Jason Tate

Ten Albums, Last Fifteen Years (Episode 117)

So what are your ten favorite albums of the last fifteen years? That's the question that makes up the main topic of this week's episode of Encore. The rules are simple: favorite albums, 2001-2015, there can be only ten. We'd love to see your lists in the replies where you'll find our super-sized episode goes into detail on how we picked the albums on our own lists. This was way harder than I expected. This week's episode also covers some news on Kanye West and his new album, some first impressions of The Hotelier's new album, and a discussion around walking into a very anticipated album or band for the first time. Oh, and of course there's our usual random banter about life and things. We went long on this one to make up for last week! Hope you enjoy it.

The Top 10

Bon Iver - 'Bon Iver, Bon Iver'

Jimmy Eat World - 'Futures'

Brand New - 'The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me'

Kanye West - 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'

The Gaslight Anthem - 'The '59 Sound'

Jack's Mannequin - 'Everything in Transit'

Radiohead - 'King of Limbs'

The Postal Service - 'Give Up'

Sufjan Stevens - 'Illinois'

Against Me! - 'Transgender Dysphoria Blues'

The Rest

A Wilhelm Scream - 'Ruiner'

Against Me! - 'New Wave'

Alicia Keys - 'Songs in a Minor'

Augustana - 'Can't Love, Can't Hurt'

Bob Dylan - 'Modern Times'

Brand New - 'Deja Entendu'

Bright Eyes - 'Lifted or the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground'

Butch Walker - 'Letters'

Butch Walker - 'Sycamore Meadows'

Coldplay - 'A Rush of Blood to the Head'

Daft Punk - Discovery

Death Cab for Cutie - 'Transatlanticism'

Frightened Rabbit – 'Pedestrian Verse'

Gillian Welch - 'Time'

Hellogoodbye - 'Would It Kill You'

The Japandroids – 'Celebration Rock'

Justin Timberlake - 'FutureSex/LoveSounds'

Kanye West - '808s and Heartbreak'

Kendrick Lamar - 'To Pimp a Butterfly'

Morrissey - 'You Are the Quarry'

MUTEMATH - 'Armistice'

Noah Gundersen – 'Ledges'

OutKast - 'Speakerboxxx/The Love Below'

P.O.S. - 'Never Better'

Paramore - 'Brand New Eyes'

Phoenix - 'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix'

Ryan Adams - 'Gold'

Ryan Adams - 'Heartbreaker'

The 1975 – 'The 1975'

The Format - 'Interventions + Lullabies'

The Horrible Crowes - 'Elsie'

The Hotelier - 'Home, Like Noplace Is There'

The Killers - 'Hot Fuss'

The Menzingers – 'On the Impossible Past'

The National – 'High Violet'

The Shins - 'Chutes Too Narrow'

Thrice - 'Vheissu'

TV on the Radio - 'Return to Cookie Mountain'

Wilco - 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrot'

Yellowcard - 'Southern Air'

More Pineapple Drinks Please (Episode 116)

It's coming out late, damn has it been a long day, but this week's episode of Encore is here. This week we discuss Thomas going on a cruise, some about the Super Bowl and the half-time show, and the internet's reaction to the half-time show, and some about the commercials. We then tackle the main topic this week: Discussing albums we don't like in the most productive way, how our feelings on an album may be swayed by someone else's passioned defense or take-down of an album, and how this may or may not be related to the new Say Anything album. We finish up with a few questions about long distance relationships, noise-canceling headphones, and Thomas being in early on The Front Bottoms.

Tell Your Mom About Our Show (Episode 115)

This week's episode of Encore starts with a discussion about fostering creativity and how we try to stay sharp and inspired and not fall into a rut. It's hard. We want to be better at it. Then we look at the RIAA changing up how they certify albums, Brand New selling out MSG and announcing some kind of release this year, and looking at the difference between huge stadium like shows versus the small venues we're used to. We then answer some questions about favorite movies about music, the idea that bands should feel obligated to play "fan favorites" on tours, favorite bands from the UK, and the first albums we ever really anticipated. This week once again (fingers crossed) has chapter marks, so if you subscribe in a podcast player that supports those you should be able to jump right to a topic you want to hear about -- if you so desire.

