Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Never Mind the Bollocks.....Here's the End of Chronic Insomnia!







 Things fall apart, the center cannot hold...and after nearly five years of elegance and sophistication, the Chronic Insomnia comic book podcast is no more.

"Good riddance", say some, and to that I say "Shut up, world at large!"  But others, a very tiny sliver of really passionate people that anticipate that (semi) weekly dose of Chronic vulgarity, people that I love dearly...they will want to know:

Why?

Truth is, it's the people that want us to stay the most that make it impossible for me to stay.  Truth is, and this is scientifically demonstrable, the quality and consistency of the show are not there, and the commitment is lacking.

I won't do this half assed, because I have too much pride in my work and too much respect for my listeners.  I won't do this half assed because Remy, and Jesse, and Dave Rancor, and Miracle Keith, and Nick, and Glenn, and Other Nick deserve better.  Somewhere out there Elizabeth Scott is waiting to instruct half-assers to get into the toilet.  And you know what?  She should.

Last week's recording got fumbled again, and it was just general life stuff.  But it happens a lot lately, way too much lately, and it never used to.  Our worlds used to revolve around the show.... and it became clear to me that the show has run its course, and that half-assed is all that's left in the tank.  Not good enough.  Not by half.

So I'm done, and Quincy agrees with me, and that's OK.  It's a strange and wonderful little legacy, this show of ours.  I don't think the world will miss us much.  We left a smaller cultural footprint than the Baja Men, and that's fairly horrifying.

On the other hand, I remember Quincy and I with elevated heart rates and girlishly raised voices squealing about how episode # 36 or whatever achieved A WHOLE 12 DOWNLOADS, and HOLY CHRIST, that meant somebody out there was listening that WE DIDN'T KNOW!  As I type this, our latest effort has 382 downloads, many of them from other countries, and many more that listen and don't download.  It aint exactly Adam Carolla numbers, but when we started this nonsense in 2007, neither Quincy nor I ever envisioned 382 people giving a shit about what we were doing.

 Regrets?  I suppose.  A part of me would have liked to continue, to get better, get bigger, and someday be recognized as one of the "leather helmet" pioneers of comics podcasting.  Was that ever possible for us?  I don't know.  I notoriously used to wonder whether we were the Sex Pistols of Podcasting, or whether we could be The Beatles.

I think in the end we were the Sex Beatles, often compelling as we drenched honesty, energy, and balls in a syrup of childish, rebellious shit.  Never quite great, but the spectacle was usually worth it, and I think the pearl beneath the excrement was tantalizing.  We did some good fuckin', us Sex Beatles.  (and some really bad fuckin', too)

I think in the end we did provide a unique, viable product.  The format was essentially what Remy refers to as a "two monkey's on a davenport" vehicle, and that's nothing to be proud of.  But love me or hate me, I had a point of few, and I shot straight with no editing and no bullshit.  When you listened to Chronic Insomnia, you got some comics info, fine.  Some of it was even useful, if I'm not too biased to make a declaration.

Apart from that, and better than that, we invited you into our lives and hearts and thoughts, and even my unintentional celibacy, and the status of my physical plumbing.  It wasn't just:

"Here's comics!"

Anybody can do that.  For Chronic Insomnia, it was:

"Here's me, ALL of me, and here's how we feel about life."  I don't see another comics podcast doing that.  Maybe that's a good thing?  I don't know.  Me, I'll miss it.

I'll miss lots of things.  Doing this show's blog brought me into brief but memorable contact with Ethan Van Sciver, Dan Slott, Chris Samnee.  For fuck's sake, I made up some nonsense about marrying the Fantastic Four and Jonathan Hickman "gave away the bride" to me live on Canadian radio!!!!  Are you shitting me???

My review of Morning Glories # 1 made it to a CBR article, my review of Crossed Family Values # 3 made it to a feature article on Bleeding Cool, and when Irish Mike McLarty was pinch hitting for Rich, Bleeding Cool even had a feature on Market Spotlight.  I'll never forget any of those things.

I never would have had the chance to interview Anthony Del Col, Meagan Marie, or Comic Tube Vikki without the show.  And I never would have met the folks at Where Monsters Dwell.  LOVE the folks at Where Monsters Dwell, now more than ever.  The show has done a lot for me, personally.

