sportsalcohol.com podcast

It's the end of the year, and you know what that means: music publications published their year-end coverage approximately one to three months ago. We here at SportsAlcohol.com do not have a list of our 200 Favorite Albums That Came Out Between January and Mid-October. For our best music of 2017 wrap-up, we decided instead to take a different tactic and take a roughly chronological trip through the various live shows we all attended, together and apart, throughout the year, and let the discussion spring from there. You'll find out who we went to see because we're afraid of death, whose live show exceeded their disappointing album(s), and which show got Rob feeling real emotional in a rough year.

Direct download: SportsAlcoholPodcastBestMusic2017.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:24am EDT

We'll have a proper podcast about Star Wars: The Last Jedi soon enough, but in the meantime, here: we made you a mixtape.

Here are the instructions:

1. Figure out when you will be arriving at your theater of choice to see The Last Jedi.
2. Approximately 35 minutes before that time, hit "play" on the mp3 of our mixtape on your music-playing device of choice.
3. Get psyched.

There is also a trivia component:

The songs and samples on this mix (EXCEPT those that are from a Star Wars movie or constitute some kind of reference to Star Wars or a Star Wars cast members) have one thing in common. What is it?

Direct download: TheLastJediMixtape2017.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:55pm EDT

Superhero movies are still dominating the blockbuster landscape these days, and plenty of your pals at SportsAlcohol.com see most or all of these things. So after a bunch of us saw Justice League, we sat down to talk about the state of DC-based cinema, plus where Thor: Ragnarok leaves us with the MCU, and how they both fit into the year of superhero cinema.

Direct download: SportsAlcoholPodcastJusticeLeagueThorRagnarok.mp3
Category:movies -- posted at: 12:34am EDT

Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach have collaborated on three movies, and this fall they're both back with their own solo movies: Gerwig's Lady Bird and Baumbach's The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected). Marisa, Sara, Nathaniel, and Jesse watched both movies (as well as plenty of past work from both filmmakers) and then got together to discuss how they function together, how they function apart, and what we think of their new projects.

Direct download: SportsAlcoholPodcastGerwigBaumbach.mp3
Category:movies -- posted at: 11:13am EDT

Following a movie swap where Pretty Woman was exchanged for Starship Troopers, Ben and Jesse leap forward one year in time and make another business/sci-fi trade: The 1991 Danny DeVito dramedy Other People's Money swapped for the 1998 cult classic Dark City. We watched 'em both and then talked it out, touching upon Penelope Ann Miller, The Matrix, subverting expectations, and possible reasons that both of these movies flopped in their original releases.

Direct download: SportsAlcoholPodcastOtherPeopleDarkCity.mp3
Category:movies -- posted at: 11:26pm EDT

Jesse had never seen Pretty Woman.

Ben had never seen Starship Troopers.

So they sat each other down and watched two beloved Films of the '90s, then had a little chat about it.

This is that little chat.

Direct download: SportsAlcoholMiniPodcastPrettyWomanStarshipTroopers.mp3
Category:movies -- posted at: 10:02pm EDT

While what makes us laugh, cry, or scared can vary greatly, what we want out of a romantic comedy is often even more nebulous, especially as romantic comedies appear to be in something of a mainstream slump at the movies. In a state-of-the-genre conversation, Marisa, Nathaniel, Jesse, and two different Saras chat about what makes a romantic comedy, what our favorites are, and how they (maybe) work or (sometimes) don't. This is a must-listen for rom-com fans and also for people who want to find out which one of us holds a torch for the Hugh Jackman/Ashley Judd rom-com Someone Like You.

Direct download: SportsAlcoholPodcastRomComAnalysis.mp3
Category:movies -- posted at: 5:07pm EDT

Summer may be winding down, but there are probably still some cool non-blockbuster movies you need to catch up with. For the third year in a row, Marisa, Sara, Nathaniel, and Jesse got together to discuss over a dozen of the summer's most notable indie movie releases, which in 2017 includes The Big Sick, The Beguiled, Detroit, Ingrid Goes West, It Comes At Night, A Ghost Story, Atomic Blonde (it's an indie!), Columbus, and a whole lot more recommendations for your local arthouse -- or to keep you busy on Netflix all fall. Bonus recorded-outdoors ambiance abounds!

