Today is the official DVD release date of 10 MPH, the documentary of a cross-country trip on a Segway by my friends Josh and Hunter. These two are some of my most driven and determined friends, having not only completed the cross-country journey but successfully cut it into a movie, which took home best picture at more than one film festival. They are currently working on a new film, 10 Yards, about the national phenomenon of fantasy football.

I'm honored to be performing Friday night at the DVD release party, as my song "A Century Late" (check it on iTunes) is featured in 10 MPH, and they've invited me to perform at the DVD release. All the e-hype can be found on their site, from buying the DVD, downloading it from iTunes, putting it in your Netflix queue or bumping their IMDB star rating!

Congratulations to the whole 10 MPH team. I'm looking forward to finally seeing the film, and I encourage you all to order a copy, download or Netflix it today to support their release!

Do you know where that cookie's been? - UPDATE

UPDATE: This video got BoingBoing'ed after I forwarded it to Xeni Jardin, who posted some excellent animated AIDS PSAs from France. BoingBoing is the widest-read blog and easily the most addictive, and it was cool to hear the reverberations of the post as friends saw it in the Midwest and West Coast. The video has settled down now to about 12,000 views.
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I'm happy to share a PSA I produced last month for Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, DC. Serendipitously meeting with a friend last fall gave me the chance to pitch them my services, and that landed my first documentary job out of grad school, a fundraising doc that aired to about 1,000 people at the Washington Hilton. Working with them made me marvel that "Planned Parenthood" is a dirty word in conservative circles. They do nothing but help people and provide affordable medical services.

This project came from a grant to produce a PSA regarding HIV awareness, and the grant deadline was April. The project was wide open, so I took a page from the sex ed and made a graphic illustration of it. The music is Leadbelly's "Keep Your Hands Off Her", which I think fits quite nicely.

A buddy of mine says he's never eating a frosted sugar cookie again.





To see more of the kids I worked with on both projects, check out this interactive story from the Washington Post, and click on the "Fatherless" story in the table of contents. Read more about Planned Parenthood at www.ppmw.org.

F Posterity, issue 52: "F Posterity"

The final installment of F Posterity is the title track. This song is a poetic explanation of the concept, attempting to clarify what exactly "f posterity" means. I somehow doubt it does that, but it's helped me feel closure on the project. If I feel anything after this undertaking, it's that you've got to do what you do or you're not really doing it. Thanks for listening while I do.

f Posterity

visions fraught with forecasts cast latter days in purple hazes,
saying aught but that the end is near, but what they meant:
eternity is already here, hearing weighted judgments on cosmic scales,
scaling science in if-thens beyond ulterior propositions, in-theories,
since relativity passed no buck to the subjective tuckpointing of
cracks inharmonious.

but lest whate'er may be
get the be'er of me
i say, f posterity

timelines caught in mythologic fantasy beget not eventides tied to morning stars,
starting only thus: to finish just, and rust in static immortality.
informalities of truth, soothsaying exhaustive routines
of maintenance and preservation of a mortal state,
stating postulates of greatness pending beholders thus to gaze and validate
the tracks of möbius.

but lest whate'er may be
get the be'er of me
i say, f posterity

but lest whatever may be
get the better of me
i say, f posterity

Download mp3s below by right-clicking on the links.

