iCringe: Gamers With Jobs, Weekly Geek Show, Weekend Confirmed and The Bugle

Okay, you can say it. I deserve your ire. The “iCringe each week in May” fell short by one week’s post. However, in my defense E3 was coming up and work life was busy. Not that YOU care!

Since then, I’ve been to a great E3, met Garnett Lee and listened to enough new and old ‘casts to kill a horse. Do podcasts contain enough dark energy to harm a full-sized adult stallion? I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough. Without further adieu, let’s get on with the show(s)!

Gamers With Jobs – Episode 193

If you’re tired of E3 chat, skip this week’s show. Somehow everyone from GWJ who got hands-on time with the 3DS came away impressed and enthusiastic. I wish that part of my soul still existed, but seeing that it’s a smoldering pile of black goo, I respectfully silenced their dissenting voices using my powerful brain muscle. The rest of the show does a fantastic job of dissecting the highlights from the show. Give it a listen if you’re interested in E3 2010 otherwise wait for next week’s release.

I go a long way back with GWJ. Back when the first version of the show was kicking, it was a wild, booze fueled two person rant fest starting Sean Andrich and Russ Pitts. When Russ left GWJ for the Escapist (where he’s now the EIC) the Gamers With Jobs Podcast died and soon after the Gamers With Jobs Conference Call was born. The “Call” was a more restrained, four person round-table formatted show that scared me off at first. Gone were the obscene jokes and long winded love-ins. The Call is a gathering of game geeks including frequent tabletop game discussions. If that’s something that sounds good to you, give these folks a go. I had to learn to like the show and once I stopped wanting it to be the old show I found there’s a lot to like about GWJCC.

Weekly Geek Show – The Best of the Rest

More (MOAR?) E3 is in order for the crew this week. They don’t have anything extraordinarily unique to add to the heady brew, but the discussion comes across as honest and almost nails it. Gears of War is confused with God of War; not ironically. Come on people, that’s funny. The (adorable) music played mid-show this week breaks one of my cardinal rules of podcasting: distracting from the conversation. Thankfully it’s a short cut and it only covers up the intro to their cooking segment. Le Sigh.

The name says it all. Like 1UP’s Oddcast, this show prides itself in being by geeks for geeks. There’s a bit too much geek-chic to be a match for my personal flavor of geekdom, however. These kids are living the life and are happy to share their thoughts on the latest in gadget, culture and gaming news. Cereal milk as a desert delicacy is taking things too far. Just eat a fucking bowl of Fruit Loops if you’re feeling that nostalgic.

Weekend Confirmed – Episode 13

Garnet Lee & Co. gnaw on the rotting carcass that is E3 2010. Seeing a trend here, are we? Actually, this week’s show is a success. N’Gai Croal is nigh untouchable at this point and he adds a lot of personality to the already strongly jaded cast. I listened to this episode on Saturday morning after my E3 was over and the fever of the show had lost it’s manic grip on my week. As such, this served as a strong hype-hangover remedy.

Weekend Confirmed’s Host, Garnett Lee (Formerly of 1UP and the 1UP Yours Podcast) is a polarizing figure in gaming podcasting. He’s hated by the ‘GAF and many listeners for his (now admitted) devil’s advocate stance on nearly every topic. Love him or hate him, he puts together a solid show with a good pacing and he tends to attract quality “guests” on his shows most weeks. If you can stomach the pseudo-sports radio style and the cringe worthy arguments that always go on a few minutes too long, there’s a lot to like about the show. On a side note, my “meeting” with the man at E3 consisted of a super-awkward handshake and a quick few words. No one said meeting internet people in real life was supposed to be fun. Thankfully for my ego, he’s low on my totem pole. Justin and his lovely GF met Felicia Day during our hunt for a restaurant on Wednesday, which was  a more satisfying experience for all parties involved.

The Bugle – Episode 119: Oil Never Do It Again

Listening to these two elegant buffoons juggle the cavalcade of material being offered up to them from the day’s current events is wonderful. After watching weeks of news posts, live video and still images of the Gulf Coast Disaster, it’s mildly comforting to hear well aimed satire to combat the overwhelming dread. Add in vuvuzelas, gallows humor of the crime rate in South Africa and the anti-British hate-mongering that’s coming out of the US these days and you have a recipe for a lovely audio cake. Let me tell you, I love cake!

If I didn’t give this show a perfect score, Nukezilla user darkwhitehair has promised he’d take revenge on me and my entire family. However, that shouldn’t color your critical analysis of my review. Trust me, I’m above that kind of threats and pressure. Thankfully for me and my entire family, The Bugle is a solid comedy podcast. The co-hosts John Oliver (of Daily Show fame) and Andy Zaltzman are consistently a laugh riot. Some of the humor comes across a bit rough and some sections clearly are being read, which spoils one of my favorite aspects of podcasting: improvised content. If the jokes were stale or downright un-funny, this would be a heinous crime. As it stands, The Bugle is a great alternative to other less frequent shows and features topical content each and every week. One final note, you must listen to Episode 69. I hear it’s lovely. Enjoy!