dennis yang dot com

sure looks like fun.

ps. if you haven’t checked out Phoenix’s new album.. you should, it’s good.

pps. and their site has a SECRET section.

And.. now that you’ve enjoyed the podcast, here’s the whole summer mix all of its sound and fury.

18 tracks ranging from electro-dancey-indie to folky-country to some old school ska to some classics.. yeehaa giddyup.

Enjoy. And, happy summer!!!

So it’s officially summer now, and that means that it’s time for yet another mix.. But, I decided to do something a little different this time and actually make a little podcast to accompany the mix.

Unlike the ska podcast that I did with Mike, this time I recorded the entire podcast in GarageBand, which actually worked out quite well. I picked 7 songs out of the 18 that are on the whole summer mix, since I wanted the podcast to be only about half an hour..

I’m pretty happy with how it turned out, so maybe I’ll do some more..

Anyway.. I also am uploading my entire summer mix up to 8tracks, so after that’s done, I’ll post that, but for now, you have to listen to the podcast.

Inspired by spangley, here’s a list of every place that I’ve ever lived. I think when I was born, we were in some apartment in Richmond Heights, but I don’t remember that place, so I’m gonna start with the Mayfield Heights place…

I’ve included links to memory maps for the first two places, and actually.. now that I’m looking at this list — maybe it would be fun to do some memory maps of the other places.

1. Gladwin Drive, Mayfield Heights, OH (1976-1985)
2. E. Juniper Ln, Moreland Hills, OH (1985-1993)
3. South Baker, Ithaca, NY (1993-4)
4. Clinton Township, NJ (Summers 1994, 1995)
5. College Ave, Ithaca, NY (1995-6)
6. Tunkhannock, PA (Summer 1996)
7. Eddy Street, Ithaca, NY (1996-7)
8. Jones & Geary, Tenderknob, San Francisco, CA (1997)
9. Collingwood & 20th, Castro, San Francisco, CA (1997-8)
10. Arguello & Fulton, Richmond, San Francisco, CA (1998-9)
11. Lyon & Post, Lower Pac Heights, San Francisco, CA (1999)
12. Cesar Chavez & Church, Noe Valley, San Francisco, CA (2000-3)
13. Church & 20th, Dolores Heights, San Francisco, CA (2003-4)
14. Fulton & Gough, Hayes Valley, San Francisco, CA (2004-8)
15. Natoma & 9th, Soma, San Francisco, CA (2008-present)

15 places in 33 years.. not bad.

To celebrate Sam’s big 3-0, Andy and the besigners all headed up to the tahoe house for the weekend. I tagged along. It was fun.

Sam’s 30th Birthday in Tahoe from yizzle on Vimeo.

Taken with Andy’s DOF adapter thing… Can’t wait for the new Canon T1i to come out… That said, videos taken with Andy’s DOF adapter look kind of cooler than the demo videos I’ve seen from the T1i.

Happy Birthday Sam!

A mundane snippet of my life, shared with you because of my awesome new recording setup that is on my desk today. I set this up initially because I did a phone interview for an article that I’m writing..

And then, mer and I decided where to go to lunch today. (WARNING. this phone call is incredibly boring.)

Ok, back to work. (Well, after I get back from lunch.)

So.. years and years ago, I made my radio hosting premiere at WVBR in Ithaca, when I hosted “Ithaska” with Audris on a blustery Saturday night..

Masnick came over this weekend, and we recorded the third episode of his podcast..

Have a listen. I think the levels of the music are a little off, but oh well.. lesson learned for the next ones.. Masnick has the full set list on his site, but it was fun and now I’m inspired to record more podcasts..

The Whitehouse has an official flickr stream that has some pretty awesome photos from Obama’s first 100 days..

One of the best photos (as pointed out by @acardwell) is this one:

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

And I’m particularly proud of myself for my “they’re looking for change” comment on it. hehe.

I’m such a nerd.

Apparently, there’s another Dennis Yang running around, and he’s on “the rich list” in China.  Check it out:

Nina Simone’s jazz singer daughter is coming to New Zealand. Lisa Simone Kelly, left, is Ghanaian royalty and also a philanthropist she set up a charity in her mother’s name to help communities living in poverty. Now she has agreed to support a new one, Art For Love, and she will sing at the launch evening in April. One of China’s Rich Listers, Dennis Yang, who is now a Kiwi, is behind the charity, which aims to sell the works of China’s foremost contemporary artists to raise money for various charities around the world. Auckland is the first stop and from here Art For Love will go to Sydney, Monaco and San Francisco. Each event will be different but this inaugural gala night will see Simone singing her own music plus one or two Nina Simone songs that have never been released.

