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I just finished watching episode #4 of Quincy Jones’ Video Podcast and I have to say – I’m incredibly disappointed.

I’m disappointed because I really expected a lot more from Quincy Jones. Maybe my expectations were too high, I’m not sure – but I feel like he – and his staff – don’t really “get” the medium.

The first episode of the podcast featured Quincy obviously reading from some cue cards about how he was going to do this podcast and what to expect. He wasn’t looking directly at the camera and no eye contact directly with the camera means no eye contact with your viewer – which diminishes the connection you will make with the viewer. We know he’s reading.

The second and third episodes were glimpses into his producing a song with Celine Dion – and while the footage was interesting – once again I didn’t feel like Quincy was making any attempt to connect with the audience of his podcast.

The fourth episode I just watched at lunch – this was the one that really bothered me. We see footage of Quincy sitting at home talking in general terms about hurricane Katrina. It’s obvious it’s a situation where he’s being “interviewed” because you can hear off-camera someone saying “uh huh” and such – acknowledging what he is saying. His comments are general – but we never get a sense of how he really feels about Katrina – other than the generic “it’s a tragedy” that many people feel. Also – he never looks at the camera – never acknowledges the audience. Interspersed in between his brief comments is footage of some interviews with Katrina victims. He gives us no context for these interviews – they just kind of come and go. We’re left with a teaser to stay tuned next week for more with Quincy and Usher.

So what leaves me so empty with this video podcast – is an opportunity missed. It’s an opportunity to bond on a one-on-one basis with the viewer, to address them personally and to make the viewer feel like they are getting an inside view of Quincy and his life. We’re getting a surface look at it – but that’s all.

I have to wonder if his production company kind of started this video podcast with this intent, but that Quincy doesn’t really get the concept. I heard his interview with Rob Walch on Podcast411 – and while that was interesting and more personal then his podcast is – I don’t necessarily get that Quincy understands totally what this whole podcast thing is.

Disappointing, because I really wanted to learn more about Quincy and I had really hoped for an intimate conversation with him, at least from him.

–*Rob

The Jersey Jamcast has been resurrected and has a new episode available at its site:

The Jersey Jamcast

There were some pretty cool tracks on this one – including a new non-Jersey podsafe song that featuresann Wilson from Heart, who is backed up by Sir Elton John. So even the big artists are coming around to podsafe music.

So go – listen to all the up and coming bands I’ve played. You’ll like it. Like George Foreman – “I gua-ran-tee it!”

–*Rob

My past two posts were podcast heavy, so I wanted to write something more for everyone else – so I figure what better topic then what I’ve been watching/listening to/reading in my media consumption? Hope you give some of this stuff a try – I’ve been finding a lot of really cool stuff!

Music:

Singles wise – I’ve found some neat stuff”

Bang Camaro has a rocking song called “Push Push Lady Lightning” which sounds a hell of a lot like old Kiss – it’s a great fun fist-pumping rock song, which is perfect for cranking in the car.

Prince’s new song “Guitar” is a genre crossing pop song that would actually sound greaty on alternative radio if they could pull themselves away from all that emo stuff. Alternative used to be about being an alternative to all kinds of music – not just a sub-genre of rock. I highly recommend this track!

For pure cheese factor I’m enjoying the Sean Kingston song “Beautiful Girls (Suicidal)” which echoes Ben E King’s “Stand By Me”. It’s no deep track by any means, but it is a lot of fun.

And of course because my wife is a Creed/Alter Bridge fan I checked out Alter Bridge’s new single “Rise Today” which is a socially conscious rock anthem. Well – as socially conscious as a rock anthem can get. But it’s a fun track nonetheless.

Podsafe stuff – checking out music from Joe Colledge, Junior, and Alamance in preparation for a re-launch of the Jersey Jamcast (!). Also Sarah Donner’s song “Dodgeball” is great fun. She’s a local folk act and the whole high school theme of that song is really great.

Album wise – Chris Cornell’s new album is excellent. A lot of really rockin’ stuff like his theme to Casino Royale – “You Know my Name” to “No Such Thing”. But the real gem on the album is his cover of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean. He takes a song that was kind of a “mad” song and gives it the angst and anger it truly deserves. Rooney’s new album “Calling The World” is full of fun power pop and shows them maturing since their debut. I still need to listen through to the new Maroon 5 and Prince albums.

Movies:

Took Melissa to see Ratatouille and I don’t see why people are touting this as a great movie. I thought the plot was just average and while the animation was well done, the characters fell flat for me. For me – it was the worst of all the Pixar films – even below Bug’s Life. I really wanted to like it but felt like our money would have been better spent on Shrek 3 (our other possible choice) because at least we would have known and enjoyed the characters.

I went to see The Simpsons Wednesday night by myself and while I really enjoyed seeing them on the big screen I felt like it was just an extended episode. They took the plot back to basics – which for me was an homage to the first season – before they started to get edgy with pop culture references. I loved the animation – as they were able to do things they couldn’t do on a TV screen and thankfully they did not get gratuitous with their ability to include vulgar things they couldn’t on TV. It was fun but I didn’t feel it was worth the full $9 ticket price.

TV:

Brenda and I are watching both Hell’s Kitchen and Top Chef and enjoying. I got the 6 episode series “This American Life” from iTunes and have been watching it during lunch on the video Ipod. I also watched the World Series Of Pop Culture, and now Who Wants to Be A Superhero which is just as much fun as last year’s series. I’m also trying to get caught up on Rescue Me.

Podcasts: Some new podcast discoveries.

The Shameless Plugcast – interviews with podcasters. Some real gems here. I got turned onto at least one other video podcast through Zack’s interview with the producer star…and that one is:

The Galacticast (video)- Sci-Fi Parody skits – this is the coolest video podcast I’ve seen, ever. If you’re a geek, into Sci-Fi, comic books and horror you must watch this. I guarantee once you start watching some of the episodes, you’ll have wasted a good hour at least.

Feed Me Bubbe (video) – a Jewish cooking show – a lot of fun – grandson and grandmother together showing how to cook various Jewish dishes.

Books & Magazines:

Finally – to the books, magazines, and comic books. Very light here – but I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I’m also about 2/3 of the way through Jeff Smith’s Bone. I am anxiously awaiting the next issue of Geek Monthly – which has to be my ultimate favorite magazine of all time. I need to get caught up on a lot of my comic books too, although I am up to date on Knights of the Dinner Table.

So – a challenge to all my blog readers – what has been in your media-verse lately?

–*Rob