Pop Culture Yearbook

Send us a text Closing out 1989 is our bonus choice, Heathers. While we are all fans of John Hughes and teen movies in general, Heathers holds a special place in our hearts as a stark alternative in the genre. Winona Ryder (another Minnesotan!) and Jack Nicholson, I mean Christian Slater, are perfectly cast in this ultra dark satire. Controversial in its time, how did this content come across to u...

Send us a text Giff’s choice, Road House, is our topic for part 3 of 1989. Coming in just before the decade ended, this was one of the most ‘80’s of all ‘80’s movies. Learn about great kill scenes, professional coolers, and monster trucks for everyday use. Road House is ludicrous and it never slows down.  It is a time capsule of ‘80’s excess and toxic masculinity. And we break it all down for you....

Send us a text We got a live one here! Our second installment of 1989 focuses on one of the biggest movies of the ‘80’s: Batman. This movie and the anticipation for it took the nation by storm and captured the imagination of young Brad. The hosts remember when they first saw Batman and talk about how it holds up today in a sea of new superhero movie options. A movie this big deserves a big soundtr...

Send us a text We’re kicking off 1989, and it’s going to be a fun month! Not only were the options for discussion plentiful, but we have The Giff back in the fold. We ease into the month by discussing Tom Petty’s (he has no haters) masterpiece Full Moon Fever. This was Pete’s choice. He spent many hours listening to Tom Petty driving to and from college (Brad did too). This album played a huge par...

Send us a text In the final installment of 2013, Pete and Brad visit The Lonely Island. Based on a suggestion from our friend, we listened to The Wack Album. On this record, Andy Samberg (and those other two guys) put out 20 songs and raps containing hilarious rhymes and underappreciated wit. We found that The Lonely Island is much more than just digital shorts on Saturday Night Live. But that mad...

Send us a text The third installment of 2013 focuses on music. This is the year Lorde burst onto the scene with "Royals" and her album Pure Heroine. You couldn't escape this album in 2013, even if you had two tiny kids and barely heard anything on the radio like Pete. How does it hold up? Listen to find out. You can also learn amazing fun facts like how Lorde was influenced by George Brett, of all...

Send us a text In this special episode Pete and Brad focus on movies. We start with the Jackie Robinson biopic 42. Guess what? Jackie Robinson day is this Thursday! We are so on top of things. But this movie is also special to Pete because of the connections it provides Pete to his dad. In fact, our intro and outro music has been changed this week to classics by none other than Mervyn Peterson, Pe...

Send us a text In this special preview episode, Pete and Brad talk about their memories of 2013. They discuss Hawaii, dogs, and the typical adult lives they were now leading. From there, they tease the upcoming three episodes, which focus on movies, music, and some Saturday Night Live-related side projects like the Lonely Island. Step one! Download the podcast. Step two! Listen to the podcast! If...

Send us a text Bonus time! We finish off our tour 1994 with a lively discussion of the movie Clerks. Unlike Dante, we definitely DO want to be here today. Kevin Smith burst onto the scene with this low budget classic. After reliving classic line after classic line, we also do a quick review of some of his other work. We finish off the four part fun with each host's top 5 movies of 1994. Spoiler al...

Send us a text The third installment of 1994 centers on Weezer's debut, the Blue Album. As Brad's choice, this music brings back memories both good and bad. Brad will review his struggles adjusting to college life in the big city. While his story contains pain, it also includes the pleasure of finding new music and new stations on the dial. These were the glory days of 90's music, and Weezer playe...

Send us a text We are looking back at one of our earliest episodes this week. In remembrance of Matthew Perry, here is our show on Friends. Our 1994 look back continues with three friends discussing...Friends. This was Giff's choice as the show's beginning coincided with the beginning of his (and Pete's and Brad's) college years.  Hear about Ross's transformation from whiner to winner. In fact, he...

Send us a text In "Oh, Me" Kurt Cobain asks, "Would you like to hear my voice...sprinkled with emotion?" Yes, we definitely would Kurt. And we'd love to talk about it. Speaking of emotional, 1994 is the year Pete and Brad graduated from high school. More emotional yet, they welcome fellow 94 grad and very special guest The Giff into the fold for this first of a four part MEGAepisode! Learn about t...

Send us a text It’s a PCY reboot! Unfortunately, our first two episodes plus a few others we had recorded and were yet to release will be entering into the lost episodes category now. But we have them in our possession, and surely someday they will be like buried treasure.  Anyway, 1982 was near the beginning of it all for Pete and Brad. Just lads on the farm, we were watching a lot of TV and list...