Jan

The Shorts — The Peach

The Peach

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/99569711″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Taco Bell. Pizza Hut. Climber and writer, Kelly Cordes had one hell of resume by the time he applied for a position baking bread. The work was simple, came with food and the early starts would teach Cordes to like the dreaded 3 a.m. starts demanded of cutting edge alpinism. It was an ideal job for a dirtbag who lived and breathed climbing, and once resided in a 77-square-foot shack. Then Cordes ran into Bosszilla.

Dec

Dirtbag Playlist Vol. 3

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/177544612″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]”Give the people what they want,” my little brother told me. For the last couple weeks there have been calls for another edition of the Year of Big Ideas. Little brother had a point. They grow up so fast.

In the next week I’ll be collecting goals and dreams from friends, weekend warrior and professionals alike. This year though, I wanted to include the Dirtbag Nation. If you got something to say, drop us a line via email. I’m not big on resolutions–to me the word sounds like a limp-wristed Congressional process or a marketing point for an Hi-Def TV. I want honest to goodness goals.

In the meantime, here is a little New Years treat: Volume Three of the Dirtbag’s Playlist.

Tracks:

1. Trashcan by Delta Spirit

2. Half Asleep by School of Seven Bells

3. Tokyo Moon by Windmill

4. Billionaires vs. Millionaires by Feral Children

5. Old Old Fashioned by Frightened Rabbit

6. Oh, Alberta by Elliott Brood

7. Well Water Black (Featuring Yoni Wolf of WHY?)

8. Gorgeous Behavior by Marching Band

Music provided by IODA Promonet.

Dec

Bedtime Stories for Wanderers

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/99569286″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]If stories are the currency of travel, then writer Ryan Nickum is a very wealthy man. By the time he turned 30, Nickum’s passport was chock full of the brightly colored patchwork of entry and exit stamps from dozens of distant countries. He was consumed by a desire to travel and haunted by the inability to sit still. The gaps in his resume developed into oceans between jobs. Cynicism grew. The overwhelming urge to quit the job and pack a bag sprang up every six months like a song that would not leave his ears. With his career stalling and idealism flat lining, Nickum looked into his past to search for the seed of the travel affliction. There was only one person to blame–his father.

What makes the traveler’s feet restless? Is it nature or nurture? Writer Ryan Nickum presents Bedtime Stories for Wanderers.

Music: Freibad by Hauschka • Old Old Fashioned by Frightened Rabbit • Backrow Politics by Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band • Tight Rope by The Coast • Orion Town 2 by Frontier Ruckus • Viva la Vinyl by Twilight Hotel • The Movemeant by The Tones

Music provided by IODA Promonet.

Dec

O Tannenbaum

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/99569007″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Warning: This episode contains radio nudity and Christmas carols.

Christmas trees are a massive business. Americans spent $2.5 billion on Christmas trees in 2007. For the last five years, I have been stingier than Scrooge when it comes to a Yule Tree. In 2008, I’m a changed man. Armed with a handsaw and empowered by a National Forest permit, I wandered out into the Cascades to search for the perfect Christmas tree. Sometimes in the darkest days of winter, a little light isn’t a bad thing.

Music: Silent Night by Mahalia Jackson • Snowblind by =/- {Plus/Minus} • Christmas is Coming Soon by Blitzen Trapper • Connjurr by School of Seven Bells

Music provided by IODA Promonet.

Nov

The Shorts — Friendship is a Used Bicycle

Friendship is a Used Bicycle

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/99568528″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]“’You should get a bike. It will change your life,” my friend Nick said. “I heard this over and over again like a nagging brake pad rubbing on the one wobbly spot on a dented wheel,” writes Colorado-based writer Brendan Leonard.

Leonard wasn’t a believer until his friend showed up his doorstep with a gift–a 1989 red Trek bicycle. As he began riding, Leonard found his life falling into the smooth order of a finely tuned bike. To find a center, some people practice Yoga. Others meditate. All Leonard needs is a dark road and no particular destination. As he says, “There is rhythm and with the rhythm comes a clear line of thought.”