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Vol 3: Ambient, 3 week $3 discog Sale

admin — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:20:41 +0000

A couple months ago a made this batch of songs which I kinda liked. They are notable for being different from anything I’ve done before: Ambient. Now I’m thinking it’s time to set the audio free into the world, so voila, Sound of Picture Vol 3. Download for free, or suggested donation in the HUSHshop. Sound of Picture Vol 3 sampler mix I also made videos for them. Here’s one for the first track, “Sad Cyclops”. They can be seen in a continuous playlist here. For more instrumental music consider downloading Vol 1 & 2; short, simple, melodic compositions to accompany photographs Also: Total bargain alert! We’re having a special sale beginning today: That’s right: 3 albums (aged 3+ years) on sale for $3 each, for 3 weeks only! This will be a limited-time offer with rotating specials from the HUSH back catalog. Available in the HUSHshop. I’m going to be the guinea pig and step up to the plate with a sampling from my own discography over the years. Beginning in 1997 we have my only canonical vocal solo release, entitled Portland, Or. Jumping ahead to 2004, my band Blanket Music released Cultural Norms, maybe the snappiest offering from Yours Truly, and has the footnote distinction of breaking into the CMJ top 20. Pitchfork spake thus:

Crouch understands the difference between getting in people’s faces, and inviting them to come to him… he easily could have erred in the other direction by pitching headlong into the cultural wars. Instead, he found a perfect balance, and this is his most compelling album.

Five years on, I’m not sure if I understand anything really, but I am inviting you to consider owning this artifact and judging for yourself. Lastly, the short-lived Toothfairy mini album Formative is an interesting foray which looks back and forward simultaneously. The lyrics paint a detailed pastiche of adolescence while the electronic palette is certainly an antecedent to Podington Bear, my outlet for instrumental ditties. So, have a listen and consider for your collection. Blanket Music - “Cultural Norms” Sampler Mix Chad Crouch - “Portland, Or.” Sampler Mix Toothfairy - “Formative” Sampler Mix

I am Podington Bear.

admin — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:33:24 +0000

Hello There. In the recent past I've been brief with the posts, but I suspect it will take a few words to get through this one. If you're just joining us from Rocketboom or HUSH Records or someplace else and have come to see what the fuss is about, I hope you'll feel welcome to kick back and rock that player over there on the right for a bit, even if the urge to go check your Facebook or something in a few seconds is overwhelming. Consider the launching the Pop-Up P Bear Player. If you haven't seen this video, it might be of interest: Now then. Hi, my character name is Podington Bear. My given name is Chad Crouch. But I suspect I'll always be Podington Bear. I'm too far in. The short of it is that I made a bunch of songs over the past 18 months, gave em' away to whoever would listen, then archived it all in a box set recently released by the label I founded here in Portland a decade ago, HUSH Records. So there was a little posturing involved. A little make-believe. No names, no connections to start. Then voila, "signed". I signed myself to my own label. I doubt that anyone would feel particularly duped by that, but just in case, sorry if it takes some of the shine off. The music remains the same, yes? So, I just want say a few things and then be done.

I'm going to keep making instrumental music. It will still be attributed to Podington Bear. I won't start plastering my face on record covers and stuff.

I'll probably make music and sing over it again. Not sure what that will be called or when, but I kind of miss singing.

I definitely won't match the rate of output of the past 18 months, and intend to diversify the musical offerings, as with the recent Sound of Picture podcast and blog.

I'll probably invest a little more time in beat production on future pop stuff. Play some guitar again. Maybe get a little help from my talented musician friends.

Why the ruse, you ask? In part it was like any other gimmick, designed to get a few seconds more attention. [I'm told gimmick has a cheap connotation. I use the word in the sense that any entertainment boiled down is a gimmick: you can't amuse or entertain people without their attention in the first place. Cartoon bears simply have a history of being very approachable. In the very least I was unconsciously aware of this when the tiny lightning bolt went off in my mind.] But, beyond that Podington Bear was/is my power animal (That's a reference to the wonderful Thumbsucker film) shielding me in my creative state. Lastly, it was a research and development experiment for the business of music, unfettered from the history and business model of HUSH Records. Adaptation requires experimentation.

