Jon Crawford Has Something To Say

Best of COVID-2019: (Late) 2019 End of Year Wrap-up

Mon, 11 May 2020 21:39:53 -0700

Even though we’re well into 2020, most of us would probably swallow a pill that makes us forget the year so far. With a new job, I got too busy to do an end-of-year wrap-up of my picks for the best albums, movies and shows of 2019, so assuming you’ve swallowed your Hindsight Pill™ (get it?, cause hindsight is 20..ok, fair if you stop reading now) here’s my take on the best music, movies and shows of 2019. Maybe you’ll find something to make the rest of quarantine a little better.

ALBUMS

Remind Me Tomorrow by Sharon Van Etten on Spotify

It’s hard to find a better album this year. It’s heartfelt, gentle in places / wild in others, it pushes her sound forward from her more folky records of the past and gives us the opportunity to gaze into this sensitive she-hulk of an artist’s soul.

Favorite Track: Jupiter 4 - Jupiter 4, a song by Sharon Van Etten on Spotify

Lux Prima by Karen O on Spotify

This concept album by Karen O (“Yeah Yeah Yeahs”) and Danger Mouse (“Broken Bells”, “Gnarls Barkley”) can best be described as a record composed by badass feminine superhero from the future who has a nostalgic fascination with soundtracks from 70s European love story films. It’s phenomenal. The chord progressions are unusual and interesting. The vibe is consistent throughout. It’s a great record to listen to intentionally or a perfect soundtrack to a day outside with friends.

Favorite Track: Nox Lumina - Nox Lumina, a song by Karen O, Danger Mouse on Spotify

Lana Del Rey - “Norman F*ing Rockwell“ (censored for my mom)

I get it. You stopped following Lana after “Summertime Sadness”. She’s not your jam. She’s vapid. There’s something about her appearance that you don’t like (Didn’t she get her lips done?). She doesn’t make serious music. Here’s the thing though: You’re f*cking wrong (censored for mom). LDR is one of the most prolific songwriters and performers we’ve got. This artist has evolved with each album and the songwriting keeps improving. This is her best album to date. The lyrics take on deeper themes than her prior records and any ego on previous submissions seems to have been replaced by a general comfort in herself and the discomfort of her experiences and relationships (fictional or not). This is also her release with the lightest touch. She’s not pushing the LDR persona anymore, she’s being herself — take it or leave it. It’s her, your little Venice B!tch (censored for mom). Hi, mom!

Favorite song: Venice Bitch, a song by Lana Del Rey on Spotify

Phoenix by Pedro The Lion on Spotify

This is my favorite artist’s first studio album in 15 years. (!!!) It’s not technically fair to say that because he released several color records in the interim. As a largely one-man show, the DNA was very much the same. But this is a true return to form for the the man known as David Bazan that I’ve been following carefully for 20 years and have seen live too many times to count.

This is a concept album (most of them are) about his experience growing up in Phoenix, AZ. But it’s more about growing up than about Arizona. I got goosebumps and watery eyes the first time I listened carefully to the lyrics of “Yellow Bike” which tells about the experience of getting your first bicycle as a little boy around 1990. For me, this was the apex of my childhood. Absolute freedom and the ability to easily join any pack of desperado bike kids.

The album hits hard with the catchy hooks, introspective lyrics, challenging topics and excellent production & instrumental performances only using standard rock staples like guitar, bass and drums (with a couple quick appearances of an organy synth).

Lyrics, melody & a great beat. This is a fantastic rock album.

Favorite song: Yellow Bike, a song by Pedro The Lion on Spotify

WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? by Billie Eilish on Spotify

Much has been written about this wunderkind. You know her. It’s a great album. She has a promising career ahead of her.

