Brian & Georgina's Big Bang: Still Counting...

Podcasts can, in many cases, be a form of companionship to people. Music is all well and good on your portable music device but sometimes your favourite album doesn’t offer you a friendly voice, where a Podcast can. Many of my particular journeys on this great country’s far-from-great public transport system have been far from lonely, as they are shared with people from around the world in audio form. One pair I never travel without is Brian Luff and Georgina Sowerby, the hosts of Brian and Georgina’s Big Bang.

Both accomplished comedians and producers in their own right, Brian and Georgina reside in “leafy Crouch End” and from the outskirts of London they offer their own slanted, often times sexy, view on the world. From the moment the show starts, you feel like you’re sharing time with treasured friends. Brian and Georgina put their whole lives on display here leaving no stone unturned, and from Georgina’s infectious laughter to Brian’s mood swings it feels like you’re in the room with them.

Sowerby and Luff understand that a good Podcast can’t just be two people chatting nonchalantly and offer up recurring segments for listeners to contribute to. Weird news story segment – oddly titled “Dead Penguin” – has become the most popular feature in Sowerby and Luff’s Podcasting history. A close runner up for that crown is “Counting Things” which does exactly what it says on the tin. Listeners are invited to email Brian and Georgina and tell them what they’ve been counting this week. Believe it or not, this bizarre premise gets more correspondence than any other aspect of their show with people from every corner of the globe writing to tell everybody what they’ve been tallying in the last seven days. Proof, if needed, that when it comes to content simplicity is the key.

For half a decade, Brian Luff and Georgina Sowerby have provided consistent fun comedy for the iPod generation and are a shining example of a pair that “get it”. They are a big part of Comedy 365, the closest thing to a Podcast “channel” which features content from some of the funniest people to upload to RSS. True pioneers of the original Podcast boom, their consistency in the field should be applauded. Whilst they have adapted their style over the years they are still the Brian and Georgina we know and love and make excellent company for those long road trips or hefty delays at Birmingham New Street Station.

Brian and Georgina Official Website

The Mothpod: The Mayor Of New Media

Imagine if you had your entire musical knowledge emptied and you had to start all over again. Even with mainstream music you wouldn't know where to begin. This is why I think so many people are cautious of listening to Podsafe music, because it is such a vast area! Where do you start? Where do you end? It's scary stuff. Fans of Alternative and Rock music, though, have a guide into the caverns of independant music: that man is The Mothman.

The Mothpod is an hour-long weekly Podcast not about the host or the guests, but about the music. Zack Daggy, better known as The Mothman, is one of a kind. Spending his days in a pimped out wheelchair, Zack has one hand on the microphone and the other hand on the pulse of the independant scene. He doesn't discriminate or expect prior knowledge, he introduces your ears to sounds and people who have been hand selected by the man himself and he never fails to press all the right buttons.

The show itself is well produced and gives a real feeling of "community" to the Podcasting world, with numerous adverts for other Podcasts and independant workers all chasing the dream. Zack is open to give anybody and everybody a mention if they have something they want to get out in the Podosphere. It makes me wonder if Daggy has ever considered looking into the world of radio syndication...with the industry in a real state of flux in the US of A, maybe a two-hour National Mothman show could be a shot in the arm for the industry.

Zack's work doesn't end at the Mothpod, and Daggy is probably the hardest working Podcaster out there. Simply tying "Zack Daggy" into iTunes brings up a shed load of other projects that the ever-versatile Mothman is working on from panel chat shows like The Pod 5 to audio books. In the Podcast world, it's all about maintaining a presence, and Daggy understands that better than anybody.

There are a lot of music Podcasts out there, but all they seem to do is serve to fill in the gaps and make up the time between the host talking (some offenders have already been covered on this website), but Zack is one of a kind. Zack lives and breathes for the music, and his show is just that. The Mothman is an intelligent and likeable presenter who knows why you're there - for an incredible musical experiment every week. Daggy's success in the Podcasting field has translated into many other occupations, including music journalism and even book writing - with his horror novel Dark Worlds riding extremely high on online book charts everywhere. Zack has achieved this level of success by giving people exactly what they want - good music, full stop.

