No more Alison Rosen?

So I downloaded this morning's Carolla podcast, excited to start the new year.  They usually just do repeats over the Holidays, and so I hadn't really listened in a couple weeks.

from AlisonRosen.com

And Adam starts the show saying that Alison Rosen will no longer be on the show?

I don't like it.

I also didn't like the "reason" given, which was, "She wasn't a good fit as a sidekick."  She was a "good sidekick" not a "great sidekick".

She's been on the show for Four Years, Man!

Maybe it will come out that there was a contact negotiation that went bad, or maybe it will come out that Alison wanted more money.  But there had to be something other than just "she wasn't a great fit".

She Was An Awesome Fit!  I loved her.  And specifically, I loved her on this show.  I've listened to her solo podcast "AlisonRosenIsYourNewBestFriend", and while it's ok, it really depends on the guest.

What I liked, was Alison mixed in with Adam and Bald Bryan.  She was great.  She was a great "newsgirl".  I loved her interactions with them, and the guests, particularly David Allen Grier.

Alison started off today's "Best Friend" by saying she is no longer working with Adam Carolla, and that she is taking her podcast with her, and she gets to start her "own pirate ship" or "love bus" or something like that.

I'm not giving up on Adam, I continue to listen to his show, at least for a while.  I enjoy his show, and I enjoy his guests, and I'll continue to do so.  But it's going to be tough to replace Alison Rosen.  I already hated the new "news song" they played as an intro to the news. (And I didn't care for the replacement Gina Grad, but that's not her fault... I'll give her some time).

Adam, you have a tough job in front of you.

I don't like it.  Just like a week ago I wrote that the Adam Carolla show was my favorite Comedy Podcast of the last year... and now, 1/3 of the dynamic is gone.  And that sucks.

I'll miss you Alison, and I suppose I will check out your podcast more often now.

Alison Rosen from http://firstorderhistorians.files.wordpress.com/

Best of 2014

It's that time of year, when I share some of my favorite things from the past year.  (If I haven't mentioned them before, or maybe even if I have).

Television

As a non-partier and also a person of the antisocial persuasion, I watch alot of television.  Here were some of my favorites.

Best Comedy- Brooklyn 99

It may not actually be the "best" comedy, but I laugh more at that show than any other current show.  Which I think is the actual point of comedies, anyway.  Honorable mention to "New Girl" and "The Mindy Project", which are both having strong seasons.

Best New Comedy - Nathan for You

I love watching Nathan Felder give his radical business ideas to people.  And the Dumb Starbucks episode is one of the greatest things I have ever seen.

Best Television Series - The Americans

There were a lot of good nominees in here, The Walking Dead has been particularly good, I enjoyed the last season of Game of Thrones, and I loved Fargo.  But week in and week out, The Americans was as good as anything I've ever seen on the small screen.  That's not hyperbole.  It's a great, great, show.

Best New Television Series - Fargo

I have to admit I was skeptical that any television series could recreate the Cohen Brothers "Universe" from the Motion Picture "Fargo".  I was wrong.  Fargo was great.  Looking forward to the next season which is actually set in Sioux Falls.

Best Television Series Idea - Foo Fighters "Sonic Highways"

Genius concept!  Take a rock and roll band, have them spend a week in 8 different cities, and learn the lay of the musical landscape (so to speak), in each city, and then end the episode with the band writing and recording a new song in/about each city.  I really, really, really, enjoyed this show.  In addition, Dave Grohl is the coolest guy in Rock and Roll.

MUSIC

Best Concert I saw this year - The Avett Brothers

To be fair and honest here, it was also the only concert I saw this past year.  But it was excellent.  The Avett Brothers are a tremendous group, and immensely entertaining live.

Best New Album - Jack White "Lazaretto"

I love Jack White.  Which isn't surprising, because he is super talented.  But what is maybe surprising is how little attention this album got.  It's so good.  And I'm not saying that because I'm some sort of a music snob.  This new Jack White album is phenomenal, and more people should pay attention.

PODCASTS

Best Podcast - "Serial"

The story of the murder of Hae Min Lee in Baltimore Maryland, and the resulting case that ended in the arrest of Hae's boyfriend, Adnan, was absolutely fascinating.  It's no small wonder that it became the top downloaded podcast of the year.  Such an interesting subject matter, and done so well by Sarah Koenig and crew.  I highly recommend!

Best Comedy Podcast - "The Adam Carolla Show"

I listen to alot of comedy podcasts.  some of which would include: Jay Mohr's "Mohr Stories", Bill Burr's "Monday Morning Podcast", Chris Hardwick's "Nerdist", Greg Proop's "The Smartest Man in the World", and so on.

Bald Brian, Adman, and newsgirl Allison Rosen

The Carolla show is the best of the bunch for 2 reasons.  1.  Adam does his show pretty much daily, like a radio show... whereas most of the previously mentioned are only done once a week.  This helps you gain familiarity with the show, and the guests, and it just has more of a welcoming tone than some of the others.  The Second reason is this:  Carolla is great at this.  He knows his strengths, he doesn't vary much in format, and he has his standard go to bits such as "Rotten Tomatoes Game", and "What Can't Adam Complain About".  It's a great show for those of us who don't have a daily radio station to listen to.

