Starring Mary Ellen Mark, Bukowski’s LouJon press books, book art, letterpress, getting your hands dirty, kissing the paper, manual typewriters, nostalgia, home tanneries in Brooklyn, synthesizers, late 50s Les Pauls, craftsmanship, Kalamazoo Michigan, robots, green wood, perpetual motion, Detroit steel, making rich people more rich, buying Bukowski’s boyhood home, gentrification, turning all of Los Angeles into one big Universal back…
If you listen very carefully you may also hear me say something about ripping CDs, Google Play Music, The Philadelphia train wreck, the World Trade Center, Hiroshima, Jesus H. Christ, Antonio Villaraigosa, death, The American Journal of Psychiatry, communism, chicken pot pies (oh wait, I didn’t talk about that, I’m just really hungry right now), religion, watermelons, the 1%, Vinnie…
Kickstarter, Patreon, tip jars, donate buttons – some days when I’m bouncing around the web it feels like I’m idling at a freeway entrance ramp and the entire web is a cardboard WILL WORK FOR FOOD sign. I may also mention things like B. B. King, Charles Lindbergh, PayPal, fan sites, scanner bulbs, lyric sites, bots, forums, crime, gauze, three dollar bottles of wine,…
You really deserve a gripping, original podcast every week. One where I’m rhapsodizing about something I love but that you just don’t understand, or me frothing at the mouth over (a perceived) grievous social injustice. That’s what you deserve, but this week I’m going to read you a bit of a book I’m working on instead. The book is called A…
You may also hear me talking about office chairs, Malcolm Gladwell, technical people not being great communicators, baking pies, fundamentalism, the death of white America, dinosaurs, carbon, Rodney King, living in a cave in the desert, heads on pikes, Mad Max, Goethe, and Mozart. [subscribe] Transcript
I might also mention airport security, the lack of seasons in Los Angeles, VCRs, fish heads, what I would do if I was smart, the Pony Express, Mark Twain, Costco, giraffes, world travel and sitting and doing nothing. [subscribe] Transcript
Also in this action-packed episode: The Podcast Awards, what entrepreneurs do, chickens, gas stations, bars, rock concerts, and room service hamburgers. [subscribe] Transcript
I’ll be here at the New Media Expo until Friday. Usually, by Friday I’ve already recorded the show for the week, but that’s not going to happen this week. You know, since I’m 275 miles away from my microphone. All of which is to say that the show may be late this week. [subscribe]
Why do we name things the way we do? How do we come up with the terms we use every day? Language is a funny thing. I’ll also talk about asbestos, pizza, the military, news people, ASMR, scientists, stink bugs, audiophiles (again), Dianetics, being uneducated, Deadwood, artist’s statements, belonging, communicating, and the rise of our evil canine overlords. Warning: I should mention…
This one is about the Podcast Awards (yes, that’s a real thing), but I might also mention Carol’s art show, NMX, NAB, what conferences and trade shows really are, Las Vegas, desperation, The Rose Parade, The Webbys, Smurfs, and a few other things along the way. What can I say, my mind wanders. [subscribe] Transcript
In part two of my interview with iconoclastic Los Angeles art writer and gallerist Mat Gleason, we talk about art schools, MFAs, philosophy, Catholic school, Nietzsche, Goldman Sachs, capitalism, mercantilism, consistency, selling out vs. sneaking in, loyalties, art about art, artist’s statements, Nicole Panter, CalArts, the cost of transparency, Art World Boot Camp, Tower Records, President Reagan and The Jesus and Mary Chain.…
In part one of my interview with iconoclastic Los Angeles art writer and gallerist Mat Gleason, we talk about the Los Angeles punk scene, The Atomic Cafe, the new paradigm, SST Records, the South Bay, conservative culture, art-as-time-machine, feminism, diversity, tolerance, Greg Ginn, Mike Ness, Mr. Brett Gurewitz, prog rock, The Misfits, the burden of facts, The Velvet Underground, Coagula Art…
Reality TV. You love it. You hate it. You watch it. Admit it. There’s no shame in it. Really. Stop beating yourself up. [subscribe] Transcript
Marley Natural is a new company created to sell legal herb with Bob’s name on it. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Links mentioned in the episode: Live Talks L.A. [subscribe] Transcript
This is it, the only Oscar ceremony wrap-up you need. Forget the big networks, and even the tiny networks that no one watches, like E! You don’t need them. I cover all the bases, every category, every wonderful minute of Hollywood’s greatest night! You don’t want to miss it. [subscribe] Transcript
The strange and terrible world of unboxing videos, Facebook, the Book of Revelations, Heaven’s Gate, Marketing, Betamax recorders, Internet communities, the discomfort of silence, and more. [subscribe] Links mentioned in the episode: World’s first unboxing video Hosho McCreesh Transcript
How does one live simply when there is so much junk everywhere? It’s a first-world problem, having too much stuff, I know. But here I am talking about it anyway. On the way to that subject, you’ll also get to hear about how to be an awesome podcaster, landlords, eBay, yard sales, people in the 1920s, credit cards, and a teaser…
According to Wikipedia (my favorite source for quasi-truth and hamfisted misinformation), an Internet troll is: a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion. I suppose that’s…
Carol: “What’s your podcast about this week?” Me: “Oh, you know, it’s about how CDs sound better than records, stuff like that.” Carol: “What? You’re crazy, I think you’re wrong…” Me: “I know, everyone thinks I’m wrong.” But hear me out. Maybe I’m not completely crazy. It’s funny, a lot of people sold, gave away or threw out their vinyl LPs in…
Who am I? That’s not an existential question, though I suppose it could be. But it occurs to me that many of you who are listening to this may not know much – or anything – about me, so you might rightfully wonder why the hell I’m here foisting my views and opinions onto an unsuspecting and uncaring world. So here’s what…
Turns out I was making the audio files way too large. Twice the size they needed to be. So I’ve remedied that and replaced all of the existing episodes with their thinner and more chic counterparts. If 64k is good enough for NPR and the BBC, I suppose it’s good enough for us here. I’ll figure this stuff out eventually. You know,…
Wherein I talk about disco, Mad Max, the music business, Louise Brooks, disillusionment, boredom and death metal bands. [subscribe] Transcript
Wherein I speak to artist Carol Es about artists being put into boxes, process, music, the value of art and risk taking. You can (and should!) check out her art right here. [subscribe]
Wherein I lay the sad tale of the senseless, tragic rape of Charles Bukowski’s ghost by John Martin’s Black Sparrow Press at your feet. Do with it what you will. You can read more about the subject here. [subscribe]
Wherein I introduce myself to you and attempt to explain what This is not a test will be. Or what I hope or promise it will be. No guarantees implied. Set your expectations to LOW and hop on. Glorious. [subscribe]
This is where the mjp Books THIS IS NOT A TEST podcast will live in 2015. Preparing for takeoff. [subscribe] THIS IS NOT A TEST is brought to you via the magic of the Internet, and with the help of Heil PR 40, Audio-Technica AT2035 and Shure SM58 microphones, a humble TASCAM DR-40 digital recorder, the Soundcraft Notepad 124 mixer, a…