I have been so far off in la-la land this week (because I’m on “vacation”) that after I recorded a new podcast on Monday, I forgot to post about it here, where more people can see and hear it. Tsk tsk…
So this episode is all about Christmas stuff… music, movies, food, “Xmas,” etc. And, I hear from Superfan Damien (from The Less Desirables), which is awesome, for the first response to a discussion starter. Thanks, buddy!
You can listen to the latest ep by visiting the Useless Things Podcast website, search your favorite podcatcher platform, Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, etc., or the TLD Network website. I’d appreciate it if you’d subscribe and hit the notification to let you know there are new episodes available. Also, if you’re so inclined, a rating, review, like would all help me tremendously. Not just for Useless Things but all the podcasts on the network.
I hope that you all have a most fantastic Christmas holiday, and happy Christmas Eve!
So, on Monday, I recorded a podcast for Useless Things. But, I forgot to post it here. I did post it on the Useless Things Podcast page and on the TLD Network page.
On Monday, I talked about my birthday/Friendsgiving celebration at The Katharine Brasserie and Bar as well as remembering Eric Carr and Freddie Mercury. You can listen to that episode, here.
Today, I talked about Beeswax Vinyl Daily and clarified what the Billboard, Grammy, AMA, RS list, and RIAA certifications, and such all mean when I talk about them. You can listen to that episode, here.
I appreciate your listening! Subscribe, like, rate, review!
Until tomorrow, same blog channel… Scorp out!
— “Originally conceived to honor artists and track sound recording sales, Gold & Platinum Awards have come to stand as a benchmark of success for any artist—whether they’ve just released their first song or Greatest Hits album.” – RIAA website
So, I have actually been on vacation since Monday. I worked until 9p on Monday to not have to go back to the studio until this coming Monday. That included not doing the podcast for Useless Things. I will be back next week because I have a lot to talk about. We had some big things happen this past week. I’ll fill you in. Thanks for your understanding!
Until tomorrow, same blog channel… Scorp out!
— “I don’t need a vacation in the traditional sense like I would if I had a job I hated.” – James Franco
It’s time to talk about that trip we just took around the sun. It’s birthday time. Good ones, not so bad ones, memorable ones. Plans for this one. Also, It’s time to talk about that trip we just took around the sun. It’s birthday time. Good ones, not so bad ones, memorable ones. Plans for this one. Also, a new discussion starter question.
Leave comments or just join the conversation by calling the TLD Network Hotline at 336-422-NUMB (6862).
Time for a new podcast, y’all! Yeah, two in one week. I had stuff to say, I guess. I don’t know if I’ll have stuff to say next week or not. But, it’s the 40th anniversary this week of my favorite KISS album. Hear me talk about it here.
Until tomorrow, same blog channel… Scorp out!
— “It’s nothing to me…” – “A World Without Heroes” (Reed/Ezrin/Simmons/Stanley)
On this episode of the Useless Things Podcast, we have storytime. Storytime in which we learn about Al. What Al does and how and why you shouldn’t be like Al. It’s a quaint story, a tale as old as time if you will.
I also ask a question about turn signals. Blinkers, blinkahs, whatever.
I’m not going to lie to you, Dear Reader, it was hard to not post-post the entries this week. But, it feels better now, two days later. I’m also going to be honest and tell you that I spent a lot on records yesterday. More than I wanted to, to be honest, but we got some good (and potentially good) stuff. Jonathan was in an exceptionally good mood since his Atlanta Braves won the World Series. All that, here’s the haul:
Matt Mullins & The Bringdowns – Partly Pandemonium Partly Love — This one wasn’t from Underdog Records. This was from friends of my Kousin Gary from Asylum – Tales from the Devereaux Diaries. We went to see them play at The Ramkat on Friday. Stuart, the guitar player is one of Gary’s best friends and all of us were from West Virginia. I heard a lot of stories on those songs about my home state. Stuart’s mother was my fourth-grade teacher and one of my faves. Someone said they were like outlaw country but I didn’t get that, really. It’s more country-rock but with a lot of harmonies and hard rock riffs. I dug it. They signed the record, too. New.
