Nah, we’re not spoiling the secret behind the Hush Records baron’s Podington Bear internet releases. It took someone’s sloppy—or muckraking: you decide—information entry via iTunes to do that. It’s fitting that this information be leaked now, as Hush gears up to celebrate its 10th anniversary (the big Laura Gibson/Loch Lomond/Nick Jaina celebration is at the Aladdin Theater on Saturday, July 12, and will likely feature some special guests).

The instrumental electro project, which has offered a truckload of free music to internet peeps everywhere over the last two years (as well as soundtracking episodes of This American Life), is also available via Hush in big-ass 10-disc box set form. Look for LC to listen to the entire ten-disc set end to and and see how crazy it makes us in the near future.

Here’s an iChat interview Crouch/Bear did with Rocketboom (some crazy internet shit, man…the future is NOW!).

More over at the Poddington BearBlog, where Crouch posted the above goofy picture and these notes:

So, I just want say a few things and then be done.

* I’m going to keep making instrumental music. It will still be attributed to Podington Bear. I won’t start plastering my face on record covers and stuff.

* I’ll probably make music and sing over it again. Not sure what that will be called or when, but I kind of miss singing.

* I definitely won’t match the rate of output of the past 18 months, and intend to diversify the musical offerings, as with the recent Sound of Picture podcast and blog.

* I’ll probably invest a little more time in beat production on future pop stuff. Play some guitar again. Maybe get a little help from my talented musician friends.

* Why the ruse, you ask? In part it was like any other gimmick, designed to get a few seconds more attention. But, beyond that Podington Bear was/is my power animal (That’s a reference to the wonderful Thumbsucker film) shielding me in my creative state. Lastly, it was a research and development experiment for the business of music, unfettered from the history and business model of HUSH Records. Adaptation requires experimentation.

* And worth noting: This unveiling is prompted in part because of my cover being blown anyway, at least temporarily, to writers and fans who imported The End CD into the ubiquitous iTunes application. The user-driven database Gracenote CDDB listed “Poddington Bear Aka Chad Crouch” in the composer field, flashing briefly for those who might take note. While correct on one count, it failed to be precisely right. (The correct spelling of Podington requires only one D, not coincidentally like the popular portable music device.)

Had totally been spelling that wrong. In related news, ex-LocalCutter Michael Byrne knew this all along.

In unrelated news, here is a picture I took of WW film critic Aaron Mesh smoking a cigarette:

Links:
Podington BearBlog
Podington BearSpace

Photo courtesy of Chad!