Emerald City Video is a podcast hosted by former employees of the Emerald City Video stores in Syracuse, NY.
Episodes
Tuesday Nov 21, 2023
Tuesday Nov 21, 2023
Originally released on October 18 on Substack.
Well, this was supposed to be a short, well-planned out episode of the Emerald City Video podcast… but I guess that you all know us better than we do. We went longer than expected.
This week/month we start a new series of newsy discussions on the state of physical media. This is the Emerald City Video Podcast after all, we started this whole thing based off of working at video rental stores obsessed with movies that we could hold in our hands.
The past month has had it’s ups and downs when it comes to movies in a tangible form - Netflix ditched its DVD rental site but at the same time we’ve seen the largest number of discs be made ever. It’s an odd time for the Luddite movie appreciator.
According to the report, the total number of titles released in 2023 is on pace to be over 28,000 -- that's more than 5,000 more than last year...which is the current record-holder for the most titles ever released on disc. The number of titles has been creeping upwards since 2016, with the pandemic marking a big increase. Looking at a chart included in the story, it appears the high water mark for official releases was 2006, just prior to the release of the Blu-ray format. The numbers crept downward after that, before suddenly getting markedly higher beginning in 2021.
Well, I won’t tease too much of the episode here, other than to say physical is here to stay.
The links we mention in the show are below. I do apologize for not really reading that one oped well enough to see what they were going for. You’ll understand what I’m talking about when we get to it.
We’re now uploading every episode of ECV on YouTube with video - whether you like looking at our ugly mugs or not.
Netflix to open its own physical stores and restaurants
https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/netflix-ending-dvds-warning-film-1234831403/
https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/netflix-permanent-store-restaurant-launch-2025-1235756145/
Collectors say "there is an absolute need for physical media" as Best Buy halts in-store sales
Walmart discontinuing physical games
https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/walmart-discontinuing-physical-games-media-xbox-2024/
Walmart is reportedly going to stop carrying physical games for select platforms next year. Over the last decade or so, we have seen a major rise in digital content.
Physical media and censorship - oped
Physical books and media are something protected not only by law but also by history. Government seizures of physical property, especially books, are forever associated with regimes like Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia, to the point where any attempt by the government or other powerful group to take them would immediately be met with hostility, even if one political party or another didn't agree with what it had to say.
On the internet, however, if someone wants to edit a Wikipedia article or change someone's name in the credits of a movie (like they did with Elliot Page's name on Netflix in the credits of "Inception") they don't have to take anything. They just have to quietly alter it and nobody will be able to do a thing about it. It won't be seen as totalitarian or taking away people's freedoms or rewriting history.
The Digital-Only Era Is Here, and I’m Ready For It
https://www.ign.com/articles/the-digital-only-era-is-here-and-im-ready-for-it
But rather than lament its passing, it helped clarify my priorities. Which games do I want to own? And which games do I only want to own physically? This kind of thinking makes the games I do go out and purchase physical editions of that much more special, and my collection of physical media isn’t just “stuff I like” but “stuff I love.”
Pete Davidson Is Hoping to Make Money by Collecting Thousands of Sealed VHS Tapes: ‘It’s My GameStop'
https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/alex-ocho/pete-davidson-money-vhs-tapes
20 secs into video - TLDR got really high, realized that they might become profitable.
Friday Dec 31, 2021
Friday Dec 31, 2021
The Emerald City Video Podcast is back after a long absence, and it's Russ and Zach breaking down what we watched this year, what we loved, what we...really didn't...and more.
You can find us (and a number of other awesome podcasts) on the ACPN family of shows.
The Emerald City Video Podcast is a periodic podcast hosted by entertainment journalist Russ Burlingame, with a rotating cast of hosts who used to work at the Emerald City Video store in East Syracuse, New York. The store was once awarded by the Video Software Dealers of America as the best small video store in the U.S. Though it closed in 2009, the store’s legacy still touches the daily lives of a lot of the people who used to work there, and the Syracuse community as a whole still has a lot of fondness for its memory.
