{"id":1815,"date":"2008-07-25T00:00:03","date_gmt":"2008-07-25T07:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/josephaleo.com\/blog\/?p=1815"},"modified":"2019-02-20T19:54:46","modified_gmt":"2019-02-21T03:54:46","slug":"solipsistic-nation-no-100-100","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/josephaleo.com\/blog\/solipsistic-nation-no-100-100\/","title":{"rendered":"solipsistic NATION No. 100: 100"},"content":{"rendered":"

These days I get all my news from the internet. I follow nearly a hundred blogs on various topics that fascinate. Instead of watching television I watch YouTube videos of video podcasts. And I never listen to the radio. I listen to podcasts. Nearly all the media I consume don\u2019t come down from on high from multi-billion dollars corporations but folks just like you and me.<\/p>\n

solipsistic NATION<\/b> is part of the new media movement and I thought we\u2019d spend this week\u2019s show exploring how people like yourself are participating and changing the way media works, which in turn changes the way we see ourselves, our community and our world.<\/p>\n

Half my life I\u2019ve been a DJ at college and community radio stations, pirate and internet radio stations, and, for nearly four years I\u2019ve been a podcaster.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always been evangelical about being a DJ. I constantly encourage people to be a DJ and I\u2019m always amazed how many people turn down the opportunity to get on the mic and be heard. In fact, I\u2019m amazed everyone isn\u2019t<\/i> a DJ.<\/p>\n

Especially now when it\u2019s so easy. All you need is a computer, a microphone and a place to host your files and, boom!, you\u2019re a podcaster. Granted, there\u2019s some skill involved and spending some extra cash on some decent hardware and software doesn\u2019t hurt but the most important thing is the content. People will forgive most anything if you\u2019ve got something worth hearing.<\/p>\n

When I started podcasting I hosted a show called Small World<\/a> where I\u2019d talk to people from all walks of life from all over the planet. I\u2019ve interviewed everyone from sandwich makers to filmmakers. I started off recording all my interview into a crappy cassette recorder and then transfer it to the computer. Later on I got savvy and ran a microphone directly into my computer and did my interviews on Skype. I made mistakes, sure. The audio sounded pretty bad, too. But as I went a long I learned and improved and had people from all over the world listening to my little show that I recorded in my apartment. I didn\u2019t need to spend countless dollars on a radio station to be heard.<\/p>\n

When I launched solipsistic NATION<\/b> as a podcast I knew it was going to be much more than a show where I would spin music. And I knew I wasn\u2019t going to stick to just one genre of electronic music. There are enough shows that do just that and while they may be good, after you heard two or three shows you\u2019ve pretty much heard all their shows. If that kind of show bores me then I know it\u2019s going to bore you.<\/p>\n

But I also wanted to take what I had learned from the Small World and talk to people who were part of the electronic music community, whether they were drum and bass heads or glitch addicts. I wanted to talk to the people who made the music, the people who put out the music and the people who love the music.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always tried to keep the interviews on solipsistic NATION<\/b> brief because despite what I just said, the show really is about the music. And it\u2019s a tricky balancing act, trying to keep things interesting with the music but not detracting from the music. I don\u2019t always succeed but looking back on the last 100 shows I\u2019m proud of what I\u2019ve been able to accomplish.<\/p>\n

On today\u2019s show I\u2019m going to pretty much just going to play excerpts of interviews from previous shows. from people who are part of the electronic music community. Hey, it\u2019s the 100th show. Indulge me.<\/p>\n