Meet Podington, the musical mystery bear

Releasing The Sculpture
Podington Bear
2007
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Airliner
Podington Bear
2007
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Elephants On Parade
Podington Bear
2007
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Two Boys And A Girl
Podington Bear
2007
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Pives And Flarinet
Podington Bear
2007
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Fantasy And Denouement
Podington Bear
2007
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Part of the duty that comes with donning the lab coat is receiving e-mail from bands who want you to check out their latest EP and sing its praise in your next post. While I don’t mind, I rarely have the time to get into new music fast enough to turn around and give it the publicity they want. What happens is I download the tunes, throw them in a playlist on shuffle, and listen for any that stick. Falling in love is an organic process, and falling in love with music is no exception. I’m not here to be a critic, so I don’t post music I don’t like, and I’m not about to fake the funk.

I tell you all this because the other day I received one of these e-mails that was quirky as hell. It read:

Bonjour Roy,

I like the name of your blog, and the little owl that says "ad free"

Please allow me to introduce myself:

I'm just a regular bear. My name is Podington. I make instrumental songs and share them (with humans, like you) in a podcast every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

I'm at your fingertips.

Yours truly,

-P. Bear

This was odd on two levels. For one, he took the effort to mention something specific to our blog. An old trick to be sure, but it’s a simple one that’s rare these days. Second, Mr. P. Bear never breaks character. Take note kids. This is how you get someone’s attention: a little bit of courtesy, a slight touch of mystery.

So at the end of the day I mosey on over to Podington’s cave to see what the deal is. Once there, the mysteries only grow deeper: this cat writes instrumental electronic music and posts it on the internet to share, for free, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I thought to myself okay, cute graphics, cute persona, cute premise, but surely, it must suck.

To my amazement, this music does not suck. 15 tracks posted since January 1st and not a one is cause for wincing, or worse, boredom. At their absolute weakest, these tunes are easy on the ears, slipping seamlessly into the backing track of your day. At their best they are evocative and moving, showing care and skill in their crafting.

I was sold at the 1:28 mark in Elephants on Parade, where a well placed organ line made me chuckle out loud. Well played Bear. Well played.

Who is the man behind the Bear? Is he an unknown, or a veteran shedding expectations to reinvent himself for a side project? How long can he maintain this quality in this impressive quantity? What new wonders await our ears every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday? I don’t know the answer to any of these questions, but I love myself a good mystery.

Speaking of bears, I do believe it’s time to watch myself a Superbowl. Go… whoever. I’m just glad it’s not the Pats. (Sorry Boston)