An Ode to the All Stars of "Comedy Bang! Bang!"

Anytime I download my podcasts in my library, every Monday there's a new episode of "CBB". This is my favorite podcast. It wasn't my introduction to this world, but it is the one I've stuck with the longest. Other shows come and go, but "CBB" has always been there. The only Patreon I subscribe to is "CBB World". I'm a big fan.

Whenever I see that the guestlist includes Jason Mantzoukas, I get stoked. I want to listen right away. Jason Mantzoukas is hilarious. He makes me laugh during any podcast appearance, any tv appearance and any movie appearance. The guy is funny, has great comedic timing and knows how to really sell the jokes in any setting. He is a great comic foil for Scott Aukerman. They have a great rapport and it is some of the best podcasting out there. Mantzoukas co-hosts his own podcast, the dynamite "How Did This Get Made", where he is just as funny, and a little crazy. When he appears on  "CBB", he is much calmer and more there to enjoy. That is my favorite version of Jason Mantzoukas.

Then, when I see Andy Daly's name on the list, I get even more pumped to listen. Daly is one of the most underrated comedy actors out there. "Review" is one of the best, and least seen, shows I have ever watched. He is hilarious on "Eastbound and Down". He shows up for little character arcs in shows from time to time and he is the best when he does that. He also has his own little podcast empire with all the characters he has created on "CBB", and those shows are wonderful as well. I enjoy most of the characters he plays, but Dalton Wilcox has to be one of the best. I am also fond of Hot Dog. And then when you pair him and Mantzoukas together on "CBB", I know I'm going to have a good time, and I'm going to be smacking my leg cracking up. Those two, combined with Aukerman make for some of the best comedy podcast listening out there.

Then we have Paul F Tompkins. He is on "CBB" a bunch. He and Aukerman are good, long friends. They have been working together since "Mr Show". They have seen things, done things and seem to have an absolute blast whenever they get together on mic. PFT is one of those performers that I know will make me laugh and will not disappoint. He is, as much as he may not like this, a podcast pro and is amazing at what he does when he is on any podcast. So, when PFT, Andy Daly and Jason Mantzoukas are on separate from each other, it is wildly funny and successful. Put them all on with Aukerman running the show, that is comedy dynamite.

This is what we got this past Monday. All of them were there and all of them were great. Daly and PFT played an abundance of characters the whole time. They were jumping back and forth between the plethora of the people they have done on the show in the past. Mantzoukas and Aukerman were egging them on and continuously adding more and more people for them to play. And like the pros they are, Daly and PFT ran with it and made this one of the best episodes of the best podcast I have ever heard. I was cleaning my house while listening to the episode and I had to stop multiple times due to how hard I was laughing. I was literally cackling walking around the house all morning long. I didn't want the episode to end. I could have listened for hours and hours. It was a perfect episode of "CBB".

I cannot recommend it enough, especially if you are on the fence about the show. This is a perfect starting point for any new fans. These are the best of the best. It is all you could want in an improv comedy show. I have it saved to listen to again, and I cannot wait until they are all back together in the next year or so to do it all over again. This was gold. Check it out. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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The "Comedy Bang! Bang!" A-Team Cannot Be Beat

I was listening to the most recent episode of "Comedy Bang! Bang!" and I came to a comedy realization. When Scott Aukerman invites Jason Mantzoukas, Andy Daly and Paul F Tompkins on the pod, it is some of the best improv comedy in the game. These four work so well off of one another. All they need is a little bit of a premise and they are off.

On the newest "CBB" it was about as simple as it gets. Mantzoukas was there as himself. He is one of the unofficial guest hosts of the show. Then Andy Daly was Byron Denninson, the royal watcher, and PFT was on as The Grizz. These are some tried and true characters. They have been on a few times, and with each appearance the story gets bigger and better. This time around Mantzoukas and Aukerman were just talking about stuff that was going on in the world and they happened to mention some people dying. This was when Daly came in as Dennison. He told them about Queen Elizabeth and Daly was as funny as ever. He is so good at this character. This is a keeper. I very much enjoy listening whenever Dennison is on. Then PFT came in as The Grizz and totally blew up all of the stuff Dennison was talking to them about. He took off the covers to Dennison's whole story. It was great. I loved every second of it. Then both of them turned into Australian versions of their characters. It was wonderful. While they were doing the Aussie version of their characters was when I realized how awesome all of this was. I was listening to four great improvisers doing their thing at the top of their games. It ruled. Mantzoukas and Aukerman took a backseat, and that was the right thing to do. PFT and Daly were riffing off of one another. One would tell a joke and the other would just go with it. They would do multiple minutes on so many different topics and it all worked. I was cracking up. The stuff with the Grizz and Dennison was great. But the stuff with the Aussie versions was even better. When Daly realized he had to change his accent, that was gold. It was so real and so funny. And PFT didn't make fun of him, he just went with it. It was incredible. At times Mantzoukas would chime in with a joke and it was excellent. Aukerman was there to keep it all moving and he is so good at this task because he is a top notch podcast host.

I was in awe of all the things they were doing. I was sitting in my car cracking up, but also appreciating the greatness I was listening to. I was hearing some of the best people in the game do their thing. I saw that these four were on the episode and I immediately got hyped up. I knew it was going to be great. But when I listened it was even better. It exceeded my very high expectations. I appreciate when professionals all get together and perform so well. It can be magical.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "The Long Dumb Road"

I've been watching a bunch of movies that I have wanted to see during the pandemic lately. I'm catching up I guess you could say. Some have been okay and some have been pretty blah. The other day I watched one, one that I have been putting off for about seventeen months now, and I found myself really enjoying it.

The movie is called "The Long Dumb Road". I am a big fan of Jason Mantzoukas. I try to watch everything he is in. I love his guest appearances most. He was great as Adrian Pimento on "Brooklyn 99". He was fantastic as Derek on "The Good Place". He was perfect as Rafi on "The League". His role as Kyle on the criminally underrated "I'm Sorry" was him playing a heightened version of himself and he crushed. Mantzoukas is so great at coming in and stealing every scene he is in on TV shows. He has had some solid movie roles, but the movies are not always the best. He's good in "The Dictator". He kept pace with Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler in "The House". He's decent in "Sleeping With Other People". And I still say "Tick Tock Mr Wick" when referencing him from "John Wick 3". With "The Long Dumb Road" he was given the chance to be a co star.

The movie is a road trip movie that is pretty much just him and Tony Revelori. Mantzoukas was excellent in this movie. So was Revelori. They both did a really, really good job. The movie is a cliché road trip movie, but when you get the chemistry that Mantzoukas and Revelori had, that is when it becomes a good movie. I remember watching it and kind of thinking it was ho hum, but as it got further into the movie, the more I found myself really enjoying it. I liked seeing these two actors play off one another. Revelori is a really solid young actor and he was more than up to the task to keep pace with Mantzoukas. Revelori was very believable as a kid heading out to art school in LA. He played the naive young kid to a T. Mantxoukas arrives in the movie with a bang and he is at a ten the whole time. He has so many different balls in the air. He is always doing something wild and crazy. He is always getting into some kind of wild situations. He is also a drunk and stuck in a big time rut. Only an actor like Mantzoukas could do this role and make it believable. His character did some totally off the wall stuff, but since it is Mantzoukas I was along for the ride. The scene between him and Casey Wilson, his old flame, was classic. When he is in the motel room with the girl he randomly meets at the bar, doing adult things, and pops up when Revelori opens the door and says, "either in or out buddy", I was rolling on the floor laughing. He also shows some depth. When he proposes to a girl he has just met, and she declines it thinking it is a joke, you can see the hurt and awkwardness in his eyes. When he fights with Revelori, you buy his side. When he talks to a driver that picks them up, you can see they get one another.

