Hotlist
Monday 5 December, 2005
Tracks
- Grinspoon - Sweet As Sugar (Rock)
- Damien Marley - All Night (Reggae/Dance)
- Kaiser Chiefs - Saturday Night (Indie)
- Wolfmother - Colossal (Rock)
- Foo Fighters - Resolve (Rock)
Albums Recently Played
- Within Temptation - The Silent Force (Gothic Rock)
- Wolfmother - Wolfmother (Acid Rock)
- Kisschasy - United Paper People (Rock)
Idiot Podcast Invaders
Monday 5 December, 2005
Jay and the Doctor's inept attempt at breakfast comedy, when paired with my iRiver purchase, spelled the end of listening to the radio in the mornings during my drive to work. Yet I usually wanted an lighter start to the morning than listening to an album. It turns out that podcasts have filled that gap.
I am all in support for this new technology trend, allowing novices all over the world to have their voice heard. I have just one tiny problem with this. Just a little one. People are idiots and can't be trusted to do anything significant with such an opportunity.
It's hardly a revolutionary discovery, but people are too stupid to find topics worth discussing, as they are normally entrenched in their own ego. I should know, I blog. Even worse is that it's nigh on impossible to gauge a good podcast from a bad one. Vote-driven popularity contests would rely on the voters not being morons. I've found the only way is to search for a topic you are interested in and try them out and see if you're the kind of idiot who's going to enjoy it.
Before my week away, I downloaded a host of podcasts, just one-offs, in the hope of striking gold. My staple podcast, Keith And The Girl, is becoming a bit stale, plus I wanted to make sure I had enough to listen to over that week as I anticipated some laziness/boredom. I should also note that I like Dr Karl's podcast from triple j but it can be a little too involved for the early morning "can't-believe-I'm-awake-and-can-still-drive" drive.
The one podcast of gold I did strike was NFL Rants And Raves. They're exactly the pumped up American football fans I was hoping to hear from, and all delivered with their own personal take on commentary. It was pretty funny when one of the guys started screaming "Damn, he needs some O2!" As the two guys hang it on each other over their tips, the "Kitty Kat" Detroit Lions or irreliable kickers, I find it quite enjoyable. There might also be something in the white guy-black guy interplay, I'm not sure as it's not a middle school assignment where I need to discuss or even note that kind of thing.
Most of the popular ones were appalling. Of the appalling ones, the most interesting was the guy from Nobody Likes Onions just getting drunk and talking shit. Whenever there was a pause, him and his friend just screamed out "Zoltan!" It must have been really late, like well after midnight or I was tipsy for me to get some laughs, because their next show was terrible as they soberly dissed out the emails from the idiots that listen to them. I don't think they made the connection that only stupid people listen to them because they're idiots too!
So I fear for podcasting, like I do for Wikipedia. Brilliant technology that makes things accessible even to regular idiots is a dangerous thing. People find ways to screw it up for everyone and should that continue, it'll lose relevance for everyone. Until then, I'll ride the podcast wave and attempt to sift through the crap for something worthwhile. Hit me with some knowledge if you find one.
Previous MusicBox: Less is More? (More or Less).