Review: Pass The Aux
By in
Identified hosts?
Yes. Craig, TJ, Ash and Ellie
Explained what the show is about?
Yes. They said it’s all about music.
You can see what they were going to talk about in their description, but it’s always good to say this in the episode because not everyone will read the notes.
Time to topic
A little over two minutes. This was fine because they spent the time introducing themselves.
Good chemistry among host(s)?
They seemed to be cool with each other as though they’ve had a prior relationship. However, there were some portions where they would talk over each other. Some good content gets lost when more than one person speaks at once. The best way to overcome this is simply practice. After they’ve done the show a few times, they’ll learn to read each other’s verbal and non verbal cues.
Show structure/type
Round table of 4 hosts discussing and playing music.
Topic(s) discussed
Is Lil yatchy the future of hip hop?
Is Tyga better off before or after Kylie Jenner ?
Katie Perry’s dance fail.
Top 5 popular songs out right now. Comments on the top 5.
Top 5 personal joints where they actually “passed the aux” to play the songs.
A segment called Back to Back where they, once again “passed the aux” to play songs and asked the audience to vote for who played the best songs. The theme for Back to Back this week was slow jams.
Audio quality
At some points, it was hard to hear the music and/or the hosts.
They had the “sitting in an empty room” sound and I had to adjust my volume at different times. The hosts were at different levels at different times. I’m curious to know their set up. I wonder if they’re using 4 mics or if they’re sharing a mic in the middle of the table. Some of the hosts sounded like they had their own mic and others sounded like they didn’t. I would suggest they look into Auphonic. It’s a tool that allows you to level out your audio. You simply upload the file, configure some settings and then it will return a processed file that you can download and use as you see fit. They offer 2 hours of audio processing a month free. Anything else, you have to pay (but it’s WELL worth it). Click here for their pricing.
Here’s a before and after example:
Passion/personality
Definitely. Music is a passionate thing in itself. It’s easy to get passionate when talking about it. I could sense passion from all of them.
Mentioned socials/site(s)?
Yeah. They mentioned the show’s IG and Twitter as well as their own accounts. Craig mentioned his site (DjJustCraig.com). They also have their social accounts in their podcast artwork and they had them in the show notes. Good move. All links are down below, btw.
Mentioned schedule?
No.
New Podcasters: It’s good to mention when your show drops and the frequency of it. If the listener liked your show, they’ll want to know when they can consume another.
Mentioned hashtag?
No, but apparently there’s another podcast using the #passtheauxpod hashtag. They’ve only posted once and it was yesterday…interesting. PTA could swoop in and start using it. If not, they can use #PTAPod. It’s wide open on Twitter and shorter to write. They’ve got options.
New Podcasters: your best bet is to start using a hashtag before your first episode drops. If there are multiple hosts involved, all should use it when talking about the show. When the episode does finally drop, make sure to mention it during the show and in the show notes so you can chat with your listeners.
Asked anything of the audience/call-to-action(CTA)?
A couple of the hosts mentioned places they plan to be. Also Ellie mentioned her blog (link below).
They also asked the listener to take the poll on Twitter. I think the audience appreciates letting their voice be heard on Twitter polls. This is always a good call to action and a good way to interact with your listeners.
Show notes
They didn’t mention them, but they definitely have them. Their show is on Mixcloud. Mixcloud allows you to publish your show with detailed notes. I’d definitely mention that during the broadcast.
Also, I’m surprised they didn’t list the songs and artists from the Top 5 and Back 2 Back segments. I listed them below.
Summary
Holy freaking crap…I LOVED this episode. When I first heard the name of their podcast was “pass the aux”, I thought it was a dope, but I didn’t think they were going to literally pass the aux during the show. That added an element to the show that I really enjoyed.
In a recent blog post, I stated that I don’t review content, but technique instead. However, I also stated that I’d cover the content if I had any personal knowledge of it. Hip hop is absolutely something I’m into. I was born and raised in the Bronx and I’ve been breathing, eating and shitting it since I was a likkle yoot. All of the hosts knew their shit! It was impressive to hear them speak about it. Any hip hop head would appreciate this show.