So that charity thing is coming here to San Francisco — maybe I’ll go check it out.  I’m always interested in seeing what the other Dennis Yangs in the world are up to (and actually, I really wonder if they’ve ever googled themselves and gotten me).  None have ever contacted me like the Mike Hos of the world.  Nor has This American Life made a documentary about “Dennis Yang” like they did for “John Smith.”

Hmm.. this gives me an idea…

Hey Dennis Yangs of the world, let me know how you’re doing!  I can offer you an official dennisyang.com email address!!  Ie.. Mr. Rich List guy: you can be iamtherich @ dennisyang.com — Professor dude: you can be professor @ dennisyang.com and etc etc etc..

So, I’m listening to my good ol’ iTunes DJ (dutifully renamed from “Party Shuffle” for some reason) and “Earth Angel, by Weezer” comes on…

I’m not sure where (ahem) I got this song from, but it got me wondering.. damn, this is a good song, but is that really Rivers singing?  I mean, the album listed in the ID3 tags is “Rare,” but I’m not able to actually find any reference to this recording anywhere..  Well, imeem has a copy, but that just means that this person got it from the same place I did..

Weezer - Earth Angel (Platters cover) - Punk Ska Covers

And.. that one is even worse.. I mean, Earth Angel is NOT a Platters song (it’s originally by the Penguins), and that song is definitely not Punk Ska.

So.. I dig a little deeper.

A search on YouTube turns up this same version of the song, now attributed to the Temptations:

Uh.. ok.  This is clearly not the Temptations..

Seeqpod?  They think that this version is sung by The Temptations and Buddy Holly.

So, I ask shazam, on my iPhone — that has to be a good way, right?  

Shazam identifies this song as Earth Angel, by Bones Howe, from the Back to the Future Soundtrack.  Aha!  That’s a little better.  And that’s why this version sounds so familiar, right?

But.. who the F is Bones Howe?  Voila, thanks Wikipedia, he was the music supervisor for Back to the Future.  Ok, that makes sense, but I don’t think he actually sang the song did he?

More digging lands me at the Amazon page for the soundtrack, where the song is listed as “Earth Angel - Marvin Berry.”  Uh, great.  Marvin Berry, of course, was the fictional character from the movie (he was supposedly Chuck Berry’s cousin).  I mean Marvin Berry & the Starlighters may have a mySpace page and all, but considering that they describe themselves as “a swing band in Hill Valley, California” it’s clear that they’re more fictional than real.

Ugh.. so yah, I still don’t know who actually sang this track, since according to the internet, it was sang by Weezer, The Temptations, Buddy Holly, Bones Howe, or Marvin Berry.

Yah, if it’s on the internet it must be true.

doug: laura just spent $120 on the perfect bike basket.

doug: http://bit.ly/WZyhW

luckyvespa13: awesome.

luckyvespa13: you should get her this

luckyvespa13: http://fabrichorse.blogspot.com/2009/03/purchase-basket-bag-and-support-womens.html

doug: looks cool. I need to know the dimensions of the bag, though, to see if it will fit in the basket.

doug: ha. i sent an email asking for dimensions, and they updated the site. small businesses rule.

luckyvespa13:

luckyvespa13: AWESOME.

a little dose of super cuteness for your friday… kittens, inspired by kittens!!!

3 kickass keirin ads.

Man, I gotta get out and ride already.

Let’s find some beautiful place to get lost..

[via ali]

So I’ve been making a “mixtape” about once every quarter for quite some time now.. As I consume my music, it’s a nice way for me to remember what great songs that I’ve found along the way — and, it’s kind of like a musical diary of sorts, cuz I can look at like an old mix and get all nostalgic and stuff.

The first mix for 2009 is ready a little early (it’s only February), so I must be going through a lot of music this year already…

Here it is for your listening enjoyment…

Track List

Do You Feel Me, by Anthony Hamilton
Gravity, by Sara Bareilles
No One, by Alicia Keys
The Show, by Lenka
Her Morning Elegance, by Oren Lavie
True Affection, by The Blow
Blood Bank, by Bon Iver
My Night With The Prostitute From Marseille, by Beirut
Eyes Wider Than Before, by Scott Matthews
Selective Periphera, by Ben Benjamin
My Love, by The Bird and the Bee
Untrust Us, by Crystal Castles
Don’t Watch Me Dancing, by Little Joy
Young Folks, by Peter Bjorn And John
Dream, by Priscilla Ahn
Love To A Monster, by Okkervil River
Anyone Else But You, by The Moldy Peaches

My friend Korby and I were at a house party in the mission, and the house had this map on the wall. We noticed that there was a road that led to Alaska.