I was pleasantly surprised by "The Long Dumb Road". Revelori was really good, but Mantzoukas totally steals the show. I could watch him read a phone book and he would find a way to make me laugh. This is a good, short movie. I recommend it purely based on Mantzoukas' performance.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum"

I was going to do a thing on “Game of Thrones” today, but I need to save that for Monday. I need to save it because I went to see “John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum” with my dad this morning, and I need to talk about it.

I have been a big time fan from the start of this franchise. I’m so much more in on “John Wick” than I am on other series of movies. I’ll take “John Wick” over any “Fast and Furious” movie, I’ll watch it over “Star Wars”, I’d spend my time with it over “Jurassic Park”, I’ll even take it over the “Raid” movies. This is my new favorite franchise in movies. It is so perfect. “John Wick” knows what it is, and they absolutely go for it all the time. “Parabellum” was no different.

This movie picks up exactly where the second movie ended. Wick is on the run in downtown NYC. He has pretty much every assassin in the city after him. He has a multi million dollar bounty for his head. He is no longer safe. And from there on out, for the next 130 minutes, it’s pretty much all action. The fight scenes in this movie are astonishing. I read someone earlier this week call it a “gory ballet”, and they were 100 percent correct. I was taken aback at how well done and brilliant these scenes were. The movie was also filled with them. Sure, there’s a story attached, and they spend a little time telling it. But, for every minute or 2 of dialogue, there’s a 4 or 5 minute action scene that follows. It was exquisite. I have loved how the writers and directors have upped the ante with each movie. They have the budget now to go absolutely wild. It’s awesome.

As far as the acting, it’s perfect for this style movie. Keanu Reeves is Wick, and he barely has to say anything, which is perfect for him. He says a few things here and there, but he’s mostly there to whoop bad guys. Angelica Houston was chewing so much scenery in the best possible way in this movie. She was excellent. Laurence Fishburne knows what kind of movie this is, and he does his role magnificently. Ian McShane and Lance Reddick are dapper and badass. Halle Berry tried a little too hard, taking it a bit too seriously, but her action scenes, and dogs, ruled. Asia Kate Dillon was a menacing villain. I knew she was crushing it when I hoped she would be taken down by Wick at some point in the movie. Mark Dacascos, you may know him as the chairmen from “Iron Chef America”, was a great bad guy, and he was pretty funny. Jason Mantzoukas had one or 2 lines, but they were memorable, and his expressions were wonderful. Even actors in very small roles, be it Jerome Flynn or Said Taghmaoui, did a really campy, really good job.

“Parabellum” is the third of a very, very solid action franchise. I love that these movies come out every other summer because I get so hyped to see them on opening day in late May. This movie rules, and I hope they will continue to keep making them as long as they keep having fun. Go see this movie, it will most likely be the best action movie you will see all summer long. What a great movie. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Much like the character of John Wick, Ty’s true passion is restoring old books.

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Millennial Nostalgia: "The League" was Great Television Anchored By Three Great Actors

I have been re watching "The League" on Hulu for the past couple months. I was a fan of the show when it was on, I watched it on Netflix, and when I saw it was on Hulu, I decided to give it another viewing. The show is very good. It is well written, well acted and it seems like the people involved had a lot of fun making it. It was also pretty cool to see a show centered around fantasy football.

In this third viewing of the show I have realized 3 of the performances stand above all else. The other actors are still great, I enjoyed them all, but Paul Scheer, Nick Kroll and Jason Mantzoukas are, far and away, the best part of the series. Paul Scheer plays Andre, the put upon friend that everyone else makes fun of, even though he may be the most successful. Andre is the number one plastic surgeon in Chicago, he has a humongous apartment and seems generally happy. He even won the league twice in the series run. But, everyone makes fun of him. He is the butt of all the jokes. He has to do the worst punishments. And he takes it all in stride. The way Scheer portrays this character is so perfect. We all know people like this. We all had or have that friend that we keep around to bag on. Sometimes it may be you that is that friend. But the way Scheer does it is so good. He is funny. His outfits that he wears are so bad, and when he tries to rationalize how great they are, you almost believe that he truly believes it. His unlucky love life is hilarious. Be it the girl he blinded or his crazy Uber driver or Meegan, he plays them all perfectly. And to be the type of guy that buys into whatever fad is the thing at the time, I loved it. When he was an urban forager I loved it. When he was wearing a daishiki, hilarious. When got into vlogging and internet culture, it was tremendous. Scheer was so, so good on this show. It is the best thing I have seen him in to date, and that includes "The Disaster Artist" or "The Good Place". He was phenomenal on "The League".

Nick Kroll, as the smug and arrogant Ruxin, was equally as great. He played the insecure and over confident lawyer so well. He was the shit talker of the group, yet he still believed that everyone was colluding against him whenever his team got beat. He was never really secure with much of anything going on in his life. Every time Taco, Jon Lajoie, was at his house, hanging with his wife, you could see the jealousy. When his friends would convince him to do something stupid in fantasy football, he would just do it against his own will. He was the one fantasy player that constantly second guessed himself. Even when he lost his wife, a very weird turn in the final season, he still tried to get easy fantasy football wins. His own wife's death didn't stop him from trying to win a stupid trophy. His smugness, his shit talking, his tinkering, it was all so perfect. This is clearly one of his best roles.

But, the best of the best, and this may be a hot take, was Jason Mantzoukas as Rafi. He is so gross, weird, scary and absolutely hilarious. My favorite episodes are the ones that feature him and Dirty Randy, Seth Rogen. A lot of people hate these, but I adore them. The episode entitled "When Rafi Met Randy" is my favorite of all time. To see them in a mental institution, and turn into the characters they became there was so amazing. Outside of the episodes featuring him and Randy, whenever he showed up with the main cast, I always got pumped up. I knew it was going to be great. When he first shows up, and he, Pete and Andre go to a party, and he agrees to be the designated driver, then gets hammered, awesome. When he starts to date Ruxin's au pair, played by Brie Larson, tremendous. When he "meets" up with sex addict Russell, Rob Huebel, it was disturbing and hilarious. When he helps film a porno in Andre's loft, I was cracking up the whole time. But, outside of the Dirty Randy episodes, again, was after Sofia died, he stays to help Ruxin grieve. It is so weird and gross and disturbing, yet I found myself enjoying his performance more and more.