I also enjoyed the Top 5 segment because I’m washed. I don’t listen to the radio and I don’t keep my ear to the street like I used to so I’m always looking for playlist recommendations.
The back to back segment was dope too. While I didn’t get why two songs were used in the battle, I welcomed it. I felt like if your first offering was just a jab, the second could serve as the knockout punch.
Also, I think it was dope that they put their social handles on their artwork. Made it very easy to find them (except Ash…his handle was wrong) because it was kind of hard to understand it when they mentioned their socials during the episode due to their accent (which I also thought was dope).
Recommendation(s)
Around the 42:12 mark, during the Kendrick song, there was a loud noise that glitched in. I’d just recommend they go back and remove that.
I would also recommend they make shareable playlists of the songs. That would be so effin’ dope. What I mean is they should make three standing playlists (PTA Top 5 Roundup, PTA Top 5 Personal and PTA Back 2 Back) then put them on the streaming services (Spotify, Google Play, TIDAL, etc). Then during the show they can encourage people to follow the playlists. They could create a page on their website and say this during a show: “Go to pass the aux dot com slash playlist to get playlists of all the songs you heard in the episode”. I would follow the shit out of those playlists!
Even though Back to Back was the battle, I don’t think it’s a bad idea to make the Top 5 Personal Picks a battle as well. It would be “Who recommended the best song this week”? Personally, I think Ash won this episode. That Siri shit bumps. Ellie was a close second though. I fux with 442.
During Back to Back while the music was playing, they were talking. I was frustrated though because even though I could hear them, I couldn’t understand the convo. It sounded like they were talking about some interesting shiz. I would suggest they turn the music down and allow us to hear them talk or turn the music up and speak softer so we KNOW for a fact that we’re not supposed to actually understand what they’re saying. In this episode, it sounded more like their voices and the music was competing for my ear’s attention.
They need to get their podcast on some more platforms. Mixcloud wouldn’t let me rewind! What kinda shit is that?
They’ll also need to update their artwork. I had a hard time finding Ash because his handle is “_manlikeash”, but the artwork displays “manlikeash_”.
Speaking of the artwork, I actually don’t see the word “Aux”. What’s supposed to be an “A” looks like a “C”. I think it’s because of the jack portion of the cable.
Lastly, when they build their listener base, I bet they could work some deals with venues. For instance, if Craig is set to DJ at a club, he could give out a “podcast only” code word or something that gets them into the spot free (or discounted). Just a quick thought I had.
Link to episode
https://www.mixcloud.com/PassTheAuxPodcast/pass-the-aux-volume-1-caitlyn-fuck-me/
Link to socials
Pass The Aux on Twitter | Instagram
Craig | Instagram
TJ | YouTube
Ash | Instagram
Ellie | Instagram (*insert the eyes emoji here*)
Other links
Katy Perry’s fail (brace yourself…it gets uncomfortable)
Top 5 Roundup- French Montana ft. Swae Lee – Unforgettable | Lil Uzi – XO Tour Llif3 | Future – Mask Off | Kendrick Lamar – DNA | Drake ft. Griggs – KMT
Top 5 personal joints
Craig’s pick – =Che Ecru – Body
TJ’s pick Chris Budden – Fleek (unreleased)
Ash’s pick – Safe – Siri
Ellie’s pick – SNE – 442
Back to Back (I might have matched the hosts names incorrectly)
Ellie’s picks – Donell Jones – Shorty Got her Eyes on Me & Usher – Nice and Slow
Craig’s pick – R.Kelly – You Remind Me of My Jeep & D’Angleo – How Does It Feel
Ash’s picks – T-Pain – I’m Sprung & Usher – U Remind Me
TJ’s picks – Jagged Edge – Let’s Get Married & Genuine – In Those Jeans
Do You Have a Podcast that you ‘d like reviewed? Let me know on Twitter.
Thanks for reading!
Therm