by JAY WATTS III

The New American Oxford dictionary chose “podcast” as the most ubiquitous/important word of 2005. I’ll avoid explaining the basics of the technology (frankly, I’m too vague on the details), but it’s sufficient to say that you’ve either heard one or heard of one by now. Here are four Montrealers involved in the game, whispering into thimble-sized microphones and painstakingly compressing their three-hour-long shows into delectable kilobytes of DIY radio.

Andrew Rose has hosted Pop Montreal’s Popcast (www.popmontreal.com) since its inception prior to the festival last fall. The four-time Indian Leg-Wrestling champion has parlayed past athletic successes into broadcasting gold, curating an hour of top-notch local and international indie rock that’s worth downloading (though he’s lately taken to harping about the absence of a “best podcast” category in this publication’s Best of Montreal poll.)

Marie-Chantale Turgeon, who’s about four steps ahead of anyone in the podcasting world, knocks out the Vu d’Ici podcast, in both official languages (www.mcturgeon.com). With nods from Spin, Elle Canada and various olde-tyme media outlets, she spins touring artists heading to Montreal and comments on all things Internet-music-related. SXSW jaunts, future media conferences—all pushing towards that cushy consultancy job at Wired, perhaps?

And then there are two of the legion of savvy bloggers, podcasters and message-board Machiavellis emerging from CISM. As fickle-fingered curator of Podmodernisme (http://podmodernisme.blogspot.com), Andre de Sorel has plowed through 30 episodes in less time than it takes to grow a baby, covering Montreal music from Ghislain Poirier to Dee to Navet Confit. CISM DJ Jean-Philippe Émond, meanwhile, delivers a chronicle of back-alley beats and crate-digging treats on MASALACISM (http://masalacism.blogspot.com), taking a number of steps away from the usual wallpaper indie that dominates the podcasting “airwaves” into more adventurous sonic territory.

IF I DIDN’T MENTION YOU, YOU DIDN’T PAY ME ENOUGH… goldkicks@gmail.com

>> Music Listings