Jonathan Coulton

I don't think I've written about any of my favorite things or 'things that are in my heart' so it's seems I should fix that.

I want to introduce you to my favorite indie artist, Jonathan Coulton. You can check him out at www.jonathancoulton.com. He's the bomb. Awhile back he decided he was going to go for it; quit his day job and become a full time musician. Easier said than done. Oh sure it's easy to quit your day job. One 'I'm outta here!' and that's covered. But to become a full time musician, to get paid for your music, that's a little harder.

His second step was to promise himself a song a week for a year. That's right. He wrote and produced a song a week for a whole year. And he's a rocking songwriter! Just check out the page. Tons of songs!

Such clever songs! Code Monkey is by far his greatest hit but every time I stop by his page I find another gem. Just today I listened to 'The Presidents.' He seriously lists every American president with a line about them or their presidency. Dude. I can't even name all the presidents. But if I memorize Jonathan's song, I'll get every one of those presidents locked in my brain.

He's a nice guy! I wrote him email yesterday asking him a technical question on his website. He wrote back last night! Last night!? I don't answer email that quickly and I'm not even an internet rockstar. And he shared his secrets. Because he doesn't consider them secrets to hold on to. He's just that kind of guy.

So Jonathan is a great songwriter and a cool guy and he took the leap of faith for his craft. He did it in style. I've been so inspired by him! He did it. He's not on MTV yet but he's living the dream, man. His style, his music, his site and his commitment have inspired me. I've begun reworking my webpage, a work in progress yes, to make my songs for accessible. You'll probably notice changes here and there as I go.

And I've been very tempted to commit myself to a song a week. If only it wasn't copying. Hopefully Jonathan would believe that saying that imitation is the best form of flattery. He's inspired me that connecting with people, getting my music out there, it's all possible. And hopefully you'll connect with him and his music too.