New Name, Same Schlemiel

As you can see this site/blog/podcast has a new name. The Old Time Modern Mixtape Hour.

After a good seven years or so as Sonic Parthenon, it was time for a change.

But not a big change, because apart from the name, nothing else much has changed. This is still first and foremost the home of a podcast in which yours truly plays a lot of music and talks some (but not as much as he used to, which if you've heard the last 20 episodes or so, you've already noticed).

This site will still also be home to the occasional live show review by a band or artist, especially ones familiar to the program. And it will also still be home to the occasional rant, music or otherwise.

But why the change:

I was tired of saying and writing "Sonic Parthenon". I cringe with every mention when asked what is the name of my show or site. In the last 2 years or so, explaining the name became shiver-worthy. Even though I cut down on a lot of the narcissistic pomposity (but not elitist snobbery) from my younger days, the name was a relic to this excessive notion that I wasn't just writing about (and later playing) music I happened to like,  but that I was showcasing music that stood for wisdom, justice, righteous confrontation, etc. I still feel that way in some respects to the premise of the podcast and site but I no longer feel comfortable demonstrating that as a proverbial flag to fly.

I much rather work with the notion/concept of just playing songs I like.

Also, I came up with the name Sonic Parthenon when I actively tried to become a New York-based indie-music scenester, and those days are long over, sayeth my back, my wallet, my sleep needs, my job, my peoples (I was reminded of this recently reading a New York scenester's memoir and the moment he first hears LCD Soundsystem's "Losing My Edge", which might now be the theme of the podcast).
Having had a taste of hipness from prior years of chatting with rock n roll musicians when going out to their shows, I was in a place (economically, socially) where I thought I would try to become the next Brooklyn Vegan/Stereogum/etc. It almost took. There was consistent readership (pre-podcast), fueled by blurbs and clips promoted by bands and other blogs with heavy traffic. I spent at least one year going to a show almost every other night.

But with economic and social aspects changing soon after (job, woman), that lifestyle didn't last long. And eventually, I started doing the Internet Streaming show as a make-up for no longer being a wannabe-scenester. The show was and is a celebration of what I've already musically took-in as much as what I continue to like that's new. It's not a hipster clarion call.

After a short run of friends listening to the live, regularly scheduled program streaming on the Internet (a difficult commitment in this world of ours), the compunction to do a live radio style program lost luster. So I switched to emphasizing the recorded version of the show. And now it's been a full-time podcast for some time.

I recently had a chat with a co-worker who brought up the show and I mentioned a little bit of what I've mentioned above. She said it sounds like I do a mixtape every week. I had described the show before as a "modern mixtape". That's when it sunk in for good. The name change and what the name change should be about.

So there you have it.

A long-winded self-centered piece about, essentially, trying to avoid long-winded self-centered pieces. Not for the first time.

I hope my fan in Estonia and my fan in Malta accept the change. Even if they might be spambots.