banannie

I’ve been a fan of Jonathan Coulton for awhile now, which in internet years is about six or eight months, maybe? I first came across Coulton via the audiobook version of John Hodgman’s The Areas of My Expertise, which was a free download at iTunes for awhile (coincidently I’d just purchased the actual book, so it was a nice little bonus to have it on my iPod as well). He contributed some musical accompaniment to the audiobook. A month or so later I heard the song “Shop Vac,” an ode to suburbia, on the podcast The Sound of Young America.

I like the Starbucks here that’s better than the other one
Cause the other one’s not as good
They really need to put a light there cause it’s hard to turn
It’s hard to make a left turn

Yes, yes it is hard to make a left turn! I was almost completely hooked- then one listen to the love story that is Skullcrusher Mountain and the man had a fan for life in me.

I made this half-pony half-monkey monster to please you
But I get the feeling that you don’t like it
What’s with all the screaming?
You like monkeys, you like ponies
Maybe you don’t like monsters so much
Maybe I used too many monkeys
Isn’t it enough to know that I ruined a pony making a gift for you?

I suppose you’re getting an idea of my sense of humor here. Have a listen, it’s quite catchy!

Yesterday Coulton published in his blog what he rightfully says up front is “a very long post.” But in that post he takes us step by step through his journey from amateur musician just helping a friend to a guy who was able to quit his day job and make music his career, all with lots of help from the internet.

Coulton’s story is exactly what fascinates me about this whole new media/internet/blogging/podcasting world. It shows how it all worked together, and how being open and available to new ideas and new methods can result in big rewards. I don’t think it applies only to music, of course. Anyone willing to change direction, try new things, make new friends, fly through new openings, can potentially change the course of their lives for the better, or at least for the more interesting.

At least that’s what I’m hoping!