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yewknee
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An internet waystation.

it me - michael eades

👋 Hi, I'm Michael Eades; a long time Internet dweller, design dabbler, dangerously amateur developer, online social experimenter and frequent curator.

Currently working as VP of Product at Smarter Apps. I also keep the lights on at a boutique record label called yk records, a podcast network called We Own This Town and a t-shirt shop called Nashville Galaxy. Previously, I built things for Vimeo OTT, VHX, KNI and Spongebath Records.

This site is an archive of ephemera I find entertaining; tweets, videos, random links, galleries of images.

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find me elsewhere

 

contact

Reach out via threads or good ole email if you have anything to discuss. I do my best to reply in a timely manner.

for the record: "yewknee" is a nonsensical word with no literal meaning but a unsurprisingly nerdy etymology. It is pronounced, "yoo • knee."

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ongoing projects

yk Records →
started in 2009 as a conduit for music that friends had no plans on releasing. now it's a full fledged boutique label focused on releasing quality music from a variety of styles. you know, like a label does. Here's a sampler on Soundcloud and a different one on Spotify. Options.

We Own This Town →
Originally a Nashville area music blog, this site has grown into a full blown podcast network as of 2018. It's an attempt to bring together creative folks about a variety of interesting topics.

I host this show all about Nashville local music outside the expectations of the city. I'm biased but all the shows are good.

Nashville Galaxy →
An online t-shirt shop featuring beloved and defunct Nashville area businesses. Very niche audience on this one but I tend to think niche is good.

some noteworthy other things

Chris Gaines: The Podcast →
published along with co-host Ashley Spurgeon; a limited series podcast that takes an absurdly researched deep dive into the time that Garth Brooks took on a fictional personality named Chris Gaines.

Garth Brooks Chris Gaines Countdown →
to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of the time Garth Brooks took on the fictional personality Chris Gaines and appeared on Saturday Night Live in character, I GIF'ed the entire episode. It's a lot of GIFs; please use them.

Whiskerino →
a social network built around communal beard growing for four months. yes, it was as weird as it sounds but equally fascinating and enjoyable.

Moustache May →
an offshoot of the beard growing contest mentioned above. equal amounts of oddball fun but only a month long.

Summer Mix Series →
before all music was streaming everywhere, Internet music fans would swap zip files of music. it was truly a strange and wonderful time.

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Steve Albini: State of the Music Industry 2015

As usual, Steve Albini has great insight on the recording and music industry. His piece The Problem With Music reknowned for its accurate skewering of the industry in the 90's. However, it's 2015 and the landscape has changed dramatically. Read his Keynote address from the Face the Music conference in Melbourne for his insight on where things are now. It is awesomely optimistic, much to the chagrin of the larger labels I'm sure.
Fans can find the music they like and develop direct relationships with the bands. It is absolutely possible - I'm sure it happens every day - that a kid in one of these far-flung places can find a new favourite band, send that band a message, and that singer of that band will read it and personally reply to it from his cell phone half a world away. How much better is that? I'll tell you, it's infinitely better than having a relationship to a band limited to reading it on the back of the record jacket. If such a thing were possible when I was a teenager I'm certain I would have become a right nuisance to the Ramones.
That's just one pullquote worthy of your time. There are literally hundreds more. Go read or listen to it now.

My question is, who is the Albini of the movie industry? My friends Austin and Jed point to Soderbergh, others Ted Hope. I don't have the answer but as you reach the end of this address it becomes clear that the old system - music industry or movie industry - is over. The opportunities presented to bands or filmmakers or any kind of creatives are in an enormous blooming period.

Maybe this is all obvious but Albini puts it in a framework and a language that I fully admire and enjoy. Please be sure to make it towards the back half of this talk, as that is when it really picks up full steam.
Tue. April 7th, 2015, 6:31am

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