Mt. Rushmore Podcast

Some of my favorite Vanity projects include the R&B/funk girl group Vanity 6 along with her roles in movies such as "The Last Dragon" and "Action Jackson." Some this week we're going to do a deep dive into her career including her time with Prince along with… Wait, that's the not the type of vanity project we're talking about? Whoopsie! In all seriousness, sometimes celebrities reach a position of...

No matter what kind of crap you're into, there is some greedy filmmaker just itching to exploit the hell out of it. Is it urban crime? Reefer madness? Or just plain old regular madness? This week we debate the exploitation films of a bygone era that really milked it for all it's worth.

Even the greatest musicians need an extra hand sometimes. Whether it's a sizzling guitar solo or some sweet background harmonies, having a special guest musician can take a good song and make it great. This week we're discussing artists who have not merely butted into another musician's songs but have made the song better in the process. SHOW NOTES "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by the Beatles fea...

Here's a Hot Take for you: No one needs to explain what a Hot Take is. 

Everyone loves a good comeback story - we love people who have seen the lowest of lows and the highest of highs. This week we're celebrating people who didn't let their circumstances keep them down.  (Even if most of their circumstances were self-caused). SHOW NOTES The Grinch (Michael's Choice) Robert Downey, Jr. (Joint Choice) J.K. Rowling (Richard's Choice) "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar"...

As we slowly creep towards the holiday season, the idea of giving the perfect gift to our loved ones starts dominating our minds.  But what happens when you start trying to go above an beyond? This week we unwrap the most Extravagant Gifts imaginable that one can give to another. Be it a Roomba, Cartier diamond or a 305' statue to the idea of liberty.  SHOW NOTES Statue of Liberty (Joint Choice) T...

We're not sure if it's breakup or break up or break-up, but anyway you spell it, it spells the end of a relationship...in song! 

No, we're not talking about our personal experiences with death this week. That would be sad and creepy! Instead, we're talking about all of the fun ways that death has been portrayed in pop culture. If (as Eddie Izzard would say) you have a morbid fascination with death, this week's episode is for you. SHOW NOTES "Heaven Can Wait" (Richard's Choice) "Hot Shots Part Deux" (Michael's Choice) "Don't...

Ad wizards. Created by the goddess Yeva (who also created Middle Earth as well as Sterling Cooper). These geniuses have been tinkering around with our collective wants and desires since oh, before you were born.  But what happens when these wizards' spells go...too...far. 

Sure, Daniel-Day Lewis might be the greatest actor of his generation. Yes, he can immerse himself into a role so completely that it's easy to forget the actor who is playing the character. But has he ever played himself beating up Adam Sandler on a golf course in a fit of range? No? Score one for Bob Barker, Master Thespian. This week we're looking at one of the most difficult roles an actor can p...

There are good movies.  There are dumb movies.  Sometimes the two meet in the unicorn known as the good-dumb movie. A movie that is so dumb, it's good. Or a movie that is so good in spite of how dumb it is. Either way. It's a win-win. SHOW NOTES "The Jerk" (Michael's Choice) "Happy Gilmore" (Richard's Choice) "Airplane!" (Michael's Choice) "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" (Richard's C...

Muppet movies are events for several reasons, but one of the most important is that you need to watch to catch all of the human celebrities who have signed up to be part of the insanity. Sometimes it's a cameo and sometimes it's a featured role, but more often than not something special happens when a big star crosses paths with the Muppets.  SHOW NOTES Steve Martin in "The Muppet Movie" (Joint Ch...

It's a very special episode of the Mt. Rushmore Podcast! This week we're celebrating Batman Day with a LIVE EPISODE from Black Cat Comics in Burbank! We're joined by the Con Guy as we discuss some of the Caped Crusader's lesser known foes. Listen, they can't all be about Joker or Penguin, and there's nothing wrong with a bad guy whose main weapons are mustard and ketchup!