Favorite song: when the party’s over, a song by Billie Eilish on Spotify

SOUND & FURY by Sturgill Simpson on Spotify

This album slays. It’s a badass rock album. If you don’t know Sturgill Simpson, he’s technically a country act… BUT! He’s entirely rejected the conventions of modern country with its shallow lyrical content, right-wing dog whistling and computer-assisted faux harmonies. He sings about psychedelics, his problems with religion and also covers 80s synth-pop in country ballad fashion. Well, forget all that for this record. It’s a banger. This record sounds like Waylon Jennings was cloned 100 years in the future and brought back just to record a ZZ Top album. Major leap for this artist. One of the best of the year.

Favorite song: Make Art Not Friends, a song by Sturgill Simpson on Spotify

ANIMA by Thom Yorke on Spotify

We’ve had a complicated relationship with Thom Yorke’s solo work. As the lead singer of Radiohead, we’ve had to give deference to literally anything with his name on it. But his prior solo works have waded into the avant-garde and we’re entirely listenable in a casual way throughout. This has changed. This record is a masterwork. In fact, it demanded a beautiful short film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (“The Master”, “There Will Be Blood”) released on Netflix earlier in the year featuring no dialogue and Thom and his wife is choreographed love affair starting during a mundane commute. My favorite track is the most peaceful and introspective on the album.

Favorite song: Dawn Chorus, a song by Thom Yorke on Spotify

Fear Inoculum by TOOL on Spotify

It’s TOOL’s first album in 13 years. WHAT. It’s fantastic. Worth the wait? Hell no because that’s too long to wait for almost anything. There are people with Snapchat accounts that weren’t alive when “10,000 Days” came out (2006). 728,000,000 people (presumably, all TOOL fans) died since their last album. I can’t, in good conscience, condone the deprivation of ¾ of a billion people like that. But it’s SO good. This is metal for people that don’t like metal (I don’t really like metal).

Favorite song: Pneuma, a song by TOOL on Spotify

Screamer by Third Eye Blind on Spotify

I may be literally this bands only fan still paying attention, but I don’t care. They’re still writing fantastic tracks. This was one of my heavy-hitter bands in high school. I learned every song from their first two albums on the guitar. Then I stopped paying attention for like 13 years. In 2016, I ran across a new single by the band and went in with a lot of trepidation. Most bands from your high school years should probably leave it there. There’s nothing worse than a band desperately trying to stay relevant with weak ass releases well beyond their shelf life (cough Goo Goo Dolls –– They’ve put out 4 albums in the last 10 years. 🤦‍♂️) But then I heard Third Eye Blind’s pro-Black Lives Matter track “Cop vs. Phone Girl, a song by Third Eye Blind on Spotify” released in 2016. Go back and listen to that one. It’s not only catchy as hell, but it’s got a gut punch of a message about how shitty is it to be a well-meaning black student in a white-dominated power structure that’s supposed to be a safe place like school.

Well 2019’s “Screamer” doesn’t disappoint either. It’s all the same energy and hooks of the band’s early sound with an updated feel and sensibility that still feels like a relevant rock album. All the same things you came to Third Eye for in the past is right here waiting for you on “Screamer”. I know I’m gonna get some flack for this one, but…shut up.

Favorite song: Ways, a song by Third Eye Blind on Spotify Bonus points if you catch the “Outside Lands” ref.

i,i by Bon Iver on Spotify

Short review for people who know how to pronounce the name correctly: It’s a Bon Iver record. Listen to it.

Longer review: It’s pronounced “Bone ee-VAIR” based on the French bon hiver, meaning “good winter”. If this is news to you, here’s a nugget from an interview where the main figure in the band explains it:

When I was living up north I wrote a letter. I’d come across a story about this Alaskan town that the people, the first snow of every year, they come out of their houses and gather in town square. They hug and kiss each other and they say “Bon Iver.” I was like, “whatever that is, that’s cool!” … Then I found out how it’s spelled and it was sort of disappointing. I didn’t like how it looked. It didn’t have any emotion. Looking at it didn’t make any sense. I wanted to look at it and feel something. It was sort of a compromise. I sorta wanted it to be like “Bon Iverre,” sort of like how I saw it, but that didn’t look good either, so I just decided to chop off the “h.”
Bon Iver | Pitchfork

OK, now that you’re caught up. I guess you haven’t been paying attention, but Justin Vernon or Bon Iver (DBA) is one of the luminaries of the music industry. This grammy-winning dude-band has collaborated with Kanye, Jay-Z, James Blake, Travis $cott, Poliça, Ani DiFranco, Vince Staples, Eminem, Bruce Hornsby and more. But if you need me to explain any of this to you, do yourself a favor and go back and listen to his other 3 studio albums. Every one of them is treasure.

