I am Done with Gross Creep Louis CK

Enjoy this picture of a puppy before you read. You will need it.

I had some other things I wanted to write about today, but Louis CK is a god damn creep.

I had heard the rumors about what he did backstage about a year ago, but I was such a big fan, I brushed them off. I figured that it was all untrue. He has 2 younger daughters, so why would he do something so repulsive I would tell myself and my friends in conversation. He had big time hit shows, he was creating unique and new material, he was always working, so I just assumed that he had no time to do the stuff that he was being accused of. And for awhile, that seemed true.

Yesterday that all changed. I read early in the day that he was pulling the premiere of his new movie, that was supposed to open that day in New York, due to a "damaging" report that was going to come out. This made me go back and rethink everything I had originally thought about these allegations. Maybe he really did do these horrible, awful and disgusting acts. Why else would he, and the studio, pull his movie. And sure enough, the story came out and 5 women said that he did lewd things in front of them backstage at comedy clubs. I was so angry.

Louis CK is the first person that I have been a big time fan of to be accused of doing something this awful and grotesque. The Kevin Spacey stuff is horrific, but it was not a shock to me. The "president" is a god damn creep, so I believe every single woman that has come out and said that he has done truly awful things to them behind closed doors. All these senators that are perverts, of course I believe that. I read some stuff about Matthew Weiner being accused of harassment. Again, that doesn't surprise me. Same thing for Jeremy Piven and Brett Ratner. Both those dudes are creeps. But, the Louis CK stuff really shook me to my core. As stated, I have defended him for a year. I have gone on the podcast and the site and claimed he is the best standup ever. I have heaped praise on all of the things he puts his name on. I was an undying true super fan of his.

Then this bull shit comes out. I'm so disgusted that I said all these nice things about such an awful and disgusting human being. Anyone that does/did the things he did/does to women are truly awful people. Why would any women ever want any guy to do the disgusting stuff that Louis CK did in front of them? Why is this something that he thought would be okay? Why did he think he could get away with it? How stupid do you have to be? And again, he has 2 youngish daughters. How would he feel if a man did what he did/does to women behind closed doors to his daughters. If anyone did anything close to what CK did in front of my daughter, the police would be contacted immediately, and I would make it my point to ruin that person's life. This is so wrong and so disgusting. It makes me sick because I used to, as little as a few weeks ago, defend him. How could I be so naïve? It is truly upsetting.

Oh, and his response today, to say it is all true, screw you man. That doesn't make it okay that you are owning up to it. You are as creepy as Spacey, the "president", all the senators, Matt Weiner, Brett Ratner, Jeremy Piven, any guy that thinks that they can do whatever they want to do in front of women. You disgust me Louis CK. I will never, ever look at you the same way ever again. There is no coming back from this, at least from my perspective. Any time I see your face or name attached to anything, all I will think of is how gross and mean and disgusting and what a  bully you are. And for the women coming out and sharing their horrifying stories, you deserve a medal. You are putting your life on the line, and you are outing these despicable men that think of you as objects and not people. This disgusts me to no end. The fact that a guy gets some fame and thinks he can do what he wants to grown women is truly disturbing. I don't buy CK's excuse that he "has problems" and that he owned up to it today. None of that matters because you already treated these women as less than you, and you scarred them for life. That is the problem. These women couldn't lead normal lives because of what you did to them. And again, you are a father to 2 young girls. How god damn stupid and depraved do you have to be.

I'm done with Louis CK forever. Once I was his biggest fan, but now, after all of this, I will never respect him. I will not watch his stuff and I will never listen to his standup again. I hope this gives you as much pain as you gave those women that you did these lewd and disturbing things in front of. You are a creep Louis CK, and I will never look at you the same way again.

Ty

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

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

This week marks the week of my "Best Of"' lists. I will do TV, movies, music, podcasts and sports moments.

Right off the bat though, 2016 has been a pain in the ass. This is one of the worst years possibly in the history of the world. We have lost so many great people, George Michael even passed last night, I mean, Jesus Christ, we have lost some legends. There is also the terrible, horrible, dreadful election that we have spoken so much of on the site and podcast. The weather, at least here in Saint Louis, has been a nightmare. To make a long story short, 2016 has stunk. This is my generations "great depression", or World War or any other bad thing you want to say. It has been a horrific year.

