BLOG! The Musical!*

Oh, I see. I get the picture. The official show rundown is too bland. Too dull. Yeah, whatever. Why not check out Popbunker rundown of the show, posted on Saturday mornings? It's got added vim! Added vigor! Added snark! Added additions! That sort of thing!

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Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics can be heard at several times through the week, beginning Friday nights (UTC) on Radio Six International and is syndicated to stations around the world. If you want to add 2GC to your station, community broadcaster or spare bedroom-based internet stream, contact the lovely Lynne at Radio Six Syndication and tell her "dag nabbit, I want to make Paul and Spike international broadcasting superstars!"

Sony Award-winning broadcaster John "@johnco" Collins:

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

The Paul&Spike Specials - Gotta Catch 'Em All!

2010-12-16T22:51:00.001-05:00

We'll be polluting the Radio Six International schedules several times over the festive period with our shenanigans, goings-on and cheeky ne'erdaeweel capers. Here's how to tune in, when to tune in, and what for:

Friday December 17th at 2200GMT (5pm US/e) - Saturday December 18th at 0600GMT (1am US/e) - Sunday December 19th at 2000GMT (3pm US/e)

Episode #321 of Too Grumpy Critics, featuring the commentariat's least favourite christmas songs in part two of the "Ho Ho No" show.

Friday December 24th at 2200GMT (5pm US/e) - Saturday December 25th at 1500GMT (10am US/e) and 0040GMT (7.40pm US/e) and Sunday December 26th at 1940GMT (2.40pm US/e)

The exclusive 85-minute edition of the 2010 Paul&Spike Christmas Special.

Saturday December 25th at 0245GMT (xmas eve, 9.45pm US/e) - Tuesday December 27th at 1700GMT (noon US/e)

The 2-hour Christmas music spectacular; part three of the "Ho Ho No Show", in which the final list of unveto'd songs are run down and played.

The easiest way to listen is to go to www.radiosix.com and listen either with your media player of choice, or through the high quality flash stream. The really cool thing is that we are just one small part of the other goodies that Radio Six have on offer this Christmas. Remember that US/e times are five hours behind GMT.

As usual we'll have a plethora of special programmes to celebrate the Festive Season. Pride of place, naturally, goes to the grand final of Record of the Year 2010 which will be broadcast at 00:00 GMT on Saturday, December 25th with repeats at 16:00 GMT on Sunday, December 26th and at 15:00 GMT on Saturday, January 1st, 2011. This year's fierce battle for the number one position continues! Voting is frantic and remember we close voting at 23:59 GMT on December 22nd! Check our this week's chart by clicking the Programmes tab. Just a reminder - one vote per person, you can only vote for tracks which are on the list of nominated songs, and you must include your name and address in the email. Send to votes@radiosix.com with "Vote" as the subject line. We reserve the right to declare invalid any or all votes which break these rules.

Tony Currie's Xmas Cracker is something of an institution, having started in the 60s, and it can be heard at 07:00 GMT and 20:00 GMT on Saturday, December 25th. Tony Currie can also be heard in an archive programme first broadcast in 1979. Christmas in Vienna recorded in the studios of state broadcaster ORF features seasonal classical music in the Austrian tradition, and a rare interview with the outstanding German mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig (who is now 82). The programme can be heard at 17:00 GMT on Friday, December 24th, and 20:00 on Monday, December 27th.

And for fans of Abba there's a fabulous treat with our Live Wire special in which Alex Belfield talks to Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus about their music, plays all of Abba's number one hits and coaxes Benny into playing some live music as well! This is Abba airs on Saturday, December 25th at 20:00 GMT, Sunday December 26th at 23:00 GMT and Wednesday, December 29 at 20:00 GMT.

Hospital broadcasting in Glasgow celebrates 40 years on December 25th, and we bring together the men who were the first voices on the station - Bob Christie and Tony Currie who present a programme specially produced for HBS by radio six international at 15:00 GMT on Sunday, December 26th with a repeat at 20:00 GMT on Thursday, December 30th. Callum Kenmuir performed a memorable Christmas edition of The Piano Room for us back in 1986. This year we have persuaded him to return to the studio for a brand-new Another Christmas in the Piano Room which you can hear at 06:00 GMT on Friday, December 24th; 08:00 GMT on Saturday, December 25th and 02:00 GMT on January 1st, 2011.

Sue Fisher will be on hand to present three special editions of her weekly Behind The Tracks show, with separate editions on Friday, December 24th at 20:00 GMT; Saturday, December 25th at 12:00 GMT; and Sunday, December 26th at 22:00 GMT.

A treat for fans of the Offshore pirate radio stations on Sunday, December 26th. Following the success of our special day devoted to pirate radio back in August, and by public demand, we're repeating the best of these special programmes on the morning of December 26th. Between 08:30 and 13:00 GMT you can hear the voices of the pirate kings and archive programmes, unbroadcast demos, discussions, documentaries and special compilations. Featuring John Benson, Tony Allan, Mark West, Paul Harris, Tommy Shields, Stuart Henry, Tony Meehan, Jack McLaughlin, Tony Currie, Ben Healy, Mike Aherne, and Noel Miller, there are highlights from the final day of 242 Radio Scotland and features on many of its sister stations including Radio London, Radio Caroline and others.

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

The First Reviews Are In!

2010-12-14T06:57:00.001-05:00

Two influential giants of Scottish radio weigh in on this year's Christmas special:

Listening to something very special indeed from @spikester and @jockopablo .You'll get to hear it soon...

Scottish broadcasting legend and all-rounder Tony "RadioSix.com" Currie:

From my privileged position as Director of Programmes at radio six international, I can tell you in advance that the PAUL & SPIKE XMAS SPECIAL is utterly superb. And totally unexpected in its style and content! Hear the entire 85 minutes on our station on Xmas Eve at 22:00 GMT, Xmas Day at 15:00 GMT, Dec 26th at 00:40 GMT and 19:35 GMT, via www.radiosix.com. Or of course as two podcasts!

Part one drops into your podcast in-box on December 18th, part two on December 20th. As Tony mentioned above, the 85 minute version will air exclusively on Radio Six International at the times listed.

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

Christmas Announcement, Via The Magic Of Star Wars

2010-12-12T11:48:00.001-05:00

We now cross over to the Star Wars desk for an important announcement...

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

#320 - Your Favourite Christmas Songs

2010-12-10T21:52:00.001-05:00

Download the show here, for remote listening.

Subscribe in iTunes, uTunes, WeAllTunes or IceTunes.

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This week, the amazingly diverse audience pick their favourite Christmas tunage.

