Episode 43: Bump City! - the music of Tower Of Power

In this episode, we geek out over Todd's favorite band and initiate Tim into the wonder that is East Bay soul - Oakland's own, Tower Of Power. Helping us along is music educator, working musician, funk aficionado, and friend of Todd, mister Jim Robins.

We'll do a dive into Todd and Jim's favorite songs and albums from the band's 52 (and counting) year career, some hidden gems, and then go all fantasy football on their dream TOP line-ups!

LINKS OF INTEREST:

- As you may or may not know, our beloved BSG XO Michael Hogan needs some help these days. Here's GoFundMe to help him and his wife with medical expenses and care. Also consider following Fleet Is Family on Twitter for more information as well.

- Here's some info about The Fantastics in case you were wondering

- Here's the Tower Of Power wikipedia page, complete with discography and personnel through the years

- Yeah, Jesse Maguire can knock the socks off the national anthem

- And for comparison, here's TOP horns playing the national anthem with singer Marcus Scott. Dig that quote of "You're Still A Young Man" at the end!

- Here's a video of Huey Lewis & The News backstage with the Tower Of Power horns sometime in the mid-80's 

- And while we're at it, here's what Huey and the boys sounded like with the mighty TOP horns backing them up

- Todd was a complete dope. As anyone with any sense knows, that was Eddie Murphy talking about his Aunt Bunny falling down the stairs, not Richard Pryor

- Here's Rocco Prestia with David Garibaldi, Lenny Pickett, and Jeff Tamalier playing some "Oakland Stroke" and "What Is Hip?". Stripped down like this, you can really hear the way the bass and drums fit together.

- Here's the first ever Tower Of Power music video for "Credit" from back in the day.

- And, as far as we know, here's their only other true music video, released some 30 years later for "Look In My Eyes"

- Once again, Todd was a dope. The Saturday Night Live closing song is called "Waltz In A".

...AND ANOTHER THING:

JIM heartily recommends checking out the first 11 studio albums by the band Chicago featuring Terry Kath.

TODD implores you to watch the documentary "The Sheik" on YouTube and follow The Iron Sheik on Twitter.

TIM is all about Jack White's musical performances on SNL from a couple weeks ago

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Episode 42: The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy (Free Range Idiocy Book Club)

Welcome to the first, second, or third edition of The Free Range Idiocy Book Club!

With this being our 42nd episode, we thought it was only appropriate that we talk about one of Todd's favorite books ever (which explains quite a bit really), The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

Come along for the ride, stay for the questionable and obscure references!

LINKS OF INTEREST:

- Aren't a wrestling savant like Tim? Here's some info on The Moondogs

- Just what we needed in 2020, Mando drama!

- Here's the video where Kevin Smith discusses what it's like working with Bruce Willis on the set of Live Free or Die Hard

- Looks like Todd managed to get this one right! Tom Robbins has authored 8 novels... along with 2 non-fiction books, a collection, and a novella. Okay, so it's partial credit.

...AND ANOTHER THING:

TIM just saw Antebellum and highly recommends it.

TODD recently watched Birds of Prey & The Fantabulous Emmancipation of One Harley Quinn and it was a fun ride.

FOLLOW US ON THE SOCIAL MEDIAS:

Did you love what you listened to? Fantastic - we love people with questionable taste that enjoy a couple chuckleheads cracking each other up. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more of the internet funny.

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Episode 41: Thrawn With The Wind - with guest Jimmy Dice

Let it never be said that we don't like us some books. In this episode, we're diving into a trilogy of books that were written in the early-to-mid 1990's by Timothy Zahn that continued the adventures of our intrepid heroes from the OG Star Wars trilogy. For the initiated, this was the first introduction of Grand Admiral Thrawn - a character much revered by Star Wars fans.

Much like that doofus at his Las Vegas pawn shop, we called in an expert for the occasion in the person of Mr. Jimmy Dice from the Scruffy Looking Podcasters. Please be sure to check out their Star Wars podcast for a lot of good chat and news.

Not any specific links of interest here, so get going!

...AND ANOTHER THING:

TIM recommends air frying all the things - fruit, vegetable, and mineral. Doesn't matter what it is, just toss it in the air fryer and it's apparently as healthy as eating kale straight out of the garden. Or so he says.

TODD thinks you should check out all the Oceans movies... with the exception of 8. Just pretend that one didn't happen. Ever.

JIMMY humbly suggests checking out Scruffy Looking Podcasters for more Star Wars news and opinions.

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Did you love what you listened to? Fantastic - we love people with questionable taste that enjoy a couple chuckleheads cracking each other up. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more of the internet funny.

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Episode 40: Directors Cuts Like A Knife

This time around, we tackle the news that we have a couple of older movies getting the re-cut and re-store treatment with dubious upcoming anniversaries. Sylvester Stallone is working on a directors cut of Rocky IV for its 35th anniversary and Francis Ford Coppola is giving us his definitive cut of The Godfather Part III on its 30th anniversary. We contrast all of that with the upcoming Snyder Cut of Justice League on its... third anniversary?!... and decide whether we're buying or selling all of this nonsense.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Just to keep the facts straight, Disney did decide to give us a Mandalorian trailer, it just came a few days after we recorded this episode.