Direct download: SportsAlcoholPodcastSummerIndies2017.mp3
Category:movies -- posted at: 12:20am EDT

While the Steven Soderbergh oeuvre isn't universally beloved by The SportsAlcohol crew, it is well studied. We talk about his return to filmmaking in Logan Lucky as well as his whole career. If you're worried we only cover his films, don't worry: we talk more about K Street than anyone has since K Street aired. Other topics include:

  • Legacies
  • George Clooney (like, a lot about Clooney)
  • Blonde women
  • Movies that aren't as good as Do The Right Thing
  • Why exactly one of us thinks the universally reviled Ocean's Twelve is the best one of the series
  • non-actor actors
  • professionalism
  • contempt
  • K Street
  • The very nature of reality

 

Direct download: Soderbergh_SportsAlcohol_Podcast.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:03pm EDT

As we did for 1994, 1995, and 1996, we look 20 years back at the top films of the summer of 1997. Things were much different 20 years ago and we tackle some of the bug changes including: 

Watching trailers without a broadband connection
Bookstores, existence of
Nicolas Cage was respected, dammit
John Travolta too, for that matter.
Girls wanted to hang out with us

Direct download: SportsAlcohol_Movies_of_Summer_1997.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00pm EDT

The last Spider-Man movie, Amazing Spider-Man 2, was the subject of SportsAlcohol.com's very first podcast. Over three years later, we're back with an ever-more-slightly-better-produced episode about the third cinematic reboot of Marvel's flagship character this century. Topics covered:

Betty Brant
Dennis Miller
Women named Marisa
How bad we are at podcasts 

Also, as mentioned in the podcast, check out Rob's take on Betty Brant

SPOILER WARNING: This podcast assumes you've seen every movie every made with Spider-Man

Direct download: Sports_Alcohol_Spider-Man_Homecoming.mp3
Category:movies -- posted at: 2:11am EDT

Earlier this year, a meme was going around Twitter, Facebook, and presumably other soc-meds, too: People were listing their favorite movies for every year that they had been alive. This struck the SportsAlcohol.com core cinema team as a fun exercise, so Marisa, Nathaniel, Sara, and Jesse each produced one such list, sent it to each other, and discussed the results. Which years wound up with universal consensus? Which years were wildly divergent? Which directors turned up again and again and again? Who actually chose Titanic? Listen in and find out!

Direct download: SportsAlcoholPodcastFavoriteMoviesofOurYears.mp3
Category:movies -- posted at: 3:07pm EDT

Having faithfully chatted about Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad, we were pretty excited to gab about Wonder Woman, a DC Comics movie that people actually like! Marisa, Sara, Nathaniel, and Jesse all saw Wonder Woman and then talked about it for an hour: how it's similar to other comics movies and what makes it different; the starmaking performance of Gal Gadot (and how to pronounce her name); what it means to see a female superhero kicking ass on the big screen; and more!

Direct download: SportsAlcoholPodcastWonderWoman.mp3
Category:movies -- posted at: 8:27am EDT

With the release of Ridley Scott's second Alien prequel, first Prometheus sequel, and third Alien movie overall, Alien: Covenant, we got together for a chat about all things Alien. Marisa, Nathaniel, Jesse, Sara, and Jon talk about: Evil aliens, evil nonevil robots, badass humans, franchise auteurism, Ridley Scott psychology, and yes, the times when the Aliens fought Predators. It's all here and ready to burst through your chest in spectacularly upsetting fashion.

Direct download: SportsAlcoholPodcastAlienSeries.mp3
Category:movies -- posted at: 5:53pm EDT

If you're anything like us, everyone you know watches Riverdale for some reason. Following the first season finale of this teen soap du jour, based on the Archie Comics characters, Marisa, fellow redheaded dude Nathaniel, Jesse, and special guest Maggie got together to discuss the show: as a teen soap, as an Archie adaptation, and as a thing we watched for thirteen weeks this spring. We also talk a little about the 2001 feature film Josie and the Pussycats.

Direct download: SportsAlcoholPodcastRiverdale.mp3
Category:television -- posted at: 4:32pm EDT

With The Fate of the Furious roaring through movie theaters and stars Vin Diesel and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson roaring through the gossip pages, we decided to consider whether reports of the death of movie stars (in favor of special effects, superheroes, or other brand names) has been exaggerated. Listen in as Marisa, Jesse, and Nathaniel discuss the new Fast & Furious sequel, its stars, along with other big names like Anne Hathaway, Will Smith, Tom Hanks, Adam Sandler, Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell, and, of course, Jai Courtney.

Direct download: SportsAlcoholPodcastFateofMovieStars.mp3
Category:movies -- posted at: 11:52pm EDT

Lena Dunham's divisive thinkpiece magnet Girls ended its six-season HBO run this week, and four of SportsAlcohol.com's regular podcasters are dedicated fans. So Marisa, Sara, Nathaniel, and Jesse got together to discuss the show: the finale, the season that led up to it, the series as a whole, and rejecting the conceit of who on the show is the worst. This conversation is a must for any Girls fans still mourning the loss of their favorite show -- or hatewatchers wondering what the fuss was about.

Direct download: SportsAlcoholPodcastEndofGirls.mp3
Category:television -- posted at: 11:25pm EDT

At the end of our recent podcast about Trainspotting 2, Marisa, Sara, Nathaniel, and Jesse each took the opportunity to make some pitches for years-later sequels we'd like to see. What '90s and '00s favorites would we like to see revived? This minipodcast bonus track answers that question. Nathaniel guessed what Jesse's would be about 30 seconds after he thought it up.

