Mike Henneberger stops by to talk with the guys about some super heavy themes that are super present in all the songs and bands we talk about every week. Staples of the genre include depression, anxiety, hopelessness, and helplessness. I mean, it’s not called emo for nothing… 10 years ago, Mike spent a hopeless weekend in a downtown NYC hotel room and penned an autobiography on some of the worst days of his life and how they align with the lyrics of some of his favorite songs that he holds dear....
Feb 26, 2021•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 212
For all of about 2 weeks now, we’ve taken the strong position as a “pro bass guitar program”. This week, we’re putting our money where our mouth is. Finally, it’s time for someone to stand up against the current and loudly proclaim, “Give the bassist some!”, so we drafted the only 10 songs we could think of that had a standout bass line. Did that last sentence hurt or help our cause? And why do the show notes always switch back and forth from first and third-person perspectives? I don’t know fol...
Feb 19, 2021•45 min•Ep. 211
When tasked with the totally normal duty of coming up with a list of the horniest songs of all time (future episode?!), Bedroom Talk has got to be in the top few of all time, especially in the genre. In this week’s episode, the guys discuss the music video, the difference between Kenny’s video character and Kenny as a performer, which ear of hair (haera?) was the best for Kenny, Orange amplifiers, girls making the first move, Kenny throwing himself through every pixel of every frame, and hippies...
Feb 12, 2021•45 min•Ep. 210
A Day to Remember is one of those bands that so delicately danced between the lines of pop punk and beatdown hardcore, and it spurned lots of conversations and heated debates as to WHAT this band actually was. But in 2007, on some B-sides on a re-released album called For Those Who Have Heart, the band reminded as all that at the end of the day, almost everything is just pop when they released a BLAZIN’ cover of Kelly Clarkson’s Since U Been Gone. Not only did they expertly record a cover that w...
Feb 05, 2021•53 min•Ep. 209
There are few more important artforms than that of creating a perfect tracklist for an album, and no position is more important than the opening track. This week, the guys draft their favorite album openers from the years 2000-2010 under a list of STRICT rules (just kidding, it’s only like 2), and comfortable shoes have an important message for Machine Gun Kelly. BONUS EPISODES AND PHOTOS ON PATREON! Links: The Best Albums Openers of All Time on Apple Music The Best Albums Openers of All Time on...
Jan 29, 2021•56 min•Ep. 208
In 2001, Blink-182 released an outrageous music video that the guys have enjoyed more than most others for 20 years, then fumble through every twist and turn of talking about it this week. First Date is an exercise in how much of a leash Tom will run with before it totally breaks, and how far Mark will let it go before he shoves him off screen, or into a ditch. This is such an incredible music video and the guys take some time to dissect every scene to find out what makes this so great. This is ...
Jan 22, 2021•54 min•Ep. 207
In the music video for The All-American Reject’s ‘Dirty Little Secret’, we see many individuals holding up postcards putting their own dirty little secrets on display. The guys discuss ALL 36 dirty little secret, try to figure out if clean big secrets exist, or dirty large secrets for that matter, Tom admits to committing corporate crime and peeing in a sink, among other nefarious acts, and Pat explores the lives of “Big TIME” and “dirty dirty”. BONUS EPISODES AND PHOTOS ON PATREON! Links: The D...
Jan 15, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 206
Pat plays a show with a guitar pick made from a Chuck E. Cheese employee badge, Tom has a nickname for 7th graders, Pat was called a poser, Tom’s wears plaid shorts and his crush let him borrow her CD player where he was introduced to the songs Get Busy (Shake That Thing) by Sean Paul and Girl All The Bad Guys Want by Bowling For Soup, which single-handedly dismantled Nu-Metal. BONUS EPISODES AND PHOTOS ON PATREON! Links: Girl All the Bad Guys Want Music Video Get Busy (Shake That Thing) by Sean...
Jan 08, 2021•55 min•Ep. 205
2005 marked the year that Pat and Tom started high school together, so the stakes for this draft are high and they agonize each and every pick. Every album in the world seemed to have come out this year so the guys played as strategically as possible to get their favorite songs on their team for this draft. BONUS EPISODES AND PHOTOS ON PATREON! Links: The 2005 Mixtape Draft Playlist on Apple Music The 2005 Mixtape Draft Playlist on Spotify The Commit This to Memory Episode The I Write Sins Not T...
Jan 01, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 204
This year has been really intense and difficult for many folks, so we’re closing it down with a fun episode. Every month in our Patreon we do a ~20 minute AMA video, and we decided to open it up to everybody this month. We asked our listeners for Christmas and holiday questions, and they didn’t disappoint! We talk about the best and worst Christmas gifts we’ve ever received, our favorite holiday movies and specials, favorite Christmas songs, novelty or otherwise. There’s a wild story about a hau...
