Ty Watches "Twisted Metal"

After returning from vacation I decided that I am going to get caught up on some tv that I want to see. The first show I am going to watch is "Twisted Metal". I have watched the first three episodes before writing this. Let’s discuss.

I heard about the show from a bunch of different podcasts that I listened to. Shaun Diston mentioned it on a few of his shows, Ify Nwadiwe mentioned it on an appearance of "CBB" and Mike Mitchell was tooting its horn, before the writers and actors strike, on "Doughboys". I was primed to watch the show. I even tried while on vacation, but it was a hard sell for my family. So I waited and started yesterday.

This show is wild. It is at times funny, gory, violent and heartfelt. This show is really trying to have it all, and for me, so far it's working. I'm all in. I am very invested so far. I like the story. I guess it is based on a video game that I have heard of but never played. I didn't even know what the game was about until I read about the show. The short story is that a catastrophic event happened in 2002 that messed up all the computers in the world. Cities blocked themselves off and let the criminals run wild in the open. There are delivery drivers, called milkmen, that bring stuff to the walled off cities, but on the way they encounter some undesirable bad guys and girls. Anthony Mackie plays the main milkman in the show. He is hilarious. I really enjoy the comedy he brings to this role. He is funny, motor mouthed and always finding some way to use his charm to get out of trouble. Stephanie Beatriz plays a loner who loses her brother and is now on a quest to avenge him and live in peace. Thomas Haden Church is a bad cop who is out to hurt anyone he deems is "breaking the law". He is a very, very bad guy. Neve Campbell is the leader of New San Francisco, and she has some kind of ulterior motives with Mackie's character. Mike Mitchell and Tahj Vaughans are two guys who are about to get eaten, but are busted out by the nefarious police officers and are recruited to become officers themselves. One is into it, the other, not so much.

The best part of the show so far for me has been Sweet Tooth, the evil clown that runs Las Vegas. Sweet Tooth is also played by two people. Will Arnett does his voice, and this is such a perfect move for him. He has such a cool and distinguishable voice, and getting to play an insane clown suits him well. Pro wrestler Samoa Joe plays the person behind the clown mask, and that is a match made in tv perfection. He is a big dude, his body looks like it would survive an apocalyptic event and he can kick some ass. I'm usually terrified of clowns, and this one is very frightening, but the way they are having this character come to life is so funny that I can get past my fear.

I have been enjoying what I have seen so far. I am not going to binge it because I want to take it in slowly. I think I will do a few episodes a day, when I have the time to watch, so I can really let it sink in. I definitely recommend the show. For people like me, who do not know the video game, it is kind of perfect. I'd be curious what the players of the game think, but I'm in. I like it. I will be watching it all. I suggest you do the same. 

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 "Love" Season 2

ed note: Ty Watched season 1. Read about it here.

Recently I finished season 2 of "Love" on Netflix, and I really enjoyed myself while watching it. I really liked that it picked right up where season one ended. I will do little to no spoilers today, so anyone who hasn't seen it yet should be fine reading this.

Where we left Gus(Paul Rust) and Mickey(Gillian Jacobs) were outside a gas station where Gus was buying snacks. Mickey lays it all out for him and tells him all of her secrets. She says that she wants to take a year off from dating and get her life together. Gus proceeds to kiss her, and that is where season 2 starts.

I really like this show. A lot of people will say "Master of None" is the better romantic comedy show on Netflix, and while I really like it, I think "Love" is much better. "Love" doesn't take itself as serious as "Master of None" seems to. I also prefer the leads in "Love" to the leads in "Master of None". I love Aziz Ansari's stand up, and his phenomenal role in "Parks and Rec", but for a sitcom type show lead, I, for some reason, prefer Paul Rust. He is way goofier and way less self serious. As far as the female leads, I will take Gillian Jacobs any day over Noel Wells. She's a much better actress and way, way funnier than Wells. She is just more fun to watch act. People are trying to compare these shows, I chose not to. These are 2 different style shows. "Love" is much more of a straight forward comedy and "Master of None" borders on the dramedy line. I like both shows a lot, but, as previously stated, I prefer my comedy as goofy and straight up, therefore I prefer "Love". That is where the comparison stops for me.

