Mt. Rushmore Podcast

It's game day! Time to head out to the stadium and root for your favorite team! Well, that's fine if you are some sort of Rockefeller who can afford tickets to any college or pro sports team, or if you like watching ants run around on the field from your nosebleed seats. For the rest of us, heading out to watch the game usually means hitting up the bar. This week we're talking about everything – a...

Grocery shopping is one of those things that ALL of us have to do, whether you are making a big trip to get your weekly meal supplies or just need to stop in to grab a few things. Depending on your point of view (and the check-out line), it can either be a relaxing way to spend some time or a trip to a hellish nightmare. (This also depends on if you go to Costco or not.) This week we're diving int...

Some of us are old enough to remember when the year 2000 was a benchmark for the promise of the future. And 2000 was a weird year, even if people weren't zooming to work on jetpacks or eating hamburger pills for dinner. Not least of all, it seemed like January 1, 2000 would be the end of Western Civilization thanks to the Y2K bug. Y2K never really hit, and we had to wait until November 2016 for th...

Cats are trusting, loyal and loveable pets. Wait, I'm thinking about dogs. Let me start over. Cats are jerks. That being said, we love our cats anyway - everyone on the show has at least one. So it only made sense to do an episode where we decide which animals would belong on a feline Mt. Rushmore. Expect plenty of talk about Mondays, lasagna and Richard making a terrible, stupid mistake. SHOW NOT...

Celebrity stature has a huge influence on the world at large. Just by their sheer presence of being popular, famous and wealthy, they inspire us, the lowly dregs of society, to imagine that we TOO could be popular, famous and wealthy by buying the crap they promote.    From Michael Jordan's Nike campaign to Brooke Shields wiggling like a weirdo in her Calvins, we examine the products and politics...

Bram Stoker didn't intend Dracula to become one of the most endearing comedic characters of all-time. But I'll be damned if it didn't turn out that way. If you are making a comedy and you need laughs, there's a good chance that ol' Stakey Heart is the first name to which you turn. This week we're looking at the Mt. Rushmore of Comedic Draculas. And no, that doesn't include Keanu Reeves' performanc...

61 percent of Americans wear glasses, while the other 39 percent are either lying to themselves or will need them soon enough. Fortunately, wearing glasses doesn't make you a nerd anymore. (Lots of other things make YOU a nerd, but I digress...) In fact, some of the most iconic looks in pop culture history involve someone wearing a particularly hip style of glasses. Want to see what we mean? Just...

If you're a famous musician, it's easy to feel like you are doing the same thing over and over. Sometimes you just need to mix it up and do something different. Play a style of music you aren't known for, or collaborate with a new group of musicians. Of course, this can come at a cost, as the "musical side project" is often code for "pretentious, navel-gazing mediocrity." But there are some defini...

Sometimes the best actors aren't actor-actors, you know what we mean? It's those actors who are acting at acting.  On this episode we examine a number of amazing dramatic acting performances by those that are more attuned to wearing a comedic, musical or even a luchador mask.  Michael's Picks: Bill Murray (Lost in Translation) Madonna (Dick Tracy) Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) George "The Animal"...

In ancient times, Hundreds of years before the dawn of history Lived a strange race of people, the Ninja. No one knows who they were or what they were doing But their legacy remains Hewn into the living rock, of Stonehenge.   For the record this podcast about ...The Ninja... is about as historically researched as any  Spın̈al Tap tune. This week we delve into the je ne sais quoi (That's Japanese f...

On a special episode of Mt. Rushmore, Jeff talks one-on-one with musician Matthew Sweet about his personal Mt. Rushmore of Bass Players.  The other lads had to be kicked out of the room for Jeff to keep his own rhythm talking to his all-time favorite musician. A big thanks goes to Matthew for his insight and conversation.   Matthew Sweet's Picks Carol Kaye Chris Squire Stanley Clarke Paul McCartne...

TV sitcoms are a dime a dozen, but some ideas strike like a bolt of lightning: A recovering alcoholic ex-ballplayer runs a bar with a motley crew of regulars. Boom. "Cheers". Six twenty-something friends are friends. Boom. "Friends". An alien from the planet Melmac crash lands on earth and lives with a family and eat cats. Boom. "Frasier".  But not all have the greatest starting point. This week w...