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Join the Too Grumpy VIP Lounge on Facebook

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#319 Addendum: A Little Something For Paul

2010-12-06T21:59:00.001-05:00

You may remember that Paul's analysis of the movie "Koyaanisqatsi" had a mixed reaction: great visuals but lousy music. So, as I readied myself for snow shovellage this morning, I thought I'd put a little something together for him...

And just in case there are a few out there like me, who enjoy Philip Glass' music, check this guy out!

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

The Christmas Songs You Love And Hate (And Love To Hate And Hate To Love)

2010-12-05T16:30:00.001-05:00

Happy Holidays!! As we get ready for Christmas and to take a break for a couple of weeks, we're going to be talking Christmas music over the next fortnight. So, what we want from you is nice and simple - and you can be as brief or as elabourate-ishness as you like when it comes to your choices:

Your five favourite Christmas songs - They can be specific versions of the song, or general. Whichever you choose.

Your three least favourite Christmas songs - That holiday tunage you just can't stand. Feel free to tell us why.

HERE'S HOW TO ORDER!! Oh.. um... I mean, here's how to send your replies in:

Or send us an email to the usual address, which IS...?

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

#319 - Over/Under Christmas Movies

2010-12-03T22:10:00.001-05:00

Download the show here.

Subscribe in iTunes/Zune/Whatever-the-hell-else, here.

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0:00:00 - ...wait, what did we miss? Aw well, never mind - there are drinks updates to get to, a reminder of what's happening with the next two shows, and an explanation of why Paul has a burning white-hot hatred of novelty Christmas songs. Listen out, too, for a developing show meme that rivals the Rurt Reynolds laugh for rendering Spike crippled.

0:10:40 - Paul watched "Koyaanisqatsi" Paul watched "Koyaanisqatsi" Paul watched "Koyaanisqatsi" Paul watched "Koyaanisqatsi" Paul watched "Koyaanisqatsi" Paul watched "Koyaanisqatsi" Paul watched "Koyaanisqatsi, doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo, Paul watched "Koyaanisqatsi" Paul watched "Koyaanisqatsi" Paul watched "Koyaanisqatsi" Paul watched "Koyaanisqatsi" Paul watched "Koyaanisqatsi. Also on the agenda, some classic Twilight Zone, and animated japery with "Creature Comforts".

0:19:26 - Spike's been to a drag show (in West Virginia, no less!) and sees the greatest Reba McEntire queen in history. Documentarian Nick Broomfield tries to make a documentary about Kurt Cobain, and Spike tries to watch the Star Wars Holiday Special. Both fail.

0:30:22 - 'Tis the season for Christmas movies... and 'tis time we did another Over/Under in which P&S and the audience pick one movie that is over-rated, and one under-rated.

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Send your answers via the usual address, which IS...?

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Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

Christmas Songs And Christmas Movies (Fa La La La La, La-La La-La.)

2010-11-29T20:20:00.001-05:00

Well, here we are at the end of the year once again, and the thoughts of a young 2GC fan turn to festive media. That, plus visions of chocolate and beer for breakfast dancing in their heads.

So let's kill three partridges in three pear trees with one stone and reveal the holiday season-themed questions for the next four weeks. Not a typo, the answers you submit to questions two and three will form the fourth music-based show which will be broadcast exclusively on Radio Six International. Naturally, because that particular show will be so heavy on copyrighted music, we can't podcast it in its full form, so listening to Radio Six on Christmas Eve will be your only chance to catch it in all its glory. But here's what we need:

1: OVER/UNDER CHRISTMAS MOVIES
One xmas movie that you feel is over-rated for whatever reason, and one you feel is an under-rated xmas movie. Furrazample, you might pick "Die Hard"; not technically a xmas movie, but a movie set at xmas and one in which the holiday is somewhat important to the plot.

2: FIVE FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS SONGS
This is part one of the three-week "Ho Ho No Show". Nice and simple, we'd like to know what your five favourite christmas songs are. You can add in why, if you want.

3. THREE CHRISTMAS SONGS YOU HATE
Another easy one for the second part of "The Ho Ho No Show"; three xmas songs you hate, and why. You can be specific about artists if you want, or maybe it's a song in any form. I mean, I pretty much can't stand "The Little Drummer Boy", regardless of who sings it.

Here's how "The Ho Ho No Show" works; Week one, we talk about the songs we all like in the usual show stylee, with a This Week In Stuff. Second week, we'll discuss the songs we hate, in the usual show stylee. What we'll do for the xmas eve show is compile a list of winners, based on number of votes cast. If two people vote to veto a specific song (or if one person vetos it and Paul and I agree unanimously with our two half votes), it's off the list. Two positive votes on a song need three negatives to veto it, and so on. Majority rules.

Feel free to pass this on to your non-subscribing/non-show-listening friends, so we can get their input, too. Surely passing on the magic of Too Grumpy Critics is the gift that keeps on giving allll year long. Clark.

Join the discussion on Facebook at the Too Grumpy VIP Lounge.

Or, log in with your existing Twitter and/or Facebook account at PaulAndSpike.com and comment on the post.

Thanks!

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

#318 Jedi Addendum

2010-11-27T21:16:00.001-05:00

The always fascinating Jedi Jawa joined us for the show this week, to talk about his love for "Twelve Monkeys". But that wasn't always the plan... as soon as we announced the movie, ol 'Double Jay' sent us a lengthy email about the movie. We thought it would do his appearance even more justice to show you what he wrote to us, and his unique take on the movie:

"12 Monkeys" was a brilliant movie and Terry Gilliam is a brilliant director in how he set it up. It's very easy to look at "12 Monkeys" as a time travel movie ... but have you ever tried looking at it from Cole's eyes (something that is emphasized quite a bit in the film)? I mean, the film that inspired "12 Monkeys" ("La Jetee") is a time travel film ... but what if "12 Monkeys" wasn't?

Look at Cole. When he first "jumps" in time he is believed to be a paranoid schizophrenic by the past doctors. And who says that he's not? Look at the way that Gilliam set up the scenes and think about them from the eyes of a hallucinating paranoid schizophrenic. I find this easier to do now that I work with so many clients with that affliction and it is striking. Cole goes through the whole movie thinking people are after him and seeing impossible things when he walks through New York ... but what's to say that the things he is seeing are real. He also has a disembodied voice who talks to him through the film and tells him to do things like to pull his teeth out ... we call those "command hallucinations" and schizophrenics hear so many voices that you can just watch them having an internal conversation sometimes while they feel protective about telling you anything about it ... just like Cole. Think too about how fixated that Cole is on certain ideas and principles ... that is another example of a paranoid schizophrenic. The fractured nature of the mind when it is set upon with that condition is evident in the way that the film jumps around and seemingly has continuity errors. They make no sense from the perspective of a 3rd person ... but if you are in Cole's perspective they are just part of his world and people do disappear and you can see yourself in an old photograph. The Cassandra Complex is a huge theme in the film and the scene that really tied that together for me was when Cole sees the street preacher ranting and raving about the future apocalypse ... much like Cole ... except maybe Cole has seen the future and is Cassandra.

