Uhh Yeah Dude
A long overdue written tribute to my favorite podcast.
"What are your top five podcasts?" This question is all over the Internet these days. I guarantee that if you put that on your Facebook right now, you will come away with about eighty new podcasts to try. Which is why you have to trust me when I say this: Uhh Yeah Dude is something special.
When Uhh Yeah Dude joined my podcast queue about two years ago, it immediately felt different. That's because it doesn't rush to hold your attention. There's no jingle, advertisements, or really any immediate indication that you are listening to a podcast. Each episode opens with a song plucked from a lovingly curated playlist, played in its entirety. The music fades, the episode number is cited, and off it goes for about sixty minutes before another song plays it out.
But who are they, and what are they doing? Uhh Yeah Dude is simply a conversation between Hollywood locals Jonathan Larroquette and Seth Romatelli. They weave between satire, commentary, story telling, and cathartic venting all as part of a mediation best summed up by their tagline, "America through the eyes of two American Americans." There are absolutely no inside jokes or context that needs to be revisited, because somehow despite doing this show since February of 2006, Seth and Jonathan live in the present. Uhh Yeah Dude is a conversation about the here and now.
"Comedy Podcast" falls so short in describing what they do. Their show is a performance art. You haven't lived until you've heard Seth incredulously dissect the Buffalo Wild Wings mission statement or Jonathan recount the time he rescued a wild, exotic parrot from two predatory birds on the side of the road. Their wild anecdotes and satisfying mockery mixed with their quirky tendency to change topics without warning will leave you wondering where the last hour of your life went. Laughter is inevitable, but the second you confine the show to "comedy podcast", it will surprise you with something genuinely poignant, touching, and honest. While no newspaper headline, Craigslist personal, or Internet ad is safe from their wandering banter, their originality and authenticity remain the constant forces that tie the show together. Seth and Jonathan's deep understanding of each other is palpable, and even contagious to the point where you feel like you are in that East Hollywood apartment snicking on the couch with them.
And that familiarity is no accident - it's crafted through numerous live shows and other forms of active engagement with their listeners. They even have a toll free voicemail that they encourage listeners to call at any time of the day. They repeat the phone number so often, it feels like a catch phrase. My wife called this number about a week before my birthday with a pretty open ended request to give me some kind of shoutout. You can imagine my excitement when I found that Seth had left me a two minute long voicemail where he leisurely read the horoscopes from his local newspaper.
I don't know what else I can say about Uhh Yeah Dude, but somehow leaving it in a brief "top five podcasts" list doesn't cut it. This podcast is like no other. It's original, hilarious, thought provoking, and a regular source of amusement and rejuvenation that I have come to cherish. It's time you fasten your seatbelt and give Uhh Yeah Dude a try.