Dec 25, 2020•42 min•Ep. 203
Sometime around 1999 it became illegal to be a band and not write an original Christmas song, and many of them decided to zag when others zigged. Leaving behind the sterotypical love-filled puke fest that captivated the minds and hearts of our parents and grandparents, our angst fueled generation decided instead to sing about isolation, betrayal, and murder. This week the guys discuss their 5 favorite Christmas zags in preparation for the holidays! BONUS EPISODES AND PHOTOS ON PATREON! Links: Do...
Dec 18, 2020•59 min•Ep. 202
At some point in high school, Pat and Tom’s musical tastes started to diverge. Tom got into heavier music and Pat listened to a lot of Beck for a minute or something, but one thing they found common ground in Alexisonfire. While they can’t agree on whether or not this type of screaming is abrasive or not, they can both confirm this band absolutely rips, and the band acts the HELL out of this music video. Also, Tom has a new super rare mental illness. Something about fire halls. BONUS EPISODES AN...
Dec 11, 2020•39 min•Ep. 201
After 4 crazy years of learning what it means to be a “two white guys talking” podcast, episode 200 is among us. The guys take a week to celebrate the show by discussing how their friendship started, by writing music together as pre-pubescent 8th graders. Music has always been a crazy important part of their lives, so this episode offers a look back to what was going on when these songs, albums, and music videos cemented themselves in our hearts forever. BONUS EPISODES AND PHOTOS ON PATREON! Lin...
Dec 04, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 200
Early on in this podcast, the guys fumbled their way through what was meant to be a very heartful episode about their love for the TV show Scrubs. As with most episodes in the first 2 years, it was pretty bad, so this week is a redemption episode. The guys take turns drafting their 5 favorite songs that appeared in the original broadcasting of Scrubs while taking some time to discuss how they reacted to these moments as teens and how it continues to make them feel today. Make sure to stream the ...
Nov 27, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 199
Deep into the era of “fart punk”, Sum 41 released a music video unlike no other, as they are known to do. Borrowing heavily from Rodney Dangerfield’s classic “Back to School”, the band takes to a diving competition against some stereotypical jocks and manage to claim a W despite their antics. The guys look back on their days in a high school band trying to quickly learn the song before a show maybe 12 people showed up to, skipping their last day of high school for an epic slip-n-slide party in t...
Nov 20, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 198
Check Yes Juliet seems to be a song everybody knew from a band that nobody could remember. It made its way onto the airwaves and embedded itself deeply into the near-forgotten memories of most high schoolers in the early aughts. Still, the career of We The Kings never took off for some reason. In this episode, the guys break down the way the band was perceived in their high school, they both have mad hair envy, Pat attempts to throw a rock at a girl’s window but couldn't find one, so he just bai...
Nov 13, 2020•46 min•Ep. 197
As tensions run high and there are more reasons to lie on the floor in despair than ever (maybe? this is being written on 11/4???) a listener asks us to lift the vibe a bit with a draft of songs that make us want to shake our tail feathers. While there’s some discussion around what constitutes as “dancing”, and whether or not any song in this genre make one move in a way that can be officially described as “dancing”, these bangers are sure to make you want to move in some way… BONUS EPISODES AND...
Nov 06, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 196
Happy Halloween everyone! This week we came across one of the strangest, most outlandish, most theatrical, and most fun music videos we’ve ever discussed. The line time is as long as the song name and features damn near every member on the Fueled by Ramen roster. Fall Out Boy really swung for the fences in their dramatic vampire short film that has absolutely nothing to do with the theme of the song, but the payoff was huge. This is truly a work of art, directed by the great Alan Furgeson, that ...
Oct 30, 2020•46 min•Ep. 195
While Wake Me Up When September Ends was originally written in remembrance of Bill Joe’s father, the sheer reach and gravity of the song allowed for many different interpretations. The one that Green Day really seemed to run with was the 9/11 theme, and holy hell did they lean in for the music video. This thing is over 7 minutes long people, with nearly 4 minutes of dialogue embedded in the video. It’s a big one, but allow Tom to lighten the mood a bit with a weird outdoor sex story. BONUS EPISO...
Oct 23, 2020•51 min•Ep. 194
Listen people.. We’ve got long flowing hair, we’ve got aviator sunglasses, we’ve got Fu Manchus, we’ve got thong sandals, collars under sweaters, suburban goths, eyebrow rings, and one absolute hell of a chorus. Nothing that happens in this video matters as much as how absolutely insane this song is. The guys talk about the banger of a chorus that is ‘Punk Rock Princess’, the beautiful message of the video, polite Mid-Western ways to describe sandals, and Easter Sunday in a Norma Jean shirt. It’...
