It’s 2016, and most of the people I know are currently watching a sports event that I don’t really care about, so I decided to record a podcast episode. 

Things I’m geeking out about: 

• Colony 
• Agent Carter 
• DC’s Legends of Tomorrow 

Star Wars The Force Awakens 

• Saw it 3 times and read the book 
• Erased the stench of the prequels 
• Start of a new trilogy with new characters 
• It’s broken nearly all the box-office records at this point, so there’s not much more I can say about it 
• I will say, though, that the biggest critique I have heard is that it has the same basic story points as “A New Hope.” This may be true, but I think it makes sense, given the fact that JJ Abrams needed to make a movie to bring in a new generation of Star Wars fans. My guess is that the next film in the new trilogy will go into new territory.

David Bowie 

• My “Ashes To Ashes” cover: https://soundcloud.com/michaeljjohnson/ashes-to-ashes-a-tribute-to-david-bowie 
• 1st Bowie tune I ever heard: Fame 
• Scary Monsters era 
• Bowie was the type of artist you rarely see anymore. He was constantly changing, and never stuck with the same sound or style for more than a few records.  
• He didn’t really become a superstar until “Let’s Dance,” and that was just another phase of his career. 
• At the height of his fame, he released a record with a band called Tin Machine, without giving himself star billing. 
• Work with Trent Reznor  
• Bowie/9 Inch Nails Tour 
• “Afraid of Americans” 
• Final album “Blackstar” was basically about his death. It was musically adventurous, yet it reached back into his past as well, incorporating styles from some of his earlier periods.  
• He was an uncompromising artist until the day he died. 

X-Files 

• New 6-episode miniseries tonight 
• I’ve been a fan since the beginning 
• The show basically created the template for the modern genre series, with an over-arching mythology that ran from beginning to end. Each season was a mix of mythology-heavy episodes and “Monster of the Week” episodes. 
• Some people don’t necessarily like the mythology episodes, but I always did. 
• At the same time, I had developed an interest in conspiracy theories, and it was fascinating to see them depicted in the show. 
• This was the first show that got me interested in the showrunner as auteur
• Some great writers came out of this room, including Vince Gilligan and Frank Spotnitz
• Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny 
• AD Skinner, The Cigarette Smoking Man, Alex Krychek, Max, the alien abductee from NICAP, the Lone Gunmen
• X-Files nights at Miami 
• In the last couple of seasons, since they had tied up so much of the mythology, I think they started running out of ideas. But I am a fan of Agents Doggett and Reyes, especially since I think both actors were far superior to Duchovny. 

My top 10 X-Files episodes, in chronological order: 

1. S1, episode 2: "Deep Throat"
2. S1, ep 17: "EBE"
3. S2, ep 25: “Anasazi” 
4. S3, ep 2: “Paper Clip” 
5. S3, ep 20: “Jose Chung’s From Outer Space.” 
6. S4 ep7: “Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man” 
7. S5 ep 3: “Unusual Suspects” 
8. S5 ep 12: “Bad Blood” - 
9. S6, ep 4&5, “Dreamland, parts 1 and 2” 
10. S6, ep 14: “Monday”

In episode 9 of “Frequencies,” Michael J. Johnson briefly talks about the new season of the podcast “Serial,” followed by a rumination on his Star Wars fandom, the merits of the original trilogy, and the corresponding lack of merit in the prequels. how notes are available at http://michaeljjohnsonmusic.com/blog.