This week we're looking at TV shows that overstayed their welcome and were on the air longer than they should have been. In some cases, the writers had clearly run out of ideas. In others? The show wasn't that great to begin with, but because it was successful enough or cheap enough to make, it kept popping up on the network schedule season after season. We're not just picking on shows that surviv...

TV and film can make any professional seem WAY more glamorous than it really is. But the truth is that most jobs are just that: jobs. Even internationally-renowned cat burglars spend most of their time dealing with mundane things like washing their ski masks or ordering more smoke bombs and grappling hooks.  This week we're taking a closer look at some of the coolest jobs in movies and television...

Musicians have been making songs about other musicians since the days when Amadeus released his hit single "Suck It Salieri" (also known as the first diss track). But not all songs are about putting down a rival. Just as many have been made as tribute to an act that an artist admires (or at least wants to get cool points for by referencing.) This week we're looking at some of the best songs that m...

We all have love/hate relationships. These are the things that can make us so happy but also bring us down. But enough about our marriages.  (Editor's Note: ba-dump-ba!) This week we're exploring the range of things that can be the best but also the worst. We're talking about a lot of different stuff this week including fast food, entertainment and general great/terrible life choices. SHOW NOTES E...

What makes a couple a "power" couple? It could be the sheer force of their celebrity. It might be the literal power that they wield. Or, there might be some sort of X factor that allows their relationship to be much larger than the sum of their parts. Our own Power Trio is taking some time this week to talk about Power Couples throughout the worlds of entertainment, politics and history. Not all o...

Yeah, being in a rock band is pretty cool. Four or five guys and gals jamming and touring and livin' that rock n' roll lifestyle.  But what happens when its just two people in a band? On this week's episode we go back and forth debating those bands that are made up of the bare minimum to disqualify them from being a solo act on the Mt. Rushmore of Duo Bands. 

Alright, everyone who's depressed in the locker room...gather round. Take a knee. We may be a rag-tag team of underdog ne'er-do-wells, that somehow has acquired the best player in the league mid-season, and it may be halftime and we're losing because the other team has taken the concept of winning one step too far. But if we play team ball, and use that special trick-play we've been working on all...

We all love two things: Our Moms and The Internet. OK. Well we love ONE of those things. ... Moms. It's our moms. SHEESH! But sometimes these two things go together like oil and vinegar. On this week's episode we discuss, debate and deliberate how the inter-tubes and our dear sweet mamas just seem so constantly at odds in our 21st century digital world. 

Animals. God's worst mistake.  But put a click track behind them on a music video and boy-howdy! do they shine!  This week we chat about dogs and cats and snakes and oh, let's say... the emu... that appear in some iconic music videos.  SHOW NOTES "Stray Cut Strut" by the Stray Cats (Michael's Choice) "Patience" by Guns 'n' Roses (Richard's Choice) "The Love Cats" by the Cure (Michael's Choice) "Bi...

Sorry for the late release this week. We were busy. Busy loafin'.  This week we take a look at the mysterious hobo. That boxcar hopping gadabout who lives by his own laws, works his own hours and lives on the outskirts of society.  Also: Eats boiled shoes. The history of the hobo in pop culture is an interesting one. So here are three schmoes who screw that history up.  

We all secretly wish we could have one of two superpowers: flight or invisibility. Or this one time, I was walking home from high school and these junior high kids were across the street and they were throwing rocks at me, and I was like "boy, if I could turn into the Hulk that would be soooo cool" as I ran away from those kids who were three years younger than me... So yeah, invisibility! This we...

Months. From caterpillarn to month. We see the beautiful transformation of...  **SPELLCHECK** Month. The thing one crams pizzah intah.  We are on vacay!! But we didn't want to miss an episode. So we dug deep into our archives in 2015, before we started recording and releasing podcasts, to when we recorded a "test" episode to see if this was a viable podcast. And we went through with it anyway.   ...