Author Topic: Constructive Dissent  (Read 8145 times)

Requiem42

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on: November 28, 2014, 07:21:47 AM
Disclaimer: I like Escape Pod.  A lot.

Can we discuss the oft repeated, oft credited Monster Surf Rock intro and outro?  Please?

Oh good.  So, here's the thing:  its too long, its overused, its incredibly tired.  This is a science fiction podcast, is it not?  Are we not listeners who enjoy a good bit of novelty?  Please, for the love of Cthulhu (looking at you, Norm), make an executive decision to update the podcast.

Anyone else share my distaste?  Please chime in!



eytanz

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Reply #1 on: November 28, 2014, 12:26:47 PM
My opinion - it's a theme song. It's goal is to provide a bit of continuity between episodes and to be easily recognisable at the beginning and at the end. It's not really there to be enjoyed as music (it is definitely not something I personally would be listening to out of context). I don't see the point of changing it.



Fenrix

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Reply #2 on: November 28, 2014, 03:15:05 PM
The band is Daikaiju, and they're pretty dang awesome. High energy show, great crowd interaction, and they can deliver. Go check out their page: http://www.daikaiju.org/

Surf rock covers almost the entire span of modern science fiction. It covers everything back to the Atomic Age but not much further. Then add the lens of giant city-destroying monsters and I have a hard time thinking of something closer to perfect for a science fiction podcast that launched with the mission of "Have Fun!"

WHO IS THE DAIKAIJU??? PREMIUM ACTION HEROES DELIVER MOST HIGH ROCKET ATTACK!!! SPECIAL REVERB SKILL COMBO FOR FULL IMPACT!!! LOUD SONIC BOOM FOR EARFUL PLEASURE!!! BEAUTIFUL RADIATION OF HYPER-DIMENSIONAL SPRINGY SOUND MAKING DIVINE PSYCHIC WIND FOR YOUR SPECIAL DEFENSE!!! WORSHIP DAIKAIJU DAILY FOR GOOD LUCK AND HEALTH!!!

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adrianh

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Reply #3 on: November 29, 2014, 09:48:32 AM
Anyone else share my distaste? 

Nope. Sorry. Love it ;-)



Requiem42

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Reply #4 on: November 30, 2014, 05:04:34 AM
Ok, point taken: it is a theme song. 

Having thought more about my specific disliking, it is the length of time that EP chooses to play it that's annoying.  Most successful podcasts have a 10-20 second intro/outro.  EP's can be as long as a minute or two (pardon my unwillingness to find an example), and it varies per episode.  The end music is usually the greater offender.

10-20 seconds, and I think you've got your desired effect.  I am ushered into the world of SF, the mood is set.  Think of the savings in bandwidth!

Again, the podcast as a whole is one of my favorites, so no disrespect intended.



matweller

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Reply #5 on: November 30, 2014, 05:30:36 PM
The lead in is 10 seconds. The fade out has varied by my mood and how close it is to the end of the song. I hadn't kept a hard rule for the fade, figuring anybody could stop it anytime they wanted. But I will gladly make it a standard 10 second fade. Thanks for your input.



adrianh

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Reply #6 on: November 30, 2014, 05:48:18 PM
But I will gladly make it a standard 10 second fade. Thanks for your input.

To dissent with the dissent — I'd rather you left it long myself.

It gives me a little mental time to decompress and ponder before whatever rolls in through my earbuds next. And I can always hit skip if I get bored.

(plus — I like it ;-)



Alasdair5000

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Reply #7 on: November 30, 2014, 07:12:08 PM
Ok, point taken: it is a theme song. 

Having thought more about my specific disliking, it is the length of time that EP chooses to play it that's annoying.  Most successful podcasts have a 10-20 second intro/outro.  EP's can be as long as a minute or two (pardon my unwillingness to find an example), and it varies per episode.  The end music is usually the greater offender.

10-20 seconds, and I think you've got your desired effect.  I am ushered into the world of SF, the mood is set.  Think of the savings in bandwidth!

Again, the podcast as a whole is one of my favorites, so no disrespect intended.
And absolutely none taken, believe me. It's always interesting when a piece of culture reaches the sort of lifespan EP's reached that a good chunk of people begin to if not rankle against some elements of then certainly begin to look for something new. I'm often one of them:) But, regardless, thanks for letting us know you feel the music could do with being shaken up a bit. I can't promise we'll do it, but I can absolutely promise that what people say here, and through other social media, will be listened to and discussed.



kibitzer

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Reply #8 on: November 30, 2014, 10:10:49 PM
Ok, point taken: it is a theme song. 

Having thought more about my specific disliking, it is the length of time that EP chooses to play it that's annoying.  Most successful podcasts have a 10-20 second intro/outro.  EP's can be as long as a minute or two (pardon my unwillingness to find an example), and it varies per episode.  The end music is usually the greater offender.

10-20 seconds, and I think you've got your desired effect.  I am ushered into the world of SF, the mood is set.  Think of the savings in bandwidth!

Again, the podcast as a whole is one of my favorites, so no disrespect intended.