And now it's done.  Quincy has talked about doing a series finale episode to say goodbye, and I think that's a good idea.  This week I'm headed up to the cabin when we would normally record, (see how life keeps getting in the way?) but that really ought to happen soon.

And after that?  Hmmmm, never say never I suppose.  I'm not retired from thinking, and I'm certainly not done with comics.  We may hear from each other again some day, in some capacity.

But for now, we're limping to our deaths like a couple of loser fucks.  Somewhere Johnny Rotten is smiling.

- Ryan Lee
Always the Manatee, Steve McQueen, or Louden Swain of Podcasting














17 comments:

GTO said...

That is a kick in the balls. Sucks. But I get it. Good luck in what ever you guys decide to do next, cause damn it was funny.

4182noxaj said...

I'll pour the rest of my forty out for the funniest (and my favorite) podcast.
One of the highlights of my podcasting career was hearing Ryan casually reference my show on a CI episode

Monibolis said...

You had a fantastic run.
Thanks for all the laughs

Jeff said...

That's too bad for me, since Chronic Insomnia was my favorite podcast. Peace off guys, thanks for the entertainment.

Mike said...

Absolutely my favorite podcast. Yours is a show that cannot be topped. You will be missed. Later dudes.

Kara Jean Campbell said...

Sad news indeed. An era has ended.

Unknown said...

You guys were the deadpool of podcasting absurd but deadly cool
. you guys are also vulgar and funny as shit. you will be sorely missed take care and have a good life.

Evilsqudomics said...

After doing my own podcast for awhile, yours was the only comics podcast I could still listen to for the very reasons you state. It had more than just comics, and that was a beautiful thing. You will be missed.

Web Wreckage Stephen said...

This is sad news but obviously a decision not made lightly. I wish you both the best in any future podcasting endeavours. I have been somewhat erratic in my recent listening habits but I still really enjoy what you offer up to your listeners whenever I return for more.

I will always really appreciate what you have opened my eyes to with regards to your opinions on the world of comics - and of course how to profit with amazon (my wallet is really grateful for that one!)

Good luck in the future,

Stephen

Eric Hoffman said...

I refuse to accept this... I understand, but my weeks will not be the same. I listen to about 50 hours of podcasts a week, and Chronic Insomnia has been my favorite for years. I started listening back in the 30's and haven't missed a show since. From laughing at your unrequited love of the damned, to shocked disbelief that somebody actually watches smallville... It's been a hell of a ride. I used to work in loss prevention, and drove a wreck of an oldsmobile for years... so maybe ours is a narrow demographic...but this show will be sorely missed. Thanks for the years of entertainment. Good Luck in all that you do.

Anonymous said...

Shame, you were kind of amusing sometimes. And your Market Spotlight feature (when you actually included it) was very useful. Maybe you could do a short podcast on just that?
Cheers!
Sam

Anonymous said...

Mike Dingman says...

Somewhere Shute is sobbing...

Cody said...

Goddammit I am sad now. I looked forward to your silly little show every week since I discovered it back when I first started listening to podcasts. CI and WMD were the only ones of the original 7 I started listening to left(that I could stomach). I wish you both the best of luck in the "City that God Forgot" and hope to hear from you both again somewhere down the line.

Cody Carey
P.S. Ryan wash your pillow cases once in a while, JEEEZUS

Domino Writing said...

It was my favorite podcast too - it will be missed. There are other podcasts I download regularly, but this is the only one I looked forward to hearing every week. So long, guys.

Xaviersx said...

From the shock of my day one listening to your podcast to the sadness I feel for knowing I've heard the last, I want to thank you both for entertaining from start to finish. I wish you the best of whatever comes next. Offend on, offend well.

Anonymous said...

Just found out, and listened to the last cast. I'm a recently recovered comic addict, and you guys were my only connection to the books after years of being a fucked over reader. Now, like you,that part of my life is done... and like you, I'm happy. Should have wrote in waaaay sooner. I love you fucking sickos!

Irish Mike said...

You goddamn DOUCHEBAGS. What in the unholy fuck? The city that God forgot has swallowed you balls deep. Another casualty falls before the shitstain we call LIFE.

I love you both.

--- Irish Mike