Podcast: a series of audio or video files which can
be downloaded and enjoyed on your computer or portable
device. NOTE: You don’t need an iPod to consume podcasts.
If you have a computer and internet connection you can
enjoy podcasts. If you have any mp3 player with enough
space to hold a large mp3 file, you can listen to a podcast.
If you have iTunes or another podcast grabber like IPodder,
you can subscribe to a podcast and it will download new
episodes automatically. Or you can do it manually via
those programs or each podcast’s website.
Now that that’s out of the way, I thought I’d share the
podcasts I listen to regularly of late in case you might
also find them enjoyable. Let me know if you have a pick
that should be shared. I would love to find more things
to listen to on the way to work.
1. Marc Gunn’s Irish & Celtic Music Podcast
http://www.celticmusicpodcast.com/
This is not for the pure-droppists. Marc Gunn plays music
mostly by independent artists as a promotional service.
So the quality of music can vary, but it’s all about the
artists, trying to get music out to receptive audiences
that might otherwise not find it. The last third of each
podcast is more contemporary/rockish, so if that isn’t
your thing it’s conveniently skippable. If you have any
kind of Irish/Celtic band with any podsafe tracks (podsafe
means it can be played without royalties, so it’s completely
trad or written by one of the band members) it might be a
good idea to send them to Marc to gain a wider audience.
It’s a good way to sell CDs!
2. Smithsonian Folkways: Sounds to Grow On
http://www.folkways.si.edu/explore_folkways/sounds_to_grow_on.aspx
Folkways is a non-profit record label. They will not take any
record out of print, regardless of sales. So they have an
extensive catalog of folk and world music. In this podcast,
the founder’s son comes up with a theme each episode
and trolls the Folkways catalog to find songs which fit the
theme. Lots of the stuff is on vinyl, so it sounds very
“vintage”, if you’re into that.
3. Various free audiobook podcasts
Several sites have audiobooks available for free. Some are
episodic (each podcast episode is a couple chapters), some
are one ginormous MP3 with the whole book. Some of the
books are public domain, some are recent novels released
for free as a promotion for the author.
http://www.podiobooks.com/
http://www.openculture.com/2006/10/audio_book_podc.html
4. Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour
http://croz.fm/pages/ttrh.html
This is not so much a podcast as an “unofficial” archive of
shows which are broadcast on XM radio. The downloads
are zipped files containing an individual mp3 for each song
and introduction, which when played in order, make up the
radio show as it was heard on XM. The show itself does not
feature Dylan’s music, instead Bob is the host and DJ. Much
like the Folkways podcast above, a theme is picked each
week and music is found to fit that theme. But the music
Dylan picks runs the gamut from folk to Blues to Rock to
Salsa. It doesn’t matter what you think about Bob’s own
music, his knowledge of the industry allows him to tell some
amazing stories about the artists and song. It’s almost worth
getting XM radio just for this show.
Anywho, check 'em out if you’re inclined. Let me know what
I’m missing.