JJ Redick has started a podcast.

Get That Superhero Money (Episode 114)

This week's episode of Encore looks at quite a bit of the news that broke over the past week. We talk about Kanye West releasing information about what is now Waves, Brand New and Modest Mouse going on a huge tour, Yellowcard's Lights and Sounds turns 10, and Brian Wilson is doing a 50-year tour for Pet Sounds. We also do some follow-up on last week's great "wrong tracklistings" discussion and all sorts of other fun stuff like guessing if Brand New will release an album and what it would sell, plus Thomas's thoughts on Panic's album now he's heard it, and a few brief thoughts on the new 1975 album at the end.

Also, I am trying a new thing with chapter marks this week. It looks like it works in Overcast, so it should work if your podcast player supports it. I'll attempt this again but with URLs linking to the relevant articles next week. I figure that if it doesn't work I can't really swap out the file, so I wanted to make sure this way worked first. If it doesn't work with URLs next week then I'll just do it this way and break it down by topic. I like when podcasts I listen to do this, so I figured maybe others would as well.

J. Kenji López-Alt, writing for Serious Eats:

These days, the Egg McMuffin is more than a sandwich; it's a cultural icon.

Kevin Roose, writing for Fusion:

Joel Rosenblatt , writing for Bloomberg:

Google Inc. is paying Apple Inc. a hefty fee to keep its search bar on the iPhone.

A Batman Army (Episode 113)

This week's episode of Encore has us looking at a variety of interesting, and diverse, topics. We talk a little about the next Star Wars being pushed back, a little about Thomas's collection of Funko collectables, and a little about Thomas wanting to buy an iPad Pro. We also discover that Thomas has had the wrong sequencing in his iTunes for Everything in Transit for almost a decade now. He discovers this live on the podcast. We tackle a variety of user questions related to Panic! at the Disco's new album, the TV show "Making a Murderer," and if we prefer soft or energetic album closers. We also talk some more about Brian Fallon and his upcoming album since Thomas caught him live recently. We finish with some Blink-182 talk and discuss the three big tours that got announced this week.

Buzzfeed:

Secret files exposing evidence of widespread match-fixing by players at the upper level of world tennis can today be revealed by BuzzFeed News and the BBC.

Jessi Hempel, writing for Wired:

But if Snapchat is comfortable relying on a ’90s media model for finding content on the service, the big question is whether it’s a media company or a tech company. Its $16 billion valuation would suggest investors, at least, believe it’s a tech company, with the ability to grow very large and use the data it collects to sell ads and new products. Media companies command smaller valuations. They stand out in the market for creating and distributing Zeitgeisty content themselves, not as makers of a new, innovative platform for others to do so.

I thought it funny that right after Ben Thompson used this example in a post about the politics of technology:

The end result is a system that ensures that those who need a ride are guaranteed to get one; those who really could do without self-select out of the system, at least until more drivers are compelled to increase the supply. It is much better than the alternative, where someone who could just as easily walk a couple of blocks might by pure chance grab the taxi needed by, say, a woman in labor. That’s an extreme example, but I use it to make the point: pricing ensures those who truly need a good can get it, and, on a holiday defined by champagne, we should all be grateful.

This happened:

The birthing coach explained to the driver that Lee’s wife would not be sick again, and the couple pleaded with the driver, assuring him they would pay for any cleaning for his car. Please, just take us to the hospital, they said. But the driver would not budge.

Just Dive In (Episode 112)

On this week's episode of Encore we look at the best stretches of three or more songs in albums, our preference of albums over playlists, bands going on hiatus, and if the internet has gotten more hostile lately. We then move into discussing the passing of David Bowie and how to get started on his massive catalog. The podcast ends with us talking about the new Kanye West song and Nielsen's 2015 report (and of course a little Star Wars thrown in).

Leo Babauta, writing for ZenHabits:

I know in my life, going from being overwhelmed with clutter to minimalism was a slow but rewarding journey, and now I feel happy every time I look around and see the lovely space around me.