Blogcritics

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

Guster With Jeff Garlin Podcast Wrapup: Episode 2 (Oct. 9, 2006)

Josh Hathaway — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 16:20:32 EDT

This week's review is less a review and more a recap. It is also more than a week late. Sorry about that last part. This week's episode of the Guster/Jeff Garlin podcast opens with a quick blast of Michael Jackson's "Thriller." Garlin suggests both he and Guster fly quite a ways under the radar, but those who have heard of either or both of them tend to be devoted followers. Ryan Miller then tries to somehow tie this into the still-playing "Thriller" and Curb Your Enthusiasm.The chatter this week is a little less on the funny. The breaking news in this week's segment is Guster has just finished mixing their Ganging Up on The Sun album the day this conversation takes place. A clip of "Hang On" is played as that is the track the band had just finished mixing the day this conversation takes place. Ryan explains what he doesn't like about the song and Brian Rosenworcel thinks there is a moment in "Hang On" that sounds like "One" by U2. This sets off a discussion of favorite U2 songs: Garlin says his will always be "Bad," preferably the Wide Awake in America version. Miller's favorite U2 album is The Unforgettable Fire. Brian thinks "Bad" is about born-again Christianity. Garlin thinks it might be about rabbinical students. I think they're both wrong - I am pretty sure it is about addiction. This week's "My Rifle, My Pony, and Me" comes in the form of "Float On" by The Floaters. It is hard to imagine beating Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson, but for pure comedic value "Float On" wins. What is funniest about this song is someone might have, at one time, taken it seriously. The commentary during "Float On" is more than worth sticking around to the end of the podcast to hear - particularly when Garlin writes his own verse to the song. You will never think about a dreidel the same way again.

Josh Hathaway is Assistant Music Editor for BC Magazine. He is formerly an award-winning journalist and broadcaster and publishes the BC Network site Confessions of a Fanboy .

Guster With Jeff Garlin Podcast Wrapup: Episode 1 (Oct. 2, 2006)

Josh Hathaway — Wed, 4 Oct 2006 23:19:07 EDT

"Big Bowl of Wrong." This, along with "Pies of depravity" are my new phrases of choice."Pies of depravity" evolved from an e-conversation between Sir Brewster and Sir Mary in the private room at TheMondoProject. It's kind of a long story and it is the kind of long story I wish had been told out here in the open, public area of the site. It didn't happen that way, but I do have a new phrase and I am going to use it at every opportunity."Big bowl of wrong" is a phrase I must credit to Jeff Garlin. Garlin, for those of you like myself not in the know, is a feature player on HBO's hit, Curb Your Enthusiasm. I have heard nothing but great things about Curb, but I have never seen an episode. It's on my "To-Do" list.So Guster, whom I have written about countless times, and Jeff Garlin have joined forces to produce a podcast mini-series. Brian Rosenworcel and Ryan Miller of Guster and Garlin recorded the conversation as the band was wrapping up work on their brilliant Ganging Up on the Sun album. That conversation, nearly an hour long, has been broken up into five parts and is being offered as a free download through iTunes. A new episode will be released each Monday in October (yep, there are five of them this month), the first having been released today.If you are wondering where the music of Guster and the acting of Garlin intersect, Garlin provides the answer in the opening moments of the first episode: Ben Vereen. Brian later provides the real answer as the show continues. Those unfamiliar with Guster, and with the number of Guster-related pieces I have written I cannot imagine anyone at Blogcritics could be, might not be aware of their keen sense of humor. That sense of humor sometimes surfaces in their songs and is always evident in their live performances. The big topic in this week's episode: comedies that were funny at the time but haven't held up over time as well as "My Rifle, My Pony, and Me." There are references to Woody Allen, Annie Hall, Steely Dan, Dean Martin, John Wayne, Fletch, Blazing Saddles, and Ricky Nelson.That is a lot of ground to cover in just over eight minutes, but the conversation flows pretty well. The pairing of Garlin and Guster might not seem natural but the banter on the podcast is. I can't wait until next week.

Josh Hathaway is Assistant Music Editor for BC Magazine. He is formerly an award-winning journalist and broadcaster and publishes the BC Network site Confessions of a Fanboy .