Ozzy Osbourne – No More Tears — Probably my third or fourth favorite Ozzy record. The Ultimate Sin comes in first, Blizzard of Ozz second, and this one and No Rest for the Wicked and Diary of a Madman jockey for position after that. Not a huge Ozzy fan overall, but I do like him and enjoy the music. This was just rereleased a few weeks back and when Jonathan got the shipment, he was only able to get one copy and it was spoken for. So, I was happy to find this one. I guess the shipment came through. It’s 2×LP, Reissue, Remastered.
U2 – October — The second album from U2. Probably one of my least faves of theirs, but it was canon and I wanted to have it in the collection. Reissue, Remastered, 180gram. Single sleeve. 180g vinyl. No shrinkwrap (hype) sticker. Plus 16-page book in 12″ format and photo inner sleeve in heavy paper (that’s what Discogs said, I haven’t opened it to see if it really has all this). New.
Hiss Golden Messenger – O Come All Ye Faithful — This is some The BCPF stuff here. The first clue is that it’s on Merge Records. That’s always a dead giveaway. We have an album from them already but this is their Christmas album. I hope we wait until after Thanksgiving to listen to it. 2×LP, Limited Edition, Bone/Green/Red tri-color. New.
Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill — I was surprised we didn’t have this already, but we didn’t. I think it was released a little while ago in some special edition that was like $80 or something. Nah, I’ll pass on that. But, The BCPF found this copy and we rejoiced. #69 on the Rolling Stone list that doesn’t matter (as much). Reissue, Remastered, 180g. New.
Destroyer – Destroyer’s Rubies — I asked The BCPF, “what is this?” She replied, “It’s on Merge.” What more do you need to know? I didn’t need any more info. 2×LP, Reissue, Remastered, Gatefold. New.
The Halo Benders – Don’t Tell Me Now — We have one other album from The Halo Benders. Surprisingly, Merge doesn’t have the market cornered on this kind of music. This is on KLP. It’s a repress, as far as I can tell. More The BCPF stuff, of course. New.
Rhiannon Giddens – Tomorrow Is My Turn — Rhiannon was born in Greensboro and part of the folk/old-time group the Carolina Chocolate Drops. This was her debut solo effort. It was produced by T-Bone Burnett. 140-gram audiophile vinyl. The version we got came with a CD but this was used and whoever got it, kept the CD. Booooo! This was still NM and Jonathan said it was “like new.” I wonder if they kept the CD did they even listen to the record? Who knows. NM.
Imperial Teen – Now We Are Timeless — This is a Merge Records artist, but you know what? I picked it out. Really, I showed it to The BCPF and she just shrugged. I said it was on Merge and she said, “really!?” But, then said nothing more. So, I decided to keep it. I don’t know and she doesn’t know anything about it. So… we’ll see. Limited Edition, Blue Ice. NM.
Rank And File – Long Gone Dead — This was some different kind of stuff. It’s basically what is called “cowpunk.” Country punk. I don’t really hear much punk, but it’s not exactly country, either. According to Wikipedia on “cowpunk”: It combines punk rock or new wave with country, folk, and blues in its sound, lyrical subject matter, attitude, and style. That makes sense here. This is from 1984. VG+.
View From The Hill – In Time — I know even less about this band, but I believe they’re British. They look to be an all-Black British band (that’s the term they use). Soul/Funk/R&B. That’s really all I know. VG+.
That’s our haul this week. A lot of new stuff means a lot of $$ spent. Whew! Jonathan got a nice Sony turntable that is really just like my AT60 from Audio Technica but with a Sony label. New needle and belt and have a switchable preamp if you have another preamp configuration you want to doodle around with. Watch the Underdog Records social media for whatever else Jonathan has gotten in and is ready for you to consume. You can shop new vinyl day/night/24/7/365 by visiting the website. I use Discogs to track my collection. You should, too!
Until next time, keep spinnin’… Scorp out!