And worth noting: This unveiling is prompted in part because of my cover being blown anyway, at least temporarily, to writers and fans who imported The End CD into the ubiquitous iTunes application. The user-driven database Gracenote CDDB listed "Poddington Bear Aka Chad Crouch" in the composer field, flashing briefly for those who might take note. While correct on one count, it failed to be precisely right. (The correct spelling of Podington requires only one D, not coincidentally like the popular portable music device.)

I think that's about it. If you got this far thanks for reading. I hope you'll find something to like 'round here today. Oh and hey: if you do, enter your email up there so I can keep in touch. always, -P Bear About: Chad Crouch founded the HUSH records label in 1998 and has directed it since. His previous recordings include four albums with his band Blanket Music (2000-2007), one album under his given name (1997), and one EP under the name Toothfairy (2006). HUSH will be celebrating its 10th anniversary at The Aladdin Theatre in Portland with Laura Gibson, Loch Lomond, and Nick Jaina on July 12.

On Rocketboom

admin — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:59:59 +0000

I have been licensing tracks to Rocketboom for a while now, usually as bed music. In today's episode, the video and music seem to dovetail with particularly nice results. Have a look. The track is "Pythagorean Theorem"

New P Bear Podcast: Sound of Picture!

admin — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:25:25 +0000

Hello friends, Please turn your attention to a completely new music outlet for me: Sound of Picture Blog Sound of Picture Podcast (iTunes - click subscribe) The simple idea of Sound of Picture is to pair an original short composition with an original photograph in the hope that they enhance each other. The second idea is that this will inspire people to make their own pairings with this music (in animations, YouTube videos, podcasts, films, slideshows, and so forth.) Sound of Picture posts may be more experimental, atmospheric, abstract, brief, and simple than the tunes that I have made for the Modern Music Grower podcast. Nonetheless, I think you will find they make a satisfying, if different, playlist. If you like what you hear, I beg of you to leave a comment on iTunes, so it doesn't look so sparse up in there. I previously reported that there are only 5 more songs to go til I get to the 'finish line' for my Modern Music Grower podcast goal. Lots of people have asked if I'm retiring after that and I've thought of various options. In all honesty I can't imagine not making new P Bear songs in a similar mold. So, yes, the show will go on, but the frequency of updates is completely without guarantee (as it has been for a wee bit now) Lastly, I did my first phone interview. Basically I just ramble, and the audio quality does a pretty good job of masking my voice, but if you're curious you can listen in at dailysplice.com truly, p bear

Press

P Bear — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 22:06:01 +0000

A "Best New Podcast of 2007" selection. "If you make music yourself, you'll probably either feel inspired by or grow jealous of Podington Bear...I gave a listen, and the songs are not bad -- inventive, not-in-your-face instrumental music that reminded me a bit of early-ish Mum." -WIRED "Podington Bear may be heavily indebted to the Aphex Twins and Brian Enos of the world, but he or she shares their ability to inject heart into a genre that can be icy and clinical by nature. "Fantasy and Denouement" pings and plinks and whirs and clatters like a toy machine, but it's also made with the understanding that, when programmed correctly, robots can convey the soul-sick pathos of grieving poets." - Stephen Thompson, NPR Song of The Day "Whirs, buzzes, shimmies and clicks like music for an airport walkway in the future." - Deborah Amos, NPR Morning Edition "Like the friendly cartoon bear his name suggests, Podington is simply a playful artist." - Jennifer Hollet, The Globe & Mail "Highly recommended, especially for fans of bands like Tunng or the Octopus Project" -Gorilla Vs. Bear "Podington Bear delights ears in crafting accessible and dynamic dream pop. Podington is a bear from Portland, Oregon. A bear who makes a new song for every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Typically, such prolificacy would indicate the songs must be subpar, but Bear surprised my expectations. -Aurgasm "I love the music, I love the concept, and I think it really speaks to emergent models. " - George Howard, former RYKO exec, music writer and producer. "Looking for some music to just let your thoughts wander wherever they may go? ...Simple, ambient instrumental tracks provide a beautiful background...that never comes off overbearing or distracting. The music and rate at which Podington Bear is pumping out the tunes, put's him in contention for the 'hardest working man in showbiz' title." -Muzzle Of Bees "Here's the kicker...this stuff is good. Very good as a matter of fact. Not much is known about this mysterious character..." -Kinky Origami "Considering he's gotten through January without a bad song yet, I'm quite impressed."-The Pelican's Perch "The cutest thing to ever happen to your iPod." -The Money Shot "I'm sure many of you will dismiss this as overly cutesy or twee before you hear a note. But if you give it a listen I think you'll be pleasantly surprised." -Gorilla Vs. Bear "I am not making this up, bears are using the internet and creating music...The music is good...a mix of organic and electronic instruments that reminds me of Aphex Twin in his quieter moments." -Your Standard Life "Talk about an ambitious project. It will be interesting to check back in come March, or July, or October to see if it is still going strong." -Yewknee "Take a listen to his music. Sometimes dark, other times extraordinarily lighthearted. The songs are all mostly twee pop-esque, but have an innocence and an ambient air to them" - Tiny Tiny Reviews "I am instantly hooked. Go and listen for yourself. It's free, so what have you got to lose?" - Sanguinary Blue

