An Analyzation of Phil Elverum Creating His First Song

For my choice of podcast, I chose Song Exploder, where they introduced Phil Elverum on their 13th episode. Phil dives deep into how his band, The Microphones, was created and how he started in the music industry in general. Phil dives into how he created the first song on his hit album, The Glow, which was eventually voted as album of the year by Pitchfork, which is a worldwide known and respected music festival. Phil explains that he moved to Olympia for college but eventually it led him to his music interest. He was given a key to a beautiful studio, called Dub Narcotic Studio. Phil explains that Calvin Johnson was the man who out of nowhere gave him his own personal key to the studio, that he had full access to at all times. He began writing the song at his friends home in Philidalphia in the bedroom of his friend’s parents, which he then goes on to tell that the location was a very odd and out of place area to write a new song. He explains that he loved recording, even from a young age, he loved everything about recording music, and then that followed his love for writing music, which he was not so dedicated to as much as recording. He eventually put these two works of art together and created one ultimate piece of art, “I Want Wind to Blow,” the first song on the award winning album.

For this podcast in specific, by Song Exploder, I do believe that the content that was covered would be used in the most essential way possible if it were used in a podcast, so I do believe that the podcast should’ve been a podcast. The sounds that were used in this podcast would not hold such a great impact if they were used in any kind of broadcasting video in comparison to using them in a podcast. A primary example of this would be playing Phil’s full song at the end of the podcast, which would not be recognized and focused on the same if it were played alongside a video. A podcast allows the listener to really analyze each beat and each lyric at full capacity, as they have nothing to distract them from diving completely into the music, which leaves them with their full focus on how Phil constructed the song. The transitions from each point of speaking was really good as well, as it would not be noticeable if it were heard alongside watching a video. The silence of the room noise where the podcast was recorded also adds to the aesthetic of listening to someone speaking. Listening to a person speak with a minor tone of room atmosphere in the back creates a personal connection, a podcast creates an opportunity to really listen to each and every word the podcaster is saying. I think any type of story that revolves music, especially if the music is sampled in the story, a podcast is the perfect media outlet to use, as it really engages the listener on a different level.