But, some good, maybe, possibly, even great things have come out this year, and that is what I'm going to be talking about the next 5 days. So, even though I have laid out how shitty 2016 has been, I do have some "Best Of" stuff to get to. I will also throw in one thing on each list I thought was terrible as well, but today comes my top 5 TV shows of the year. I will count down from 5-1 on each list.

So, here we go.

At number 5, I have "Horace and Pete". This show came from nowhere. Louis C.K. had been working on it for some time, and put out every episode on his site on a random Saturday in the middle of the summer. It was an odd time to put out a show, but would you expect anything different from a genius like C.K.? But, getting to what made this show so great, it was so very different from anything C.K. has been doing. It was dark and very depressing. Sure, there were some funny moments, but there was way, way more dark and deep moments. C.K. shined on the show, but so did Steven Buscemi, Alan Alda, Edie Falco and every patron at the bar, especially Steven Wright. The show was shot like a play, which I enjoyed very much. It was unique, it was ground breaking, in its own way and it had Louis C.K.'s imprint all over it. I'm sure it will be on Netflix or some other streaming device, but I recommend buying it on his site. It is only 20 or 30 bucks for the whole series, and you will never forget the greatness that you will see when watching "Horace and Pete". I still can't shake the ending, and to me, that is the sign of a great show.

At number 4, I get a little lighter with, "People of Earth". I had heard very little about this show leading to its build up, but I knew Wyatt Cenac was the star, and I'm a big fan of his. So, I recorded the premiere, which was on Halloween, and waited until 3 or 4 episodes had recorded. I watched all 3 or 4 in one sitting and was immediately hooked. The show has a very easy plot to understand. A group of people calling themselves "Experiencers" get together every week to talk about the time that they were abducted by aliens. In each episode you get to see the people getting abducted, and what they each went through during their experiences. But, there is so much more to this show than just some UFO, alien stuff. The show is very funny. I laughed out loud at parts. There were episodes that were moving and heartfelt. Cenac is a star in this role. Ana Gasteyer is equally as good. The rest of the cast does great in their roles to. The best part though is the aliens. The interactions and things that go on on the ship are great. The creators do not treat the aliens like monsters. Sure, they look like aliens, but they have squabbles and get into petty fights just like anyone else at their respective job does. Like I said, the show did not get the coverage it deserved on the lead up, but the show is great, and it is coming back in 2017 for a second season, which makes me very happy.

At number 3, I have "Luke Cage". This show kicks ass people. I watched it not because it is a superhero show, but because Ali Shaheed Muhammed, from ATCQ, did all the original music for it. But, in watching it for the music, I fell in love with the show. When my wife asked me why I was enjoying it so much, I told her it is like "The Wire", which may be the greatest television show ever, but with superheroes, and it is easier to follow the story. When "The Wire" would go deep into cop talk, sometimes they would lose me, that never happens in "Luke Cage". It was easy for me to follow everything, and I loved that about this show. Mike Colter is excellent as Luke Cage, but everyone else on the show, be it Theo Rossi, Alfre Woodard, Rosario Dawson, Masherala Ali, or anyone else in the cast, they are all stars. The show is dark and violent, but it is also incredible. I love Luke Cage's powers, I love his "origin" story, I loved watching the fight scenes, I loved everything about this show. They even had big time musical guest stars, people like Charles Bradley, Rapheal Saadiq and Sharon Jones, RIP, show up in some episodes. "Luke Cage" is the second best Netflix Original that I have seen. People need to watch it, even if you are not a "superhero" person.

