Don Xml's Grok This

I'm always on the lookout for new music podcasts, and since my tastes tend towards metal and hard rock, that's what I like to listen to.  But, I'm also very picky about the sound quality of the podcasts.  Since I'm friends with Carl Franklin, who does a great job with the Pwop Productions podcasts, and he introduced me to podcasting, I tend to be spoiled when it comes to sound quality.  One a side note, Carl built out a full blown recording studio in New London, CT, that along with recording podcasts, is being used by other musicians to record their stuff.

So, given that background, here are the 2 music podcasts I listen to, and their pros and cons:

1. Talking Metal - The reason I started to listen to these guys (and still do even the the audio quality is poor), is that they are about my age, and from my home state, NJ, which means that they have similar tastes (at least closer to mine then the rest of the world).  The recent Del James interview was killer.  Del is another guy, a little older than me, but closer in musical tastes, and grew up in the 80's NYC/NJ music scene, like me.  Talking Metal covers everything from the Hard Rock of GnR and Def Leppard to the Metal of Priest, Black Label Society, and Ozzy.  They also include "newer" bands like Lamb Of God, Otep, and In This Moment, which is a must for me, because I listen to podcasts to get turned onto new music, not just re-live the old days.  The downside of Talking Metal is that, for a couple guys that are musicians and work in the media business, one would think that they would try to get a decent sound.  There are a lot of episodes (especially the telephone interviews) where it is impossible to listen to the show, except if you play it thru headphones.  And even then, the audio levels tend to suck.  The hosts would be loud and clear, and the guest would be buried in the background.  I know that making a podcast isn't easy, but I expect you to at least run it thru something like Adobe Audition and mix the levels and filter out the background hiss.
2. The Rock and Roll Geek Show -  Somehow I missed the early years of this show, and only recently found it.  Michael Butler's music tastes are usually a little "lighter" than mine, but, there are a lot of similarities (and one would think that since he played in Exodus, he would be pure metal, but he isn't).  The podcast tends to be a bit "campy", and amateurish, but I think that is the point.  There is little (if any) post production of the show, which does bug me.  The audio levels, especially when he plays some music, well, they tend to be too loud, compared with the rest of the show, but it is what it is.  There are shows that I just can't listen to, the recent driving with Butler is an example, and most of the interviews can be hard to listen to, but overall, it is a decent show, with some good content.  He interviews some cool, "obscure" bands (recently DaD, and Bob Spencer from the Angels).  The Rock of Love Recaps, I can't stand, and don't listen to.  But I love the bootleg reviews (he recently did shows on Iron Maiden and Van Halen).  Basically, the show is hit or miss, but considering what else is out there, it isn't bad, and the music is pretty good.  He plays everything, from the new Judas Priest, to Joan Jett, plus more obscure bands (old and new).

I've tried a bunch of other podcasts, but they all pretty much sucked.  The worst tend to be the music label podcasts.  I've tried Mgnatunes' Intense Metal podcast, and it isn't for me, all bands I've never heard of, and don't really ever want to hear.  I had high hopes for Zach and Ron's Metalscape podcast, but after a couple episodes, I couldn't take it.  It was like trying to listen to a poor man's imitation of Bevis & Butthead do a podcast, and it wasn't funny.  I haven't listened in a few months, maybe it is better, but I doubt it.

If you have any hard rock or metal podcasts that you listen to, leave a comment.  I'd like to find a couple more decent podcasts to listen to.