On this week's pod, Andy and I kicked the tires on the beautiful, dark, twisted fantasy that is Kanye West's new album, Yeezus. Using Jon Caramanica's indispensable New York Times interview with the man as a jumping-off point, we tried to place the album within the Kanye canon, wondered what it says about fatherhood, sex, and hip-hop (the holy trinity!), and tried to find the light in all the darkness.
Of course, after all that heavy lifting and deep thinking, we needed to change gears a bit, so we decided to touch on that most romantic of comedies, Mad Men. With only one more episode left, we asked that age-old question: Has Don Draper gone past the point of no return? And is that exactly where show creator Matthew Weiner wants him? Assume the fetal position, people.
Wesley's back from France, there's a new Kanye record, and apparently it's still really hard to make a good Superman movie, even with Jesus in your corner.
On the podcast formerly known as the Reality TV Podcast, David Jacoby and Juliet Litman say good-bye to the Real World: Portland roommates, get excited about the new season of The Challenge, and speculate about PED use on The Bachelorette.
The behooded ones are finally all in the same room again, and just in time to go super deep on the Kimye phenomenon. What starts as a conversation about the New York Times’s fascinating interview with Kanye West and the buildup to his highly anticipated sixth album, Yeezus, can't help but be colored by the tabloid circus surrounding him and his pregnant girlfriend, Kim Kardashian. Why can't we separate the artist from the person? If celebrities can't make us feel like their friends, are they doing their job sufficiently?
These big questions are dwarfed, however, by the dilemma facing the subjects of this past week's True Life: I'm Too Beautiful (and True Life: I'm Addicted to the Internet). We attempt to unpack the rich psychological drama of these latest installments of arguably the best reality show on TV. True Life is still killin' it, y'all.
This week on the pod, Andy and I rode solemnly out of Westeros for the last time this season. We talked about Lannister family matters, whether or not Game of Thrones's season finale lived up to the penultimate episode's blood and guts, and doled out some awards for the season. Spoiler alert: Jamie is LeBron.
Before we got into all that, we discussed the movies of Ethan Hawke, the secret movie star. Hawke's got two movies in the theaters now — one of which is good (Before Midnight), and one of which is crazy successful (The Purge), so Andy and I looked back over his career and talked about what makes him the governor of the hottest state.
We wrapped things up with a chat about this week's cringe-worthy Mad Men. Come on over whenever; we'll leave a key with the doorman.
John Oliver, British and bespectacled, is temporarily taking over The Daily Show starting June 10 while that slacker Jon Stewart takes some time off to direct a movie. In advance of this auspicious — and, most likely, terrifying — event, Oliver chatted with me about the challenge of replacing someone whose name is in the title, how having an English accent is a bit like hailing from Krypton, and the fastest way to get Jaden Smith to walk out of an interview. This was a fun one.
Reunited and it feels so good! After a little bit of a break, Andy and I got the band back together. Know any cool weddings looking for entertainment? We only know one song, "Rains of Castamere." Greenwald plays lute, and I play deception. Seriously, folks, we are gathered here today to talk about Game of Thrones, red weddings, Akira Kurosawa, Sam Peckinpah, power grabs, wargs, and how I, for one, always liked Cat Stark [cough]. Andy and I discuss everything that brought us up to the penultimate episode of Season 3, the masterful staging of the wedding from hell, and where the show goes from here.
We wrap up the episode talking Mad Men. It was sort of hard to follow in Walder Frey and Roose Bolton's footsteps this week, but Matt Weiner gave it a go. Andy and I chatted about Megan and Bob conspiracy theories, the glory of Stan, and whether this season feels a little stuck in the mud. So put your makeup on and make your hair look pretty, and meet us tonight at The Twins.
Do you have strong opinions about glasses? How about the Bentley logo? Turns out we have a lot to say on both subjects, and The Bachelorette and Real World paved the way for these conversations. While Desiree began her #journey searching for a #perfectmarriage, Portland roommate Jessica suffered an onscreen breakup, but at least she had the spectacles to look good. I'm not sure we can say the same for eliminated Bachelorette contestant Larry, though. We talked about his awkward dancing, Will's bare bookshelves, and many more highlights from the season premiere. Be sure to keep this song handy while you listen to the podcast.
While Emily is in space for the week visiting Leonardo DiCaprio on his voyage to the stars, Tess and Molly hold down the Hoodies homefront. Topics on the table include Behind The Candelabra, Steven Soderbergh's incredible Liberace biopic for HBO, which thrilled us with outrageous Vegas schmaltz, genuine emotion, Matt Damon's stank face, a tender Michael Douglas in a variety of rhinestone capes, and the world's best supporting cast of character actors. Also up for discussion; the sudden proliferation of Room 237-style Mad Men conspiracy theories. Is perennial coffee-offerer Bob Benson evil or just misunderstood? Plus speculation on Leonardo's cosmic journey, his transformation into Jack Nicholson, and whether letting a fan on your rocket will just lead to Misery in space.
Grantland's Chris Ryan and Alex Pappademas discuss the popularity of apocalyptic themes in films this summer, the weirdness of this Mad Men season, and the return of Arrested Development.
You may think it's an off week in reality TV because Survivor has ended, The Bachelorette hasn't started, and nothing happened on Real World. Well, you must not be watching Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta or Small Town Security. Jacoby does his best to sell me on these shows, with mixed results. Luckily, off-camera reality news doesn't have an offseason. If you're wondering which cast is holding out for higher salaries and which Bravo housewife got a neck-lift, you need to listen to this week's podcast.
The Girls in Hoodies go bicoastal this week, with Emily phoning in from New York (apologies in advance for the sound quality) while Molly and Tess hold down the fort in L.A. We would be remiss if we didn't talk about That Mad Men Episode for a bit, and the pros and cons of abstract Mad Men vs. literal Mad Men. We then dissect the fiery downfall of Amy's Baking Company, the Kitchen Nightmares–featured restaurant that forced Gordon Ramsay to walk off the show, which is now finding itself in a spot of legal trouble. The big question, of course, is why Amy and Samy Bouzaglo would agree to go on the show in the first place, but there are no rules when you're a delusional former drug dealer. Finally, Emily makes her case for why you should see Frances Ha, and we all discuss the ever-extant need for more complex female friendships in film and TV.
DJ, author, and filmmaker Bobbito Garcia describes the genesis of his legendary hip-hop radio show with DJ Stretch Armstrong and his new film about pickup basketball in New York City, Doin' It in the Park.