GUI

admin — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 22:53:20 +0000

Hi all, Okay, back to it after the holiday weekend. Here's a fresh one I hope you like.

Thoughts on Music

admin — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 23:40:59 +0000

[Dear Reader, below is an abridged version of the rather long original post which can be found here] About two weeks ago Steve Jobs, influential CEO of Apple Inc., did a rare thing. He issued a lengthy formal statement entitled â€œThoughts On Music.â€ It was a lightening rod document, drawing criticism and praise from pop culture pundits, recording industry spokespeople, and even lawmakers of European Union nations. This was unsurprising given that a pending EU lawsuit could force Apple to adopt a common DRM (Digital Rights Management) song file format with competing companies like Microsoft, Sony and others. In other words, Apple would have to make their iTunes Music Store play nice with music players that compete with the industry-dominating iPod, losing some of their competitive edge in the retail digital music sector. While these thoughts on music are worth debating, I think to the human population at large, they are irrelevant. Indeed, even a bear like me, who enjoys listening to music, creating music, and distributing music digitally in the form of a â€˜podcastâ€™ is nonplussed by the hullabaloo. But perhaps my animal instincts afford me a rare, and more simplistic view of why this digital music topic hits a nerve. In fact, Iâ€™m going to be so bold (as bears can be) to say Iâ€™ve solved the riddle of the digital music revolution. The problem is simple, so I think the solution should be too. This talk of DRMs or no DRMs is just confusing. The Problem: Humans aged 10 to 30, predominately in households with broadband internet access, all over the world have gone from wanting free music to expecting it. iTunes, Rhapsody, eMusic, Napster, etc. are all welcome and good innovations, and there is certainly a large portion of this population that continues to pay for recorded music at both brick and mortar retail and digital purchase points. But the devaluation of recorded music will continue in a correlative arc to the increasing number of humans who are afforded broadband Internet access and digital music devices. Itâ€™s that simple. So what do we do? Give it to them. The beauty of my solution is its simplicity and practicality. The business model I propose is historically proven to produce art of timeless value and compensate the artists with living wages. But before I get deep into that, let me also describe another phenomenon Iâ€™ve noticed. Not entirely coincidentally, the evolution of digital technologies that have made it easy obtain a copy of the new Radiohead album two months prior to its release date have also made it easier for humans to avoid the mass marketing campaigns designed to sell such albums, among other things. Tivo has given the television advertising industry many a sleepless night recently. Likewise commercial-free Satellite Radio networks are getting more subscribers defecting from commercial FM radio audiences. The point of this is humans not only expect free music, they have shorter attention spans, and their intolerance for advertising is growing. Like the demand for free music, this intolerance of traditional advertising will grow correlative to the number of humans afforded broadband Internet and modern digital media devices like Tivo and satelite radio. What to do? Again, give it to them. Give them unobtrusive advertisements. Iâ€™m sure Iâ€™m not the first to propose this, but itâ€™s a notion so simple perhaps only a seven year old, or a bear would dare to say it. And before you call me a dreamer, or a music industry anarchist, hear me out. My idea is not only simple, itâ€™s democratic and capitalist. And hereâ€™s the kicker: We have the technology! In fact teenagers have this technology right now, on their computers. It was this generation that got us into this pickle, and I dare say it will be this generation that gets us out. Okay then, are you ready? Here is the new-media, new-market digital music revolution solution: Patronage. If it worked in the Renaissance, it can work today. Just swap marble sculptures and chapel ceilings for songs. Todayâ€™s Internet is really, really good at distributing songs. If song downloads were sponsored by companies, institutions, and individuals willing to pay competitive market rates to use them as carriers of their subtle advertising messages, why bother to charge the users for possessing them? Let them have their free music. What will it look like? My revolutionary prototype looks and behaves nearly exactly like the songs humans have been interacting with on their computers and iPods for five years now. They are still compressed audio files (The open version of Apple's popular AAC format, roughly 10 times smaller in bytes than the dying CD standard). The point at which it differs is relatively miniscule: Instead of the attached album artwork, the premiere downloadable version of this song would feature an ad image replacing the album art. Thatâ€™s it. I can hear some of you grumbling. Youâ€™re saying: â€œWait a second. You donâ€™t have to look at the album art in iTunes. You can close the little window. Likewise you can put your video iPod in your pocket. Advertisers want to know their ads are being looked at, right?