The Flopcast

It's a mostly music-themed little show this week, with quick concert reports on Ben Folds (with the Boston Pops), Petty Morals, Go Betty Go, and The Dollyrots. We also recommend the new album from comedy band Power Salad, fail to attend an a capella festival (which is probably for the best), and create the perfect soundtrack for Guardians of the Galaxy 3 (you're welcome, Hollywood). Plus: In honor of Toy Industry Association Day, we recall our favorite toy stores of the past. (If anyone wants to time travel back to 1977 and pick up some Mego Teen Titans dolls at Child World, we'll gladly pay retail. Don't forget Aqualad.)

Direct download: Flopcast_265.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:49am EDT

We have an unusual show this week, and needless to say, it involves Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Years ago, we rescued a weird old book from a Woonsocket library book sale. It's called "My Private Life: A Personal Record For the Teen Years"... and this copy was actually filled in, by an actual teen, way back in 1966. Now don't worry; despite the title, there's nothing really private in it. But it does offer a fun glimpse at the life of a junior high student we'll call Joyce (not her real name) half a century ago. (The short version: Joyce was into horses, bell bottoms, horses, Batman, the Dave Clark Five, and horses.) Also: Kornflake recommends Pod Casserole (another fine show right here on the ESO Network), and the people of Fruita, Colorado are celebrating Miracle Mike the Headless Chicken. (If only Mike had kept a diary too...)

Direct download: Flopcast_264.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:33am EDT

Kornflake celebrates National Title Track Day with another goofy Flopcast game, in which we must identify album title tracks. (It would have been so much easier if we only used Air Supply songs.) Then Kevin reports on Boston's Women in Comedy Festival, with shows featuring our own Niki Luparelli, comedy music duo Abbaria, Second City's Kirsten Rasmussen, SNL's Sasheer Zamata, and more. We also discuss recent Boston-area concerts by Aimee Mann and Jonathan Coulton, Catie Curtis... and Midnight Oil. (Yikes, we need Midnight Oil now more than ever. As you may have noticed, our beds are still burning.) Plus: One of our favorite "What's in the Bag" segments ever, because the bag itself is awesome, its contents involve strange animals and a classic 80s cartoon, and now we have the power.

Direct download: Flopcast_263.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:14am EDT

Yes, our goofy little podcast is five years old this week, so we're celebrating, as expected, with coffee and more coffee. But we're also looking back at all our amazing guests (yikes, for a show that doesn't have a lot of guests, we've had a lot of guests) and beloved Flopcast segments. (We run through just about every subject ever covered in our Top 4 1/2 List, Pudding Pages, Chickens in the News, and What's in the Bag segments. It's a long, weird list. Get comfortable.) So hey, thanks for listening! We assure you, the next five years will be just as stupid.

Direct download: Flopcast_262.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:46am EDT

Kornflake is out sick this week, so the Mayor of Chickentown is filling in as special guest host. And with nothing better to do, we decided to play another stupid game. Yes, this is the 1970s version of that 1980s movie game we invented just a few weeks back. And yikes, the 70s and the 80s were two very different decades in film. (The 70s were much creepier, and suffered from a severe lack of Molly Ringwald.) So join us as Kevin and the Mayor try to guess each other's favorite movies from each year of the 1970s. There were some obvious picks from Lucas and Spielberg, as well as musicals, cartoons, disaster movies, obscure horror movies about frogs, and anything with Jackie Earle Haley. Will the 70s game make Kevin as crazy and frustrated as the 80s game? Let's hope so. And worry not; Kornflake shall return next week, as we celebrate five ridiculous years of the Flopcast. (If you listen carefully, you'll even hear Kornflake on this week's show, because Kornflake cannot be stopped.)

Direct download: Flopcast_261.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:53pm EDT

You asked for more Flopcast Top 4 1/2 Lists, and as long as you don't mind the topics getting stupider, we shall deliver. This week, for example, we're counting down our favorite Eds and/or Eddies. (Hey, you were warned.) Get ready for a bunch of Eds and Eddies from sitcoms, movies, Top 40 radio, and more. (Warning: Both Ed Grimley and Eddie Munster somehow didn't make the list, and we're not happy about it either. Some tough choices had to be made, but hopefully we'll all come out a little stronger on the other side.) Also: Free Comic Book Day, a secret chicken project, and carrots. (Warning: Do not leave the carrots unattended around Eddie Rabbitt.)

Direct download: Flopcast_260.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:45pm EDT

We're sleepy and confused as usual, but we're back with a quick silly report from Super Megafest! It's one of our favorite local conventions, and we ran into many of our favorite local nerds. We also ran into WKRP in Cincinnati's Loni Anderson, Flash Gordon's Sam Jones... and yes, Greg Brady himself, the one and only Barry Williams. (To prepare emotionally for this moment, we've been listening to Barry's amazing album "The Return of Johnny Bravo" all week. The suit still fits.) Also: Why we didn't run the Boston Marathon, the new season of Mystery Science Theater 3000, a "What's in the Bag" segment featuring Canadian dinosaurs, and how to celebrate New Kids on the Block Day. But never mind all that. We finally met a Brady. It truly is a sunshine day.

Direct download: Flopcast_259.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:44am EDT

Ready for a stupid game? Kevin and Kornflake have each compiled a list of their favorite movies for each year of the 1980s (which, according to scientists, is the only decade that really matters). Now it's time to learn which of your Flopcast hosts knows more about the other, as we attempt to guess each other's choices, year by awesome year. And this is a high-stakes competition: the winner gets more coffee. (Yeah, we were both going to have more coffee anyway... but it's still an amazing prize. We like coffee.) And it's a fun list; you can expect lots of Disney, lots of Brat Pack... and a shocking amount of Corey Feldman. And hey, send us your own list of 80s favorites! We probably missed some good ones, especially if they didn't have any Coreys. Also: An actor who appeared in many of the biggest movies of the 80s is turning 80 this week! (Over the years, he worked with the Monkees, he fought with Batman, and he was a werewolf. But he'll never be a Corey.)

Direct download: Flopcast_258.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:51am EDT

This week the Mayor of Chickentown joins Kornflake for a Top 4 1/2 List of pop culture catchphrases! (Kevin could not be bothered to prepare a list. Hey, someone has to sip coffee and make sarcastic comments. That's important too.) So we cover a bunch of the goofy catchphrases (from sitcoms, cartoons, and more) that have been trapped in our poor brains for the last few decades. Maybe they're fun, or maybe they're super-annoying, but they're here, and we just have to deal with them. (And yes, Mr. T is represented. We could have stayed on Mr. T for the whole list...) So enjoy the show, and remember to scream "It's Turkey Time!" at everyone you see, all the time, from now on. We're sort of trying to start a new catchphrase.

Direct download: Flopcast_257.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:18am EDT

Thanks to an annoying springtime snowstorm, Kornflake cannot get to Chickentown Studios! So we're on Skype for this week's show... which means Kevin gets all the coffee. But we do have a couple of goofy concert reports, because Kornflake won Dar Williams tickets from a college radio station, while Kevin attended a benefit show with Belly, Nada Surf, Juliana Hatfield, Evan Dando, and more. (Sometimes you just have to party like it's 1995.) And because we tend to get everything wrong, we have a bunch of corrections from recent Flopcast episodes, on very important subjects like Donkey Kong, Flash Gordon, and skinks. Also: April 4th is World Rat Day! Now when it comes to rodents, the capybara will always be our favorite. But sure, let the rats have their big day. Especially if Patton Oswalt agrees to do all their voices.

Direct download: Flopcast_256.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:28am EDT