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!