Subscribe by iTunes - The Mothpod Official Website

Phill and Phil's Perfect Ten: Rather Fetching

About a year ago, me and my friend attempted to start a Podcast which was based around the two of us picking subject matters from a hat at random. We did two episodes until I discovered, shock horror, that Phill Jupitus was doing the exact same thing! Demoralised, we stopped and I avoided listening to Phill and Phil’s Perfect Ten out of some displaced loyalty to the ill-fated “Cos and Tom Do A Podcast”. When I finally got round to hearing Messrs. Jupitus and Wilding, I was happy to put my efforts to rest and enjoy the masters at work.

“The Perfect Ten” features UK comedians Phill Jupitus and Phil Wilding returning to the audio world for the first time since their departure from BBC 6Music in 2007. This time around there’s no restraints, no censors, no holds barred; just Phill, Phil, a pair of microphones and a ukulele. Oh, and Stephen Fry doing voiceover to give it that extra slice of brilliant.

The rules of The Perfect Ten are simple: Phill Jupitus and Phil Wilding have thirty minutes to get through ten questions submitted by listeners and chosen at random. This setup allows the opportunity to take some unbelievable flights of fancy; one minute they could be talking about weird moments they’ve had in the cinema, the next they are building a fighting cage in the middle of a busy roundabout. The possibilities are completely endless, and that’s when Jupitus and Wilding are at their best, going off on incredible tangents about anything and everything.

The trouble is, these two love talking on the ridiculous so much that they very commonly let time slip through their hands and leave themselves thirty seconds to answer two questions before the time runs out. I’m yet to hear a Podcast that doesn’t have Jupitus and Wilding not so much jogging their memory, but making it sprint to answer a question in under ten seconds. Even when this is happening, it’s funny enough to hear these two well spoken anecdote machines going into a mild state of panic when time begins to catch up with them.

Recently completing two live performances of the show, it does feel like Phill and Phil are back in the cult state they relished in whilst discussing the finer points of gay monkeys on 6Music all those years ago. The show’s structure makes it stand out from a lot of other very good comedy Podcasts out there and incorporates audience participation and borderline insanity very nicely indeed. So far, things we’ve learned from The Perfect Ten are that Phill Jupitus is a dab hand on the ukulele, Phil Wilding wouldn’t say no to a good fight and Stephen Fry makes a perfect addition to any MP3 in the world.

Subscribe by iTunes - Phill and Phil's Official Website

The Collings & Herrin Podcast: Better Off As Two

When double acts go their separate ways, there is a consistent pattern that emerges. Whilst one goes on to achieve multiple levels of fame and fortune, the other is left to watch his former running mate running as far away as he can. At least, that’s the theory anyway. What we learn from The Collings & Herrin Podcast (the G changing hands in the title for reasons unknown) is that fame is a fickle Mistress.

Richard Herring spent many years working alongside stand up star Stewart Lee, creating TV highlights Lee and Herring’s Fist Of Fun and This Morning With Richard Not Judy. In another place and time, Andrew Collins was working along with Stuart Maconie earling plaudits for his various TV and Radio projects (most notable, The Collins and Maconie’s Hit Parade on BBC Radio 1) Both teams parted ways roughly at the same time, with Maconie achieving success in the literary world and Stewart Lee carving himself a niche in stand-up comedy. Whilst Andrew Collins and Richard Herring worked hard on their own projects, nobody knew what to expect when this very eclectic pair entered the great Podcast race last year...what they got was an absolute treat!

Andrew and Richard are cut from extremely different cloth and have become the standard bearers for Odd Couple comedy. Andrew, a woolly liberal with a penchant for rambling stories about the London Underground and the Mitford Sisters; and Richard a brash, loud, proud swearbox who takes great pleasure in pushing the envelope at every chance he’s got. The result is an hour and six minutes of Andrew attempting to discuss current affairs all the while keeping Richard Herring’s bad tasting editorials at bay.

With Richard's edgy outbursts, Andrew approaches each show with the same level of cautiousness as a polite Pitbull owner would walking through a park full of children…however more often than not the pitbull does get off the lead! Andrew is brilliant foil for Richard’s childish comedy, and seems genuinely uncomfortable every time Richard Herring asks to “bum” him, which is exactly why Herring keeps saying it. The fact that Richard has turned “Will Andrew finally give in and let Richard bum him?” into a question on par with "Will Mulder and Scully get together on The X-Files" in terms of audience anticipation shows just how funny this aspect has become. If anybody else had delivered it, it would have got boring by now.

Collins and Herring earn no points for production on the show, but in a strange way this is the programme’s charm. There’s no flashy opening and closing, no recurring segments, just two guys who press the red “REC” button on Garage Band and discuss what’s going on in this world of ours. Admittedly, I’ve picked shows apart for bad production in the past, but Andrew and Richard aren’t trying to make this an imaging masterpiece and I’ve decided I genuinely prefer NO jingles as opposed to BAD jingles.

