Fush Yu Mang by Smash Mouth. Nathan doesn’t even have fun being grumpy, Cameron is willing to “give it to him,” and Smash Mouth has a small break in their lives of unending privilege. Learnin' Links: Countable noun There are twice as many kangaroos as people in Australia Rat Race concert scene Listen along to Fush Yu Mang here! You can support us in several ways : Kick us a few bux on Patreon! By becoming a supporting member, you'll gain access to special bonus episodes, including a new weekly m...
Oct 16, 2018•2 hr 33 min
The Visitors by ABBA. Cameron criticizes Nathan for audio good practices, Nathan tries to avoid mom-shaming, and ABBA wants to build a disco song. Learnin' Links: MacGuffin Interlocutor Men by Scene on Radio Listen along to The Visitors here! You can support us in several ways : Kick us a few bux on Patreon! By becoming a supporting member, you'll gain access to special bonus episodes, including a new weekly mini-show, What's in the Box Weekly ! Buy T-shirts, sweatshirts, and more at our merch p...
Oct 08, 2018•1 hr 8 min
Cameron attends a musical orgy convention, Nathan has a precognition (of boredom), and and ABBA can’t finish without Night Velvet™. Learnin' Links: Panpipes Omnibus Project’s episode on dancing mania Bad Dad, Soccer Dad Feet of clay Hit Parade’s episode on the Bee Gees “What Is Love” is not a C+C Music Factory song . Nathan (a moron) regrets the error. Men by Scene on Radio Listen along to S(o)uper Trouper here! You can support us in several ways : Kick us a few bux on Patreon! By becoming a sup...
Oct 01, 2018•1 hr 12 min
Upbeat Disco Schlager Cameron eats his tea, Nathan complains about dingos punching kangaroos, and and ABBA teaches Genius.com commenters about how the wind casts shadows. Learnin' Links: Omnibus' episode on disco demolition Mnemosyne Harvest by Neil Young In case you forgot about Schlager Listen along to Voulez-Vous here! You can support us in several ways : Kick us a few bux on Patreon! By becoming a supporting member, you'll gain access to special bonus episodes, including a new weekly mini-sh...
Sep 24, 2018•1 hr 17 min
ABBA: The Album by ABBA. Nathan does eagle stuff, Cameron eats a nice bow of eagle noodles, and ABBA really makes us think with questions like "what if eagles?" Learnin' Links: Schlager Fucking Jumping the shark Ostinato Maps—wait! Listen along to ABBA: The Album here! You can support us in several ways : Kick us a few bux on Patreon! By becoming a supporting member, you'll gain access to special bonus episodes, including a new weekly mini-show, What's in the Box Weekly ! Buy T-shirts, sweatshir...
Sep 17, 2018•1 hr 8 min
Arrival by ABBA. Nathan invents the academic discipline of Mexicorientalism, Cameron gets Famous for His Drippins™, and ABBA teaches us how sexy geometry can be. Learnin' Links: It's legally complicated, but spousal rape was either legal or punished less severely than other forms of rape in the US until 1993ish Roger Ebert famously said that video games cannot be art —but tempered his position a while later James Bond, rapist —not just old-school Bond either; this is from 2012 Perhaps it's worth...
Sep 10, 2018•1 hr 22 min
ABBA by ABBA. Nathan makes a bold declaration about trees, Cameron makes a courageous confession about what kind of man he is, and ABBA warms our hearts in the tropical loveland of Sweden. Learnin' Links: Zwarte Piet Let me google that for you Apparently the Dutch were so involved in the slave trade that there was a region called the “Dutch Slave Coast” . Yikes. Listen along to ABBA here! You can support us in several ways : Kick us a few bux on Patreon! By becoming a supporting member, you'll g...