Favorite Song: Hey, Ma, a song by Bon Iver on Spotify This song makes the top 5 of all the tracks he’s released.

MUSIC - Honorable Mentions

Amyl and The Sniffers by Amyl and The Sniffers on Spotify

Two Hands by Big Thief on Spotify

I vs I by Alex Ebert on Spotify

Face Stabber by Thee Oh Sees on Spotify

Infest The Rats’ Nest by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard on Spotify

MOVIES

Hail Satan? (Hulu)

JustWatch

Hilarious look at a group trying to make Free Speech really free.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Duh. Also I got low-key obsessed with cults after I watched this.

MONOS

Incredible Spanish language drama about child soldiers in South America. Great acting by unknowns.

Green Book -Duh

Duh. Won an Best Picture.

Parasite

Duh. Won Best Picture.

Joker

Duh. Won life.

Greener Grass

JustWatch

The weirdest movie I saw all year. Bizarre and hilarious. Written by the two actresses who star.

Apollo 11

INCREDIBLE documentary about the first moon landing mission featuring a ton of footage I’d never seen and assembled into such a magnificent narrative. You feel like it’s happening in real-time today. The last time mankind was united around one hope.

SHOWS

The OA - Season 2 (Netflix)

This was one of the most beautiful creations I’ve seen. Epic followup to the first season which seemed like an impossible act to follow. Netflix canned the show, but there’s still hope it will get a resurrection through another venue.

Watchmen (HBO)

This is a sequel to the critically acclaimed graphic novel from the late 80s. You should read the novel first. As stated two sentences ago, this is a sequel set 34 years after the events of the novel.

The Boys (Amazon)

This is the first realistic superhero story. Why have we always assumed that those with superior or supernatural powers would be intrinsically good and seek to served mankind? Regular humans don’t even act like that toward each other. In this world the soops are like paid athletes and are secretly total pricks. Well made and begging for a second season.

Chernobyl (HBO)

Haven’t seen this? What is wrong with you? It’s in the top 5 highest rated shows of all time on IMDB. One thing I’ll note is that it did a good job separating the characterization of the soviet people from the soviet government. The everyday soviet people in the story came out looking like heroes while the government lived up to its reputation. It made me a lot more curious about soviet history which has led me to other movies, books and Wikipedia rabbit holes. Watch this for the historical value, at a minimum. It’s not as gory as you might be afraid it is.

Love Death + Robots (Netflix)

I love sci-fi and I love weird animation so this just brought it home for me. The episodes are often short and sort of feel like Twilight Zone episodes, each with their own mini narrative or moral lesson. Each episode is made by a different creator or team, so the variety is part of the curb appeal. Great binge material.

Fraud, Identity Theft & the Dark Side of the Sharing Economy

Tue, 31 Oct 2017 10:49:38 -0700

Fraud, Identity Theft & the Dark Side of the Sharing Economy

Gorgeous song. Gorgeous video. The new single from Lana’s...

Thu, 13 Apr 2017 15:36:27 -0700

Gorgeous song. Gorgeous video. The new single from Lana’s upcoming 5th album.

I had the pleasure of speaking to the startup community in...

Thu, 06 Apr 2017 14:10:56 -0700

I had the pleasure of speaking to the startup community in Turkey in February. I discussed the benefits of clearly understanding and focusing on the value you create in the lives of your customers as told through the lens of The Legend of Zelda.

Amazing 59-track Grateful Dead tribute collection curated by...

Sat, 18 Jun 2016 14:00:18 -0700

Amazing 59-track Grateful Dead tribute collection curated by members of The National.

Brand new track by my favorite artist. I’ve already...

