The podcast is over, done, finished.  Thanks to all who have listened.  

Here's a single from the latest release, The WOW and the POW! vol. 2.  It's out this week at all finer online retailers.  OK, so these tacos aren't real.  I'm sorry but they're not.  If they did exist, they probably would taste really good.  Especially the one that exists between dimensions.  Who knows, maybe people in the other dimension like food that tastes like dirt.  Also, the list of hot sauces is a mix of real and fabricated.  I made a lot of them up so they'd rhyme.  So much for truth in art.  The reality is that music requires a lot of dishonesty, just like drama.  Music doesn't just chip away at some central "truth" in order to enlighten the world.  Oh, no, no, rather it assumes a role or character based on the demands of the tune.  Just as actors need to be in character to perform a role.  Honestly, there is no "truth" to reveal.  It's all opinion.  At least my stuff is.      

You probably wouldn't want to know a guy like Jasper, but for the sake of your career, you would definitely need him as your ally.  And then you'd have to put up with a lot of weirdness.  Jasper is older, wealthy and connected.  He can represent your entry into the art world or he could possibly be a source of unending grief, always promising, never delivering, peppering you with odd questions and constantly speaking about things in a vaguely sexual way.  Is he just an odd Warhol-esque guy who can help or is he a full-on creep? Can you trust his advice?  What does he want from you?  These are all valid questions.  Listen to the tune and let me know.  To be clear: Jasper isn't based on anybody.  He's just a character I created for this song.     

Don't get me wrong, I'm very much pro-transit.  There's no shame in riding the bus.  But I wrote this after my first album was released.  My longterm goal has been to build an audience with lots of different kinds of music written about mostly out-of-the-ordinary topics.  It still is, but since that time, I've learned to temper my expectations.  This song is just the first blush of the disappointment I felt, not so much that I felt like I deserved acclaim, but rather that I failed to connect with an audience.  And from that point forward, that's been the story.  I like my music and it will have its day.  But waiting for that to happen sometimes demands more patience than I have.    

Here's a slick Euro disco-flavored tune from the Seven Hills saga.  It's about a guy who suddenly remembers that he spent considerable time killing people.  And he was very good at it.  How did it make him feel?  In his own words, "good."  Also, Igor celebrates the 80th birthday of super-genius, Bob Dylan.  In the whole wide world, there isn't a better songwriter.  Plus, a few words about the new album, which is done.  And it's good.  It will be released in August 2021.  That's something to live for!  I know I am. 

In the midst of recording a brand-new album, Igor takes a few minutes to address a slight recurring problem.  His solution: write a song about it.  This is the song.

America touted itself as a land where people worked with people to surmount their differences and arrive at a consensus.  It also used to boast that neighbor helped neighbor when the need arose.  I actually believed these things until about five years ago.  I believed that this nation was stronger when we were united in the noble purpose of making this country better.  Yeah, how naive I was.  The truth is that there are a lot of crappy people in this country who are quick to bemoan their fate and complain about things that are being "taken away" from them, including the very concept of America.  Their complaints seem unhinged and not anchored in reality, and the people themselves come off as being, well, mean.  Or ill-informed or both.  I wrote this song just to say that it's a sad thing to see so many of my fellow citizens turn to meanness as a way of dealing with reality.  I wish for things to be better, but you need cooperation from those on the other side.  My own experience is that nothing will stop angry people from expressing anger.  Not the potential for public shaming, not the law, nothing.  People will be angry and mean because they feel it's the only way to express themselves.  And that's sad.  

Like change, serenity comes form within.  Sure, technology adds a certain amount of turmoil to our lives, but eliminating it completely will not give us any lasting peace.  This is the final song from 2017's 27-track concept album, E(Minus).  It urges everyone to smash all technology in order to achieve simplicity and serenity.  Personally, I think that such bold action will just make a big mess.  It won't help us to relate to each other and, if anything, it will make it harder to communicate our views.  So no, I don't advocate the wholesale destruction of technology.  But this song, with its samba-esque, soccer-anthem vibe may just entice you to punch your phone.  

Drama, drama, drama!  Fresh off his prize-winning Oscar picks, Igor discusses the life and work of Richard Harris, one of his favorite actors.  No matter what Harris was in, you could always count on histrionics.  Yeah, he did a lot of shouting and arm-waving.  Even when his material was not great (which was often), he was reliably manic.  This song is a bittersweet tribute to the man who could almost be considered an acting great, thanks to some wonderful late-career roles.  So yes, he was a boozy, flawed individual, but he could deliver a performance.

This week, it's Oscar week, so Igor makes his picks for the top awards.  Although sound editing is a worthy category, he has no clear favorites.  And then it's on to the tune!  It's basically about some guy getting tanked and going online to see what shape his high school girlfriends are in.  As it turns out, they're kinda not very hawt.  And neither is he.  I guess if we stick around long enough, we all lose our hawtness.  But the tune itself is pretty driving and cool.  And Igor plays the drums on it!  

