Podcasts I Like: 70s Trek

They had me at the title: “70s Trek.” 

Heck, they had me at "70s"!

I listened to the first episode, then promptly downloaded all episodes up to that point (29 at the time). I binge-listened to all of them in a week’s time, loving every minute of each episode.

I was born during Star Trek’s third season so I grew up with Star Trek. Now, I’ll admit that my memory is a tad hazy and I only came to Trek after Star Wars debuted, but that’s where this podcast comes in.

Hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto are a delightful pair, easy on the ears, with a warm comradery and shared love of Trek in the 70s. In each episode that averages around 30 minutes, Bob and Kelly examine some aspect of Trek. While you don’t have to listen in order, it’s not a bad idea as you’ll get a good overview of how Trek came to be and the influences that went into its creation.

The main focus, however, is the 1970s, as the tagline reads, “The decade that built a franchise.” For us, over 50 years on, Trek permeates our daily lives, from cell phones to tablet computers to speaking to our computers. But Bob and Kelly take us back and remind us what it was like to be a fan of Trek in the 70s. Fans in the 70s didn’t know a lot. They had only a few books. They had a cartoon. Heck, they never even knew if there’d be any more live-action Trek. After all, Trek was actually a cancelled TV show, but it proved to be much more than that.

One of the aspects of this podcast that remains joyful is Bob and Kelly’s sense of wonder. Often one of them will take the lead on a particular subject, leaving the other co-host the first listener. Many times, new facts will be revealed, and cries of “I didn’t know that!” are great fun. What’s also fun is their clear joy at the subject and other things in Trek’s orbit.

So far (remember: I’m still catching up) a particular favorite episode is #3 (What We Knew in 1970), #13 (the Richard Arnold interview), and #9 (Star Trek in Syndication).

This is a love letter to Star Trek, the people behind it, the fans that kept it alive in the 1970s, and everything in between.
70s Trek has now firmly ensconced itself in my weekly podcast schedule. Utterly and completely enjoyable.

Oh, they have a Facebook presence and respond personally to comments. So after you subscribe to the podcast, head over there and join the conversation.

iTunes

Favorite Cover Songs

Over on the excellent music podcast, Pods and Sods, today's episode was about favorite cover songs. Have a listen to the episode then head on over to their Facebook page and join the conversation.

Here is my off-the-cuff list:*

My choices:

I'm a Man - Chicago Transit Authority (original: Spencer Davis Group) - Much more energetic, with a 64-bar latin percussion break. The version they were performing in the late 80s/early 90s with Dawayne Bailey was particularly good.

Little Wing - Sting (Jimi Hendrix) - Heard the Sting version first and prefer it mainly because of the Gil Evans arrangement and slowed down guitar solo that morphs into the soprano sax solo.

In Your Eyes - Jeffrey Gaines (Peter Gabriel) - This is a cover that does NOT better the original but it's so unique that I often gravitate to it.

Black Crow - Diana Krall (Joni Mitchell) - Krall's 2004 CD found her writing her own material with her then-new husband, Elvis Costello. This song, however, has a lot of nice souring piano flourishes that echo Vince Guaraldi, a pleasant guitar solo, and Krall playing around with her phrasing.

River - Robert Downey, Jr. (Joni Mitchell) - Didn't realize I'd have to Mitchell songs here but oh well. I like Downey's vocal stylings (love his cover of "Smile" as well) and this arrangement, with cello, is one of the songs I always go to around the 20th of December when I'm just about tired of the standard Christmas songs.

Smells Like Teen Spirit - The Bad Plus (Nirvana) - I was tempted to pick the Paul Anka jazz arrangement [where he covered a lot of rock songs with a jazz band) but opted for this song which is the tune that put The Bad Plus on my radar. Piano, bass, and drums. That's it. They take the song from the standard instrumental arrangement into a dizzing array of improvs on the theme. Sometimes you'd think they're just doing their own thing but they come back together at the end.

*I didn't include any Christmas tunes but there are a bunch I could have listed. The one that first comes to mind is Chicago's version of Little Drummer Boy. It is, for me, THE version. It's to the point where I hear the horn breaks Chicago wrote whenever I hear *another* version of LDB.

Crime WAV - Podcasting Crime Stories

Seth Harwood, one of the pioneers of podcasting, has started a wonderful new website. Crime WAV is the place to go for crime story podcasts. He is starting out with known authors reading their material. First up is Vicki Hendricks. If you like podcasts and great crime fiction, this is going to be *the* place in the not-so-far future.

Also, you will find a link to Seth's website, where you can enjoy the adventures of Jack Palms.

