music that there are great tunes available to the uninitiated. My love for holiday music is directly related to the fact that while I was growing up my parents would regularly take me and my brothers to church. I was never super psyched to go to our little suburban catholic cathedral, except for one time of the year. The Christmas season was the only times of the year I was happy to go to mass, and it was the songs that created my excitement. Many of the best holiday songs come from the religious tunes the congregation would sing. Hope, light, the betterment of mankind. That is the true religious meaning of Christmas, and it sounds beautiful.

A couple of years back I heard the song "The Christmas Shoes" and I was left dumbfounded. I first thought that this "christian" song was some kind of SNL parody. It was atrocious. The basic plot centered on the story of a poor kid who wants to buy shoes for his mom on Christmas. These shoes are very important because the kid's mom is dying, and he wants her to look pretty if she meets Jesus. That plot is dumb enough, but what puts "The Christmas Shoes" into the stratosphere of appalling is that the song is from the point of view of some grumpy dude in line behind the kid. The narrator thinks that "God" sent this kid, and his dying mom, to be in this man's life so he will feel the Christmas spirit. It is a truly disgusting message.

In 2009 comedian Patton Oswalt dedicated part of his stand up set discussing "The Christmas Shoes" Everything he says is spot on. Oswalt talks about how manipulative and downright sinister the message behind "The Christmas Shoes" is. He also imagines a world with a God being pissed about people being grumpy on Christmas and a Jesus who is bitchy about a person's fashion sense. What Patton Oswalt does in the YouTube video attached to this article is take one of the worst Christmas songs ever, and give it a new hilarious life. You can skip the song and get a dose of the Christmas spirit by hearing Patton Oswalt tear this piece of trash apart. His thoughts on "The Christmas Shoes" makes the song listenable, because I hear Patton Oswalt's words behind every horrid verse.

A few weeks back my son was being rude to the checkout person at a store. When we were heading home, my wife and I were scolding him about his behavior. At one point I told him that Christmas is about being nice to your fellow person. My son was not listening and being quite defiant. As I was getting more angry and frustrated I heard the opening notes of "The Christmas Shoes". My wife and I stared at each other and smiled. My son was forgiven. The rest of the car ride was filled with joy and laughter. Patton Oswalt has made "The Christmas Shoes" a holiday tradition. Not the song, it is awful, but his thoughts about the tune's idiotic message is what Christmas means to me. Mr. Oswalt, I owe you a pair of some great Christmas shoes.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the host of The X Millennial Man podcast. Every year he tries to buy his wife some ugly shoes for Christmas, but he never has quite enough pennies. Help him buy those shoes by supporting SeedSing.

Best of 2025 - Music

Today I am going to give you all my top five albums of 2025. I have gotten back to listening to more music lately. I still do podcasts for running and some house cleaning, but music is coming back in my life in a big way and I'm here for it. This is also the first year in a couple where I have five albums from this year. This isn't about experiencing old music for the first time or discovering some band or solo artist that came out recently. I have five albums from five separate acts that all came out this year.

Before I get into the list, I do want to shout out Taylor Swift's "Life of a Showgirl". It didn't make my top five but it was close. This is a very good pop album. Taylor Swift is doing a lot of great things, and this record shows she is a pop superstar, if she wasn't already. I really enjoy listening to this record and my daughter, who is the big Swiftie in our home, seems to really like it too. I just wanted to give her a little shine. Now onto the list.

At number 5 I have "Getting Killed" by Geese. A few years back I saw Geese open for King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and they intrigued me. I'm not always a big fan of openers, but Geese stuck with me. I went home after the show and listened to some of their work and I was in. I didn't know that they had a new record until my buddy let me know. I listened to it that night and have been playing it a ton since. I like the sound, I like how each song blends into the next one, I enjoy the lead singer's voice and the guitar playing is top notch. Geese are a bunch of young kids too, so this feels like just the start. I am so excited to see where they go from here and I will be listening all along the way.

At number 4 I have "Cover the Mirrors" by Ben Kweller. This record is so good and so heartbreaking. For those that may not know, Kweller and his partner's son died in a car crash a few years back. This record is how Kweller has been dealing with that heartbreak. Kweller is such a good writer. He conveys all his feelings to a T. I also like how some of the songs are upbeat musically, but when you listen to the words they will crush your soul. He gets some help on the record from Waxahatchee, and the song they do together, "Dollar Store", is amazing. I have been a Kweller fan for about 20 years now and this record may be his best to date. Again, it is very sad, but damn is it good too.

At number 3 I have "Thee Black Boltz" by Tunde Adebimpe. Adebimpe is the lead singer of one of my favorite bands, TV on the Radio, but he decided to venture out and do a solo record. This album is upbeat and fun. It has a bit of a TV on the Radio feel, but this is all about Adebimpe. I like that he beatboxes on a song. I have always loved his voice as well. That was what first drew me to TV on the Radio, and that is what I truly dig about this solo record. The songs range from upbeat to pretty to almost hip hop. I like that he can do a bunch of different genres in one album and do them all pretty spot on. I don't know who is in the band that plays on the record but they do some solid work as well. I wish more people would go seek this record out because it is one of the better solo records i've heard in quite some time.