Hair. Few are blessed with truly amazing locks. From Samson to Medusa, these legendary hirsute heroes have flaunted their furry domes and manicured their manes since the dawn of history.  But mostly we stick to the 20th century.    Michael's Picks Dolly Parton Robert Smith Chris "Kid" Reid Cousin Itt   Richard's Picks The B-52's Mike Score Oscar Gamble Marge Simpson  

Being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a major achievement in any artist's career. It signifies that your musical output was deemed to have lasting influence and significance and that you met the Hall's criteria of "rock and rolling every night" and "partying every day." (We just made that last part up.) With the induction ceremony taking place this week, we thought this would be a...

This week we're looking at America's national pastime: marijuana. OK, that might not technically be true, but there's no denying that legalization and shifting public opinions have caused pot culture to come from the underground to the mainstream. Even grandmas are learning to love getting stoned as a way to deal with chronic pain or simply to feel good. We're debating to find out what the most in...

It's our Wayne's World Podcast! Party Time! Excellent! Just yesterday I saw someone with a Wayne's World hat, which shows just how much of an impact it has had on pop culture. There's a reason why it's so endearing – the sketches and the movies still hold up. (Well, let's not talk about Wayne's World 2.) This week we're looking at the greatest things about the most successful SNL sketch of all tim...

Italian contributions to society are almost limitless, bringing us innovations ranging from pizza to famous works of art such as the Mona Lisa and the song "Dominic the Christmas Donkey." That's why we're focusing in on the most influential and significant Italians throughout history for this week's episode. Who will be etched onto the Mt. Rushmore of Italians? Listen this week to find out. SHOW N...

If you've ever been to Las Vegas, you probably have a strong opinion about it. Either it's a non-stop thrill ride or a sinkhole of American morals. But no matter which side you fall on, everyone can agree on one thing: Vegas is unlike any place else. Join us this week as we try our luck at building the Mt. Rushmore of Las Vegas. It's a lot like being in Las Vegas, except without the $5.99 steak br...

John. Paul. George. Ringo. The foundation behind the greatest band of all-time. But how well do you really know the Beatles? This week we shatter all of the myths about the Fab Four. Well, some of them. Not the "Paul is Dead" thing, though, because...I mean, look at his ears - they aren't even close to being the same! SHOW NOTES John Lennon: Asshole (Joint Choice) Paul McCartney's Asshole Virtuosi...

Revenge: a dish best served cold. But it's pretty good piping hot as well. Just don't serve it at room temperature – when you do that, the revenge starts to congeal and it just turns gross. We'd like to swear our revenge on our enemies, because that sounds like fun, but unfortunately, we don't have any enemies. We'd like some, though, so if you would like to be the Mt. Rushmore Podcast's bitter ri...

Listening to a live album is as close to the concert experience as you can get. Personally, I like to try and make it even more realistic by having a tall friend stand directly in front of me while I hold a watered-down drink in a plastic cup and listen through a speaker two inches from my ear that is blaring at maximum volume. This week we're looking at our favorite concert albums of all time. So...

This week we're looking at lone wolves - people who live by their own set of rules and don't need YOUR help. It's a longtime trope in pop culture and we have plenty of choices both real and fictional.  Arr-arr-awooooo! SHOW NOTES Ted Kaczynski (Joint Choice) Omar Little (Richard's Choice) Crocodile Dundee (Michael's Choice) The Man With No Name (Richard's Choice) Rambo (Michael's Choice) "Stone Co...

Any schnook can break walls one through three... but it takes someone with true mastery of their art to make it on the Mt. Rushmore of Breaking the 4th Wall. This time tested trope of acknowledging the audience is as old as the art of storytelling, but it's not like all these old hacks have Ryan Reynolds good looks and charm in Deadpool.  

Look, let's get something straight: robbery is bad. Unless you are robbing from the poor to give to the rich. Or are a suave gentleman thief who is more in it for the thrill than the score. Or if you are the ringleader of a gang that stole the Eiffel Tower. The point is this: it's great to be a robber if you are cool. Here's our choice for thieves who had that something extra that puts them ahead...

Gutzon Borglum chose the four Presidents who make up Mt. Rushmore because he thought they symbolized the birth (Washington), expansion (Jefferson), development (Roosevelt) and preservation (Lincoln) of the United States. Plus, he totally wanted a chance to carve Teddy's sweet 'stache. But what if we had the chance to create a sequel: a Mt. Rushmore 2, Electric Boogaloo for Presidents who almost ma...