Oct 16, 2020•49 min•Ep. 193
If you were an edgy 12-year-old growing up in a depressed former steel town in rust belt Pennsylvania in the early 2000s, you probably listened to a lot of Linkin Park. Hell, if you were alive in any capacity in the early 2000s, you probably listened to a lot of Linkin Park, whether by choice or as a victim of terrestrial radio. When Hybrid Theory dropped in 2000, In The End just kind of took over the airwaves, and seemingly continued to do so for at least another 4 years. Middle school band tea...
Oct 09, 2020•55 min•Ep. 192
Simple Plan was really on to something when they wrote I’m Just a Kid almost 20 years ago. If we’re being honest, we’re 29 and our lives still feel like a nightmare most days. The guys take some time to discuss how they resonated with this song back in the day, how they perpetually feel like dumb, lost kids, the movie New Guy, long pinchy sunglasses, writing on a rock that made the neighbor/child therapist very concerned, and Pat introduced a new game, but at the time of writing these show notes...
Oct 02, 2020•48 min•Ep. 191
As far as early internet era guerrilla marketing efforts go, there are few as intricate and successful as Avril Lavigne’s impromptu street performance (and possible murder?) that takes place in the Sk8er Boi music video. The second she sat down in that chair, the entire world changed, never to be the same. This week the guys discuss the insanity that is this video, the spelling of the song itself, and Avril’s profound impact on our immediate families and the scene as a whole. BONUS EPISODES AND ...
Sep 25, 2020•53 min•Ep. 190
Jeremie Lavigne of The Vinyl Countdown podcast joins us this week to discuss the endlessly poppy, fun, and oftentimes confusing album “So Wrong, It’s Right” by All Time Low. Pat ponders a mega album of ATL’s first 2 mainstream releases, Jeremie disses the only thing Tom has ever loved, Tom laughs it off like it didn’t cut him to the core. and all 3 end up having a pretty nice time together. Links: Jeremie’s Hurricane Laura Relief Fund The Vinyl Countdown Podcast So Wrong, It’s Right on Apple Mus...
Sep 18, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 189
The Postal Service occupies a very unique corner of the emo-verse of the early 2000s. Such Great Heights was a song that dominated airwaves in the early aughts, and still to this day remains a cult classic for white dudes approaching 30 with music commentary podcasts. The story of how the album came about, controversy surrounding the music video, lawsuits and eventual partnerships with the USPS, music video storyline (or lack thereof), and drama with Apple and Intel are discussed at length, prob...
Sep 11, 2020•52 min•Ep. 188
We asked, Twitter responded, and now we delivered. The most anticipated draft ever done on this show, the “Lying on the Floor in Existential Despair Mixtape Draft”. Deep into quarantine, things are getting heavy, and we needed a playlist that properly evoked the emotion in our cold dead hearts. Here you go. BONUS EPISODES AND PHOTOS ON PATREON! Links: Lying on the Floor Mixtape Draft on Apple Music Lying on the Floor Mixtape Draft on Spotify The My Chemical Romance ‘Helena’ Music Video Episode G...
Sep 04, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 187
Good Charlotte released Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous in 2002 and the world hasn’t been the same since. Well, that’s not all true. Actually, almost everything is the same, unfortunately. It took us nearly 20 years to really understand which this song was about. appreciate the body count in the second verse, and truly love the mayhem that is the music video. From surprise appearances by Chris Kirkpartrick, Kyle Gass, a cute dog, and a shocking number of focus grouped punk motifs, this music...
Aug 28, 2020•51 min•Ep. 186
Ocean Avenue is a crazy good record. So good I can’t believe it took this long to get to it. From the best run of 3 songs in pop punk history, to one of the greatest album closers, Ocean Avenue as a record has a ton to offer just about anyone. The guys talk about how they first came across the album, whether or not Yellowcard would be as famous as they were without the violin, there’s a weird Italian Sportscaster bit that happened by accident, and the listeners have a ton to say about Yellowcard...
Aug 21, 2020•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 185
While the guys may have been too afraid to admit “A Lesson in Romantics” was one of their favorite albums in high school, it totally was. This week they try to discuss this banger of an album opener, but an explosive laugh derails the whole episode pretty soon into the show. They fumble their way through the perception of this band in 2007, a sister discovering this album on an iPod and giving the ribbing of a lifetime, and long drives to nearby places that were made even more special by the alb...
Aug 14, 2020•47 min•Ep. 184
The guys head back to the year 2005 with the “cutesy electronica” banger Here (In Your Arms) by Hellogoodbye. The song rips, the music video pays great homage to Wet Hot American Summer, and everyone thought about pogs for the first time since 1998. The guys also announce they are officially an anti-peanut butter podcast. BONUS EPISODES AND PHOTOS ON PATREON! Links: Here (In Your Arms) Music Video Wet Hot American Summer Trailer Hellogoodbye lip-syncing live Songs of the week: peace by Taylor Sw...
Aug 07, 2020•49 min•Ep. 183