â€ Itâ€™s true you donâ€™t have to look at the album art in media library applications, but the trend is to make these features more pronounced (Cover Flow, Front Row). What this form of advertisement lacks in size (itâ€™s a far cry from a billboard) and sensory onslaught (I think we all agree the 10 decibel gain on TV commercial segments is just cause for Tivo retribution) it makes up for in super-multiple, residual views/listens. Humans will listen to their favorite songs tens, even hundreds of times. As digital devices evolve, screens will become bigger, brighter, cheaper, and more portable. They will be in our pockets, our cars, our living rooms, kitchens and offices. In the future avoiding images attached to songs will be less and less an option. â€œBut you can even manually remove and assign album art to songs in applications like iTunes. People would just remove the ads and keep the songs.â€ Itâ€™s true you can manually attach and remove album art to songs in iTunes. Like I said, we have the technology. Teenagers have the technology. But not everyone knows that like iTunes, Apple has also written a free, downloadable application called Chapter Tool for independent media publishers to enhance their podcasts. With Chapter Tool, or the Mac-bundled application Garageband, itâ€™s a cinch to â€˜drag and dropâ€™ an image to be embedded in the audio file in a way that a user cannot manually remove it. One can also add a url to the image making it perform as a hyperlink in iTunes, just like a web banner ad. (Having said that, undoubtably someone will invent a tool to remove these kinds of images from songs, but most people, I reckon, wonâ€™t be bothered enough to do it. Particularly if they got the song for free.) â€œHow could you propose divorcing classic album art from the song files? Is nothing sacrosanct?â€ Iâ€™m not proposing undoing anything thatâ€™s already been done. Applications like iTunes and music download retailers will continue to grow in functionality and popularity. Iâ€™m not proposing that when the Beatles finally make their fashionably late entrance to the download party â€œHelp!â€ be accompanied by an insurance company logo. What I am suggesting is the time period (the month preceeding the release of an album) that is now taken up by a frenzy of file-sharing -- resulting in lost sales -- simply be decriminalized (see, that word sounds way too severe doesnâ€™t it? Humans don't really find it criminal.) Instead, the recording industry can take a cue from both the publishing and TV world by releasing an album song by song â€” to build a steady stream of anticipation -- with each song bearing a patronâ€™s seal. It's easy to swallow right? Basically this 'Patrons Seal' would be an ad, or logo in place of album art. These patrons would obviously pay more for the most popular recording artists the same way Patrons paid more handsomely for the Michelangelo and DaVinci's of the past. A system not unlike online banner advertisements could be easily configured to provide stats and metrics for the keen song patron. Then, after this month-long sponsored engagement, the tracks (higher quality versions, likely) could be sold ad-free (with proper album art, bonus songs, bonus videos, etc.) on iTunes, etc. and as CDs in retail stores. There will always be late-comers, quality purists, and the uninitiated who will happily pay for music, just like there will forever be those who expect not to. Humans can start now by making music and promoting it with concerts and on the internet. They can, like I have, choose to release their music freely hoping to reach more people in less time, and should they find themselves in possession of a small audience they can begin soliciting for patrons. (Or if they are particularly persuasive, the audience is not even required!) With these first patrons (Aunt Agnes, Paola's Pizzaâ€¦baby steps) they can fund promotional CD pressings, or guitar amps, or a tour van or whatever it is they need to keep going. Meanwhile, their friends who really don't want to pay to listen to their music on their iPods don't have to. Is that not at least close to teenage utopia? To put my new-media, new-market digital music revolution solution to the test, Iâ€™m going to try and implement my strategy on my own. Me, little Podington Bear. Beginning today I will be soliciting patrons for my songs beginning in March. To both keep it realistic and avoid being called a sell-out I am only accepting individuals and small businesses as patrons for the month of March. The fees are sliding scale, but to cover my expenses (I will be manufacturing 1000 promotinal CDs) I am asking for $100 per song from individuals, and $200 for business sponsorships. I welcome your participation, dear reader! Yes you! Individuals may, for example, attach a picture of their baby, or dog, or motorcycle and some text to my song orâ€¦ the skyâ€™s the limit. Likewise businesses may simply submit their logo and url link, or a napkin drawing, or stock photography. For more on this pitch, including stats and photo illustrations you can download this handy PDF. Iâ€™m just the court musician. Yours truly, Podington Bear

