So I spent the equivalent of about 3 or 4 days loading up my iPod with music from the CD collection. I listen to that for about a week and then discover these things called ‘podcasts’. The next thing I know, I’m not shuffling music anymore, or really even listening to it that much, but I’m downloading podcasts and listening to them instead. I’m getting addicted to one show in particular, called Keith and the Girl.

I’ve always been a big fan of ‘personality’ type of radio. I’ve been a Steve Dahl fan since my Uncle introduced me to Steve and Garry back in 1980 or so. I was a big Howard Stern fan for a while. As time went on, and the commercial breaks got longer (and longer, and longer) and the FCC started renewed efforts to censor what I could listen to, I began to get disenchanted with radio as a medium.

As Stern began talking about his move to Sirius Satellite Radio, I seriously considered getting it. Then I got this iPod and found that there were actually independent, ‘real’ people doing broadcasts that I could download and listen to.

This is the kind of stuff I like. I like to listen to regular people. I like the concentrated hour of content rather than the multiple commercial breaks. Most of all, I like having full control of what I can listen to rather than someone else picking and bleeping things for me.

Keith and the Girl are Keith Malley (comedian and webmaster of shite.com) and his girlfriend Chemda. They started their podcast in March of this year. I really enjoy it.

Those with iTunes 4.9 can subscribe to the ‘Keith and the Girl‘ show and get daily downloads as you update your podcasts lists.

As I get caught up on this show, I am also going to start hitting the top 10 on Podcast Alley to see what else is out there. If you’ve got an mp3 player, and you haven’t started checking podcasts out yet, give them a shot. You might never go back to regular radio.