Ok, I have to admit I once read an interview where Gilliam said that he intentionally filmed "12 Monkeys" to be taken from both a schizophrenic and a time travelers perspective ... but every time I watch the film I see those aspects now.

The time travel aspect of the film is brilliant. Presumably the thing that keeps Cole so grounded and allows him to remember what happens between the times is the fact that he witnessed his own death as a child ... Cole says he can remember things when other subjects can't and I have to believe that is why ... that it grounds him somehow. I love too the message that you can't really change the past but you can shape it. The scientists aren't trying to prevent the release of the virus (I think that Jose ... like Cole ... is acting on his own when he hands him that old gun that he probably picked up in the past). Rather the scientists are trying to get a sample before it mutates and are using their subjects to zero in on that time (I love how time travel is so inexact ... just as it would be if we trusted AT&T to do it ... fewest dropped time jumps of any network). Thus, while Cole thinks that he can prevent the release of the virus that isn't the goal of his handlers ... perhaps because of a paradox issue that is never discussed in the film but always exists in the back of the mind for any time traveler movie. Hence Cole's actions lead to his own death ... the very thing that makes him such a good time traveler? And we seemingly see confirmation of Cole's success by seeing one of the future scientists make it through time to the point they have been trying to target so that the virus can be studied ... meaning that the scientist is also sacrificing herself much like they sacrificed Cole.

This is certainly a film that needs repeated viewings and I think that I've managed to nail down most of the odd stuff that happens to tie it to a time line. One scene that I still find odd is when Cole disappears and we hear the radio saying that they found the body of his past doctor (Kathryn) strangled and mutilated in a trunk. Was this a red herring or an alternate time line? I'm sure that someone can come up with an explanation but I haven't. As for Brad Pitt's character ... as much as I admire Bruce Willis and his ability to play Cole as a half crazed time traveler ... Brad Pitt just steals the show ... and I think that he's mostly a "MacGuffin" or a plot element that keeps the focus of the attention of the audience to distract them from other things or to keep their interest ... in the end his plot line is also a red herring. This was a common element of Hitchcock films which feature prominently in "12 Monkeys".

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

#318 - Too Grumpy Movie Club: "Twelve Monkeys"

2010-11-26T20:23:00.001-05:00

Downloadez-vous les MP-trois, ici!

et sunscribez-vous avec le reader de feeds/les tunes de la oeil.

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0:00:00 - Paul's on the posh drinks, but Spike donates his update to his niece, who has just turned legal. To drink, you filthy buggers.

0:05:33 - John Carpenter's first film "Dark Star" kicks off Paul's Week In Stuff, followed by a shockingly mostly positive perspective on "Disney's A Christmas Carol, TM", and a warm and fuzzy family movie in the shape of "That Evening Sun".

0:20:55 - Spike's varied Week In Stuff goes from wizards ("Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows") to blizards ("Avatar: The Last Airbender") to hazards ("Bloody Sunday")

29:19 - Terry Gilliam's "Twelve Monkeys" is the most recent inductee to the Too Grumpy Movie Club, and P&S are joined by lawblogger and former president of the eUnited States Jedi Jawa, for a scholarly response to the film.

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You can email us at the usual address, which IS....?

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Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

This Week: Too Grumpy Movie Club - "12 Monkeys"

2010-11-22T11:40:00.001-05:00

This week's Too Grumpy Movie Club choice brings us past 1985 for the first time, with Terry Gilliam's "Twelve Monkeys". Here's what the Eyeam Dibee says about it:

An unknown and lethal virus has wiped out five billion people in 1996. Only 1% of the population has survived by the year 2035, and is forced to live underground. A convict (James Cole) reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to 1996 to gather information about the origin of the epidemic (who he's told was spread by a mysterious "Army of the Twelve Monkeys") and locate the virus before it mutates so that scientists can study it. Unfortunately Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990, six years earlier than expected, and is arrested and locked up in a mental institution, where he meets Dr. Kathryn Railly, a psychiatrist, and Jeffrey Goines, the insane son of a famous scientist and virus expert.

So, grab a copy where you can and let us know what you thought. If you're any sort of real movie fan, you'll have it already. But sometimes discrepancies happen, and we're willing to overlook that for the moment. So, track it down with Netflix (drink!) or LoveFilm if you're in the UK, pop down to your local 'Ye Olde Videotape Rental Shoppe' or find it through perfectly legal means, and let us know what you thought of it.

If your review costs less than 140 characters, Twitter us: @paulandspike - @jockopablo - @spikester

Tell us via the Too Grumpy VIP Lounge on Facebook.

Or log in to PaulAndSpike.com using your existing Twitter or Facebook usernames and leave your comments there.

We need your thoughts by 5pm US/e - 10pm UK on Tuesday November 23rd. Eyethenkyow.

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

#317 - The Very Model Of A Modern Film Director Guy

2010-11-19T19:23:00.001-05:00

Download the whole show for later consumption - rightclick/holdclick here.

Subscribe to the show in iTunes, or your podcatcher of choice.

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0:00:00 - Yes! It's the Too Grumpy Crew Morning Crew! HONK! HONK! A quick drinks update, a beginners' lesson on British peerages and an introduction to this week's guest - Spike's sister Jij, also known as Pumpkin Spider.

0:03:54 - A "slow and boring" Week In Stuff for Paul, featuring the second half of "Die Hard" and - wait for it - the "Dungeons And Dragons" cartoon. Really. Meeehhhh. And Godzoooooo-keeeee.

0:08:40 - On Jij's travels, she took in some "Salt", which she gives "meh" pew-pew-pews out of ten. High marks for "Dispicable Me", though, in spite of its stars. Jij sets Paul some homework, at least three episodes of the Disney Channel's excellent "Phineas and Ferb". This leads on to a discussion about why (Dr. William H.) Bill Cosby (junior) is in the credits to "Little Bill", why "Sesame Street" sped up instead of slowing down, and a clown reading erotic literature to kids. Oh, and that word they can't use? "Twadger".