At number 2 I have "Don't Tap the Glass" by Tyler, the Creator. This album came from nowhere. I was looking at one of the streaming services I use and all of the sudden they kept talking about a new record from Tyler, the Creator. I couldn't believe it because he had just put out "Chromakpoia" about 6 months ago. And now we were going to get some brand new music after one of his best records of all time. "Don't Tap the Glass" is a throwback to the hip hop I listened to when I was a teenager, except Tyler, the Creator does it way better than most artists back then could ever dream of doing. This record comes and goes in less than half an hour, but damn does it pack a punch. Tyler, the Creator comes in hot and never stops, and I love that about his music and this record. I am loving all the content he is giving us and he is on the ride of a lifetime right now. He's one of the best in the business at the moment.

And at number 1 I have "Let God Sort Em Out" by Clipse. I love that Clipse is back and they seem better than ever. I was first aware of them when they released "Grindin" back in 01-02. That song was so awesome and made it on every mix cd I would make. They kind of disappeared after that. But Pusha T reappeared on the scene and he instantly became one of my favorite emcees. There was some news that he was going to get back with his cousin Malice and make a new record. I was hyped at this news. The two of them kept showing up at random things and it seemed like they were actually working on music. But it wasn't until I saw them do a tiny desk show on NPR that it all became real. This record and that performance were amazing. I was floored at this. It felt like "Grindin", but they had grown up and gotten better. This record is so great that they have done some amazing shows in places that people have never performed live. Pusha T has been at the forefront letting people know that Clipse is back and here to stay. They got so many excellent features on the record, but no one outshines the two of them. They clearly had written some excellent songs during their break and that shows tenfold on this new album. I hope they make another new record soon. But, for the time being, we have "Let God Sort Em Out" and I'm very, very happy about that.

That's it for albums. Come back tomorrow for my top five movies of 2025. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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R.I.P. Jimmy Cliff

Jimmy Cliff has passed away at 81 years old. I saw the news this morning and it bummed me out. At first I had hoped it was one of those hoax announcements and it would be revealed later that he was still here. Unfortunately though, Cliff did pass.

I first knew of Jimmy Cliff when I was a young kid. I used to love the movie "Cool Runnings" growing up. I must have watched that movie a billion times when I was younger. I tried to get my teachers to show it when they would put on movies in class. I memorized most of the lines, and when I rewatched it as an adult, all the quotes were still there. I bring up "Cool Runnings" because the song that played over the end credits was Cliff's version of "I Can See Clearly Now". I knew this song as well as quotes from the movie. I would walk around the house singing it when I was a kid. That didn't stop as I continued to get older. That song is so easy to sing along with, and it may be the very first "reggae" song that I ever heard. Of course I found my way to Bob Marley and other reggae greats, but Jimmy Cliff was most likely my first time listening to reggae.

When I eventually stopped watching "Cool Runnings", I forgot about Jimmy Cliff. As I got older I focused the majority of my reggae listening around Bob Marley. I heard other artists in the genre, but I was all Marley pretty much all the time. One day when I was about 16 I was visiting my oldest brother in Columbia and he knew of my love for Bob Marley. He asked me if I had ever listened to or seen "The Harder They Come". I had no idea what he was talking about. He then showed me the movie and it was an eye opener. First off, the movie is really good. It is an underrated gem. It is a hard, hard Jamaican movie about falling into the world of crime. The accents are so thick that, when I have watched it every time since my first viewing, I have to put the subtitles on. That's no bother when the movie is as good as this one was. I was all in from the first viewing, and that was when my brother told me that Jimmy Cliff played one of the main characters in the movie. I was shocked because he was just the guy that sang over the end credits of "Cool Runnings". I had no idea he had acted in the past, but more importantly to me, that he was an icon in the world of reggae music. He did a bunch of the songs on that album. He did four of the songs, writing and singing them, and they are all bonafide hits in reggae music. He opens the soundtrack with "You Can Get it if You Really Want", which is this fun and bouncy tune. It is all about going out there and trying to get the things you want by any means, but the way the song is arranged and sung, it sounds fun. He then performs "Many Rivers to Cross" which is one of the most beautiful songs ever put to vinyl. It is such a beautifully sung song. I love this one so very much. It is one of my favorite songs ever recorded. I truly adore this song. He also does the title track, "The Harder They Come", which is a true hit. It mixes pop instruments of the time with electric reggae vocals. And he closes the soundtrack with an almost five minute version of "Sitting in Limbo" which is just haunting in all the right ways. This is a song that I truly feel like everyone should listen to at least once in their lifetime. It is an achievement and one of the best songs ever written.

