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Well, here we are: Episode 100.
At long last.
When I launched the podcast three years ago, I had Episode #100 in mind as a target. I read somewhere along the way that most podcasts don’t last beyond 10 episodes. I think a lot of new podcasters are like me – great starters of things, but when the initial rush and the projections and the dream smash up against reality, they fall away. What’s the reality? It’s more work than you expect it to be, even when you expect it to be work. And then you publish your first couple of episodes and only your best friend and your sister download them, and the big dream begins to wobble.
It's easy to quit at that point, so my notion of doing 100 episodes seemed a reasonably ambitious target. And I almost didn’t make it. When I stopped producing the show in February at 96 episodes, I did so with a sense of business unfinished and no little regret. Still, I had to do what I had to do at the time. My head needed some clearing up.
When I sat down to record the first episode with FenyxFyre three years ago, I couldn’t have guessed how much different the show would be 99 episodes later. The JHP began as an interview podcast, because interviews were what I had always done as a music blogger. I was nearly 30 episodes in before it occurred to me that I modelled the show after successful podcasts – Rogan and Maron mostly – that I didn’t actually listen to. At least not faithfully. I began to realize that I like monologues. I like lectures. I like one voice on a podcast, so I began to do longer, free-form introductions to my interviews, and eventually took a shot at a full monologue episode.
The rest is history.
Even the monologues have changed over time. I didn’t know what I was doing or even wanted to do at first. I don’t really know that now either, but things evolve as you go. I’ve moved into more focussed, topical episodes like the various superficial histories. I think that’s the direction I want to go in the future, if and as time allows. That’s the thing, you see: this really is a lot of work, so it becomes a game of how much capacity you have to dig into the topic at hand. Sometimes you have to pace yourself.
For the record, this week’s goth episode is the most labour-intensive episode I’ve done. It may not seem like it from the product, but the research was demanding and time-consuming. Listening to so much music. Looking into so many bands. Trying to piece the whole thing together into something coherent. Then recording the thing and editing the thing and then double-checking my triple-checked history to make sure there wasn’t anything too glaringly wrong in the presentation. It took something out of me, but the thing is I liked doing it. I liked creating the product. If you’re going to get over the Episode #10 hump and find your way to a century, you’re going to need to like creating the product.
Also for the record, I'm still very excited to have done the interviews I've done, and I do intend to have guests on the show from time to time for those of you who like that type of episode.
Anyway, rather than doing a retrospective episode to celebrate this anniversary, I decided to offer the most demanding episode to date, and reinforce the way forward instead of re-treading the past. I hope you enjoy it!
Of course, the other big news as we embark on the next century is that I’ve decided to launch a Patreon page for the show (www.patreon.com/johnhuffpodcast). There are expenses that go with the time commitment. I would like to offset them, but not with ad reads if I can avoid it. I find ad reads in podcasts annoying and intrusive, especially when I listen to an episode that seems to have been created for the sole purpose of having a reason to do ad reads. Patreon allows you, the listener, to support the show if you feel inclined to do so. For five Canadian dollars per month ($1.25 an episode), you can help me grow this thing and make it better. But again, the beauty of Patreon is that it’s up to your inclination. No pressure and no obligation. The show will remain free and accessible wherever you enjoy fine podcasts.
But if you’re inclined to support via Patreon, I surely do appreciate it!
Okay, on with this week’s episode. You can find a lot of the music on the John Huff Podcast Referenced On The Podcast 2022 playlist on Spotify. In particular, I recommend sampling Joy Division’s Closer album, along with Pornography by The Cure and Elizium by Fields Of The Nephilim. Just check your headspace going in. Some of the music is pretty, but it’s not super cheery. Also, I mentioned on the show that my friend Colin introduced me to Fields Of The Nephilim. He recently recorded a cover and created a video for the Joy Division song New Dawn Fades. Both are excellent (see here).
Many thanks as always for listening!
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