0:22:53 - It took a quarter century for Spike to track down the banned-in-Britain, so-called video nasty "Driller Killer". But, did he fall in love with it...?

0:28:49 - Thanks to show guest AllClick who suggested this week's topic: a favourite director AND the best example of their work. Not necessarily their best movie, or most loved movie or most successful movie, but the movie that really sums up their style and technique.

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Download the show - click/rightclick here.

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Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

This Week's Question: A Favourite Director And The Best Example Of Their Work.

2010-11-15T20:37:00.001-05:00

Thanks to show guest AllClick who suggested this week's topic: a favourite director AND the best example of their work. Not necessarily their best movie, or most loved movie or most successful movie, but the movie that really sums up their style and technique.

dfgdsfhemail your answers to the usual address, which IS...?

Twitterize the show, via @paulandspike - @jockopablo - @spikester

Join the Too Grumpy Critics VIP Lounge on Facebook

or log in with your existing Twitter or Facebook username and leave your comment at paulandspike.com

Answers in by 6pm US/e, 11pm UK, on Tuesday November 16th, please.

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

#316 - Time Travel Movies

2010-11-12T20:39:00.001-05:00

Subscribe in iTunes/Google Reader/Juice/whatever, here.

0:00:00 - Oh dear. Is IT expert Paul a traitorous bastard when it comes to returning to the dark side? Spike hasn't, but Hotmail's in-show shenanigans when it comes to the simple task of LOADING A FREAKING EMAIL might be the final nail in the coffin...

0:07:50 - Not a busy Week In Stuff for Paul, but he's been super impressed with huge bitrate DVDs of Genesis albums "Duke" and "Selling England By The Pound", remastered into 5.1 DTS. Wooo! Fancy!! Segmental entertainment for the Paulster, taking in two and a half movies; "Die Hard", "Time After Time", and "Twelve Monkeys", which just so happens to be the next pick for the Too Grumpy Movie Club in two weeks' time - details below.

Incidentally; Ade Gregg, the ludicrously talented 78 restorer Spike was talking about, can be found here. You should send him job offers, copious amounts of appreciative cash and/or stacks of 78s that need some love. NOW.

0:29:10 - Spike's been getting his horror on with the comedy show "Psychoville", from the makers of 'The League Of Gentlemen'.

0:40:26 - And so, to the question. Inspired by Paul's recent enjoyage of "Back To The Future" on Bluray, we wanted to know what your favourite time travel movies were - or, at least, movies where the plot relied on time travel in some aspect.

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Send your entry and discuss the entries of others (madam) at the new Too Grumpy Critics VIP Lounge on The Facebook.

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Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

This Week's Question: Your Favourite Time Travel Movies?

2010-11-07T22:43:00.001-05:00

Inspired by Paul's recent enjoyage of the "Back To The Future" trilogy on Bluray, and in recognition of it being the time of year to turn the clocks back, this week we want to know what your favourite time travel movies are, or movies where time travel features in some way. And no, we won't mock you if you can put together a rational defence of "Time After Time". Although.... good luck with that.

Submit your answers to the usual address, which IS...?

Use your existing Twitter or Facebook screen names to log in at PaulAndSpike.com, and leave an answer on the blog post.

Twitter 'em to us at @paulandspike - @jockopablo - @spikester

We'd love them in by 5pm US/e (10pmUK) on Wednesday the 10th of November. kthxbai.

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

#315 - Political Movies

2010-11-05T18:56:00.001-04:00

Download the whole bloody thing, click/rightclick here

Subscribe to 2GC with your favourite podcatcher, or iTunes.

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0:00:00 - Stupid names aside, there's a not-a-drinks-update regarding Paul's margarita mix. Spike is missing the essential ingredient, "plinketty plonk". Paul is sheepishly holding up Kentucky's alcoholic output, although that may change after the results of the election.

0:03:25 - By the description in Paul's Week In Stuff, it sounds like the "Back To The Future" Bluray boxset might be a good reason to upgrade from the DVDs. Shame about ZZ Top, though. Paul's yearly tradition of watching the original "Halloween" rounds out his week in Bluray, and finds out what film-making technique links John Carpenter to former Too Grumpy Movie Club pick "After Hours". Also, the long-awaited answer to that historical conundrum is finally made public via a viewing of "Agora", which is, of course; "did Greek mathematical scholar Hypatia have a nice backside?"

0:23:43 - In addition to Spike's Week In Stuff, we get a history lesson on The Titanic and the DeLorean, which were both built in Northern Ireland. Garry Shandling got much kudos for his deconstructionist sit-com... but did George Burns and Gracie Allen do it first, thirty years previously? On top of that, Rod Serling got much kudos for "The Twilight Zone"... but did "Tales Of Tomorrow" do it first, ten years previously?

0:36:29 - There's almost no time to get through the vast slew of correspondence regarding this week's question: what is your favourite movie about politics, or about a politician? Some great - and surprising - responses from the fantastically diverse audience.

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D'yer Subscribe? Click here to receive the show weekly through iTunes, Google Reader, Netvibes, or your favourite podcatcher.

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Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

This Week's Question: What Are Your Favourite Political Movies?

2010-11-02T21:11:00.001-04:00

With politics in the air, we thought we'd let that flavour our discussion this week. So, what we want to know is, what is your favourite movie about politics (or politicians)? Is it JFK? Bullworth? That one with Tim Robbins? Let us know via these open ports:

The Usual Address, which IS...?

or [at] us on The Twitter - @paulandspike / @jockopablo or @spikester

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

#314 addendum - Spike Done Made A Boo-Boo.

2010-10-31T00:06:00.001-04:00

....what do you mean again? Cheeky bugger.

Yeah, so I mis-spoke on this week's show. As was very quickly pointed out by listener Allan on The Facebook, the song "Keeping The Dream Alive" wasn't by Bauhaus - it was by Freiheit. Bah! Germans and their tricky names. Bauhaus were, in fact, responsible for the pretty pitiful cover version of "Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars" where they very cleverly made it their own by having it sound only very slightly different than the Bowie version, but with different faces. Well done, lads.

So, to celebrate this glorious error (and to celebrate the fact that the Paul&Spike christmas special is mere weeks away), let's all enjoy the not-christmassy offerings of Bauhau.... damn it, I did it again. FREIHEIT, and "Keeping The Dream Alive".

