This website is, sadly, defunct. But! Ethan’s new website is here for you to use.

Unstoppable Robot Ninja

The site navigation:

Boeing? I hardly know her.

I heart me some music recommendations. Take my coworker Ryan. Despite acting as the brunt of most of my “your mom” jokes, he nonetheless introduced me to The Frames, which I’ve been enjoying; several tracks on Burn The Maps have this oddly Pixies-ish feel to them. So that is, as they say, awesome.

But as it stands, I’ve still got thirty-ish free gigabytes of space on my iPod, a bunch of eMusic credits burning a hole in my pocket, and seventeen hours of plane ridin’ looming on the horizon (more on that shortly). So, my dear netwebinterfriends, I ask you: What music would you take on an inhumanly long plane ride, and why?

Bonus robot points go to those who provide links to albums/tracks on eMusic (or iTunes/Amazon/whatever). Because I am a lazy bastard, and lazy bastards are awesome.

This is a blog entry posted on day 11094 in the Journal.

24 comments posted.

24 Comments

  1. Kate Bolin says:

    I don’t have proper music, only daft things.

    So I recommend:

    • Plan 9 From Outer Space – Not so much a soundtrack, but a single giant MP3 from the movie. It is beautifically unnatural, and a great way to use up just one credit!
    • Teen Dance Music from China and Malaysia – Swingin’ sounds of the 60s as performed by Chinese and Malaysian bands at the time. Absolutely delightful.
    • The band Kinky – Mexican rock-pop which is fairly mainstream, but delightful.
  2. Anton says:

    Here’s a random and highly recommended list from yours truly:

    The Polyphonic Spree – The Fragile Army
    Shiny Toy Guns – We Are Pilots
    Thievery Corporation – The Cosmic Game
    Massive Attack – Collected
    Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Yo-Yo Ma – New Impossibilities
    Ra – Duality
    Kidneythieves – Phi In The Sky
    Blue Stone – Worlds Apart

    Get some audiobooks too – they pass the time nicely.

  3. Ryan Irelan says:

    Say Hi to Your Mom.

    Good tunes and the name allows me to make a mom joke at your expense. Beautiful times.

  4. Erik Sagen says:

    Ah yes. Right now I would recommend:

    • Silverchair – Hard to describe but imagine Peter Gabriel and Queen (with some Radiohead) having a love child. It would be this.
    • Mae – These guys are just stunning and very lyrical.
    • Cartel – Upbeat. You might even nod your head a bit on the plane and while that may seem weird to others, you’ll be in good company.
  5. aliotsy says:

    Tenderfoot by Without Gravity – it’s available on eMusic, and I’d recommend the whole album. Favorite tracks include “Beautiful Son,” “Teardrops,” and “Without Gravity.” Kinda weird that they named themselves after one of their own songs.

  6. aliotsy says:

    Oh, I second MAE, too.

  7. Mike Stickel says:

    I’d like to offer some “mainstream” stuff in the form of:

    • 30 Seconds to Mars
    • Foo Fighters
    • Finger Eleven (the new disc is a bit of the old FE and a nice mix of some new styling)
    • KT Tunstall’s new album is DRM free on iTMS ;)

    I also second Silverchair and third Mae.

  8. beth says:

    My personal picks:

    elecrelane – rocket to the moon
    camera obscura – let’s get out of this country
    lovers – star lit sunken ship
    the gossip – standing in the way of control
    mr. airplane man – c’mon dj
    southerly – storyteller and the gossip columnist

  9. Scott says:

    I’ll second Mike’s Foo Fighters recommendation. The new album, while not necessarily groundbreaking, is still real good. But also worth your time:

    Plus New Moon by Elliott Smith is real good too.

  10. Jared Christensen says:

    I second that KT Tunstall tip.

