Tag: original works

TBT: The TJC Challenge

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Last year I issued to my readers The TJC Challenge, a challenge to listen to all of my music on either Apple Music or YouTube/YouTube Music.  At the time, The TJC Challenge took about three hours to complete, appropriate for a morning of shirking responsibilities at the office.

The entire challenge now takes approximately seven hours and eleven minutes.  If you just listened to the albums (some of which are, ironically, shorter in playtime than the EPs), it would take five hours and fifty-eight minutes—just shy of six hours.

Actually, it’s a bit longer:  when I initially did the above calculations, I forgot to include my latest release, Leftovers IV, which clocks in at nineteen minutes, thirty-nine seconds.  That brings the total playtime up to 7.5 hours and change.

Also, you can now attempt the challenge on Spotify as well.  I gave up my doomed boycott of releasing to Spotify.  I don’t really make any money from streams there, sadly, thanks to their thieving streaming policy, but I realized that the vast majority of music listeners (including my older brother and Dr. Girlfriend) use the service, so I might as well let the people I love have the ability to listen to my music easily.

The point is, it now takes about an entire workday to listen to all of this music.  I don’t expect most people to do it, but I will send a free hat to the first person who listens to all of my releases on the streaming platform of their choice.  All you have to do is listen to every release, then send me a 100-word blurb about which albums/EPs/songs/pieces you liked—and which you did not—and tell me why.  And, no, I’m not going to count every word; you can write more or less.  Years of teaching have taught me that people crave a word count or page requirement, so there you go!

Do you have the guts to take on The TJC Challenge?  Or the free time, for that matter?

With that, here is 10 April 2024’s “The TJC Challenge“:

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TBT^4: Composing Humorous Miniatures

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

My next album, PRISM, releases tomorrow, so I thought I’d look back at a post about the bit of online frivolity that, in many ways, kickstarted the massive amount of composing I’ve undertaken over the last year.

I never did get around to writing those flute pieces for that one guy (see below), but I’m not too worried about it.  I imagine one day I’ll get some more requests to compose some pieces, and I have quite a back catalogue from which to pull and adapt ideas.

With that, here is 29 February 2024’s “TBT^2: Composing Humorous Miniatures“:

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Lazy Sunday CCLXX: TJC Deep Cuts II

The Portly Politico13 Comments

Yours portly has been hitting the open mic scene pretty hard lately, so I figured I’d dive into some actual open mic performances from the ongoing Open Mic Adventures series (which often features my instrumental electronic music more than my actual live performances).  Not all of these are from this summer—I’m still uploading performances—but there are some tasty jams here for you to sink your musical teeth (your ears?) into:

As a bit of a bonus, here are the YouTube videos for two of the three pieces (the “Hipster Girl Next Door” medley never made it to YouTube, sadly):

Happy Sunday—and Happy Listening!

—TPP

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Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

