The Sound of Young America

SF Sketchfest 09 | Never Not Funny | 01.31.09

2009-06-02T09:53:00.001-07:00

SF Sketchfest 09 | Never Not Funny | 01.31.09
Originally uploaded by liezl was here

Podthoughts by Colin Marshall: "The /Filmcast"

2009-05-03T21:14:00.000-07:00

Long before your Podthinker became a Podthinker, his esteemed predecessor Ian Brill wrote up a movie podcast called Battleship Pretension. Having been sold on the show by that very review, it has thus been your Podthinker's goal to dig up an equally good program on matters cinematic to recommend. When Tyler and David, co-captiains of the good ship Pretesion, mentioned that they'd made a guest appearance on The /Filmcast [iTunes link], said /Filmcast emerged as a promising contender.

Is it as recommendable as Battleship Pretension? Quite difficult to say, since never have two podcasts that share a subject been so different in form. Where BP has the purity of two dudes in the same room simply straight-talking about the cinema every week, T/FC is a more exotic, technological beast, combining Skype-based group film discussion with news, reviews, interviews and even movie commentaries. It's like some crazy Horn of Plenty of film talk, an ever-more-various variety show that pushes the boundaries of what can be accomplished in the movie-chat-podcast form.

The plus side is that, what with all the elements, features and wingdings, every film geek's going to find something to love. On the minus side, some of the show's branches necessarily prove sturdier than the others. Downloading an episode at random — actually a semi-episode, since each is broken up into multiple files — you'll get one of a few basic entertainments. One is what I call the "episode head", where the group get together and first mention what they've seen recently, then speculate about the latest word from the film world, then commence arguing out the merits and/or demerits of a single motion picture in current theatrical release, such as Duplicity [MP3], Observe and Report [MP3] or Crank 2: High Voltage [MP3].

As was always the case with Siskel and Ebert, the reviews are as fun as the disagreement is strong. This was well-illustrated on Tyler and David's guest appearance, when everyone but them liked the (pretty lame-sounding) State of Play [MP3]. (If there's a weakness to the discussions, it's that the usual group gives way too much slack to "popcorn" movies.) Many others from the internet film scene also stop by to participate: people from Rotten Tomatoes, people from the Independent Film Channel, people from C.H.U.D., that sort of thing. But things don't truly get interesting until the free-form "/Filmcast: After Dark" segments start up, when guards are let down, spoiler cautions are thrown to the wind and (one assumes) the drinks start flowing. (It's especially nice to hear the group's marginally irritating spoiler fixation stop, since, really, any movie that's literally spoiled by revealing its plot points probably isn't worth watching to begin with.)

All that said and your Podthinker hasn't even gotten to The /Filmcast's interviews, where host David Chen turns roving reporter, going around and conversing with the neato filmmakers of our time like Brick director Rian Johnson [MP3] and Sin Nombre director Cary Fukunaga [MP3]. Though a bit on the short side, the interviews are informative nonetheless. And speaking of, any more information in this column — and much more could be said about such a full-featured podcast — and the short side will recede into the distance, never to be seen again. Even if this isn't your Podthinker's Battleship Pretension, it's got enough variety and experimental brio to extract admiration from any willing cinephile.

Vital stats:
Format: film discussion, film reviews, film interviews, film news
Running since: May 2008
Duration: 20m-2h (depending on the segment)
Frequency: one segment every two, three or four days
Archive available on iTunes: last 70 segments

[Fun fact: Podthinker Colin Marshall also writes a film column. Argue with his impeccable points at colinjmarshall at gmail, discuss Podthoughts on the forum here or submit your own podcast for the next by-Max-Funsters column here.]

Your T-Shirt Contest Winner: Cycling Nutsy!

2009-05-01T09:25:00.001-07:00

Here's your Maximum Fun Drive 2009 T-Shirt, as designed by Brian Kaas, and selected from our finalists by our committee of experts: Tig Notaro, Al Madrigal, Ariel Schrag, Paul Scheer, and my mom. My thanks to Jamie, Scott, Tom and all the folks who submitted designs. The stuff we got back was truly spectacular.

