Bombin the AM is a great podcast

Probably not worth a thread, but I wanted to give a round of applause to Scoops and the Wolf for making what is essentially the best gaming podcast around. Online, with basic equipment, and no production value. Proving once again that you don't need a recording studio to make a gaming podcast. I was on a bummer with the direction Bombcast has gone, and with weekend confirmed going under things were looking a little slim. But purely as an iTunes podcast to listen to, they've made a great show. It's interesting, on point and has solid guests.

It's alright. When they talk about sports I just cringe and the guests are very hit and miss for me.

It is not better than the Bombcast.

Thanks, glad you like it!

I like it, if only there was more time to listen to things.

From my perspective, the Bombcast has gotten so meandering and banal I find myself preferring silence. I used to love the off topic stuff, but when you're getting essentially 10 to 15 minutes of video game discussion sandwiched between hours and hours of Vinny's woodworking, Drew's shrimp recipes and Brad not ever doing anything... It can break a man's will to listen. With AM, the modest time limit keeps things moving. So even the diversions are less painful. And I'm actually onboard with the sports talk. So, cheers again to 'Trick and Alex. They're serious assets to the site even from afar.

They've done a great job. I like the Monday/guest, Friday/chat format as it gives GB another podcast news outlet a half week after the Bombcast. It moves well, the guests have been stellar, the discussion is interesting, and Alex howls like a wolf. It makes my commute more bearable twice a week.

I kind of wish the dumb sound effects made it to the audio-only version, that's all I can say.

I disagree with your opinions about the bombcast, but I agree that Bombin' in the AM is well-done and a lot of fun to listen to.

During the week at work I've got hours where I've got nothing to do but, listen. More content is always a plus of me and it's a nice change comparing to the bombcast. The guest can be a little meh sometimes depending on who's on and how much interest in them I have but, for the most part it's all been very enjoyable. I actually enjoy Fridays more with just Scoops and the Wolf talking mostly about games.

Deserves a thread for sure, keep up the great work.

You have to realize while Giantbomb is a website about video games most of us choose to engage on this site because of the personalities of the guys. And that includes a lot of just off the cuff conversation about whatever the hell they want to talk about.

Today's episode with Jim Sterling was one of the my favorites. I don't really agree that the Bombcast is getting boring but I did find myself kind of zoning out this past week during all the woodworking talk. The show definitely misses Ryan's hosting ability to keep things moving at times. Hard to fault them though. Ryan really is irreplaceable.

yes, it totally is.

Ahhhh- rrrooooo!!!!

It's a darn solid podcast, no doubt about it. It's been a great addition to the site.

had to admit, I wondered how well Alex and Patrick would mesh together conversationally when it was announced since they didn't seem to have much work history together, but they seemed in rhythm from nearly the get go. They already almost feel like a seasoned broadcaster team.

I especially like how well they work in guests. And I think the format really bring out Patrick's strengths as an interviewer, which the bombcast didn't and doesn't really provide an opportunity to showcase.

Which gives the site a nice balance of styles. Both podcasts are both very good at pretty different things.

It's also great to give Alex another venue, in many ways he is actually the best of the entire crew at describing what works and doesn't about games and tying it all together in really eloquent ways. They're a great duo, and it's a great companion show to the Bombast. It's fantastic.

I enjoy it alot too. Oddly enough i always listen to the video version of it. Never the podcast version. Yet i never actually watch the video, i just play the video, tab out and listen to it. I mean theres VIDEO you gotta "watch" it right? I mean the time i listen to the podcast version tehre will be some sight gag or something ill miss out on! RIGHT?!

totally not irrational...SHUT UP!

That's a very good point. It's nice to see Alex given a video venue to showcase what he brings to the site in a more noticeable way.

You make a fair point, but so does the other guy. The ratio of game related discussion to off-topic discussion has changed dramatically over the last year. It's a reasonable statement to say the show is perhaps TOO off-topic these days.

This is absolutely true. I don't really blame them, but I just personally haven't found myself enjoying the current product. Ryan was a great host, and it was a vastly different show with him at the helm. Then you factor in Patrick leaving, and the roster starts to get really thin. Drew is the beloved resident nordic prince and sim guru, but he doesn't register much on the podcast. Vinny is obviously living a personal life nearly devoid of video games because he has a child to raise. I don't blame any person putting it out, and give them credit for never missing a week. That being said, I think the show desperately needs new blood.

I actually like it better than the Bombcast. It's shorter, it's more focused, and the topics and guests both are interesting and entertaining. I really don't have time for three hours of meandering that occasionally gets onto the topic of video games these days.