Anyway, season 2 of "Love" follows a couple of months between Gus and Mickey. Mickey doesn't want to date anyone, but her addiction to love gives in. Not only is she an alcoholic and drug addict, but she is also a sex and love addict. She really, truly seems to very much like Gus. Gus is different from any guy that she has dated before. Gus is polite. Gus is nice and complimentary to her. Gus tries hard because he feels that he doesn't deserve someone like her. Gus, at least on the surface, seems to be a great guy. But, he is a little overbearing. He can be complimentary, but also condescending. He waits until the last minute to explode on Mickey when he is upset with her. Mickey, to her credit is trying to get her life together. As I said, she is involved in all the addiction programs. She actually takes her job seriously this time around. She wants to better herself. She doesn't want to give in to Gus, but she likes him so much that she gives it a try. But, she too has her flaws. She flakes out a lot on friends and family. She rants and raves about Gus a lot. She feels that she can give relationship advice, even though she clearly doesn't know what she is doing in that aspect of her life. That is what I like about the 2 main characters, they have flaws. Neither is right or wrong with their decisions. There is some great back and forth this whole season between Gus and Mickey. The creators and writers, including Paul Rust and his wife Lesley Arfin, really did an excellent job portraying relationships in your early thirties during this season.

While Rust and Jacobs are the clear stars of the show, the supporting actors were used excellently, and frequently, this season. Claudia O'Dougherty, who plays Mickey's roommate, was great this season. She is funny, quirky and plays her role as fish out of water so great. She is the best supporting actor in the whole show by far. Mike Mitchell, of "Doughboys" and "Birthday Boys" fame, was used a lot more this season, and he had a creepy and weird story arc, but it was perfect for him. Judd Apatow's daughter Maude, who plays the actress that Gus teaches, had a much bigger role and she can really act. The people who work on the show "Wichita", the show where Gus works, weren't used as much, but when they were, they were really funny. Brett Gelman is awesome in his few and far between scenes that he gets this season. Bobby Lee is really funny in his minimal role. Gus' friends, the guys and girls that make up theme songs for movies that don't have theme songs, where really good as well. Everyone in the show is great.

I cannot say enough nice things about "Love". I think it is the best Netflix show, and I am way into a lot of Netflix shows. Paul Rust has found a perfect place for him to shine as a writer and actor. Lesley Arfin is a tremendous comedy writer. Gillian Jacobs crushes her role on the show. All the supporting actors I mentioned are fantastic. Watch this show. I know you will love it as much as I do. I saw that they are filming a season 3 and I cannot wait until it comes back on. "Love" is great, and it is one of the best comedies on any type of television right now. Check it out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. If Ty watches a bunch of Netflix shows, where is his review for Voltron: Legendary Defender? That show rules. 

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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.

"Doughboys" Deserve all the Medals for their Great Podcast

All Tacos are golden

For the past three weeks the excellent podcast "Doughboys" has been holding their own "Olympic" games. They have called it the Doughlympic Susser Games. Much like their Tournament of Chompions, which they did during March Madness, the hosts, Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell, have proclaimed it a disaster. But, I have found myself really enjoying these games almost as much as the Tournament of Chompions. The Tournament of Chompions was more structured, but the Doughlympic Susser Games episodes of the podcast have been very listenable and very funny. Wiger and Mitchell continue to dump on themselves, but they have created a podcast that is very funny, and they have a lot of fans that look forward to each episode.