Collins and Herring have used their online time to offer something very funny and enjoyable to listen to. Andrew and Richard joke about how they desperately want to get back with the two Stewarts and return to the dynamic doubles of yore, but I flat out refuse to believe that. Working together, Richard Herring and Andrew Collins are greater than they’ve ever been.

Subscribe by iTunes - Collings & Herrin's Official Website

The Top 5 Podcast Spectacular: Halfway There

With a title like this, I am expecting everything from The Top Five Podcast Spectacular. I’m expecting the show to open with a huge marching band accompanied by elephants and ten thousand singing children, all capped off by a special appearance by Neil Diamond on the back of a swan. I’m expecting something, well, spectacular. Does Gabe and Mike’s Podcast reach my lofty views of what is ‘spectacular’?

Points for originality go to both of them. Gabe and Mike are obviously very good friends and don’t bore us too much with ‘in-joke’ self destructive comedy. They have made the decision to incorporate a guest band into each episode of their show. I really like the idea a lot and the band in question probably loves it too. Fame in the vast multi-media ocean does require both parties to throw a lifeboat. Whilst I like the idea of the Top 5 Spectacular House Band, what I cannot bear is the way they use the band’s tracks as music beds. This is twofold, one you can’t appreciate the songs in question and two it’s sometimes tough to hear what Gabe and Mike are talking about because you find your brain plugging in and out of the song lyrics. The Top 5 fellas aren’t the first to commit this very obvious imaging sin and won’t be the last, it’s still quite distracting...but they are doing it for good reasons so you can’t stay too mad at them...but maybe stop doing it now, thankyou!

The “Top 5” formula works a treat and stops the adventures of Gabe and Mike becoming just another audio earful of two guys rambling about their shoes, Space Invaders and nothing in particular. Their passions for “Tech and Tunes” are handled in the same way as their ever-changing main subject, with five headings leading on to discussion between the two. The advantage of this is that both feel compelled to talk on a subject and then move right along with the next one, both guys building up their Top 5 lists to the inevitable and sometimes disgusting list-topper.

As far as Gabe and Mike: the presenters go, despite the vague hint of alcohol or relaxants causing the tiniest hint of rambling (which may be incorrect and libellous, only time will tell), Gabe and Mike are well spoken, funny and likeable guys. Whilst I personally don’t relate to the antics these two Californian twentysomethings get up to (being a twentysomething from the very rural South West of England) I imagine that, with the right exposure in the right direction, this pair could be folk heroes! After listening to a few episodes, the one thing I would say is that I still get the two mixed up with the only really stand-out difference is that Mike has a sleazier life than Gabe (or is that the other way round?)

When I was emailed the RSS feed and asked to put my journalistic goggles on, I started off admittedly sceptical. A grand title and the general premise didn’t totally inspire me that these two could bring anything new to the table. Gabe and Mike don’t shake the Podcasting world to its very core, but certainly have enough ideas to make a difference if they wanted to devote more time and energy to what they do. House bands and countdowns are a good start and show that both guys have put some inital thought into what they do, not just turned on the microphone and hoped somebody would say “boobs” by mistake. The show is in need of a lot of polishing and tweaking though. Some new audio elements (and a music bed without vocals, pretty please!) and maybe some unique ways of audience interactivity would go a long way to making this show what it sets out to be...spectacular!

UPDATE: Gabe and Mike have made numerous changes to the show recently, including dropping the guest band music beds. This was one aspect that we did critique heavily in this review and are glad that it has been fixed up. The show sounds better than ever and is worth a listen!

Subscribe by iTunes - Top 5 Podcast Spectacular Official

David Mitchell's Soapbox: Box Clever

David Mitchell is a very witty, articulate chap who I would love to go for a pint with one day (partly for the discussion and partly because I think he would order the cheapest ale and save my pocket some grief) but isn’t one that seems to spend hours and hours putting every hair in the right order before leaving the house in the morning. So it strikes me as strange that his latest endeavour in the Podcast world is sponsored by Bulldog, a male grooming company that specialise in very manly shower gel, hair gel and – I don’t know – probably nipple gel. This beautiful irony hasn’t gone unnoticed by David in his Vidcast, David Mitchell’s Soap Box. To quote the man himself: “You may have noticed these shows are sponsored by a range of male grooming products who, for reasons best known to themselves, that their range would profit by being associated with a series of three minute rants from a man from whom, self-evidently, grooming is not a burning issue”.