A month later, after we had somehow managed to convince 2 more friends to join us, we drove to Alaska. It took a week to get up there (driving most of the time), and then a week to get back (but we took the ferry from Haines, AK to Bellingham, WA).

It was an awesome trip, and I'd definitely do it again… but probably take more time.

[So yah.. this is part of this plinky thing that I'm trying out.. the prompt was "Share the longest road trip you’ve ever taken."]

Because jumping nearsighted young things are cute.

An oldie, but goodie.

Happy friday.

[This is for you, audris.]

I heart pie charts.

Yes, I am a super nerd.

[Found at king ryan]

[stolen from sallytv]

I love memes, oh yes I do. And here’s another one that I saw that Aubrey did…

So, here we go…

1. Put Your iTunes on Shuffle. (I used Party Shuffle, cuz Shuffle isn’t really “random”)
2. For each question, press the ‘next’ button to get your answer. (or listen to each song, like I did.)
3. You must write down the name of the song no matter how silly it sounds!
4. Put any comments in brackets after the song name.
5. (I added this in myself) - Tag some peeps you want to do the same.

What do your friends think of you?
Breakaway, by Ratatat
iTunes thinks I’m a rebel, always marching to the beat of my own drummer.

If someone says, “Is this okay?” You say?
What Went Wrong, by The Slackers
Yah, I’m a very very caring person.

How would you describe yourself?
Baby It’s Cold Outside, by Ray Gelato And The Giants Of Jive
I guess lately, yah.. I’ve been really cold. Brrrrr.

What do you like in a guy/girl?
Fixing A Hole, by The Beatles
Ok iTunes, I don’t think I’m really a fixer, am I? Is it possible that you know me better than me? Or, maybe you’re just being a little dirty. (snicker, snicker)

How do you feel today?
Beautiful Day Without You, by Royksopp
Wow.. that’s like exactly right. You’re starting to scare me, iTunes.

What is your life’s purpose?
I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow, by The Soggy Bottom Boys
Ok, that’s just depressing, and kind of wrong, since I’m pretty happy.

What is your motto?
Point to B, by Prefuse 73
Hmm. Not a bad motto… just abstract enough to work.

What do you think about very often?
Cute Without the ‘E’, by Taking Back Sunday
I think I have more emo music than my personality really alludes to.. or maybe I’m more emo than I think I am.

What is 2 + 2?
Why Do I Keep Counting? by The Killer
Another direct hit by the iTunes shuffle. Well done.

What do you think of your best friend?
Moon River, by Nan Vernon
My best friend is a new cover of an old classic? I suppose.

What do you think of the person you like?
To Have And To Hold, by Colin Hay
Yah, and I should probably tell her. But you all know that’s not me.

What is your life story?
Sailor Song, by Regina Spektor
Well, thing is, considering this song could be interpreted be about a sailor sailing around the world on the seas looking for something.. maybe that fits.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Stuck In The Middle, by Steelers Wheel (Mashup)
If I grow up to be stuck in the middle, that would suck. But at least it’s a mashup.

What do you think of when you see the person you like?
Dangerous and Sweet, by Lenka
Yah, sure, that works.

What will you dance to at your wedding?
In our Bedroom After the War, by Stars
I think this song is actually about a breakup, so.. maybe not such a great wedding song. Sorry, iTunes, you’re failing a bit here.

What will they play at your funeral?
Sand and Ice, by Fanfarlo
I really like this tune for my funeral actually… It sounds hopeful. If only I actually listened to lyrics, cuz I really have no idea what this song is about.

What is your hobby/interest?
Apres Moi, by Regina Spektor
Really, iTunes? Another Regina song? Seriously, that’s like a mixtape no-no. You should know better.

What is your biggest fear?
What Went Wrong, by The Slackers
Ok, I’ll let it slide this time, cuz this song is dead on for this question.

What is your biggest secret?
Dream, by Priscilla Ahn
My dreams are my biggest secret? That’s kind of deep, iTunes.

What do you think of your friends?
Medley - Sentimental Reason, Tenderley, Autumn Leaves, by Natalie Cole
Yes, my friends are awesome. And I love the fall.

What will you post this as?
Here To There, by Michael Nyman
Ok, if you say so.