Little late to the game, I know, but this has been a
life-changing experience. I first remember having the word ‘Podcast’ pop up on
my iTunes as a separate category to music and videos (back when I had an iPod).
I didn’t know what it might be and no answers I received made me curious at all
to find out. I think I then revisited the word when I began listening to
audiobooks and a friend asked ‘why audiobooks and not podcasts?’. But even
then, I could not really see the point. But then my favourite famous human
being started one, Conan O’Brien, and I decided I didn’t have much of a choice
but to immerse myself in the Podcast experience.
So this started off as a fan-girl experience, planning to
exclusively listen to ‘Conan O’Brien needs a friend’ so as to get my daily
Conan dose that I was lacking as the show was off the air FOR EVER. But that
was a one-hour Podcast per week. I needed more. I soon found out about comedic
podcasts, informational podcasts and opinion podcasts from people whose opinion
I would like to know. All of a sudden, Stitcher (because Spotify and iTunes
want me to pay them money, which I won’t), was filled with downloaded episodes
from about four ongoing Podcasts. And while that may not seem like a lot, bear in
mind I like to catch up. I am not one of those people that can just accept that
I came in late and will therefore skip the episodes I missed. I need to know, I
need to be able to go ‘it used to be much better’ about any Podcast I am following. The current situation is
that I walk, commute and shop with someone babbling on my headphones. And that
is all good, apart from the few inconveniences that have occurred.
First of all, I have completely given up on music. I
remember reading NME, jotting down bands and looking them up. I remember being
able to chronologically comment on Cage the Elephant’s musical progression. I
remember having a free Spotify membership (again, I am very cheap) and not allowing
myself to listen to my own playlists until I had listened to my suggested mix,
in order to learn new songs. And now, Arctic Monkeys came out with a new album
in May 2018 and honestly, I might have heard it once? Have I? And it is not
just new music that I have lost track of, I hadn’t intentionally listened to
any music since October. That means none of my favourite songs, none of my
guilty-not guilty pleasures and none of those songs that make you contemplate
about life and love and happiness and worthiness and so on. Thankfully, Foals
had a new single to break this streak, but even that I have listened to once.
And I have referenced Foals enough on this blog for this statistic to be
shocking. I miss music. I think, I can barely remember what it sounds like.
Secondly and most importantly, I look like an idiot.
Constantly. This is especially true for the comedic Podcasts. You know how when
you see a person laughing by themselves on the bus you make a mental note to
sit away from them? Let’s just say I have a lot of personal space on my
commutes lately. I walk down the street and I laugh, and I also try to hide it,
which likely makes it worse. Most of the time I have a knowing grin on my face
like I’m approving of a joke that no one else in the street has access to. It
is ridiculous! Google satellite has now probably flagged me as a schizophrenic who
is really, really enjoying those voices in her head.
But it is not just the comedic Podcasts. Unfortunately, my
face is quite expressive regardless of content. So I might be buying courgettes
and staring at them really hard because I am trying to understand how private
insurance companies convinced the American public that public healthcare was a
direct attack on their constitutional free will. But as I don’t have ‘I am
listening to an anti-Trump Podcast’ written on my forehead, I just look
confused by courgettes. And sometimes I am, I mean, they must be closely
related to cucumbers right? There are just so many similarities. And pumpkins. For
some reason I feel like those are related.
Lastly, I am victim to the same problem we all are, now that
TV has taken a backseat to streaming services and the internet. AKA, I don’t
really have someone to talk about one of the past times that takes up quite a
bit of my day. It is more and more the case that we all deal with our own pop
cultures that are popular for a large number of people, but not a large number
of people you personally know. There is a sometimes a false sense of
something’s popularity and I feel as if that has created some personal barriers
in communication. This is something I would like to discuss in a separate blog
post, as it is sometimes funny and sometimes scary, but for the sake of this
topic it is quite simple. Apparently not everyone listens to ‘No such thing as
a fish’ and apparently I am not good at repeating jokes. Therefore I am now
unlikeable. And Podcasts are to blame.
Whining aside, I am loving this world of Podcasts. They are
amazing and much needed distractions, they feel way more genuine and they are a
practical alternative to YouTube videos to pass your time. And as a person
whose emotional wellbeing very much depends on distractions I am grateful for
the ability to take them with me on the tube. Last thing, ads on podcasts are a
lot better. Take note, YouTube.
No comments:
Post a Comment