For three minutes per week a fresh, imaginative and targeted moan falls into your computer’s hard drive straight from the minds of David Mitchell and one of his long-time writing friends Jesse Armstrong. Together, the two put together a very funny rant on a series of chosen topics ranging from spelling to man flu. As you would expect from a Mitchell/Armstrong combo, the writing is superb and delivered in a way that can’t help but make you smile. David Mitchell has a dry delivery with the edge taken off. He’s got the timing and pace of a Jack Dee but infinitely more approachable and isn’t afraid to crack a smile and enjoy himself a bit. Presented as Vidcasts, David will sit perched in a CGI world very calmly and informally sharing his views.

Effort really has gone into the show production-wise and each episode’s subject matter is reflected in its virtual location (which probably peak on the weirdness front in the episode “Going To The Doctors”, which sees David delivering his piece from inside a blood cell in the human body, as if it’s the most normal thing in the world. As the series goes on the productions are becoming more and more elaborate with panning shots, crazy camera work and the like, which makes me eagerly await episode 100 which I think will most definitely be scratch and sniff.

I like it when celebrities “get” the Internet and use their powers to promote mediums like Podcasting in the way that David Mitchell has. As a writing pair, he and Jesse Armstrong are as funny now as when they did Peep Show and it’s great to see a creative outlet for these two. Whether the show has room to expand and become more is yet to be seen but for now, three minutes of Mitchell as week is good enough for me. But the Bulldog sponsorship still baffles me.

Subscribe by iTunes - David Mitchell's Soapbox Official Website

The Jaycast: Playing Up or Breaking Down?

Jay Wellstead is either a comedy genius of the highest order or an awkward amateur. Halfway through the Jaycast you would think the latter, but you won’t believe how it ends.

Broadcasting from the imaginatively titled “Jaycast House”, Jay brings us his slice of Podcast pie with a random assortment of Podsafe music and an embarrassingly over-the-top radio voice that would make Smashy and Nicey from Harry Enfield’s Television Show cringe. When the songs finish, Jay gives his thoughts on the band. Well, I say “his thoughts”, Jay talks about the band by reading, ad verbatim, the words from their Podshow artist page which doesn’t make for a very good start. After a story from Jay’s life accompanied by bouts of forced laughter and a painful skit called “The Squirrels” you’re just about ready to call it a day...and then the doorbell rings.

The doorbell indicates the arrival of Mr. D, Jay’s fictional neighbour. From here, things take a strange turn. It seems Jay is doing the voices for both characters, but the dialogue is so fast-paced and spontaneous that it leaves you feeling in awe of it all. The Mr. D character turns up and berates Jay endlessly for many real-life issues be it falling over in public, his lack of success with women, his weight, his stupidity and every other major fault he can see punctuated by constant shouts of “Jay, you’re a pillock!” During these scenes, Jay uncomfortably laughs and agrees with everything Mr. D says and makes minimal attempts to defend himself. From this part of the show, you get a real insight into the fragile, dark mind of Jay Wellstead, a guy who seems utterly ashamed and self-loathing. When Mr. D walks in, it’s like you are hearing Jay’s inner thoughts spilling out in the direction of the microphone. Whether this makes compelling or uneasy listening I will leave up to you.

Whilst everything in the first part of the show I find to be drab and cringeworthy, the second part of the show is what keeps me subscribed partly through entertainment and partly through my honest belief that this guy may very well be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I guess I’m subscribed to the show because if I notice him stop updating, I can send the police round to the Jaycast House to check for signs of suicide.

Subscribe by iTunes - The Jaycast Official Website

Robert Llewellyn's Carpool: Giving Vidcasts A Lift

“When I interview people, I never know what to do with my hands” commented Robert Llewellyn whilst chatting with Ruby Wax as he drove her across London.  Whilst this wasn’t the inspiration behind the birth of Carpool, it was a happy coincidence for its host.

The artist formerly known as Red Dwarf’s Kryten, Robert Llewellyn has a firm grasp on the modern, internet generation.  Unlike many of his peers who are baffled by concepts such as Twitter and Youtube, Llewellyn has embraced that this medium will soon bypass the current conventions such as TV and radio.  All he needed was a way to get a piece of the action.  Enter Carpool, one of the most unusual concepts for a talk show since Kenny Everett pioneed “Eat Your Guest”.