F Posterity, 2006
52. F Posterity (Getzschman) - May 16, 2007
51. Crazy (Burton/Callaway/Reverberi/Reverberi) - May 9, 2007
50. Persistence of Regret (Getzschman/Ryan/Sahm) - May 2, 2007
49. Breakin' Plates (Getzschman/Ruthsatz) - April 26, 2007
48. Trio for Vocal, Metronome, Wurlitzer (Getzschman) - April 18, 2007
47. She Hates It When I'm Right (Getzschman) - April 11, 2007
46. Beat It (Jackson) - April 4, 2007
45. Mass Ave Strut (Getzschman) - March 28, 2007
44. Let's Fall Asleep Like This (Getzschman) - March 21, 2007
43. 2010 Ain't What They Said It Would Be (Getzschman) - March 14, 2007
42. Three Red Stars (Getzschman) - March 7, 2007
41. Birdhouse In Your Soul (Flansburgh/Linnell) - February 28, 2007
40. Everybody Thinks They're Self-Aware (Getzschman) - February 21, 2007
39. Hysterical Woman (Getzschman) - February 14, 2007
38. Hollaback Savior (Getzschman) - February 7, 2007
37. White Collar (old Philly dollar) (Getzschman) - January 31, 2007
36. Bottle of Blues (B. Hansen) - January 24, 2007
35. Ask Somebody (Getzschman) - January 17, 2007
34. All Time High Score (Getzschman) - January 10, 2007
33. Bury Me In My Jetpack (Getzschman) - January 3, 2007
32. Eggnogg Is The Liquor Of This Household (Getzschman) - December 27, 2006
31. Like Spinning Plates (T.Yorke/J.Greenwood) - December 20, 2006
30. Jack or Jesus (Getzschman/Peterson) - December 13, 2006
29. Runes (Getzschman) - December 6, 2006
28. We Leave Just Like We Come (Getzschman) - November 29, 2006
27. Shampoo! (Getzschman) - November 22, 2006
26. Tomorrow Is A Long Time (Dylan) - November 15, 2006
25. Was That Seriously Your Plan? (Getzschman) - November 8, 2006
24. Understated Explosions (Getzschman) - November 1, 2006
23. Everything Sounds Better On Vinyl (Getzschman) - October 25, 2006
22. Take Heart (Getzschman) - October 18, 2006
21. Pigs (L. Freese, S. Reyes, L. Muggerud) - October 11, 2006
20. Upstart Casualties (Getzschman) - October 4, 2006
19. Troubling (Getzschman) - Sept 27, 2006
18. Tales of Woe (Getzschman/Getzschman/Booth) - Sept 20, 2006
17. Manual Labor Pains (Getzschman) - Sept 13, 2006
16. The District Sleeps Alone Tonight (Gibbard/Tamborello) - September 6, 2006
15. Postmodern Burlesque Review (Getzschman) - August 30, 2006
14. Neverending Love Affair (Getzschman) - August 23, 2006
13. Living On Credit (Getzschman) - August 16, 2006
12. Broke As A Muhfuh (Getzschman) - August 9, 20006
11. Josie (Becker/Fagan) - August 2, 2006
10. Cold Day at the Races (Getzschman) - July 26, 2006
9. Calaveras (Getzschman) - July 19, 2006
8. Narcissist Blues (Getzschman) - July 12, 2006
7. Advice to a Young Jedi (Getzschman) - July 5, 2006
6. God Only Knows (Wilson/Asher) - June 28, 2006
5. Miracle Hubcap (Getzschman) - June 21, 2006
4. A Paycheck Is All I Ask (Getzschman) - June 14, 2006
3. Halfway (Getzschman) - June 7, 2006
2. Summer Crazy (Getzschman) - May 31, 2006
1. Sunday Street (Van Ronk) - May 26, 2006

The final F Posterity is coming...

... but I've been in Baltimore today recording the first session of a completely new album, demographically targeted to senior citizens. Nine new songs for old folks. Raffi, eat your heart out. Start up the buzz machine on that one!

And I'll have the final chapter of F Posterity soon.

F Posterity, issue 51: Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy"

For the last cover of the F Posterity project, I wanted to explore what is easily the best pop song of the new millennium. Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" better communicates a complex emotion in a way the mass audience can hear than any other hit since 2000. Maybe longer. The production is perfect, the performance is soulful, the lyrics are real, and the song is a classic 3-minute banger.

Hearing the last verse makes me think of Apple's "here's to the crazy ones" ad. Cee Lo sings "my heroes had the heart to lose their lives out on a limb / and all I remember is thinking, 'I wanna be like them'", and that commercial addresses the same sentiment on another level.

Last weekend in Seattle I heard Ray Lamontagne doing a pretty cover of it on KEXP. I imagined it more as a track-laying song, the kind of rhythmic chant hard laborers used to keep time on the railroad. With sledges and pickaxes breaking rocks between the words. The lyric is too sporadic to lend itself well to that though, and I ran into the same problem trying to adapt it to a country-picked blues too. Finally, I found it worked best with something Dave Van Ronk taught me, the variable time signature. I'm not sure what the exact term is for it, but basically, the song drives the meter without a consistent number of beats per measure. He used this approach on his re-adapatation of the House of the Rising Sun, and I love the way this approach takes it out of a predictable place. You're expecting it to conform to 4/4, and it demands you wait until the lyric drives the change.


Download mp3s below by right-clicking on the links.

