iPod for Spoken Word as well as/not Music

Kia ora

It seems like I have had an MP3 player for ever, but in reality that’s not true. Years and years ago I have a very small capacity MP3 player, it was so primitive,it used SD cards as memory. Most nights I used to plug the card into the PC and if I was lucky download an album onto the card. An album was about the limit as the card was only 512.

Next came the iPod but only after son #1 had tried it out first. I went for the big one and got a 20GB that would be well enough. Currently I am struggling with 60GB and will at some stage in the future switch to the 120GB or bigger if they have one. Which raises an interesting side issue, why does the big one come in only two colours, I would love a 120GB RED one.

Somewhere along the journey I switched from Musicmatch to iTunes. Until this past two weeks that had seemed like a great idea, and in reality it still is.

When I got my iPod it was just for music, I hadn’t even thought about Audiobooks, Radio, Podiobooks, Podcasts. I didn’t even conceive of there existence. How things have changed, when I get home from work I start iTunes up and most days about 10 podcasts will download. More than I can ever listen to, but I am hopeless at culling! Last year I said I would never have more than 600 podcasts on the system waiting, then I increased the limit to 1000, currently I have 1200 waiting. Apparently it will take me 24.96 days to listen to the lot and in that time about another 200 will come in, that’s if I don’t subscribe to more!

Looking at the stats on iTunes i have

• Podcasts 24.96 days outstanding
• Music 49.58 days outstanding
• Video/Movie 2 days outstanding

On the positive side of this I very rarely watch TV anymore, thats not hard as there is **** all on these days.

I am stunned by the range and quality of content available to stick onto your iPod. Four of the podcasts I currently have on my iPod are

• 5 Live daily – Daily Football podcast (BBC) http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/fivelive/5lfd/rss.xml
• 65 Below – Podiobook by Basil Sands, really enjoying it. http://www.basilsands.com/ 
• Crimewave.com – Noir Crime Stories – http://crimewav.com/
• The Archers – BBC Rural soap – http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers/index.shtml

That’s only four of the podcasts currently being listened to!  As mentioned previously

• 5 Live is a daily football update, sharp and snappy about 20 minutes of news and views. 
• 65 Below is an action thriller podiobook based in Alaska, I have really enjoyed it. I will give a brief update / review later in the week.
• Crimewav is a weekly podcast and the stories are crime in nature and often has a noir feel to them. Stories are usually about 30mins which is great timing for me regarding travelling time.
• The Archers, I love my daily rural soap.

Dave A

2008-10-30 ~ The Chess Records Story

Kia ora

In my humble opinion the best site on the web is the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/ , stunning content and the source of information, podcasts and many documentaries. Obviously I was brought up with the BBC both on the radio and the TV, a few years ago I rediscovered the BBC through their web presence especially the BBC digital channel BBC7 http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio7/  another great channel was BBC6 the home of many great documentaries. http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/ .

Currently I am listening to a fantastic doco found on BBC6. The Story of Chess records, its fantastic stuff. A small label that broadcast the blues and had such a profound influence on the British music scene. Clapton, Beck, Cream, The Stones The Beatles all have documented the importance of the Chess musicians as influences. The doco consists of 4 30 minute episodes. The narrator is Marshall Chess son of the founder, and one time manager of The Rolling Stones. A highlight so far has to be the Howlin Wolf  version of Spoonful, later done by The Cream, I wonder how many people have ever heard that version? What a group of artists were on the Chess label, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Do Diddley.

Dave A

2008-10-20 The Archers, The Datsuns

Kia ora

I have just completed a podcast marathon, 21 episodes of the Archers.

The Archers is probably the longest running soap in the world, its certainly the longest running radio soap. The Archers are part of my childhood and have followed me around the world.

I can remember listening to the Archers as a youngster, I was never quiet enough and was always talking over the program and getting told off for it. When I left home it became  of my daily routine to listen. If I missed the daily then I always caught the weekly omnibus episode.

When we moved over to New Zealand, it was to find that The Archers was broadcast on Radio New Zealand (RNZ). Not long after we arrived, RNZdropped the program and I went years without listening, and I coped, no need of therapy at all. In the early 90′s I ended up working with a fellow POME and in conversation he admittted to being an Archers fan, and that his mum in law sent them regular care parcels of Archers episodes taped. Naturally I was in for a chunk of that. Unfortunately the supply dried up when I changed jobs and another dry spell ensued.

In the early 00′s I rediscovered the BBC website, Radio 4 sites and listen again. The Archers are part of the Listen Again program. So I was back into it, the archers over the internet! One continual frustration was that there was no podcast. Well it arrived a few months ago and through the magic of the BBC and iTunes I get an episode delivered direct to my PC six days a week, as its a podcast I can choose when I listen.

As you will know I have had a few iTunes problems (of my making, no doubt). Most of my spare time over the past few weeks has been sorting iTunes and my music/audio library out, so I have a very large backlog of Podcasts to consume, yesterday I consumed about 21 Archers episodes.

Some of you will be wondering what is The Archersabout. The Archers is a social soap centered in a mythical village called Ambridge somewhere not far from Birmingham. The BBC have a great website as a resource http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers/   . The Archers are the core family that the soap revolves around. One of the things that I really enjoy about the program is the way it tackles both social and agricultural issues. Its almost educational. Above all its good entertainment, because it runs daily they have the ability to drop in significant National or International events. They have also had the time to develop the characters warts and all.

Way back when I went cold turkey and missed great chunks I could cope, not so sure that I could cope now, mind you I am much older and far less flexible of mind.

The Datsuns – Headstunts

The Datsuns are a New Zealand band, based over in the UK I think, and the music they play is definitely not New Zealand music. This is their 4th album and it ranks along with their first album as there best. This is guitar driven rock at its best, plenty of loud fast tracks, its all about the guitar. The drummer fights to be included and in this album he certainly makes a contribution, more than in other albums.

Its not often when you listen to an album first time around that you start on the air guitar, but this album is like that, instant guitar hooks and drive, you cant not start banging the head and jumping around. There must be a subtle track on the album, but if there is I haven’t found it yet. This in my opinion will be one of my albums of the year. I am old enough to remember The Who as a start up band, The Datsuns have that power and feel to them.

Dave A