All you have to do to get one is donate $5 a month or more. It will be printed once and only once, so give now or forever hold your peace.

MaxFunDrive 2009: Support MaximumFun.org!

2009-05-01T08:25:00.000-07:00

Thank you for supporting MaximumFun.org! Your donations are the fuel that powers the Maximum Fun Speedboat!

We're happy to thank you for your donations with a gift.

All donors during the Maximum Fun Drive will receive a special Maximum Fun Pack. This pack includes your very own letterpress-printed Maximum Fun Club card and fun stickers, plus access to our donors-only "The Sound of Young America on the Radio" feed, the weekly, as-broadcast, hour-long version of The Sound, which is released the weekend before the interviews are podcast individually.

If you donate $5 a month or more, you'll also receive a special this-drive-only Maximum Fun Drive t-shirt.

Donate $10 or $20 a month, and you'll receive a t-shirt *and* a thank you gift.

Donate $100 a month, and you'll join "Jordan's Platinum Angels." You'll get a t-shirt, a thank-you gift, plus an invitation to a special dinner June 11th, 2009 (the evening before MaxFunCon), hosted by Jesse (or lunch with Jesse next time you're in LA).

Donate $200 a month, and you'll join "Jesse's Golden Eagles." You'll receive the above, plus free priority registration to MaxFunCon next year.

Give now (use the button below the amount you'd like to give):

$200/month

$100/month

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$10/month

$5/month

$2/month (billed quarterly)

Make a One-Time Donation

Maximum Fun Drive Thank You Gifts

2009-05-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

The best part of the Maximum Fun Drive is, of course, the thank you gifts. Here's a list of these amazing treasure just waiting to be claimed by new donors. These gifts typically go in the first few days of the pledge drive, so give quickly if you want them.

To get a thank you gift, pledge at ten dollars or more a month, and indicate your top three preferences, in order, in the field provided. We can't promise you'll get your first choice, but if past experience is a guide, you should get one of your picks.

DVD

The Best of Wholphin: DVD Magazine of Rare of Unseen Shorts courtesy of McSweeney's
The Hold Steady - A Positive Rage Live CD/DVD courtesy of Vagrant Records
Louis C.K. - Chewed Up DVD courtesy of Michael O'Brien Entertainment
Bill Burr - Why Do I Do This? DVD courtesy of Michael O'Brien Entertainment
Brian Regan - The Epitome of Hyperbole DVD courtesy of Michael O'Brien Entertainment

Tommy Tiernan - Something Mental CD courtesy of Michael O'Brien Entertainment
Mitch Hedberg - Do You Believe in Gosh? CD courtesy of Michael O'Brien Entertainment
Team Submarine - Corectamundo CD courtesy of Team Submarine
Music Triple Pack - Three CDs of our choice from our pile of random promos. Includes lots of great artists like Morrissey, Dan Deacon, Bonnie "Prince" Billy and more.

Books

The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts by Tom Farley, Jr., and Tanner Colby courtesy of Penguin Books.

What Would Keith Richards Do?: Daily Affirmations from a Rock 'N' Roll Survivor by Jessica Pallington West courtesy of Bloomsbury Publishing.

Livability: Stories by Jon Raymond courtesy of Bloomsbury Publishing.

FreeDarko Presents The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac: Styles, Stats, and Stars in Today's Game by Bethlehem Shoals, Dr. Lawyer IndianChief, Silverbird 5000, Brown Recluse Esq., and Big Baby Belafonte courtesy of Bloomsbury Publishing.