During the Doughlympics, they have placed contests between pizza chains, taco chains and they ended with coffee chains. Sure, they could have done it a bit differently, like placed Italian food versus Mexican food, but they chose to pit three of the same food stuffs against each other. At first I didn't think it was a good idea, but after a listen, it made total sense. For example, in the taco episode, they put the chains, Taco Bell, Del Taco and Chipotle up against each other. And, instead of just rating tacos, they had competitions for different types of food at the chains. They did hard and soft shell tacos. They also did burritos. They also compared nachos. As I said, it made sense. They gave themselves a short time limit to talk about each food, and when they were done, each restaurant got gold, silver or bronze. Then, Wiger would pick a song that "represented" that chain as their anthem, and he'd play a snippet from it. This was the theme throughout the past three weeks of the games. They did it with pizza chains and they ended the games this week with coffee chains. I thought it was a great idea to not just pick one food item to give medals to. That would have made the episodes way too short.

That is one of the best things about "Doughboys". I love the length of the episodes. I enjoy Mitchell and Wiger's back and forth. I love that their guests are, not only friends of theirs, but also fans of the podcast. They seem genuinely happy to be on the show. I have not thought, for one second, that the Doughlympic Susser Games was a waste of time. The only waste may have been Evan Susser himself, but that is his "role" on the podcast. He shoehorned his way in, but I find him funny on each episode. I even listened to the after show, "After Dough", and found it interesting.

The best thing about these particular episodes, they still kept the basis of their regular podcast. They still had a guest. They still did drops. Wiger still roasted Mitchell. They still read emails. They still did one of their many funny ending segments, i.e., "Snack or Wack". I found these games fun, but more importantly, funny.

I hope Mike Mitchell was just upset when he said they were going to end the podcast at the new year. He relented a bit on the most recent episode, saying that it might not end that soon, so there's still hope. I hope Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell realize that they have fans that really enjoy this podcast. The fans, myself included, even like the episodes that the hosts may not care for. I can't recommend "Doughboys" enough. It's funny and a whole lot of fun to listen to, and yes, that includes the Doughlympic Susser Games. Keep up the great work guys.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The editor is still upset that Ty dismissed the Quesalupa. That thing was awesome. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty has Very Strong Committed Feelings for "Love"

It is nice when the show title reflects how I feel

Yesterday I finished the new Netflix show "Love" and it was totally awesome. I literally loved everything about this show. It was the perfect comedy/love story show. It was, in my opinion, so much better than another similar Netflix show, "Master of None", and I really enjoyed "Master of None".

One of the things that I enjoyed more on "Love" than "Master of None" was the female lead. Gillian Jacobs was so much better than Noel Wells. Noel Wells was very good, but she was your typical, I need a guy in my life, but when things get too serious, I'm jumping ship and moving on. Aziz Ansari is a great writer and created a great show, but Noel Wells character was pretty one dimensional and I didn't watch that show for her, I watched it for Ansari, who is awesome. Gillian Jacobs was absolutely phenomenal on "Love". In the first episode when we meet her, we immediately see that she is a troubled person, that doesn't realize it yet. She always thinks that she is right and that she is the cool one and that she has no problem, but all of those things couldn't be further from the truth. She is, for the most part, wrong 9 times out of 10. She is not cool, she is a mess that relies on other people way too much. And she has a ton of problems. She is an addict. She is addicted to drugs and alcohol and sex and love. Gillian Jacobs, her character's name is Mickey, is an absolute mess as a person. She plays this role to perfection. I believe every single moment of struggle and awkwardness and anger that she so excellently portrays. This is a real star making role for her. She is absolutely phenomenal on "Love". This is also a completely different role for her. She is not the same character she was on "Community" or "Girls" or any movie role she has had. She usually has her head on her shoulders or realizes that she is a screw up, but not on "Love". It takes her a real long time before she even considers that she may have a problem.