F Posterity, 2006
52. F Posterity (Getzschman) - May 16, 2007
51. Crazy (Burton/Callaway/Reverberi/Reverberi) - May 9, 2007
50. Persistence of Regret (Getzschman/Ryan/Sahm) - May 2, 2007
49. Breakin' Plates (Getzschman/Ruthsatz) - April 26, 2007
48. Trio for Vocal, Metronome, Wurlitzer (Getzschman) - April 18, 2007
47. She Hates It When I'm Right (Getzschman) - April 11, 2007
46. Beat It (Jackson) - April 4, 2007
45. Mass Ave Strut (Getzschman) - March 28, 2007
44. Let's Fall Asleep Like This (Getzschman) - March 21, 2007
43. 2010 Ain't What They Said It Would Be (Getzschman) - March 14, 2007
42. Three Red Stars (Getzschman) - March 7, 2007
41. Birdhouse In Your Soul (Flansburgh/Linnell) - February 28, 2007
40. Everybody Thinks They're Self-Aware (Getzschman) - February 21, 2007
39. Hysterical Woman (Getzschman) - February 14, 2007
38. Hollaback Savior (Getzschman) - February 7, 2007
37. White Collar (old Philly dollar) (Getzschman) - January 31, 2007
36. Bottle of Blues (B. Hansen) - January 24, 2007
35. Ask Somebody (Getzschman) - January 17, 2007
34. All Time High Score (Getzschman) - January 10, 2007
33. Bury Me In My Jetpack (Getzschman) - January 3, 2007
32. Eggnogg Is The Liquor Of This Household (Getzschman) - December 27, 2006
31. Like Spinning Plates (T.Yorke/J.Greenwood) - December 20, 2006
30. Jack or Jesus (Getzschman/Peterson) - December 13, 2006
29. Runes (Getzschman) - December 6, 2006
28. We Leave Just Like We Come (Getzschman) - November 29, 2006
27. Shampoo! (Getzschman) - November 22, 2006
26. Tomorrow Is A Long Time (Dylan) - November 15, 2006
25. Was That Seriously Your Plan? (Getzschman) - November 8, 2006
24. Understated Explosions (Getzschman) - November 1, 2006
23. Everything Sounds Better On Vinyl (Getzschman) - October 25, 2006
22. Take Heart (Getzschman) - October 18, 2006
21. Pigs (L. Freese, S. Reyes, L. Muggerud) - October 11, 2006
20. Upstart Casualties (Getzschman) - October 4, 2006
19. Troubling (Getzschman) - Sept 27, 2006
18. Tales of Woe (Getzschman/Getzschman/Booth) - Sept 20, 2006
17. Manual Labor Pains (Getzschman) - Sept 13, 2006
16. The District Sleeps Alone Tonight (Gibbard/Tamborello) - September 6, 2006
15. Postmodern Burlesque Review (Getzschman) - August 30, 2006
14. Neverending Love Affair (Getzschman) - August 23, 2006
13. Living On Credit (Getzschman) - August 16, 2006
12. Broke As A Muhfuh (Getzschman) - August 9, 20006
11. Josie (Becker/Fagan) - August 2, 2006
10. Cold Day at the Races (Getzschman) - July 26, 2006
9. Calaveras (Getzschman) - July 19, 2006
8. Narcissist Blues (Getzschman) - July 12, 2006
7. Advice to a Young Jedi (Getzschman) - July 5, 2006
6. God Only Knows (Wilson/Asher) - June 28, 2006
5. Miracle Hubcap (Getzschman) - June 21, 2006
4. A Paycheck Is All I Ask (Getzschman) - June 14, 2006
3. Halfway (Getzschman) - June 7, 2006
2. Summer Crazy (Getzschman) - May 31, 2006
1. Sunday Street (Van Ronk) - May 26, 2006

F Posterity, issue 50: "Persistence of Regret"

Since I'm on the collabo-tip with the last track, I'm throwing up a song that's been about a year in the writing and is really an Analog Jetpack song. At band practice in early June last year, we put together three entirely new songs, which included We The Freaks, Tenuous Confessions, and this one. Robby had written the music a while before that, and had it waiting around to do something with, so he taught it to us that night.

I like recording things on cassette tape, as it give you that warm analog sound, and we recorded the rehearsal for future reference on the new songs. The tape deck is the same one I recorded my third album with, and you can see a Photoshopped version of it at analogjetpack.com. I don't think I've changed the batteries in about two years.

So one thing that sounds really bad is when you have an old source tape off of a crude demo and you try to record some pristine, hot-mic overdub on it. You just can't reconcile the two fidelities well, unless you're really going for an arty sound that's inaccessible to the mass public. Which, incidentally, is probably something I'd be more into. As I just finished the lyrics this week, I needed to match the sound of the instrumental we taped last June, so I recorded my vocal overdub into the same tape deck yesterday and synced them both up in ProTools. Finally, I laid the guitar solo in.

The base instrumental you hear is the first time we'd ever played the song through, and it's one of my favorite recordings. There's something super authentic about the first time you capture a song on tape that'll never quite be matched by a studio recording. It's something more real and alive then the fine-tuned pin-drop sound of a commercial record. Since I don't know when we'll get around to giving this song that treatment, I wanted to share it here.

