When I was in college, I started a podcast as an outlet for my
creative energy and boundless enthusiasm for reading aloud. The results,
alas, are somewhat mixed. Many of the episodes were shoddily produced,
poorly read, or generally just non-entertaining to listen to.
Fortunately, some of them are totally great. I've broken things down
into categories below.
The Essentials:
I am at least moderately proud of each of these. They are fun, interesting, and occasionally quite lovely.
The Celestial Omnibus, episode #3.
This episode is kind of beautiful. The voice work is not always 100%
amazing, but the music and story blend really well together, and the
fact that I love the story comes through in my voice at times. (A bit
long though; good for car trips, perhaps.)
I, Cthulhu, episode #4. This
one is my favorite. It's so weird, and so much fun. I use some goofy
production effects in a way that actually makes some sense for the
material.
The Cask of Amontillado, episode #6.
This episode is a creepy Edgar Allen Poe story that I actually got to
sound creepy. It has some decent vocal work (fairly easy to keep two characters distinct from each other, but still: I did it, and it works).
Hearts and Hands, episode #10. This one's super short and fun. Good music and a lively tone.
Flawed but Interesting:
There
is something wrong with each of these episodes, but also something odd
or fun or interesting to recommend them if you've got the time.
The Library of Babel, episode #1. This
one is pretty weird and a little hard to listen to in terms of my vocal
abilities (and embarrassingly pretentious intro), but I think it holds
up okay with some odd music and an excellent story choice.
—All You Zombies—, episode #5. Some
slightly muddy vocal work and inappropriately light music make this one
a tough sell, but the time travel story itself is a gem, and there are
some good emotional moments in the episode for sure.
Tobermory, episode #11.
This episode does not function well as entertainment, but it does give a
good sense of the challenges I faced in adapting my storytelling to
live radio. Check it out along with the notes I've written for a sense
of what things were like for me at WHPK.
Miscellany:
Is He Living or Is He Dead?, epsiode #2.
This one is fine in its way but a little boring. My reading is also a
bit rushed and under-produced. Check it out if you like Mark Twain.
Fables, episode #7.
This episode has a few fun moments, but the longest story of the four
collected here is a real doozy: weird but in a boring and annoying way.
Some muddy vocals in several parts don't help. I still like the really
short story that opens the set.
A Dream of Armageddon, episode #8.
This episode is so long and starts so boring that I haven't had the
heart to actually re-listen to it yet. I assume it's fine in its way; H.
G. Wells wrote some awesome stuff, and I imagine I couldn't have
screwed this up too badly.
Sredni Vashtar, episode #9.
The story is very odd and the vocal work is not particularly amazing.
Come for the lackluster reading, stay for the ferret attacking someone
off-camera.
The Other Side of the Hedge, episode #12. This one is totally acceptable, I just don't think there's anything remarkable about it.
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