I couldn't disagree more, I think Smod has gotten better and better since day 1. Funniest thing I have ever listened to.
That's OK, I'm not saying anyone has to agree I just think there was a lot of filler and junk for a long time and I had to walk away. I'll be honest that I haven't listened since Red State so things may have changed or come back around but I'm out and don't really care to listen to anymore.
I work long nights and listen to endless podcasts.
I dont care for Kevin Smith as much as I once did. I still like and listen to Smodcast and consider it good but it along with most of his stuff has dipped alot. Hollywood babylon is the best of Smiths stuff. Its usually great but mostly due to his co-host even though he can be offensive occasionally and Smiths endless use of his 2-3 go-to bits have grown groanworthy. Im pretty happy when Smith is replaced for a night. TellEmSteveDave is usually amusing and sometimes great. Enjoyable background noise if nothing else. JayandSilentBobGetOld is unlistenable IMO. Just crude, stupid and pointless.
The other Smith related podcast with Jay Mohor(?) is Just ok IMO. I dont care if I hear it or not. I put it on when Ive got nothing else.
Nerdist is good but inconsistant. Cherry picking episodes works best.
I no longer listen to Marc Maron and dont get its praise. I never found him especially funny nor particularly likeable. Although his higher profile interviews were interesting, everything else was just boring repetative rambling.
I stopped listening to most comic related podcasts and cherry pick CGS episodes now too.
Adam Carollas podcast remains top tier to me. Its always interesting, entertaining and funny. Some of his bits are tired at this point but not annoyingly so or boring. He has the best and most diverse guests that help keep things fresh and interesting. His cohosts are also good on their own. His home improvement show AceOnTheHouse is good and funny too even if you have no interest in home repair. Its short and humerous like a bitesize version of the regular show with little bits of how-to here and there. His carshow CarCast on the other hand is worth skipping unless youre a full on car nut. Its sometimes interesting for his guests but otherwise usually pretty dry.
PennsSundaySchool is ok but Im already growing tired of alot of it. I think its still trying to find its rythum and voice. His cohosts are annoying and seem uninteresting. Its worth having on in the background at least for now.
I stopped listening to ThisWeekWithLarryMiller. As much as I like Larry Miller, the podcast is aimless and unfunny.
The Kevin Pollak(?) chatshow (audio or video) is worth trying. The laidback long form interviews are interesting if youre into that particular guest. I do a lot of fast forwarding though through his non interview segments. Pick and choose and you cant really be dissappointed.
I'm not sure how many would like this one, but besides CGS, I look forward to it every week:
The Relevant Podcast - God. Life. Progressive Culture. Usually an hour long and out on Fridays and they have interviews and musical performances. The interaction between hosts is usually good for a laugh.
Caustic Soda - oh man, this is a good show. The guys cover various topics, with a slant toward the dark and disturbing. At times, one of the guys goes a little overboard, but then again, that's part of the show. These guys are geeks, too, and mention comics during their pop culture segments. Also one of the best produced shows out there.
The Memory Palace - Sometimes haunting, sometimes humorous. Usually very interesting. These are relatively short for the most part.
I used to listen to This American Life and To the Best of Our Knowledge religiously. I go through phases with podcasts, as with most things.
I also subscribe to the NYT Book Review and NPR: Books podcasts, but I only listen if there is something that catches my eye in the show notes.
I was just about to start a "what Podcasts are in your rotation" question, but I'll just use this existing thread to ask (or more accurately re-ask)
What's at the top of your podcast rotation (besides CGS)?
I do a decent amount of commuting (25 or so hours a week) so I have a pretty big weekly rotation:
1. Doug Loves Movies: hosted by comedian & pot enthuasist this show is a live taping of a weekly (or more often) set where Doug brings on some entertainment/comedy friends, they banter for 20 minutes then play some movie trivia-esque games most notably The Leonard Maltin Game. Funniest thing I listen to each week.
2. The B.S. Report with Bill Simmons: Formerly from ESPN, now via his own production house Grantland (still in association with ESPN) Simmons talks all sports from a fan perspective, but not an annoying sports-talk radio one (unless he gets going on the Red Sox). Just the right mix of pop-culture references mixed in, and plenty of sports and non-sports interviews. Probably the best sports related podcast out there.
