Podcast Reviews

It's high time to review some of the more appealing podcasts out there. Podcasting has become a hot e-trendy deal, but it actually offers a lot. Furthermore, it has staying power. And one of the big areas podcasting has specialized in, is promoting less popular forms of music, particular the blues. Hence why most of my podcasts reviews are blues-based. The other neat thing of podcasting is the ability to package radio shows into podcast form. This is a great help, especially, for public radio - programs from WNYC and KCRW especially.











One radio program that has gotten a HUGE boost from podcasting is The Raven N The Blues. Broadcasting all the way from BFBS 2 (that's the British military's radio network), Dave Raven produces a weekly collection of blues tracks ranging from the early eras to today. All done with a classy British charm, and a voice that is radio-perfect, this is the most satisfying FM-sounding hour out there.


Few podcasts match the perfection of the radio programs. In fact, only one comes close and that's The Roadhouse, hosted by Tony Stiedler-Dension. Tony is a humble, soft-spoken, rather sweet fellow who doesn't sound tough but plays riproaring blues. His congenial jolly voice is actually rather comforting, along the lines of Dave Raven, and the access he has to genuine blues music is exceptional. The Roadhouse works on the tag line of "The Finest Blues You Never Heard" and 99.9999999% of the artists are indeed obscure and blues staples are rarely heard. Increasingly however, as the weeks progress, the podsafe catalogue is expanding rapidly - so by the 30th week, Tony was playing Aligator Records, Marica Ball, and Susan Tedeschi. It will only be a matter of time before the Roadhouse is the most definitive blues source around the world, period. It is that good and well-run.

Another popular blues podcast is Bandana Blues, which has more FM style than The Roadhouse but is still a podcast for sure. Hosted by Beardo and Spinner, this podcast gives off that morning radio trash feel with it's hokey announcer intro and cornball names. However, Beardo, despite a Philly accent that is actually not too unbearable, is a blues expert, and knows how to dish out the records. His partner, Spinner, is a Dutch-based blues fan, a representative of the amazing preserved love of the blues in Europe.


Austin Riffs is the last of the 4 big blues podcasts. It features high quality blues numbers but it is almost entirely poor audio-quality discussion between it's hosts. That being said, the banter can be substantive...but they need to play more music.


Celtic Music News is the other music podcast I listen to a lot of. The selection of contemporary Celtic and Celtic-influenced music is well thought out. I've caught Flogging Molly once and that is as mainstream as it gets. The host, however, needs to be more professional. He sounds frustrated all the time, sometimes even bored. At least once per every few editions, he will apologize for saying he sounds exhausted...but he ALWAYS sounds exhausted. And I am unclear as to who he even is. He needs more zip and Celtic flair to match his excellent music selections.


Rock N Roll Inferno is a lesson in a great podcast gone wrong. The garage rock selections are perfect: BBQ, Scott Biram, The Black Keys, the Detroit Cobras, and Turbonegro are just some of the bands that have been played. This is what a rock podcast should be all about. But the host is a nightmare. He doesn't want to do this. If he doesn't want to do a podcast, then why is he doing it? He sounds bored...and he barely puts his words together (I cannot stand listening to someone who doesn't enunciate...it is a waste of time). Maybe it's a good thing, he's only made 10 podcasts in 6 months. Wait...no it isn't...there is good music to be had. If he doesn't want to do it, I'll do it. Just send me the software and hardware and audio equipment and the playlist...and show me how to do it, and I'll do it.