After seeing the movie and devouring the soundtrack I became a pretty big fan of Jimmy Cliff's. I wanted to listen to more and more of his music. I went back and listened to more of his older stuff because the stuff from the 90's and 2000's had more of the "I Can See Clearly Now" sound, which while good, that's not the reggae I tend to gravitate towards. The older stuff was more raw and heartfelt in my opinion. It is more barebones which i like. You can hear his voice over the music, which is a plus because Cliff had such a great voice for reggae music. That being said, I'm glad he was still making new music all the way up until 2022.

Jimmy Cliff is a musical icon. Even if you may not be familiar with the name, I bet you have heard him sing before. His music seems to end up in movies or tv shows, and I appreciate that fact. I am going to miss Jimmy Cliff, but I'm glad I have an older brother who knew that I liked reggae music and went out of his way to show me how great of an artist he was. Rest in Peace Jimmy Cliff. I hope you are singing wherever you may be right now. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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A Dirty Take on a Classic Halloween Song

A few years back I wrote about my love for the song "Monster Mash". That hasn't changed. As far as "Halloween" music goes, "Monster Mash" is one of the few good songs that people should all listen to during this holiday. Most of the other music played this time of year is nonsensical to me. Everyone tries to put some spooky sounds or add spooky words and it makes the song even worse in my opinion. But "Monster Mash" is a solid hit, a bop as my son would say. But there is one other Halloween song that I want to shout out today, and it is kind of perfect because it is almost exactly the same as "Monster Mash".

I'm an avid podcast fan as you all know, and you all know about my love for "Comedy Bang! Bang!". It is still my favorite podcast of all time. During Halloween they used to do episodes entitled "Hell House". These were some of my favorites. I'm not much on Halloween, especially when I stopped trick or treating. I don't like to dress up, I don't like being scared, I would rather run around than walk and stop at house to house and I have never been much of a partier. That has changed a little since my kids were born. I like to walk around with my daughter and her friends and I like that my teenager is doing teenager things for Halloween. And the music, as you all know, is not for me. But at least I had these hilarious episodes of "CBB" to listen to during Halloween.

From time to time, Nick Wiger would show up near the end of these episodes. I'm a big time Nick Wiger fan. He is one of the funniest dudes in the podcast and writing world. He knows how to make jokes and how to present them so they work. I love his main podcast "Doughboys" as well. So whenever I saw his name pop up as a guest on the "Hell House" episodes I would get stoked. Wiger's presence meant that he was going to be playing Leo Karpatze. Karpatze is an old timey singer/songwriter. He usually has one of his daughter's perform with him. And before he goes into his song we get to hear his backstory. And it always cracks me up. This all inevitably leads to Wiger as Karpatze talking about how he is the original writer of "Monster Mash". He claims to have done all the work, but Bobby "Boris" Pickett made it famous. He also claims that Pickett changed the whole idea of the song. Karpatze says that the song still revolved around monsters in his vision, but they were not at a mash, or a party. These monsters were much more lascivious and adult. I will not put any curse words in this blog moving ahead, but you all have to know that Wiger as Karpatze doing his version is incredibly filthy. Karpatze's version is actually called "The Monster F%^&", and it is about all of these monsters having what equates to an all out orgy. The song is vile and descriptive. Wiger puts in great detail what each monster is doing to one another. He paints a very vivid picture of what is going on. He did film a video for this song years ago, and that brought the whole thing to life. But what makes this song so amazing and fun for Halloween is Wiger's performance on each appearance of the "Hell House" episodes. He is so locked in and focused. He growls the song at times. He is intent on finishing without breaking, all the while he is trying to have every other person crack up while he sings. The many actors that have played his various daughters do a wonderful job of playing along. This song is filthy. It is downright disgusting. And yet I love to listen to it year round, but especially during the month of October. My wife and I will walk around the house when just the two of us are home and sing random lyrics. I have listened to it multiple times already leading up to this Halloween. I still prefer "Monster Mash", but "Monster F%^&" is a very, very close second.

I implore everyone to give it a listen, but just know going in that the song is very, very not safe for work. Now if you'll excuse me I think I'm going to give it a listen before the kiddos get home and I have to take them out to trick or treat. Happy Halloween everyone.  

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Listens to Idles

A couple days ago I wrote about my newfound love for new wave music. I mentioned in that blog that I was going back and listening to older music to see what I missed. I am still doing that, but I will say, all thanks to my brother, I have found a new band, new to me, that I have started listening to for a little over a week now, and I have been a big fan of what I have been hearing.

A couple weeks back my brother, myself, my dad and a buddy of mine were all out for coffee. During these coffee runs we talk about a ton of stuff, but the conversation usually ends up with some discussion about music. We all like music, like everyone else, and we all have our personal tastes. I do go to my brother a lot with music recommendations, and he has delivered time and again. During this particular talk the topic found itself on punk music. Kirk is a big fan, my brother seems to like some and my dad and I have never listened to punk all that much. This particular day my brother Seth told us about a band he liked called Idles. I had never heard of them before. I don't think Kirk had either. We talked about them, Seth told us what he liked about them and we all left for home.