"Love" much like "Master of None", I know I'm comparing the two shows but they are basically the same thing released only months apart from each other so it's an easy comparison, Paul Rust co created this show and stars in it much like Ansari does for his show. Paul Rust is terrific. This is a great vehicle for his brand of comedy and his style of acting. When he is on screen, which is most of the series, you cannot take your eyes off of him. He commands the attention of the audience. Rust plays Gus, your typical nice guy that tries to hard to impress the girl. He's a hard worker, but he has a nothing job. He is a tutor on the set of a fake witch show. Pretty familiar premise for a leading man, but what Rust does with the character Gus is excellent. At first, he is a pushover. He will do whatever his girlfriend wants him to do. When they break up, he constantly blames himself although he was not in the wrong at all. When he meets Mickey, he is putty in her hands and Mickey knows this. She uses him and his kindness to her advantage and Gus is just happy that a pretty girl is talking to him. When he starts to gain confidence, after telling Mickey how he feels, his character becomes more confident, and once again, I completely believe his transformation. He is still a dork, but he is a confident dork. The growth of his character is so believable, I swear I have friends that have gone through the same transformation as we have grown up. Much like Gillian Jacobs, this is also a star making turn for Paul Rust. The two of them have been steady actors, but never been the lead in anything, save for Rust in the not as bad as I thought it was "I Love You Beth Cooper", but "Love" is the perfect platform for them to truly shine.

Jacobs and Rust  may control and demand the audiences attention, but the supporting characters are just as good. Comedic actors like Mike Mitchell, Armen Weitzman, Neil Campbell, Seth Morris and Brett Gelman are great. So are Claudia O'Dougherty, who is really, really great on this show, Charlyne Yi, Bobby Lee, Kerri Kenney and Traci Thoms. Iris Apatow is wonderful as the lead actress on the show that Rust works as a tutor for. She is a very good actress with a very bright future. There are many other supporting actors that I didn't mention that are equally as good.

"Love" is a very good show. I'd call it a great show to be honest with you. I really enjoyed "Master of None", but it felt a little long to binge, at least for my taste. "Love", on the other hand, had the same amount of episodes running the same amount of time, but I breezed through it in three days. It was such an enjoyable watch and I cannot recommend it enough. I don't want to spoil anything because I want everyone to go out and watch this show. It is very, very good and Paul Rust and Gillian Jacobs are tremendous.

I cannot wait for season two.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He loves to binge watch old Michigan football games. Do you have twitter? So does Ty, go follow him @tykulik.

Cloves and Fedoras: You Should be Listening to the Podcast "High and Mighty"

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.

I've been on the hunt for a new podcast to listen to lately. I still have my standards like "Comedy Bang! Bang!", "How Did This Get Made", "The Bill Simmons Podcast" and "Sklarbro Country". Those are all great and I look forward to them every week, but I was in need of something new. I generally go for comedy podcasts, I do like a good NBA or something like "Serial", but comedy is where it's at for me.

Through listening and a little research, I found out that Jon Gabrus, an actor and comedian that I really enjoy, has his own podcast on the Headgum Network called "High and Mighty". For those of you not familiar with Jon Gabrus, he's appeared on "Comedy Bang! Bang!" a bunch, very recently in fact, as Geno the Intern. He is also on a lot of MTV talking heads shows like "Wild N Out" and "Guy Code". He's been on a lot of the VH1 talking head shows as well and he's had bit parts in quite a bit of movies and TV shows. In fact, he has a newer movie out on iTunes and On Demand called "4th Man Out", that I've heard some pretty good things about.

Odds are, you know who Jon Gabrus is, you just don't know it. People who listen to the specific podcasts I mentioned definitely know him and others, I'm sure you've seen him in something recently. Anyway, I really enjoy when I see that he is going to be on a new episode of "Comedy Bang! Bang!' as Geno. He's funny, crass, rude and great throughout the entirety of the episode. You can tell that even Scott Aukerman loves having him appear on the show because he is laughing throughout. So, when I found out that he had his own podcast, I was intrigued. I didn't know if it would be characters, just an interview show, if it would be improv, the possibilities were endless given his background and his group of comedian and actor friends.