Bad Cop: New York's Least Likely Police Officer Tells All by Paul Bacon courtesy of Bloomsbury

I'd Rather We Got Casinos: And Other Black Thoughts by Larry Wilmore courtesy of Hyperion Books
Mock Stars: Indie Comedy and the Dangerously Funny by John Wenzel courtesy of Speckpress
Requiem for a Paper Bag: Celebrities & Civilians Tell Stories of the Best Lost, Tossed, & Found Items From Around The World courtesy of Fireside Books
Mr America: How Muscular Millionaire Bernarr MacFadden Transformed The Nation Through Sex, Salad, and The Ultimate Starvation Diet by Mark Adams courtesy of Harper Collins Publishers
Love, Mom: Poignant, Goofy, Brilliant Messages from Home by Doree Shafrir & Jessica Grose courtesy of Hyperion Books
The Complete Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht signed by David Borgenicht courtesy of Chronicle Books
Sneaker Freaker: The Book courtesy of Riverhead Books
The Ball is Round: A Global History of Soccer by David Goldblatt, courtesy of Riverhead Books
Gorillaz: Rise of the Ogre, courtesy of Riverhead Books
The Brief & Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Audiobook) by Junot Diaz, courtesy of Riverhead Books
Ghost World: The Special Edition courtesy of Fantagraphics

Etc

Gears of War 2 for the XBOX 360 courtesy of Microsoft

Plus two special gifts for donors at the $20, $100 or $200 level:

John Hodgman pack, featuring More Information Than You Require, the audiobook of Areas of My Expertise, John Hodgman Hobo Chalk and More Information Than You Require taxonomy of knowledge poster
George Saunders pack, featuring a signed & numbered limited edition chapbook of Saunders short fiction, "A Bee Stung Me, So I Killed All The Fish," plus George Saunders merchandise.

Lloyd Kaufman, Troma Entertainment Madman: Interview on The Sound of Young America

2009-04-30T20:40:00.000-07:00

Lloyd Kaufman is the madman (some might say mad genius) behind Troma, the independent film company that commands one of the most passionate cults in cinema. His films include The Toxic Avenger and most recently, Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead. His new book on directing is "Make Your Own Damn Movie." A musical version of The Toxic Avenger recently opened on Broadway.

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If you enjoyed this show, try these:
Jello Biafra
Miranda July
Patton Oswalt

TSOYA in the TV Guide Hot List

2009-04-29T13:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the good folks from TV Guide for including The Sound of Young America in a recent "Hot List" in the magazine.

Here's what they wrote:

Jenna Fischer Talks
Before Pam Beesly and Jim Halpert were "PB&J," Jenna Fischer was a struggling starlet. Listen as she hilariously recounts her story from St. Louis kid to Hollywood pro on NPR's [sic] "The Sound of Young America." There's Office scoop galore, too, and fun facts, like why she and John Krasinski are "career soul mates." Call it "JF&J."

Here's the interview referenced.

Prince on Tavis Smiley

2009-04-29T11:24:00.000-07:00

Prince on Tavis

Blast Processing!

2009-04-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

Our pal Brian Heater pushes electronic cigarettes on Marc Maron

Maria Bamford interviewed in the AV Club: class act all the way.

Steve Albini on record stores and farmers' markets: a hoot, as always.

The boss of J. Crew as "the king of cool"

Speaking of the AV Club, our pal Joe Garden covered an event for their blog: Charles Grodin and Gene Wilder in conversation

The history of the Jughead hat

Jesse Thorn: One of LA Weekly's "LA People"

2009-04-28T15:24:00.001-07:00

If you had told 16-year-old Jesse he'd one day be one of the "LA People," he would have laughed in your face and invited you on a cable car ride. Today, though, it has come to pass.

My thanks to the great Joshuah Bearman for writing this lovely profile of me in this week's LA Weekly "People" issue.

Eleni Mandell Interview & Performance on The Sound of Young America

2009-04-28T09:56:00.000-07:00

Eleni Mandell is a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter, whose new album is Artificial Fire. She talks with us about growing up in Southern California, and the moment she discovered that "all music doesn't sound like Barry Manilow." She went from idolizing the LA alt-rock band X to working with members of the band.