To be honest, I had kind of forgotten about them until I saw a headline on the internet that said, "Watch the Sweatiest Tiny Desk Concert", and it was featuring Idles. I watched a little bit of the tiny desk show and I found myself intrigued. Idles was crushing this particular tiny desk show. They were amped up, playing kick ass songs and they seemed to be having a hell of a time. And sure enough, the lead singer was dripping with sweat a few songs in.

After a bit of this show I watched I went and streamed some of their music. The first couple songs I heard were classic punk rock, but the lead singer had a voice that I could not get out of my head. It was raspy and he could do slower songs, but he excelled when doing punk music. This led me to checking out some of their records. I listened to a few tracks off "Brutalism" first. The stuff I heard I really liked. It was fast and heavy. They were actually singing about real life issues and their feelings. It was different from most punk rock for me. Next was a track or two off of "Joy as an Act of Resistance". Again, they were singing about real life things, but they went even heavier on this one. The tracks I heard reminded me of what I consider real punk rock. But the singer's voice was standing out above everything else. Listening to a few tracks off these records, and then getting into a run of LCD Soundsystem, led me to their most recent record, "Tangk". LCD Soundsystem is featured on a song with them on this record, so I went and checked that one out first. It was a cool blend of punk rock and LCD Soundsystem's version of electronic. I then just let that record play in my car this morning and it is rad. It isn't just punk rock either. They do a bunch of different stuff on this album and I have been enjoying the hell out of it. This record has slower songs. It has ambient songs. It has straight up rock songs. And it has punk songs. And I like all of them.

Idles are great. I see why they're having a moment right now. These dudes are talented and they look like they're having a good time when they're playing. If you're looking for new music, and want something a little heavier, check out Idles. And if I could do it all over again, I'd start right back where I did, with their tiny desk performance. That is the best jumping off point for this kick ass band. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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A New Fan of New Wave Music

The older I get the more I have found myself going back to music I used to listen to, or flat out trying music that I never gave a chance in the past. During the pandemic I finally started listening to Talking Heads and now they're one of my favorite bands. I have recently gone back to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. I forgot how much I love their album "Howl". I have listened to more Prince lately. I found that, since I like The Beatles, why not give The Zombies and The Kinks a shot, and they both rule.

With this newfound trait to give different music a try, I have found that I have been leaning a bit more on New Wave music. I almost always passed New Wave up because it seemed akin to disco to me, a genre that I'm not all that into. I would see my brothers listening to Depeche Mode and Joy Division and just pass it off as "their" music. I was too busy listening to bad hip hop at that time of my life. But, after seeing that some Talking Heads songs are considered, hell they must be, new wave, I decided to jump in. And I have loved what I have been hearing.

I went online and found a new wave playlist and streamed it. I am really digging the sound. I have heard songs from Blondie, Talking Heads, The Smiths and Depeche Mode. These are songs I already knew, but never really gave a real listen to before. I have really enjoyed what I have heard from these artists. I love the music in the background of "Heart Of Glass". It sounds like a precursor to a ton of music I listen to now. It has a cool blend of pop and hip hop. I adore the song "Just Can't Get Enough". It is groovy and fun to dance and sing along to in the car. The Smiths can be a little preachy, but I do like the guitar in most of their stuff. I have also been introduced to some bands that I had heard of before, but never listened to. I'm glad I'm giving these bands a real chance. I heard The Cars today. I had no idea they sang "Just What I Needed". That song rules and is fun as hell. I also finally listened to XTC today and they are rad. I love their sound. It is a great blend of rock and synth music. The The is another band I was introduced to today and they are cool as hell. They have more of that new wave feel, and I'm here for it. And The Psychedelic Furs seems like the members may be pretentious, but damn do they make some good music.

As I was sitting back and thinking about new wave music today, it dawned on me why I like it so much. New wave is just rock music, maybe a little pop, and then the bands added a synth player. And the synth does some fine work in the songs. It adds a whole new layer to the music. It makes it funkier and easier to dance to while bopping along in my car. I fully understand that new wave may be more of the look of the bands and their lifelong fans, but for me it is all about that synth. It is so cool and it is one of my newfound favorite instruments.

I'm going to go full bore into the world of new wave at this point, so if anyone has any recommendations, please let me know who to listen to. I greatly appreciate it. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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"No Rain No Flowers" Shows that The Black Keys are Losing Their Style

I've been a Black Keys fan since 2002. I saw them way back then on MTV2 doing a live performance for new and upcoming bands people liked and wanted the viewer to know about. I instantly fell in love. They had a unique sound to me and I wanted to know more. They played blues rock, but it was grimy and gritty. The amps sounded dirty and distorted. I was all in from that moment.