Wed, 30 Mar 2016 10:33:11 -0700

Brand new track by my favorite artist. I’ve already listened to it 10 times today. Trouble With Boys by David Bazan @davidbazan

"You might want to make a big impact and express your big fancy idea, but your work will never hug..."

Wed, 27 Jan 2016 11:53:12 -0800

“

You might want to make a big impact and express your big fancy idea, but your work will never hug you back.

Your work will never be there for you when the going gets tough. I’ve spent the last year learning how to actually enjoy the present moment and create a life that I enjoy.

”

- Yes, I just quoted myself. Thanks to the Founder Dating team for giving a hoot about what I have to say about founding companies. Read the full thing here: Founder Balance?

It’s You I Like – Mister Rogers

Wed, 06 Jan 2016 11:00:26 -0800

These two videos together form one of the most condensed examples of love and beauty that I’ve ever seen. Why aren’t we all more like Fred McFeely Rogers?

Bands To Know: The Tallest Man on Earth I’m making it my...

Tue, 05 Jan 2016 22:02:56 -0800

Bands To Know: The Tallest Man on Earth

I’m making it my personal mission to ensure that the bands that deserve your attention get it. So pay attention. This could be your new favorite band.

This swedish solo act sounds like the lovechild of Bob Dylan & Tom Petty. In a musical era crowded with drum machines and synth, this guy stands apart with a unique but familiar Americana sound that puts you in a good mood every single time you hear it.

“Follow the day and reach for the sun.” ☀️❤️ The...

Fri, 20 Nov 2015 12:56:29 -0800

“Follow the day and reach for the sun.” ☀️❤️

The Polyphonic Spree (at The Independent)

Day 9 of the Clean Program cleanse: The biggest changes so far

Tue, 29 Sep 2015 13:13:54 -0700

Here’s what the Cleanse kit looks like (@joncrawford) on Feb 5, 2015 at 5:13pm PST

I’ve been on a 21-day detox cleanse created by The Clean Program for the past week and a half. I was given the cleanse kit by the team behind it at a Summit Series event in January. I’ve procrastinated on starting it for several months because there were always all sorts of fun things to be doing that would interupt the 21-day abstinance from coffee, booze, sugar, dairy, gluten, eggs, beef, and fun (just kidding). I was also smoking cigarettes more regularly than I’d like to admit, so I’ll also count that as something I would be forced to give up.

On a whim, I decided to kick it off the cleanse in the space between Burning Man and Treasure Island Music Festival. My main objective is just to see how I feel after 3 weeks of cleansing, detoxing, and eating healthfully. I’m happy to report that I’ve been 100% faithful to the cleanse without any cheats so far. I’ve been cooking every day for lunch and then eating the prescribed smoothie/shake for breakfast and dinner. The smoothies contain whatever you want but something similar to fresh spinach, frozen fruit, avocado, almond milk, dates, and protein powder. It’s pretty good.

Here are the changes I’ve noticed so far…

I wake up earlier. After a few days I was waking up at 6:50 without an alarm. Now I wake up at exactly 6:00am naturally.
I’ve been drawn to reading, meditation, yoga and NPR. Something about not being exhausted and/or in party mode makes me feel more zen and encourages me to invest in myself in other ways as well.
On the subject of NPR, I listen to it like crazy. Even when I’m out and about (instead of the usual Spotify). Interesting to see that my non-caffeinated, non-hungover, greens-filled brain craves intellectual stimulus more than the status quo one does.
I’m kinda mellow right now. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m fairly charismatic. Lots of energy. Well not currently. I’ve had several people tell me to “speak up” as though I’m not talking loud enough. I feel tired after lunch every day, and I’m tired by 8 or 9pm every night. I was in bed by 10pm both Friday and Saturday nights. And totally fine with it.
“Going out” without eating or drinking is boring. There’s very little to do in San Francisco after 6pm that doesn’t revolve around consuming something. But for the first time, I don’t really care about being boring. I’ve been staying at home a lot catching up on shows I abandoned years ago and just resting. I think my adrenals are just totally zapped from years of the rock n roll startup lifestyle. So I’m kinda expecting to get more energy as my body continues to recharge.
I think I’ll keep making fresh juices in the mornings even after the cleanse is over. It’s a pretty great breakfast. And super easy. A bunch of fresh spinach, some frozen fruit, almond milk, protein powder, flax oil and almond butter. I enjoy it.
I’m less stressed out. Nothing bothers me. But possibly a little less motivated. I think stress is usually a driver for me. But on the other hand, I think the reduction in hustle could just be a symptom of my body recharging right now.