The reason "Luke Cage" is the second best Netflix show leads me to my number 2 show of 2016, "Stranger Things". Honestly, has there been a recent show that has been more talked about on social media than "Stranger Things". The crazy thing about it, none of the talk was negative. I cannot find one person that does not think this show is awesome. I was skeptical at first when I heard it was a cross between "E.T." and the "X-Files", but as I watched, I found it to be a bit more like "Goonies" and "The X-Files", both of which I love. The kids on this show are wonderful. They are the true stars that are the heart and soul of what makes "Stranger Things" so good. But, the adults, mainly Winona Ryder, are just as good. They have to live in this crazy world that the Duffer Brothers created as well, and they do a phenomenal job on the show. This show kind of had it all. There were love stories, comedy, action, family drama, regular drama, monsters, aliens, weird old scientist guys, but above all else, the best Sci Fi since "Blade Runner". I do not want to give anything away in case there are one or two people that have not seen "Stranger Things", but damn is this show great. The best part is the kids, and that goes double for Millie Bobby Brown, who plays 11. Seriously, if you haven't seen "Stranger Things" yet, first, what the hell is wrong with you, but second, go watch it right now, and thank me later. This show is a true gem.

Finally, my number one show of 2016, "Atlanta". Did you really think I'd pick something else? I've been talking up this show since I saw the first trailer for it, and not only did it deliver on my expectations, but it exceeded them by a thousand miles. There hasn't been a show this original and unique on TV in quite some time. The time and effort that went into "Atlanta" paid off so much. The show was moving, funny, heartfelt, treated every character as if they were the main character, gave us some great newish actors and actresses to love and proved that Donald Glover is one of the best, and most innovative, people working in show business right now. This show had everything. All the episodes were all home runs. The show paid off and, as I have already stated, exceeded everyone's wildest dreams. Every episode with Paper Boi was excellent. Zazie Beets, who played Earn's baby's mother, was tremendous in her solo episode. When Earn and her go to her mother's party, another fantastic 30 minutes of television. But, the best episode of the season was when they had the "BET" type talk show that even included some commercials that Glover and staff made up themselves. This was the most original thing that has been on TV in over a decade. "Atlanta" was head and shoulders above any other TV show on this year, and we did have some decent TV this year. "Atlanta" was the best though, and it wasn't even close.

As far as my one bad TV show of the year goes, it cannot be anything other than "The Walking Dead". I hammeredlast season's finale, and true to my word, I did not watch one single episode of this season, but my wife did, and she said it was excruciatingly boring. They even killed off some "main" characters, but when she told me who they were, my response was something along the lines of "Who?", or "I don't even know who you are talking about". I do not care about Negan, I think the show did all it could in about 2 seasons, but now, they are scraping the barrel. People crushed "The Office" for going on too long, including me, so why doesn't everyone do the same for "The Walking Dead"? I don't get it, but from what I gathered, it was probably the worst show of the year.

That is it for today, come back tomorrow for my top 5 movies of 2016.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He picked no network tv shows because he is under the age of 60 and does not wathc network television. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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

Another Great Show from Louis CK

The mic had some funny behind it last night

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing Louis CK live at the Scottrade Center here in Saint Louis. This review is going to be short and sweet because I don't want give away any of his bits, jokes or stories, because everyone needs to do themselves a favor and see him live in you ever have the chance. He owned the stage for over 90 minutes last night. The upper level was closed down, but the rest of the arena was filled, and he had us all in the palm of his hands for his whole set. His set was all fresh material as well. I'm a huge fan, he's my favorite comedian working right now, and I have seen every special, but last night, I hadn't heard one single joke. It was awesome. It's kind of like seeing a band two nights in a row, but the set list is completely different. That is always a treat, and so is the fact that CK does new material on every tour. He is an absolute genius. Like I said, I don't want to give away bits, but he had some great stories about trying the finest things in life, Matthew Mcconaughy, old people dying, his kids, public schools, all of it was just incredible. The way he moves on stage, the very little, but very necessary movements with bits, is second to none. He can play arenas and have the absolute attention of the entire audience. I didn't hear people talking around me. No one was on their cell phones. Very few people got up from their seats during his set. It was pure comedy gold.

The three openers, Joe List, Joe Machi and Rachel Feinstein were all very good as well, and they all only did about 10 minutes each. It was a great appetizer to what was a great meal of comedy. Everything about this show was just perfect last night.

I have seen CK before, but I brought my dad with me because he is getting into stand up much later in his life, and there were times that I looked at him and he was laughing harder than I was. Please do yourselves a favor and go see Louis CK live if you have the chance. If you are a lover of stand up comedy, you have to see him live. He is the best stand up working right now, and I don't see him slowing down any time soon. Thank you so much for such a great show last night Mr. CK, and I cannot wait until you come back. Epic show and a great night.

