“The Bitterest Pill” is the podcast of Dan Klass, an intelligent, low-key (depressive?) actor and self-identified addict in Los Angeles; he opines about addiction and complains about his laptop and his health, as his baby cries in the background. Why is this endearing? It just is, like many forthright accounts of boomer loserdom. Mr. Klass also worries about podcasting going mainstream. “Do you really need to hear Dick and wacky Dale from KRAP in St. Louis?” he asked on a recent broadcast.
– The New York Times, July 22, 2005. From The Critic’s Notebook, “The Podcast as a New Podium” by Virginia Heffernan
Depressive? Yes.
Self-identified Addict? Not officially. Do they not get the joke? The Bitterest Pill? The Addict’s Lounge?
Baby cries in the background? Maybe once in 45 editions.
The New York Times has done me the honor of “spelling my name right” twice now. I can’t complain, although I will…
Dan – I was coming home on the subway today and an annoying woman sitting next to me was reading the Times – annoying because, as you can imagine, opening up the Times to flip pages involves jostling neighbors on both sides of a crowded seat – but when I turned to give her a dirty look, I saw that the page was open to an article on podcasting. So of course I had to find it online as soon as I got home. (Thanks, annoying woman!)
Really, I wouldn’t have recognized the reference to you if it weren’t for the name – clearly this person has not listened to very many of your podcasts. I’d venture to say only the last? Because, yes, something with “Death” in the title is bound to be “depressive.”
At least she finds you endearing, right? But too bad she didn’t listen more – because she’d have found out how funny you really are.
Hey, NYTimes readers who checked out this site from the link? Dan’s really funny. Really! He’s not depressive at all (most of the time), and the only “addiction” here comes from his fans who listen to one podcast and can’t stop… and get a little anxious when we don’t get our “fix.”
I totally agree with Medusa and you Dan. The press is so out of touch with what podcasting is and rushes to get the story out.
One person wrote for me once that I was a Canadian woman talking about daily things through my cats perspective! I guess she never even listened to one of my shows!!
Oh well – we don’t do it for them anyway 🙂
This is why, with the podcasting revolution, we don’t need the mainstream media any more to dictate what we listen to: we can make our own minds up now, thanks.
You’ve a regular listener here, and I’ve no doubt there are many thousands more around the world, but I get the feeling that even if I were your only listener, you’d still do it. That’s what makes your podcast such a joy to listen to.
Thanks.
Gee, I used to be jelous of all the press you were getting for the podcast….not anymore.
“Between hits on the crack pipe, Dan podcasts and occasionally tosses old stale cherrios to his crying daughter.”
That’s about what it read like.