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

#314 - Hallowe'en Me'edia

2010-10-29T19:50:00.001-04:00

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0:00:00 - Well! Isn't Pablo Suave dressed up for the occasion, boy howdy. After a slightly embarrassing drinks update. Following right on from that, Paul's Week In Stuff explains "How The States Got Their Shapes", and there's some 'ween-week flix, including Roger Corman's "The Raven" starring that famous firm of lawyers, Price, Lorre and Karloff. Some Nature/nurture Universal horror schlock, as "The Creature Walks Among Us", and a crystal clear rendition of Anthony Perkins' looked-over acting skills in the new BluRay edition of "Psycho".

0:13:43 - Spike's Week In Stuff includes a 'snake eating its own tail' type scenario, which links a documentary about Benny Hill's financial legacy, and an episode of Groucho Marx's "You Bet Your Life". The secret word is 'milk'. But it should be 'contraception'. Also - want to watch Lon Chaney Jr not smash a chair on the ground? "Frankenstein", as realised by 1952's live broadcast from 'Tales Of Tomorrow' will see to that, and the twitter commentariat are split over "Law And Order: UK".

0:30:40 - This week's question revolves, as you might expect, around Halloween. We asked the commentariat what their essential 'ween-week media is, from movies to TV to literature.

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Our pop culture-vulture friends over at the awesome PopBunker provide their own breakdown of the show every Friday night, with added snark! In addition to providing episode updates on your favourite shows (or soon-to-be-favourite shows) , you can listen to the latest edition of Too Grumpy Critics. Be sure to toddle over there this weekend and check out not only what they had to say about Too Grumpy Critics, but movies, tv shows and comic books too!

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Have you updated your email address for the show yet? Please read carefully, as our options have changed. You can now email the show at the Usual Address, which is the same, only this time at live.com.

You can also find us at The Twitter: @paulandspike - @jockopablo - @spikester - @popbunker

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The Paul And Spike Show is syndicated weekly by Radio Six International, and is available on their audio stream at 10pm UTC on Friday nights at www.radiosix.com, and on 88.2 World FM in Wellington New Zealand at 7pm local time on Saturday nights (Saturday 0700 UTC, 3am EST). To add the show to your radio station or internet station, contact Lynne at Radio Six International Syndication and tell her, "I want to make Paul and Spike international superstars, damnit!"

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

This Week's Question: What Are Your Halloween Media Essentials?

2010-10-26T22:50:00.001-04:00

Halloween, like Christmas, has a plethora of media associated with it. There are more frights per square inch in media at this time of the year than at any othBOO!

Did we scare you?

Oh.

Well, what we want to know this week is the details of your spooky media intake. Are there any scary movies you save for the cold, late October nights? Books you squirrell away to unsettle you in bed? Do you have a weird playlist on your mp3 player that get you ready for trickage and/or treatage? Maybe there are movies/books/tv specials/songs that you hate and you can't escape.

Let us know via all the usual outlets and inlets: Email us at the usual address - which IS...? or you can Twitter us at @paulandspike or @jockopablo or @spikester.

Alternatively, visit paulandspike.com, log in with your existing Facebook or Twitter account and leave a comment in the comments section. As per, we need your answers by 6pm US/E-11pm UK on Wednesday night (October 27th)

WooooooOOOOooooooo, etc.

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

Caption Competition: Tom Baker At The Window

2010-10-25T22:33:00.001-04:00

This picture is too damned good not to have a CaptComp with:

Have at it! Winner gets their choice of a free set of tennis, a lifetime's supply of oxygen or a weekend in November.

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

Untitled

2010-10-22T19:06:00.001-04:00

DOWNLOAD THE EPISODE HERE

SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW USING YOUR PODCATCHER-O-CHOICE HERE.

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0:00:00 - A grocery store burp, an embarrassing drink and the recipe for the ultimate margarita. Welcome to Too Grumpy Critics.

0:07:50 - Some hits and misses for Paul's Week In Stuff; "Session 9" and "Tales Of Terror", plus a spoiler alert issued for "Who Goes There?"

0:19:53 - A more mixed bag for Spike's Week in Stuff, including a go at the good-idea-but-ultimately-disappointing NBC Direct, there's some frightening gender role swap going on chez Nez regarding the HBO vampire soft porn show "True Blood" and a set of hair straighteners, plus - utterly conversely - some old TV via archive.org including "Burns and Allen" and "The Jack Benny Program". He'll also tell you how to save up to thirty dollars with State! Farm! In-sur-ance! pom pom pommmmmmmm.

0:32:35 - A couple of weeks ago, listener Malcolm had the following request: "I’d like to propose a film for the next review which is one of my 7 “Desert Island Films” and may well be in many personal collections… Billy Wilder’s “Some Like It Hot”. Outside of my own affection for the movie, I think it would be interesting to see if today’s younger generations still find it as funny as I did when I was younger. Much of our preferences for films, radio and TV will have been influenced by our parents/guardians, so I dare say many of us who do contribute to the Film Club will have seen this due to our parents telling us how funny it was". So, that's what happens. The frighteningly literate and analytical minds of the commentariat give their hapeth on "Some Like It Hot". Which doesn't make them a bad person(s).

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You can also find us at The Twitter: @paulandspike - @jockopablo - @spikester - @popbunker

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Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

Damned Socialists

2010-10-21T14:29:00.001-04:00

How miserable socialists must be to live in their horrible socialist nightmares.

Curse you, quality television and quality unelitist healthcare! Curse you to HELL!

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

2GC podcast #312 - Tell Me, Where Is Fancy Booze?

2010-10-15T20:58:00.001-04:00

CLICK/RIGHTCLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE EPISODE

CLICK HERE TO ADD TOO GRUMPY CRITICS TO YOUR PODCATCHER OF CHOICE

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0:00:00 - Posh drinks ahoy as Paul cracks open a Hudepohl, a beer that's been defunct since the 80s, and Spike has some of the finest wines known to humanity. Oh, and a diet beer.

0:04:50 - Paul's Week In Stuff has "saplosions" (Iron Man 2), originality (Trick 'r Treat) and Cat-In-The-Hattishness (Thing1 and Thing2).

0:15:50 - Spike's week, however, is slightly more bipolar. There's high drama with "Cracker", and then there's... well... crackers on "Maury" and "Steve Wilkos".

0:26:54 - With Hallowe'en just around the corner, this week's question is about fear: What single movie scene scared you, disturbed you, or freaked you out the most, for whatever reason.

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You can also find us at The Twitter: @paulandspike - @jockopablo - @spikester - @popbunker

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Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

This Week's Question: Scary Movies.