The idea behind the podcast, which launched in 2016, was to bring the discourse you would get at a video store — talking with real humans about your movies, rather than trusting in an algorithm — back to…well, if not the world, or even Syracuse, at least to the guys who maybe missed that human connection the most: a bunch of pop culture junky loudmouths who used to run a really cool video store. Over the years, the Emerald City Video banner has flown over a number of themes, including specific episodes about TV series like Riverdale and Psych.
If you like what we’re doing here, you can become a patron of the Emerald City Video Podcast, which comes with fun perks. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook. We also have Instagram and Vero accounts where we share images, photos, memes, and nonsense. You can support us on Patreon, too, and do things like requesting custom episodes and the like.
Be back for more by noon on the fifth day, and please — always remember to rewind your videocassettes.
Saturday Sep 11, 2021
Saturday Sep 11, 2021
Russ and Zach talk about their favorite movies from 2001, including Josie and the Pussycats, about which Russ has just written a book.
Check it out at josiebook.com!
The Emerald City Video Podcast is a periodic podcast hosted by entertainment journalist Russ Burlingame, with a rotating cast of hosts who used to work at the Emerald City Video store in East Syracuse, New York. The store was once awarded by the Video Software Dealers of America as the best small video store in the U.S. Though it closed in 2009, the store’s legacy still touches the daily lives of a lot of the people who used to work there, and the Syracuse community as a whole still has a lot of fondness for its memory.
The idea behind the podcast, which launched in 2016, was to bring the discourse you would get at a video store — talking with real humans about your movies, rather than trusting in an algorithm — back to…well, if not the world, or even Syracuse, at least to the guys who maybe missed that human connection the most: a bunch of pop culture junky loudmouths who used to run a really cool video store. Over the years, the Emerald City Video banner has flown over a number of themes, including specific episodes about TV series like Riverdale and Psych.
If you like what we’re doing here, you can become a patron of the Emerald City Video Podcast, which comes with fun perks. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook. We also have Instagram and Vero accounts where we share images, photos, memes, and nonsense. You can support us on Patreon, too, and do things like requesting custom episodes and the like.
Be back for more by noon on the fifth day, and please — always remember to rewind your videocassettes.
Friday Aug 06, 2021
Friday Aug 06, 2021
Zach D Roberts and Russ Burlingame talk about The Suicide Squad, from the brilliant and twisted mind of Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker James Gunn.
they also mention a little bit at the end about Russ's new book, Best Movie Ever: An Oral History of Deborah Kaplan & Harry Elfont's Josie and the Pussycats. The book is now available for preorder on Amazon and will be available to buy on August 21.
The Emerald City Video Podcast is a periodic podcast hosted by entertainment journalist Russ Burlingame, with a rotating cast of hosts who used to work at the Emerald City Video store in East Syracuse, New York. The store was once awarded by the Video Software Dealers of America as the best small video store in the U.S. Though it closed in 2009, the store’s legacy still touches the daily lives of a lot of the people who used to work there, and the Syracuse community as a whole still has a lot of fondness for its memory.
The idea behind the podcast, which launched in 2016, was to bring the discourse you would get at a video store — talking with real humans about your movies, rather than trusting in an algorithm — back to…well, if not the world, or even Syracuse, at least to the guys who maybe missed that human connection the most: a bunch of pop culture junky loudmouths who used to run a really cool video store. Over the years, the Emerald City Video banner has flown over a number of themes, including specific episodes about TV series like Riverdale and Psych.
If you like what we’re doing here, you can become a patron of the Emerald City Video Podcast, which comes with fun perks. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook. We also have Instagram and Vero accounts where we share images, photos, memes, and nonsense. You can support us on Patreon, too, and do things like requesting custom episodes and the like.
Be back for more by noon on the fifth day, and please — always remember to rewind your videocassettes.
Thursday Mar 25, 2021
Thursday Mar 25, 2021
It's here! They #ReleasedTheSnyderCut, and now we're here to talk about it.
You can find us (and a number of other awesome podcasts) on the ACPN family of shows.
The Emerald City Video Podcast is a periodic podcast hosted by entertainment journalist Russ Burlingame, with a rotating cast of hosts who used to work at the Emerald City Video store in East Syracuse, New York. The store was once awarded by the Video Software Dealers of America as the best small video store in the U.S. Though it closed in 2009, the store’s legacy still touches the daily lives of a lot of the people who used to work there, and the Syracuse community as a whole still has a lot of fondness for its memory.