I don't know. I'm fine with the meandering. I've got other podcasts I can listen to if I want more concise focused video game talk. I've always enjoyed the bombcast the most when they aren't talking about video games.

In his defense I think the podcast when Jeff hosts it is rather aimless and not really in a good way. I still really like the show (huge fan of the site) but it is not as good as it was when Ryan was the host and I do think Vinny is a better host as well. Jeff is a great part of the show, and huge at this point to the site, and it says a lot about how good the Vinny-casts are without Jeff's input. I really like Jeff on the Bombcast, just not as the host.

To be honest, there have been like two shows since GOTY that I found totally forgettable and honestly boring (which I have never felt about the Bombcast before) so that's not good.

Jeff doesn't really know when to keep things moving. Which occasionally is great but sometimes pretty boring. And yes, not enough game talk (as someone who loves off topic). And it's not the length of the show either by the way, I'm all for it being long. I just don't think he's very good at keeping things moving how Ryan was or Vinny can. And also digging out and encouraging topics of discussion organically.

Ya'll are jaded mutherfuckers. Every show on this site is incredible.

Vinny is cool and all but I wouldn't want him as a permanent host. I enjoy and appreciate his editing jobs and what not but just prefer Jeff. Despite my huge differences of opinions on quite a few topics with him he has always been my favorite guy here.

Jeff has interesting opinions, but hosting podcasts is not among his strengths.

@sdharrison: I was super bummed out when I remembered "hey, there's not going to be any more Weekend Confirmed podcasts!" on Friday evening. Since the Bombcast has been lighter on the actual video game discussion for awhile now, the absence of Weekend Confirmed has left a pretty big hole in my podcast listening.

Bullshit

I'll just be a dissenting opinion and say that I love the way the Bombcast is almost tangentially video game related at this point. I'm there to listen to Jeff, Vinny, Brad, and Drew and whatever's going on in their minds, not for EXPERT VIDEO GAME ANALYSIS (there are plenty of other podcasts for that if I want to go that way; granted, they don't feature the GB guys). I'd rather listen to them talk for 2 hours about woodworking or disaster preparation or ham radios or '80s pop culture or whateverthefuck than I would listen to them try to fill time talking about games and have it sound like they're always forced to pull themselves 'back on track.' I like that the conversations flow naturally because they're just talking about the stuff they're into; apparently I'm in the minority in that one of the things that I really never liked about Ryan's hosting was that he often cut hilarious off-topic segments and tangents short to bring the topic of conversation back to games.

I can completely understand if it no longer servers your interests, but I'm honestly still enjoying it. At a certain point, if you're no longer interested in something, you should stop wasting your time with it. I haven't watched a GB live stream in about a year, for example, because that content simply isn't for me anymore. It sounds like if you want your video game podcast, you've got Patrick and Alex, and if you want your personality-driven podcast that occasionally discusses video games, you've got the Bombcast. Best of both worlds, I'd say.

I see critiques of the Bombcast, but when Ryan was host it really went off in some crazy tangents, too. It's been part of the show for years. It's fun to listen to when I'm driving to work, but I can see it being tedious if you're just hanging out at home or something. I do agree that having a new regular person will help. Just crossing those fingers that someone gives Jeff money.

On a side note, when Alex commended Jim for his vicious dismantling of a game via review, they sounded like kindred spirits for a second.

@spraynardtatum: I cannot lie, I find Jar Time Jeff more interesting than Bombcast Jeff.

Nope. I just find Jeff-hosted podcasts disjointed and not particularly engaging.

The difference is that under Jeff, the crazy tangents more or less rule the Bombcast.

We will just have to agree to disagree on that one.

I think the Ryan years were kind of the sweet spot. I thought I liked off topic conversations until it started feeling like that was most of the show. When Ryan hosted there was a loose control of the show that kept it moving and on the topic at hand. I think he screened the questions better as well than either Vinny or Jeff.

On Bombin' in the AM the cynic in my wants to say: its good they have a podcast about video games.

I enjoy Bombin' too. Sometimes I wish it it was once a week, but that's me. I have trouble keeping up with content, and instead of 2 shows a week around an hour, have a Friday show that's 80-90 minutes long and focus on the most important news of the week.

Of course, now that there's a guest each week on Mondays, the format is fine where it is.

I still like the Bombcast fine. Ryan was a far better host, but off-topic was commonplace during his time, too; he encouraged it. It got to a point where no one would talk about games until almost the hour-mark on a weekly basis. Jeff hosting everything has its benefits sometimes; I am perfectly fine with the content right now.

