Whistle While You Work

For a while now, I've been meaning to do a post about what I listen to while I work, so here goes. (Note that a lot of the podcasts contain horrifically explicit dialogue, and may not be safe for work, or human ears in general.)

Movies

I'll listen to movies sometimes, and they are always ones that I've already seen, so I don't need to look up to follow what's going on. Films with a lot of dialogue and/or music are best. Blade Runner is my go-to flick; I think I've listened to that more times than anything else. I've got the "Final Cut," so I'll run it back to back, cycling through the three different commentary tracks. Nixon, JFK, and Platoon are also in regular rotation, and Oliver Stone provides some great commentary on those, as well. Glengarry Glen Ross and Heat are great too. I could listen to Al Pacino read the phone book. "Johnson, Michael. Three-four-two. Nine-oh, FIVE! FOUR! Whoo-ah!"

Red Letter Media
Redlettermedia.com has a lot of great video reviews, the most famous of which are probably the "Mr. Plinkett" Star Wars Prequel reviews. I've listened to those countless times, and they're actually more interesting (and well thought out) than the movies themselves. If you're a fan of film in general there's a lot of insight into the film-making process, too. The site has a lot to offer in that regard.

Wargaming Podcasts

When movies and Pandora Radio get too repetitive, I turn to podcasts. They're a great window into the outside world while I'm locked away in the basement cutting strips of plastic and gluing them together for hours on end.

I've listened to a handful of gaming podcasts over the years and the ones that are overproduced, or focus primarily on list building and game meta lose my interest pretty quickly. Here are a couple that I'm currently enjoying:

Game Classy
A great source of miniatures news and commentary. I've been listening to this one for a while. They talk about a little bit of everything from miniatures, to board games, card games, and RPGs. I'm always looking forward to it, and while they often get side tracked it's entertaining and, most importantly, funny. Steve and Joe can't put this out fast enough, in my opinion. Fortunately they have sister podcasts like Play On! and Comic Book Logic.

Gamer's Lounge
This one's a recent discovery, and pretty good so far. I'll have to check out their back catalog. Recent episodes have focused on Wild West Exodus and X-Wing with some interesting game play overviews. Their new feature Designer's Corner sounds promising, as well.

If you have any recommendations for interesting, funny gaming-related podcasts post them in the comments. I need to find a good Warhammer Fantasy podcast; most of them seen to be 40K and Warmachine centric.

Other Podcasts

Some of the non-game related podcasts that I enjoy:

Tell 'Em Steve Dave
This podcast has been around for a few years and it's the only show from Kevin Smith's Smodcast network that I've stuck with pretty much from the beginning. Hosted by the guys from Comic Book Men, it's always funny.

The Podcast Eating Contest
Regrettably, this one is now defunct, but with over 80 episodes, it's always fun to go back and listen to the olde shows. It ranges from inappropriate musical numbers, to movie commentary tracks, and comedic skits. Funny stuff. I miss having new episodes to look forward to.

Bigfanboy Livecast
This is a (sort of) weekly podcast that focuses primarily on movie reviews, but delves into all things film, comic, or otherwise "geek" related. It's recorded on the Talkshoe network, so if you catch it you'll be able to listen live or even call in. The show has been running for over 300 episodes and Mark keeps promising to end it. Enjoy it before it's gone.

We Hate Movies
My buddy Chris just recommended this podcast, and it did not disappoint. They discuss classic movies from the 80's and 90's and carefully recount, scene by scene just how awful they are. (Despite the title, they really do like more of these bad movies than they hate.) I think my favorite episode so far is The Principal. I've never heard anybody enjoy watching Jim Belushi getting the living crap kicked out of him more than these guys. And they just put up an episode featuring the Dolph Lundgren epic Masters of the Universe. I know what I'm listening to tomorrow!

'Til next time!