"The League" was a great show, but Scheer, Kroll and Mantzoukas were far and away the best part of the 7 seasons. If you are considering watching the show, or revisiting it, watch these three a little closer. They really stand out. I'm glad I watched it again, and I'm glad that I paid more attention this time to all the actors. These three really shined.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is next thinking of going into the way back machine and find out just what is “Blue’s Clues”

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Cloves and Fedoras: Seriously, Go Check Out the Awesome Comedy "I'm Sorry"

Cloves and Fedoras is Seed Sings reviews for little known pieces of pop culture.  Feel free to contact us with your own submissions of undiscovered gems that must be known.

The next three days I am going to be talking about the new seasons of three shows on Tru TV. Tru TV is starting to put out shows helmed by comedians and writers that I really enjoy. It is pretty cool that they are giving these people a shot, and I have loved the material so far. The first show I want to talk about is the absolute best of the bunch.

"I'm Sorry" might be my new favorite show on TV. Sure, "Atlanta" is a better overall show, but in watchability and enjoyment, "I'm Sorry" is second to none. My wife and I rammed through season one after I heard creator Andrea Savage talk about the show on a podcast. I have always been a fan of hers, and my wife is just the same. She thinks Savage is hilarious and relatable. I agree. Season one of the show, I have written about it before, was excellent. My wife and I watched the full season three times. Everything about season one was just perfect. So when we heard that it was picked up for a second season, we were stoked. We would watch all the trailers that started to come out about a month ago. I would tell my wife about certain things, pertaining to the show, that Savage was tweeting about. We were very anxious for the second season to come out because we love this show so very much. And last Wednesday we finally got the second season premiere.

“I’m Sorry” crushed it once again. The show is just as funny, if not funnier, than season one. What I love, as I said before, the show is relatable, especially for a married couple with kids. That was a main through line for season one, and their daughter going to kindergarten was the main plot line of the season 2 premiere. We just went through that same thing one year ago. Our son is now in first grade, so seeing Savage interact with her friends who have kids going to the same school, it was like looking in a mirror. And the whole interaction about the teachers, my god was that hilarious because it is what all parents do.

Savage makes it so much more funny because she is a brilliant comedic writer. The cast around her is dynamite. Tom Everett Scott, who you all might remember from "That Thing You Do", is so great as her husband. The scene where he wears a tank top is comedy gold. Also, when he sees Andrea's mom's nipple, just so, so funny. Andrea's mom, played by Kathy Baker, is the perfect and typical grand parent. She lets Amelia, played by Olive Petrucci, get away with everything. And the aforementioned nipple scene, she does some great things with that. Also, the back and forth between Andrea and her daughter, after her parents tell her to make friends and hang out with older kids, about periods and pubic hair was amazing. It is a conversation I know is coming to me, so to see it portrayed on a great show like "I'm Sorry" almost makes me feel prepared. Almost. And then there is one of my favorites, Jason Mantzoukas. He plays Andrea's writing partner on the show, and he is a delight. He is essentially playing himself, and he, of course, crushes it. When Andrea asks him how much he thinks she could make as a prostitute, which is another excellent minor story point in the premiere, the back and forth between them rivals the conversation she had with her daughter earlier. Mantzoukas is a treasure.

The only bad thing I have to say is, I wish I could watch the whole season right now. I don't want to wait week to week. Being able to consume all of season one in 2 days was almost the wrong thing to do. I love this show so much that I want to devour it all as soon as possible. Other than that, this show is perfect. I'm very excited to see where season 2 takes us. But I know, wherever it goes, it is going to be great because Savage is awesome.

Everyone should be watching this show. "I'm Sorry" is one of the best things on TV right now. It is a gem.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. We said it last time and we will say it again. Ty is a big supporter of shows married couples can watch together. Shows like "The Red Shoe Diaries", "Coed Confidential", and "The Erotic Traveler".

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Ty Watches "Big Mouth: Season 2"

Last week I finished up season 2 of "Big Mouth". This show is, by far, the best representation of going through puberty that I have ever watched on TV.

Now, I can only speak from a male point of view, but the way they portray the horribleness that is puberty, it is truly perfect. They have all the awkwardness and weird feelings and shame and just all around awful, awful things that happen when you are a teenager going through this time. I will say too, from the few ladies I know that watch the show, they say it is pretty on point from a female perspective.

What Nick Kroll and Gil Ozeri have done, with Netflix giving them a long, long leash, is pure perfection. First off, to make it an animated show, was the exact right way to give their message. With animation they can do things like a Hormone Monster and Hormone Monstress. This season they added a Shame Wizard, voiced by David Thewlis, and it was so real I had flash backs to all the shame I felt while I was going through puberty. The way they talk about how teens go through this at all different times was great. I was a slower developer, so I could relate with Nick. But, I had friends that were more like Andrew(John Mulaney), who were just frustrated and angry and growing faster than I was.

There was an episode this season, the premiere, when one of the girls developed faster than any other female student, and that brought me back. That was gut wrenching and hilarious to watch. There was a through line this season, it happened at the end of the first season, so it isn't a spoiler, where one of the kid's parents are going through a divorce, and we get to see her act out, like so many of my friends who had divorced parents did. It was perfect. All the stuff with her and the Hormone Monstress, be it yelling at her mom or stealing from a convenience store, I watched these friends of mine going through that do the same.

I also liked another episode where 2 of the kids try edibles for the first time and we see their journey. One handles it very well, taking it all in with glee and the other kid freaks the hell out, just like I would have had I done something like that as a 13 year old. All the stuff with the other families, like Nick's parents being overbearingly loving, or Josh's folks being loud and arguing with each other, but still deeply in love, or Jay's(Jason Mantzoukas) parents, who despise one another, but are so despicable they deserve one another is just excellent. Jay is another standout character as the crazed horned up lunatic friend that we all had in middle school. I also really like Miss(Jenny Slate), who has hippy parents, is a total nerd and is also dealing with puberty in all its awfulness. The show is simply perfection in every single way. From the writing to the voice acting to the way each kid deals with puberty it is all so well done. I can also tell how much I enjoy a show when I think about it all the time and it both, makes me laugh and cringe. That is exactly what "Big Mouth" does for me.

This show is a homerun for Netflix. It further proves that Nick Kroll makes great comedic TV. It also proves that more and more people need, and should, know who Gil Ozeri is because he is a comedic genius. I have loved both seasons of the show. I cannot wait to see where they go with season 3. "Big Mouth" is the best show ever made about puberty and I will fight anyone that says otherwise. Go watch it and tell me why it isn't. I bet you cannot find one show, or reason, why I'm wrong. "Big Mouth" is a triumph.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Watching “Big Mouth” may bring back some memories for Ty, but it also brings nightmares. Ty does have two kids that will one day enjoy the journey.

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Ty Watches "The Disaster Artist"

I had the great pleasure of seeing “The Disaster Artist” this past Saturday. I’ve been very much looking forward to this movie since I heard they were going to make it over a year ago. I’m a big fan of “The Room”, and when I saw they were going to make a movie about making that movie and Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero’s friendship, I couldn’t wait. Then, I saw the cast and I knew I had to see this movie on opening weekend. “The Disaster Artist” was a hit at every festival, and the early reviews were pretty much all positive. This only built my anticipation. My wife bought us tickets about a week ago, and we finally got to see it on Saturday.