Direct download: SportsAlcoholMIniPodcastLateSequelPitches.mp3
Category:movies -- posted at: 11:01pm EDT

Over 20 years after the release of the seminal British junkie dramedy Trainspotting, Danny Boyle and his crew of aggrieved Scottish addicts are back with T2: Trainspotting. Marisa, Jesse, Nathaniel, and Sara went and saw Trainspotting 2 and then talked about the movie and how it fits into the larger Danny Boyle filmography, and how it functions as a 20-years-later sequel.

Direct download: SportsAlcoholPodcastTrainspotting2andBoyle.mp3
Category:movies -- posted at: 1:38pm EDT

  1. The first three weekends of March 2017 saw the release of three successive movies that are all, in some ways or another, franchise films about beastly men or manly beasts: Logan, about everyone's favorite member of the X-Men; Kong: Skull Island, a new take on the giant ape; and Beauty and the Beast, a sorta-live-action remake of the 1991 animated classic. X-Men/Kong/animation enthusiasts Nathaniel, Jesse, Marisa, and Rob got together to talk about all three movies and the beasts contained therein.
Direct download: SportsAlcoholPodcastBeastsofMarch.mp3
Category:movies -- posted at: 12:07pm EDT

Sometimes you just record a podcast episode out of pure indie-rock geekery. Founding editors Rob, Marisa, and Jesse are nuts for the U.K. indie rock act Los Campesinos! so on the occasion of their new album Sick Scenes and their recent North American tour, we got together, along with relative newbie Sara, saw their show in Brooklyn, and had a wide-ranging conversation about the band, our favorite songs, our baseless speculation about their personal lives, and if indie rock circa 2008 really was so special. Indie rock fangirls and fanboys everywhere may relate.

Direct download: SportsAlcoholPodcastLosCampesinos.mp3
Category:music -- posted at: 11:31pm EDT

A few of SportsAlcohol.com's founding editors are longtime Saturday Night Live viewers and fans, so we like to occasionally get together and check in with how the show is doing. SNL is getting record ratings this season, with special guest stars like Alec Baldwin doing his Donald Trump impression and Melissa McCarthy dropping by to play Sean Spicer. We discuss those sketches and more: what this means for a larger-than-average core cast, how Weekend Update is faring in the Funny News landscape, how this year's group of hosts has measured up, and what sketches we feel have been overlooked in all of the political hubbub. This conversation, recorded immediately following the most recent, Baldwin-hosted episode, is a must-listen for any SNL fan.

Direct download: SportsAlcoholPodcastSNLcheck-in2017.mp3
Category:television -- posted at: 7:57am EDT

With this year's more diverse Oscars trying to make up ground lost by the #OscarsSoWhite debacles of previous years, and issues of representation getting more attention than ever (especially in Trump's America), your friends at SportsAlcohol.com decided to sit down and have a conversation about representation and identification issues in popular culture. Marisa, Sara, Jon, Jesse, and Nathaniel talk about media that's spoken to us for those reasons, try to differentiate between representation and identification, and talk about all manner of movies and TV shows, past and present, including Hidden Figures, Moana, Manchester by the Sea, Moonlight, and many more. It's one of our longest and widest-ranging conversations, but we think it's well worth listening to!

Direct download: SportsAlcoholPodcastRepresentation.mp3
Category:movies, television -- posted at: 10:59pm EDT

Just in time for Oscar season, the core movie crew at SportsAlcohol.com -- Marisa, Jesse, Nathaniel, and Sara -- get together and talk about our group list of the best movies of the year, an eclectic group of critics' favorites, awards honorees, and weirder choices. We chat about what we loved, what we didn't get, what our outliers were, and how these 20 great movies relate to each other.

Direct download: SportsAlcoholPodcastBestMoviesOf2016.mp3
Category:movies -- posted at: 9:33pm EDT

So do movie series just go on forever now? After watching the new Star Wars spinoff Rogue One, Rob, Sabrina, Marisa, Jesse, and Nathaniel got together to discuss the franchise, the new movie, and whether keeping stories going forever and ever is a sustainable model. Also listen up for a barrage of Star Wars spinoff pitches.

Direct download: SportsAlcoholPodcastRogueOneForever.mp3
Category:movies -- posted at: 7:57am EDT

We can all agree that 2016 was a garbage year, but did any albums, songs, or musicians manage to save it for us? Rob, Sara, Marisa, and Jesse got together to figure out whether Beyonce, Radiohead, or the return of A Tribe Called Quest, among others, could salvage 2016 via songs.

Direct download: SportsAlcoholPodcast2016inMusic.mp3
Category:music -- posted at: 8:56am EDT

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