After that performance I went out and bought every album I could. "The Big Come Up" was amazing to me. The sound they were able to achieve with just two guys blew me away. Auerbach's guitar and singing, and Carney's drumming were incredible. I then went out and found their record "Thickfreakness". To this day that album ranks among my favorites. It is some of the best distorted dirty blues you will ever hear in your life. I go back to that album multiple times a year just to be amazed at the sound. I was on a roll with these first two albums, but I wanted more. And The Black Keys did not disappoint. "Rubber Factory" is one of the better records I've ever listened to. The sound they achieved on that album blew away anything The White Stripes have ever made. "Chulahoma" is a wonderful tribute to Junior Kimborough and introduced to that whole world of blues. "Magic Potion" is an underrated gem, and those songs sounded so much better live. "Attack and Release" was a deviation from their usual sound, but in a great way. This was also the record they made with Danger Mouse, who is awesome. "Brothers" was their "pop" record, and they won awards with it. It achieved its goal. "El Camino" was a return to old school form with more band members. And "Turn Blue" was their psychedelic album, which is pretty cool. Then it gets a little stale for me personally, even though I do like some of the newer stuff. "Let's Rock" is okay on its own, but it felt like a rushed rock record. I figured The Black Keys could do better. I think "Delta Kream" is incredible and it brings them back to their blues roots. "Dropout Boogie" is a decent funk rock record. And "Ohio Players" is an okay pop album.

That brings us to their newest album, "No Rain No Flowers". This was very unexpected for me as a fan. They usually take a good amount of time off between records, but this one was less than a year wait. I also didn't listen to any singles because I wanted to go in fresh. I understood they had to cancel and replan their stadium tour due to lower than expected ticket sales, and with the free time I'm sure they wanted to make some new music. I will say, my expectations were not high going into my first listen of "No Rain No Flowers". I don't know what it is for me, but the shine and allure that they had for me in 2002 is all but gone. And that's totally on me as a fan. I neglected their more recent stuff too long. So, I feel like it is okay for me to say that I am not a fan of "No Rain No Flowers".

It is the first Black Keys album that I don't really enjoy listening to. It feels rushed, overproduced and almost like they are trying to tell fans that they can make pop music. That's not what I want when I'm listening to The Black Keys. I want the griminess that made me first fall in love. I want the lo fi sound that they had on earlier records. I want it to be just Dan and Patrick. This album feels like they have a big band backing them. The vocals don't sound like Auerbach on most of the songs. It is hard to hear Carney's drumming sometimes. I'm sure having to cancel a tour messes with your mind, but to put out an album like this, from these two stars, that really bums me out. I don't get what they're going for on this record. Maybe they want more Grammy's or something, but if that's the case, that bums me out too. I am all for artists doing whatever they want to do, especially when they've reached the heights that The Black Keys have. But this album is such a departure from what they do best and it just doesn't work for me.

I've listened to it all the way through twice now and I just cannot find things I like about it. It's unfortunate for me, but not all albums can be winners in my book, and "No Rain No Flowers" is a big, big miss for me. I want them to go back to what made them best. They need to tamp down the band members and the producers. I'd love for their next record to be just Dan and Patrick. Time will tell, but I hope the next album is better than this one. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Listens to "Don't Tap the Glass"

In some stunning news to me, Tyler, the Creator put out a new album this past Monday, “Don’t Tap the Glass”. I knew very little about it, obviously. But I wanted to give it a few listens before I wrote about it.

Spoiler alert, it’s a great record. I have read, and agree with, people saying this is his ode to late 90’s, early 2000’s hip hop. That is what I grew up on. I do prefer 80’s and early 90’s, but my taste grew as grew and grew in 99-2000. I should have known by the cover that this was the case. He has big arms like Ludacris used to wear. He has a big gold chain like 50 Cent used to wear. He’s rocking a mustache. And he’s clearly in his bag. The record is 10 songs, clocking in a a neat and tidy 28 minutes. He comes out hard and fast. I read that he had a listening party the night before it was released. It had a 5 dollar cover charge and no phones were allowed. He wanted people to listen and dance and have fun with no worries of ending up on the internet the next day. He has some rules for the record when it starts. You need to dance, listen loudly and you’re not to tap the glass. I don’t know why, but I like these directions. It puts me in the mood to have a good time. And this album fully delivers on that front. The beats are heavy, loud and made to nod your head to. Tyler rips the lyrics in each song. He has become a better rapper with each new record. His talent continues to grow as he gets older. He also gives the listener something new with each album. He’s at the point where he cannot be pigeonholed. He’s too good and too multi talented. My brother said this record felt like a grown up version of “Bastard”, and I fully agree. And while it’s not as vicious lyrically as “Bastard”, “Don’t Tap the Glass” is through and through hip hop. I love the videos he has now put out. I also love reading all the theories and thoughts about this version of Tyler, the Creator. Tyler is in a groove for me where he is damn near unstoppable. My son asked me if I now like him more than Kendrick Lamar, and I think I do. I love them both, but the sheer magnitude and hit rate of Tyler right now feels unmatched.