I was absolutely blown away. First of all, the theater we saw the movie in was sold out. I was stunned, but in a good way. I never thought a niche movie like this would appeal to a mass audience. Boy was I wrong. After the previews the movie started and it had my full attention for every single second of its 105 minute run time. This was such a perfect way to tell this story.

The first third of the movie was all about Tommy and Greg’s friendship. “The Room” doesn’t come into the story until about 40 minutes in. We see a “young” Tommy and a young Greg meet in an acting class in San Francisco. We see their friendship grow from scene partners to roommates to collaborators. I must say, all the buzz that James Franco is getting is well deserved. He embodies Tommy Wiseau. It’s not just the accent either. He looks like him. He has his same gestures. He laughs like him. He became Tommy. He was amazing. He better damn well get an Oscar nomination. Dave Franco was just as good as Greg. He embodied the faith and trust that Greg inexplicably has for Tommy to this day. His devotion is at times charming, but also sad. The younger Franco was so good. I imagine this had to have been so much fun for them to do as well. To the best of my knowledge this is the first time they’ve acted together. They crushed it.

Outside of the Francos, everyone else in this movie was awesome. Ari Graynor as the actress that played the infamous Lisa showed us the naive and ultimately disgusted young actress. Seth Rogen and Paul Scheer as 2 key workers on the movie were hilarious. Rogen was a delight, as usual. Scheer crushes his performance. He was great. Josh Hutcherson as Denny, phenomenal. His haircut was worth the admission alone. Zac Efron as Chris R, wonderfully absurd and hilarious. Nathan Fielder as the psychologist, perfect. Jason Mantzoukas and Hannibal Buress as the guys that sell Tommy the equipment for the movie, perfect. There are so many cameos, and they are all amazing. Too many to list. Just know, JJ Abrams shows up in the very first scene.

When we do get to the making of “The Room”, “The Disaster Artist” effortlessly bounces between comedy and drama. This was where James Franco truly shines. The stuff he says and does on the set are so crazy, but it’s all true. Only an actor like James Franco could’ve pulled this off. I do not want to spoil anything for anyone. I will say though, you don’t have to see “The Room” to like “The Disaster Artist”, but if you’ve seen “The Room”, you’ll understand the movie more, and I think you’ll love it like I did.

I cannot recommend this movie enough. It is a true masterpiece. Due yourself a favor and go see “The Disaster Artist”. It has definitely been the best movie I’ve seen in 2017.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He and his brother have worked together on an entertainment product. I wonder what that could be?

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Ty Watches "Big Mouth"

Last week I finally got around to watching "Big Mouth" on Netflix. I was waiting until I caught up on other shows to watch, and when I finally sat down and binged the show, and I was very happy with what I saw. I was pretty sure I was going to like it when I saw Nick Kroll was the co creator. I'm a big Nick Kroll fan. Then I saw some of the other people involved, and I was on board. Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Jessi Klein, Jason Mantzoukas, Seth Morris, Kristen Bell, Maya Rudolph, Fred Armisen, Richard Kind, I could go on and on with the people I am a fan of on this show.

At its core, "Big Mouth" is about teenagers going through puberty. "Big Mouth" hits all the important moments, both male and female, that make puberty such a drag. We get zits, wet dreams, periods, awkwardness with the opposite sex, weird feelings that go through your body, getting hair where there was no hair before, hormones, virtually everything that makes this such a tough time in young people's lives. After watching the first episode I told my wife that this was, by far, the best representation of going through puberty, at least from a male perspective. Puberty stinks. It is the worst. It is so awkward and challenging and there is so much change and new things that do not make sense. And "Big Mouth" captures that perfectly.

Andrew, voiced by John Mulaney, is one of the main characters, and we see a lot of the bad sides of going through puberty through his eyes. He even has a hormone monster that is always at his side telling him the wrong thing to do because, as we all know, our hormones are way out of whack when we are teenagers. We see the wet dreams, the constant urges, the will to fight when told something he didn't like, the yelling at parents, the horribly awkward encounter of asking a girl to be your girlfriend at 13. It is all there, and Mulaney, and the writers, completely nail it. Nick Kroll is his buddy that is a bit behind, as far as growing up goes, but he is just as good. You see the jealousy, the fighting, the wanting to be involved, trying to get girls himself, even drinking at his sister's high school party. Kroll's character also wants the hormone monster to get him, but he is not ready. In fact, that is a very good through line for the first season. Jessi Klein represents the female lead, and as far as I can tell, she is great at showing how rough this time of life can be for girls. She has a bad experience with white shorts, her mom and dad are always fighting and she has crushes on 3 of her different friends that happen to be boys. Klein is great. Jason Mantzoukas is cast perfectly as the crazed 13 year old that cannot control his urges. He also has a crazy home life, and he loves magic. The relationship between him and his pillow, voiced by Kristen Bell, is gold. Nick Kroll and Maya Rudolph play the voices of the male and female hormone monsters, and they are my favorite parts of the show. The hormone monsters tell these kids to give into their urges, and they also have a very odd relationship with each other. But, their lines always made me laugh, and also reflect on how true that situation was at age 13. Richard Kind is great as Andrew's dad, who has a big problem with scallops, and also constantly complains. Rudolph and Fred Armisen play Nick Kroll's folks, and they are almost too loving and caring. They are always eager to give advice that their kids may not want to hear. There is a great few scenes in an episode where Nick doesn't want to be babied anymore, so his mom starts to take care of Jay(Jason Mantzoukas), who is hard pressed for the love of a mom.

I have nothing but good things to say about "Big Mouth". It is perfect in every way. It gets across its message so well, and I am so pumped to see what they do with season 2. The only warning I will give, the show is animated, but it is not a kid's show. My son walked in one day while I was watching it, and I had to turn it off immediately. It is filled with curse words. Anyway, I highly recommend "Big Mouth" for anyone and everyone that went through puberty. There is no show that better represents that time in your life.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He still waiting for the hormone monster to get him. Being a bald prepubescent boy is one of strangest things ever. Something only Charlie Brown knows about.

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Cloves and Fedoras: Go Check Out the Awesome Comedy "I'm Sorry"

Cloves and Fedoras is Seed Sings reviews for little known pieces of pop culture.  Feel free to contact us with your own submissions of undiscovered gems that must be known.

While listening to the podcast "How Did this Get Made" a few weeks back they had Andrea Savage on as their guest. I do not remember which movie they were talking about, but I knew that Savage and Jason Mantzoukas were both cracking me up. I am already a big time fan of Mantzoukas. I have sang his praises many times on the podcast and the website. He is a funny dude and I really enjoy the characters he plays. I vaguely knew of Savage. She has shown up in bit parts on shows I watch like "The League" and "Veep". In fact, she plays the president on "Veep". She was also in a very underrated, short lived Comedy Central show, "Dog Bites Man" that everyone should check out. She is also very funny in the movie "Step Brothers". She has a smaller role, but she does wonderful things with it.