  1. Lazy Sunday – APR Pieces
  2. Lazy Sunday II – Lincoln Posts
  3. Lazy Sunday III – Historical Moments
  4. Lazy Sunday IV – Christianity
  5. Lazy Sunday V – Progressivism, Part I
  6. Lazy Sunday VI – Progressivism, Part II
  7. Lazy Sunday VII – Deep State
  8. Lazy Sunday VIII – Conservatism
  9. Lazy Sunday IX – Economics, Part I
  10. Lazy Sunday X – Economics, Part II
  11. Lazy Sunday XI – Walls
  12. Lazy Sunday XII – Space
  13. Lazy Sunday XIII – Immigration
  14. Lazy Sunday XIV – Gay Stuff
  15. Lazy Sunday XV – Work
  16. Lazy Sunday XVI – #MAGAWeek2018
  17. Lazy Sunday XVII – #MAGAWeek2019
  18. Lazy Sunday XVIII – SubscribeStar Posts
  19. Lazy Sunday XIX – Music
  20. Lazy Sunday XX – The Laziest Sunday
  21. Lazy Sunday XXI – Travel
  22. Lazy Sunday XXII – Reading
  23. Lazy Sunday XXIII – Richard Weaver
  24. Lazy Sunday XXIV – Education
  25. Lazy Sunday XXV – Techno-Weirdos
  26. Lazy Sunday XXVI – Small Town Living
  27. Lazy Sunday XXVII – Bric-a-Brac
  28. Lazy Sunday XXVIII – World History
  29. Lazy Sunday XXIX – The New Criterion
  30. Lazy Sunday XXX – Trump, Part I
  31. Lazy Sunday XXXI – Trump, Part II
  32. Lazy Sunday XXXII – Festivals
  33. Lazy Sunday XXXIII – Virtue Signalling
  34. Lazy Sunday XXXIV – The Desperate Search for Meaning Series
  35. Lazy Sunday XXXV – Corporate Grind
  36. Lazy Sunday XXXVI – Best of the Reblogs, Part I
  37. Lazy Sunday XXXVII – Best of the Reblogs, Part II
  38. Lazy Sunday XXXVIII – Best of the Reblogs, Part III
  39. Lazy Sunday XXXIX – A Very Dokken Christmas Series
  40. Lazy Sunday XL – Christmas Carols
  41. Lazy Sunday XLI – Food
  42. Lazy Sunday XLII – 2019’s Top Five Posts
  43. Lazy Sunday XLIII – Music, Part II: More Music
  44. Lazy Sunday XLIV – SubscribeStar Saturday Posts, Part II: The Search for More Money
  45. Lazy Sunday XLV – Techno-Weirdos II
  46. Lazy Sunday XLVI – Man Time
  47. Lazy Sunday XLVII – Winning
  48. Lazy Sunday XLVIII – Culture
  49. Lazy Sunday XLIX – Family
  50. Lazy Sunday L – The Best of Lazy Sunday
  51. Lazy Sunday LI – Just for Fun
  52. Lazy Sunday LII – Democratic Candidates, Part I
  53. Lazy Sunday LIII – Democratic Candidates, Part II
  54. Lazy Sunday LIV – Coronavirus
  55. Lazy Sunday LV – Animals
  56. Lazy Sunday LVI – Movies
  57. Lazy Sunday LVII – Christianity, Part II
  58. Lazy Sunday LVIII – Spring Break Short Story Recommendations Recap
  59. Lazy Sunday LIX – The God Pill Series
  60. Lazy Sunday LX – Music, Part II: Gigging
  61. Lazy Sunday LXI – The Tuck
  62. Lazy Sunday LXII – The South
  63. Lazy Sunday LXIII – Holidays
  64. Lazy Sunday LXIV – Grab Bag
  65. Lazy Sunday LXV – Rioting
  66. Lazy Sunday LXVI – Video Games
  67. Lazy Sunday LXVII – Phone it in Fridays, Part I
  68. Lazy Sunday LXVIII – Phone it in Fridays, Part II
  69. Lazy Sunday LXIX – Phone it in Fridays, Part III
  70. Lazy Sunday LXX – Phone it in Friday, Part IV
  71. Lazy Sunday LXXI – Road Trips
  72. Lazy Sunday LXXII – Forgotten Posts, Volume I
  73. Lazy Sunday LXXIII – Forgotten Posts, Volume II
  74. Lazy Sunday LXXIV – Forgotten Posts, Volume III
  75. Lazy Sunday LXXV – Forgotten Posts, Volume IV
  76. Lazy Sunday LXXVI – Forgotten Posts, Volume V
  77. Lazy Sunday LXXVII – Rural America