13 days to go…

Loved getting this email from @allanbranch. Real friends know...

Tue, 12 May 2015 10:21:37 -0700

Loved getting this email from @allanbranch. Real friends know how you’re feeling from 2,500 miles away.

24/7 Nip-Slip Coverage: The Cultural Journalism We Deserve

Wed, 15 Apr 2015 09:30:43 -0700

I just want to point out that in the same week SF’s beloved The Bold Italic announced its sudden shutdown, it’s been leaked that PopSugar is likely being acquired for north of a half-billion dollars. There are obvious differences between the two properites as PopSugar is a national pub and focuses specifically on pop culture whereas The Bold Italic specialized (sniff!) in quirky Bay Area interests – not to mention very different team sizes. But it’s a huge bummer to me that our culture can easily support celebrity gossip coverage (aka “nip-slip journalism”), but we can’t seem to find a way to support high-quality creative news sites that are relatable and relevant to your actual life and community.

With online journalism, we vote with our eyeballs. If you want your web experience to be dominated by Justin Bieber skatebord vids, Kardashian sex change rumors, and top-ten lists of animated GIFs, then keep doing what you’re doing. 👌 But if you love the unique value created by your local cultural curatorial publishers, go to their damn websites more. Share their content. There are real people on the other side of these articles who are giving it all they’ve got to make sure you’re entertained and informed. These dudes and dudettes have jobs that really they’d like to keep in order to continue to make you grin and to elevate the quirk-factor and enjoyability of the city that you live in.

Another way you can support local publishers is to get behind one of SF’s brightest off-beat content creators, Broke-Ass Stuart. He’s kicked off a new Indiegogo campaign in order to ensure that his publication(s) are financially sustainable long into the future. He’s got a great perspective on living in this city, and he’s stepping up to the plate to take over where The Bold Italic left off. Go give him $25, cheapass.

But you won’t. Because you really only want nip-slip coverage just like everyone else. This is why we can’t have nice things.

Yay, new Purity Ring!

Tue, 03 Mar 2015 09:49:11 -0800

Yay, new Purity Ring!

This is one of my favorite Christmas songs. Yes, I know...

Mon, 15 Dec 2014 11:20:53 -0800

This is one of my favorite Christmas songs. Yes, I know it’s Coldplay. But it’s amazing.

The Only Thing That Matters

Mon, 15 Dec 2014 09:20:00 -0800

Whenever the sun sets, it’s rising somewhere else.

A photo posted by Jon Crawford (@joncrawford) on Nov 11, 2014 at 5:29pm PST

Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.
— Conan O’Brien

In the last two months, I went through something in my personal life that hurt a lot. It threw everything in my life out of balance. As I’ve gotten distance from it, I feel a variety of emotions – anger, resentment, betrayal, and more. These feelings can and will overtake your mind, if you let them. It can become an obsession as you think through past conversations and what you should have said differently. You’ll think of things you want to go back and say to hurt the other person or to get your dignity back.

If you want to, you’re free to replay these conversations forever and to feel constant hatred and resentment for the person who betrayed you. You have every right to. Go ahead. But it won’t do any good. Because the only thing that matters is where you go from here. The only thing you have any control over is your future. And the longer you hold on to that resentment and anger, the longer you delay the act of building a future you can be proud of.

None of us get exactly what we thought we were going to get. You can’t fix the past, but don’t condemn your future to death so that it can match it.

Each morning, the only question that matters is this: What are you going to do with the days you have left?