Near the end of the podcast, both Savage and Mantzoukas, while doing plugs, plugged a show that Savage created that Mantzoukas was a co star on. The show is called "I'm Sorry" and it is on the TruTV network, and it is glorious.

After hearing about "I'm Sorry" on "HDTGM", I wanted to check it out and I was glad that I landed on it while channel surfing. My wife came into the living room while I was watching it and she sat down and finished the episode with me. We both loved what we saw. The show was hilarious. We were lucky enough to see that TruTV was having an all day marathon on Labor Day leading up to the season finale. We recorded all the episodes and the finale. We had 10 episodes on our DVR and we blasted through them in about 3 days. We would sit down after putting our kids to bed, say we were only going to watch one, then we'd watch 3 or 4. We could not get enough. The show is so funny. The wit, the jokes, the acting, the writing, the directing, it all comes at you so fast and furious and it is all hilarious.

First off, Savage is an absolute comedic genius. she is so damn funny on the show. Her jokes and acting are top notch. She makes me laugh harder than anyone else on the show does. It makes sense because it is her show, but she ups the comedy to a whole new level. Tom Everret Scott plays her husband. You may know him from "That Thing You Do". He is great on "I'm Sorry". He is quieter and kind of just plays off Savage's fast paced comedy, but he has his moments. There is a great scene after they see their marriage counselor that I do not want to spoil but Scott is so funny, sad and reverts back to being his quiet self immediately. It is the best moment of season one. Both Savage and Scott have great chemistry too. They play so well off each other. Their daughter is equally funny. She is 5, just a child, but Savage and crew write some great lines for her. Some of the stuff she says blows my mind because she is so young, but being on this show, I guess it should be expected. Her mother, played by Kathy Baker, has great moments too. She is very funny. Martin Mull, who plays her father, has a tremendous character arc that is one of the funniest things from season one. The aforementioned Mantzoukas plays her writing partner, and every scene he is in is awesome. He is so god damn funny on the show. He is still playing a kind of disgusting character, but it is nowhere near Rafi from "The League". He actually gets to be human in this role. Mantzoukas is great, and I am so glad that he is getting chances to play different roles in movies and TV shows lately. He has earned his shot.

There are also a ton of people in the current comedy world that show up on this show in small roles. Gary Anthony Williams is great as a stay at home dad that is friends with Savage. Steve Zissis as "shorts guy" has a very funny, very small role in the show. Judy Greer is great as one of Savage's friends who rally enjoys to see Savage squirm. Allison Tollman, in her 2 episodes, is very funny. Nelson Franklin as Savage's brother, is really good. Morgan Walsh is great. Pretty much everyone one of Savage's friends that show up for an episode here and there are just wonderful and I love when I see them on the screen.

"I'm Sorry" is a gem. I highly recommend that everyone watch this. It is a great show for couples, especially married couples, to watch together. Like I said, there has only been one season, so it is easy to catch up. Every episode is on TruTV On Demand, and they are about 25 minutes long. The show has been picked up for a much deserved second season, and I cannot wait to see where they take it from season one. Go watch "I'm Sorry", it is one of the funniest new shows on TV.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is a big supporter of shows married couples can watch together. Shows like "The Red Shoe Diaries", "Coed Confidential", and "The Erotic Traveler".

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The SeedSing 2016 Year in Pop Culture: The Best, and Worst, in Podcasting

For my final best of list this year, I am going to go very niche, and I'm going to give you all my top 5 podcast moments, or just flat out episodes of the year. Some of these are compilations, or random appearances on certain podcasts by people I like, or just straight forward episodes. Also, all mine are comedy podcasts, except for one, because that is what I like. I do not have anything from NPR, ESPN, The AV Club, Cracked, nothing like that. Also, there is no "Serial" or anything like that on my list. That was a one hit wonder type deal, and I think the second season of "Serial" proved that very point. Anyway, lets get to it. 

At number 5, I have all of the "Doughboys" episodes during their "Tournament of Chompions". This was when Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell, and one guest for each episode, went around to various fast food type restaurants and put the burgers in a tournament. They had franchises all over the US, places like Five Guys, Hardees, Burger King and Wendy's that they judged. But, they also went to places that some people around the US don't have, like Shake Shack and In N Out Burger. Look, I knew form the beginning of this tournament that In N Out was going to make the finals. Wiger, ever since the birth of "Doughboys", has talked about how In N Out Burger is the best place ever. He legitimately loves this place. There is no mistaking that. Mitchell knew this, so he tried to game the system by having friends of his that dislike In N Out on to "beat" whoever they matched up against. It finally happened, when John Gemberling appeared, and picked Burger King as the winner over In N Out. Wiger was audibly upset and Mitchell was audibly thrilled. But, like a whiny baby, near the end of this tournament, look, the whole thing was convoluted from the start, as I said, the matchup was going to be In N Out versus Shake Shack no matter what happened in each previous episode, they all but said this at the start, Wiger got In N Out back in, and they "won". But, what I liked about this whole series was how much Mitchell just got on Wiger's nerves. This is their whole setup for the podcast. Wiger is Mitchell's whipping boy, and he took that to a whole new level during the "Tournament of Chompions". It was funny, uncomfortable and everything I want from any episode of "Doughboys". It is a really good podcast.

At number 4, I have "The Bill Simmons Podcast" when Michael Rappaport was on the first time this year. This was one of the better episodes of "The BS" podcast, and it was all because of Rappaport. He is so lively and talkative and funny and has stories for days. When Simmons brought up the Knicks and Kristaps Porzingis, that was when this episode became great. Rappaport loves the Knicks, and he loves Porzingis even more. He really, really likes this Knicks team, but Simmons, and myself for that matter, do not think this Knicks team is that good, but do not say that to Rappaport. He went on and on and on about how they can compete, especially in the East, and talked about their potential "greatness", which involved Porzingis mainly. He loves this dude. He kept calling him the "Lativian gangbanger". He talked about how he was the next great NBA super star. I thoroughly enjoyed this episode because of Rappaport's lively conversation skills. His own podcast is great, but when he shows up on other people's stuff, it is must listen for me, especially when you talk about something in his wheelhouse, like the Knicks, or who the greatest "stick men" in Hollywood may be. Rappaport is a delight.

At number 3, I have any episode of "Comedy Bang! Bang!" that Neil Campbell is on, playing his loved character, the Timekeeper. This is one of the funniest things on podcasts right now. He is so weird, and sounds so odd, but I cannot help but belly laugh whenever the Timekeeper shows up. He is hilarious. Campbell is such a great improviser and so good on a podcast like "CBB". "CBB" is the perfect show for the talents of someone like Neil Campbell, and the Timekeeper is his greatest character. His performances are great, and any time he is on, I get giddy with excitement and listen, hoping that he will bring in the Timekeeper at some point. He was just on their holiday episode, and it was one of the funnier episodes all year of "CBB". This is always a wonderfully hilarious performance.