  78. Lazy Sunday LXXVIII – Space, Part II
  79. Lazy Sunday LXXXIX – SCOTUS
  80. Lazy Sunday LXXX – Big Ideas
  81. Lazy Sunday LXXXI – Education, Part II
  82. Lazy Sunday LXXXII – Universal Studios
  83. Lazy Sunday LXXXIII – The Mountains
  84. Lazy Sunday LXXXIV – Halloween Hijinks
  85. Lazy Sunday LXXXV – Elections
  86. Lazy Sunday LXXXVI – Questions, Part I
  87. Lazy Sunday LXXXVII – Questions, Part II
  88. Lazy Sunday LXXXVIII – Questions, Part III
  89. Lazy Sunday LXXXIX – 100 Week Review
  90. Lazy Sunday XC – Questions, Part IV
  91. Lazy Sunday XCI – Questions, Part V
  92. Lazy Sunday XCII – Christmas
  93. Lazy Sunday XCIII – 2020’s Top Five Posts
  94. Lazy Sunday XCIV – My Favorite Things
  95. Lazy Sunday XCV – The Best of Lazy Sunday
  96. Lazy Sunday XCVI – More Movies: Movie Reviews, Part I
  97. Lazy Sunday XCVII – More Movies II: Movie Reviews, Part II
  98. Lazy Sunday XCVIII – More Movies III: Movie Reviews, Part III
  99. Lazy Sunday XCIX – Romantic Music
  100. Lazy Sunday C – Valentine’s Day
  101. Lazy Sunday CI – Obituaries, Part I
  102. Lazy Sunday CII – Obituaries, Part II
  103. Lazy Sunday CIII – Begging
  104. Lazy Sunday CIV – Time
  105. Lazy Sunday CV – Grab Bag II
  106. Lazy Sunday CVI – Adventures
  107. Lazy Sunday CVII – Easter
  108. Lazy Sunday CVIII – Spring Break Short Story Recommendations 2021 Recap
  109. Lazy Sunday CIX – Pillow Talk
  110. Lazy Sunday CX – Inspector Gerard Reviews
  111. Lazy Sunday CXI – Bric-a-Brac II
  112. Lazy Sunday CXII – Responsibility
  113. Lazy Sunday CXIII – Short Stories
  114. Lazy Sunday CXIV – More Movies IV: Movie Reviews, Part IV
  115. Lazy Sunday CXV – Memorable Mondays
  116. Lazy Sunday CXVI – Delays
  117. Lazy Sunday CXVII – More Movies V – Movie Reviews, Part V
  118. Lazy Sunday CXVIII – More Movies VI – Movie Reviews, Part VI
  119. Lazy Sunday CXIX – Summer Camps
  120. Lazy Sunday CXX – Animals, Part II
  121. Lazy Sunday CXXI – MAGAWeek2021 Posts
  122. Lazy Sunday CXXII – MAGAWeek2020 Posts
  123. Lazy Sunday CXXIII – Murphy
  124. Lazy Sunday CXXIV – Bible Posts
  125. Lazy Sunday CXXV – More Movies VII – Movie Reviews, Part VII
  126. Lazy Sunday CXXVI – Joy, Part I
  127. Lazy Sunday CXXVII – Joy, Part II – Music
  128. Lazy Sunday CXXVIII – Civilization
  129. Lazy Sunday CXXIX – Friends, Part I
  130. Lazy Sunday CXXX – Friends, Part II
  131. Lazy Sunday CXXXI – Friends, Part III
  132. Lazy Sunday CXXXII – Milestones
  133. Lazy Sunday CXXXIII – Inspector Gerard
  134. Lazy Sunday CXXXIV – Friends, Part IV
  135. Lazy Sunday CXXXV – More Movies VIII – Movie Reviews, Part VIII
  136. Lazy Sunday CXXXVI – More Movies IX – Movie Reviews, Part IX
  137. Lazy Sunday CXXXVII – More Halloween Hijinks
  138. Lazy Sunday CXXXVIII – Friends, Part V
  139. Lazy Sunday CXXXIX – More Movies, Part X – Movie Reviews, Part X
  140. Lazy Sunday CXL – More Movies, Part XI – Movie Reviews, Part XI
  141. Lazy Sunday CXLI – Thanksgiving Stuff(ing)
  142. Lazy Sunday CXLII – More Movies, Part XII – Movie Reviews, Part XII
  143. Lazy Sunday CXLIII – More Movies, Part XIII – Movie Reviews, Part XIII
  144. Lazy Sunday CXLIV – More Christmas Carols
  145. Lazy Sunday CXLV – Christmas Cheer
