Episode 22: Monday, March 27, 2006

The Paunch Stevenson Show episode 022

In this episode:

  • an odd voice mail message on Rob’s mobile phone,
  • Isaac Hayes quitting South Park,
  • a Kevin Federline update,
  • the definition of “PopoZao,”
  • Richard Simmons’s hair,
  • the 1,000 pound man Michael Hebranko,
  • The Old Jingle of the Episode (Toys “R” Us commercial),
  • Kids “R” Us,
  • Jerry Lewis’s 80th birthday,
  • Rob getting credit in the Belleville Times for Greg’s middle school geography bee victory,
  • and My Chemical Romance exaggerating in interviews.

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16 Replies to “Episode 22: Monday, March 27, 2006”

  1. You promised you wouldn’t get mad if people who posted make fun of you guys… I’m posting to disagree with your take on My Chemical Romance. But a post is a post, so don’t excoriate me or delete my pretty face from your MySpace or anything.

    I can see how it might be annoying that My Chemical Romance are kind of romanticising the fact that they came from a lower to middle- middle class area by saying it was full of “mafia related crime” when in fact it was probably… like the part of White Plains I grew up in.. just lower middle class and kind of boring.

    But they’re using that as an angle and one can hardly blame them. I’ve been watching the new season of Sopranos and they’ve mentioned Belleville twice (Vito and Junior both live there) and Carmela’s answer to Tony’s question “I’m dead, right?” was “No. You’re in a hospital… In Newark.” Making fun of New Jersey, especially the parts that border on NYC is the national passtime and MCR is just playing into that.

    People consider the suburbs to be dead. Especially suburbs with not a shitload of money. So they’re just trying to glamorize things a little bit. Maybe there was one time when a dead body was found in a park… who knows? Maybe they made it up. Who cares? Their music is okay.

  2. When we first discussed My Chemical Romance in episode 10, we kept it lighthearted, but they insist on exaggerating about their background in interviews and we are calling them out on it. That’s all.

    The same thing happened to Vanilla Ice in 1990 and 1991. The same thing also happened to James Frey in regards to his book A Million Little Pieces in late 2005 and early 2006.

  3. The crime rate in 07109 was very low. No one was afraid to come out of their house. It was a nice community, despite the town leaders being crooks (not Mafia). Frankly I don’t even remember him being bullied or anything like that. I didn’t talk to him because I thought he was overly smug, and just not friendly at all. His brother was cool, he was friendly, although he was a nussaince too with all that pestering for food. GW is trying to establish a certain image for himself, and that’s fine, but don’t lie about our town and people and paint us as the Soprano’s. We were kind of nutty on my street, but we had a block party for 10 years. Rob’s end of the block was certifiable though.

  4. I understand. Sorry if I hit a nerve. Beauty Sleep’s music will stand on its own merits, no matter what contacts Rob has or doesn’t have or whose noses you guys go and tweak on your show. It’s just that no matter how smug or misguided these guys are, they have some power and might be able to help.

    While it did sound sorta jealous to out them like that… I’m not above it myself in certain circumstances. I think I get upset when people say bad things about White Plains, too.

    I’ve been to Belleville and Nutley many times. I’m a *lot* more scared in the Bronx and parts of Brooklyn and Queens. That was not my point.

    Did I even have a point? I’ve forgotten. Time for my shock treatment I think.