Here's the "How To Make A Blockbuster Trailer" video Todd heard about on Fatman Beyond.

And yes, they are totally using mannequins for people to make out with on soap operas during COVID.

Some background on the robot from Rocky IV, in case you're into that sort of thing.

Warning: watching video of the Carl-Arnold handshake from Predator will raise your testosterone levels 400%.

For those among the curious, Tim was correct - Jesse Ventura became a governor before Arnold. Ventura was governor of Minnesota 1991-1995 and Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor of California 2003-2011.

Here's the full version of James Brown's "Living In America". The Eddie Murphy call out is just after the 4-minute mark.

Tucker: A Man and His Dream was definitely not Coppola's finest box office moment, costing an estimate $23 million to make and only making $19.6 million in theaters. 

Yup, Todd managed to get it somewhat right. The Oscars took back their nomination for The Godfather score because a piece of a theme had been used in another movie.

Here's Shawn Michaels hamming it up leading to his match with Hulk Hogan.

...AND ANOTHER THING:

TIM recommends checking out the music reaction videos from Twinsthenewtrend on YouTube. Life's been good to these kids - they've got over 630,000 subscribers!

TODD thinks you should drop what you're doing and download the new track "Rise" from Corey Henry & The Funk Apostles.

FOLLOW US ON THE SOCIAL MEDIAS:

Did you love what you listened to? Fantastic - we love people with questionable taste that enjoy a couple chuckleheads cracking each other up. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more of the internet funny.

Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on Podbean, iTunes, or Spotify!

Episode 39: An Idiot’s Guide To Fantasy Football

We're note even supposed to be here... But have no fear!

This was supposed to be a week off for us, but when plans fell through, we decided to spring into action and record a brand new episode for y'all to listen to. With a fantasy football draft around the corner for us, Tim's lack of preparation, and Todd's almost complete lack of knowledge about what's happening in the NFL... what could possibly go wrong?

Check it out!

LINKS OF INTEREST:

RIP Chadwick Boseman. Here's a link to his IMDB page, showing an amazing body of work for such a short period of time.

Here's a tribute of Chadwick by Black Panther writer and director Ryan Coogler.

Some background on the creation and development of the Black Panther character in Marvel Comics through the years.

Looks like the NHL has been doing the bubble thing as well.

Yup, Vinnie Mac has finally hit wrestling nirvana, complete with directions on who the crowd should cheer and boo. We fear for the future.

Who would've thought allowing fans to be broadcast onto a screen in real time would turn our poorly?

...AND ANOTHER THING:

Tim recommends checking out the series Away starring Hillary Swank and Josh Charles.

Todd thinks you need to drop everything you're doing right now and watch Tombstone. Then watch it again.

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Did you love what you listened to? Fantastic - we love people with questionable taste that enjoy a couple chuckleheads cracking each other up. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more of the internet funny.

Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on Podbean, iTunes, or Spotify!

Episode 38: Close Encounters of the ‘77 Kind - 1977 Year in Movies

This time around, we're diving into something that we came across by complete accident - the weirdness that was cinema in 1977. From space opera to truckers to disco to highbrow sci-fi, there was a little something for everyone. And there was also plenty of stuff that no one was asking for. We've sifted through everything so you don't have, so grab your popcorn and enjoy this jaunt in the Wayback Machine!

THE WEEK IN GEEK:

Looks like Mando is getting some company on Disney+ in the future

The big non-story story that's happening with the new Battlestar Galactica project for Peacock

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Here's a complete list of all the movies that were released in 1977 so you can follow along

Here's that IMDB list of 50 Movies From 1977 Worth Watching

Wikipedia's article on film in 1977

The infamous movie poster for Semi-Tough that will probably haunt your dreams for the next decade

...AND ANOTHER THING:

Tim recommends checking out the Aaron Sorkin-penned movie The Social Network

Todd advises you to find the James Bond documentary Everything Or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007

FOLLOW US ON THE SOCIAL MEDIAS:

Did you love what you listened to? Fantastic - we love people with questionable taste that enjoy a couple chuckleheads cracking each other up. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more of the internet funny.

Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on Podbean, iTunes, or Spotify!

Episode 37: No Holds Barred - A Commentary Track From Cinema Hell

What happens when you combine the 1980's, Hulk Hogan, Deebo, Robert Fuller, and a dump truck dosage of kayfabe? You wind up with the cinematic masterpiece that is No Holds Barred. For no good reason in particular, we decided to do our own commentary track of this adventure into 'rassling cinema and you can play along. As of this recording, the movie is streaming on Amazon Prime Video, but you should be able to find it anywhere or cue up your old VHS copy. When we get to the commentary, we'll give a countdown and you'll be able to watch the movie with us jabbering in your ear!

The commentary in this episode starts around the 20 minute mark.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

- The first handshake of The Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan and Randy "Macho Man" Savage) was indeed a big deal. Just ask Hogan.

- For those of you interested in a little background on Jim Beam's Old Tub, here you go.