  146. Lazy Sunday CXLVI – 2021’s Top Five Posts
  147. Lazy Sunday CXLVII – More Movies, Part XIV – Movie Reviews, Part XIV
  148. Lazy Sunday CXLVIII – The Gemini Sonnets #1 and #2
  149. Lazy Sunday CXLIX – The Gemini Sonnets #3 and #4
  150. Lazy Sunday CL – The Gemini Sonnets #5 and #6
  151. Lazy Sunday CLI – More Movies, Part XV – Movies Reviews, Part XV
  152. Lazy Sunday CLII – Romance
  153. Lazy Sunday CLIII – Behind the Songs, Part I
  154. Lazy Sunday CLIV – Behind the Songs, Part II
  155. Lazy Sunday CLV – Péchés d’âge moyen Posts
  156. Lazy Sunday CLVI – More Son of Sonnet
  157. Lazy Sunday CLVII – Ponty’s Posts, Part I
  158. Lazy Sunday CLVIII – Ponty’s Posts, Part II
  159. Lazy Sunday CLIX – Scrambie Eggs
  160. Lazy Sunday CLX: Fine Arts Festival
  161. Lazy Sunday CLXI: Easter II
  162. Lazy Sunday CLXII: Spring Break Short Story Recommendations Recap 2022
  163. Lazy Sunday CLXIII: Friends, Part VI
  164. Lazy Sunday CLXIV: Friends, Part VII
  165. Lazy Sunday CLXV: Friends, Part VIII
  166. Lazy Sunday CLXVI: Friends, Part IX
  167. Lazy Sunday CLXVII: Friends, Part X
  168. Lazy Sunday CLXVIII: More Movies, Part XVI: Movie Reviews, Part XVI
  169. Lazy Sunday CLXIX: More Movies, Part XVII: Movie Reviews, Part XVII
  170. Lazy Sunday CLXX: More Movies, Part XVIII: Movie Reviews, Part XVIII
  171. Lazy Sunday CLXXI: Frederick Ingram, Part I
  172. Lazy Sunday CLXXII: Frederick Ingram, Part II
  173. Lazy Sunday CLXXIII: MAGAWeek2022
  174. Lazy Sunday CLXXIV: More Movies, Part XIX: Movie Reviews, Part XIX
  175. Lazy Sunday CLXXV: More Movies, Part XX: Movie Reviews, Part XX
  176. Lazy Sunday CLXXVI: More Movies, Part XXI: Movie Reviews, Part XXI
  177. Lazy Sunday CLXXVII: School, Part I
  178. Lazy Sunday CLXXVIII: School, Part II
  179. Lazy Sunday CLXXIX: More Movies, Part XXII: Ponty’s Worst Films, Part I
  180. Lazy Sunday CLXXX: More Movies, Part XXIII: Portly’s Worst Films, Part I
  181. Lazy Sunday CLXXXI: More Movies, Part XXIV: Ponty’s Worst Films, Part II
  182. Lazy Sunday CLXXXII: More Movies, Part XXV: Portly’s Worst Films, Part II
  183. Lazy Sunday CLXXXIII: More Movies, Part XXVII: Ponty’s Worst Films, Part III
  184. Lazy Sunday CLXXXIV: More Movies, Part XXVIII: Portly’s Worst Films, Part III
  185. Lazy Sunday CLXXXV: More Movies, Part XXIX: Ponty and Portly’s #1 Worst Films
  186. Lazy Sunday CLXXXVI: More Movies, Part XXX: Midweek Myers Movie Reviews, Part I
  187. Lazy Sunday CLXXXVII: More Movies, Part XXXI: Midweek Myers Movie Reviews, Part II
  188. Lazy Sunday CLXXXVIII: Video Games II: Ponty’s Picks
  189. Lazy Sunday CLXXXIX: Even More Halloween Hijinks: The Musical
  190. Lazy Sunday CXC: Cozy Time
  191. Lazy Sunday CXCI: Veterans Day Posts
  192. Lazy Sunday CXCII: Myersvision, Part I
  193. Lazy Sunday CXCIII: Thanksgiving Week Posts
  194. Lazy Sunday CXCIV: Solo Cover EP, Part I
  195. Lazy Sunday CXCV: Solo Cover EP, Part II
  196. Lazy Sunday CLXXVI: 2022’s Top Three
  197. Lazy Sunday CXCVII: Review[s] of A Christmas Carol (1951)
  198. Lazy Sunday CXCVIII: The Worst of 2022
  199. Lazy Sunday CXCIX: More Movies XXXII: Portly’s Best Films, Part I
  200. Lazy Sunday CC: More Movies XXXIII: Ponty’s Best Films, Part I
