Only A Podcast

In our penultimate episode of 2023, we review a live concert by a legendary band, and a new album from an old stager. Spy drama Slow Horses returns. The Captain is drawn in to animated martial arts series Blue Eye Samurai, and is hanging out for the gripping final episode of NZ drama After the Party.

ElTele discusses the loss of Shane MacGowan of the Pogues, and the large number of celebrities that have left us this year, and trails...

Some people might say it's time we started making sense! We've both been to see the remastered Talking Heads concert movie - hear the verdict - and we've also been impressed by the new album from Paul Cook and the Chronicles.
ElTele has completed an untypical rock biography and we talk about the life of the musician who wrote it. 
We wrestle with the Morrissey conundrum once again, and wonder if University Ch...

Is it really the end? Did we like the final Beatles product?

And what's more, did we ever think Monty Python was funny? Is comedy in some cases more about a sense of unity with like-minded fans, rather than actual laughs? We try to put these thorny issues to bed.

In other news, we trail All The Light We Cannot See, the dramatisation of Anthony Doerr's acclaimed novel, and the police procedural Shetland, now  up to season 8....

Lots of things beginning with B in this episode, and some not!
Will the upcoming release be the last "new" Beatles tune? 
The Captain is deep into a time shifting whodunnit on Netflix called Bodies, whilst ElTele checks out the Beckham documentary.

The Captain reviews English costume drama Wicked Little Letters well in advance of next year's release, and welcomes the return of the cinema interval. 
Johnny ...

We talk about our couch potato go-to TV programmes. Guilty pleasures? We’re not guilty! 
ElTele checks out the Jay Blades documentary, and we both review an uncomfortable watch in The Reckoning, the four-part drama about Jimmy Savile, starring Steve Coogan.

The Captain is reading a really good novel that inspired a slightly less good film, and checks out the new Rolling Stones studio album, 18 years after the last one....

A titan of electronic music goes acoustic after 40 years? How can this be?

Once again we talk about the impact of Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss, and going further into the new series of Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, which this week stars Lee Mack, off the substitute’s bench, and interesting to both of us. 
The Captain rushes through Oh Brother, the excellent biography from John Niven, and ElTele intr...

What does the drummer do when one of the biggest bands ever breaks up? Find out in this episode. 
The Office's Rainn Wilson is looking for happiness in strange places? Does he find it? ElTele finishes The Traitors UK, and trails the new series of Sex Education, once we decide which number series it is.

We decide just how much we like Radio New Zealand National, and the broadcasters and programmes that feature on it. 
Fo...

We may not be the best at Māori Language Week but we are enthusiastic about it, and discuss it!

We talk about the responses to last episode's question "Do musicians listen to music differently to non-musicians?" 
The Captain appreciates good translations of novels that are not originally written in English, referring to the crime novels of Fred Vargas. 
Taskmaster NZ Series 4 is complete - bring on Season 16 o...

Moving swiftly on from our Mercury Prize predictions, The Captain plugs low budget comedy drama Scrapper, and Pasifika rugby documentary Family Faith Footy. 
He's also baffled by the stocking policy of a local record store. 
ElTele is impressed by a 9/11 stage play, keeps it in the family when going to a gig, and relaxes with the British version of The Traitors. He wonders if musicians listen to music in a different wa...

In between brief rants about dentists, deodorant and lottery tickets, we get on with it. The Captain plugs the upcoming cinema reissue of one of the greatest concert films of all time. On TV, the NZ comedy drama Far North is proving to be a winner. 
ElTele is astonished to find an additional hidden character in a classic comedy series. We talk about a track-by-track guide to the music of The Smiths, and lyrics references in gen...

In this episode we review the final four contenders from the Mercury Prize list: Loyle Carner, Olivia Dean, Jockstrap, and Young Fathers. Which do we think will win? 
The Captain plugs series two of an Alexei Sayle podcast, and listens to an informative interview with Scottish writer David Keenan
ElTele is stunned by the best joke from the Edinburgh Fringe, and impressed by football vlogger Nieve Petruzziello, aka Stunt Peg...

We put four more Mercury Prize contenders to the test: Jessie Ware, Arctic Monkeys, Shygirl, and RAYE. The Women's World Cup is a tremendous success - it must be if it can get New Zealanders to discuss "soccer". We talk about the Lionesses chances - is it finally coming home?

ElTele is very pleased about the return of Only Murders in the Building, and reveals a new team to support. During some toaster banter, we intro...

In which we commence our review of the Mercury Music Prize contenders, with comments about four albums from that list, plus more musings on how musicians actually make money, and a review of a gig by Jen Cloher. 
ElTele has reckons about the new Blur album, and listens to Damon Albarn on the Sodajerker podcast.

Sport: we talk about the Women's Football World Cup, a very open competition which has lost some big teams, and th...

It's Mercury Prize time again! It doesn't seem ten minutes since we talked about the last competition. 
We review two documentaries (on Wham, and the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior) and we polish off a book each. Tune in to find out about our good reads. 
We recommend a couple of Instagram channels, and ElTele spends some time with the early recordings of Pulp.

And to finish we explain our dislike of social media, ...

Advisory: we are here to warn you of the grave danger to health posed by crumpets! 

The Tour de France has begun and we are cycling converts. 
Buying gig tickets: why is it so difficult? 
In the first of our Complete Works series, we look at the life and career of crime writer Derek Raymond. 
The Captain watches the BBC historical drama The Gallows Pole, with which he has more than one connection. Did he like it? Listen ...

We're covered in B's this episode, as ElTele discovers the health benefits of breathing properly, and puts a bunch of books on his reading list. 
We say goodbye to a TV sports show from our (relative) youth, Soccer AM. 
We kick off a new feature and discuss the High Water Mark of REM and Blur. 
The Captain is drawn in by the amazing drama of Tour de France: Unchained, the story of last year's race, and ha...

It's an unusual week here at Podcast Towers as ALL our football teams won something. We try not to gloat for too long, and quickly move on to review the best of the past couple of weeks of culture consumption.

We talk about new albums from Everything But The Girl, Sparks, Jessie Ware and Super 8. The new Blur album has animated vinyl! The Captain gives a hat tip to Wally Salem of The Beautiful Music for kindly sending in sample...

Why is it that well-off famous people want to appear normal? The Captain has had enough of it! He revisits a classic album from 2006, Howe Gelb's Sno Angel Like You. We listen to friend of the podcast Katie's new music show, and discuss how two more listeners would Downsize.

El Tele finishes off lots of TV series, and touts the new album by Lottery Winners, featuring many special guests, and completes John Cooper Clarke&ap...

In a packed episode, El Tele plugs two books, and alarmingly changes the way he's breathing by taping his mouth shut! We both comment on Lana Del Rey, and trail the Kill Boksoon film and Schmigadoon series. The Captain finds all of Rich Hall's BBC documentaries on YouTube. We say goodbye to Barry Humphries and Jerry Springer.

The main course for this episode is our Downsizing - selecting the DVD box set, movie, album and b...