2010-10-12T22:36:00.001-04:00

With Hallowe'en on the way, we've got one thing on our minds... Free candy. Oh, and scary movies. Yeah. Snickers and scary movies. So, what we want to know for this week's show is this: what single movie scene scared you, disturbed you, or freaked you out the most, for whatever reason. Not movies as a whole, but a specific scene. You can let us know via the usual address, which IS...? TheUsualAddress at live dot com log in with your existing Twitter or Facebook account and comment at PaulAndSpike.com or, get us d'recly through The Twitter: @paulandspike answers in by 6pm US/e, 11pm UK Wednesday night, please. Thanks. Y'rawk - f'real.

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

podcast #311 - Too Grumpy Movie Club: "After Hours"

2010-10-08T19:02:00.001-04:00

0:00:00 - Some fantastic news to kick off the show; Paul's imbibing in an old favourite, and Spike's wearing pants. All is right with the world. There is, however, some less good news. A listener is personally responsible for the death of a Hollywood legend. Oooops.

0:09:38 - Following a viewing of the trailer of the Cohen Brothers not-a-remake of "True Grit", Paul's Week In Stuff includes the original. What can be said about "The Cabinet Of Doctor Caligari"? Plenty - but, because it's a silent movie, it all has to be said with facial expressions.

0:22:35 - Spike's Week In Stuff demonstrates how Twitter is the new playground, with a re-telling of the unbelievable documentary "Madness In The Fast Lane", and why the whole of Britain was talking about how terrifying Robert Carlyle was in "Cracker". Good news, Dr Who fans! Spike's watching of the glum political intrigue-laden story "The Seeds Of Doom" has lead to it being released on DVD!

0:39:49 - The next installment of the Too Grumpy Movie Club is Martin Scorsese's 1985 movie "After Hours". Not very many people tracked it down to watch along, but P&S give it a good going-over.

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You can also find us at The Twitter: @paulandspike - @jockopablo - @spikester - @popbunker

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Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

#310 - Do Some Movies Go Stale?

2010-10-01T18:53:00.001-04:00

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0:00:00 - It's pelters for Spike and his cheap-ass taste in alcoholic beverages during the drinks update. But the good news is, he gets a free trucker's hat. Hoo-whee.

0:05:59 - Paul's done his homework, he watched Martin Scorsese's "After Hours", the subject of next week's Too Grumpy Movie Club. Have you watched it yet? A femailer (yeesssss) recommended the 1951 noir classic "The Prowler", now beautifully restored and with no hard rock, rap, or crazy musical surprises. Gears crunch, and he's on to the remake/reboot of "Friday The 13th" from 2009. Listen closely, and you'll find out a piece of trivia from the first version of the movie that could win you a pub quiz or a piece of pie at Trivial Pursuit one day. What was great about Paul's childhood? "Ark II", that's what. Sit-com "The IT Crowd" hits a little too close to home, though.

0:24:25 - Another dull week for Spike, taking in the first half hour of "Easy A", four times. High praise for the main actor, but not much else... (FYI, 'Clueless' was based on Jane Austin's "Emma", by the way. Not Shakespeare.) How many songs about bonnie lassies does it take to get Spike out of the shower? Lots, apparently. Also, a stunning realization about ABC's "No Ordinary Family".

0:32:30 - This week's question comes from listener Malcolm, who suggests this topic: "which movies have lost their appeal to the younger generation, and why?". It's a toughie, but the audience rises to the challenge.

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Next week (October 8th), we'll be talking about the next installment of the Too Grumpy Movie Club; Martin Scorsese's "After Hours". It's available for instant streaming on Netflix in the US and on LoveFilm in the UK. Rent it, DVR it, find it through perfectly legal means, however you watch it, let us know what you thought. We'll need your responses by October 6th at 6pm US/e, 11pm UK. To comment, you can log in using your existing Faceboor or Twitter accounts at PaulAndSpike.com, or you can send us an email to The Usual Address. Feel free to make the subject line 'Surrender Dorothy!'

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You can also find us at The Twitter: @paulandspike - @jockopablo - @spikester - @popbunker

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Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

The Week: Do Some Movies Date Badly?

2010-09-27T23:05:00.001-04:00

Thanks goes to Malcolm who sent us this email with a great idea for this week's topic:

"Which personal favourite movies in your own collection have lost their appeal to the younger generation, and why? Which films WILL last the sands of time and appeal for many generations to come?"

So there you have it: Which movies do you think have dated so badly so as to be alien to current generation(s), and which movies will be forever beloved by all and sundry?

If you have a Facebook or a Twitter account, you can use them to log in at www.paulandspike.com and comment. Otherwise, you can send us your thoughts via The Usual Address. Answers in by 6pm US/e, 11pm UK time on Wednesday the 29th of September s'il vous plait! (that means 'or else', in Spanish)

Here are Malcolm's examples, to give you some inspiration -

Lost their appeal (from personal experiences with younger generations) :

High Society (is the music now just dated ?)

The Wizard Of Oz (lost it’s magic ?)

Looney Tunes Cartoons (especially Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn… is there maybe too much choice in animation these days with multiple TV Channels all churning out their own)

Marx Brothers Movies… (is slap-stick a thing of the past now ?)

Maybe a controversial choice this, but The Monty Python Movies ??? (Do current teenagers find this as amusing as we all did in our late teens?)

Standing (or will stand) the test of time :

ET (maybe ahead of it’s time dealing with the possibility of life in outer space whilst playing with human emotions)

Arsenic and Old Lace ( engaging characters, a twisting story and comedy acting which matches the very best)

Young Frankenstein ( sorry, I’m just a big Mel Brooks fan who thinks this is timeless, like the original book by Mary Shelley…)

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

podcast #309 - Pantsless

2010-09-24T19:09:00.001-04:00

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In this thrilling episode of Too Grumpy Critics, you'll find out who in Hollywood needs a sandwich, where to find the original Star Wars, and what the next installment of the Too Grumpy Movie Club will be. All sans pants.

0:00:00 - Nudity, eh? So it's going to be one of those shows, is it?

0:02:10 - Quality correspondence regarding last week's show; an email regarding Paul's review of "The Hangover", and three catching up on last week's Too Grumpy Movie Club pick, 'Flash Gordon'. One turns the movie into a wordy dissertation on a remote Scottish island, one has a terrible pun regarding scant literature in Essex, and one takes the word "flash" to horrifying extremes.

0:03:17 - Light week for Pablo this week, watching "Atonement" in full and re-living his childhood with a beautifully re-mastered (and anamorphic) fan version of the original "Star Wars", where Han shoots first and there's not even a whisper of it being episode four of anything.

0:27:35 - Busier week for the Spikester, taking in the Mythbusterseque "Bang Goes The Theory", trying to wrangle a fancy HD DVR from Dish Network, and enjoying two - count 'em - two paid iPod apps, "EyeTV" and "TuneIn Radio". Also, find out why "All The President's Men" is the benchmark for conspiracy nutjobs.