  201. Lazy Sunday CCI: More Movies XXXIV: Portly’s Best Films, Part II
  202. Lazy Sunday CCII: More Movies XXXV: Ponty’s Best Films, Part II
  203. Lazy Sunday CCIII: P​é​ch​é​s d​’​â​ge moyen Picks
  204. Lazy Sunday CCIV: Arizonan Sojourn, Part I
  205. Lazy Sunday CCV: Portly’s Best Films, Part III
  206. Lazy Sunday CCVI: Ponty’s Best Films, Part III
  207. Lazy Sunday CCVII: The Beach
  208. Lazy Sunday CCVIII: Walks
  209. Lazy Sunday CCXIX: Paintings
  210. Lazy Sunday CCX: Arizonan Sojourn, Part II
  211. Lazy Sunday CCXI: Hono[u]rable Mentions
  212. Lazy Sunday CCXII: Easter III
  213. Lazy Sunday CCXIII: Spring Break Short Story Recommendations 2023
  214. Lazy Sunday CCXIV: Ponty and Portly’s #1 Picks
  215. Lazy Sunday CCXV: Myersvision, Part II
  216. Lazy Sunday CCXVI: Myersvision, Part III
  217. Lazy Sunday CCXVII: Myersvision, Part IV
  218. Lazy Sunday CCXVIII: Myersvision, Part V
  219. Lazy Sunday CCXIX: Myersvision, Part VI
  220. Lazy Sunday CCXX: Myersvision, Part VII
  221. Lazy Sunday CCXXI: Intergalactic Nonsense
  222. Lazy Sunday CCXXII: Stories
  223. Lazy Sunday CCXXIII: Original Music, Part I
  224. Lazy Sunday CCXXIV: Original Music, Part II
  225. Lazy Sunday CCXXV: MAGAWeek2023 Posts
  226. Lazy Sunday CCXXVI: Greatest Hits Recap
  227. Lazy Sunday CCXXVII: Ponty Week 2023
  228. Lazy Sunday CCXXVIII: D.C., Part I
  229. Lazy Sunday CCXXIX: D.C., Part II
  230. Lazy Sunday CCXXX: TJC Deep Cuts
  231. Lazy Sunday CCXXXI: Weird Piano Music
  232. Lazy Sunday CCXXXII: Cinema
  233. Lazy Sunday CCXXXIII: Monarchy
  234. Lazy Sunday CCXXXIV: Sandwiches
  235. Lazy Sunday CCXXXV: Skeletons
  236. Lazy Sunday CCXXXVI: Myersvision, Part VIII
  237. Lazy Sunday CCXXXVII: Myersvision, Part IX
  238. Lazy Sunday CCXXXVIII: Festivals II
  239. Lazy Sunday CCXXXIX: Two Cryptid Tunes
  240. Lazy Sunday CCXL: Ghostly Doings
  241. Lazy Sunday CCXLI: Veterans Day Posts II
  242. Lazy Sunday CCXLII: Indie Musician Rants
  243. Lazy Sunday CCXLIII: 2023 Releases
  244. Lazy Sunday CCXLIV: Civilization Series
  245. Lazy Sunday CCXLV: Chapel Lessons, Part I
  246. Lazy Sunday CCXLVI: Chapel Lessons, Part II
  247. Lazy Sunday CCXLVII: Christmas Concert Reviews
  248. Lazy Sunday CCXLVIII: The Best of 2023
  249. Lazy Sunday CCXLIX: Best Ponty Posts of 2023
  250. Lazy Sunday CCL: Best Myersvision Posts of 2023
  251. Lazy Sunday CCLI: YouTube Roundup Roundup I
  252. Lazy Sunday CCLII: YouTube Roundup Roundup II
  253. Lazy Sunday CCLIII: Firefly Dance Tracks, Part I
  254. Lazy Sunday CCLIV: Firefly Dance Tracks, Part II
  255. Lazy Sunday CCLV: Firefly Dance Tracks, Part III
  256. Lazy Sunday CCLVI: Days Off
  257. Lazy Sunday CCLVII: Murphy Vids, Part I
  258. Lazy Sunday CCLVIII: Food II
  259. Lazy Sunday CCLIX: Four Mages, Part I
  260. Lazy Sunday CCLX: Murphy Vids, Part II
  261. Lazy Sunday CCLXI: Ultra Laziness
  262. Lazy Sunday CCLXII: Mothers
  263. Lazy Sunday CCLXIII: Four Mages, Part II
  264. Lazy Sunday CCLXIV: End of School Events
  265. Lazy Sunday CCLXV: Disco Elysium Reviews
  266. Lazy Sunday CCLXVI: Political Stuff, Part I
  267. Lazy Sunday CCLXVII: Political Stuff, Part II
  268. Lazy Sunday CCLXVIII: Milestones II
  269. Lazy Sunday CCLXIX: Cryptid Epistemology Mini-Series