I'm all about making larger statements.  Lots of times, what I'm trying to say takes more than one song.  Sometimes, that takes the form of a concept album and other times, it becomes a song cycle.  This tune was the beginning of a song cycle that was supposed to be about a rather not-nice fellow's journey through the afterlife.  I'm not adding to it at the moment, partially because I don't quite know where to take it, plus nobody seems interested in it anyway.  The same goes for the Seven Hills saga.  Believe me, I'd love to continue it, but there doesn't seem to be much point.  One song cycle that will be finished is the "Miss (Day of the Week)" cycle.  I've written six tunes so far.  Only Miss Tuesday remains.  Unlike the other cycles, there's no central narrative here.  I guess that's why it's close to completion.  It's just a series of character sketches that don't necessarily have to make any cooperative sense.  Anyhow, let me say that the afterlife cycle might be continued.  I just have to formulate some theories about how it's going to end, so I can flesh in the action.  If it is to be finished (and that's a big IF), I'd like it to be 12 songs in all.  That's a nice album-length song cycle.  Seven Hills is already a monstrosity and the "Miss" series is just going to be seven - not really album length at all. I'd like at least one to fit into an album.  If that doesn't work, I might just start another one that will fit that bill.  Any ideas on what it should be about?  

Here's a tune about something I used to do.  I was a jazz musician.  I played until it became impractical.  And it wasn't because of COVID.  The jazz scene here petered out years before.  One week, we were playing gigs; the next, there were no gigs.  I've moved on, but I do miss those days.  Much of this song is about begging for gigs and my frustration with pleading my case.  It was heartbreaking, but inevitable.  Jazz is an art form, meaning that it has ceased to evolve, except around the fringes.  It's no longer the vital, exuberant, wonderful music that I tried to make.  God knows what it'll be once everything reopens.  I guessing that it might be even less satisfying: more pointless virtuosity, more repetitious, less human.  We'll see.        

Igor delves into this year's Oscar picks and spends a lot of time praising the animation category and not praising this year's most nominated movie.  He also has many good things to say about Sacha Baron Cohen.  In a segue that is completely connected to the previous subject, he talks about why he doesn't write songs about mediocrity anymore.  Although he makes cogent points on numerous topics, it's the segue that will really impress you.  

Sometimes it's nice to write a bombastic, driving, minor-key number just for fun.  This is that number.  It has nothing to do with Johannes Brahms (who remains one of my favorite composers), but does it need to?  

This is the first single from Album 21. There's also a video for it, but that is a tale for another time.  The tune has to do with artistic regeneration amid a hostile world, but doesn't delve into all that "Life is...(whatever you say it is)" kind of metaphoric quicksand.  All I'm saying is the things are not easy or certain, and at the end of this time, you should have learned something, either about yourself or about your craft.  If you haven't what was the point of wandering around in the first place?

Is there a default music that plays in your brain?  For me, this is it.  Ever since a very young age, I've had a very stompin' blues tune playing in the background.  The subject matter is nothing earth-shattering; it's just a tune about somebody who is very hungry and likes to eat weird things.  When was the last time you had sautéed concrete?  Anyhow, some tracks are meant to be pure fun and this is one of them.

How did Longboat come to be?  Oh, it's very simple.  WARNING: Details have been omitted and some composite characters have been used in our recreation!

But it's mostly true.

Here's a sweeping, mini-epic about an ill-fated treasure hunting expedition.  For a very long time, this song was on the verge of being cut from the album, but made a strong finish.  It wasn't particularly tough to sing; I mean, it's mostly B-flats over and over.  It was more a matter of fitting the correct words in at the right time.  The result turned out to be a mostly good setting.  Out of all tunes on this album, these lyrics were probably the most revised.  And with each revision came just a bit more clarity.  It turns out that keeping this track on the roster was a good idea.  So what was the second-most revised tune?  That would be "Phantom Sub," featured many episodes ago on this very podcast. 

Johann Strauss II was the first world famous person; he was known for his music around the world during his lifetime.  Since then, the quality and the substance of fame has devolved considerably.  This tune takes a brief look at an internet "fail artist." Once you're famous for hurting yourself, the only logical end is either permanent injury or death.  I would recommend against.  If you lack artistry or creativity, there's hope.  You can always join a boy band.  Or a regular band.  Fame is easier for some than others.

This is a tune from 2013 that concerns itself with choices. Do you stay with a boring, annoying job or do you strike off in an uncertain direction? You are free to do as you choose, but maybe you’re not cut out for your passion. Maybe you were never meant to do it. And perhaps you’re destined to return to your dull routine. To paraphrase the song itself: freedom isn’t for everyone. Freedom might allow you to make wonderful discoveries about your talents and abilities, but then again, it could make you suddenly and painfully aware of your shortcomings. On some level, freedom is kind of terrifying. Many cannot handle it, so as a consequence, they need someone to order them around. That’s the beginning of an entirely different set of troubles.