    I’ve seen a bunch of my faves on your Last.fm thingamabob, so I’m probably not helping you break new ground here:

    Tegan and Sara – The Con
    Amy Millan – Honey From The Tombs
    Stars – In Our Bedroom After The War
    Kaki King – Legs To Make Us Longer
    Laura Veirs – Saltbreakers
    Minipop

    Oh and there’s this band from England called “Radio Head” who have this new album out. I hear it’s alright.

  11. Travis Schmeisser says:

  12. Matt says:

    I am going to add another vote for Foo Fighters and Mae.

    Some others I would add are:

    Arron Sprinkle – Moontraveler
    Big Wreck – In Loving Memory Of…
    U2 – War
    Ben Folds Five – Whatever and Ever Amen
    Maylene and the Sons of Disaster – II (If you like heavy stuff with a slight southern twang)

  13. Joshua Lane says:

    A Fine Frenzy
    Carpark North
    Mint Royale
    Ratatat

  14. Ryan Irelan says:

    Great stuff here so far. Wow.

    In Our Bedroom After the War by Stars

    Second that. If you don’t have it, Marcotte, you should.

    Also check out Set Yourself on Fire and the friends cover of that album Do You Trust Your Friends?

  15. The Robot says:

    This thread is nothing but gold-plated awesomeness. If a robot could cry, this one would cry tears of happiness.

    Keep the awesome recommendations coming; I still have money and eMusic credits to burn!

  16. She says:

    • Skittish, Mike Doughty: put it on infinite repeat and grab some sleep
    • Kevin Smith’s SModcast: be the scary guy in Seat 27-B laughing out loud
    • NICE., Puffy Ami Yumi: you are going to Tokyo, after all.
  17. Sarah Tan says:

    Second for Ratatat.

    Angie Aparo – anything solo (haven’t listened to his newer stuff)
    Virginia Coalition – Rock and Roll Party
    Mike Garrigan – The Promise of Summer
    The Kingsbury Manx – self-titled
    Nappy Roots – Watermelon, Chicken & Grits

    And I have a singer-songwriter penchant, which may not be your thing:
    Vienna Teng
    Sara Bareilles
    Rockwell Church
    Teitur – Poetry & Aeroplanes
    David Ford – I Sincerely Apologise for all the Trouble I’ve Caused

  18. Mike Stickel says:

    Ethan:

    Keep the awesome recommendations coming; I still have money and eMusic credits to burn!

    You could always gift me one of everything you get if it’s really burning your pockets. :)

  19. Lauren says:

    I second Kinky and raise you Mocean Worker (groovy jazz remixes)

    I also favor the recommendation of Kaki King. I can’t think of anything better to lull you into that perfect dreamy state for long plane travel.

    Mark Ronson would also be a good acquisition. He produced Lilly Allen and Amy Winehouse’s last albums.

    Also look into St. Vincent and Bat for Lahses.

  20. Keith LaFerriere says:

    Yo. I’m going to second A Fine Frenzy, and since you asked for the “why”, I’ll shout it out:

    You will need sleep… A Fine Frenzy is smooth and rhythmic enough to keep your REM in check.

    Enjoy. Dream of oil changes and electronics.

  21. Renaud says:

    On eMusic:
    Miracle FortressFive Roses

    Jack RoseKensington Blues

    Vampire WeekendMansard Roof (EP)

    On iTunes:
    Loney, DearLoney, Noir

    Various ArtistsTropicália Essentials

    Devendra BanhartSmokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon

    Band of HorsesCease to Begin

    Rogue WaveAsleep At Heaven’s Gate

  22. Olly says:

    Take a look into this little lot:

  23. Matthew Pennell says:

    For pitch-perfect pop songs, get some of The New Pornographers – any of their four albums are pure genius.

  24. michael says:

    some sweet recent eMusic downloads:

This was Ethan Marcotte’s Unstoppable Robot Ninja.

You are welcome.

Design and content © 2020 Ethan Marcotte. All rights reserved.

Photo copyright © Capcom.

Skip to the navigation, or skip to main content.