I have said a thousand times to a thousand people that terrestrial radio is probably one of the worst forms of entertainment in our society at this point. The music that is played is unlistenable, the DJs are so tied into their station that they have no freedom to say what they want or play what they want, and each song is played just to connect one commercial to the next. I have been tired of it for years and have relyed heavily on my iPod since the day I got it. At first, since I am not always the most tech savvy, I just had all of my music on it. But it gets a little tiresome listening to the same 3,000 songs over and over, so in the past year I decided to try out the free Podcasts that are offered on iTunes. Read that again, THEY ARE FREE!!
For those that don't know, because there is a suprising number of people that don't, Podcasts are just like little radio shows that are not regulated by the FCC (that is probably the simplest explanation). I download new ones every single day, and it ensures that I always have something funny and thought provoking to listen to as I go about my day to day monotonous activities (they make it all the more bearable).
So, since I consider myself a Public Serviceman of Good Taste, I want to help you fine people escape the death trap of radio and open you up to the good things that you might be missing. The lone problem with the podcasts is that there are roughly 1 million of them (ok, I don't really know how many but there is a lot). I don't want you to get stuck with a bad one, it would make me look bad, and you would hate me. So, I am going to offer up a "starter kit" of 5 good podcasts approved by me. These aren't necessarily in order because they are all good in their own unique ways.
The Nerdist with Chris Hardwick
The Nerdist is a twice-a-week podcast hosted by comedian Chris Hardwick, you might remember him from the old 90's dating show "Singled Out". Yes, you remember it. It was the one where Jenny McCarthy hopped around like methed out bunny rabbit while burping in the face of anyone who got within 3 feet of her. Anyway, Hardwick has went on to do a lot of different little shows and most notably has been in a couple of Rob Zombie's movies, Halloween II and House of a 1000 Corpses, and is the host of "Web Soup" on G4. Hardwick is an unabashed nerd and along with his two sidekicks Matt and Jonah they talk about all that is nerdy. That probably doesn't sound that appealing does it? It didn't to me either at first but I decided to check it out when I saw that they had a lot of my favorite comedians on it. They have talked to Rob Zombie about his horror movies and his music, they have talked zombie movies with Simon Pegg, and have taken some of the nerdiest crap and made it entertaining. Each episode is around an hour long and it makes for something good to listen to if you are into any sort of genre movies or tech savvy stuff.
The Joe Rogan Experience
This podcast is obviously hosted by Joe Rogan and is one of the longer podcasts coming in at around 2 to 2 1/2 hours long. However, it never feels that long. Rogan has his consistent sidekick Brian Redban with him and is always joined by another comedian. In order to explain this particular podcast I have to set up one of my analogies. Imagine hanging out with the smartest & funniest people that you know, then imagine that you have a big bag of medical grade marijuana and a vaporizer, now imagine that you and your smart & funny friends smoke that for two solid hours while talking about every possible topic that pops into your head. This is the Joe Rogan experience. Rogan is hyper-intelligent as are most of his regular guests. This isn't your typical pothead conversation where people spend an hour talking about how "trippy the clouds" are. No, Rogan knows his stuff as do regular guests Ari Shaffir, Brian Callen, Joey Diaz, Jamie Kilstein, and Tom Segura. They discuss politics, ancient civilizations, comedy, history, cars, and just whatever floats into their stoned heads. Its kind of like going to a Humanities class taught by a professor who has ate a tray of pot brownies. It is completely free form and you never end a podcast without having learned something new. I would recommend this to anyone who is into both comedy and free thinking. Rogan is also the comedian who helped bring down Carlos Mencia aka the Biggest Joke Theif on the Planet. After Rogan called him out on stage in Los Angeles and cited all the jokes and bits that had been stolen by Mencia, it was within no time that Mind of Mencia was off the air and people stopped showing up at his shows. Below is a clip of the confrontation and it kind of gives you an idea of how Rogan works, he believes strongly in integrity and originality (neither of which Mencia possesses).
The BS Report with Bill Simmons
Simmons is the perfect mix between a sports fanatic and a pop culture junkie. One day you might hear Simmons interviewing David Stern about the NBA lockout, then another day he might be interviewing comedian Adam Carolla, and then he might go back and do a show with Jimmy Kimmel or Mike Ditka. Simmons has huge range and is a library of knowledge on both subjects. He has the ability to make Jersey Shore interesting to me, which by the way is a show that I have never watched nor will I ever watch, and in the next breath he could be reeling me into giving a crap about soccer, which I also hate. He mixes analogies of both cultures to the point that it is hard not to be interested. His podcasts work well for a stroll on the treadmill because they usually last around an hour, and they keep your mind off the fact that you feel like your legs are melting.