Heptadic Structure Out Today!

The Portly Politico6 Comments

My latest release, Heptadic Structure, is out today on Bandcamp!

It’s one of my more unusual releases.  It’s  an experimental electronic album consisting of seven pieces written in variations of 7/X time signatures (7/4, 7/8, and/or 7/16). Each piece consists of 21 measures, for a total of 147 measures of written music. 14 + 7 = 21, and 21/7 = 3. 3 represents the Holy Trinity, and 7 represents God’s Divine Number.

If that made your head hurt, no worries—you can just listen to the music and enjoy! Ranging from classical (“Angularity“) to weirdly experimental (“Akhenaten“) to melodious (“Balladic Processional“) and beyond, Heptadic Structure is a mathematically musical journey through time and space.

The title derives from the somewhat dubious field of Biblical numerology.  When I conceived of an album built upon the number 7, I cast about for a good name.  I searched online for “Heptadic Stucture” and came up with the numerological concept.

I would caution believing Christians not to dive too deeply into Biblical numerology.  While I do think it’s fascinating that there appears to be some kind of underlying mathematical structure to God’s Word, it’s too easy to fall into Gnostic heresy.  As Christians, we should rely on God’s Word, not an alleged pattern of numbers that may or may not be woven into it.

Regardless, it makes for a cool concept for an album!

You can purchase the album for $7 (ha!) on Bandcamp.

It’s also streaming on all the major platforms (except Spotify):

Happy Listening!