This record is great. It’s a perfect follow up to “Chromakopia”. It gives us classic Tyler with a 90’s bend and I’m here for it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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R.I.P. Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne passed away a few days ago at the age of 76. This felt young to me, but I did see some clips from the final show that Black Sabbath just did, and it was not surprising. I guess he put everything he had left into that final show. I do want to say, I think it is awesome that he was able to do that before passing away. He gave his fans one last thing to remember him by, and from what I saw, he sounded pretty good for 76. He sounded a hell of a lot better than Bob Dyaln does now, and I adore Bob Dylan. But, for him to be able to put on this show with the remaining, and still alive, members of Black Sabbath, what a way to go out. I feel like it is almost fitting for him, but still tragic since he is now gone.

For me Ozzy got on my radar with his family's reality show, "The Osbournes". I knew a very little bit about him prior to the show, but the show put him on the map for me. He was always good for a great one liner or a zinger. I liked how he would say something kind or heartfelt to a family member and then tell them to "f off", except he used the full word. I will never forget when he helped his kids trash their neighbor's house, or yard or whatever, and he threw a rotten ham over the fence. He chucked that piece of meat, and when he ran off you could hear him cackling. He was the funniest one on that show, and that first season of the show was a big, big hit.

Through that show my dad and brothers started to tell me about his music career. When they first played "Crazy Train" for me I knew it right away because it was always played at sporting events. Hell, I bet it is still being played today. But his solo stuff never hit for me. Then my brother Seth introduced me to Black Sabbath. This changed my whole perspective on Ozzy. I instantly fell in love with Sabbath's music, and it was mainly due to Ozzy's voice. I loved their hits. "War Pigs", "Sweet Leaf" and "Changes" were the first ones I really loved. "Paranoid" hit me like a ton of bricks. I always assumed Sabbath was hard rock or metal, but my brother quickly showed me the error of my ways. I would play "War Pigs" over and over again. I loved that song, especially the message they were getting out there. The people who start wars never seem to fight them, instead leaving it to the poor. That is exactly what they were saying in that song. "Sweet Leaf" started with that loud cough, and then it became this excellent banger. I like that song as a pro marijuana song more than most psychedelic songs about weed. "Paranoid" has one of the best guitar riffs ever, and Ozzy's voice talent is undeniable when you hear him sing that song. But "Changes" has been my favorite of theirs ever since the first time I heard it. This is their ballad, their slow song, some may even call it a love song. I adore whatever they are trying to get out of the song. The lyrics are timeless and beautiful. This was the song that made me do a double take when I heard Ozzy sing because it is like nothing else in their catalog. It is such a pretty, sweet and tender song. Charles Bradley did it great justice when he covered it before passing. "Changes" is probably one of my favorite songs of all time.

Ozzy had a memorable and crazy life. He has left us with wonderful music and a hit tv show to keep his memory out there. And we can all go watch the final Black Sabbath show on the internet. Rest In Peace Ozzy Osbourne. I hope you're rocking out wherever you may be now. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Why is This AI Judging My Music Taste?

I'm coming to you all with another one of my "champagne problems". Maybe that could be the title of a series moving forward. Time will tell.

Anyway, a lot of us have devices that we use to listen to music in our cars. From what I know, a CD player, tape decks and eight tracks have gone the way of the dodo. These don't seem to exist in any model of a car made after 2020. I have heard people talk about the lack of this, but we have moved into this bluetooth hookup world while we drive now. That's all well and good with me. I prefer to have the least amount of stuff I can carry when I'm driving around my neighborhood anyway. The less I have to bring the better. So, if all I need is keys, my wallet and a phone, I'm here for it.

The issue I keep running into lately while listening to music in my car, all streaming from Spotify on my phone, is the attitude I tend to get from my AI generated DJ's, or commercial after commercial after commercial. I used to use Pandora and Jango for music, but have since moved on from those. The reason why, I was sick of having a skip limit, or after skipping two or three songs in a row, I'd get what seemed like a five minute ad break. This frustrated me. I'm fickle when it comes to music. I've actually gotten a little more fickle the older I've gotten. I like the music I like and I go through phases of wanting to hear certain songs time and time again. So, when Pandora or Jango would play something different, I was quick to skip. But then the commercials happened. I almost felt like I was being punished for not wanting to listen to what they were recommending, or playing a very deep cut from an artist I had shown affection for at the time. I don't need to be criticized by computers for not liking what they suggest. In fact, a lot of the stuff they suggest is not for me. I'm not into whatever the hippest new pop song is at the moment. I don't like modern country music. I don't want to hear mumble rap. So, if I go on a binge of listening to Ben Kweller or Johnny Cash or NAS, I don't want to hear what Pandora or Jango's bots think I'll like. They have a very, very low success rate.