Sep 03, 2018•1 hr 2 min
Waterloo by ABBA. This MONDAY MONDAY MONDAY, THRILL as Nathan and Cameron choose completely arbitrary moments where they think ABBA is being self-aware, and then THROW DOWN. Learnin' Links: Did an MJ impersonator sing on the last Michael Jackson album? The Battle of Waterloo Cowper’s gland David Livingstone King Léopold II’s brutal colonial rule in the Congo “Whitey on the Moon” Bechdel test Please Mr Kenendy from Inside Llewyn Davis Nathan’s favorite song by Television Listen along to Waterloo ...
Aug 27, 2018•1 hr 18 min
Ring Ring by ABBA. Nathan sags himself right off a cliff, Becca gets herself into an Ikea Situation, and Cameron begins his transformation into Barry Sacks (the king of the bari sax). Learnin' Links: Abba in Hebrew (and other Semitic languages) “Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.” Speaking of angel cats… Listen along to Ring Ring here! You can support us in several ways : Kick us a few bux on Patreon! By becoming a supporting member, you'll gain access to special bonus episodes, including a new weekly mi...
Aug 20, 2018•1 hr 21 min
Oblivion by T-Pain. Nathan courageously admits he can’t do 18 push-ups, Cameron pitches a movie reboot, and T-Pain is laid to rest. Learnin' Links: Hieroglyphics Teff WPA source recordings Listen along to Oblivion here! You can support us in several ways : Kick us a few bux on Patreon! By becoming a supporting member, you'll gain access to special bonus episodes! Buy T-shirts, sweatshirts, and more at our merch page!...
Aug 13, 2018•1 hr 12 min
Cameron eats problematically, Nathan comes up with a new breakout character, and T-Pain recruits someone to help him be shittier to women. Learnin' Links: Humorism Omnibus podcast Key & Peele Dubstep J. Robert Oppenheimer Hello From the Magic Tavern Dunning-Krueger Effect (I wanted to link to a fun YouTube video of men explaining mansplaining, but YouTube is only filled with hateful misogynists boo-hooing that women are mean to them by daring to criticize their condescension. ¯\_( ツ )_/¯ ) L...
Aug 06, 2018•1 hr 12 min
Stoic by T-Pain. T-Pain returns after a few years of not making music, with his mixtape Stoic ! It’s got some of his highest highs, but also some of his most defensive moments. And what was the deal with that Little Shop of Horrors song, anyway?? Learnin’ Links: An article on Stoicville in the New Yorker Dick Move , from Scene on Radio Koosh balls Monster Factory plays Knife Dad Jeffrey Tambor was a real piece of shit on the set of Transparent Listen along to Stoic here! You can support us in se...
Jul 30, 2018•1 hr 26 min
rEVOLVEr by T-Pain. We're trying out a new format this week! Surprise! We decided to focus less on comprehensiveness, and more on just being enjoyable and entertaining. That is, the old format was increasingly leading to perfunctory song discussions, and nobody wants that. Anyway, this week we talked about T-Pain's studio album Revolver . It's not as memorable as his earliest releases, but there's some solid stuff here. Some really frikken weird stuff, too, but some solid stuff nevertheless. Lis...
Jul 23, 2018•1 hr 25 min
Prevolver by T-Pain, part 2. T-Pain has a habit of releasing mixtapes to supplement his albums. This one is a predecessor to his 2011 album Revolver (no, not the Beatles one). Aaaaaaaand… it’s really super duper long. So we had to split it up into two episodes! Learnin' Links: Cheesemaking NuvaRing and Nuvo Ludovico technique Vitiligo Michael Richards’ anti-Semitism Listen along to Prevolver here! You can support us in several ways : Kick us a few bux on Patreon! By becoming a supporting member,...
Jul 16, 2018•1 hr 25 min
Prevolver by T-Pain, part 1. T-Pain has a habit of releasing mixtapes to supplement his albums. This one is a predecessor to his 2011 album Revolver (no, not the Beatles one). Aaaaaaaand… it’s really super duper long. So we had to split it up into two episodes! In this episode, we cover the first 15 tracks. The whole thing has 30 . But we keep things wholesome and definitely don’t use any salty language, especially when quoting Lil Wayne. Learnin' Links: Kendrick’s untitled unmastered. Harland W...