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If you enjoyed this show, try these:
Marianna Palka
Mark Oliver Everett of Eels
Nellie McKay

Podthoughts by Colin Marshall: "The History of Rome"

2009-04-26T22:43:00.000-07:00

If any theme has emerged over the last year of Podthoughts, it's that the podcast medium has limitless possibilities. If any other theme has emerged over the last year of Podthoughts, it's that the podcast medium's possibilities remain insufficiently explored. Every once in a while, though, a show emerges that casts new light on what podcasting can be. At the risk of making too grand a claim, The History of Rome [iTunes link] is one such podcast. (Subject obvious.) Its execution is simple and straightforward; its listening experience is strangely, almost unsettlingly enthralling.

What do you get from The History of Rome? Well, the history of Rome, start to finish, wall-to-wall. To promise anything else would be a lie, though in the podcast's purity lies its strength. Aside from very, very rare pieces of technical administrivia, host Mike Duncan utters essentially no non-Rome-related words, and he doesn't deliver the ones that are Rome-related in any sort of theatrical inflection. His voice, in fact, is remarkable only in its unremarkability. This may well be the first podcast to contain only one thing of note: Rome's history.

But boy oh boy, does it ever contain it. Duncan recites the history of Rome — "recites" seems to be the word, since it sounds like he's reading a text rather than speaking extemporaneously, so it's a bit like a long, serial audiobook — in rich detail, including everything even that one "cool" young history lecturer you had in college neglected to mention in favor of those racy asides, ancient double entendres and vomitorium anecdotes he thought would keep the class awake. Refreshingly, Duncan hews away from the Caligula model of history lecturing and simply assumes that Roman history, served straight up, is as fascinating as it is. Allowing the material its proper dignity does wonders for the tone and engagingness (to coin a term) of its conveyance.

One could, potentially, learn the history of Rome from The History of Rome, but to your Podthinker's mind, taking such a pedestrian approach misses a superior listening opportunity. Better, it seems, to use The History of Rome to inhabit the history of Rome, letting yourself be immersed in the wash of battles, societal experiments and political machinations and Duncan's impressive erudition about them all. Your Podthinker has already spent many a happy evening enveloped by spoken stories of the Roman Empire's many vicissitudes, from the three Samnite Wars to Pompey's conquering of Jerusalem to Antony and Cleopatra's flight to Alexandria. The experience isn't so much an informational one — though it's well equipped to be — but a textual one. It's a historical podcast, sure, but it's also a pure, blissful sonic setting, one that delivers as much education as the listener feels like absorbing, and that listener need not face scantron nor blue book when it's all over. History 117B was never like this.

Vital stats:
Format: history (of Rome)
Running since: December 2007
Duration: 10m-20m
Frequency: weekly, roughly
Archive available on iTunes: all but, inexplicably, the first three

[Podthinker Colin Marshall would have gotten this to you all sooner if not for lousy Amtrak's lack of wireless. Bark at him about it colinjmarshall at gmail, discuss Podthoughts on the forum here or submit your own podcast for the next by-Max-Funsters column here.]

Kids Today

2009-04-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

Kids today are an embarassment. Where's the respect for real sports? (Butt racing.)

Via BB

T-Shirt Contest 2009: The Final Five

2009-04-22T12:30:00.000-07:00

As you may have heard, every year for our annual pledge drive we create a limited-edition Maximum Fun shirt for donors, and every year that shirt is designed by listeners.

We had you vote for your favorites in the semi-finals. Well, the people have spoken, and we have five finalists. These finalists will now be put before our blue ribbon super-panel to be evaluated and judged accordingly.

This year's esteemed super-panel is:
Comedian Extraordinaire Tig Notaro
Standup Superstar Al Madrigal
Cartoonist to the Stars Ariel Schrag
Ultrablogger Merlin Mann
Charming Quipster Paul Scheer
and Jesse's mom Judith Thorn.

The winner will be announced at the beginning of our pledge drive on May 1st.

Here are the finalists.

"Welcome to..." (Cartoon Jesse) from Tom Deja.

I'm Nutsy for TSOYA also from Tom Deja.

Field of Exclamation Marks from Scott Nusinow.

Cycling Nutsy from Brian Kaas.

Listening Squid from Jamie Tanner.