Moving on from those services was easy because my wife got us all subscriptions to Spotify awhile back. That was cool. I could hear similar stuff as much as I wanted, and check out new records from the artists I like without having to buy a physical copy. That being said, I have been thinking a lot about getting a record player and getting into vinyl, but that is a different story for another day. And when Spotify introduced this AI generated DJ, I thought it was a good idea. I know this may sound contradictory to what I'm saying today, but I've never been much of a playlist person. As I said before, I tire of the songs and move on to a different artist in a different genre. I also feel obligated to listen to a full playlist at any given moment, but that's due to OCD. Playlists just aren't my thing. But this AI DJ intrigued me. So, I use it and I use it a lot. I like how it starts out by playing artists that I'm currently listening to at that time. And when they go into their second part, they play music from different eras that I tend to check out. The problem for me is when they play stuff they think I'll like. Sometimes it works. I've found a few artists that I genuinely listen to now based on the DJ's suggestions. But, when I find artists I don't like, or heaven forbid I skip a few songs in a row, the DJ chastises me. I was doing this very thing the other day and the DJ came on and gave me the third degree. They told me that I could just skip right away or press some button on my phone to immediately get to what I want to hear. Look, I'm all for trying to find new music, but if the picks by the AI DJ aren't working, don't yell at me about it. They messed up. They gave me poor recommendations. I don't need to be yelled at by a robot, of which I'm paying monthly subscription to by the way. That seems like a bit too much. I just want to freely skip songs that I may not want to hear at that time and I don't appreciate being judged for it.

I know it may sound silly to some, me complaining about this, but hey, it happened the other day and it has been a thorn in my side. I just want the streaming services to allow me to consume music how I want. Is that so much to ask? 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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R.I.P. Sly Stone

After what appeared to be a long battle with COPD, Sly Stone passed away yesterday.

This is not a shock, but a bummer to me. I recently wrote about the fantastic documentary "Sly Lives", and it seemed like his music was getting a big bump on streaming after the release. But, I do want to point out that in the coda of that movie, they got some recent interviews with Stone and he looked not so great. But, whenever a legend like this leaves this plane, it bums me out.

Sly Stone's music has been a big part of my life. Ever since I started to kind of form my own musical tastes, Sly and the Family Stone was a big jumping off point for me. I was instantly into the music. It was groovy and funky, then it could switch to dancy and then close out with some very introspective and important lyrical stuff. Sly and the Family Stone never really allowed themselves to ever be put into one genre of music, and this made their reach go to many, many different people. For me, a white kid from the suburbs, I instantly connected with the more funky stuff.

When I first learned of the band I was pretty heavily into Parliament Funkadelic and solo George Clinto stuff. A friend of mine mentioned Sly and the Family Stone, and I remembered my dad used to listen to them. I was familiar with the name, but not the music. Again, from the jump the music was perfect for me. I decided to listen at the perfect time in my life, and they have stuck with me all the way through to now. In fact, when I said something to my wife about Stone's passing, my son, who's 13, said that he knew who he was too. I asked him how, and he said that he has heard me listen to his stuff over and over in my car. I guess I'm doing what my dad did for me without even realizing it. And I'm very much okay with this. I like that my son knows of his music because he is a hip hop fan, and a bunch of hip hop artists either sight Sly Stone or have sampled a bunch of his stuff in their music. It is great for the both of us because we can relate to each other while listening to the music we like.

Outside of his band, and his many issues with drugs and alcohol, Stone was a wonderful radio DJ and producer. He was one of the best songwriters in the world in his heyday. Even after the band broke up, and he struggled with his solo stuff, I still find things I like about that era. Sly Stone could have, and would have made it in any era. With his talent and work ethic, he was destined to do something memorable and boy was his career and music memorable. I also appreciate that he was able to reunite with his family and kids later in his life. I have to imagine that helped him last longer than maybe he would have if he didn't reconcile with everyone.

This one stings. While it isn't on the level with Prince passing and RD's fandom, Sly Stone was my version of Prince. I listened to him before diving into Prince's catalog. Rest in Peace Sly Stone. I hope that wherever you are right now you are laying down some funky riffs and writing some extraterrestrial lyrics. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Olivia Rodrigo and David Byrne Team Up to Bring Some Light Into the World

With all the craziness that is happening in our world, and it seems to get worse every single day, I have been trying to find stuff, when I go online, that makes me smile. Last night, after reading about the terror happening in LA, I found myself watching concert videos on Instagram. Music makes me happy, especially live music. Throughout my thirty or so minutes of viewing, I happened upon the Governors Ball shows going on right now.

