@ZackTeibloom Last week, a co-worker walked by my cubicle and said, “I have some questions for you,” when he saw a copy of Courtney E. Smith’s new book “Record Collecting for Girls” on my desk. What I should have said was, “Shut your ignorant mouth. It’s not like I have The Babysitters Club’s “Boy-Crazy Stacey” paperback* dog-eared. This is a book for music nerds and it is by no means for girls only. Also, you proudly own a signed copy of a Sarah Palin book, so really, who are you to say?” Instead, all I could muster was “Oh, I’m interviewing the author. And it’s a really great book.” The subhead for “Record Collecting for Girls” is probably more accurate than the title itself. “Unleashing Your Inner Music Nerd One Album at a Time” really cuts to the heart of the book. Having worked at MTV, breaking bands like The Shins and Vampire Weekend, Smith is a huge music nerd and a bit of an Internet snob**, and this is coming from one of the snobbiest nerds ever unleashed upon The Internet.
As I read, I found myself either in a constant state of nodding along in agreement or nerding out so hard in disagreement that it made the author nervous. After we couldn’t find a time to talk record collecting over an in-person digging trip in Austin, we decided to avoid the awkwardness of two writers on Skype and just have an e-mail interview. It turned into this: “Hey @ZackTeibloom do you realize the interview questions you sent me total up 1,816 words? #nervouslaughter #wow.” To be fair, a couple of them weren’t even questions. It was just me ranting about why I didn’t get her snobbery over The Shins getting big, when that was her intent and then a stupid-long non-question rant about vinyl that led to her just saying “Thanks for sharing.” I’d like to offer a far less sarcastic “Thank you for sharing” to Courtney for opening up in this wonderful book. She spills her guts on how music has been integral for her in everything from sitting around, arguing over top-5 lists, how to judge someone before you date them and how to deal with your feelings after you date them. In between, we find out why Britney couldn’t be the next Madonna, why The Rolling Stones need to stop and why Yacht rock is cool.
@ZackTeibloom Austin’s The Boxing Lesson sends their outer space EP Muerta into the stratosphere officially today on iTunes (
@ZackTeibloom Interview a band about the recording process on their new album and you’ll hear the same shit over and over. Either they went for a grander production on the album with a big producer they can’t wait to name drop, or they insist they aren’t selling out and are going for a new direction, yadda yadda yadda who cares. Completely different story when I interviewed The Boxing Lesson’s Paul Waaclawsky and Jaylinn Davidson by the side of my car last week*. The story of their new album captivated me so much, that when anyone asks me what I’ve been up to this week, first I talk about Halloween, then I tell the story of Fur State. It’s scary good.
@ZackTeibloom I don’t think either of these Austinites would want to be compared to the other, but they do have more in common than being the two most famous bearded men in town. Brutally poor men who live for their art. For Leslie, living as a legend, living is the hardest part. And at this time last year, that was in serious question. Thax came to us from Chicago just over a year ago and is as vibrant as ever, reading poems for bands 5 nights a week and growing into legend status in Austin more every week. Thax sleeps on the floor of an art museum. Who knows where Leslie sleeps. I ran into each of them at various points in the festival, and both graciously agreed to video interviews.
@ZackTeibloom “I know we’re out of time, but I’ll answer this one. If we were to be any dynamic hip hop duo, I’d say we’d have to be Jay-Z and Beyonce” Matt says to whoever is interviewing him on the phone before me. Matt and Kim are on such tight schedules, I was only given 10 minutes with Matt between interviews and sound check for their show tonight in Madison. Thankfully, he has boundless energy and gave me more than enough with time to spare in the 10-minute chat. The duo has been unavoidable in the last couple years, with their VMA-winning naked romp of a video in times square and their music being featured in previews for “Community” and Bacardi ads just to name a few.
@ZackTeibloom That Third Man Record club membership finally paid off. In a big way. Jack White jumped on the video chat to hype the new singles from his label, Third Man Records. As he put it, “This is a paid commercial announcement from the president of Third Man Records to his favorite people, on The Vault.” He even answered some questions and he picked three of mine. Yes, my hands are shaking.
@ZackTeibloom If you go to concerts regularly in Chicago or Austin, you know Thax Douglas. The only rock n’ roll poet around. Strands of hair from his gray beard have shed onto his inside-out 3XL sweatshirt we meet at an IHOP 6 blocks from the art gallery Thax works and lives in. He sleeps on the floor. He likes it that way. He’s slept on the floor for years. He just feels more comfortable there.
@ZackTeibloom An article on Cover Bands originally for FLYP Media that never ran. Since I’ve been in Phish album cover mode all week, I figured I’d let you read it.
@ZackTeibloom Put on a 
