Here's the Tower

Episode 45 The Electric Light Orchestra is one of my favorite bands and their leader, Jeff Lynne, is one of my favorite songwriters. When we were growing up, my brother had their amazing Out of the Blue album and that’s how I discovered their music. ELO became one of the elusive artists that I have loved for most of my life that I never imagined I would get the chance to see live. After an e...

  Episode 44 In this high-fidelity, stereophonic audio postcard, the listener is transported to a real Swedish kitchen to hear me washing the dishes. It is not unusual that I break a dish or glass during the dishwashing process. Thus I have an eclectic collection of mostly non-matching dishes from a variety of origins. I am happy to report that no dishes were harmed during the production of t...

  Episode 43 I hope you’re ready for some fresh jams about people looking at their phones and not watching where they’re walking. Heads Up, Phones Down   It’s time to walk You’re on the stairs There’s people behind you You’re slowing everybody down This is not the place to type a message to your friend This is not the place to watch a video of dudes wrestling He...

  Episode 42 Frances Davidson is a professional psychic and she is expecting your call. Starring Rachel Matchett as Frances Davidson and thanks to her for contributing a few choice lines.

 Cameo appearance by Karin Olli-Nilsson as the person who says, “But your phone’s not ringing.”

  Episode 41 If you’re one of those people who feel that one-minute episodes are “kinda short,” oh boy, are you in for a treat. With a playing time of 2 hours and 25 minutes, this week’s episode is 145 times longer than usual. In this special, extended episode, I sit down with my bandmates as we discuss our favorite albums. My best friends Pat “Pea” McClima...

  Episode 40 Tired of people wanting you to do things? Now you can act like you’re busy… listening to a baseball game. Baseball Simulator plays random phrases from baseball games indefinitely. Since most people don’t care about baseball, they’ll never notice it’s not a real game. With a handsome woodgrain finish, Baseball Simulator looks like a real radio. You can place it in your home, your...

  Episode 39 Please be advised that this week’s episode is intended for immature audiences only. If there are adults in the room, please ask them to step outside for a minute.

  Episode 38 A bit of administrative business this week. The sound that starts and ends every episode of this program is sometimes called the NASA beep or the com switch, but its real name is the Quindar tone. Every episode of Here’s the Tower  – and the episodes of my previous show Snuggling with the Enemy  that I made with with my friend Karin – they all start and end with these tones. Like many...

  Episode 37 Here’s the Tower presents its first quarter financial earnings conference call for fiscal 2019. Key takeaway: User engagement continues to be a challenge in the one-minute audio adventure marketplace.

  Episode 36 Sometimes a quiet morning commute turns out to be anything but ordinary. On November 12, 2016, a shocking incident occurred as passengers were disembarking from their Pleasant Valley bus. Here’s the Tower has obtained an exclusive excerpt from law enforcement’s controversial interrogation tape of suspect Frank Davidson. Decide for yourself: was Davidson coerced as he confe...

  Episode 35 In the craziness of the app gold rush a few years ago, you might have missed this: some bizdev bros in the Valley came up with a totally cool and fun way to proactively plan your own funeral. Just download their simple app and with a few quick taps, you can be on your way to the perfect funeral. Build your perfect playlist, choose your inspirational readings, fill in a few anecdotes f...

  Episode 34 In addition to the feet and hands you can use to stomp and clap along with this little piece of music I wrote on Sunday, this song also requires three more hands to play the piano. Now listen, folks. Full disclosure: I do not have three hands. Most people don’t, if only because of the outrageous number of fingers that would entail. It’s all studio magic that makes this son...

  Episode 33 The comforting voice of host Leonard Davidson welcomes you back to “Matters of the Evening.” This call-in program lets listeners discuss all manner of things related to the time between day and night. A dedicated listener from Schaumburg expresses his enthusiasm for evenings and some of what he likes most about them. This week’s episode was produced in Stockholm at the studios of the...

  Episode 32 Perhaps it’s no secret that the rhythms and melodies in a lot of television theme songs are based on the names of the shows. If you’re not one of the people who sings along with instrumental theme songs, then I presume you’ve never watched Mad Men . It’s easy to learn the words so come on, now, and sing along with nine of my favorite television theme songs. The...

  Episode 31 The public transit in Stockholm is pretty great. The subways are clean and quiet and the buses even have curtains for those summer occasions when the sun shines all day long. Unfortunately, even the best systems have their flaws. Every once in a while I end up in a bus that is screaming for mercy. This bus from Gullmarsplan to Norra Sköndal is one such bus. It has one of those bendy a...

  Episode 30 There are a handful of podcasts that I never miss. One of my favorites is the amazing Cocaine & Rhinestones from Tyler Mahan Coe. The program has taken deep dives into stories about some of my favorite musicians from 20th century country music including Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Ernest Tubb, and my fellow Kentuckians, Loretta Lynn and Tom T. Hall. Some other country artists I did...

  Episode 29 Jane Austen’s  Pride and Prejudice has been made into movies and mashed up with zombies. Now you can enjoy all the breathtaking romance of this classic 1813 novel without missing any of your GPS driving directions.

  Episode 28 Here’s a little song I wrote a few weeks ago in the beautiful town of Linköping, Sweden. I took a road trip there with my friends Arvid Ringborg and Johan Angantyr and we spent the weekend in a studio recording some songs of our new band Jazzbrunch . The song you’re hearing right now is not Jazzbrunch, it’s just me. This song is something I made up on one of the pian...

  Episode 27 I have a vintage, framed portrait of Bobby Kennedy hanging on my wall. It has moved to new apartments with me for 15 years or more. When I moved to Sweden, it was one of the few things I brought with me. During that move, I sold or gave away most of my belongings, but this, I kept. Every November 20th, I’m reminded that it’s Robert Kennedy’s birthday and he’s not around. I was born 15...

Episode 26 Surprise yourself with the success you can achieve by dedicating your heart to your goals. The ability to prosper is within you.

Episode 25 I am a huge Orson Welles fan, for all the right reasons and all the wrong reasons, though not as huge as the man himself. Welles was fascinatingly one of history’s great directors, as well as an immensely gifted writer and actor, while simultaneously he was a scrappy underdog and an insufferable ass. His films like Citizen Kane and Touch of Evil are regarded among the giants of ci...

Episode 24 Southern lawyer Frank Davidson takes the daring step of putting his client on the stand. Listen in as he questions the defendant and the courtroom erupts in murmurs. Special guest performance by Pat McClimans as Count Dracula.

Episode 23 My home away from home in Stockholm is a little watering hole called Katarina Ölkafé . Owned by some fellow Americans, Katarina is a great place to enjoy craft beers, New York Jewish deli-style food, and fun conversations. It’s a small space that holds only about forty people at a time, so it’s really cozy, especially on cold nights during the long, dark Swedish winter. I ho...

Episode 22 With election season in full swing, the ads are starting to turn negative, and now this weekly minute of entertainment has come under attack.

Episode 21 This episode is my special audio tribute to the community of people who of post videos online without bothering to learn how to mix, edit, or produce anything first. These people have spent very little time watching professionally created programs to absorb the concept of how things should look and sound. Here’s a pro tip: the CBS Evening News does not begin with the phrase, &#822...