#whooshingnoise is listening

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The August Podcast Update

I'm back to work now. It's put a significant cramp in my listening routine. I look through my blog and I think, a month ago I was mainlining cartoons and listening to podcasts like it was my job, and now here we are.

So, here we are:

What Went Wrong: Still enjoying this. Still the same high quality. The hosts (particularly Chris) get a little snarky with listeners occasionally. It feels like they're trying to resist parasocialization, but when they do that, it feels like they're succumbing to it also?

The Secret History of Hollywood: I still have not finished the first episode of "Cary."

Retro Disney World Podcast: This podcast is extremely my jam, or at least, a version of me from like, ten, fifteen years ago? I love the idea of the Buena Vista Historical Society, love retro WDW. I'm not doing a deep dive of this right now or anything, just dipping my toe in occasionally. The struggle is it's 4?5? guys who all sound a lot alike. I had the same issue with MBMBAM at first.

What's next: I'm debating what to listen to next. I feel like I should buckle down and finish "Cary," but his story just seems so sad, particularly his childhood. I feel like I know what's coming up, and I don't want to go there. And everything else on my list has such a massive backlog. "American Scandal:" 65 seasons??? And another Wondery podcast? I predict another "Business Wars." "Song Exploder:" short and easily digestible, but 266 unplayed episodes. "Sawbones:" 510 unplayed episodes. And at this point I am banging my head on the desk.

Maybe this is a problem for future listening. Finish one thing first.

Listening Now: What Went Wrong; The Secret History of Hollywood

Finished: Sold a Story; The Plot Thickens; Ghost Story; Nice Try!; Obsessions: Wild Chocolate

Regular Listening: The Thirty28; Wedway Radio; You Must Remember This; Learning Vibes; Maintenance Phase; My Brother, My Brother, and Me; Business Wars; Fated Mates; The Indicator; Talking Pictures; The Historical Romance Sampler; What Went Wrong

Upcoming: “Ongoing History of New Music;” “Song Exploder;” “American Scandal;” “Sawbones"

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The May Podcast Update

I've finished the Val Lewton ("Shadows") season of "The Secret History of Hollywood." It's been a long time since I've experienced any media, let alone a podcast, that affected me as much.

I consume a LOT of media. But let's be real, a lot of it is background noise. I'd been a casual podcast listener before the pandemic, but I don't think it's an accident that my listening habits went up A LOT during lockdown (so much so that I feel the need to track it, via this blog?) (and let's not get into the notion that all of this listening might be a way to escape my thoughts, yeah? Anyway). But this series...I found myself emotionally drawn in. I'm looking up ways to view Val Lewton's filmography, I'm reading Wikipedia entries and looking up biographies. I'm CRYING at descriptions of his anguish.

I'm going to credit this to Adam Roche's storytelling. I really appreciate his narrative style; I like the voice acting. He's making me feel something for someone I'd never heard of when I started listening. When I first started this season, I thought I was getting a straightforward history of RKO's horror films. But I got an entire biography of this man, and now I'm sad I'll never meet him.

I have no way of knowing whether Roche's depiction of Lewton is accurate or not; I'm not that well-versed in RKO history. So I can't speak to that, but the quality of the podcast is evident. My first critique is that the episodes are too damn long. The earlier episodes were over an hour; the last one was over six hours. I don't see why the later episodes couldn't have been cut up, except that maybe that didn't jive with the way Roche introduces the main themes for each episode? He begins each episode with a retelling of a Slavic fairytale that echoes whatever is going on in Lewton's life. It's great, but again, might have encouraged Roche's more wordy tendencies.

My second critique is about that very wordiness. Roche spends lots of time on description. This definitely contributed to the length, but at the same time, I'm wondering if my two nitpicks had a heavy hand in my emotional response? Would I feel the same if I didn't have time to truly sink into Lewton's life? Would I respond the same way if I weren't sitting right there on that beach with Val as his world falls apart around him?

There are only three seasons of this podcast available on Apple Podcasts right now, but I'm going to listen to all of them. I'm truly tempted to subscribe to his Patreon, and have access to all (8?) seasons. But again, there's a lot of free stuff to listen to, and once again, I've had great luck with podcasts lately.

I almost hesitate to bring it up, because I don't want it to be overwhelmed by the Shadows season, but I've also finished the first of two seasons of Curbed's "Nice Try!" The season focuses on different attempts at Utopias. It's also a quality listen, and considerably quicker than Shadows. They had an episode on Disney, and I thought it was interesting that, though they mentioned Epcot, they focused more heavily on Celebration, and the Florida Project in general.