This is a big time festival type thing, with all of the most popular artists in music, past to present. I watched a good chunk of Tyler, the Creator's performance and loved it. And then I happened to stumble upon Olivia Rodrigo. I am a fan of hers. It is a joke in our house that I tell my wife I'm on Team Olivia because she enjoys Sabrina Carpenter more. She likes both artists, she just tends to listen to Carpenter more. I do genuinely prefer Rodrigo. I like her writing more and her music is a bit heavier and more guitar driven, which hits my ears best.

While watching her perform, and she was doing a great show it seemed, I happened to notice her band playing a tune very familiar to me. It sounded like "Burning Down the House". A few more seconds in, that was the song she was about to perform for sure. Then this older gentleman walked on stage with red overalls on. I thought that person looked a whole lot like David Bryne. I let my mind wander even more, thinking that it would be rad if she invited him to do this classic song with her and her band.  Sure enough, it was David Bryne and he was about to sing and dance on the same stage as Olivia Rodrigo. And it was awesome.

I must have rewatched that performance three or four times last night. It was so good. I loved hearing these two sing, with wildly different voices, singing one of the better songs that have ever been released. And, to give Bryne credit, he kind of held his own dancing alongside Rodrigo. It made my heart sing watching these two titans of their industry having a good time sharing the stage and giving one hell of a live performance.

After I watched it for the last time last night, I went to bed. Then I found myself thinking about it this morning, finally deciding that I wanted to write about it. I've already told you all why I liked the performance, but there is another thing I want to point out. I absolutely adore it when young pop/rock stars pay homage to the greats that came before them. What Rodrigo did last night, or whenever this show was, introduced a whole new generation to Talking Heads. There had to be young kids who had zero idea who David Bryne is, and now they have searched his music and are probably listening to his stuff right now. I love it that Talking Heads and Bryne's solo stuff is going to see a big, big bump in streaming and record sales simply because Rodrigo is a, most likely, big fan and had an opportunity to perform with Bryne. I think it is so cool that there are some younger kids who are professional musicians that understand the importance of a person like David Bryne. She is given him another moment to shine and show younger generations that their folks listen to some cool music. My kids are not the biggest fans of Talking Heads, but I bet if an artist they like used one of their songs or performed live with them they'd be more willing to take a second look.

I didn't really need a reason to like Olivia Rodrigo any more than I currently do, and then she invited a living legend to perform live on stage with her. This is so cool and I wish more and more current music stars would do more of the same. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Listens to Ben Kweller's "Cover the Mirrors"

Ben Kweller released his latest album last Friday. I have been a fan of his since back when RD and I lived in a townhouse together. This was the early 2000's. He showed up on MTV2 one day, when they showed videos, and it blew me away. He played this power pop mixed with rock and even some folk that sang to me from the first moment I heard his voice. His band is great too, but there's something about Kweller's music that I really, really enjoy.

I have been listening and following his music ever since, even getting to see him live a few times, and he puts on a great live show. But, during the pandemic, he stopped making music for a bit. I had no idea what was going on. He went totally silent on social media and, in around 2023, the music just stopped. When I went and researched it a little more, I read some tragic news about him and his family. Their child was killed in an automobile accident. I cannot even fathom how upsetting and brutal that is for the surviving parents. It all made sense why he had stopped doing pretty much anything. I wouldn't have been shocked if he stopped right then and there. But he didn't. His new record, "Cover the Mirrors" is as tragic as it is awesome.

The record, from my three full listens to this point, is about dealing with the grief and anxiety and depression and everything that comes with losing a very close loved one. The record is heartbreaking. With each song it just seems to get sadder and sadder. But, in only a way that Ben Kweller can do, he finds ways to make some of the songs sound chipper and poppy. For example, "Optymistic" has a hard rocking vibe to the music. It's only when you listen to the lyrics you realize how sad the song truly is. "Oh Dorian" is about as heartbreaking as it gets, that was his kids' name, but it has this old school country/bluegrass vibe. It sounds like something he could have recorded on his wildly underrated "Changing Horses" album. But damn if that song doesn't choke me up every single time I hear it. Even a song like "Depression", which should tell you what exactly the song is about, has this groovy vibe throughout the whole song. And then we have the songs that are straight up sad through and through. "Going Insane" is a piano ballad that lets you know the vibe right off the bat, as it leads off the record. "Dollar Store" is tragic when you find out what he is saying in the song.

Look, this record is good because Ben Kweller is one of the best songwriters in the game right now. He knows how to write, how to put it to music and how to make it all sound so good in the final cut. He has always been one of the best writers out there. He also has a voice that works so well with how he writes and plays. But this record is truly, truly tragic. It is rough when you really break it down and read what each song is about. But I don't know what else you'd expect when you know how horrific his family's situation is at the moment. To Kweller's credit, he has gone on tour and been very open about everything. If anything, this record just solidifies how great of a musician Kweller is through and through. Yes, the record is sad, but I highly recommend it to everyone. Ben Kweller is one of the best. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.