Go see Louis CK.

Ty 

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Will you be performing in St. Louis, tell us about it and Ty will come to your show. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Cloves and Fedoras: Michael Rapaport is one of the best, and hardest working, entertainers out there.

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.

Today I'm going to give love to another actor/director that seemed to be forgotten, but has now reappeared and is doing some great work. That actor/director I'm speaking of is Michael Rapaport.

This comes about because yesterday, on the Bill Simmons podcast, Rapaport was the guest, for the third time already, and I loved every single second. He is just an angry, yet jovial dude and I love to hear him talk about everything from music to movies to sports, mainly basketball. He is a huge basketball fan and he is extremely knowledgeable on the NBA, especially his beloved Knicks. He knows their history inside and out. He is so passionate about his team. He said on the podcast, that it is nothing but gray skies right now for the Knicks.

That's something I really like about him. He isn't a delusional Knicks fan that thinks, "this is the year we turn it around", every year, he knows that this is a very dark time for his team. They have no picks in the upcoming draft. They will be hard pressed to bring in any big time free agents, unless they trade Carmelo. They are trying to decide between Kurt Rambis and David Blatt as their next head coach. Why is this even a question? Hire Blatt. Rambis is incompetent and has proven that every time he gets a head coaching job. Blatt was in the wrong situation at the wrong time in Cleveland, and he still took that team to the finals last year. Rappaport said the exact same thing. He doesn't see the need for Phil Jackson to interview anyone else if Blatt is available. I couldn't agree more with him, obviously.

This past Tuesday, and the two other times before, he has expounded his vast knowledge of the Knicks and the NBA, and I agree with almost everything he says. I agree that the Knicks are going to be an also ran for the next three, four or even five years. I agree that the NBA is in a golden age, but it will be bad in a couple of years because of the "one and dones", he said this the last time he was on the podcast. I agree that the Knicks of the 90's were incredibly dominant, but also underachievers, because they never won a title with Ewing, Mark Jackson and John Starks. I agree with him when he says he wants the Cavs to lose the finals again because LeBron is kind of becoming whiny since he isn't the top story in the NBA anymore, it's the Warriors. I agree when he says that Russell Westbrook is a lunatic on the floor. I agree that he says there will never be another player like Kevin Durant, a guy that's 7 feet tall and can handle and shoot like a guard. Rapaport is very, very smart when it comes to all things NBA.

Rapaport's hobbies and the things that he likes goes beyond just the NBA. He is a successful podcast host himself. His podcast is very popular and he gets some big time people to appear. He was/is a very decent actor. I personally think that he is a really good actor that can play many different roles and genres. For example, look at his role in "Next Friday", next to "Cop Land". "Next Friday" he had such a throw away part, but he nailed it. He was a mildly racist mailman delivering mail to Craig's uncle's house in the suburbs. Rapaport was surprised to see a young black man answer the door and he acted like a guy that doesn't think he is racist, but there is definitely some racism in him. He was rude and ignorant and funny. And Ice Cube played off of him perfectly. "Next Friday" isn't good or bad, it's just blah, but that one scene with Rapaport and Cube is very funny and worth your time. In "Cop Land", he played a young, out of his league cop. He got to act with Harvey Keitel, who is a wonderful and legendary actor. I feel like Rapaport one hundred percent held his own. He also got to act with Sylvester Stallone in that movie as well. "Cop Land" is star studded and Rapaport does an excellent job among all the big time stars in that movie. But, nothing compares to how awesome he was in the wildly underrated "Beautiful Girls". First of all, that movie is so good and it totally holds up. The list of actors and actresses in that movie is incredible and Rapaport is so damn good in the movie. He gets to act opposite Mira Sorvino and Uma Thurman and he does a wonderful job. If you haven't seen "Beautiful Girls", do yourself a favor and watch it because it is great.

