Podcast Roll

As some of you know, I work sandwiched between two call centers. I work in Project Management, but the area of PM I'm in works with both call centers and customers. While interesting, it also gets very loud. And it's hard to focus on work when you're hearing dudes two rows over essentially yelling over the phone to a customer about IP conflicts. It's hard to write articles or send out projects when you're trying not to listen to proxy servers.

So I've resigned myself to being tied to my iTunes all day long. It's amazing how listening to music or podcasts helps with this. I think because it's not even related to my work, it can become white noise and I can focus on the task at hand. Coworkers make fun of me sometimes, but whatevs.

And because I love bulleted lists, here are some of my favorites podcasts or bands to listen to while at work:


--Too Beautiful To Live (TBTL). Luke Burbank, formerly of NPR crush fame, moved back to Seattle in December '07 and has a talk show on 97.3 KIRO at nights with producer/longtime friend Jen Andrews, Engineer/Japan's #1 Mixer Sean de Torre, and a host interns. I will admit, it took maybe two weeks to get into it, just because it's so different, but now I'm hooked. It's hard to describe what the show is actually about, since it's kind of about nothing. Luke, Jen, and Sean all discuss their lives and their day-to-day adventures, but also go into the subjects of politics, art, culture, movies, music, news events, Diggstown, and Steve Gutenberg. This is also the show that gave me the phrases "doucher", and "aaaaand that happened". They also love getting their listeners involved and having parties. If only I didn't live in Massachusetts, I'd be partying with them all the time.


--Coverville. Roughly 30-hour podcast a few times a week that focuses on covers of well known songs. Usually one podcast a week is a request show, one is on a theme (gender-bending covers), and then another one is a show based around an artist or CD (Paul McCartney and Pet Sounds). Neat to hear new songs, and I've definitely found new songs I like to download.


--NPR Concert Series. Plenty of NPR-loving indie/alternative/hipster concerts to listen to. My favorites/frequently listened to podcasts are Belle and Sebastian, Arcade Fire, The National, and The Ting Tings. Good music in a live setting, and sometimes nice to not have to think about skipping around a CD, but to just listen.


--Wait Wait Don't Tell Me! Every Monday morning, I anticipate this podcast. Very funny and entertaining, and also quite knowledgeable when it comes to the news and current events. And you can tell they're all good friends and enjoy spending this time together. And now that they're a little more legit, they tend to have very good weekly guests for Not My Job. Also, B-Rock was on a few years ago, and he was hilarious and nailed it.


--The National, The Boxer. I got this CD for Christmas, and I love this band. One to love for years to come. Songs are both pretty rocking (Mistaken for Strangers) and relaxed (Start a War, Green Gloves). Soooooo good.


--Arcade Fire. This is my most favorite find for music in the last few years. I love this band, and I have a feeling they're going places in the next few years. Funeral starts beautifully and grabs you for the rest of the album, and Neon Bible has been a frequently played CD for awhile. GET THEIR STUFF.


--Songs I've heard on NEP. My friend Dave has a local music show called New England Product. If I can stay awake, I listen to his show and write down any songs I like and whenever I have an extra buck, refer to this list and download a song. This is how I've found Chester French (kick ass), Bon Savants, and Pretty & Nice (good beat, I end up bopping my head around). Always a good time.