The idea behind the podcast, which launched in 2016, was to bring the discourse you would get at a video store — talking with real humans about your movies, rather than trusting in an algorithm — back to…well, if not the world, or even Syracuse, at least to the guys who maybe missed that human connection the most: a bunch of pop culture junky loudmouths who used to run a really cool video store. Over the years, the Emerald City Video banner has flown over a number of themes, including specific episodes about TV series like Riverdale and Psych.
If you like what we’re doing here, you can become a patron of the Emerald City Video Podcast, which comes with fun perks. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook. We also have Instagram and Vero accounts where we share images, photos, memes, and nonsense. You can support us on Patreon, too, and do things like requesting custom episodes and the like.
Be back for more by noon on the fifth day, and please — always remember to rewind your videocassettes.
Monday Mar 22, 2021
Monday Mar 22, 2021
Yes, it's time to go back to JUSTICE LEAGUE (2017) again, just in time for ZACK SNYDER'S JUSTICE LEAGUE, the upcoming super-long version of the same movie but with better cinematography and more characters.
You can find us (and a number of other awesome podcasts) on the ACPN family of shows.
The Emerald City Video Podcast is a periodic podcast hosted by entertainment journalist Russ Burlingame, with a rotating cast of hosts who used to work at the Emerald City Video store in East Syracuse, New York. The store was once awarded by the Video Software Dealers of America as the best small video store in the U.S. Though it closed in 2009, the store’s legacy still touches the daily lives of a lot of the people who used to work there, and the Syracuse community as a whole still has a lot of fondness for its memory.
The idea behind the podcast, which launched in 2016, was to bring the discourse you would get at a video store — talking with real humans about your movies, rather than trusting in an algorithm — back to…well, if not the world, or even Syracuse, at least to the guys who maybe missed that human connection the most: a bunch of pop culture junky loudmouths who used to run a really cool video store. Over the years, the Emerald City Video banner has flown over a number of themes, including specific episodes about TV series like Riverdale and Psych.
If you like what we’re doing here, you can become a patron of the Emerald City Video Podcast, which comes with fun perks. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook. We also have Instagram and Vero accounts where we share images, photos, memes, and nonsense. You can support us on Patreon, too, and do things like requesting custom episodes and the like.
Be back for more by noon on the fifth day, and please — always remember to rewind your videocassettes.
Sunday Jan 24, 2021
Sunday Jan 24, 2021
In this episode, RUSS BURLINGAME and ZACH D ROBERTS talk about the closure of FAMILY VIDEO's brick-and-mortar stores, as well as talking about some of what they've been watching during the winter months, with honorable mentions going to Netflix's DISENCHANTMENT (they sent Zach mead!), the animated movie BATMAN: SOUL OF THE DRAGON, and Russ's recent introduction to IT'S GARRY SHANDLING'S SHOW.
And this time, for the first episode in like three months, both of them are and remain completely sober throughout!
You can find us (and a number of other awesome podcasts) on the ACPN family of shows.
The Emerald City Video Podcast is a periodic podcast hosted by entertainment journalist Russ Burlingame, with a rotating cast of hosts who used to work at the Emerald City Video store in East Syracuse, New York. The store was once awarded by the Video Software Dealers of America as the best small video store in the U.S. Though it closed in 2009, the store’s legacy still touches the daily lives of a lot of the people who used to work there, and the Syracuse community as a whole still has a lot of fondness for its memory.
The idea behind the podcast, which launched in 2016, was to bring the discourse you would get at a video store — talking with real humans about your movies, rather than trusting in an algorithm — back to…well, if not the world, or even Syracuse, at least to the guys who maybe missed that human connection the most: a bunch of pop culture junky loudmouths who used to run a really cool video store. Over the years, the Emerald City Video banner has flown over a number of themes, including specific episodes about TV series like Riverdale and Psych.
If you like what we’re doing here, you can become a patron of the Emerald City Video Podcast, which comes with fun perks. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook. We also have Instagram and Vero accounts where we share images, photos, memes, and nonsense. You can support us on Patreon, too, and do things like requesting custom episodes and the like.
Be back for more by noon on the fifth day, and please — always remember to rewind your videocassettes.