He is also a pretty good actor on the small screen too. He plays a cop a lot, he kind of looks like one, in shows like "Public Morals" and "Justified", and he is very good, but nothing compares to his outstanding, one episode feature he did on the last season of "Louie". He was so god damn good as a down on his luck security guard. He was kind of a downer and a mean guy that punched people and talked over people all the time, but it was because he was a lonely guy. His character was even more lonely than Louis CK. He was such a wannabe and such a meathead, but he was also, to be frank, a loser. Louie always wanted to be left alone, and he could be a jerk about it sometimes, but in this episode with Rapaport, you side with Louie. Louie shouldn't have to hang out with someone always talking over him, punching him and taking him to a basketball game that he doesn't want to go to, no one should have to go through all of that. But, at the end, when he loses his gun and Louie eventually finds it, his cries of agony turn into cries of joy and Rapaport is so awesome in this tiny role. He should have been nominated for an Emmy for that one episode.

Recently, Rapaport has taken his talents to directing with a ton of success. He directed a great "30 For 30" about the Big East at it's height. It is an awesome documentary and one of "30 For 30"'s best efforts. But, nothing will ever compare to the wonderful work he did on the Tribe Called Quest documentary, "Beats, Rhymes and Life, The Trails and Tribulations of A Tribe Called Quest". That doc is a masterpiece about one of the greatest hip hop groups of all time. Rapaport told every side of every story. He gave everyone a voice, even Jarobi and Ali Shaheed Mohammed. That movie is absolutely awesome. It's even more timely and wonderful and sad due to the untimely death of Phife Dawg. That was the last we really ever saw of Phife at his healthiest. It will go down as classic now that Phife has passed away. Rapaport was clearly a fan, but he wasn't afraid to talk about and bring up the bad stuff that happened to everyone in ATCQ. It's his best work by far.

I'm a big, big fan of most of Rapaport's work. I know he may come off as coarse, but if you actually listen to him, I think you will feel the same way as I do. Rapaport is a wonderful actor, director and a great, and very knowledgeable sports fan, especially when it comes to basketball. I'm a fan.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He agrees with almost everything Rapaport says about the Knicks, except for the fact they will be bad for four to five years. They will be bad for decades. Ty is on twitter, go follow him @tykulik.

Ty's Mount Rushmore of Comedy Greats

I was pretty funny back in the day

I'm a huge fan of stand up comedy. I go to a ton of shows, I own a lot of comedy records, I watch specials on Netflix, Comedy Central, Showtime, basically any channel that puts comedy specials on and I listen to, primarily, comedy podcasts. I just love comedy and I devour it.

I've been thinking a lot lately about what four comedians would make my personal Mount Rushmore of stand up comics. A lot of people have crossed my mind. I'm a bit too young for guys like George Carlin or Bob Newhart. I like their stuff a lot, but it was well before my time. Some people my age really like guys like Adam Sandler, Dane Cook and David Spade. I used to like all three of these guys, mainly Sandler, but as I've grown up, their comedy does nothing for me now. It's hackneyed and tired. I'm a humongous fan of the alternative comedy scene that's blowing up right now, but, guys and girls like Doug Benson, Jen Kirkman, Maria Bamford, John Mulaney, Pete Holmes and The Sklar Brothers, just to name a few, have a long, long way to go to be on anyone's Mount Rushmore. I also love improv comedy. I really like people that can make you laugh by simply using a suggestion from the audience. People like Matt Besser, Eugene Cordero, Jon Gabrus, Amy Poehler and Lauren Lapkus are super, super talented, but they don't make my cut. I love all of these comedians, but there are four that stand head and shoulders above the rest, in my opinion. I'll count them down from four to one and tell you why they made my Rushmore. Let's get started.

Coming in at number four is the wonderful Tig Notaro. She's a comic genius. Her delivery is so perfect for her style of comedy. She's has a monotone, slower delivery that, when she hits that punchline, it totally pays off. She's silly without acting silly. She has a very calm demeanor while on stage. Her new special was fantastic, but I always go back to her album "Live". This was the album she put out right after she was diagnosed with cancer, she had a very rare, very intense disease that was literally eating her insides, her girlfriend just broke up with her and her mom unexpectedly died after hitting her head. She had all these terrible problems going on and she went on stage and let it all out for the audience that night. It's sad, it's heart breaking, it's devastating, but she makes it funny. She is such a tremendous comic that is finally getting the respect that she deserves. Tig Notaro is a powerhouse and everyone needs to check her out. She's awesome.