Jul 09, 2018•1 hr 23 min
Thr33 Ringz by T-Pain. Wait a minute, when did T-Pain become ICP? He rounds up his three-ring circus for this, his most Dark Carnival album yet! Unfortunately, he also manages to pick up some of ICP’s bad habits… Listen along to Thr33 Ringz here. Learnin' Links: Chris Brown beat Rihanna Bouncing cats beatboxing Ciara Madmen lawnmower Teardrop tattoo “1234” song—which is Feist “Change the World” and how the writers ended up writing for Chris Gaines You can support us in several ways : Kick us a f...
Jul 02, 2018•2 hr 32 min
Epiphany by T-Pain. It's T-Pain's biggest album, or at least it has his biggest single "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')". It's a good album! Probably more consistent than Rappa Ternt Sanga , but T-Pain himself maybe doesn't seem as nice as he did on his first album. Listen along to Epiphany on Spotify here! Learnin' Links: Botulism, Honey—for Babies "Space Force" Pizza Brain Little Baby's Seeing White , from Scene on Radio Pygmalion Shawnna You can support us in several ways : Kick us a few bux ...
Jun 25, 2018•2 hr 42 min
Rappa Ternt Sanga by T-Pain. Time for season 4, mothertruckers! We're back like scoliosis, with a discussion of T-Pain's first album Rappa Ternt Sanga . Yes, Cameron won the vote, with almost 60% of the vote for T-Pain. It's a fun album with great music… but it's sooooooo long. It's ICP-length. Listen along to Rappa Ternt Sanga on Spotify here! Learnin' Links: Megalodon The Taíno people Warrant Canary Yo, Is This Racist? Sprung , the movie MBMBAM's episode about the lady zoo Teddy Pendergrass Li...
Jun 18, 2018•2 hr 42 min
Roots by Curtis Mayfield. It’s our last interlude episode for now! This week, Cameron tries to convince us all that Curtis Mayfield’s 1971 album Roots is really cool and interesting. It only has 7 songs, so Cameron has plenty of time to drone on and on—uh, I mean, we have plenty of time to go in-depth! Learnin' Links: Uber Got the D New Yorkers and Merry Mary Marry Cam’s transcription of “Keep On Keepin’ On” Hit Parade’s episode on charity mega singles Cameron’s back on Twitter! Listen along to ...
Jun 11, 2018•1 hr 29 min
Paris 1919 by John Cale. Are you ready? It's time for Nathan's English-Class Bullshit Time, the part of the show where Nathan tries to turn his podcast into an English class—because those are renowned for being soooooo entertaining! As part of their "playing" with their "format," Nathan and Cameron are taking a short break from exploring artists' back catalogs to talk about albums they already like. Nathan chose John Cale's 1973 magnum opus Paris 1919 , which he still loves even though it's almo...
Jun 04, 2018•1 hr 28 min
Havoc and Bright Lights by Alanis Morrisette. It’s Alanis’ last album! 2012’s Havoc and Bright Lights sure is another Alanis album, continuing her collaboration with Guy Sigsworth. It’s kinda fun, and features some pretty good songs. But we manage stay off-topic, as always with Ally Cookies and #momparty. Learnin' Links: Who watches the watchmen? Carnival geeks and the geek show Shape note singing Pronunciation Manual on youtubs SNL skit with 50 Shades The many singularities If you want to prepa...
May 28, 2018•2 hr 41 min
Flavors of Entanglement by Alanis Morrisette. Hit the pause baton, because it's about to get deliciously spaghetti-tangled all up in here! Nathan and Cameron try to make sense of Alanis 2008 album Flavors of Entanglement with the help of Imaging Heap, the punk band Deaf Sieve, and Bryan Breynolds of the movie Breadpool and Breadpool 2 . Listen along to Flavors of Entanglement on Spotify here! Learnin' Links: Derriére . NFSW, naturally. Unless you’re a butt doctor. Conversations with Alanis Moris...