Listening Now: The Secret History of Hollywood; Nice Try!

Finished: Ghost Story

Regular Listening: The Thirty28; Wedway Radio; You Must Remember This; Learning Vibes; Maintenance Phase; My Brother, My Brother, and Me; Business Wars; Fated Mates; The Indicator; Talking Pictures; The Historical Romance Sampler

Upcoming: “Ongoing History of New Music;” “What Went Wrong;” “The Plot Thickens;” “Song Exploder;” “American Scandal;” “Sawbones;” "Sold a Story"

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The April Podcast Update

I've integrated a lot more movie podcasts into my listening routine. After my Oscar party, it rekindled...I don't know, not necessarily my love of watching films, but listening to knowledgeable people talk about them? "What Went Wrong" is still great. I'm also listening to "Talking Pictures" (SO GOOD- great guests, great interviews) and "The Plot Thickens (same producer, TCM, good stuff).

I'm also listening to "The Secret History of Hollywood," the Val Lewton season. It's very well-researched, and entertaining, but episodes can run upwards of two hours apiece. It's a lot. I'm on episode 7/11 of that season. It DOES make me want to watch Lewton's films, though.

All this means that my regular routine of binging, with interludes of catching up between seasons, is pretty messed up. I've been alternating between shows. The last limited series I started listening to is "Ghost Story" (one episode left) and...it's good, but it's also, like, what's your point, dude? A lot of sturm and drang to dredge up old family history. I do not expect any answers in the final episode.

I've had a lot of good listening lately.

Listening Now: The Secret History of Hollywood

Finished: Ghost Story

Regular Listening: The Thirty28; Wedway Radio; You Must Remember This; Learning Vibes; Maintenance Phase; My Brother, My Brother, and Me; Business Wars; Fated Mates; The Indicator; Talking Pictures

Upcoming: “Ongoing History of New Music;” “What Went Wrong;” “The Plot Thickens;” “Song Exploder;” “American Scandal;” “The Secret History of Hollywood;” “Sawbones;” "Nice Try!"

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The March Podcast Update

So the most recent season of "Business Wars" was actually a remix of the Taylor Swift season. So I'm flipping through it.

I'm nearly through the backlog of "If Books Could Kill." It's entertaining. I do love debunking. Have I worked my way through most of the Michael Hobbs oeuvre yet?

I'm REALLY enjoying "What Went Wrong." I'm not sure if I want to commit to the whole backlog yet, because there are EIGHTY-TWO EPISODES I haven't listened to. But it's fun, and they have great interviews. I liked their episode on "The Fifth Element." Good, if a bummer (if you like the movie).

Listening Now: If Books Could Kill;

Finished: 

Regular Listening: The Thirty28; Wedway Radio; You Must Remember This; Learning Vibes; Maintenance Phase; My Brother, My Brother, and Me; Business Wars; Fated Mates; The Indicator; Retro Disney World Podcast

Upcoming: “Ongoing History of New Music;” “What Went Wrong;” “If Books Could Kill;” “Song Exploder;” “American Scandal;” “The Secret History of Hollywood;” “Sawbones;”

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The February Podcast Update

A Mishmash.

I don't have any limited series on deck right now, and that means I'm all over the place. I'm on the CURRENT SEASON of "Business Wars" (that would be season 92), and I'm very tired of business wars. Why can't business people get along.

I've picked up "Historical Romance Sampler," which is very much up my alley, even if I have some...let's say, production issues. Apparently, I'm an audio snob now.

"Talking Pictures" is a really great one I've picked up, particularly if you're into movies. I HIGHLY recommend it.

I'm working through the backlog of "If Books Could Kill" and "Song Exploder." Song Exploder hits the sweet spot creatively. I love getting glimpses into how music is made.

Listening Now: Business Wars; 

Finished: 

Regular Listening: The Thirty28; Wedway Radio; You Must Remember This; Learning Vibes; Maintenance Phase; My Brother, My Brother, and Me; Business Wars; Fated Mates; The Indicator

Upcoming: “Ongoing History of New Music;” “What Went Wrong;” “If Books Could Kill;” “Song Exploder;” “American Scandal;” “The Secret History of Hollywood;” “Sawbones;”

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What I'm Listening to Now

Oooh, a podcast update!