Thursday Dec 31, 2020
Thursday Dec 31, 2020
#SaveTheVideoStore...and lots of rants.
You can find us (and a number of other awesome podcasts) on the ACPN family of shows.
The Emerald City Video Podcast is a periodic podcast hosted by entertainment journalist Russ Burlingame, with a rotating cast of hosts who used to work at the Emerald City Video store in East Syracuse, New York. The store was once awarded by the Video Software Dealers of America as the best small video store in the U.S. Though it closed in 2009, the store’s legacy still touches the daily lives of a lot of the people who used to work there, and the Syracuse community as a whole still has a lot of fondness for its memory.
The idea behind the podcast, which launched in 2016, was to bring the discourse you would get at a video store — talking with real humans about your movies, rather than trusting in an algorithm — back to…well, if not the world, or even Syracuse, at least to the guys who maybe missed that human connection the most: a bunch of pop culture junky loudmouths who used to run a really cool video store. Over the years, the Emerald City Video banner has flown over a number of themes, including specific episodes about TV series like Riverdale and Psych.
If you like what we’re doing here, you can become a patron of the Emerald City Video Podcast, which comes with fun perks. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook. We also have Instagram and Vero accounts where we share images, photos, memes, and nonsense. You can support us on Patreon, too, and do things like requesting custom episodes and the like.
Be back for more by noon on the fifth day, and please — always remember to rewind your videocassettes.
Sunday Nov 08, 2020
Sunday Nov 08, 2020
We're back!
It won't be so long next time, we promise.
You can find us (and a number of other awesome podcasts) on the ACPN family of shows.
The Emerald City Video Podcast is a periodic podcast hosted by entertainment journalist Russ Burlingame, with a rotating cast of hosts who used to work at the Emerald City Video store in East Syracuse, New York. The store was once awarded by the Video Software Dealers of America as the best small video store in the U.S. Though it closed in 2009, the store’s legacy still touches the daily lives of a lot of the people who used to work there, and the Syracuse community as a whole still has a lot of fondness for its memory.
The idea behind the podcast, which launched in 2016, was to bring the discourse you would get at a video store — talking with real humans about your movies, rather than trusting in an algorithm — back to…well, if not the world, or even Syracuse, at least to the guys who maybe missed that human connection the most: a bunch of pop culture junky loudmouths who used to run a really cool video store. Over the years, the Emerald City Video banner has flown over a number of themes, including specific episodes about TV series like Riverdale and Psych.
If you like what we’re doing here, you can become a patron of the Emerald City Video Podcast, which comes with fun perks. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook. We also have Instagram and Vero accounts where we share images, photos, memes, and nonsense. You can support us on Patreon, too, and do things like requesting custom episodes and the like.
Be back for more by noon on the fifth day, and please — always remember to rewind your videocassettes.
Sunday Sep 13, 2020
Sunday Sep 13, 2020
Russ and Zach talk about Fletch. Kind of.
You can find us (and a number of other awesome podcasts) on the ACPN family of shows.
The Emerald City Video Podcast is a periodic podcast hosted by entertainment journalist Russ Burlingame, with a rotating cast of hosts who used to work at the Emerald City Video store in East Syracuse, New York. The store was once awarded by the Video Software Dealers of America as the best small video store in the U.S. Though it closed in 2009, the store’s legacy still touches the daily lives of a lot of the people who used to work there, and the Syracuse community as a whole still has a lot of fondness for its memory.
The idea behind the podcast, which launched in 2016, was to bring the discourse you would get at a video store — talking with real humans about your movies, rather than trusting in an algorithm — back to…well, if not the world, or even Syracuse, at least to the guys who maybe missed that human connection the most: a bunch of pop culture junky loudmouths who used to run a really cool video store. Over the years, the Emerald City Video banner has flown over a number of themes, including specific episodes about TV series like Riverdale and Psych.
If you like what we’re doing here, you can become a patron of the Emerald City Video Podcast, which comes with fun perks. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook. We also have Instagram and Vero accounts where we share images, photos, memes, and nonsense. You can support us on Patreon, too, and do things like requesting custom episodes and the like.
Be back for more by noon on the fifth day, and please — always remember to rewind your videocassettes.