- Wilfred Brimley was 50 years, 9 months, and 6 days old when Cocoon was released in theaters. And today I learned there's such a thing as the "Brimley/Cocoon" line when you cross that particular milestone.

- Wondering what kayfabe means? Here's your definition.

- And yes, it appears Todd was correct in saying there was a practical reason for pirates to wear an eye patch besides missing a peeper or trying to look cool.

...AND ANOTHER THING:

Tim heartily recommends you re-visit the excellence that was Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure 

Todd thinks you should start binging Longmire if only to get a little more BSG alumni into your life

FOLLOW US ON THE SOCIAL MEDIAS:

Did you love what you listened to? Fantastic - we love people with questionable taste that enjoy a couple chuckleheads cracking each other up. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more of the internet funny.

Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on Podbean, iTunes, or Spotify!

Episode 36: Our List of Best & Worst Comic Book Movies

As you may have noticed, we love us some comic book movies. In this episode, we're going to talk about the best and worst ones we've ever seen.

TIMESTAMPS OF INTEREST:

Best begins at 0:28:00

Worst begins at 2:03:00

LINKS OF INTEREST:

- Kevin Smith's take on comic book movies and the Martin Scrocese kerfuffle

- Holy Night Shift Batman! We may be getting Michael Keaton back as the caped crusader!

- This is a favorite Avengers: Endgame crowd reaction video

- Yeah, that Logan trailer set to Johnny Cash's version of "Hurt" was epic

- The story of how we got Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury

- And here's why we should be glad that they didn't ask the previous guy to come back

- In case you want to avoid watching Batman v Superman, the first trailer they released will save you the trouble since it gives away everything

- Looks like Ray Fisher won't be back playing Cyborg or going to a bbq at Joss Whedon's house any time soon

...AND ANOTHER THING:

Tim highly recommends checking out Steve Austin's Broken Skull Sessions on the WWE Network.

Todd thinks you ought to listen to more neo-soul with Melanie Faye whose music is on most streaming platforms as well as Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

FOLLOW US ON THE SOCIAL MEDIAS:

Did you love what you listened to? Fantastic - we love people with questionable taste that enjoy a couple chuckleheads cracking each other up. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and now YouTube for more of the internet funny.

Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on Podbean, iTunes, or Spotify!

Episode 35: Bradygeddon Part 3 - The New Newton In Town

With a delay or three, we're back with this football-centric episode as we continue to parse just what the hell is going on with the New England Patriots in 2020 after the departure of Tom Brady. We'll talk about the arrival of former NFL MVP Cam Newton, Jarret Stidham, and Brian Hoyer (or is it Sawyer?). Dive into some pigskin with us!

LINKS OF INTEREST:

• Here's a little background on the fall out from Cam Newtown dipping out of a post Super Bowl press conference in 2016.
• A little background on the abbreviated NFL career of Hart Lee Dykes.
• Here's the episode of Fatman Beyond where they talk about the Blazing Saddles sequel
• And we couldn't forget a little more info about Tahmoh Pennikett's Hallmark Christmas movie, Angel of Christmas, could we?

...AND ANOTHER THING:

• Tim highly recommends checking out the NPR Podcast Bullseye with Jesse Thorn
• Todd advises you to listen to Marc Cohn & The Blind Boys of Alabama album Work To Do

FOLLOW US ON THE SOCIAL MEDIAS:

Did you love what you listened to? Fantastic - we love people with questionable taste that enjoy a couple chuckleheads cracking each other up. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and now YouTube for more of the internet funny.

Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on Podbean, iTunes, or Spotify!

Episode 34: Higher Ground - Todd & Tim’s Top 5 Albums

With out BSG binky taken away, what ever will we do?!

Oh, don't worry. We've got plenty to talk about.

In this episode, we go through our current top five albums, some of our musical upbringing, and what we think makes a great album. Also, some honorbale mentions, and at least one embarrassing story from Todd. C'mon in - the idiocy is fine!

LINKS OF INTEREST:

- Here's that video of Billy Joel freaking out in Russia because the lighting guy wasn't listening... or didn't speak English

- Turns out Casey Kasem did voices for a bunch of other stuff too

- With the mention of "Be My Yoko Ono" and The Beatles, we'll use this excuse to show you the video where Yoko Ono made Chuck Berry question his entire life

- Todd foolishly said Alberta license plates when it should've been Ontario. Sorry.

- Here's that video of Stevie Wonder playing "Superstition" on Seasame Street back in the day

- Here's a live version of "Living For The City" with the intro by Stevie

- Oh yeah, and Stevie also kept pace with Tony Bennett

- A little more background on The Beatles being better in mono and also Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in mono

...AND ANOTHER THING:

TIM recommends checking out the WWE documentary Undertaker: The Last Ride covering The Phenom's last year in the business

TODD humbly suggests checking out Speed Of Soul by his band Mama's Boomshack, which turns six this year

FOLLOW US ON THE SOCIAL MEDIAS:

Did you love what you listened to? Fantastic - we love people with questionable taste that enjoy a couple chuckleheads cracking each other up. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and now YouTube for more of the internet funny.

Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on Podbean, iTunes, or Spotify!