One of the benefits I have with my lack of podcast listening is catching up on some true gems that are still buried away on my phone.
My podcast listening these days is pretty much dominated by Forest. I thought this would change during pre-season and I could focus elsewhere, but nope. The Forest onslaught of blokes talking to each other when not a lot is really happening is mildly addictive.
I made the brave move today to scroll down a little further beyond Forest. Oh boy, what an absolute BEAUT. I forgot I had these buried away: there’s around half a dozen or so of Andy Kershaw Plays Some Bloody Good Records to catch up with.
I almost didn’t want to dive into these, saving them for as long as I could. They are the true gems in musical podcasting. Sadly we now know that there will be no more to follow.
It’s really quite heartbreaking hearing Kershaw collating his superb musical knowledge alongside his personal stories. The final podcast that I’ve got from this series is June of 2025. He sounded in good health, but didn’t hold back with his own financial situation.
The joy of the music he plays was often balanced very finely against his own personal downfall. I know he’s had his personal troubles, haven’t we all, but he was certainly no failure when it came to continuing what he loved doing, which, as the title of the podcast suggests, is to play some bloody good records.
The format never changes. He plays three songs and then backtracks and tells a little story about them. I doubt anywhere else you’d hear Neil Young going into Prince Far-I and then a recording from his own kitchen table from a northern folk group.
He was also possibly the rudest man in music but that made him all the more appealing. Truly one of a kind and a legend of broadcasting and podcasting. I might hold back on these podcasts and limit myself to perhaps just one per month.