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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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Rodney O

Today, The Mute Group released the video for "Rodney O." That fact by itself may not mean much but it's the final video in promotion of their debut album, Sinister Hand. As far back as 2016, they've been crafting videos to help promote their music and "Rodney O" serves as a pinnacle of accomplishment from those four years.

I know I'm biased in my enjoyment of a band that I'm actively helping release music but that bias doesn't overshadow the fact that I'm completely blown away by the video. It instantly reminds me of Aldous Harding, tho the band had no prior knowledge of her work before embarking on this video. I can see comparisons to REM as well but that feels too lofty for folks to take seriously, even if it's apt.

It's a stunning piece of work. It's mysterious, immersive and captivating. It tells a story without really laying it all out for you. Flat out, I'd call it Art. Hard stop. Again, that's lofty but I stand by it.

I hope you'll watch the whole thing, fullscreen.
Nov 16th 2020, 9:07 AM

Arm of Roger - I Like Lo-Fi Recordings

discovery via @JasonLytle. New *to me*
Nov 13th 2020, 3:11 PM

Wave Motion Effect | Demo 1

always a fan. so cool.
Nov 11th 2020, 2:21 PM

CONSTANTLY WRONG: The Case Against Conspiracy Theories

new from Kirby Ferguson. In.
Nov 11th 2020, 10:20 AM

Don’t Fear The Reaper: An Interview With William Sadler

I've been working with the Bill & Ted podcast San Dimas Today for awhile now and with the release of the third, and final, Bill and Ted film - it felt like the show may be coming to a natural resolution. However, I really wanted to the hosts to get some interviews with a few of the folks involved with the third film to really send them off on a good note.
With that in mind, I'm happy to announce that the latest episode is an interview with William Sadler; Death himself. His appearance in both Bogus Journey and Face the Music are delightful but it's important to remember that this is a guy who has also been in Shawshank Redemption, Die Hard 2 and a long long list of additional films.

Give it a listen as he's got a great story to tell. He's often cast as the bad guy but, honestly, he was a complete sweetheart.

Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, etc. etc. Everywhere!
Nov 11th 2020, 7:50 AM

Spencer Cullum's Coin Collection Live At Grimey's

The debut album from Spencer Cullum's Coin Collection comes out tomorrow (yes, a Thursday.. I did that on purpose) and we've released this fantastic five song performance Live from Grimey's.

There are a ton of guest players backing Spencer - including Caitlin Rose, Erin Rae, Annie Williams, Sean Thompson and a long list of others that may be meaningless to you if you're not aware of the Nashville music scene but these folks are good. Real good.

There's a wonderful review of the album up on the Nashville Scene as well. All and all, a great week for Spencer Cullum press. I hope you'll check out the album, which you can pre-save here.

Oh, and that Grimey's performance includes a song called "Dieterich Buxtehude" - which is a long form, krautrock inspired, jam. If you're hesitant about how a psych-folk record can be psych and folk, that's an excellent place to start.
Nov 11th 2020, 7:41 AM

Let's Face the Music, My Favorite Things

I started working with a new podcast called Let's Face the Music. The tagline for the series is "the stories behind the standards of the Great American Songbook." In short, it's a Behind the Music for classic songs.

There's only two episodes out at this time but I'm really enjoying it. I have zero involvement in the content of the show - Ryan Breegle tackles all of that. So, each new episode as insightful and surprising for me as it may be for you.
It's available on all the podcast places - Apple, Spotify, Google, Overcast, etc. etc.

The latest episode is all about "My Favorite Things" - a song that I generally associate with The Sound of Music and John Coltrane; though not in any sort of way where the two are connected. In my mind, they're disconnected performances of the same piece of music. However, as the episode lays out, that is not true. There is, of course, connective tissue between them.

Definitely a good listen and not very long! This sort of thing could be exhaustively long but Ryan keeps it quick and engaging. Win win.
Nov 10th 2020, 7:30 AM

The Return of Admiral Radley

three new releases from Admiral Radley, a collaborative outfit long since dormant since the early 2000's. Welcome back.
Nov 9th 2020, 6:04 AM