Podcasting's coming of age?

Indeed, the hobbyists and enthusiasts who first enjoyed and created podcasts in 2004/2005, just for the mere sake of it, all seem to have disappeared.

Or at the very least, they have turned to other forms of internet social communication to expose their technological know-how alongside their personal vulnerabilities.

Whichever dark, damp corner of the internet that has absorbed them we, at LittleSmasher, hope they're able to download and enjoy the current crop of downloadable episodic audio in the knowledge that without their early compulsions to pursue poorly performed and pitiably produced podcasts none of the current quality might be here at all.

Chris Salmon, from the Guardian, suggests a few podcasts you might like try from this obvious legacy.
Amplify’d from www.guardian.co.uk

Click to download: podcast nostalgia

It's not quite over yet for a tried, tested and trusty format
The buzz around podcasts has calmed considerably over the last couple of years, with social networks and mobile apps capturing the attention of labels and musicians keen to embrace the latest thing. Which is a pity, because subscribing to a good, free podcast remains a terrific way of receiving regular content directly to your computer or mobile.
Happily, there are still some great music-related podcasts which you can subscribe to, for free, via iTunes. One of the best is the Live Music podcast from Australian radio station Triple J. At least once a week, the station uploads live recordings from one of two regular strands. The first, Live at the Wireless, features around 20 minutes of highlights from a concert, recently including performances by the Rapture, Interpol and the National (all of which are well worth hearing). Meanwhile, the other strand, Like a Version, sees acts playing studio sessions that culminate with a cover version. The best features Plan B, who unleashes a cracking reworking of Kanye West's Runaway. Subscribe to forthcoming episodes and download any of the previous 24 from bit.ly/jjjpodcast.
London-based internet radio station RadioNowhere also has a variety of excellent podcasts available via iTunes, at bit.ly/rnpodcasts. Standouts include the weekly Filmic show, which offers an hour of music from soundtracks and scores, and the Christopher Laird Show, another weekly programme with songs from the best new, independent artists. Both shows play tracks in full, something that podcasts often haven't been allowed to do because of rights restrictions. But, given that each of Laird's shows features an interview with a guest artist – this week it was British Sea Power, last week it was the Joy Formidable – it would seem that the industry is offering tacit approval of RadioNowhere's full-songs approach.
With Mumford & Sons and Laura Marling driving a renewed interest in folk, Jon Boden chose a good time to launch his A Folk Song a Day podcast. In June last year, the violinist, singer and Bellowhead member, committed to podcasting a traditional folk song every day for an entire year via iTunes at bit.ly/jbpodcast. And that's exactly what he's done, with Tuesday's a cappella take on Billy Don't You Weep For Me leaving him just 100 days from completing the project.
Read more at www.guardian.co.uk