After a few recent listens of "High and Mighty" that the podcast is an interview show, but it is so much more than just an interview show. Marc Maron has the market cornered on straight up one on one interviews as far as podcasting goes, and he's great at it. But, what makes Jon Gabrus' "High and Mighty" so great, at least for me is, he is a younger guy. I believe he is right around my age(33), and I can relate to the stories he and his guests, that are relatively the same age, talk about. The first episode I came across was entitled "Being Fat" with Nick Mundy and Mike Mitchell. For those of you that don't know, Jon Gabrus, Nick Mundy and Mike Mitchell are bigger guys. So am I. People who read my blogs already know that I enjoy Mike Mitchell and his work with the Birthday Boys and his podcast with Nick Wiger, "Doughboys", so the fact that he was a guest on the first episode I listened to was an added bonus. What made this episode great for me was the fact that being a bigger guy myself, so I related to almost 100 percent of what they talked about. When they talked about hitting on girls and how tough it is for chubby guys, I myself had many problems hitting on girls I liked while in high school because I was chunky. Mundy and Gabrus are both married and they both marveled at the fact that they could get such beautiful women to marry them. Me too. I don't know how I convinced my smoking hot wife to marry me, but I'm glad I did. All three of them have big bushy beards, and anyone that has read the site knows that I myself am a bearded fellow, but they all have beards for the same reason I do, laziness and a hatred for shaving. This was a perfect gateway episode for me because I related to everything and it featured two comedians that I really like. Even in the following episode, entitled "Wrasslin" with Matt McCarthy, a sport I have never watched or participated in, I was enamored by the conversation. You could really tell that these two were big time wrestling fans and that they still genuinely love pro wrestling. I liked their insight and their vast knowledge of wrestling old and new. That's the sign of a good podcast, when I don't care for the subject matter, but the conversation is so good, it pulls me in. He followed that episode up with one entitled "Badasses" with Outlook of the Poet(Ben Rodgers and Gavin Speiler). The topic was supposed to be about how they want to be badasses, which they do touch on, but you learn so much more about these three, like their early improv days, their dad issues and their love for action movies. The conversation can literally go anywhere it wants and that's awesome. The most recent episode of "High and Mighty" was about swimming with Anders Holm from "Wolkaholics", "How to Be Single", "Top Five" and many, many other things. Did they talk about all that stuff, yes, but barely. Instead, they had an in depth discussion about swimming and the commitment that it takes. I learned that Anders Holm was such a good swimmer, he got a scholarship to swim at the University of Wisconsin and that he still swims, now it's just for fun, to this day.

The great thing about "High and Mighty" is we always learn something new about Jon Gabrus. One thing I really like that he does on the show, he asks people to give him a 5 star review on iTunes and then to roast him in the comment section and he reads it on the next episode. So, people actually do this and he actually reads the awful things they say about him. It can vary anywhere from him being ugly and fat, to him just not being funny. But, the most common complaint is that he talks too much about himself and his "glory" days. Isn't that what podcasting is for though? People podcast just so they can hear themselves talk and so they can spread their point of view to the world via a free forum. I love that he hijacks the conversation and talks more than anyone else. It's his show and he can do whatever he wants. I know that I talk a whole hell of a lot more on "The X Milennial Man" podcast than RD does. I like to hear the sound of my own voice, just like Jon Gabrus.

I have only listened to the four most recent episodes of "High and Mighty", the podcast has a back catalog totaling 29 episodes. I will go back and listen to the older ones soon. He has had Eugene Cordero on a bunch to talk fitness and I want to hear those conversations because Cordero got in crazy shape and I'd like to know how he did that. Also, some of his early episodes are basically reviews of old action movies that he does with his friends. Those I will definitely go back and listen to. I like to hear people from my generation talk about movies like "Blood Sport" and "Predator".

I'm very happy that I have jumped aboard the "High and Mighty" bandwagon. This is a perfect podcast that appeals to the things that I like and can relate to. Keep doing what you're doing Jon Gabrus because it' awesome. I can't wait until Thursday for the new episode.

You can find "High and Mighty" right here.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the more talkative other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He may be a bigger man, but he is half the bigger man he was two years ago. We are proud of you Ty. Show your support for him by pushing the follow button on Ty's twitter @tykulik.

