The Artifice of Sound Sam Doctor/Mike Musko

Although fun to listen to for the musical selections alone, this podcast is made more humorous and entertaining thanks to the hosts. Mike and Sam play off each other in a comedic duo rivaling the likes of Abbot and Costello or Laurel and Hardy. The hosts, however, also provide musical knowledge that gives the podcast a well rounded feel. This was an easy subscription!

The concept behind AOS is simple: artists submit their music/listeners suggest bands for review and the two intrepid hosts listen through the album (no matter how awful or excellent) and provide their take on it. But Sam and Mike elevate that relatively simple concept with their undeniable hosting chemistry to make a podcast that I look forward to popping up in my subscription feed every week.

If you like U Talkin U2 to Me, Analyze Phish, or even Uhh Yeah Dude, it’s definitely worth a listen. They focus on providing an honest review of the subject matter, while still maintaining a conversational and comical tone — not unlike the Doughboys podcast. Like any good comedy podcast, the show picks up a few more hilarious reoccurring bits every episode and continues to build on them. Occasionally, the music isn’t so bad and you come away with a new song to listen to, but don’t count on it.