Best Sports Podcast - "The BS Report"

I'm probably wussing out here, as the BS Report is the #1 podcast in downloads, but I'll tell you, it's #1 for a reason.  I've tried others.  I've listened to "The Lowe Post", I've tried "Short Corner", I've even downloaded some of the Dan Patrick Radio Show in podcast form.... none are as fulfilling as the BS Report.  Which is weird for me to say, because Simmons is such a Boston Homer.

MOVIES

I didn't see too many movies this year, but here are a couple of my favorites (that probably everybody saw).

Best Super Hero Movie - Guardians of the Galaxy

This was definitely the best of the super hero movies this year.  I kept hearing great things about Captain America "Winter Soldier" and that wasn't that great.  The X-Men movie was pretty good too, but Guardians of the Galaxy reigned supreme.

Best Drama - 12 Years a Slave

I know that came out the year before, but I didn't see it until 2014, and so it sticks for me.

Best Comedy - Neighbors

Like I said, I didn't see too many movies this year.

SPORTS AWARDS

Best Coach - Gary Patterson, TCU Horned Frogs, College Football

What Gary Patterson has done at TCU is not only phenomenal, but also quite unbelievable.  Other coaches are bigger names, he does the most with less.

Best Team - The San Antonio Spurs - 2014 NBA World Champions

Any person who thinks anything else is simply wrong.  

Best Athlete - LeBron James, Small Forward, Cleveland Cavaliers

In case you forgot, one player or man, basically held the entire NBA off season up this summer.  No one decided to do anything until LeBron decided what he was doing.  He basically approved of who was hired as coach, and was able to choose his own teammates for the most part.  You don't wield this type of power unless you are a once in a generation talent.  Unreal.  I know he has more than his share of haters, but no one else could do this, in any other league.

Here's to 2015, and a new list next year!

Podcast Fever: Catch it!

First real blog post in over a month!  Woah dude, I've been slacking.

To be honest, I've actually been doing stuff.  Between little league baseball games, carpet installations, yard work, shed building, etc, etc, etc... I've really not had much time to sit down and put some thoughts into my blog.

So, one thing I have found myself doing, with increasing regularity lately has been listening to podcasts.  I know I've blogged about this in the past, usually just mentioning it in passing, but today I thought I'd look at the subject of podcasts as a topic in and of itself.

With the students and most of the staff out of the school during a typical workday, I'm left with a lot of time by myself...and while I'm busy, it's nice to be able to listen to things.  If I'm in the office for an extended period of time, I'll just open the websites and listen to the podcasts on my laptop, but most of the time, I'm moving around from here to there, and I just download the show I want to listen to on my phone... plug in the earbuds... and I'm spending an hour or so with Jay Mohr or Adam Carolla.

The great thing about podcasts is twofold:
1.  The infinite variety - take a look at the top downloaded podcasts on iTunes. Business, Comedy, Sports, Science, Religion... there is really no end to the kind of material you can access.
2.  Listener Control - instead of listening to a traditional "radio show" that airs at this appointed time, on the appointed channel, on the appointed days... with a podcast, you can pick and choose what shows you want to listen to, download them and listen to them at your convenience.

So, if you are a fan, of comedy and comedians like I am... the podcast is a virtual goldmine.  There are seemingly an unlimited amount of comedians who host their own podcasts.  I just did a quick search and found a good list of ten comedian podcasts.

I find the comedian podcasts are the easiest to follow when you are doing stuff, because if you miss something, it's OK.  I could see a news, or politics, or something a bit more serious and informative being much more difficult to listen to. (at least while you are working)

So, I thought I'd discuss a few of my favorite podcasts, and what I like about them here.

1.  Mohr Stories - Comedian/Actor Jay Mohr puts out his "Mohr Stories" on Mondays and Fridays each week.  The podcast is normally Jay recorded one on one with a guest.  The guest is often another comedian, sometimes an actor, but it could be an athlete (a recent episode with former Laker Rick Fox was very good), and sometimes a musician.

I think the reason this is my favorite is that I'm a sucker for impressions, and Jay Mohr does some killer impressions.  He'll being going along asking questions, and then all of a sudden he'll be doing Colin Quinn, or Christopher Walken, or Tracy Morgan, or .... whoever.
Probably the best episode of Mohr Stories that I've listened to was recorded with veteran comedian George Wallace.  I'm telling you, I was in absolute stitches listening to these two comedians go back and forth.

2.  The Adam Carolla Show - probably the guy who turned podcasts and podcasting into the phenomenon they are today.

Carolla hosted a very popular radio show in Southern California, and about four years ago, he took his show off the airwaves, and onto the Internet.