— “Another day passes as the night closes in. The red light goes on to say it’s time to begin. I see the man around the corner waiting, can he see me? I close my eyes and wait to hear the sound of someone screaming here. No more tears.” – “No More Tears” (Osbourne/Wylde/Inez/Castillo/Purdell)
I was going to post this yesterday but I fought myself. Incidentally, it also feels weird not backing up and making posts for the last four days as well. Yesterday, I started a new thing. A new podcast. A companion piece to this blog. It’s called Useless Things Need Love Too. How original, right? Well, it’s my IP and I am sticking with it. I could go into a lot of detail about what this podcast is going to be about, but if I did that, then what would be the point of listening? I lay out the whole deal on this podcast. And, it’s only about 17 minutes, so just about 10 minutes longer than a Beeswax Vinyl Daily episode. Expect a new one every week. I think Friday will be the day I release them. It may not be every Friday. That is especially true with all the holidays and my birthday coming up. Anyway, you can listen to the inaugural episode here.
Until tomorrow, same blog channel… Scorp out!
— “I am opinionated and speak loudly at times, but I will admit that I don’t always know what I’m talking about.” – Me
As you may or may not know, Dear Reader, I have written this blog “every day” (at least FOR every day) since November 1, 2014. That was right after, well a month and a half after, my honeymoon. I did the Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums of All Time list (the 2012 list that matters) and reviewed that. I did the Honeymoon Chronicles. I have posted while traveling. I have started several podcasts since then.
Today is November 1, 2021. That’s 2,557 days. 2,557 blog posts. On October 1, I started counting down for this. That’s what that number has been. Probably over 750k words because when I was on, it was verbose. Especially in the early days, I had a special rule that said I had to have at least 250 words per post. Usually, it was over 500 but had to be at least 250.
As you may have noticed over the last two years, there’s been a bit of a shortage of topics to talk about. Most of the stuff I post anymore is just “piggybacks” off of my podcasts or other blogs. I’ll admit my heart hasn’t really been in it but I have to keep up streaks. I can’t let something go.
I loved posting in the beginning. There were a lot of cool things to talk about. It could be a rant. It could be a review. It could be an observation. It could just be spouting off about something, I mean look at the subtitle of this blog. I used to really love writing. That has waned, a lot. I think some of it has to do with time, which I have very little of, at least free time, anymore.
I’ve lifted my fingers from my laptop…
The pandemic threw things into disarray even more. At least pre-C-19, I had places to go, people to rub against, things to see and do. That’s where I drew a lot of inspiration for this blog that may or may not have been 100% true and accurate. You know that technically, I write this blog as a character and not as myself. That’s why it’s always signed “Scorp” short for Scorpio, short for ScorpioNC, the name I’ve used most of my adult “online” life. Scorp had a lot of things to say, sometimes just to rile people up, especially during the RS List days. Not all of it was how I actually felt. That’s creative license and I used it.
I think the key word in that last sentence is “creative.” Once the pandemic hit, and I found myself working on so much research and writing on The Man Who Ate the Town to keep up with what food and beverage establishments in WSNC that I became a bit burned out on writing. Because my scope was limited, so was my writing channel. I didn’t want to write so much but I also didn’t want to let this thing go. At least not then.
It went from making sure I had a post in before midnight to constitute that day’s post to “eh, I’ll write the whole week’s worth on Sunday.” And, that’s what happened. I was getting up early on Sunday to write Monday’s, Tuesday’s, Wednesday’s, Thursday’s, Friday’s, and Saturday’s posts. Saturdays are fairly easy because it’s just picking a video to play for Sounds Like Saturday. But, skip back to five months ago, and every day it was a “Now Normal Chronicle” post about a video of something, mostly anniversaries of albums. That’s because it was easy to pull off. I think it was an interesting topic. So much that everything that Beeswax Vinyl Daily is, is exactly that. Music history. So, I didn’t see the need to post that every day, any longer.