—TPP

May 2024 Bandcamp Friday

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Today is Bandcamp Friday!  That means Bandcamp waives their share of any purchases made on my Bandcamp page today (Friday, 3 May 2024), so it’s the best possible time to buy my music if you want to support yours portly.

Yesterday I released my seventeenth Bandcamp album, Four Mages.  It is a collection of ten electronic tracks, all but one of which (“The Blind Prophet“) is color-coded. Each piece explores some facet of fantasy archetypes, weaving and casting a musical spell upon listeners.

Here are some platforms where you can listen:

Four Mages is just $5 on Bandcamp, and most of that goes to me today.

For those looking for the cheapest, easy way to listen, here’s a YouTube playlist:

Happy Listening!

—TPP

The TJC Challenge

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Readers, I’m issuing you a challenge:  The TJC Challenge.

The TJC Challenge

The TJC Challenge

What is The TJC Challenge, you ask?  It’s simple:  undertake a marathon stream of every release I have on Apple Music (or your streaming service of choice).

Apple Music Method

If you’re an Apple Music user, it’s pretty easy.  Here are three simple steps:

  1. Click or tap this link to my artist profile (preferably on your phone)
  2. Hit “play”
  3. Listen to my tunes!

If you don’t select shuffle, it will play through each of my albums in alphabetic order by title.  That means you’ll start with Contest Winner EP and end with Spooky Season II: Rise of the Cryptids.

YouTube Method

Don’t use Apple Music?  No problem.  The cheapest method (no monthly subscription to a streaming service) is via YouTube.  The only downside is that there’s no way to play through all albums without having to select individual releases.

Still, here’s the YouTube method:

  1. Follow this link to my “Releases” on my YouTube channel
  2. Hover over one the album you’d like to listen to first and click “Play All”
  3. Rinse and repeat for each album

The entire challenge will take about 185 minutes—give or take a few seconds and/or minutes—to complete, or around three hours and change.

The beauty is that if you’re doing laundry or household chores, it’ll breeze by, and you’ll enjoy some great tunes in the process!  If you need to turn the volume down a bit to focus on another task, that’s fine, too.

One-Hour Variation

If you’d rather take on a shorter challenge, consider listening to Leftovers II, Epistemology, Firefly Dance, and Spooky Season II: Rise of the Cryptids (YouTube links here, here, here, and here, respectively).  They come out to almost exactly one hour when played consecutively.  These are also my four most recent releases.

Time for Just One Release?

If that or the one-hour challenge are too daunting, and you can only pick one release, I recommend Contest Winner – EP (YouTube link here).  The entire EP is only twenty-one (21) minutes long, roughly the length of a television show without commercials.  It’s my only release that isn’t instrumental, and it consists of six of the best songs I’ve ever written (well, at least four of them are really good).

Time for One (or Two) Instrumental Releases?

If lyrics are distracting and you want one good instrumental release, I’ll make two recommendations:  Epistemology and/or Firefly Dance (YouTube:  here and here, respectively).  Both are about fifteen minutes long; you could listen to both over a lunch break, or listen to one while driving to work.

Conclusion

If you listen to my entire discography, you’ll travel from my early MIDI compositions in 2006 all the way to last week (1 April 2024).  That’s eighteen years of musical growth and development (hopefully not musical regression—gulp!).  You’ll also be doing yours portly a huge favor.

If you do the challenge—or even part of it—let me know!  What were your favorite releases?  Which ones didn’t “do it” for you?  What would you like to hear in the future?

Happy Listening!

—TPP

Open Mic Adventures LXXVI: “Black Mage”

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

I’m still promoting my latest release, Leftovers II, but I’m also excited for my next album, Four Mages, which releases Thursday, 2 May 2024.  Of course, if you’d like to hear Leftovers II, you can do so at the following places (and probably more):

Today, however, I’d like to look at the fourth of the Four Mages, the dreaded “Black Mage.”

