Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

Arts & Entertainment

LAist Interview: Jonathan Coulton at SXSW

One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.

We caught up with Jonathan Coulton after he participated in a live taping of the Heather Gold show, an experience he blogged as well, without noting the more relevant details -- he sang a duet of Harvey Danger's "Flagpole Sitta" with Gold reading the lyrics from an iPhone and then sang Billy Joel's "Don't Ask Me Why" with Harvey Danger's Sean Nelson.

We had a couple minutes (before running out of hard drive space) to find out when Coulton where return to LA (where a couple hundred fans demand his presence) and how he plans to continue supporting his family through music without the help of a label or a day job.

JoCo is the consummate techie troubadour. He's also hilarious, especially for a self-described geek who spent his post-Yale years writing software. Perhaps you've heard his cover of Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back."

Check out some of Jonathan Coulton's greatest below.

'Code Monkey' October 2006 at Temple Bar, Santa Monica

:

'Baby Got Back' at Bumbershoot, 2007

Sponsored message

:

'Flagpole Sitta' with Heather Gold, SXSW, 3/10/08

:

One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.

If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today