In contributing to a blog dedicated to showcasing cool music, there’s an inherent impulse to find really great music nobody has ever heard of, which is damn near impossible. There’s a fine line between posting about an on-the-rise band and “Hey check out this Green Day song from 2005.” But Daily Phat Jam isn’t necessarily about discovering new music and proving to the few people that’ll read it that we found it first. It’s just about whatever cool shit you’re currently playing.

            Recently, I’ve been listening to the student radio station, 88.1 KCOU. If you catch them during the right hour, they’ll play really sweet music and you think to yourself, “Wow! This might be my new favorite station!” Other times, however, I get the feeling that the DJs heard my former exclamation and, out of spite and resentment, decide to play music that only a coked-out robot would enjoy.

            On a non-cocaine robot hour, KCOU played the song “A Good Life Is The Best Revenge” by Australian band Ball Park Music. When I first heard it, I figured that Dan Auerbach (of Black Keys fame) had formed a side project with an unknown indie band. However, it turns out that this isn’t the case, because I double-checked just to make sure.

            I sought out Ball Park Music’s latest album, Puddinghead, so that I could take part in the ancient ritual of our ancestors by purchasing a physical copy of their CD. To my dismay, Amazon only carries Puddinghead in Mp3 and Vinyl, which is about as inconvenient as the fact that the original song I heard (“A Good Life Is The Best Revenge”) can’t be found on YouTube.

            What the hell? I had to settle for posting “She Only Loves Me When I’m There,” a song equally good, but not what I originally heard.

            I did happen to find Puddinghead on the band’s website, available for a one-time fee of $20, which is about $9 more than I’m willing to spend. I don’t pay for Spotify (phone’s too slow) Maybe it’s millennial of me to be a stubborn consumer and to only make purchases from outlets I prefer and at a price that suits me.

            Isn’t that what being the consumer is all about though? To put it simply, I don’t always speak in memes, but when I do, I say things like “Just shut up and take my money.”