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Episode 180

The Paunch Stevenson Show episode 180

In this episode:

  • Family Guy episodes with Frank Welker playing Megatron,
  • were the lack of color and overuse of generic characters money saving tricks by Sunbow after Transformers: The Movie?,
  • the newly released Star Wars The Complete Saga on Blu Ray disc,
  • extras (good description here), changes, “Han shoots first” debacle, and the history of Star Wars home video releases,
  • Steven Spielberg’s impersonation of George Lucas,
  • communicating as kids before the Internet and cell phone age,
  • annoying kids who came to our doors unannounced and unwelcome,
  • Leonard Nimoy almost eaten by a bear,
  • another “Jesse Ventura Conspiracy” (who really designed Manhattan Island’s grid system?),
  • Casey Jones (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) fan film, directed by Polaris Banks (starring Hilarion Banks as Casey and Robbie Rist as Michelangelo),
  • and Eddy Grant’s Romancing The Stone movie theme song.

Download this episode:
54 minute MP3 file – 25 MB (right-click to save)

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Episode 179

The Paunch Stevenson Show episode 179

Our interview with Ed Daly, NJ author of the 2011 book Cereal: Snap, Crackle, Pop Culture!

In this episode:

  • Rob waking up from his trance,
  • supermarkets carrying more than 90 different breakfast cereals,
  • Ed’s reasons for writing his book,
  • his favorite cereals (General Mills Rice Chex and Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Kellogg’s Special K, etc.),
  • his least favorite cereals (Kellogg’s Hannah Montana and All-Bran)
  • TV show and movie tie-ins,
  • the lack of prizes in cereal boxes today,
  • Kellogg’s Mueslix and the Eddie Murphy movie Meet Dave (2008),
  • Ed’s opinion of Quaker Cap’n Crunch and various peanut butter flavored cereals,
  • crunchy marshmallows in cereal,
  • cereal box artwork, characters, and commercials,
  • sugary cereals marketed as being healthy,
  • Post Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles melting in milk,
  • cereal restaurants and Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts World in Times Square NYC,
  • Ed’s milk-to-cereal ratio,
  • his next pop culture project,
  • and how much (or little) money an author makes from a book like this.

Buy Cereal: Snap, Crackle, Pop Culture on Amazon or Barnes and Noble
Follow Ed Daly on Twitter: twitter.com/ezeddaly
Visit Ed’s web site: cerealsnapcracklepopculture.tumblr.com

Download this episode:
35 minute MP3 file – 16 MB (right-click to save)

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Episode 178

The Paunch Stevenson Show episode 178

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Pee-wee’s Playhouse, we present our interview with NJ author Caseen Gaines, writer of the first book about Pee-wee Herman, Inside Pee-wee’s Playhouse: The Untold, Unauthorized, and Unpredictable Story of a Pop Phenomenon!

In this episode:

  • why Caseen wrote this book,
  • thoughts about Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985) and Big Top Pee-wee (1988),
  • the appeal of the TV show to college students,
  • the longevity of Pee-wee’s Playhouse,
  • obtaining interviews for the book using the internet,
  • tons of unique never-before-seen pictures,
  • the Christmas special,
  • the life-size Chairry toy and 40 inch Pee-wee doll,
  • Lynne Stewart “Miss Yvonne” appearing on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,
  • the 2010-2011 Pee-wee Herman live stage show,
  • a future Pee-wee movie with Judd Apatow and Paul Rust,
  • what if there had been a Pee-wee video game back in the 1980s?,
  • the infamous theater incident in Florida,
  • and the legacy of Pee-wee Herman.

Pre-order the book from Amazon or Barnes & Noble
Follow Caseen on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/caseengaines
Check out www.insidetheplayhouse.com for info on the book, and for in-person appearances like these:

Download this episode:
65 minute MP3 file – 30.0 MB (right-click to save)

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Episode 177

The Paunch Stevenson Show episode 177

In this episode:

  • our trip to Barcade in Jersey City, NJ (microbrew beers and 1970s-1980s classic video arcade games),
  • Barcade running on 100% wind power,
  • Rob’s dream about “Macho Man” Randy Savage,
  • the 2011 ThunderCats cartoon show,
  • Larry Kenney vs. Will Friedle as the voice of Lion-O,
  • John Erwin as the voice of Prince Adam and He-Man,
  • Greg’s movie review of The A-Team (2010),
  • Paunch Stevenson Show celebrity encounters,
  • Greg meeting Tom Wopat (Luke Duke from The Dukes of Hazzard),
  • John Schneider and Tom Wopat on Smallville,
  • Greg meeting Jeff Bridges (Barney Cousins from The Vanishing),
  • celebrity deaths (Christopher Mayer from The Dukes of Hazzard and Bubba Smith),
  • the 2011 season of Curb Your Enthusiasm finally taking place in NYC,
  • our future children missing out on pop culture from the past,
  • important pop culture getting lost in time (CHiPs, the Marx Brothers, The Little Rascals, Droopy, The Ant and the Aardvark, etc.),
  • the upcoming Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood spin-off Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,
  • Jonah Hill’s weight loss,
  • Mike Masse’s music video for “Long Time” (acoustic Boston cover),
  • the decline of music videos,
  • Rob constantly hearing people whistle Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” in England,
  • Rob’s 4D movie experience,
  • and Tom Wopat’s music vs. Jeff Bridges’s music.

We also snapped some photos of Barcade Jersey City:
Flickr – Barcade, Jersey City, NJ 8/20/11
Barcade Jersey City

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81 minute MP3 file – 37.1 MB (right-click to save)

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Review of Jeff Bridges’ New Album

So the great Jeff “It’s Me Barney” Bridges just released his second musical album Jeff Bridges, first since 2000’s Be Here Soon. This new album is sort of a continuation of Jeff’s work in the film Crazy Heart (2009), about a down and out country singer. He worked with highly successful producer T-Bone Burnett on the album. This album is definitely country, but it’s old school country, which is why the country music press hated it! I personally hate newer country, essentially everything made from Billy Ray Cyrus onwards. Anyway, Rolling Stone Magazine gave it 3 out of 5, which I’d probably agree with. Several of the songs were just way too slow and bogged down, although a few were very good, and one is now stuck in my damn head! Here’s a quick rundown of the tracks in the CD I got, with 2 Barnes & Noble bonus tracks:

  • What a Little Bit of Love Can Do -> The signature track, very catchy, Bridges voice actually works quite well with this song.
  • Falling Short -> This is a strange one, seems to go nowhere.
  • Everything But Love -> Folksy, very pleasant.
  • Tumbling Vine -> Like track 2, written by Jeff Bridges, in the tone of “The Dude,” and highly psychedelic.
  • Nothing Yet -> Another slow one, put me to sleep.
  • Blue Car -> A nice poppy folk song with a easy beat (though slow).
  • Maybe I Missed the Point -> Easily my favorite track, and now stuck in my head. Wish he did the whole album like this.
  • Slow Boat -> Spoken word? Why?
  • Either Way -> Dullish love song.
  • The Quest -> Old school country song.
  • I Will Wait -> First B&N exclusive bonus, modest.
  • Shotgun Bride -> Second B&N exclusive bonus, kind of falls off the cliff.
  • Drag Me To The Party -> Amazon MP3 exclusive, more odd spoken words.

Oh, and surprise, I got to meet Jeff Bridges at the Fifth Avenue Barnes & Noble in New York! Here’s his signed CD cover and my picture just before getting it signed. We’ll talk about the encounter in Episode 177.

Jeff Bridges Signed CD
Jeff Bridges Signed CD
Greg meets Jeff Bridges
Greg meets Jeff Bridges