A self-confessed Petrolhead, Llewellyn has kitted out his car with an impressive array of microphones and cameras and offers to give his famous friends a lift to wherever they need to go in return for answering a few questions for his fans.  In London, the home of the congestion charge, this probably comes as quite a relief to residents who want to get to work quickly and efficiently.  Since the programmes birth earlier this year, Bobby has taken the likes of Stephen Fry, Tony Hawks, Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Dom Joly and Ruby Wax to where they need to go and – in return – has supplied the Internet with some wonderful interviews in a very relaxed and unusual environment.

As an interviewer, Robert Llewellyn may not be taking over from a Jonathon Ross anytime soon, as there are times when he seems uncomfortable and slightly at a loss for words or – when with close friends like Chris Barrie – drifts off into slightly dull car talk.  If you love cars, then watching two Red Dwarf stars talk about the top-of-the-range super-turbo engines is nothing short of a wet dream…for the rest of the dry, non-petrolheads, it does cause you to wonder off in your mind.  But what we mustn’t forget in all of this is that the great chat show hosts of our time don’t have to worry about piloting a great big hunk of metal through a busy West End side street, so Robert can be forgiven for losing his thread from time to time.

A wonderfully unique concept, Robert Llewellyn has created what is essentially an online pilot for a TV series.  I hope that somebody somewhere pumps a bit more money in Robert’s direction to make Carpool into a well-polished TV-ready product.  Carpool is still worth watching for now though, as you never know who will hop in the car next.  Everybody needs to get somewhere at some point…the possibilities are endless!

Carpool Official Website

The Vobes Show: Something Completely Different

The one thing that has deterred people from entering the world of Podcast listening is, I believe, the Podcasters themselves.  On hundreds of occasions once you start to enjoy somebody’s offering, it’s quickly snapped away from you when one day the Podcasters you know and love – to give its technical term - “can’t be arsed this week”.  The ADD world of new media does feature one lively, divine constant that has been providing DAILY – yes, DAILY - content for the short-attention iPod generation since 2005.  With well over thirteen hundred Podcasts under his belt, he is still providing his own very unique slant on the world from a beach hut on Worthing’s sea front.  Say hello to Richard Vobes, one of the UK’s most prolific Podcasters...possibly.

Monday to Friday, Richard Vobes provides half an hour of discussion on an entire range of subjects.  It is difficult to put Vobes into a particular category; he’s not a talking head on the topics of the day, nor is he an audio blogger, an agony aunt, a comedy performer or a documentarian.  He’s all of these and more...he’s The Vobes! 

So you’re probably wondering; why has this man slipped under my radar for nearly half a decade?  Sadly, it’s the very thing that makes The Vobes fantastic that is also his undoing.  Vobes is a real “have-a-go” bloke who talks about anything and everything, at anytime, in any order.  One day he’s performing a comedy skit about the UK politician expenses scandal, the next day he is talking about religion and the day after he’s playing a documentary he made on Worthing history.  This mish-mash of styles and content makes for real roulette radio, and I find myself dipping in and out of my RSS feed throughout the year because of it.  I love the social commentary that this very funny and slightly unscrewed man offers, but when he goes hiking with a friend to admire several old battlements on the south coast I find it difficult to stick with.  For a man trying to build up a large, consistent listener base, this doesn’t bode well for The Vobes franchise.  When it comes to creating an audience, it’s easier to broadcast something to everybody, rather than everything to somebody. 

As a presenter, Richard Vobes is hard to dislike.  Positive, loud, proud and upbeat from the word go, he could easily slot into a full-time local breakfast radio show if things had been different.  In recent years, the man known as The Vobes has fallen on numerous financial and medical hard times, yet when the On-Air light goes on you can tell he’s having fun and letting it all hang out.  Richard allows his troubles to be shared through his on-the-side audio blog “The Naked Englishman”, which in its own right makes for compelling listening.  It’s only after listening to a few episodes (in which you will hear of a few episodes, if you get my drift) you realise just how much pressure he it under to make the show work.  It makes his passion for what he does and he style he does it seem all the more special.

Richard Vobes continues to be a poster-boy for Podcast consistency with his frequent shows and friendly, easy-to-warm-to style.  If he can find a way to bring this mantra to the content of his daily presentations he could very well pioneer a new boom period for Podcasting.  Until that day comes, Richard Vobes will remain one of the Internet’s best kept secrets.

Vobes Show Official Website