May 21, 2018•2 hr 39 min
So-Called Chaos by Alanis Morrisette. Alanis has some pretty damn good songs on this album. It's not quite as arresting as Jagged Little Pill , but some of the songwriting is very nuanced and mature. Plus, we get to talk about Sonic Adventures and Ryan Reynolds! What's not to love? And, post-music, we have a meta-discussion about how positive we want to be on the show! Our friends at Beyond the Box Set have inspired us to be a little more careful about our cheap jokes. Listen along to So-Called ...
May 14, 2018•1 hr 27 min
Under Rug Swept by Alanis Morrisette. Alanis' fifth album is a huge step up from Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie . There are some very good, very moving songs on this one—and thank god she decided to make it shorter than 27 songs. There are still things to quibble over here, and still some missteps, but this album definitely has some of the best songs Alanis has written to date. Listen along to Under Rug Swept on Spotify here! Learnin' Links "First thought best thought" was Allen Ginsberg's m...
May 07, 2018•1 hr 29 min
Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie by Alanis Morissette. It's the Phantom Menace of Alanis albums! 1998's Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie was Alanis' followup to her massively successful Jagged Little Pill , and it's… not so good. I guess Alanis forgot how to write songs with meter? But at least Cameron gets feisty drunk in his cider-hole! And we become the first podcast ever, in history, to talk about Star Wars . Learnin' Links Kevin Smith’s gas station jeans Cambridge's Mayor Maher , not Me...
Apr 30, 2018•2 hr 38 min
Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette. It's finally here! Alanis Morissette's 1995 album Jagged Little Pill is not only the opening salvo of the New Alanis™ after her first few pop albums, it's also her most successful album to date. As if that weren't enough, it's also the #11 top-selling album of all time, ever, worldwide ( according to this Wikipedia list ). That said, it's a really good album. Almost certainly the best one we've listened to in more than 30 episodes of TOtBS. We did some ni...
Apr 23, 2018•2 hr 48 min
Now Is the Time by Alanis Morissette. Alanis’ (Alanis’s?) second album Now Is the Time , from 1992, is a solid improvement on her first album. But it’s still the generic CanadaPop that Alanis would leave behind soon for her real career, with Jagged Little Pill . It was pretty fun, but ultimately mostly forgettable. Other topics covered include grass, a tight five on plain rice cakes, blue ears, and the #mewtwo movement. Listen along to Now Is the Time here . Learnin' Links Pizza in cones , what ...
Apr 16, 2018•2 hr 36 min
Alanis by Alanis Morissette. Well here it is, our coverage of Alanis Morissette! We cover her first, and e-pony-mouth, album Alanis . It’s kinda generic pop, sort of Madonna-lite. We had fun, though, especially because we were joined by very special guest J. Rourke! J. brought the heat with the knowledge of video game music that we were sorely missing. Also, this episode features a whole slew of minor guest stars, including Paul McCartney, and a soon-to-be-breakout-character who—like Urkel—event...
Apr 09, 2018•2 hr 32 min
The Marvelous Missing Link: Found by Insane Clown Posse. We've reached the end of history! Er, the end of ICP—and of season 2 of Think Outside the Box Set. Praise the Dark Carnival, we're done! The Marvelous Missing Link: Found from 2015 is the latest disappointment from ICP. It leans hard in the direction of Contemporary Christian Music, and it's worse than its companion Lost (at least, Nathan thinks so). But then again, Nathan's been getting pretty grumpy at ICP, even before he got into that g...
Apr 02, 2018•1 hr 29 min
The Marvelous Missing Link: Lost by Insane Clown Posse. ICP’s The Marvelous Missing Link: Lost has Nathan raving: “it’s aggressively on the negative end of mediocre”! It’s not super bad, per se, but it’s just so boring… in fact, it’d be better if it were bad. Then there’d be anything to talk about. Listen along to The Marvelous Missing Link: Lost here . You can support us in several ways : Kick us a few bux on Patreon! By becoming a supporting member, you'll gain access to special bonus episodes...
Mar 27, 2018•2 hr 37 min
