Pop Culture Yearbook

Send us a text We close out 2011 with some bad people. In life imitating art, one of these Horrible Bosses was actually a pretty horrible person (Kevin Spacey, cough, cough). So far Jennifer Aniston and Colin Farrell have largely avoided that stigma. On the good side, Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day all give hilarious performances in this fun romp. After reviewing the fun, we discus...

Send us a text In 2011 NBC's Parks and Rec entered the stratosphere of best sitcoms ever with the additions of Rob Lowe and Adam Scott. A good show that had already retooled slightly was now hitting it's stride and producing classic episodes on a regular basis. We talk about two of those classic episodes: "Ron and Tammy 2" and "The Fight." Both classics, these episodes contained everything that ma...

Send us a text We love romcoms here, and apparently ones that have punctuation (see below) in their titles are higher on the list. This time we are discussing Giff's choice of Crazy, Stupid, Love. This wonderful film has a big cast starring Steve Carrell, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, Kevin Bacon, Marisa Tomei and more! How does one movie satisfy all these actors and storylines? Listen...

Send us a text What were you doing a decade ago? We head back to 2011 this month. For us, it was a time of double digit anniversaries and kids starting school. As usual we give all the dirty details on what we remember first. Then it's time to make some lists! Did you listen to Adele, Lady Gaga, or the Foo Fighters? Did they make our lists for music? Were you watching Parks and Rec or Modern Famil...

Send us a text Happy Halloween! To celebrate this episode's release on Halloween, Giff has created another spectacular Initials Game, this time focusing on horror movies. If you listened to our Minnesota Movies game, you know this is a good time, and you can play along at home! To compete against Brad and Pete, we have invited back our sometimes host Dave and our wonderful supporter Brian Rappe. C...

Send us a text Giff's choice for 2002 is Scrubs. This little show that could spanned 9 years and two networks. Known for it's zaniness, it also had a ton of heart. Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke, John C. McGinley and others plus a bevy of guest stars helped create a series we all loved. We discuss two episodes from season two that represent the show at its best. Our other topic is sitcom...

Send us a text We've done a couple action movies before (Road House, Point Break), but not any as serious as this week. While those movies may be loved for the camp factor, The Bourne Identity actually tries to be a quality movie. Matt Damon's foray into the action genre was a huge success, spawning many sequels and reboots. What did we think? Is this series a classic like the Die Hard movies? Spe...

Send us a text What makes for a polarizing band? Does Coldplay fit description for you? While being one of the world's biggest bands, they definitely have some haters as well. But back when A Rush of Blood to the Head came out, they were hugely popular. Listen as we remember how this album fit into our mid 20's as we go song by song. If you happen to be a hater, we may just alter your opinion a li...

Send us a text As we open the yearbook on 2002, we begin some heartfelt personal memories from 20 years ago. We then give our overview of the year by sharing our favorite movies, music, and TV from the year. What do you remember? Was Friends still good? Where did all the comedy movies go? Were you listening to Coldplay or the Foo Fighters or Nelly? Come relive the time with us. If you enjoy the sh...

Send us a text The finale for 1984 is Pete's choice, The Karate Kid. This pop culture phenomenon is one our favorites and one of the most perfect movies ever made in our opinion. There is so much to say about class, bullying, self-control, and more, and we cover it all. Pat Morita was nominated for an Oscar, but how do we feel about Ralph Macchio and William Zabka? Or Elisabeth Shue? With all the...

Send us a text There's something strange in your neighborhood. It's the PCY Ghostbusters episode. One of the biggest movies of 1984 was Giff's choice for this month. We break down the antics of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, et al in this spooky show. Ghostbusters also had one of the signature songs of the 80's (apologies to Huey Lewis), so this is the time we share our favo...

Send us a text Sixteen Candles was the first great John Hughes high school comedy, and it was also the first movie Brad fell in love with as a youngster, watching it over and over through the 80's.  So it was an obvious choice for 1984, but what do Pete and Giff think? Are they as amused as Brad? Do we all feel Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall are the perfect 80's teens? Do the aspects that...