3. Firewall & Iceburg Podcast: This is my go-to weekly TV/entertainment podcast. Alan Sepinwall and Dan Feinberg do a weekly recap of TV shows, talk about upcoming shows, and do it all in a friendly banter. They are both writers for hitfix.com so its a bit industry, but also a bit more thoughtful than the usual person talking about TV shows. They focus on the shows we all focus on (Mad Men, Breaking Bad, etc) but also dont forget to review all the other stuff we dont watch (I hate my teenage daughter). They dont talk reality much outside of American Idol, and for that I thank them...
4. You Made it Weird by Pete Holmes Another Comedy podcast. This is a 1 on 1 interview style a'la the Mark Marin WTF model, but funnier & less repetitive. I listen to Marin's WTF but he seems to always go thru the same motions with each interview, and often gets stuck on stuff that he doesnt even understand. Pete Holmes has a friend on (someone who's funny or in entertainment) and they just talk. Pete is very natural and funny and while it's a relatively young podcast, it's started off great.
5. The Nerdist: OK, one more comedy podcast. I used to be an avid listener of Comedy Bang Bang, but burned out on all the character acting, and this filled the slot. More straight-forward, just guys being funny stuff. Interviews with entertainment & comedy types, as well as the occasional taping of one of their live shows and plenty of other nerd content (gaming, tech, etc). Chris Hardwick (after Walking Dead host) Jonah Ray & Matt Mira have good chemistry and are fun to listen to. Its like if Attack of the Show was actually funny, rather than TRYING to be funny.
6. Grantland Network: The Hollywood Prospectus: My backup TV/Entertainment podcast after I've listened to Firewall & Iceberg. Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald are good ciphers for Alan & Dan, but havent been doing this as long so the flow is not as natual, but they have good talk.
Also listen to: -Cashing in with TJ Miller (Oh how I love TJ Miller) -The Pod F. Tomcast - How'd That Get Made? - WTF with Mark Marin - Comedy Bang Bang - Comedy Film Nerds
And Comic Book Podcasts (in order of preference): - Comic Geek Speak - 11 o'Clock Comics - Awesomed by Comics (if they ever get back to it) - Around Comics (though its lost a step)
Since replying to this, I've been listening and enjoying The Indoor Kids. They talk some about current video games and they also talk about some of the older games that I enjoy. I like their humor as well. Some of the guests are a little hard to listen to but for the most part I've enjoyed what I've heard.
- Comic Geek Speak - Film Junk - Film Sack - The Geek Savants - HPPodcraft.com - Inkstuds - Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo's Film Reviews - Night of the Living Podcast - Science Weekly - Stuff You Should Know - WTF with Marc Maron - 11 O'Clock Comics
- Comic Geek Speak - Film Junk - Film Sack - The Geek Savants - HPPodcraft.com - Inkstuds - Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo's Film Reviews - Night of the Living Podcast - Science Weekly - Stuff You Should Know - WTF with Marc Maron - 11 O'Clock Comics
Film Sack is great. I was watching the live stream of Nerdtacular, the boys did Master of the Universe, good stuff. I'm a big fan of just about everything Scott and the other members of Frogpants are involved in.
Around Comics CGS Word Baloon Nerdist (funny when Hardwick shuts up and lets the guest talk. Sometimes he gets caught up in his "I did stand up with *blank* once and..." but I don't care about the history of his failed career) I agree this is best to cherry pick guests you enjoy. 11 o'clock comics (just started one episode in) IFanboy
Current rotation is generally comic stuff. Nerdist (funny when Hardwick shuts up and lets the guest talk. Sometimes he gets caught up in his "I did stand up with *blank* once and..." but I don't care about the history of his failed career) I agree this is best to cherry pick guests you enjoy.
Not to digress... but Hardwick's career as a comedian/host is actually going quite well- he still tours the country doing stand-up, runs a stand-up venue, has a show on BBC-America, has a show on AMC.
Most comedians could only dream of such "failure".
Current rotation is generally comic stuff. Nerdist (funny when Hardwick shuts up and lets the guest talk. Sometimes he gets caught up in his "I did stand up with *blank* once and..." but I don't care about the history of his failed career) I agree this is best to cherry pick guests you enjoy.
Not to digress... but Hardwick's career as a comedian/host is actually going quite well- he still tours the country doing stand-up, runs a stand-up venue, has a show on BBC-America, has a show on AMC.
