Rob Watson's Media Podcast

Ryan and I got together at the recently extended Phoenix Cinema and Digital Arts Centre in Leicester, for a chat about what makes for a meaningful life. Ryan shared his experience of getting a car and being stuck in endless traffic trying to get to work. This was the first time we’ve met in the [...] The post Distraction Therapy 081 – Driving Around or Living a Meaningful Life first appeared on Rob Watson Media.

It was really nice to have a coffee this morning with Jonathan Taylor and Paul Whitehead, who are based at the University of Leicester’s Centre for New Writing. We chatted about the way that literature has faced the challenge of the consumer society, and what role literature plays in a progressive and democratic society. As [...]

Today I chatted with Dafydd Roberts, about Listen to the Voice of Fire, Dafydd’s music project that encompasses sound art and experimental music performances. Since relocating to West Wales, to pursue a PhD in the alchemical writings of Thomas Vaughan (fl.1650), Dafydd has been active in DIY underground music networks since the early 90s. His [...]

For the first time in ages, Ryan and I met up to chat and discuss what we’ve been up to for the Distraction Therapy podcast. This was the first time we’d met on a Sunday morning, though the coffee was on hand as ever. We spent some time discussing Ryan’s visit to the Thought Bubble [...]

Ryan and I met up on Saturday morning for our regular coffee and chat. Ryan came hot-footed from a bikram yoga session, and was super energised. We chatted about the after-effects of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, and how narrow many of our cultural options have become. It turns out I was a few hours away from [...]

Leicester Lo-Fi is a community darkroom and photography collective that promotes fine art and traditional photographic processes, by supporting specialist knowledge and facilities, education and exhibitions. Leicester Lo-Fi started in 2011 with no place to call a home, but managed to put on workshops and events at any place that would have them, converting toilets [...]

I thought I’d share another music mix. These are tracks I’ve been listening to as I work at home. There’s not a lot of time to wander about at the moment, but I’m sure this will be handy to keep me company on a walk one day soon, as spring starts to push in to [...]

I though’t I’d do a music mix I can listen to while I’m doing my supermarket shopping later. Another day in lockdown, and an endless succession of days that merge into one. This kept me entertained putting it together earlier though. Tracklisting (not in order): Osamu’s Theme: Kyoko’s House, Kronos Quartet & Philip Glass: Mishima [...]

The lockdown continues here in Leicester. It’s cold and not a lot is happening, so here’s a music mix I’ve put together as a way of interrupting the boredom. The Good Morrow – John Donne Read by Richard Burton Plans for the Future – Paul Leonard-Morgan – Last Breath OST Dropping Off the Bell – [...]

I went for a walk into Leicester on Saturday and recorded some sounds and some thoughts. I’ve mixed them together with a couple of tracks. It was a gloomy day. It was raining, and the city felt calm and lacking in festive spirit. I’m convinced that this is a good thing as long as we [...]

It’s the last day of British Summer Time, and the clocks return to Greenwich Mean Time tonight. It means we get an extra hour in bed, but the evenings are dark and the curtains get closed at 5pm. So, to while away the hours I’ve put together a mix of music and some spoken word. [...]

The nights are drawing in, and the leaves are shedding their green hue and turning brown before they fall and scatter. I’ve been working from home a lot recently, and these are some of the tracks that I’ve stumbled across as I’ve been answering messages, planning funding applications, and looking for my next client. I [...]

In our pandemic times, it’s worth reminding ourselves that people have been through these kinds of experiences before, and that we should be able to meet the challenges that are before us if we apply our imagination and our intelligence. As W.B. Yeats put it the ‘centre cannot hold’, and something is pushing to be [...]

Here are some tracks I’ve sequenced together in no particular order. The summer is over, and we are heading into the shorter and colder days. Though with the lockdown we might all be taking it a little easier this winter. The tracklisting is: La verité – Frànçois & The Atlas Mountains -Piano ombre Secret of [...]

Here’s another mix of tracks that I’ve been listening to as the summer is coming to an end, and autumn is on its way. Hang’em All – Carpenter Brut – EP II Interlock – Stereolab – Fab Four Suture Motion in Field – Tom Rogerson & Brian Eno – Finding Shore Subliminal – Fujiya & [...]

