December 31, 2008

TC 130 - Auld Anxieties



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(click the magic button to hear or download the 32 minute episode)

In this very exciting end of year episode I discuss what it means to be "The King of Podcasting." There's also a bit of reflection on some of the year's especially weird points for Tokyo Calling. And finally, there's an imagined flashback preview of the year to come.

I'll have more to say about King-ly matters in my "State of Podcasting" report in early February. Until then, please accept my sincere wish for everyone to have a fun and interesting trip in 2009.

We will do all we can to make sure things don't get too weird.

Posted by scott at 10:30 AM | Comments (11)

December 16, 2008

TC 129 - I Don't Mean Elliot Gould


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(click the magic button to hear or download the 42 minute episode)

I had a bit of left over audio from last June and July. Seemed that I might be able to beg the indulgence of the many kind listeners to allow me to submit this haphazard effort as an episode. It is after all the holiday season.

Actually, had I not taken a three month hiatus, this would have been episode 122 (hence the repeated reference to that episode number). Listening and thinking back, I've realized that a couple of the recordings took place at fairly pivotal moments in the life of Japan's First Podcaster.

Relevant Links:

Thanks for listening.

Posted by scott at 12:07 PM | Comments (7)

December 10, 2008

TC 128 - Drugs,Terror & Shambolar



(click the magic button to hear or download the 29 minute episode)

I really have no idea what to say about this one. Don't even know whether to be embarrassed by or proud of it. Only know that it was fun to record and listen back to while putting it together.

Relevant Links:


As always, thanks for listening.

[image of the Wako department store in Ginza next to which part of this episode was recorded was shot by fatoy_japa. and is provided through a creative commons license via her/his Flickr photostream. Thanks, fatoy_japa.]

Posted by scott at 12:14 AM | Comments (10)

December 03, 2008

TC 127 - Executive Sweets, Part 2



(click the magic button to hear or download the 13 minute episode)

Things started well enough on this episode. The recorder managed to pick up a nice bit of atmosphere walking through a luxury hotel in central Tokyo on my way to a teaching gig. And then, I managed to wrap up the story from the preceding episode while walking along a busy roadway. There's even an opportunity for you to participate in the comments by sharing your advice for the new recruits at your company.

And then I entered the building for my final lesson of a company class I've been teaching with the promise to complete the episode later.

Unfortunately things didn't go as hoped. I've got a busy couple of weeks ahead and if I don't put this out now, chances are that I never well. Perhaps that would have been better.

I hope no one is too put off by this less than complete episode. I'll try to double-up and catch-up with the next one.

Thanks for listening.

[image of the atrium from which part of this episode was recorded was shot by Tom H. and is provided through a creative commons license via his Flick photostream. Thanks, Tom.]

Posted by scott at 11:59 PM | Comments (10)

November 18, 2008

TC 126 - Executive Sweets, Part 1


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(click the magic button to hear or download the 28 minute episode)

This episode is part 1 of a multi-part series featuring stories from some of the big shots I've been teaching recently.

The short bit of audio that appears between the last two segments features some cut-up excerpts from a video on creating compelling elevator speeches with The Chief Storyteller from SellingPower.com. It was assembled with GarageBand.

Part two should be coming later this week.

Thanks for listening.

Posted by scott at 12:08 AM | Comments (9)

November 16, 2008

TC 125 - The Perfect Episode

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(click the magic button to hear or download the 35 minute episode)

Were it not for the poor sound quality, heavy-handed editing, and fatuous narrative arc, this otherwise would be a perfect episode. I'm still surprised with how nicely the disparate pieces fell in together - though it did take a bit of tweaking to make some of them fit.

More coming shortly.

Thanks for listening.

Posted by scott at 02:10 AM | Comments (3)

November 08, 2008

TC 124 - Dude, I'm so stoked!

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(click the magic button to hear or download the 23 minute episode)

Quite by accident, I seem to have stumbled upon a format that is fun to record, relatively easy to produce, and hopefully not too unpleasant on the ear. I'm thinking of calling it a "How do 'ya do - cast." Is that corny enough?

More music from Lizards From Afar is featured in the middle of this episode. My apologies for not announcing the song more professionally in the previous episode - but hey, I'm a goober, aren't I, son?

Thanks for listening.

Posted by scott at 12:41 PM | Comments (5)

November 06, 2008

TC 123 - Now You're Talking, Son!



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(click the magic button to hear or download the 11 minute episode)

Sir Pent, the drummer from Lizards From Afar, asked me to play a song from his band on the podcast. He said he was a long time listener and thought the other Tokyo Calling listeners would enjoy hearing the band. As a rock and roll kind of guy, I told him I'd be honored to play their song "Way Back (Mr. Peabody)" on the next episode.

As production of that next episode (#124) began to take shape, irony reared it's ironical head and it became clear that rock and roll would not fit. Rather, episode 124 is going to be more of a sturm und drang kind of thing - going for baroque, if you will.

But I couldn't let the Lizards From Afar down, I'd made a promise to play their song in the next episode. It was a promise I intended to keep. But how, pray tell son, was that to be?

Fortunate was it that this short episode popped into my head on the way to the station from the radio class in Minato ward this evening. It is a rambling recounting of a passing thought from earlier in the day that was centered around a memory from the day before in relation to a song from the 80's and another from the 70's which led to a knee slapping bit of discourse analysis on a recurring speech act by everyone's favorite Looney Tunes rooster. If ever an episode of Japan's First Podcast deserved rock and roll, it would be this one (#123).

And the most amazing part of it all is that the premise of Sir Pent's band's song - time displacement - will play a not insignificant role in episode 124.

It's funny how things work out sometimes.

Posted by scott at 12:28 AM | Comments (6)