Most comedians could only dream of such "failure".
you know Dave, I hear you there and I agree. I'd be thrilled to be doing some of geek shit that he gets to do. but listening to the show i get the impression (and this is subjective, i know) that he feels like a failure himself and that bleeds into the conversation. THAT is that part that i find annoying. It is like hanging out with that depressed friend that is pretending to be optimistic and is really 5 seconds from slitting their wrists.
@random73 I get your point that he may feel like, or talk about his career, like he had failed. I haven't got that sense from his show, but then I have not listened to a lot of his shows, so maybe I have missed that vibe. Well, I will put it this way, if he thinks he is a failure, I disagree with him.
Sounds like a you guys hit a lot of the things I listen to already.
Try 'stuff you missed in history class', for the history buff in all of us. A lot of interesting stuff about some historical trivia that is expanded upon.
Good Game and Good Game Spawn Point is good for video game news and the like. Funny too. Beware, it is a bid vodcast.
For music you could check out Triple J's Unearthed, Live at the Wireless, Like a Version & New Free Music.
If you want something more intellectual then try ABC's Big Ideas. Lot of varied podcasts on issues from fiction to science to politics to technology. While you might not want to listen to everything, you can choose the topics that you are interested in and ignore the rest.
Answers
I dont care for Kevin Smith as much as I once did. I still like and listen to Smodcast and consider it good but it along with most of his stuff has dipped alot.
Hollywood babylon is the best of Smiths stuff. Its usually great but mostly due to his co-host even though he can be offensive occasionally and Smiths endless use of his 2-3 go-to bits have grown groanworthy. Im pretty happy when Smith is replaced for a night.
TellEmSteveDave is usually amusing and sometimes great. Enjoyable background noise if nothing else.
JayandSilentBobGetOld is unlistenable IMO. Just crude, stupid and pointless.
The other Smith related podcast with Jay Mohor(?) is Just ok IMO. I dont care if I hear it or not. I put it on when Ive got nothing else.
Nerdist is good but inconsistant. Cherry picking episodes works best.
I no longer listen to Marc Maron and dont get its praise. I never found him especially funny nor particularly likeable. Although his higher profile interviews were interesting, everything else was just boring repetative rambling.
I stopped listening to most comic related podcasts and cherry pick CGS episodes now too.
Adam Carollas podcast remains top tier to me. Its always interesting, entertaining and funny. Some of his bits are tired at this point but not annoyingly so or boring. He has the best and most diverse guests that help keep things fresh and interesting. His cohosts are also good on their own. His home improvement show AceOnTheHouse is good and funny too even if you have no interest in home repair. Its short and humerous like a bitesize version of the regular show with little bits of how-to here and there. His carshow CarCast on the other hand is worth skipping unless youre a full on car nut. Its sometimes interesting for his guests but otherwise usually pretty dry.
PennsSundaySchool is ok but Im already growing tired of alot of it. I think its still trying to find its rythum and voice. His cohosts are annoying and seem uninteresting. Its worth having on in the background at least for now.
I stopped listening to ThisWeekWithLarryMiller. As much as I like Larry Miller, the podcast is aimless and unfunny.
The Kevin Pollak(?) chatshow (audio or video) is worth trying. The laidback long form interviews are interesting if youre into that particular guest. I do a lot of fast forwarding though through his non interview segments. Pick and choose and you cant really be dissappointed.
The Relevant Podcast - God. Life. Progressive Culture. Usually an hour long and out on Fridays and they have interviews and musical performances. The interaction between hosts is usually good for a laugh.
Geekson-general geek culture show
Night of the Living Podcast-Funny horror movie/fiction podcast
Caustic Soda - oh man, this is a good show. The guys cover various topics, with a slant toward the dark and disturbing. At times, one of the guys goes a little overboard, but then again, that's part of the show. These guys are geeks, too, and mention comics during their pop culture segments. Also one of the best produced shows out there.
The Memory Palace - Sometimes haunting, sometimes humorous. Usually very interesting. These are relatively short for the most part.
I used to listen to This American Life and To the Best of Our Knowledge religiously. I go through phases with podcasts, as with most things.
I also subscribe to the NYT Book Review and NPR: Books podcasts, but I only listen if there is something that catches my eye in the show notes.
Sound Opinion is a pretty good music review/interview show.
What's at the top of your podcast rotation (besides CGS)?
I do a decent amount of commuting (25 or so hours a week) so I have a pretty big weekly rotation:
1. Doug Loves Movies: hosted by comedian & pot enthuasist this show is a live taping of a weekly (or more often) set where Doug brings on some entertainment/comedy friends, they banter for 20 minutes then play some movie trivia-esque games most notably The Leonard Maltin Game. Funniest thing I listen to each week.
