Now I’m wracking my brain trying to think of something to talk about.
My listening habits...
I don’t really know how much notice that people make of what I post up online, but the majority of my listening happens while I’m at work.
That’s because I spend most of my waking hours at work, and it’s a place where I’m alone all night for the most part, so it keeps me company to a large extent. Music and podcasts are my friends, who keep me going, and keep me sane.
My musical taste is incredibly varied, and some might even say too varied. I’m not really sure about that, as I happen to think that a varied taste gives me more choice, and then more inspiration when writing music myself. I don’t mind throwing elements from Bob Marley, Queen, The Beatles, Rush, Yes, Black Sabbath, Sly & The Family Stone, and whoever else into my sound cauldron!
It’s a bit like filmmakers themselves being influenced by multiple filmmakers. If you were just inspired by one thing, then you stand the danger of basically being a carbon copy in your own art. To use an analogy, trawlermen cast the net wide to get as much as they can, so the wider the net, the more they catch. In our case, the net is cast wide to collect as much musical knowledge as we can!
Podcasts are an interesting thing...
I was first introduced to podcasts by my friend Matt Blick, a musician from Nottingham who writes an online study on The Beatles called the Beatles Songwriting Academy, which looks into the details of each individual song.
Being an aficionado of The Beatles, Matt pointed out in a post in 2011 that the podcast Filmsack had talked about the Ringo Starr film Caveman, which is where he met the Bond girl Barbara Bach, who more than forty years later he is still very happily married to.
I listened to that episode of the podcast, and was hooked. I still listen to that series, but it’s been added to since by a fair number of podcasts! That’s putting it mildly now where, for the most part, it’s actually overtaken my music listening time.
I get increasingly very little time at home, and I’m the sort of person who gets really into things, especially if it’s something I’ve never seen or heard before. When I’ve seen the programme Gogglebox, I can’t understand the fact that they talk about what they’re watching while they’re watching it! How do they not miss bits while they’re talking? I have a tendency to get miffed when people talk over the top of things. If you want to watch something then watch it, if you’re listening to something, then listen to it!
Now to give this some context, I will very quickly explain what I do...
My job is to drive around in a van and go from one site to another. Then I let myself onto or into the different sites with keys that I have in the van, and go around checking on everything there. If I find anything, then react appropriately, but trying to remain alert for that very rare one in a million instance where people are on site robbing it. That’s always a possibility, and I have to be prepared for that just in case, as I’m going there with no knowledge of what I will find!
I also respond to any phone calls about alarm activations (intruder alarms, fire alarms, lift/elevator alarms, panic alarms, etc) or incidents on sites.
So, while driving I listen to podcasts and music in the work van when I have a van that connects to my phone! When I don’t have a vehicle that connects, which happens when the vehicles break down or go into the garage, then we often have back up vehicles, that don’t have connectivity, so then I raid my CD collection, and listen to CD’s all night, and a little bit of radio.
My podcast listening is varied as well, but can be split into different sections;
FILM & TV:
Filmsack - each week the four presenters discuss a film that they have all watched. I listen to this all of the time!
Full Cast & Crew - similar to the previous show, but this one is different in the way that it looks at the behind the scenes information, and where those people involved came from.
Blockbuster - now I’ll be honest and say that I haven’t listened to this yet. A friend suggested it to me recently, so I’ve added it to my list to check out. I think that it’s a series that looks at a different filmmaker each season, and their story.
Kermode On Film - respected film critic Mark Kermode talks about film releases, and about the world of filmmaking in general.
Mission Log - this is relatively new to me, and will take an age to catch up with! Since 2012 the presenters have watched a different episode of Star Trek each week, and then discuss each episode in that episode. So far I’ve listened to the first two episodes, and as soon as they mention at the start what the synopsis is, then I remember those episodes, as I’ve watched everything Star Trek related numerous times in the past!
Reelblend - three friends discuss what’s happening in the world of film, and interview special guests. Sometimes their discussions get a little heated, but that’s because they are obviously very passionate about films! I have been listening to this for a long while now, and never miss an episode.
The Gerry Anderson Podcast - Jamie Anderson (producer, creator, son of the late great Gerry Anderson) and actor Richard James discuss weekly the world of Gerry Anderson, including news, interesting facts, and other interesting bits and bobs (including interviews with people both involved and inspired by the creations of Gerry). There’s also the fascinating section called the Randomiser, where Chris Dale picks a different random episode of any of Gerry’s shows, and talks about them while watching them.
The Ray Harryhausen podcast - the two main presenters, occasionally joined by Ray’s daughter Vanessa, discuss everything about Ray’s career, very often including archive interview footage.
......
Actually, I’ll carry this on tomorrow if I remember, as this is a flipping long blog post already! And there I was at the beginning thinking I had nothing to talk about!
Thank for reading. Take care.
September 8th 2020 (49 years, 10 months, and 13 days old).
PS - other Film & TV podcasts I occasionally listen to, but missed mentioning;
No comments:
Post a Comment