The third head on my mountain is Hannibal Burress. He's the youngest one on the list, but he is an absolutely hilarious stand up that is totally blowing up right now. He's part of the alt scene, but he's also a huge sports fan and a fan of rap music. That's not very common in the alt scene right now. He has some great bits about the NBA and when he makes fun of rap lyrics in his live shows, it's some of the funniest stuff I've ever seen. He also talks about the problems with meeting people and being young in Hollywood. He has some great bits about things I'd never think was funny. Talking about pickle juice or his first name or searching for jobs, he makes these everyday problems hilarious. I've seen him twice the past two years and each time, he absolutely destroys. I know he's gained a lot of notoriety for his Cosby bit, but he was up and coming well before that blew up. He is also a very funny writer and actor. He wrote for "SNL" and "30 Rock" and his stuff was great. He's also got his own show on Comedy Central, which I've written about, and he's fantastic on "The Eric Andre Show". Hannibal Burress is only going to get bigger and bigger. He's on his way to super stardom.

Number two was my introduction to the world of stand up comedy, Brian Regan. I was given his first stand up album by a friend of mine and I listened and laughed at that record so much, I had to buy three more copies because I kept wearing them out. He is also a "clean" comic. That means he doesn't swear during his live sets. In this day and age, that's incredible. He is a show man in every sense of the word. He is constantly moving on stage, his facial and body expressions add so much to his shows and he is the master at delivering a punch line. It's been said, in the comedy community, that he's one of the hardest comedians to follow. He crushes so hard, that the audience is all laughed out by the time the next comic comes up. That's the highest compliment a stand up can get, if you ask me. I've seen Regan five times live, and each show is better than the last. He sells out arenas and theaters no matter where he goes and his fans adore him. He's the only stand up that I've seen that does encores. He comes out and does one of his many famous jokes and the audience eats it up. I'm so glad that I was introduced to Brian Regan, He literally changed my life when it comes to stand up comedy. I had to find more people that did this because it was so funny and so great. Without Regan, I may have never gotten into stand up comedy.

Which brings me to the only comedian that surpasses Regan and that's Louis C.K. I mean, he is literally a genius. He's one of the hardest working people, not only in comedy, but in show business. Not only does he star in the best show on TV, "Louie", but he writes, directs, edits and produces it. That's so much work and he does it so very well. He also releases a new special every year with brand new material. Imagine how hard that must be. To come up with an entire new hour in comedy has to be one of the hardest things to do. I hear other stand ups talk about how it takes them 18 months to 2 years to come up with a new hour. Louis C.K. does that every single year, while doing his show and acting in movies and other TV shows. In his stand up, he talks about everyday life and it's completely relatable. He talks about kids, work, family and friends and he does it very vulgar and very, very hilariously. Go back and watch any one of his specials and I guarantee you will love it and laugh your ass off. There is nobody better in the comedy game right now than Louis C.K. I cannot end this blog without mentioning that he wrote and directed one of mine and out editor's favorite movies, "Pootie Tang". Next time you watch "Pootie Tang" think about that and you will fall in love with the movie. Louis C.K. is a true comedy genius and he's a once in a lifetime legend that I will always hold in very high regard. He's the best.

So, that's my Mount Rushmore of stand up comedians. I love these four people and I love that they are all still producing new material. It gets no better than these four comedians.  

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. His current source of high comedy comes from the jokes his three year old hears in pre-school. 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 .

When bad movies are really good.

With the release of "Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser" coming tomorrow, I'd like to take time today to talk about movies like these. 

By this I mean, movies that critics don't like all that much, but a lot of people really like. They may not be good, but these movies have a ton of fans and are a lot of fun. Let's call them "beautiful disasters". These are the movies I will be speaking of today.

Back to "Joe Dirt 2:Beautiful Loser", I'm sure that critics will pan this movie and it will rate very low on the rotten tomato meter. That doesn't matter to me, I will see this movie because I LOVED "Joe Dirt". I was hesitant to see the first "Joe Dirt" because of what the critics were saying, but a friend of mine convinced me to watch it and boy am I glad that he did. "Joe Dirt" is hilarious. David Spade is at his best in this role. I'd say it's his best role since any movie he did with Chris Farley. With the mullet wig and his never die spirit, he's funny throughout the entire movie. The movie is a simple story, kid becomes orphaned, looks for his family, finds them and they're terrible. He meets some friends and his eventual wife on the way. Very simple story, but the actors are so good and funny, I don't care what the critics had to say. This movie is great. This is my favorite Christopher Walken role by far.