It’s not fair to you, Dear Reader, to have to endure my boredom and frustrations. I don’t know if “fair” is the right word. You can just not read it, that’s okay. But, I haven’t stopped getting new followers and readers. I haven’t stopped getting likes on a good number of posts, mostly the food ones or where I say something profound (at least in my head). It’s not fair to me either, though. I started this to mean something. I still want it to mean something. At first, I missed being a “journalist” and this was the way for me to do that, bring you something exciting or at least entertaining. Through all these years, I think, especially in the beginning, that this was at least entertaining. It’s become a chore for me.
So, here we are, again, November 1, 2021. Seven years, to the day, that I started the NABLOPOMO (National Blog Posting Month) “30-Day Challenge” that I just couldn’t stop writing (thanks a lot Kristen Daukas). I am announcing that I am stopping the “every day posting” that I have committed to and somewhat adhered to, effective today. But, what does that mean? It means that there won’t be a dedicated Monday-Sunday daily blog post. But, I am not giving up blogging altogether. I do still plan on doing Sounds Like Saturdays and Spinning (or Silent) Sundays. I want this blog to go on.
But, that’s not all. I will be going back to the spirit of this blog and that’s posting with purpose. If I have something to say, to announce, to rant about, to promote, then I’ll come and post about those things. The blog is still here. In addition to that, I’m working on a weekly blog post along the lines of what was “Talking Tuesday” posts for seven weeks in 2016. It’s basically a blog post that is in podcast form. In fact, I am planning to start a Useless Things Need Love, Too podcast for those. I may look at the Wheeler’s Dog platform and do one on here (or its own website) and then do a BONUS episode each week on Patreon. I’m weighing my options.
It comes down to this, I changed my “daily” focus from this blog to the Beeswax Vinyl Daily and trust me, that takes up not only my work time but my free time, too. I put more hours into that than almost any podcast I do or have ever done. It’s my daily release. This used to be. This used to mean so much to me, and it really still does, but it’s not a priority. That’s its sad reality and sad truth. But, I still love it and I’m going to keep it. I think I’m going to take a virtual page out of the book of my friends Honu Global and refurbish, refinish, reimagine what this blog will be.
I thank all of you who may have read these ramblings daily, at least in the beginning. Thank you if this is your first time. Thank you if this is your last time. Thank you for pushing me through. Thank you for just being mildly interested. Thank you for tuning in to see what kind of train wreck it may be.
Once again, I’m not quitting this, I’m just repurposing it.
Until next time, same blog channel at SOME blog time… Tim out.
Let me start by saying that the number in the title has nothing to do with what I’m going to say here.
I tallied up my totals for my podcast episodes. The last I checked, in September, it was 2186. As of today, I have produced or co-produced 2281 episodes. So 95 since September 16.
Me doing my thing…
That includes The Less Desirables, The Man Who Ate the Town, Fan Interference, Asylum – Tales from the Devereaux Diaries, Beeswax Vinyl Daily, and Wheelers Dog (the general public editions) for the network (The Beer Dads is on hiatus as Beer Dad Jon acclimates to his new job).
This also includes my clients, Forsyth Magazines, Lewisville-Clemmons Chamber, Health Geeks Book Club, Nailing It, Eat Drink Triad. With the exception of LCC and EDT right now, I have actually produced more, but I’m trying to not count them until they are published. I guess I could say that I’ve had 2281 published. Whatever.
I am proud of my numbers. I have done this longer than anyone I know and anyone I’ve heard of, at least around here. Some may have started earlier. Some may have more episodes (not collectively, I feel) but, this is continuous since at least 2010, but I started in 2007.
I am a podcast producer that can get you quality recordings and listed on major podcast directories. It’s up to you, the client, to provide the content and do your own marketing. I don’t do that, but I am a one-stop shop for your podcast needs. Contact me here if you’d like to talk about your own podcast.
Until tomorrow, same blog channel… Scorp out!
— “I like the freedom of podcasting. With podcasting you can really mess around with the form and the format. You can do as much time as you like without having to pause for commercials.” – Adam Carolla
Useless Things Need Love Too 