No, S.I.R.

For the past week, I've been listening to SModcast Internet Radio and giving it a chance. I've listened to Kevin Smith and his crew perform what he refers to as "college radio in his home."

And something's been bugging me about it.

Understand, I'm a huge fan of Smith and his podcast network. My favorite podcast every week is "Hollywood Babble-On" which Smith does with Ralph Garman, and the hour-ish that I spend with it every week is one of the highlights of said week. SModcast itself is very funny, and the entire network revolves around Smith's world. The podcast he performs with his wife, known as "Plus One," is as funny as it is touching at times.

So when I say that I'm becoming a non-fan of S.I.R., understand it's not an easy thing to say.

Truth be told, it sucks to admit that. I've gone from listening to the shows (in this case "Plus One Per Diem" and "Jay and Silent Bob Get Jobs") live to getting the podcasts, to unsubscribing from one of the podcasts outright. I still listen to Per Diem, but I'm about to cancel it as well.

And up until tonight, I couldn't figure out what it was that was turning me off. I only realize now that there are several factors that are turning me away from the live shows. In no particular order...

1- No filter means no editing. Kevin Smith is a wodnerful storyteller when sober, and a pretty good one when stoned. (Which he is now. A lot- and to his credit, he talks about it all the time.) However, you can tell that his podcasts do come edited when they hit your iTunes or RSS feed. There are subtle cuts, and the tightening up of the podcast helps out in keeping things flowing. On the live shows, there is no filter- Smith appears to be his own producer, save for the technical portion of the show done by someone off-mike. There's no one telling him that he's rambling or going too long on a story or tangent. This is not to say that his cohosts are syncophants- quite the opposite, in fact. Smith's wife Jennifer is more than happy to cut him off or at least attempt to do so, but Smith still needs someone separate or from the business that can rein him in.

2- Too Much Music. Kevin is in love with music playing underneath the talking. This wouldn't be too bad- and as someone who listened to the old Wetwired podcasts can attest I like the idea as well. However, the music is VERY distracting- not just to the listeners, but to Smith himself. There are countless times where Smith gets distracted by the music to the point of throwing him off his story, which often leads to a small argument with his wife about keeping on track. The music needs to either be turned down or shortened.

3- The Ads Are Too Long. S.I.R. is ad-supported- which is fine. Perfectly understandable, in fact- this is a costly endeavor, and no one should expect Smith to foot the bill. The ads have even turned me onto several nifty products and whatnot out there. However, Smith runs WAY long on the ads- several minutes on an ad that could easily take 30 seconds to a minute because he either gets distracted by his own pot-fueled tangents or his cohost jumps in. If Jen (or Jay) do the ads themselves, Kevin jumps in and throws the ads off the rails. Doing the ads is a great idea- but the finished product is a turnoff. The ads need to be tightened up, big time.

Finally, there's what I feel is the biggest factor:

4- The Pot. I want to reiterate- Kevin Smith is a funny, funny man. He's an outstanding storyteller. But when he's high, he's occasionally overly self-indulgent on his own words. When edited, this isn't a problem. When unedited and live, it leads to rambling and occasional incoherence. We're not talking Charlie Sheen- more to the point of Tommy Chong. He needs to lighten up on teh pot a little. Sober Kevin Smith produces "An Evening With Kevin Smith," which has several classic stories about his life in film. Stoned Kevin Smith produces "Too Fat For Forty-" which had ONE story. There's a big, big difference.

I love the SModcast podcast network. I love listening to his produced and edited works. But I'm going to have to give S.I.R. a pass for now. I'll try it again in the future.

Out.