At number 2, I have the episode of "How Did This Get Made" where they cover the Village People movie, "Can't Stop the Music". The episode has Jason Mantzoukas and Paul Scheer, but no June Diane-Rapheal, but, they do get Cameron Esposito and Pete Holmes, and they are great substitutes for this live episode. First of all, "HDTGM" is one of the best podcast hands down, but when they do a movie this insane, and try to figure it out, it is laugh out loud funny. Mantzoukas seems legitimately confused the entire show, trying to explain this movie. Scheer is just dumbfounded the whole time, never stopping to ask any question that pops in his head. Esposito does her best to try and explain, but even she has a hard time trying to figure stuff out. At points she thinks she has something figured out, but then someone will give a counterpoint, and then she is questioning her theory. It makes for great podcasting. But, the star of this episode is Holmes. He, instead of trying to figure how this movie got made, he did what he does best, and just riffs the whole 90 minutes. He goes from doing impressions, to bad dad jokes and ends up doing some terrible, but also extremely funny, puns. Holmes is so god damn funny, and that is on full display during this 90 minute "HDTGM". I do not always love the live episodes, but this is one of their best of all time.

Finally, at number 1, I have the episode of "I Was There Too" when Matt Gourley had Marc Maron on to talk about his bit role in "Almost Famous". This was another live episode, but this was such a great, great podcast. First off, I vividly remember Maron in "Almost Famous", his catchphrase for "WTF" comes from that movie, and I loved his role as the angry club promoter. He went into this role. He talked about auditioning for the role, getting a call back, and reading with Cameron Crowe. I love these stories. Then he talked about set life. I love these stories too. But, after deep diving into his 3 minutes or so on screen, the talk divulged into stuff like cats, how he prepares for his own show, writing jokes and talking to the crowd. This is the perfect medium for Maron, and Gourley was great at letting him go on any tangent that he wanted. I really loved this episode so much,  I have listened to it 3 times, and it has never gotten old. It was far and away the best podcast of 2016, in my personal opinion.

As far as the worst podcast episode of the year, it was anytime that Bill Simmons got on his soap box and complained about his show got cancelled, and how it was not his fault. His show was bad, I know, I watched it, and it was because of him. He is not a TV host. He is a writer and a podcaster, and he is damn good at those 2 things. He doesn't need a TV show too. But, for him to blame everyone else became very tiresome very fast. I would fast forward through these 10 minute whine fests because it was so grating and uncomfortable to hear. His show was bad, and that is that. It got cancelled, and that is what it deserved. Simmons has gotten better about it lately, but anytime it is brought up, I groan because I am fearful that he is going to get into why he was great and why everyone else was wrong. He needs to get over it and let it go. It's so childish and ignorant of Simmons to whine this much.

That's it for 2016. This has been a crappy year, but at least we have the good things on these lists, so that has to be some kind of consolation. Thanks for reading.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The number one podcast in his heart is anything he does on the X Millennial Man. Check out his new one ones every Saturday. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Cloves and Fedoras: Listen and Enjoy Wolfie's Just Fine Debut Album "I Remember But Then I Forgot"

Last week the band Wolfie's Just Fine released their debut album, "I Remembered But Then I Forgot", and it is really good. Now, for those of you that haven't heard of Wolfie's Just Fine, I bet most of you know their lead singer and guitar player, Jon Lajoie.

Lajoie is a comedian and actor from Canada. He has had small parts in movies and TV shows, but he is best known for playing the role of Taco on "The League". He and Rafi(Jason Mantzoukas) were my personal favorite characters on the show. Taco was the younger, stoner brother of Kevin(Steve Ranizzissi). He was always broke, but coming up with new business ventures. Anytime Lajoie was on, it was bound to be hilarious. He also has released solo, comedy music records under his own name. I own these albums as well. I bought them after I heard him sing on "The League". I thought the stuff he did on the show was funny, and the albums are just the same. It's goofy music. He sings folk, rock, pop and rap songs, but they are all very vulgar and very hilarious. He has some great songs on his first couple of solo records. Some of my favorites are "Stay At Home Dad", a Rage Against the Machineesque rock song about changing diapers, feeding his baby and making dinner for the family. He also has a folksy tune about the horrifying "2 Girls One Cup" video, where he almost makes it a love song. It's disgusting and terrifying and awful, but damn it's catchy. He has a fake, almost comically bad rap song called "Show Me Your Genitals", that is exactly what you think it's about. The way Lajoie raps the song is great and very funny. Basically, all his early music and his YouTube channel is based on comedy. He doesn't take himself too seriously, and I like that.

About a month ago, I had heard rumors that he was going to make a "real" album. No jokes, very little swear words and have a real, straight up folk band backing him up. I was intrigued. This wasn't the same feeling I experienced with Donald Glover when I found out he was a rapper who went by Childish Gambino. I thought he would be jokey, but he is a straight up rapper, and he is very good. The feeling I had when hearing that Lajoie was going to put out a real folk album was gloom. I didn't know if it would work. His comedy stuff is so funny and plays to his persona so well, I didn't want him to stray from that.

Then, about 2 or 3 weeks ago, Lajoie released the first single from Wolfie's Just Fine, "It's a Job", and I listened with caution. Instead of the gloom I initially felt, I immediately loved the song. His voice was a perfect fit for this style and genre of music. The backing band was great, never playing too loudly or too softly, they hit the sweet spot. I don't know why I had the gloom feeling at first, because a lot of his comedy music is folk based. So, instead of being dirty or gross, he just wrote and sang regular old folk songs and the single is awesome.

The album came out last Friday and I bought it that day. I have listened to the album three full times now, and it gets better and better to me every time. I love Lajoie's voice on every song. I love the band on every song. I love the lyrics and I love the music. I genuinely love this entire album. It's all folk, but the band does both slow and upbeat folk songs. It's really good guys.

Besides, "It's a Job", there are some other great songs like "I Forgot", "Todd and Janelle", "Never Me", "Marie-Eve" and "Running From My Savior". "I Forgot" is one of the slower folk songs, with a great guitar riff and great lyrics. The song slow burns and the riff running through the whole song is wonderful. It's a beautifully slow, throw back folk song. "Todd and Janelle" is a great, faster love song about two people that don't seem to really like each other. It's the only song with swear words on it, but it's not to shock, it's needed to explain the relationship between the two title characters. The music is faster, with a great drum groove. I didn't like the song at first, but on the third listen, I was on board and it's one of my favorite tunes on the whole record. "Never Me" has a great piano groove and awesome vocals from Lajoie. The song is very Billy Joel esque, but in a good way. I don't care for Joel personally, but I do enjoy his faster piano music and this is Lajoie's best interpretation of a good Billy Joel song. It's one of the more fun songs on the record. "Marie-Eve" is a wonderful love song. It's all the best things about old school folk stuffed into one 3 minute song. This song could have easily been written and sung by a young Bob Dylan. I wouldn't have been surprised had it been on the soundtrack for "Inside Llewyn Davis" had it been released at the time. I love this song. It's probably my favorite song on the whole record. The closer, "Running From My Savior" is so good and kind of boastful. It's a very good mix of rock and folk, definitely leaning more folk, and it finds Lajoie calling himself a God at the end of the song and during the chorus. I like that he can still be boastful, even when making a legit album. It also doesn't hurt that the song is very well written and very well played by the band.