Jane Lynch, star of Party Down, Glee & more: Interview on The Sound of Young America

2009-04-21T10:27:00.000-07:00

Jane Lynch is an actress who got her big break as part of Christopher Guest's comic ensemble in the film Best in Show. Since then, she's turned in brilliantly funny performances in films like The 40 Year Old Virgin and Role Models. She's currently featured in the Starz series Party Down, and she stars in the upcoming Fox sitcom Glee. We talk about getting her big break twenty years into her career, why she's never been quite famous enough to come out, Ellen Degeneres-style and much more.

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If you enjoyed this show, try these:
Martin Starr
Adam Scott
Marianna Palka

The State on DVD, finally.

2009-04-20T13:35:00.000-07:00

Awesome.

Podcast: Coyle & Sharpe Episode 60: Home Observation

2009-04-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

Welcome to season two of Coyle & Sharpe: The Imposters! In the early 1960s, James P. Coyle and Mal Sharpe roamed the streets of San Francisco, microphone in hand, roping strangers into bizarre schemes and surreal stunts. These original recordings are from the Sharpe family archive, which is tended by Mal's daughter, Jennifer Sharpe. You can learn more about Coyle & Sharpe on their website or on MySpace. Their recent box set is These 2 Men Are Imposters.

On this episode: Coyle and Sharpe use their Sounds of San Francisco series to ask a man about a home observation project they would like to conduct with him.

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Podcast: The College Years: Duets

2009-04-20T04:49:00.000-07:00

The College Years is a look deep into the vaults of The Sound of Young America. Take a journey with us every week as we post a new program or two from our salad days.

Jesse and Jordan and later Brian interview sketch comedy power duo Eric Slovin and Leo Allen of Slovin and Allen. Top notch episode: all killer, no filler.

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Jordan, Jesse, Go! Episode 96: Ras-Poutine with Jonathan Goldstein

2009-04-19T22:03:00.001-07:00

Jesse and Jordan are joined by Jonathan Goldstein, author of "Ladies and Gentlemen... The Bible!" and host of the CBC's Wiretap.

Download This Episode (MP3 Link)
Discuss the episode on the forum
Subscribe in iTunes / Podcast Feed

ACTION ITEMS:

* Create a crest for the Boner Society.
* What is Gender Solutions High-Flex Knee?
* How do dudes make friends with other dudes?

CONTINUING ACTION ITEMS:

* Do you have a dispute Judge John Hodgman can solve on a future broadcast? Email it to us! Put Judge John in the subject line.
* Need advice? ASK JUANITA!
* Share your Momentous Occasions and Moments of Shame!

Call 206-984-4FUN to share your thoughts on these ACTION ITEMS.

Our theme music: "Love You" by The Free Design, courtesy of The Free Design and Light in the Attic Records

Check the Rhyme

2009-04-19T21:01:00.000-07:00

My aura's positive - I don't promote no junk.

I saw Tribe a couple years ago and it was fucking live.

Podthoughts by Colin Marshall: "No Agenda"

2009-04-19T18:45:00.000-07:00

The best descriptor for this podcast is unlikely. It's a show where two white guys bullshit about the culture, yet it's not exactly an according-to-Hoyle TTWGBAC. The hosts reside neither in their twenties or thirties but in their forties and fifties, and if we're talking about literal residences, they broadcast not from Mom's basement but from their palatial manors in London, San Francisco and Port Angeles. One host happens to be podcasting entrepeneur and former VJ Adam Curry; the other happens to be tech pundit John C. Dvorak. And they do it live. Twice a week.

The result is a program that on some level resembles a thousand other podcasts out there, but on others isn't like anything else at all. Two-dudes-chatting, a format as basic as they come, is how No Agenda [iTunes link] [stream] started out, but over time and with the aid of Curry's persistent internet gearheadedness it has evolved into a streaming, intercontinental, parodic, paranoid extravaganza. Whether this will be any given listener's thing seems a roll of the dice, but Curry and Dvorak's conversation darts in so many direction that it's almost difficult not to find something compelling in it.