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Lazy Sunday CXLIV: Four Mages, Part I

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Last week I released Leftovers II, and in just a few weeks I’ll release my next album, Four Mages (2 May 2024).  If you’d like to hear my latest release, you can do so here:

Readers might have noticed some of the colorful mages popping up over the last few weeks on this blog.  I’ve posted three of the Four Mages so far (“Black Mage” is coming this Tuesday, 9 April 2024—stay tuned!), so I thought I’d share them with y’all this Lazy Sunday:

  • “Open Mic Adventures LXXIII: ‘Blue Mage’” – “Blue Mage” is a duet for oboe and bassoon, built upon a mysterious whole tone scale. The piece is written in 5/8 time, further lending to the mystical feel of this magical journey.
  • “Open Mic Adventures LXXIV: ‘Red Mage’” – “Red Mage” is a mischievous and playful duet for oboe and bassoon. It is the companion piece to “Blue Mage.” The piece has a playful, mischievous feel, and I love how it sounds very much like it’s from a fantasy JRPG soundtrack.
  • “Open Mic Adventures LXXV: ‘White Mage’” – “White Mage” is a bright but flowing solo for flute with celesta accompaniment. A piano could be substituted in place of the celesta. It has a delightful Final Fantasy vibe.

Happy Sunday—and Happy Listening!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

TBT^2: Composing Humorous Miniatures

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

I’ve been writing a lot about my composing lately, which might be wearing down my readers.  However, I have two updates on that front to sweeten the pot:

  1. My latest release, Epistemology, hits streaming platforms and Bandcamp tomorrow, Friday, 1 March 2024
  2. I have some tentative inquiries from at least two parties interested in commissioning original works from yours portly

I don’t have much more on at the moment, but one of those commission will be paid, and involves composing for various flutes.  The other commission will be for an online friend of mine.

As for , I’m quite excited for this release.  It features some bold tracks, particularly the lengthy title track, “Epistemology.”

My latest bout of composing started last August (2023), but it was predated by a round of piano compositions dating back to February 2022.  That resulted in P​é​ch​é​s d​’​â​ge moyen.  I’m still planning to put together Red Tardy Slip Compositions, but I’ve tabled it for the time being to focus on more electronic works.

Here’s to composing!

With that, here is “TBT: Composing Humorous Miniatures“:

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Lazy Sunday CXXXVIII: Firefly Dance Tracks, Part I

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

On Friday, 2 February 2024 I released Firefly Dance, my latest collection of original digital compositions.  It’s a fun album, and I’m pleased with how it came out in the end.

You can purchase and/or stream Firefly Dance through the following services:

– Bandcamp ($5!): https://tjcookmusic.bandcamp.com/album/firefly-dance
– Apple 🍏 Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/firefly-dance/1724130522
– YouTube 📺: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k5xlOgwiUIFHGrMXpJ4bjmKHGGepfpCYM&si=U5tXOlFABVRwmA-E

Of course, if you’ve been reading the blog regularly, I’ve been posting sneak peeks of the album since late November.  So for the next few Sundays, I’ll be featuring past installments of Open Mic Adventures that highlight the tracks:

  • “Open Mic Adventures LVI: ‘Orange Roll’” – I went way too far with this one—ha!  I reharmonized it, played it on bass, etc.  You can experience all the iterations in this original post.
  • “Open Mic Adventures LVII: ‘Firefly Dance’” – I love the title track.  Honestly, my only regret is that I didn’t start the album with it, as it’s a beautiful piece.  I think it’s one of my best works.
  • “Open Mic Adventures LVIII: ‘Kartofelsalat’” – Well, I misspelled “Kartoffelsalat,” leaving off that second “f,” but by the time I realized my error, I’d already submitted everything to CD Baby for digital distribution and didn’t want to change it.  But much like German potato salad, it’s a tasty jam.

Enjoy—and, y’know, maybe shell out $5 and help a musician out, eh?

Happy Sunday—and Happy Listening!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments: