Here it is – your Christmas ‘Clever Little Pod’…
Hope you’re having a great day! (Don’t eat too many Quality Street…)
Posts Tagged humor
CLP Show 42
Clever Little Pod Show 42 is finally here:-
Please click here to vote at Podcast Alley.
To say it’s been a tough one to do would be an understatement. I was left with writer’s block after show 41, and was then distracted by various changes in my routine and lifestyle that meant I was robbed of my usual writing slots. If that wasn’t enough, I’ve been ill with severe vertigo for 2 weeks which has been an absolute nightmare and left me in no mood to write comedy.
I don’t think the resulting show is really up to scratch.
The first sketch, set in the stone age, was written several months ago, and so was used as a fallback option. I’d tried to record it before, but the challenge of doing two distinct female voices was too much, and so I left it alone with the intention of getting a guest voice to play one part. However, I;ve gone ahead with it anyway, and made one of the women sound ‘posh’ which wasn’t the real intention of the sketch and perhaps compromises it somewhat. They are, after all, meant to be two washer-women.
The second sketch is based on Autumnwatch with Bill Oddie and Kate Humble, which has just left UK TV screens for the year after a fortnight watching deer rutting and seals flop about on a beach. So who knows what the rest of the world will make of my spoof.
The last sketch is the one I’m quite proud of, simply because it’s a real distinct character piece, and is the sort of thing I’d like to do as a comedy act. It is a restaurant review with a drunken old lech called Henry. Although he’s a little difficult to understand at times, I think that’s part of the charm and probably is no bad thing, encouraging repeat listens.
And that’s it for another show. I’m very relieved that it’s done, and out there at last. However, there’s no format to speak of, and I’m struggling for music as the PMN seems to be pretty dire at the moment.
It’s never a positive step, to release something you’re less than happy with, but I think I’ve got the show to an acceptable standard that at the least maintains my presence on the podcasting rosta. The next one needs to be a happier experience though, and the main priority is for me to find those time-slots for writing once again.
I hope you enjoy the show.
Clever Little Pod Show 41
This show is made up of the bulk of the content from the live show, but is not a recording of the event itself. I wasn’t happy putting the recording out as a podcast because the sound quality wasn’t up to the usual standard (and it was a soft-launch test anyway). There will be more live shows in the future, and they’ll be much more widely publicised.
Until then, enjoy show 41 which is definitely my favourite show so far. I hope it is yours too.
Click the play button below or download the mp3 here.
Last Night’s Live Show
Last night was the first attempt at a live version of ‘Clever Little Pod’ – complete with webcam – via stickam.com
The format of the show was to have around 12 pre-recorded sketches, 2 sketches performed live and the usual musical interludes from independent artists.
It was a very intense hour! Having the webcam on you when you’re trying to concentrate on which buttons to press and files to play is distracting to say the least. I tried to add a visual element to the event by holding up cards with jokes on them during the songs, which added some interest I think. But I’m not sure what I feel about the webcam. I think it distracts a bit from the audio, which is the really creative bit.
Anyway, now I’m more comfortable with the setup, the next show should be better; I felt the first 10 minutes were a bit shaky, and I was stumbling over my words a bit too much – I need to get used to not having the safety net of the edit button.
Really enjoyed it, and thanks to everyone who tuned in. Next time I hope the chatroom will be working so you can interact with other listeners.
I did record the show, but I noticed the sound levels were dodgy in a couple of places (another learning curve) so I might release a hybrid podcast with live and some pre-recorded stuff.
Team GB Olympic Poem
Didn’t We Do Well At The Olympics?
By gazuky
Didn’t we do well at the Olympics?
With a fantastic gold medal haul.
Quite unlike Papua New Guinea
Who sadly have won bugger all.
Didn’t we do well at the Olympics?
Winning gold in the Yngling with ease.
I haven’t a clue what Yngling is…
It sounds like a nasty disease.
Didn’t we do well at the Olympics?
Chris Hoy is a true Scottish gent.
He won us three golds in the cycling
And has thighs that are bigger than Kent.
Didn’t we do well at the Olympics?
Our sailors really let fly!
Following the tradition of the best in their field
Like Nelson, Pugwash and Popeye.
Didn’t we do well at the Olympics?
Paula Radcliffe – not exhausted by heat -
Managed to finish in 28th place
Without doing a poo in the street.
Didn’t we do well at the Olympics?
Our swimmers left nothing to chance.
They trained really hard, and remembered their kit
So they didn’t have to swim in their pants.
Didn’t we do well at the Olympics?
Lewis Smith held his bronze medal aloft.
Our previous best in the pommel horse
Was managing not to fall off.
So let’s all look forward to London!
We’ll be backing the team to the hilt
To win even more than we did in Beijing…
Let’s just hope the stadium’s built!
You may use this poem for broadcast with a link to – or mention of – gazuky.net, as follows:
Didn't We Do Well at the Olympics? by gazuky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
The New Podcast
Before we get into the self-regarding nonsense that I’ve written below, if you’re a podcaster yourself, please do go and vote in the Podcast Peer Awards for my Liverpudlian friend Graham Holland. He’s been nominated for his excellent show, ‘The It’s a Frog’s Life Acoustic Podcast’ and deserves to win. Off you pop, then to www.podcastpeers.org and I’ll be waiting for you when you get back.
All done? Cheers ears. Be warned – from this point on, it’s all me, me, me, with a big dollop of me on the side. Danny Baker calls it self-regarding nonsense, and it definitely is, but I’m less uncomfortable about that than I would have been a while back. I’m the new tougher me now, you know. I do weight-training and everything.
Here goes, then. Stop reading at any time if you become nauseous.
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I’ve suspected this for a long time, but now the evidence is clear: I’m at my strongest creatively when I’m under a huge amount of pressure.
Now is not the time for creating comedy podcasts: I have a business that is putting me under huge pressure at the moment, with long days and deadlines looming, and in virtually every other area of my life, things are quite stressful. Even the technology is conspiring against me as my laptop has decided to start cutting out suddenly, and there’s no money in the pot for a replacement, or even a service. But somehow – somehow! – I’m managing to pull together a new podcast that I’m very proud of. I absolutely can’t wait to release it.
Basically, the effort has been put into upping the energy and pace of the show. There are more shorter, punchier segments, and the longer sketches have been rewritten within an inch of their lives until the gag-rate stays consistent. There’s a new intro sequence that’s very different from what’s come before, and the style of the comedy is – I hope – a bit cheekier than before, although I still haven’t gone down the ‘adult content’ route. I think that would be a mistake.
Show 40 is still being recorded and edited to make it a real showcase piece that will bear repeat listens and act as a strong example of what I can do when I really put my mind to it.
I listen back to previous CLPs and am usually quite critical – my ultimate aim is to produce something that is on a par with anything on Radio 4 (apart from technical quality) because I know I’m capable of doing it. On a lot of shows, though, I’ve placed more importance on getting a show out, and it has often been at the expense of the quality of writing. I’m not doing that any more. Taking the time to write show 40 has reminded me what a huge buzz it is to get the comedy ‘on the nose’.
Every creative bone in my body is being put into taking the show to a new level. I’m fighting astronomical odds to get noticed as a writer/performer in a virtual sea teaming with talent. But I don’t care whether it takes another 3 years or another 30. Success, when it comes, will just be that bit sweeter as a result.
Want spoilers?
Well, there’s a new regular feature called ‘CLP’s History of Britain’ which has been flying around as an idea for over a year. New Topical Pish stuff gets adapted and included as a short insert, and there’s a regular satire on sell-out kids TV that I’m also hoping to use as a viral.
The new show 40 will be out by July 10th at the latest.