I think Jeff is just giving the community what they apparently want -- more off-topic conversations. He said so himself.

It ain't just Jeff that's caused there to be more off-topic discussion on the bombcast. Really, the podcast has kinda just been moving in this direction in general for the last couple of years. There were a lot of podcasts hosted by Ryan (particularly in 2013) where they would spend something like 45 - 60 of the first minutes on just off topic. If you don't like this direction I understand but don't go blaming Jeff. Even when Vinny hosts, there's still a lot of off-topic discussion (the most recent podcast was a prime example). Remember that you don't have to listen to it all at once so it may be more palatable in parts for some of you.

First of all, Bombin' has really hit its stride in the past few weeks as its gotten better and better guests and Patrick and Alex have found a more natural chemistry. It's still not perfect and I've always felt like Patrick and Alex are sneaky consistent about taking the high road in a conversation while being totally dismissive of the very subject matter, but it's a good companion to morning coffee and the combination of AM + Mixlr AM + Quick Looks/missed stuff from the week + UPF + Mixlr PM makes for a hell of a Giant Bomb Friday.

On the tangent topic (ironic, honestly) I vividly remember...well, not vividly, but two-four weeks after the first podcast back, I felt like there was a noticeable change in the podcast. And with UPF, I felt that change immediately also. And then the Quick Looks. There was a very admirable amount of devil may care in all three core members' approach to the product at that time, and I think it captured a lot of the magic I'd seen in Giant Bomb summer of 2012 when I stumbled onto some random quick look somewhere.

Giant Bomb was never about the video games for me; more than anyone, Ryan's enthusiasm for games helped get me more into games than I've been since probably the mid-2000s, but it was their enthusiasm for all kinds of things in life that kept me coming to the site. I don't really watch Quick Looks to see the game, I watch them for the quips and the commentary and the inside jokes. The Bombcast, by extension, has always been a comedy podcast that happened to have a lot of games talk for me.

I've found the Bombcast to be a lot more consistently interesting to me the past three or four months, even though it's a real bummer Ryan's not around to participate in the shift. His pop culture quips were always incredible; I'm finally watching his/Brad's half of the Deadly Premonition ERs and his non sequitur/observational humor was a tad more broad than Jeff's, which was also a great part of what made him such a good host / segueway sensei.

think things are just in a transitional phase, the alluded to new blood coming on board, new phase of games actually being released etc will revamp the site and roles. Content is still great but expect it will get richer and better over coming months. Guys have done brilliant after such a soul ripping upheaval. Things change as lives change, reason i subscribe is the staff, off topic are things unique to their personalities and therefore no other site has that USP

Bombing the AM is a gem. I worried that when it started it wouldn't be distinct enough from the Bombcast, but it's found it's voice and provides a nice contrast to stuff they do on the Bombcast.

people saying that jeff gets too off topic are ignoring the fact tjat not a lot of games have been coming out since the new consoles launched. were in a bit of a drought and it wont be till march before theres a lot of new stuff for the crew to talk about.

they do a 3 hour long podcast on a weekly basis and dont stop when theres nothing to discuss.

Jeff is hands down the best host on the site.

I miss Patrick being on the Bombcast. There's not enough long discussions about Monster Hunter anymore.

I highly approve of Bombin the AM, it is the perfect compliment to the bombcast.

Well, the Bombcast sure is here to stay. This topic was about Bombin in the AM, and everyone is debating the Bombcast :P

I like the crew's personalities but I like those personalities in the context of video games. After the GOTY podcasts I was motivated to listen to the bombcast regularly but it's just disappointing. I'd back up people saying Jeff can't keep the show directed and active. They don't go on tangents anymore and return to video games when they've mined the tangent for gold, they just have new topics of conversation about home repair and parental lessons, which might be useful to know but it doesn't motivate me to listen.

I've found Patrick a good source of industry information, but I don't feel him to have a lot of critical insight into games aside from what he hears from the people he likes. But Alex is there and I do find Alex to be insightful, so maybe I'll give it a shot when Alex is on.

The Friday shows are always good. The Monday shows depend on the guest, sometimes it can be tough to listen to. Haven't gotten around to listening to the Jim Sterling show, hopefully it's good.

I do sort of the same thing, I watch/listen to it in front of my computer while I play stuff on my Vita. I like the fact that if I pause playing for a second and look up, I can see Patrick or Alex's face staring back. It's comforting, in a sense.

I agree. And I'm a huge fan of Jeff. A Vinny led Bombcast with Jeff on it would be fantastic.

Every guest so far has been great, and I like the Friday "what are you playing this weekend" format. Really great job Patrick and Alex!