2. The B.S. Report with Bill Simmons: Formerly from ESPN, now via his own production house Grantland (still in association with ESPN) Simmons talks all sports from a fan perspective, but not an annoying sports-talk radio one (unless he gets going on the Red Sox). Just the right mix of pop-culture references mixed in, and plenty of sports and non-sports interviews. Probably the best sports related podcast out there.
3. Firewall & Iceburg Podcast: This is my go-to weekly TV/entertainment podcast. Alan Sepinwall and Dan Feinberg do a weekly recap of TV shows, talk about upcoming shows, and do it all in a friendly banter. They are both writers for hitfix.com so its a bit industry, but also a bit more thoughtful than the usual person talking about TV shows. They focus on the shows we all focus on (Mad Men, Breaking Bad, etc) but also dont forget to review all the other stuff we dont watch (I hate my teenage daughter). They dont talk reality much outside of American Idol, and for that I thank them...
4. You Made it Weird by Pete Holmes Another Comedy podcast. This is a 1 on 1 interview style a'la the Mark Marin WTF model, but funnier & less repetitive. I listen to Marin's WTF but he seems to always go thru the same motions with each interview, and often gets stuck on stuff that he doesnt even understand. Pete Holmes has a friend on (someone who's funny or in entertainment) and they just talk. Pete is very natural and funny and while it's a relatively young podcast, it's started off great.
5. The Nerdist: OK, one more comedy podcast. I used to be an avid listener of Comedy Bang Bang, but burned out on all the character acting, and this filled the slot. More straight-forward, just guys being funny stuff. Interviews with entertainment & comedy types, as well as the occasional taping of one of their live shows and plenty of other nerd content (gaming, tech, etc). Chris Hardwick (after Walking Dead host) Jonah Ray & Matt Mira have good chemistry and are fun to listen to. Its like if Attack of the Show was actually funny, rather than TRYING to be funny.
6. Grantland Network: The Hollywood Prospectus: My backup TV/Entertainment podcast after I've listened to Firewall & Iceberg. Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald are good ciphers for Alan & Dan, but havent been doing this as long so the flow is not as natual, but they have good talk.
Also listen to:
-Cashing in with TJ Miller (Oh how I love TJ Miller)
-The Pod F. Tomcast
- How'd That Get Made?
- WTF with Mark Marin
- Comedy Bang Bang
- Comedy Film Nerds
And Comic Book Podcasts (in order of preference):
- Comic Geek Speak
- 11 o'Clock Comics
- Awesomed by Comics (if they ever get back to it)
- Around Comics (though its lost a step)
What else are you guys liking?
- Comic Geek Speak
- Film Junk
- Film Sack
- The Geek Savants
- HPPodcraft.com
- Inkstuds
- Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo's Film Reviews
- Night of the Living Podcast
- Science Weekly
- Stuff You Should Know
- WTF with Marc Maron
- 11 O'Clock Comics
Otakugeneration
I Should Be Writing
Mohr Stories
Car Talk
Bullseye
Around Comics
CGS
Word Baloon
Nerdist (funny when Hardwick shuts up and lets the guest talk. Sometimes he gets caught up in his "I did stand up with *blank* once and..." but I don't care about the history of his failed career) I agree this is best to cherry pick guests you enjoy.
11 o'clock comics (just started one episode in)
IFanboy
:-\"
Kermode and Mayo's film reviews.
I used to listen to Between the Ropes, until Dickinson left.
Most comedians could only dream of such "failure".
The Joe Rogan Experience
The Duncan Trussell Family Hour
Bill Burr's Monday Morning Podcast.
Doug Loves Movies.
I am big into personal finance and investing so I listen to these as well.
The Dave Ramsey Show
Motley Fool Money
Market Foolery
The Disciplined Investor.
Try 'stuff you missed in history class', for the history buff in all of us. A lot of interesting stuff about some historical trivia that is expanded upon.
Good Game and Good Game Spawn Point is good for video game news and the like. Funny too. Beware, it is a bid vodcast.
For music you could check out Triple J's Unearthed, Live at the Wireless, Like a Version & New Free Music.
If you want something more intellectual then try ABC's Big Ideas. Lot of varied podcasts on issues from fiction to science to politics to technology. While you might not want to listen to everything, you can choose the topics that you are interested in and ignore the rest.