Once again I’ve been compiling random tracks into a playlist as I’ve been working and travelling about. I’ve put them into a mix, and the tracks listed here are not in order. Yodh Song – Limousine   Siam Roads Ondine – Limousine -II Disco Hi-Life – Orlando Julius – Deux fils (Bande originale du film) Musica [...]

Here’s the tracklisting for this podcast. I’ve been stuck in as it’s been raining for the last couple of days. I’ll go for a walk at some point tomorrow and listen back to these tracks, and hope that the rain holds off. These tracks are in no particular order. Lullabye – No Home – Below [...]

I’ve been wandering around Leicester, as usual. There’s a feeling that we are at the end of summer and the weather is starting to turn towards autumn. So it’s time to make the most of the last few weeks of mild weather and decent hours of sunlight. Kollera  -Dusty Kid -Rages 1992 – EP One [...]

I’ve strung together another mix, with some random tracks that came up on my playlist today… Dumb Waiters (Remastered) – The Psychedelic Furs – Talk Talk Talk Soft Dog – Peter Gabriel – Flotsam and Jetsam Ten Fingers of Love – Anne Dudley – Plays the Art of Noise Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) [...]

As it’s been a while since I’ve seen a live band, I’ve put together a mix of different concerts that I’ve been listening to over the last few weeks. It feels a bit like I’m making mix tapes at the moment, but that’s probably no bad thing, as it’s a useful distraction. Disintegration [Live] – [...]

This is something different than I’ve done in a while. I’ve put together a mix of poems and tracks from different genres that I’ve been randomly skipping through as I’ve been searching for things to focus on. The lack of a focus seems to be the theme. Who will believe my verse in time to [...]

I’ve been listening to some playlists while I’ve been reading and sitting in the sun over the last couple of days. I’ve put together a mix of some tracks that have caught my attention, and some old favourites that add a bounce to my step as I’m wandering about. Rain – Hanz Zimmer & Benjamin [...]

I’ve put together another podcast with some music tracks that I’ve been listening to as I’ve been wandering around Leicester. Wallace – Hanz Zimmer & Benjamin Wallfisch – Bladerunner2049 Soundtrack Circles – Moon Duo – Circles Media Bowie – Brian Reitzell – American Gods OST End Theme – Johann Johannsson – Person Effects OST Sunshine [...]

I’ve been intending to put together a music compilation for ages, and now that we are heading out of lockdown here in Leicester I’m wandering about more, and listening to music as I walk around. I’ve put a mix together which includes: Binary Heaven – Diamondstein from Wire Tapper 53 Waiting for a Train – [...]

While I didn’t get up this morning to listen to the dawn chorus, because that would have meant dragging myself out of bed at 5am, I did spend some time sitting on my doorstep listening to the sounds of my street. It’s amazing how the birds have really gained space to be heard during the [...]

I’ve spent more time this week wandering around Leicester city centre, watching people and looking for sounds and images. I’ve put together a music playlist from the tracks that I’ve been hearing while I’ve been out and about. The weather has been cold, and the short days make everything look gloomy. I’m not a winter [...]

I’ve put together a podcast with some sounds I’ve collected in Leicester, and a mix of some music I’ve been listening to over the last couple of day. Tracklist: The Chemical Brothers – Born in the Echoes Harold Budd & Robin Guthrie – Turn Off the Sun The Chemical Brothers – Snow Stereolab – The [...]

I’ve just been mooching around the centre of Bangkok for the last couple of days, and while I walk about I’m wearing noise cancelling headphones and listening to music. The constant rumble of traffic is very difficult to escape from, and occasionally I’ve been able to find a location or a route that is away [...]

I’ve been in Bangkok for over a week now, and I’m starting to feel that I am making sense of the place to a limited degree. I’ve put together some tracks and some rambling observations on my time here so far. Penelope Isles – Round Pink Floyd – The Dogs of War John Lennon – [...]

I’ve been in Bangkok for a couple of days now, and I wanted to stay out of the heat in the afternoon, so I’ve put together a podcast with some thoughts and a few tracks. I’ve recorded it in the apartment I’m staying in, so the audio quality isn’t great. I actually used my phone [...]

It’s a while since I’ve done a music podcast, and I’m banging this out just to test the new and upgraded website. The hardest thing is to get all of the subsiduary links and connections working, and iTunes Podcast Conneect is not the easiest thing to use. That said, the music in this podcast includes [...]

This is a test file to see if my podcast feed works