Earlier today I popped open Google Chrome’s Developer...

Mon, 13 Oct 2014 19:41:22 -0700

Earlier today I popped open Google Chrome’s Developer Tool’s panel to inspect a page element, and I was surprised to find some pretty drastic improvements to Chrome’s mobile web developer toolset. Device emulation, connection speed throttling, draggable responsive layout testing…

As someone who started writing code in 2004, I still have to catch myself from worrying about IE6 support. You kids today have it too easy.

Read more about Chrome’s new device emulation tools here: https://developer.chrome.com/devtools/docs/device-mode

tastefullyoffensive: [picturesinboxes] I hasten the day.

Wed, 08 Oct 2014 09:43:35 -0700

tastefullyoffensive:

[picturesinboxes]

I hasten the day.

Quick Underdog Movie Cage Match

Mon, 06 Oct 2014 08:13:41 -0700

This weekend was the annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco – an amazing outdoor pseudo-bluegrass (note the name “Hardly Strictly Bluegrass”) festival in Golden Gate Park. The lineup is always remarkable and surprising, this year boasting everything Ryan Adams to The Aquabats (creators of Yo Gabba Gabba!) all the way over to hip hop’s Deltron 3030. Apart from the lineup, the most remarkable part of the festival is that it’s totally free and doesn’t require a ticket. There aren’t any entry gates, no corporate sponsorships, and no security pat downs. It’s entirely open to the public with no strings attached. It’s a pretty special event with an awesome history. Go read more on Wikipedia.

To get in the spirit of the event, I spent last week listening to bluegrass and country music. One of my favorites in the genre of “classic” country is Oscar-winning Crazy Heart Soundtrack. Half of the album is songs written by T Bone Burnett and performed by Jeff Bridges and/or Colin Farrell. It’s a great movie, but every time I watch it, it just reminds me of Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler – probably my favorite movie.

These movies came out around the same time and both feature a washed up performer forced to look back on his life and who knows that the world has moved on without him but doesn’t have anywhere else to go. Both have irreparably damaged important relationships in their lives in service of their craft and calling. As viewers, we get to ride along with each main character while he struggles with his inner demons and violently alternates between desperate attempts to restore the world to the way it was in his glory days and pitifully surrendering to the role of a has-been with a demeaning job. Both films are about talented dreamers that perhaps hold on to the dream for too long because it’s all they know.

The core difference between the films is in the endings. In Crazy Heart, he finds peace. Some of the injustice he’s face is righted, and we’re left with a sense that the lead has finally found his place in the new world he lives in. It’s a happy ending. Bad Blake finally gets the respect he deserves and we all get goosebumps. (*single tear*) But in the Wrestler, he never gets his due. He comes damn close. But life happens. So our anti-hero does what he does best. He mounts the turnbuckle, and delivers his best and final Ram Jam.

Both of these endings are equally likely. Sometimes in life, it gets better. Sometimes it doesn’t. Period. And you usually don’t get what you deserve. (In both the good and bad sense.) Both films are arresting, sad, and beautiful. Both feature amazing music and performances. And in the end, both Bad and The Ram find happiness in their own way. But something about The Wrestler speaks much louder to me than Crazy Heart.

I grew up with a single mom in North Tulsa, OK (arguably the 70s rock and thrift store capital of the world) and I live in San Francisco’s Mission District. I like it grungy, imperfect, and soulful. Even though they’re only a block apart, I’d much rather walk down San Francisco’s dingy Mission Street than the cleaner, more hipster Valencia Street. I feel at home on that flawed street surrounded by those flawed characters. I’m much more at home in a dive bar than a swanky cocktail joint.

I love a good underdog story. But one that is raw and real. One that only gives the underdog 10% of what they were after and that’s enough.

Anyway, I was reminded how great Bruce Springsteen’s title song from The Wrester was this weekend, and I wanted to share.

Love this new album. These guys were amazing at Coachella this...

Mon, 15 Sep 2014 09:58:50 -0700

Love this new album. These guys were amazing at Coachella this year.