Welcome to Podcast Portal: a spontaneous column that will highlight podcasts of all genres that are lesser known or new shows that are worth giving a listen. With the medium continuing to grow, it is hard to acknowledge all of them. However, I am going to try and find as many noteworthy titles as possible to share and hopefully expand your mind to the greatest growing medium out there. If you have any podcast that you feel is worth adding to the Podcast Portal, please make sure to inform me whether through the comments or through an e-mail (information in sidebar).
SHOW: Zilch!: A Monkees Podcast
HOSTS: Ken Mills, Jeff Hulit, Craig Cohen, Sarah Clark, Craig Smith
NETWORK: None
EPISODE BEING DISCUSSED: #3 - "The Monkees" ALIVE!
Much like TV shows and film, music is something of a strange obsession. Fans will likely love stuff that you never cared about. In some cases, the bands' general popularity may be baffling. However, there are very few podcasts out there not dedicated to prolific or modern artists that are worth checking out. For the most part, there is Breakfast with The Beatles and nothing else. However, among them is a band that once beat The Beatles on the Billboard charts and produced one of the trippiest films of Jack Nicholson's career (which is saying something). That's right, there is a show about The Monkees.
To majority of audiences nowadays, The Monkees could easily be seen as a hokey fad next to the likes of Lesley Gore or those Beach Party movies. Their upbeat nature and controversial stance on "Did they play their own instruments?" remains their most well known attributes. However, for a generation or two, The Monkees were a big thing, largely thanks to their infectious music and their eponymous TV series that was cutting edge and subversive for its time. To discredit them is to ignore the prototypes for The Jonas Brothers or Tiffany. To leave your impression on that is to discredit their eventual ability to be really solid pop songstresses.
I'll admit that there was personal bias going in. I enjoy The Monkees and have even met Mickey Dolenz once. To see a show about them as in the case of Zilch!, I was left with the question of "Why?" Despite them being good, what made them great? The five hosts are varying ages and demographics with different relationships with The Monkees. The show's goal is to release monthly episodes dedicated to a specificity regarding the band, and it is everything that a fan of The Monkees could want.
Not only are the hosts knowledgeable (one even wrote a primer for The Monkees), but they are exceptional editors. They do not simply talk about the band, but present accompanying audio for their examples. With this episode detailing their live history, the hosts explore their performance techniques from the 80's and their reunion in 2012. The show is so nerdy that they even memorized the set list to their shows. With entire tracks from their live shows, this content feels like a complete rundown of the band's history and how their technique came to fruition.
While it is arguable that starting on a live episode is not the best move, I definitely came away with a lot of enthusiasm for what I heard. Provided that their material returns to that of intricately dissecting each album (their first two episodes detailed the band's eponymous debut), this may be a well deserved treat for fans of The Monkees. The vibe is always light and the talk is always insightful and enthusiastic. Even for those wanting to get a better respect for the band, these episodes will likely give plenty to chew on, and with excellent production, this unexpected show works.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
WORTH A SECOND GO?: With episodes released monthly, there is little chance that they will be running out of material any time soon. What has been released is great insight into the band's history and provided that The Monkees fascinate you, it will give you plenty to enjoy. It acknowledges the silliness at times, but is through and through a podcast done by hardcore fans who only want to produce the best material.
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