WTF with Marc Maron
WTF is the podcast that got me into listening to podcasts in the first place. I had read an article in Time magazine last year and it was talking about an amazing show that this older comedian, Marc Maron, was doing. He had been through a terrible divorce and his life was falling apart and was looking for some direction in his life. Maron had been a comedian for 20 some odd years and he figured the best way to get through his problems was to talk to other comedians. Two years later, he has interviewed almost every major comic that comes to mind, Robin Williams, Louis CK, Judd Apatow, Sarah Silverman, Dane Cook, Carlos Mencia, Joe Rogan, Andy Dick, Adam Carolla, and the list goes on and on. He just did his 200th episode a couple of days ago if that gives you any sort of idea of how many people he has talked to. The thing that makes him stand out so much over other interviewers or comedians is that he has this odd ability to get people to spill out their deepest, darkest secrets and emotions. He did an interview with Todd Hanson, the co-founder of The Onion, a few weeks ago which was possibly the most moving, sad, and heartfelt interviews I have ever heard. Hanson had been severely depressed for years and about a year ago he decided to kill himself in a very meticulous manner. He rented a hotel room, had bought some pills, and had a large bottle of liquor. He didn't want to make a mess in his home and didn't want to leave some tragic scene for his roommate to find, he just wanted to die alone and with some dignity. He somehow survived the ordeal, got some help, and is doing a little better now. Maron actually did the interview in the hotel room where Hanson tried to commit suicide, not for any sort of shock value, but because Hanson thought it might be therapeautic. Maron pulled from him the deepest details of the ordeal but still managed to make it respectful and not pushy. He handled the whole situation with such respect and patience for Hanson. Everyone that I know that has listened to this interview broke into tears at some point or another. That's probably not the best sale of a comedy/interview format podcast but it is amazing what he can do. He is funny and makes the best of his situation in life and in turn makes you feel a little better too.
The Adam Carolla Show
I will have to say that this one is probably my favorite podcast. He does it 5 days a week and if for any reason I ever miss it, it seems to throw my whole day off. I went to the beach for a week and didn't have my computer, and I kept thinking "Dammit, I can't wait to get back and see what I missed." Of course, I had a good time and enjoyed myself but I still felt a little off, like I was missing something. Carolla has a different format than any of the other above mentioned podcasts. You really feel like you are listening to a morning radio show except there are no censors, no stupid gimmicks, no shitty music, and its actually funny. Ok, so that means its nothing like morning radio, but thats whats so great. It is everything that you would like from a morning talk radio show without all the horrible parts of a morning talk radio show. You will remember Carolla from The Man Show, Loveline, and a number of late night appearances. He is an epic ranter, a world class complainer, people can only dream to be as prolific as he is about bitching about stuff. He could riff on any subject that is given to him and not only make it funny but also make complete, logical sense. The rants and the logical sense are what I like so much about Carolla, I feel like I think a lot like him. When he argues against a subject that you may be strongly for, he could probably change your mind by the time he was done and you would be raging against it. He, like everyone else on this list, has a wide array of guests on his show, from whack job WBC nut Shirley Phelps to whack job Andy Dick to UFC fighter John Lajoie. Like Simmons he makes anyone seem interesting but unlike Simmons he constantly interrupts his guests and relates what he is saying to himself. I know that probably sounds like a negative aspect but its one of the things that makes the show great. He is also joined daily by "newsgirl" Alison Rosen and sidekick Bryan Bishop aka Bald Bryan. Both Rosen and Bishop play off well with Carolla, and Rosen's version of the news is unlike anything you'll hear on FoxNews.
I know I usually try to entertain on my little grumpy blog but I thought I should give some due credit to the people that inspire me. All of these different comedians, writers, and podcasters have influenced me in some way. And I think that people ought to be listening to them, instead of 94.9 or 101.5, those stations make you stupid, these podcasts actually can make you think. So these are my suggestions, you can click on the names of the shows to get to the podcasts and websites or you could just go to iTunes. After downloading and listening to these guys (and realizing how right I am) perhaps you can find some other jewels out there. I have also included Amazon links at the top for books and CDs/mp3s of each podcaster.
No comments:
Post a Comment