Send us a text We're opening the yearbook to 1984 this September. To help kick it off, we have a fantastic interview with Fritz Coleman and Louise Palanker from the Media Path Podcast. Learn about their show, but also enjoy their stories navigating stand up, show business, and the LA scene through the years. It was a delight for us to interview Fritz and Weezy. After the interview, check our memor...

Send us a text Closing the yearbook on 2005 is a listener's choice pick: Arrested Development. This classic show went through so much just to stay on the air, and thankfully, we got three seasons and a revival years later. We talk about two season 2 episodes chosen by one of our BFF supporters. Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Tony Hale, Portia DeRossi, David Cross, Michael Cera, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessic...

Send us a text Giff's choice for 2005 is the outrageous action comedy Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Starring two of the most beautiful people in the world, this is the movie that announced their relationship. Filled with explosions, laughs, sex, and fun, there is much to say about this movie. Since Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were a real life couple either during or shortly after the filming of this movie,...

Send us a text "Hello. I'm Johnny Cash." Pete's choice for 2005 is Walk the Line, the biopic starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. We all grew up fans of The Man in Black, so this movie was a big deal for everyone at PCY. We loved breaking down this movie full of terrific performances and even better music. A fitting way to cap this episode off is by choosing our top five Johnny Cash son...

Send us a text Our first topic for 2005 is the classic sitcom How I Met Your Mother. Brad chose this after watching the whole series as it was aired, and then after reliving its brilliance on a second watch a year ago. We break down a couple of the early episodes, including the pilot, but we get into much more. Giff is also a huge fan, and now Pete is on his way as well. In addition to our discuss...

Send us a text We're opening the yearbook to 2005 this month, a year that doesn't seem like that long ago, but is 17 YEARS AGO! Giff had a kid in 2005, and he is now a senior. That's crazy. We have a lot of good memories to share from an eventful year. We then look back to our favorite Music, TV, and Movies from 2005. See if your favorites make our lists! If you enjoy the show, please rate and rev...

Send us a text What's that you say? The fun is still going??!! We continue with our final Minnesota themed episode. This one focuses on one of the things Minneapolis is really known for: Music. It's Brad's turn to emcee as we play Don't Forget the Lyrics as we talk about everyone from Bob Dylan to The Jets. Who are the challengers for Pete and Giff? Returning again are both Danaca and Craig Arnold...

Send us a text The fun continues with our next episode focused on TV shows filmed in or related to Minnesota. For this one, Pete has created a fun and challenging Who Am I? game. But Brad and Giff need some challengers. This time we have a returning guest: Courtney from our classic Billy Madison episode. Will she and Giff remain in each other's good graces after this competition? We also have anot...

Send us a text Now that you know all about Minnesota, it's time for some fun. The next three weeks are all guests and games. This episode focuses on movies filmed in or related to Minnesota. For this one, Giff has created a brilliant spinoff of the initials game made famous by our local radio station KFAN. To challenge Brad and Pete, we've got three other contestants. You already know Dave. He's b...

Send us a text July is a special month for PCY. Last year we went on vacation and talked about all the Vacation movies. This year we're doing a staycation. Everything is Minnesota-related! This first episode will tell you everything you'd want to know about our great state. 10,000 lakes, the Mall of America, the State Fair, Paul Bunyan, Minnesota Nice, hockey, and the weather are just some of the...

Send us a text "When you make love, do you look in your mirror?" It's an age-old question. But it's just one of the many topics addressed in Def Leppard's seminal album Hysteria. Giff couldn't get enough of this classic in 1987, and he still can't now. Does it hold up for Brad and Pete? What about the few songs that weren't hits? How does it compare to Pyromania? Turns out there is a lot to say st...

Send us a text Hide your baseball bats. We're talking The Untouchables. Pete's choice for the month is this action drama classic where the trio of Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and Andy Garcia (oh la la!) try to put away Robert DeNiro's Al Capone. Brian De Palma made a film masterpiece with this great cast. In addition to the discussion of the The Untouchables, there is always more. We dig into how...

Send us a text Great band, great album, great guest.  U2's The Joshua Tree is an iconic album and just so happens to be Brad's favorite album of all-time.  This record left an indelible mark on music  and catapulted U2 to worldwide fame. We break it down one song at a time for you. Joining us this week is Craig Arnold, who we consider somewhat of a music expert. A huge U2 fan, he also has a few ye...