0:52:11 - In two weeks (October 8th) we'll be talking about the next installment of the Too Grumpy Movie Club - Martin Scorsese's "After Hours". It's available for instant streaming on Netflix in the US and on LoveFilm in the UK. Find it, rent it, DVR it, find it through perfectly legal means, however you watch it, let us know what you thought. We'll need your responses by October 6th at 6pm US/e, 11pm UK. To comment, you can log in using your existing Faceboor or Twitter accounts at PaulAndSpike.com, or you can send us an email to The Usual Address. Feel free to make the subject line 'Surrender Dorothy!'

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You can also find us at The Twitter: @paulandspike - @jockopablo - @spikester - @popbunker

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The Paul And Spike Show is syndicated weekly by Radio Six International, and is available on their audio stream at 10pm UTC on Friday nights at www.radiosix.com, and on 88.2 World FM in Wellington New Zealand at 7pm local time on Saturday nights (saturday 0700 UTC, 3am EST). To add the show to your radio station or internet station, contact Lynne at Radio Six International Syndication

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

podcast #308 - Too Grumpy Movie Club: "Flash Gordon" (1980)

2010-09-17T19:12:00.001-04:00

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This week, P&S and their ludicrously intelligent audience discuss "Flash Gordon" in the Too Grumpy Movie Club.

0:00:00 - What's more important; drinks or introductions?

0:02:45 - To begin Paul's Week In Stuff is "The Hangover", a film that apparently everyone (including former guest The Film Geek) has been gushing over. Will Paul join the gush, or will he think it mush? Is it possible to link Jay Leno and 'Deluxe Paint' on the Commodore Amiga and Conrad Poohs to Anne Hathaway? You betcha, and it's all because of the movie "Passengers". I think they're pretty drunk at this point. (Paul&Spike - not Jay Leno, Conrad Poohs or Anne Hathaway. As far as we know.) Sixties cheapo animation-tastic "Spider-Man" swings from one familar skyscraper to another and into Paul's DVD player, and a long-awaited blowing off of dust of the original "Star Wars" movie prompts a discussion over who shot first. (Watt's on second, Iduno's on third, etc)

0:30:00 - A quiet week in stuff for the Spikester, including rifling vicariously through the great British public's private reels in "The Home Movie Roadshow", there's wooden questions ahoy in an in-house documentary about The Stanford Prison Project, and a viewing of Cosmos, following Paul's glowing review last week. But could it be true...? Was Carl Sagan a jerk? And is "IT Crowd" writer Graham Linehan really BFF's with Spike?

0:42:57 - homework time! Two weeks ago, as part of the Too Grumpy Movie Club, we asked you to watch 1980's "Flash Gordon". Response was amazing, with reviews ranging from positive to negative to "I'll just send a list of quotes from the theme song".

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You can also find us at The Twitter: @paulandspike - @jockopablo - @spikester - @popbunker

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The Paul And Spike Show is syndicated weekly by Radio Six International, and is available on their audio stream at 10pm UTC on Friday nights at www.radiosix.com, and on 88.2 World FM in Wellington New Zealand at 7pm local time on Saturday nights (saturday 0700 UTC, 3am EST). To add the show to your radio station or internet station, contact Radio Six International Syndication

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

podcast #307: "That Burt Reynolds Laugh"

2010-09-10T19:09:00.001-04:00

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This week: haa haaaaaaaaa!

0:00:00 - Quick reminder about next week's Too Grumpy Movie Club, which you have scant time to track down and let P&S know what you think. It's going to be 1980's "Flash Gordon", so if you love it or hate it or have any thoughts, get in touch toute de suite at The Usual Address, or sign in at PaulAndSpike.com with your existing Facebook or Twitter accounts and comment.

0:06:37 - Good news turns to bad news regarding the DVD release of the cinematic classic "MegaForce", the climactic flying motorcycle scene you will have seen in the "Youtubic Addendum" post at PaulAndSpike.com. But fear not, the bad news turns back into good news as something that threatens to be a show meme rears it's line-gaffing head. Haa haaaaaaa.

0:11:10 - Show friend AllClick recommended "Shiver" to Paul, to start his week in stuff. (Show amigo AllClick recomendado "Shiver" a Pablo, para empezar su semana en la materia.) Potential spoiler alert for "The Book Of Eli" as P&S reveal the title of said book in the review. Doors doco "When You're Strange" starts a discussion on Jim Morrison; if he hadn't died, would he be dead by now? Work that one out. The universe gets smaller (but Spike gets more frantic) with Paul's viewing of Carl Sagan's masterpiece "Cosmos". US-based non-Netflixers can watch it bullions and bullions of times for free (with limited commercial interruption) at Hulu. Finally, what's chicken soup for Paul's soul? It's reading "The Fellowship Of The Ring" out on the addition to the deck his daughter is building. Nice.

0:28:48 - Spike's been getting handy (with the help of his mum... aaw!) with two knackered iPods and, in the process, re-discovered some good music (Will To Power excluded). First up was the Crash Test Dummies' 1995 masterpiece "God Shuffled His Feet", followed by some free music by Tom Robinson. For all you non-geeks, the update on UVB-76, the Russian buzzing station, starts at 38:18 and ends at 45:55. Don't crash your car trying to skip forward, you XYN's. Also, find out why Tim Roth's performance as a skinhead makes very uncomfortable viewing of Fox's "Lie To Me". Do you want a time check on the Dr Who discussion as well? Oh, alright then. It starts at

51:31 and ends at 55:37, but it does feature a fascinating discussion on how Colin Baker, as Paul's first doctor, altered his perception of the doctors who came bef... oh, never mind. You don't care.

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You can also find us at The Twitter: @paulandspike - @jockopablo - @spikester - @popbunker

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The Paul And Spike Show is syndicated weekly by Radio Six International, and is available on their audio stream at 10pm UTC on Friday nights at www.radiosix.com, and on 88.2 World FM in Wellington New Zealand at 7pm local time on Saturday nights (saturday 0700 UTC, 3am EST). To add the show to your radio station or internet station, contact Radio Six International Syndication.

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Our friends over at popculture website PopBunker provide their own breakdown of the show every Friday night! In addition to providing episode updates on your favourite shows (or soon-to-be-favourite shows) , you'll find weekly updates of Too Grumpy Critics, written in their own inimitable fashion. Be sure to toddle over there this weekend and check out not only what they had to say about Too Grumpy Critics, but movies, tv shows and comic books too!

