Podcasts #1
I thought I would share with you a trio of my favourite podcasts in a blog that is quite clearly filler because I have nothing else to write about.
Pappy's Flatshare Slamdown
Recently returned for a fith series, PFS is one of my favourites. It involves Pappy's (Matthew Crosby, Tom Clark and Ben Parry) and two guests from the world of comedy and entertainment battling it out in a loosely household themed quiz show. Even if you're not on board with the in jokes (The ridiculously long introduction to the Quickfire round, Fanshaw Standon providing and indeed presiding over cases in Beef Brothers, inexplicable references to Cuba Gooding Junior), it's great knockabout stuff with a high laugh quotient. Listening to the three of them negotiate the line between shambolic genius and a shambolic shambles is always a joy. I went to the recording of the one that's been released this week with Ivo Graham and Adam Buxton and it's a great deal of fun to be in the audience for as well.
Ellis James and John Robins
The newest podcast to make it into my rotation, the XFM podcast with Ellis James and John Robins is a reliably entertaining listen. Friends for a decade, the pair have excellent chemistry together and frequently improvise some great skits (I hate that word but it feels appropriate here) as well as expertly bantering with their long suffering producer Dave. The show is also brilliantly formatted, with the Sacred Cows feature often sparking heated debate among listeners about whether much loved bands should be given the thumbs up or thumbs down. Although I cannot agree with the decision to place The Sex Pistols in the paddock of Sacred Cows, nor the decision to condemn Bruce Springsteen to the abattoir. But democracy isn't always a good thing.
The pair going head to head in the weekly quiz "Winner Plays On" is an enjoyable if controversial feature, with an infraction from James when questioning Robins about the history of the farthing fresh in the mind.
Comedy lovers may well recognise a few of the voices heard during the Textual Healing section too. All in all, it's a top notch weekly audio package.
The Comedian's Comedian Podcast
An absolutely compulsory listen for would be stand-up comedians and writers, The Comedian's Comedian Podcast features stand up and all round nice man Stuart Goldsmith interviewing a broad cross section of performers from around the world of comedy. Describing it as "Inside The Actor's Studio for comics", Goldsmith gets to the bottom of how they write and what motivates them as comedians. Even with acts who I am unfamiliar with, there's always interesting pieces of insight to learn from. My favourite was Sarah Millican's belief that whether you've had a good gig or a bad gig, you have to let go of that feeling by 11am the following day. It's a cracking simple bit of advice that I've taken on board.
I was listening to Tim Vine's episode on the way back from a gig where I'd had a difficult time and he shared an experience with Boothby Graffoe whose understated indifferent reaction to dying on stage cheered me up no end and encouraged me to get back on the horse. This is basically the ideal podcast for me as an aspiring stand up and in the spirit of ComComPod's history of word of mouth promotion, I highly recommend checking it out.
I'll be back with another three podcasts I like the next time I'm rueing my commitment to a daily blog.
Pappy's Flatshare Slamdown
Recently returned for a fith series, PFS is one of my favourites. It involves Pappy's (Matthew Crosby, Tom Clark and Ben Parry) and two guests from the world of comedy and entertainment battling it out in a loosely household themed quiz show. Even if you're not on board with the in jokes (The ridiculously long introduction to the Quickfire round, Fanshaw Standon providing and indeed presiding over cases in Beef Brothers, inexplicable references to Cuba Gooding Junior), it's great knockabout stuff with a high laugh quotient. Listening to the three of them negotiate the line between shambolic genius and a shambolic shambles is always a joy. I went to the recording of the one that's been released this week with Ivo Graham and Adam Buxton and it's a great deal of fun to be in the audience for as well.
Ellis James and John Robins
The newest podcast to make it into my rotation, the XFM podcast with Ellis James and John Robins is a reliably entertaining listen. Friends for a decade, the pair have excellent chemistry together and frequently improvise some great skits (I hate that word but it feels appropriate here) as well as expertly bantering with their long suffering producer Dave. The show is also brilliantly formatted, with the Sacred Cows feature often sparking heated debate among listeners about whether much loved bands should be given the thumbs up or thumbs down. Although I cannot agree with the decision to place The Sex Pistols in the paddock of Sacred Cows, nor the decision to condemn Bruce Springsteen to the abattoir. But democracy isn't always a good thing.
The pair going head to head in the weekly quiz "Winner Plays On" is an enjoyable if controversial feature, with an infraction from James when questioning Robins about the history of the farthing fresh in the mind.
Comedy lovers may well recognise a few of the voices heard during the Textual Healing section too. All in all, it's a top notch weekly audio package.
The Comedian's Comedian Podcast
An absolutely compulsory listen for would be stand-up comedians and writers, The Comedian's Comedian Podcast features stand up and all round nice man Stuart Goldsmith interviewing a broad cross section of performers from around the world of comedy. Describing it as "Inside The Actor's Studio for comics", Goldsmith gets to the bottom of how they write and what motivates them as comedians. Even with acts who I am unfamiliar with, there's always interesting pieces of insight to learn from. My favourite was Sarah Millican's belief that whether you've had a good gig or a bad gig, you have to let go of that feeling by 11am the following day. It's a cracking simple bit of advice that I've taken on board.
I was listening to Tim Vine's episode on the way back from a gig where I'd had a difficult time and he shared an experience with Boothby Graffoe whose understated indifferent reaction to dying on stage cheered me up no end and encouraged me to get back on the horse. This is basically the ideal podcast for me as an aspiring stand up and in the spirit of ComComPod's history of word of mouth promotion, I highly recommend checking it out.
I'll be back with another three podcasts I like the next time I'm rueing my commitment to a daily blog.
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