The SeedSing (half) year in Pop Culture: The Top Five Podcasts of 2015

Time to remember the mic's best guests

Continuing my week long best of 2015 countdown today I'll pick my top five podcast episodes of the year. I'm a very, very big fan of podcast, mostly comedy podcast. Comedy podcasts are very well represented in this countdown, but there's one pretty serious, not very comedic episode that tops my list. I could've easily done a top 25, 50 or even 100 for this topic, so paring it down to five was tough. Here it goes.

My number five podcast episode of 2015 was the return of "Go Bayside" when they critically deconstructed the "Saved By the Bell: Hawaiian Style" movie. By they I mean the excellent and very hilarious host, April Richardson and her equally as funny best friend, Millie De Chirico. I was so pleasantly surprised and happy when my podcast app showed me that there was a new "Go Bayside". I put time away to go on a hike so I would not be bothered while I listened. April Richardson took a long time off after she finished doing all the pertinent episodes of "Saved By the Bell", but she promised to return to do this movie and the one when Kelly and Zack get married. This episode made it well worth the wait. Richardson and De Chirico come out hot from the start, just chastising the racism in this movie. It was so funny. I loved how upset they both got t the fact that there was a principal's convention in the exact same spot of Hawaii that the students were vacationing in. They couldn't fathom a world that in all of Hawaii these people picked the same spot to vacation in. I couldn't agree more with them. They constantly bad mouthed Kelly's vacation boyfriend for being a creep and this actor totally deserved it, he was terrible. My favorite thing in the whole episode was how they kept going back to the piece of paper that the hotel lease was written on that was literally, a plain sheet of paper. They kept asking why this wasn't a more important document that they would keep in a special place and I found myself asking the same questions. It's baffling. This was such a great episode of my all time favorite podcast and I can't wait until April Richardson does the wedding of Zack and Kelly on what I assume will be the final episode ever of "Go Bayside".

Number four is the episode of "Doughboys" where they talk about In and Out Burger. "Doughboys" has been my new favorite podcast and this episode takes the cake. In most episodes, there's a back and forth between Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger and the guest just chimes in with whomever they are friends with. It's all very funny, but this episode was bizarre in the best possible way. Their guest was Armen Weitzman. Comedy fans know who Weitzman is, and how weird he can be, but he was off the handles in this particular "Doughboys". He would go back and forth between talking about the food to talking straight nonsense. While I was listening, I was enthralled at how wacky this episode was becoming. Even Mitchell and Wiger seemed to be taken aback at where all this was going. They even stopped their bickering towards each other and let Weitzman go on some long, strange rants. The best part was Weitzman explaining why his basketball podcast with Mitchell never came to fruition. This was the most bizarre thing in a completely absurd episode. I loved every second and I've listened to it multiple times just to hear the craziness. Not every episode is like this one, but I'm glad they have this, because it's one for the ages.

Coming in at number three I have "The Bill Simmons Podcast" episode with Michael Rappaport. As we all know by now, Simmons was fired from ESPN, took a social media hiatus for a couple of months and finally announced he'd be returning with a podcast and a TV show soon. The podcast was first and his early episodes were with friends and former athletes. It was basically the same thing as the "B.S. Report". Then, he had Michael Rappaport on and it was magical. He talked about everything fro his love for Knicks basketball to Rocky's trainer being a ladies man. He professed his love for Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis, calling him the "Latvian Gangster". He also kept calling Latvia, Lativia. He added an "I" that didn't need to be there. He also pushed Simmons to say something bad about ESPN. I loved how he was all in his business trying to get Simmons to say anything about his firing and what led to it. Simmons didn't say anything on air, but I like to imagine he crushed ESPN off air. Rappaport was a great relief from all the Patriots, Red Sox and Celtics love that flooded the first month of Bill Simmons new podcast. He was lively, constantly cursing and just being himself. I loved it and I know most of his listeners did too. I can't wait for part two because there needs to be a part two.

