I have, and I’m hooked (as are many others, judging from how it’s currently burning up the rankings on iTunes).
It’s a podcast that consists of radio broadcasts from a small, civic-minded town named Night Vale, somewhere out in the desert among the sand wastes…and where the standards for “normalcy” are decidedly different from our own. But fear not, citizens! Your friendly community radio personality, Cecil, is ready and willing to help you navigate your life in Night Vale in soothing, dulcet tones.
The best way I can describe this is a blend of Twilight Zone, NPR and Prairie Home Companion, with a heaping helping of the SCP Foundation and a dash of Lovecraftian existential horror thrown in.
Look to the obelisk. We don’t know where it came from, but it’s attracting a lot of cats.
The bit about the football player struck by a bolt of sentient lightning and becoming as strong as two Jeeps and intelligent as a “heavily concussed René Descartes” gave me a good laugh.
This was started by one of the posters (and former mod?) on Something Awful – you can read his thread about it here, with a lot of behind the scenes info on how it’s put together.
Plus the fact that the lightning strike also (somehow) cured his cerebral palsy, as well as his restoring his missing left hand which had been removed as a penalty for numerous overdue library books.
Episode 1 was their demo and so is a bit rougher than later ones (but still good). As time passes, they really improve, and Cecil finds more of his voice.
I just caught up during last evening’s run, and am now sad that I’ll have to wait. The dangers of binging! They’ve really gotten much more well-produced as the show has gone on; I remember being a touch annoyed early on that the “original music by Disparition” was more or less random, without any particular tie to whatever Cecil happened to be talking about. Not a big deal–I can imagine a no-budget community radio show actually doing that. But recently, I’ve noticed that the background music fits the foreground talk, which is a nice touch.
My only real complaint is “the weather”, which doesn’t really mesh with the rest of the show, and often, IMO, su… is not to my taste. But it’s a tiny complaint in an otherwise awesome and too short show. (All podcasts should be at least 35-40 minutes long, to accommodate my run, together with any prep time for it. :))
My cosplayer friends introduced me to this podcast, and I love it. I love how matter-of-fact Cecil is when talking about events that would send most radio personalities running for the hills. And how he’s so madly in love with Carlos, the scientist with the perfect hair. A couple of people I know have even cosplayed as Cecil.
Well, this is good to know. So many people love it (and it sounds like something I’d dig) that I gave it a listen and I couldn’t get through the first one. I think I’ll try it again with ep 2 and see how it goes.
Nightvale was mentioned to me by a member of a younger generation than I. Sounds intriguing, how do I listen? Do I have to subscribe ( to a newsletter ) or something? Do I need a fancy i-device?