I'm on Season 61 of "Business Wars." That's...a lot. I took some breaks recently. I'm back to work now, and while I'm spending more time in the car, I'm also not playing podcasts while playing "Dr. Mario" or folding laundry (I've actually decreased the amount of time I'm spending on housework in general, soooo...). I'm skipping the subscriber seasons and the encores, as I'm not paying extra for a subscription, and I listened to the encores the first time around.

I followed a bunch of new podcasts I want to listen to, but I can already tell I'll be overwhelmed. I'm thinking of picking up again with "Welcome to Night Vale." I loved the first few arcs; I was a regular listener right up until the election, and then I don't know what the hell happened.

"The Prince Mixtape" and "Think Twice: Michael Jackson" were both really good- realistic, in-depth looks at complicated, creative people. I worry that I'm downplaying MJ's sins with that description. I didn't come away from the podcast thinking he was anything but guilty, and I don't think the podcast absolves him either. Though if you're triggered by discussion of child SA, then I don't recommend listening to it. The Prince Mixtape is a little more fawning at times, but still a great look at Prince's life.

"Believe in Magic:" Good, buried the lede. I sometimes have difficulty listening to British accents for extended periods of time. This is a new issue to me. I'm wondering why that is. I don't have that issue watching British movies?

"Parks:" Interesting premise, irregular updates and not many episodes. If you're interested in the relationship between the U.S.'s national parks and their indigenous inhabitants, this is a good listen. Also hard at some points.

I would really love to finish/get caught up with "Business Wars." It just. Keeps. Going. I'm a completionist; I can't just stop. I'd say my interests lie not in true crime, necessarily, but in scandal. I'm considering "American Scandal," but that's already over 50 seasons. I'm so tired. I'd also like to listen to more McElroy products. I just added so many more, sitting here and browsing through my app.

I wish Apple would do an end-of-year on podcasts.

Listening Now: Business Wars

Finished: Transmissions: The Definitive Story of Joy Division/New Order; Dolly Parton's America; Elizabeth the First; The Rise & Fall of Mars Hill; The DropOut; Parks; Believe in Magic; Think Twice: Michael Jackson; The Prince Mixtape

Regular Listening: The Thirty28; Wedway Radio; You Must Remember This; Learning Vibes; Maintenance Phase; My Brother, My Brother, and Me; Business Wars; Fated Mates; The Indicator

Upcoming: "Ongoing History of New Music;" "What Went Wrong;" "If Books Could Kill;" "Song Exploder;" "American Scandal;" "Flipping the Bird: Elon vs. Twitter;" "The Secret History of Hollywood;" "Sawbones;"

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What I’m Listening to Now

I’m sure I need a better format for this if I’m going to do it regularly. But I don’t know how to search my tags properly (is XKit still a thing?), and right now I’m just procrastinating on two papers, so:

I’ve listened to 40 seasons of “Business Wars.” FORTY SEASONS. Ugh. The episodes are bite-size (30 minutes) compared to what I usually listen to, so I can knock out a season a day, but still. That’s a lot. I think I have like, forty more to go, but I think most of those are encores. I don’t remember if the encores actually offer up any new content (I hesitate to call it “info”), or if they’re just re-runs.

Anyway, I’m taking a break from BW and listening to “Faith on Trial: Hillsong.” It’s from True Crime, which I’m not familiar with, but it’s only eight episodes. If it’s anything like “The Rise & Fall of Mars Hill,” I’ll probably like it. But Mars Hill was from Christianity Today, so an explicitly Christian perspective, and it could be kind of repetitive. 

I’m thinking about adding another one into my regular repertoire, but I want to listen to the backlist first, which will be another big endeavor.  Can’t just jump into things willy-nilly, no sir. 

Maybe I need to take a break from podcasts. I also have been listening to full albums- like, trying to work my way through an artist’s discography? I started with Madonna and Billy Joel. Billy Joel had some bangers in his early career.

Listening Now: “Faith on Trial: Hillsong”

Finished: “Transmissions: The Definitive Story of Joy Division/New Order;” “Dolly Parton’s America;” “Elizabeth the First;” “The Rise & Fall of Mars Hill;” “The Drop Out.”

Regular Listening: “Wedway Radio;” “You Must Remember This;” “Learning Vibes;” “Maintenance Phase;” “My Brother, My Brother, and Me;” “Business Wars;” “Fated Mates;” “The 3028;” “The Indicator”

Upcoming: “Parks;” “Believe in Magic;” “Think Twice: Michael Jackson;” “Ongoing History off New Music;” “What Went Wrong”