  5. Rob grew up in Newark then moved to Belleville when he was about five. I was brought up in Newark and moved us out of there due to the school system. Newark is a very dangerous place to live, all except the North Ward. There, we took care of our own. The two towns are side by side but to compare Belleville to Newark is just simply silly. Newark is the murder capital of the world. Belleville is the Cherry blossem Capital of the east coast. Newark had a gangs and Mafia families riddles throughout. Belleville had one mobster that was caught. Pollizi family cought and known as the Pizza Connection. They would seel very expensive pizza’s with drugs taped to the bottom of the boxes. When some criminal tries to break into a home in Belleville or a car even, at least six or seven cop cars would show up on the scene and thats pathetic, looking for something to do. In Newark, things were so bad the cops never showed up. thats why where I lived things were nice. Just ask my Uncle Frank, Jimmy, anf Nunzio. Many a night I ran outside with hammer in hand claw side out chacing down a purse snatcher or breaking up a fight. If these boys from Belleville think their mobsters or lived in a bad neighborhood more power to them. Just listen to the names, which sounds more dangerous NORK, Bell ville…. The Soprano’s film in Belleville only because thir are no one around to bother the crew. If they filmed in Newark their camera’s would get stolen and the film crew raped. Rob grew up three minutes from Cozzerelli’s funeral Parlor where they film many scenes. Scarpelli, one of the actors is having a feud with another writer over the word Goomba. Haha he loses that battle. I am older therefore been saying it longer. As for the music of this band. It’s ok, for a band to be great they must have there own sound. As for the Soprano’s I think the way the show is going soon it will be called Soap-prano’s. I know this thread is about the music but to say Belleville was a dangerious town is stupid and a huge mistake but as it goes remember this. If you are in showbusiness the business at hand is to show. Show that you are larger then life and when the fans come they will be in awe. By da way, GMT How U doin? ;) My spellin still suck and I will sign off now

  6. I am okay. I’m doing a little more with my music, and seeing a lot of my favorite MySpace musicians at their gigs lately. Veronica’s keeping me busy these days. She just got a very good report card and she cut most of her hair and donated it to Locks of Love. I’m still working as a Taxi and Limousine and Environmental judge.

    Belleville is nice. So is Nutley. They’re not like Newark. I just meant give those guys a break, they’re tryin’ a be rockers.

    How is South Carolina treating you? Are cigarettes and cotton really cheap down there?

  7. “In Newark, things were so bad the cops never showed up.”

    That’s because they’re all hovering around Penn Station with machine guns waiting to give people parking tickets. It’s ridiculous.

  8. Dear Schnozz Senior,

    What you didn’t know is that my second cousin twice removed was a “little person” (midget is not used anymore) before he died in the great poison boiled peanut plague of 1967.

    And give my regards to Moms and the Ad-man. He must be like almost 12 now, right?

    p.s. did you notice that there are two middle aged parents doing most of the posting on this message board? Why is that? I think I’ll take a short sabbatical from all this and let other people make some observations about the show.

  9. Hot cha cha, You are as middle aged as you feel, lol. I am not middle aged anymore. I am an old timer. The term midget is only used when the little person is a comedian. I won’t talk about latino’s, pino’s and wish to say I am sorry at this point in time. I want my new point of topic to be all about Tall, people from Texas. Boy are there legs bold and necks tan. What does that mean do you ask? I DON’T KNOW.

  10. I’m replying to a previous comment. Beauty Sleep would never be an opening act for a trite band like My Chemical Jerk Offs or whatever they are called. Some people make music to make music and have fun and create beautiful songs with their friends, not as some leather shirt wearing, cliched, power chord playing scheme to make money and get 13 year old groupies with black lipstick.

  11. Puck,

    Not sure who you are but I feel bad that I was misunderstood. I never said nor meant to imply anything bad about Beauty Sleep. In fact, I liked their songs MTA and Dream so much when I first heard them in July. I was at their last show and own a Beauty Sleep T-shirt.

    I just don’t think it’s productive for a member of one band to put down another band… especially if that band is signed and has a big fan following. But I agree … I don’t get M/C/R’s allure and I think the makeup/goth/mafia/whatever angle is stupid. But it’s working for them… the way the burlesque horror thing and big stage productions worked for Kiss. Obviously BS and M/C/R do not belong on the same bill and it was a poor example and I’m sorry I used it.

    But I meant no harm.

  12. Puck, You are a time bomb with the counter set to zero, hero. Lighten up Puck, I really love your soups wolfgang. Anywho, their is room for many kinds of music. A good example is 13 stories. They are playing themselves out on that sick BEEP BEEP commercial. They are a non hit wonder but I would let them at least try. Beauty Sleep does another kind of music then that other group. They do music that other group does noisy music. So once again lighten up Puck. You are as loud as they are.

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