I love this whole album, obviously. I hope Lajoie continues to do both styles of music. I still really enjoy his comedy music, but I really, really like this new direction he has taken. As I've written many times before, it's nice when musicians and singers take chances, and this is a huge risk taken by Lajoie, that totally pays off. I hope this album gets Lajoie noticed and recognized more in the music business. He's a well known actor by now, but he needs to be more well known as a musician.

Remember when listening to Wolfie's Just Fine, if you are already a Lajoie fan, it is not comedy, it is legit music. Don't expect jokes. But, I think if you are a true fan of his, you will really enjoy this album and really like this direction he is moving in. I love the band and I love the album. Go check it out if you are already a fan of Lajoie's, but also check it out if you are a fan of folk music. It's worth a listen, and I think all fans will really like it. I know that I do.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is getting more and more interested in the world of comedy - music fusion. His most anticipated film of 2016 fits this bill. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

After a strong episode, Ty is optimistic about the end of "The League"

One more episode, then I can turn the TV off

Spoiler alert, in fact this whole blog will be a spoiler alert for the whole season, so watch the episode before reading this.

Last nights episode of "The League" on FXX, "The 13 Stages of Grief" has been, hands down, the best episode of this, their final season. 

We found out in the last episode, , Ruxin's(Nick Kroll) wife, Sofia(Nadine Velazquez) was killed during a plastic surgery blunder. They had a funeral and everything, but there is still some question as to whether she's really dead. I say this because last nights episode opened with all the actors hanging around at a lunch table and asking Ruxin if he's grieved enough so they can get back to keeping regular score in their fantasy football league. Ruxin still seems pretty shook up, but he relents and says it's okay for them to go back to keeping real score. Ruxin leaves the lunch and heads to his empty home. When he walks in the door, he sees two table setting with pasta and bread and some lit candles. He thinks it's Sofia, but when he turns around, Rafi(Jason Mantzoukas) is standing right behind him. Any episode that is Rafi heavy are my favorites. So, when I saw him, I was immediately into the episode. Rafi was Sofia's younger brother, so he tells Ruxin that he is there to help him grieve the loss of Sofia and that he was putting him through his 13 stages of grief.

For those of you that don't know about the show or Rafi, he's a disgusting, dirty and downright nasty person. He has a drinking and drug problem. He shoots pornography with his buddy Dirty Randy(Seth Rogen). His sex life doesn't just include people, he has relations with animals and food. He is a garbage person to a t. He's so gross.

Back to the episode.

While telling Ruxin that he's going to help him grieve, he says that he prepared the dinner in his "toilet-kitchen". This is so foul, especially to Ruxin, he's a HUGE germaphobe. In Kevin's(Steve Ranizzissi) house, the rest of the crew is talking fantasy football. Pete(Mark Duplass) walks in and starts to talk about his daily fantasy team. This is off limits to the rest of the crew. They say, and I agree, that daily fantasy football is a useless, non strategic form of fantasy football. They will not allow Pete to talk about it. Jenny(Katie Aselton) goes as far as calling it "cheating on your fantasy wife and bragging about it". They, and I, hate daily fantasy leagues.

Later on we see Andre(Paul Scheer) talking to Ruxin at Ruxin's house, asking how he's doing, how's he dealing with his loss. But, the main reason he's there is to see if Ruxin is still keeping his reservation at the Michelin star restaurant that the whole crew is going to the week before fantasy playoffs. After Ruxin kind of hints that he doesn't know if he still wants to go, Rafi shows up with a bloodied bag that we come to find that there's a dead raccoon in. Rafi says this is stage 3, the episode doesn't give us every stage, facing death. He wants Ruxin to look the dead raccoon in the face, Rafi is calling it Sofia now, and drink it's blood. He swears it will help him get over Sofia and that he's already drank some of the raccoon's blood. This is where Andre leaves. He cannot stand Rafi. The whole crew doesn't like Rafi in fact.

Later on, the whole crew is hanging out and all of the sudden their league is shut down due to graphic material on their fantasy message board. They have always had very cruel, hurtful and hateful speak on the boards, so they can't figure out why, now, they were being shut down. Rafi emerges and asks if they have seen the video he just posted on the board of him and Dirty Randy having relations with a chicken in Mexico. So, that's why they were shut down. They now have to do all their fantasy stuff offline, like the old days they say. This leaves Kevin, he's the commissioner, with a ton of work. He has to track add/drop players, scores, trades, pretty much anything that you can do with a click of a button now in fantasy sports, he has to do by hand. It's very hard to keep track of it all.

While Kevin is doing all this work, Andre goes to the restaurant to try and put the reservation under his name, but it doesn't work. At another point, Kevin goes to Ruxin's house to try and figure out all the players he wants to add and drop and we get an excellent scene between Ruxin and Rafi arguing while Kevin watches. Rafi shows up with a tank top and an apron, giving them chips and salsa and says that this is part of the grieving. Ruxin has always had someone around to feed him and his friends during games, so that's what Rafi is doing now. They fight and nag, much to the chagrin of Kevin. The fight ends when Rafi throws a pregnancy test at Ruxin and says, "by the way, I' pregnant. I shit on it this morning and it's positive". I was crying laughing. Ruxin even sniffs the test and is immediately repulsed exclaiming, "why would I sniff it!?". So funny.

Near the end of the episode, Rafi tells Ruxin that the last step in the grieving process is for the two of them to sleep together. Did I mention he was wearing Sofia's underwear? No, well he was. He tells Ruxin that he never got one last time to be intimate with his wife, so he would give him that since he and Sofia are blood related. Ruxin wants no part of this, so he lights a vanilla scented candle. The scent of vanilla makes Rafi gag and while he's getting sick, Ruxin actually says that he is through grieving. The process is over and it worked.

The rest of the crew is at the restaurant with Taco(Jon Lajoie) posing as Ruxin. Their plan isn't working, but Ruxin comes in and saves the table and the dinner. At said dinner, they all want to know who made the playoffs. Kevin presents them with scores, but the math is all wrong and nobody is pleased. They decide to let everyone on the playoffs and make it a one week, winner take all for the Shiva. High score wins, low score gets the Sacko, the last place trophy. They all go to the Shiva and give praise one last time and proceed to leave the restaurant. When leaving, Meegan(Leslie Bibb) is there. Meegan was married to Pete in season one, they got divorced and it was revealed this season that her and Andre were dating. They eventually broke up and this is the first they're seeing each other since ending it. Meegan takes off her coat to reveal that she's pregnant and the episode ends there.

I was so happy at how good this episode was. This season has been kind of so so, but "The 13 Stages of Grief" hearkened back to the best of "The League". They have one episode left and if it's half as good as this one, I will be very happy. This was a great first step towards ending the show and let's hope the series finale follows in the same foot steps. I'm more happy and prepared for the series finale today than I have been all season with "The League".

