A Review of the Black Tie Martini Club Oddcast Podcast

It's somewhat of an underground movement right now. The website is receiving thousands of hits, yet listeners are still able to contact the creator directly and provide input into tomorrow's show. What could be so grass-roots and simultaneously so popular? The Black Tie Martini Club Oddcast, a 10-minute podcast daily variety show.

Podcasts are similar to radio shows, only they are broadcast over the internet and often downloaded onto MP3 players, such as iPods. Even without an MP3 player, listeners can still enjoy wonderful podcasts, like the Black Tie Martini Club Oddcast, by using any music software that comes standard on their computers.

One of the greatest features of the Oddcast is its accessibility. Not only can listeners subscribe to the oddcast through iTunes but also through the Podomatic website. The show's creator, Caleb Bullen, announces his email address on every show and makes an open call for topic submissions, song requests, publicity ideas, and more. But the quality, both in sound and content, never lags.

As if the quality weren't enough, you can't beat the price: free! Right now, the Oddcast is free both on iTunes and Podomatic. Listeners can actually "subscribe" to the Black Tie Martini Club podcast through iTunes, and then iTunes will automatically update with the newest podcast every time the user opens up the iTunes program.

If you've got an ear for obscure but wonderful music, you'll become a Black Tie Martini Club fan right away. From catchy rock, to soulful jazz, to protest songs, to Bullen's own original (and often quirky!) music, the Oddcast grabs the listener by the ear and runs with it. Many days include a theme, such as female artists, and the music will all match it.

The show is nearly interactive, for as much input as Bullen welcomes from the crowd. A major hit for the Black Tie Martini Club podcast has been Poetry Thursday. Listeners not only can request poems, but may submit their favorites both from published authors and personally written pieces. The majority of submissions are used by Bullen in one podcast or another, and he credits the listeners on air who have helped him with the content for any show.

Without a doubt, one of the best features of the Oddcast is the humor. Tongue-in-cheek Bullen is a master of wit. He provides a mixture of voices and sound clips to create skits that leave the listeners doubled over in laughter. In one podcast, Rosemary's Baby is turned into a sitcom. In another, Bullen's podcast is shut down by the FCC for not having enough diversity on his staff of one. Yet another is directed entirely from the point-of-view of a hobo. Bullen often also includes discussion of news and politics, both from the real world and his creative mind. The shows are edgy yet tasteful and come in 10-minute podcasts that are easy to listen to again and again.