Persistence of Regret

It was a gray day, persistent in regret
When I drove away with the image in my head
Her twisted face, mirrored back at mine
With this atavistic rage stuck in space and time

What a failure I fight not to feel
For all the time I gave her, now I shrink and steal away
But distance isn't distance isn't distance to the pain
Put a thousand miles between and it's still right where it came

To be alone with no one but no one and nobody else
To be alone with no one and no one to see for myself

So time will pass but it doesn't disappear
Rage cools into ashes and still the pain is here
So if that's what comes back, persistence in regret
Just need to learn again what it is to forget

To be alone with no one but no one and nobody else
To be alone with no one and no one to see for myself

Download mp3s below by right-clicking on the links.

F Posterity, 2006
52. F Posterity (Getzschman) - May 16, 2007
51. Crazy (Burton/Callaway/Reverberi/Reverberi) - May 9, 2007
50. Persistence of Regret (Getzschman/Ryan/Sahm) - May 2, 2007
49. Breakin' Plates (Getzschman/Ruthsatz) - April 26, 2007
48. Trio for Vocal, Metronome, Wurlitzer (Getzschman) - April 18, 2007
47. She Hates It When I'm Right (Getzschman) - April 11, 2007
46. Beat It (Jackson) - April 4, 2007
45. Mass Ave Strut (Getzschman) - March 28, 2007
44. Let's Fall Asleep Like This (Getzschman) - March 21, 2007
43. 2010 Ain't What They Said It Would Be (Getzschman) - March 14, 2007
42. Three Red Stars (Getzschman) - March 7, 2007
41. Birdhouse In Your Soul (Flansburgh/Linnell) - February 28, 2007
40. Everybody Thinks They're Self-Aware (Getzschman) - February 21, 2007
39. Hysterical Woman (Getzschman) - February 14, 2007
38. Hollaback Savior (Getzschman) - February 7, 2007
37. White Collar (old Philly dollar) (Getzschman) - January 31, 2007
36. Bottle of Blues (B. Hansen) - January 24, 2007
35. Ask Somebody (Getzschman) - January 17, 2007
34. All Time High Score (Getzschman) - January 10, 2007
33. Bury Me In My Jetpack (Getzschman) - January 3, 2007
32. Eggnogg Is The Liquor Of This Household (Getzschman) - December 27, 2006
31. Like Spinning Plates (T.Yorke/J.Greenwood) - December 20, 2006
30. Jack or Jesus (Getzschman/Peterson) - December 13, 2006
29. Runes (Getzschman) - December 6, 2006
28. We Leave Just Like We Come (Getzschman) - November 29, 2006
27. Shampoo! (Getzschman) - November 22, 2006
26. Tomorrow Is A Long Time (Dylan) - November 15, 2006
25. Was That Seriously Your Plan? (Getzschman) - November 8, 2006
24. Understated Explosions (Getzschman) - November 1, 2006
23. Everything Sounds Better On Vinyl (Getzschman) - October 25, 2006
22. Take Heart (Getzschman) - October 18, 2006
21. Pigs (L. Freese, S. Reyes, L. Muggerud) - October 11, 2006
20. Upstart Casualties (Getzschman) - October 4, 2006
19. Troubling (Getzschman) - Sept 27, 2006
18. Tales of Woe (Getzschman/Getzschman/Booth) - Sept 20, 2006
17. Manual Labor Pains (Getzschman) - Sept 13, 2006
16. The District Sleeps Alone Tonight (Gibbard/Tamborello) - September 6, 2006
15. Postmodern Burlesque Review (Getzschman) - August 30, 2006
14. Neverending Love Affair (Getzschman) - August 23, 2006
13. Living On Credit (Getzschman) - August 16, 2006
12. Broke As A Muhfuh (Getzschman) - August 9, 20006
11. Josie (Becker/Fagan) - August 2, 2006
10. Cold Day at the Races (Getzschman) - July 26, 2006
9. Calaveras (Getzschman) - July 19, 2006
8. Narcissist Blues (Getzschman) - July 12, 2006
7. Advice to a Young Jedi (Getzschman) - July 5, 2006
6. God Only Knows (Wilson/Asher) - June 28, 2006
5. Miracle Hubcap (Getzschman) - June 21, 2006
4. A Paycheck Is All I Ask (Getzschman) - June 14, 2006
3. Halfway (Getzschman) - June 7, 2006
2. Summer Crazy (Getzschman) - May 31, 2006
1. Sunday Street (Van Ronk) - May 26, 2006