The Uncontainable Energy of YACHT

admin — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 20:21:49 +0000

YACHT is Jona Bechtolt (Pronounced "John-ah". Born Jonnal of Burns, Oregon if we are to believe his fantastic bio.) He's widely recognized as a laptop mastermind, gaining a higher profile from the success of The Blow - Paper Televison for which he plays the role of production maestro / co-writer. In fact, writers have gone out of their way to say, in a nutshell, The Blow would not be particularly noteworthy without Jona's contribution to the songs. It appears that despite rumored deep turbulence between the duo, they are great foils for each other. Without Khaela Maricich's input, Bechtolt's music alone can occasionally be overindulgent, if not grating. Likewise, you need only to sample the Â of Maricich alone-- lo-fi, bedroom recorded, art school confession guitar songs -- of The Blow, to hear the welcome evolution. But, most often he's right on point with YACHT, taking you deeper into sound than you've thought of travelling. His bag of tricks include genre-bending par excellence, outmoded 80's drum machine fills, crazy sonic juxtapositions, uncluttered beats, snappy, clicky tempos and an enthusiastic stage show performed by kneeling child's-pose-like in front of his laptop on the floor, then taking the mic and running around. It's a wonder he hasn't stepped on or kicked his computer to death, as the music does tend to take control of his body. Live, the grating, hard on the ears tracks are positively invigorating, sounding like swarms of locusts flying out of the speakers. (Probably a great show to see high... if that's your bag.) Yacht's production skills are undoubtedly honed by his expert drumming. His occasional Devendra gig has ensured that you can see him on the skins every now and then. In The Blow, he has been known to play beats freestyle with the keypad on his laptop, making the live Blow experience a little more organic than it has been of late. No slouch, that Jona. Rumor is there's a new Yacht album about to drop, but it's not clear whose imprint will be found on the back. A front-runner may be Portland upstart Frykbeat.Â {2/13: YACHT's I Believe In You, Your Magic Is Real is set to bome out on Portland's Marriage Records in May.) If his music isn't enough to blow your mind, consider his mastery of web design evidenced by his regularly updated website brimming with content and his graphic fatherhood of the Urban Honking blogger collective , as well as his video production and comedic acting on display at the popular Ultimate Blogger reality TV spoof. Too much energy right? Check this latest HOT offering courtesy of teamyacht.com: Hock It (YACHT Remix)

Even Hyena

admin — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 08:51:21 +0000

I really like "Toboggan" from Feb 2. Is there anything to be known about Even Hyena? -Andy What can I say about Even Hyena? He's an amiable sort with a big smile. He's got a memory like an elephant and heart as big as a pomegranite. He's a good listener and he knows a thing or two about ABCDEFG, let me tell you. He even knows what the black keys are for. Yessiree. He's plays a mean, melodic bass guitar and before too long you'll surely hear his low stringy notions enhancing one of this bear's tunes.