Carolla's show is different than most podcasts, as it still holds more of a "traditional radio show" vibe to it.  Carolla records his show daily and new episodes appear most weeks Monday through Friday (usually recorded the night before).   Each day Adam and his two co-hosts (Bald Brian and Alison Rosen) cover any number of topics of the day, (Usually during Allison's News segment).  And there are weekly features to this podcast... Dave Dameshek comes in once a week to talk about sports, they usually do a live show in front of an audience once a week (on Weds nights, and the podcast appears Thursday mornings).

Carolla is also different from most podcasters, in that he doesn't just have his show... he hosts a number of shows over his "Carolla Digital" Brand, including:

-The Adam and Drew show (Adam reuniting with his former "Loveline" partner, Dr. Drew)
-The Dr. Drew Podcast (Dr. Drew gets his own podcast, to go with his 15 million television projects)
-Ace on the House (Adam and his buddy Ray give home improvement tips)
-Alison Rosen is your New Bestfriend (Newsgirl Alison Rosen hosts her own podcast)
-Carcast (Adam and Matt D'Andria talk about... Cars!)
-For Crying Out Loud (Adam's wife Lynette and Stephanie Wilde-Taylor discuss children and child raising)
-Penn's Sunday School ( Penn Jillette and company talk about the news and stuff)
-This Week with Larry Miller (Comedian Larry Miller gets his own podcast).

I'm not really sure how Adam finds the time to participate in 4 different podcasts, oversee the production of 5 others, race cars on the weekend, become an alcohol distributor, appear on "dancing with the stars" and "celebrity apprentice", along with his guest spots on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and other podcasts... but I'm glad that he does.  I've listened to a few of the other podcasts on his network... the Adam and Drew show is very good, and Alison Rosen is Your New Best Friend can be excellent, depending upon the guest.

3.  Sklarbro Country -The Sklar Brothers (Randy and Jason) host a podcast that discusses comedy and sports.  It is normally a weekly show, but occasionally they will put an extra episode on there.

You may remember the Sklars from their appearances on espn's Cheap Seats... but they also appeared on some of those VH1 "I love the " 80's, 90's, etc... shows.

I really haven't listened to this podcast that many times, only a handful to be completely honest.  But I really enjoy them every time I listen to them...they have good guests, they talk about sports, and they're hilarious.  This is definitely a podcast that I am looking to put into my weekly rotation.

4.  The Nerdist - hosted by comedian, TV show host, and all around nerdball Chris Hardwick.  Nerdist puts out new shows every few days, and the guests that Hardwick interviews varies greatly... most of the time they are people from the entertainment world, but they don't have to be.

The Nerdist lives up to it's name, and while it can be funny and insightful, and quite witty... it discusses video games, and the Internet, and Comicon, and all things of that nature.  In fact the intro music for the podcast sounds like something off of an early 80's video game.

Still, it's a good show...and actually the 2nd podcast I started listening to after the Carolla show.  However after a while I discovered Mohr Stories, which I enjoyed more.  However, as I have drifted into a podcast "frenzy" lately, I have been listening to the Nerdist more often again, and really enjoying it.

5.  Monday Morning Podcast - Comedian/Actor Bill Burr hosts the weekly "Monday Morning Podcast".... which doesn't always come out on Mondays.

One thing different about Burr's podcast... no guests.  He just sits down and starts talking about stuff... some of it is what went on the weekend before (this is where the podcast gets it's name, he records it when he returns home from a weekend of doing comedy shows), then he maybe talks about some stuff in the news, and then he maybe discusses a few letters or e-mails that have been sent to him.

Although he's kinda brassy and he's often making fun of and chastising his own fans, Burr's podcast just works.  It's kind of refreshing hearing somebody just sit down and lay it out there...here's what I think, deal with it.

A couple other podcasts that I don't listen to, but I've heard good things:

WTF with Marc Maron - I did listen to part of one episode one time, last year...and he was so gruff, and just unpleasant I turned it off.  But I keep hearing good things, and this show always makes the lists of the top podcasts.... so maybe I should give Maron another listen.

Doug Loves Movies - comedian Doug Benson evidently sits down and discusses movies, and movie trivia with a couple of guests.  I really wanted to give the podcast a shot...but there wasn't an App for it in the android store.  I guess I could always just download it...and import it as an mp3 file from my computer.  I've heard a lot of good things about this, and I bet it's great... Doug Benson is super funny, and who doesn't like movies?

One thing I've been looking into lately is getting a "Podcast Manager".  Something like this.  A place where you can download and manage all your podcasts in one place.  I'm not sure how it works, and I'm not sure if I want to take the time to try and set this up.  If anyone out there uses a podcast manager, and really likes it...please let me know... I'll be sure to try it, and post something about it on here.

Alright, so to wrap up... if you aren't listening to podcasts... I think it's something you should check into.  And you don't have to be a comedy lover like I am, they come in all formats... news, politics, religion...whatever you're into.

I hope you enjoyed the discussion of these podcasts, and hopefully you will decide to give one (or more) of them a try.  They're free!  And they are quite often hilarious, and sometimes even a bit informative.