It also helps that, as the first paragraph may have hinted, these aren't your garden-variety podcasters. While — let's admit it — most podcasters are eccentrics, a refreshingly different set of eccentricities afflict Curry and Dvorak. When not tinkering with internet stuff or piloting around the world with his 60-year-old Dutch pop star wife and teenage daughter in tow, Curry, nicknamed "Crackpot", weaves elaborate conspiracy theories out of information triangulated from, say, a sketchy Russian newspaper, three seconds of CCTV footage and a panicked call-in on Muskogee AM talk radio. (The "New World Order" is his pet theme.) Dvorak, nicknamed "The Buzzkill", alternately looks askance at (some of) Curry's wilder conjectures about the global power structure and grumbles about such ultra-curmudgeonly topics as how kids don't have paper routes these days. (For a figure so central to the last couple decades of technology culture, he also seems to have odd technological habits: refusing to use headphones while recording, for instance.)

An accurate encapsulation of No Agenda's topical range proves elusive; suffice it to say that the show's recent overarching preoccupation appears to be, broadly speaking, surveillance and information security. Still, Curry and Dvorak have time for more general global geopolitical topics as well as personal-scale stuff, like whether one should order Cliff Richard's wine while vacationing in Portugal. Perhaps the least resistible element of the program — for your Podthinker, anyway — is its satire of that quintessential fish in a barrel, commercial radio. The show is streamed during recording before it's podcasted, and Curry uses this close-enough resemblance to terrestrial broadcasting to poke a good deal of fun at it. One segment of the intro, for example, introduces "Crackpot and The Buzzkill in the Morning", and Curry lets fly with the series of sound clips he's rigged up whenever he or Dvorak says something particularly morning zoo-y. (This is much funnier than it sounds.)

With this barely-describable yet surprisingly entertaining mixture of qualities, No Agenda has gathered a sizeable and, more important, impressively devoted following. Your Podthinker admits that he's come to enjoy it much more than he ever expected to, though not quite enough to code expressly No Agenda-themed web apps like some of the true devotees have. That requires a lot more concern about the World Order, New or otherwise.

Vital stats:
Format: streaming, intercontinental, parodic, paranoid TFWGBAC
Running since: October 2007
Duration: 1h20m-1h45m
Frequency: twice a week, Sunday and Thursday
Archive available on iTunes: all

[Podthinker Colin Marshall is kind of interested in IP law, though. Discuss it with him at colinjmarshall at gmail, discuss Podthoughts on the forum here or submit your own podcast for the next by-Max-Funsters column here.]

Maximum Fun Northwest Update

2009-04-19T10:28:00.001-07:00

Advance tickets for The Monsters of Podcasting in Seattle are now sold out. There will be a few tickets available at the door.

In Portland, tickets to The Sound of Young America Live and The Monsters of Podcasting will be either festival passes or $10 at the door. Bring everyone you know, these are big ones, folks. We'll get everyone in who comes.

TSOYA Live is at the Bagdad Theater in Portland on Saturday afternoon April 25th, at 4:30 PM. My guests will be Blitzen Trapper, Mirah, The Third Floor, Reggie Watts, Nick Kroll and Brian Michael Bendis.

The Monsters of Podcasting is Sunday night, April 26th, at 7PM, also at the Bagdad. Special guests on Jordan Jesse Go are James Adomian and David Koechner.

Tell a friend, alert the media, see you there!

NEW CHAMPION OF INTERNET

2009-04-17T16:38:00.000-07:00

YE GODS! QUEENIE'S IN DANGER!

Muji US - Cardtacular!

2009-04-17T08:38:00.000-07:00

Not only has the legendary modern goods store Muji opened an electronic storefront in the US, but they've included their most legendary product: the aluminum card case. At $5.50, it's the finest card case you can buy for less than $100.

They've even included a double card case! Now that's some serious stuff.

Via THA BOING

Cleanup.

2009-04-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

OK, well I was looking for Janeane Garofalo saying all the funny jewish names, but this is pretty fantastic, too.