He is the author of a 5-song set called Our Bodies, Ourselves, Our Cybernetic Arms that was commissioned for the September 2005 issue of Popular Science. His most recent work at Popular Science is on a podcast for the magazine, entitled
the PopSci Podcast.
Coulton accompanied John Hodgman on his list of 700 Hobo Names promotional track for The Areas of My Expertise as the guitarist (he was referenced as "Jonathan William Coulton, the Colchester Kid" in said work). Coulton has also been referenced in Hodgman's work with The Daily Show; a Jonathan Coulton of Colchester, Connecticut is Hodgman's pick to win an essay contest on defeating the Iraqi insurgency. The winning entry, as set to music, was then played on the program; this song, about dropping snakes from airplanes, was written and performed by Coulton.
Most of Coulton's songs focus on intellectual, "geeky" topics such as a man who is "de-evolving" into a monkey, a strange loner who dreams of destroying the world and who gives half-monkey, half-pony monsters to his girlfriend, and the dangers of bacteria. They generally feature Coulton's characteristic crooning vocals accompanied by guitar, drums, and occasionally the accordion, harmonica, mandolin, or glockenspiel.
Jonathan can be found on his website for downloads of his music, blog posts and creations from his fans, check it out at http://www.jonathancoulton.com
1. Can you give us a brief bio of yourself?
In 2005 I left my day job writing software to pursue music full time. To keep myself busy I released a new song on this website every week for a year in a project called Thing a Week. A few of those songs became big internet hits (my folky cover of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back“, a funny video called “Flickr“, a song called “Code Monkey“), and I am now fortunate enough to make my living as a musician.
I write about a lot of geeky stuff because I am a geek. Some of it’s funny, but a lot of it’s not so funny, and even more of it is somewhere in between. I’ve been compared to They Might Be Giants, Barenaked Ladies, Loudon Wainwright III, and other musicians you REALLY LOVE.
I give lots of music away because I believe it helps my cause, and I love it when people use my music to create other stuff - music videos, pictures, remixes, etc. At the moment I’m unsigned, and I’m proud to say I’ve created this whole thing mostly on my own (with plenty of help from an amazingly supportive bunch of fans). But it certainly is getting busy…I will probably sell out and go Hollywood any day now…
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2. What is your educational background?
I went to a public high school in rural CT and then went to Yale for a BA in music.
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3. What are your favorite books? Movies? TV shows? Music? Games? Foods? Beverages?
Godel Escher Bach, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Wire (seriously, it is the BEST), currently Tiger Woods Golf on Xbox, a steak from Peter
Luger's in Brooklyn, Coca-Cola IN A CAN!
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4. How did you first get into music?
I've always been into music - my family's always been pretty musical so we have always sung and played instruments together. I took piano lessons but they didn't stick. Tried guitar too when I was a kid, but only got into it heavily in High School when I realized that girls liked to hear sensitive songs on guitar.
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5. Why did you decide to release your music DRM free?
I think DRM is a terrible idea that is destined to fail - there has never been and I don't believe there will ever be an unbreakable DRM, which means DRM will never stop real piracy. If it doesn't stop real piracy, what's the point? You're left with something that does nothing but annoy consumers who are trying to use the music they purchased. Also, I'm not really worried about people making copies of my music. In my opinion, having a fan who likes my music enough to pass it along to someone else is a good thing.
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6. What softwares do you use when recording and mixing your music and why?
I use Pro Tools LE and a Digi002 on a Mac - you can see a complete list of all my gear in the FAQ on my website.
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7. What tips and advice would you give to people who want to produce their own music?
Above all, keep it simple. You can make something really great without drums, strings, a horn section, etc., as long as you are honest and sincere with whatever parts you do record. Just guitar and vocals can be amazing if they're musical and real - it's very easy to let the lack of a particular piece of gear or instrument keep you from just getting started.
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8. What tips and advice would you give to people who want to produce a podcast?
Boy, I wish someone would tell me. I always fear that what I'm doing is lacking in some technical way (and it probably is). But I guess what I said about music applies here too - the technical details are less important than you think.
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9. Are you planning on producing any other podcasts?
Not at the moment, but you never know.
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10. What are your top 5 websites (excluding your own)?
Waxy.org - excellent links, and not too many to enjoy them
Boingboing - excellent links, too many to enjoy them
MaximumFun.org - home of The Sound of Young America
Gizmodo - I like gadgets AND snarky writing, and
Dethroner - because Joel Johnson is a funny funny man
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11. Do you have any future plans for either your music, podcasts or other projects? if so can you tell us?
Since I finished thing a week the songwriting has been pretty minimal. I'm sort of waiting for the next project to present itself, and in the meantime enjoying the process of playing in front of audiences, working up acoustic versions of all the thing a week songs, and tending to some of the business aspects of what I've done
so far. But my creative bits have been itching lately, so I'm sure there will be some new songs soon.
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Thanks Jonathan for taking part in this interview and we wish you the best of look with your music.