  I want to single out three more movies that may be deemed "beautiful disasters".

 First, we have "Southland Tales". This epic disaster of a movie is so insane. I don't really know what it's about, even though I've seen it at least a half a dozen times, but the fact that I watched it that many times proves that I enjoy it on some level. It's a totally incoherent plot, I don't even think director Richard Kelly knows what it's about, but it's a beautiful movie. There are some exceptional shots with beautiful colors and images. The acting in this movie is pretty good too. Dwayne Johnson is the lead actor and, as always, he oozes charisma and you can't take your eyes off him on screen. Justin Timberlake plays a crazed ex soldier. He's not a typical pretty boy in this movie, he is messed up. Great acting is done by Timberlake in this movie. Seann William Scott is no Stifler in this movie. He's a cop that finds himself in a lot of jacked up situations. This is easily one of his best acting performances. Comic actors like Jon Lovitz and Amy Poehler are unrecognizable in their roles. Lovitz is a crooked cop and Poehler is a crazy political activist. There is so much going on in this movie, almost too much, but you have to see this movie for it's sheer craziness.

 Next, we have "Hot Rod". This is one of favorite comedies of all time. Andy Samberg plays the lead character Rod, who thinks he's a stunt man, but he can't even do simple stuff like, a wheelie on his scooter. He finds out his step dad is dying, so he and his "crew" go out to make money for the surgery so Rod can kick his step dad's ass, so he will finally respect him. Another simple plot. This movie was canned by critics again, saying it was unfunny and seemed like an SNL sketch stretched out too long. I couldn't disagree more. The supporting actors in this movie are excellent. Rod's "crew" is made up of his step brother(Jorma Taccone), and two friends of his friends(Bill Hader and the always funny Danny McBride). There are many shenanigans along the way and it's all very funny. Hilarious lines are written for this movie too. One that always sticks out to me, Rod is watching the news and you can hear the broadcaster in the background saying, "the dog walked itself home, ate a pizza and took a nap". I crack up every time I hear it. I love this movie and will defend it to my grave. It's a comedy classic in my eyes. 

 The last "beautiful disaster" I will mention is, "Pootie Tang". I adore this movie. It's about, for all intents and purposes, a super hero that speaks his own language and can beat people up by simply using his belt. The movie is just a hair over an hour long. After the end credits, Bob Costas shows up and says to Pootie Tang, "that was the longest trailer" I've ever seen. You have people like Chris Rock, playing multiple roles in this movie, Wanda Sykes as a hooker with a heart of gold, JB Smoove as Pootie Tang's right hand man and Dave Attell as the bad guy. This movie is bizarre on so many levels, but in a very good way. You get scenes of Pootie Tang as a child having a grown women crying hysterically as he leaves her home, Pootie's dad being mauled by a bear, but it's literally just a guy in a bear costume, Pootie rubbing hot cherry pie on his body to seduce a farmer's daughter and many, many more. It's so ridiculous, but so awesome. Critics once again destroyed this movie, calling it dumb and saying it was impossible to understand. I wonder how they would feel about it now if they went back and watched it knowing that Louis CK wrote and directed it. Everyone loves "Louie"(you can count me as one of these people, it's the best show on TV) and lauds how Louis CK has such a fresh, yet bizarre take on the world. Much like the movie "Pootie Tang". Watch it again, with the knowledge of who Louis CK is now, and I bet you that you'll love it. "Pootie Tang" is great.

 There are many more movies I've left off my list, but I know that everyone has a "beautiful disaster" movie that they watch and love. Let me know in the comment section what some of these movies are, so I can watch and find some new movies that I haven't heard of, or never gave a chance. I'd greatly appreciate it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for Seed Sing. It took him longer to write this article than it took to watch Pootie Tang. Sa da tay. Follow him on twitter @tykulik.