My number two podcast episode was Comedy Bang Bang's fourth edition of "Farts and Procreation". This was bittersweet. Harris Wittels unfortunately overdosed and died the week before this episode came out. It was tragic and he has been greatly missed. He died way too young and had a horrible addiction problem. I didn't even know him and I miss him, so I can't even imagine what was going through Scott Aukerman's head when he did the intro. Well, his intro was an absolutely beautiful homage to his friend. He spoke of the good and the bad times they had and their close friendship. These two were very good friends. I'll admit, the intro brought me to tears. Then, they played their annual episode and it was as funny as one could've hoped for. Wittels, Chelsea Peretti and Adam Scott were as goofy and funny as they were on the previous three. Aukerman did his thing as the host, keeping the pace. Wittels did his classic "Harrison's Foam Corner" where he tells jokes that aren't ready for the stage yet and it was, once again, riotous. Peretti and Scott were great too. This was a great sendoff to the great career of Harris Wittels that was cut way too short. This is another episode I go back and listen to because it reminds me how truly talented Harris Wittels was. He was a great comedy writer nd he will be deeply missed.

And that brings us to my number one podcast episode of 2015, the "WTF with Marc Maron" episode where he interviewed President Barack Obama. This was a watermark moment in podcast history. I know that Obama was on other podcast, but not a comedian's podcast that thousands of hard core comedy fans listen to. This was a huge deal to me because I am an Obama supporter and I'm a Maron fan, so put those two together, I'm immediately on board. Maron did a great job with the interview, asking him all types of questions. Obama was even better, answering everything and telling more. He spoke of his father not really being around. He spoke of his love for his mom. He praised his wife. He talked about being a dad to teenage girls. He came off as a regular guy, not the President and I loved that. This was easily the best one hour of podcasting I listened to every year. And, I'm glad it was Maron that got the interview. He's gotten some big time people to be on his show, but he got the President and to people of my generation, this was great for us to hear this powerful man sound like an everyday guy. Maron and Obama did a great job with this episode. I mean, how could anything else be number one beside this episode.

So there you have my top five podcast episodes of 2015. Come back tomorrow where I wrap it up with my top five sports moments of 2015.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Next year his top five podcasts will all be ones he is a featured guest on. 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 "Doughboys" 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.

Ed note: The podcast is called Doughboys.  They do not feel the need to have the differentiated THE.  We have corrected the text.  Find this great podcast here.

I recently talked about a great podcast called "I Was There Too" by Matt Gourley.  I'm always on the hunt for new podcasts that are comedy centric and I've just discovered "Doughboys". The hosts of the show, Nick Wiger(writer for Comedy Bang Bang) and Mike Mitchell(Birthday Boys) have a guest join them each week and they go out and review restaurant chains. On the first episode, they go to Chili's and they review it as if they're professional restaurant critics, but with a comedy edge, since they're both comedy performers and writers. It's very funny, but they also take it kind of serious. I mean, they really give constructive feedback on the food. In the Chili's episode, they really take the ribs to task. Saying that they are too saucy and they look gray. But, with all that being said, they still seemed to enjoy the rest of their meal. The only other problem they had was, the drinks were too sweet. After they review the restaurant they give it a ranking of one to five forks and give their overall impression. While going through the review, there's always some kind of funny story or experience that they've had at said restaurant in the past. Following the fork review, they go to a segment they call "Snack or Wack", where they have some type of big brand name snack(Chocolate Chip Resse's Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Chips Ahoy in the Chili's episode) and decide if the snack is good(Snack) or bad(Wack). Also, very funny to hear them rate these well known snack brands as if they are big time food critics. Being a fan of the Birthday Boys(both the comedy sketch team and the TV show) Mike Mitchell being attached to this made me excited to listen, since the Birthday Boys show was cancelled. I was just happy to see he was still doing things since he is my favorite Birthday Boy. They've only done three episodes, with the third one being released today, May 28th 2015. The restaurants they've reviewed are, the aforementioned Chili's, Taco Bell and today, IHOP. I highly recommend checking "Doughboys" out, it's pretty great.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for Seed Sing.  He will only visits restaurants that get reviewed.  He is eagerly looking forward to his first trip to Chili's, Taco Bell, and IHOP.