Now end it strong.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. The daily fantasy he participates in is the one about all of his kids sleeping through the night. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Comedy is thriving with podcasts. Get the best with the new app Howl.

Where do I turn the dial to hear this great comedy?

As all of you know, I'm a big, big fan of podcasts. 

I listen to podcast ranging from sports to comedy. Comedic podcasts are where my bread is buttered. I love listening to funny people being funny. There's something great about podcasting that allows these comedians and comedy writers to be funny in a free flowing environment. There's no real structure. Sure, you have an intro and an outro, but what happens in the middle is the best part. You get to hear these people use improv. That's so cool, because a lot of these people are great improvisors. People like Doug Benson, Scott Aukerman, Mike Mitchell, Nick Wiger, The Sklar Brothers, Paul F Tompkins and Matt Gourley are all great comics and actors, but on podcasts, they shine. Podcasting gives them the ability to do whatever they want. No notes from network executives, or people telling them to wrap something up. They have free rein. 

Podcasts have also introduced me to very funny up and coming actors and comedians like Lauren Lapkus, Jon Gabrus, Hayes Davenport, Sean Clements and even an old timer like Brendon Walsh. Ben Schwartz is so hilarious whenever he and Scott Aukerman do their "solo bolos" on Comedy Bang! Bang!. Actor Adam Scott is very, very funny during his appearances on multiple podcasts. Nick Kroll is a comedy powerhouse, especially with his many different characters on Comedy Bang! Bang!.  How Did This Get Made introduced me to Paul Scheer, June Diane Rapheal and the extremely funny, Jason Mantzoukas. I had barely ever seen or heard from Andy Daly until he started to pop up on different podcasts and now he has one of the best shows on TV, "Review". I could go on and on and on.

The main reason I'm writing today is to tell you about the great new podcast app called Howl. Howl gives you unlimited access to every single Earwolf, Wolfpop and WTF With Marc Maron that's ever been recorded. That means every episode of Comedy Bang! Bang!, How Did This Get Made, U Talkin U2 To Me, Analyze Phish, what I'm trying to say is, you get every single episode of every single Earwolf show. On most podcast apps, you get the last six months. On Howl, you get every episode ever, and the old ones are remastered with no commercial interruption. Same thing goes for the fairly new sister network of Earwolf, Wolfpop. You get Maltin on Movies with Baron Vaughn, I Was There Too, The Canon and so on and so forth. Every episode ever and the old ones are commercial free.

That would be enough for me, but they also give you every single WTF with Marc Maron. On his free app, he only gives the last sixty episodes for free. Howl gives you every episode ever. That's right, you can go back and listen to the two part Louis CK episode, voted best podcast ever, commercial free as many times as you want. You can hear Marc Maron interview Robin Williams. You can hear him from his start, interviewing his comedy buddies all the way to his high point of interviewing President Barack Obama.

Now, this app does cost money, but it's only 5 dollars a month. That's not much at all considering what you're getting. There is also shows that are only part of the premium Howl app. New shows from the Sklar Brothers, Lauren Lapkus and Jermaine Clement just to name a few will be on the premium app soon. There's also a TON of comedy albums available. You can hear albums from comics like Jen Kirkman, Doug Benson, Jim Gaffigan, Nick Kroll, Aziz Ansari and many, many more. I know, this sounds like an add, but it's not, I really just love this app and I think comedy podcast listeners will too. This is the holy grail for comedy podcasts. All these hours upon hours of uninterrupted shows is, in a word, phenomenal. It's a nice way to give back to these people that give us all this free content. Five dollars a month is nothing, and it's totally worth it. I love the Howl app and I'm really happy to have it. This is the first movement in the future of podcasting and I couldn't be happier about having all this content. Keep up the great work people of Earwolf, Wolfpop and WTF.

You guys have a fan for life.

Ty 

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and co-host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He did not get paid by any advertisers for writing this, . Follow Ty on twitter .

Cloves and Fedoras: Ty thinks you should give "Womp it Up!" a listen

Cloves and Fedoras is Seed Sings reviews for little known pieces of pop culture.  Feel free to contact us with your own submissions of undiscovered gems that must be known. 

As you all know I listen to many, many podcasts. I'd say about ninety to ninety five percent are comedy. When I heard that Marissa Wompler(Jessica St Clair) and Charlotte Listler(Lennon Parham), who are beloved from their many appearances on the great "Comedy Bang Bang", were getting their own podcast,"Womp It Up!" I subscribed to it immediately I listened to the four mini preview clips with much anticipation. Now that they're four episodes deep, it has not disappointed.

Wompler and Listler are still up to their usual shenanigans. In episode one, they have Eric Gutterman AKA Gutterballs(Jason Mantzoukas) controlling the soundboard and he and Marissa still have their hilarious back and forth. Clearly she loves him, but he's not into her. Jessica St Clair and Jason Mantzoukas are both so excellent as these characters I'm filled with joy when I see that they're are going to be on a podcast together. They are great. Each episode of "Womp it Up!" is show is broken down into sections. On every podcast they will do a spot called "Hot Topix", where in, Marissa dishes the dirt on what's going down at Marina Del Ray High School(that's where the podcast takes place). Then there's "Listler's Love Lockdown", where Ms. Listler reads letters from someone who has a crush on someone else and proceeds to give them advice. They also have the "Spotlight On" section. In this part, they interview a friend, or teacher, or sometimes even former teachers from the school. In episode one, theater teacher, Dr. Lionel Drioche(the always hilarious Seth Morris) explains what it's like to be the theater teacher at Marina Del Ray High. In episode two, "Spotlight On" features Lil Nicky(Chris Gethard), a foreign exchange student from New Jersey, whose passions include ghost hunting and managing an acapella group called "Deep Treble". In episode three, we get to meet Mr. Jordache(Neil Casey). He's a former computer science teacher who had an incident in the men's locker room. Pretty hilarious to hear him explain the incident, I am not going to spoil it so just go listen. In the most recent "Womp It Up!" we get two guests for "Spotlight On". First, we have Marissa's step dad Seth(Brian Huskey reprising his role from "Comedy Bang Bang") and Dr Dennis Endercut, who writes a literary magazine and wants to talk about his bucket list. Each episode ends with Marissa reading a listeners email and giving her "sage" advice on what to do. In the beginning of the podcast we learn that this is a project for the STARS program that Ms. Listler started, which isn't a real thing. The STARS program they explain, is for the kids taking remedial classes. We also find out in the first episode that the podcast is all taking place in the library and that the principal does not know about it because her and Listler are enemies. I know this all sounds crazy and probably a little ridiculous, but fans of "Comedy Bang Bang" and the TV show "Playing House" know exactly what I'm talking about and they know how damn funny these two ladies are. The episodes, up to this point, come out every two weeks. As I said, they're only four in and each one is about an hour long, so there's plenty of time to catch up.

I highly recommend "Womp It Up!" Womp up the jamz everybody!

You can find "Womp it Up!" on the Earwolf network - here.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor at Seed Sing. What is better than reading about culture? Writing about Pop Culture. Join Ty's Pop culture team and write for Seed Sing. You can follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.