And, I have to add, getting one of my stories at this site is now another goal on my writing goal sheet.

Christa Faust on "Behind the Black Mask"

In case y'all don't obsessively monitor all the links I post there on the right column, here's a newsflash for you: Christa Faust's interview at Behind the Black Mask is now available.

Just listened to it myself. It was great to listen to one of these in depth interviews talking about a book I've actually read. A few things I learned as a writer. One, Clute and Edwards praised Faust for the twists in her book that were, in fact, inevitable surprises but ones they didn't see coming. I agree with that. I get good feedback from readers of my first novel about the big twist. Those readers didn't see the twist coming. I felt good about that.

Clute and Edwards asked her the plotting question ("How do you do it?"). I was happy to learn that she, like me, uses the Post-it note method but feels free to just write and see how her character get out of situations she puts them in. I have been having a growing sense that I should try the same thing, just write and not plot (since I've been stuck on one chapter for 2 weeks). They talked a lot about body issues with the main character, Angel Dare, and I realized that I need to add a lot more of that in my current book with my female HPD detective. My critique group keeps mentioning that and I keep not doing it. Lastly, I was quite happy when Faust answered that she writes for the sheer entertainment value for the reader. Unashamedly does so. That's what I want to do. Write to make people's lives just a little better as they read my stories.

One final note: listening to this interview, the excitement I felt as I read this book was renewed. And, since I checked out Money Shot from the library, I think I'll pay Faust the ultimate compliment: I'm going to buy myself a copy.

Charles Ardai on Fresh Air

Charles Ardai, one of the two founders of Hard Case Crime, was on NPR's Fresh Air today. Here is the link. Listen how Ardai talks about noir fiction, the imprint Hard Case Crime, his own novel, Songs of Innocence, and his take on the history of crime fiction.

What's great about Ardai's two novels (Little Girl Lost and Songs of Innocence) is that his PI, John Blake, is not your typical PI. He's bespeckled, slight, a liberal arts major, and not very good at his job. He's a little like me, to be honest. I'm a liberal arts major, middle-class, doing well for myself, isolated from the bad stuff that goes down everyday...and I like reading about and I'm writing about people I'd be scared of. Weird?

A Great SF Podcast

What Behind the Black Mask does for crime fiction, Adventures in SciFi Publishing does for science fiction and fantasy. Aside from the fantastic in-depth interviews with authors (talking about their books, writing process) and members of the SF/F publishing field (Lou Anders is a frequent guest), Tobias Buckell serves up an "Ask the Writer" segment. It is always a pleasure to hear how others writers deal with this strange thing called creative writing.

Check it out. Subscribe to it. Love it. Be it.

Fantastic Podcast, Crime or Otherwise

I added a new link today: www.noircast.net. It is the one podcast (actually two) I set aside time to listen to every month. Shannon Clute and Richard Edwards are devoted fans of both film noir and crime fiction...and they have a podcast for each. Out of the Past investigates film noir, both from the glory days as well as more recent entries. Behind the Black Mask investigates crime fiction with in-depth author interviews. I have learned quite a bit about the crime field with these podcasts and this new information has shaped my writing.

If you need further proof of their importance, they were recently the official podcasters for Noircon 2008.

(Pssst. One of my goals in my professional life is to be interviewed by these guys. I just hope I have some answers to the deep questions they ask.)

Scott Sigler Coming to Houston

I'm jazzed about this one. Murder by the Book is hosting Scott Sigler on Friday, 11 April. What makes this appearance special? Two things. One, Sigler is a pioneer. He was the first author to podcast his own novel. If you don't know what that is, check out Podiobooks. Two, Houston actually won the Sigler Stank Contest to see where Sigler would go on his tour. Way to go Houston!

I'm looking forward to hearing Sigler talk about his trials and tribulations getting published. As a storyteller and future author, I want to walk through the minefield that Sigler has helped clear.

Podcasting and the Future

I just finished listening to an interview with Scott Sigler over at Adventures in SciFi Publishing. Sigler podcasted his books and gained an actual print contract because of it. Just hearing his enthusiasm for the medium and the new way to get books out to people is infectious.

I am an avid listener of audiobooks. With a 45-minute (one-way) commute, I get more books read via audiobook than I do via hard copy. I have already given thought to podcasting Treason at Hanford. Now, with the success of Sigler’s (and others at www.podiobooks.com), I’m thinking that I definitely will podcast Treason. It is very, very exciting to ponder the possibilities…but not without realizing that it will not be easy. It will take hard work. The good thing is that I’m willing to do it.

Now, I just need to test my sound system and make sure I have good enough quality audio equipment. Stay tuned...