The one band NPR really wants me to love

There are many ways to fill your days when you're unemployed. One way that's sort of a tradition in my family is to go for a long walk. It's a good way to eat up an hour or two and it gets you out of the house for free. So every day I go for a long walk in the Arizona sun and listen to podcasts. There's something about hearing stories about other people's lives that keeps your mind off yours. 

Two of my favorite podcasts are music related, naturally. Sound Opinions and All Songs Considered provide music news, album reviews and enough constant SXSW updates to fill me with jealousy.

Most of the time, these two podcasts don't agree on much. Sound Opinions, which features two newspaper writers, takes more of a populist stance while All Songs Considered encompasses more of that liberal media elite snobbery that we're so accustomed to on NPR. Both podcasts find common ground on one topic, though. I should be listening to Ponytail.

What's Ponytail, you ask? Well, technically they're an art punk band from Baltimore, but to really understand what they're like, you need to think about Yoko Ono imitating a tiger while people play random instruments in the background. Mostly, it makes me think, "THIS is what you agree on?"

I'm sorry NPR gods, but I can't get behind this band. I'm a lyrics freak and there's a noticeable lack of lyrics in Ponytail's work (unless you count the odd Japanese schoolgirl yelp). I want to be hip, too, but this is where I put my foot down. I'm sure their show at SXSW was killer and it's great that the lead singer is this tiny ball of energy, but I am not going to listen to this music. I'm just not. Does this mean I'm kicked out of the NPR cool kids club?

I think they both agree on the new Decemberists album, too. I can get behind that. Maybe that will keep me in the club.

Fear the hearts of men are failing

Have you heard that the economy's in trouble? I know it's hardly on the news so you might have missed it. What the news tends to say all the time is things are bad. Even the analysis stories don't do a good job of explaining what the hell just happened or what it means. For that, I give you This American Life.

Back in may the NPR radio show did an episode called "The Giant Pool of Money" that did an amazing job explaining the mortgage crisis in terms I could really understand. I've been referring to it constantly as my starting base for everything that's happened in the economy since then. And last week This American Life did an episode called "Another Frightening Show About the Economy" that explains things like the bailout and credit default swaps.

So if you have any interest at all in what's going on in Wall Street or you just want to sound smart in front of your friends, there is no two hours of your life better spent than listening to these podcasts. The first show is archived so you'll have to pay 95 cents for it, but the second show is still free. You can find them in iTunes or here and here. Just think of the 95 cents as your way of helping the economy.