I'll put my hand up and say I find it incredibly annoying. Always have. In fact, my first forum post was a rather ill-advised phrasing of that particular sentiment. May I say, yours is much more thoughtful and appropriate than mine was :)

But I still dislike the music very much :)


matweller

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Reply #9 on: November 30, 2014, 11:12:25 PM
Speaking as a listener and not as a producer, I absolutely adore the music.

I would fight against change if you were whining in the first 10 episodes. I don't think it's unfair to switch it up every 500 or so, though. When we switch to a couple country tunes in the style of Billy Ray Cyrus I'm sure folks will be content to sit tight 'til 1k.



Devoted135

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Reply #10 on: December 01, 2014, 03:37:59 AM
Oh man, I can imagine the hooplah that could ensue from changing the music! It took me forever to get used to Selected Shorts' new theme, and I'm still not over how Speaking of Faith changed its name to On Being and also changed its theme song at the same time. Such controversy! Haha, anyway, I obviously would vote to keep it the same if there were to be a vote on such things. :)



Fenrix

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Reply #11 on: December 01, 2014, 04:17:02 PM
But I will gladly make it a standard 10 second fade. Thanks for your input.

To dissent with the dissent — I'd rather you left it long myself.

It gives me a little mental time to decompress and ponder before whatever rolls in through my earbuds next. And I can always hit skip if I get bored.

(plus — I like it ;-)

I'm with adrianh here about the extra time at the end of the episode. Some times I listen to the extra music after "have fun." Sometimes I hit the next button.

All cat stories start with this statement: “My mother, who was the first cat, told me this...”


kibitzer

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Reply #12 on: December 01, 2014, 09:40:56 PM
I would fight against change if you were whining in the first 10 episodes.

I respectfully take issue with the word "whining". I don't believe either of the dissenters were "whining", merely expressing an opinion.

I wish you could hear the music through my ears; I endure it because it's part of the tradition but it's honestly an assault on my brain, almost physically uncomfortable.


Scattercat

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Reply #13 on: December 02, 2014, 02:22:21 AM
It never sounded particularly science-fictional to me, but I've gone to Daikaiju's page to listen to their other songs and seriously considered buying some, so YMMV, I guess.

The one that drives me nuts is the horse whinnying at the beginning of Beneath Ceaseless Skies' podcast, because it comes out of nowhere and just goes WHEEEEHEHEHEHEEHEEHE right in the earholes.  I swear it's like fifty percent louder than the rest of their intro.  :-D



matweller

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Reply #14 on: December 02, 2014, 03:49:47 AM
I would fight against change if you were whining in the first 10 episodes.

I respectfully take issue with the word "whining". I don't believe either of the dissenters were "whining", merely expressing an opinion.

I wish you could hear the music through my ears; I endure it because it's part of the tradition but it's honestly an assault on my brain, almost physically uncomfortable.
If it happened before anybody gave it a chance, I would stand behind it being whining and calling it such, not unlike my 5-year-old refusing to try [every food that isn't chicken nuggets or a bologna sandwich].

However, this is episode 470, this hypothetical does not apply anyway. I do apologize for not clarifying that I wasn't speaking to you. I meant to address the topic in general. You are right, I should have said, "...if someone were whining..."

I'm sorry the music hurts you too. There are a number of shows whose content I love, but that I find unlistenable because of the host or narrator, so I sympathize. We all have to decide the criteria to cull our subscription lists.



DKT

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Reply #15 on: December 02, 2014, 07:50:01 AM
But I will gladly make it a standard 10 second fade. Thanks for your input.

To dissent with the dissent — I'd rather you left it long myself.

It gives me a little mental time to decompress and ponder before whatever rolls in through my earbuds next. And I can always hit skip if I get bored.

(plus — I like it ;-)

Agree. I don't mind the longer fade out at all.

(Sympathies to those who can't stand it, though.)


Fenrix

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Reply #16 on: December 02, 2014, 01:50:20 PM

The one that drives me nuts is the horse whinnying at the beginning of Beneath Ceaseless Skies' podcast, because it comes out of nowhere and just goes WHEEEEHEHEHEHEEHEEHE right in the earholes.  I swear it's like fifty percent louder than the rest of their intro.  :-D


Isn't that the one with the sword clashes as well? I think I dropped them fast because I couldn't make it past the intro. I can sympathize with the discomfort.

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Scattercat

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Reply #17 on: December 02, 2014, 02:00:32 PM
The sword clashes are softer and less strident, though.  Really, it's just that initial horse whinny that comes immediately after utter silence (and particularly if I'm just coming from a Lightspeed episode, where their volume is always way quiet and so I crank it up on my player.)



TrishEM

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Reply #18 on: December 03, 2014, 10:42:09 AM
I'm one of those who enjoy the longer fadeout, although sometimes I skip it if I have a big backlog to work through.



bounceswoosh

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Reply #19 on: December 13, 2014, 05:52:21 PM
I don't mind the horse or the serious. The intro habit of the voice rising at the end of every sentence - that hurts.

I don't love the outro music, so I just long press to get to the end of the episode.