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You can also find us at The Twitter: @paulandspike - @jockopablo - @spikester - @popbunker

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The Paul And Spike Show is syndicated weekly by Radio Six International, and is available on their audio stream at 10pm UTC on Friday nights at www.radiosix.com, and on 88.2 World FM in Wellington New Zealand at 7pm local time on Saturday nights (saturday 0700 UTC, 3am EST). To add the show to your radio station or internet station, contact Radio Six International Syndication.

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

Too Grumpy Movie Club: Flash Gordon (1980)

2010-09-09T20:43:00.001-04:00

Flash! ppcchhheeww! aah-aaaahhh! Saviour of the u-ni-verse! ner ner ner-ner ner NER!

That's the sound of Queen, and what better band to score one of the campest movies of the 20th century, right kids? It's Paul's turn on the Too Grumpy Movie Club and, inspired by a stunning new BluRay transfer of the - ahem - classic, has tossed the green egg/football thing to you, for your opinion.

Grab a hold of the movie any way that you can (Netflix has it, but not on instant streaming; ditto Love Film), and let us know what you think. Is it your first time seeing it? Maybe it's your last time. Loved it? Hated it? Indifferent? tell us at The Usual Address, or sign in with your existing Facebook or Twitter account at PaulAndSpike.com and leave a comment.

We'll need your thoughts by Wednesday the 15th of September at 6pm us/11pm uk at the latest, so get cracking!.

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

podcast #306 - Booze, Buzz and Space

2010-09-03T19:45:00.002-04:00

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You'll learn all sorts this week. Good booze from bad booze, why rhino poaching and malaria are problems in Africa, you'll get a crash course in marketing, you'll hear what makes a good director, and what's been buzzing in Russia for thirty years.

0:00:00 - P&S act as wonderful role models for today's youth by sampling some booze. Paul's got the "ee dubya" bourbon, Spike's guzzling whiskey and beer with a hole in it. How does this relate to Apple computers and African mosquito nets? Oh, you'll be surprised.

0:15:42 - Paul's Week In Stuff has been varied, including episodes two and three of the new BBC "Sherlock" series. He enjoyed episode one immensely, and there have been plenty of "aha!" moments, but will episodes two and three fare as well? Some surprising praise for Cusack and Jackson in Stephen King's "1408", and they get geeky on what makes a good horror director. Houston, we have no problem with the documentary "For All Mankind", which features no narration, no talking heads and no "doo-dee-doo-doo-doo". You can see clips on YouTube, and user TheBigMamo sums it all up beautifully, "This film has been posted on youtube for almost 2 years, and it has less than 10,000 hits. Post a vid of a panty-less Brittany Spears getting out of a car, and it will quickly reach 10,000,000. Our priorities as a species are completely upside down." And how, Big Mamo. And how.

0:34:50 - Netflix (drink!) have released their iphone/ipod touch application, where subscribers can watch movies on their device of choice. First movie Spike chose to test it out was Orson Welles' "F For Fake", the first 25 minutes of which he is able to condense into one crowded sentence. His media intake has had much ubuntu, after listening to some surprising news stories on the South African talk station Talk Radio 702. There's not much of an argument for furthering cultural education by listening to creepy Russian shortwave buzzing station UVB-76, though. That's just geeky. If, however, you want to join the hunt for barking dogs or the Russian spelling alphabet, you can listen to it live here. Plots are hatched for P&S to set the shortwave enthusiast world aflame using only a pickle. On the nightstand, "The Lesbian Community" was worth every cent he paid for it... but is the last page there?

0:59:50 - The new Too Grumpy Movie Club entry swings to Paul this time, who - for reasons best known to himself - has chosen the 1980 version of "Flash Gordon". Diiiiiive! So, seek it out, watch it and get in touch with your thoughts. Did you love it? Did you hate it? First time seeing it? Last time seeing it? You can write as much or as little as you wish and send it to The Usual Address, or log in with your existing Twitter or Facebook accounts and leave your thoughts at PaulAndSpike.com

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You can also find us at The Twitter: @paulandspike - @jockopablo - @spikester - @popbunker

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The Paul And Spike Show is syndicated weekly by Radio Six International, and is available on their audio stream at 10pm UTC on Friday nights at www.radiosix.com, and on 88.2 World FM in Wellington New Zealand at 7pm local time on Saturday nights (saturday 0700 UTC, 3am EST). To add the show to your radio station or internet station, contact Radio Six International Syndication.

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

#305 - Youtubic Addendum

2010-08-29T20:40:00.001-04:00

Since this week's show is about kids' TV, and since we had such a great response with entries you may be unfamiliar with, we thought we'd throw together a rough guide to some of the shows we all held dear.

But first, I'm sure you're all wondering just how cheezy "Mega Force" is. Well, I'll tell you. Bloody. That's how cheezy.

Rightwell, on to the details of the show proper, starting with the shows that got the most entries.

SESAME STREET

Plenty of mentions for the Street, rather predictably. @JLo83 includes it because "it's just iconic. ...it was tackling subjects well before they were mainstreamed. Even as a 4 year-old I could tell I wasn't being talked down to, and I always loved that." @pumpkinspider agrees, adding, "Sesame Street for showing that TV could be educational while remaining fun and unpatronising, and for continuing to do so to this day (like having culturally relevant characters for each region)". Heather C, however, threw it into her vat of acid: "Hated sesame street, really hated it, it had absolutely nothing to do with the life I led, it was so earnest, thankfully my kids also hate it so not forced to sit through it." So now, let's split the difference, and celebrate the Street by enjoying a clip they can't show anymore.

MR ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD

Paul and I both rate Mr Rogers very highly, and who better to explain why than the man himself, accepting a lifetime achievement Emmy in 1997.

PIPKINS

Although not regarded by anyone as culturally important, the lunchtime talking animal puppet show was remembered fondly by several emailers, including @thisisrjg: "very camp talking hare (Hartley) and his array of strange puppet friends (a monkey and a tortoise, I seem to recall). It ended, with ATV, when I was 6 and a half, but I adored it. I'm not, in retrospect, exactly sure why: tapes show that it was made for about fourpence and was deeply, deeply odd."

GRANGE HILL

Socially-aware BBC teen drama Grange Hill gets some love from @WeeDief, "It taught us just say no, how to deal with bullies, how to deal with bully teachers, how to annoy teachers, teenage pregnancy, drugs, everything." Fraser concurs, calling it "refreshingly different to any other school show (The Wire of kids tv?)." @pumpkinspider called it important, "for being one of the first that I can remember that depicted non-white, non-middle class kids in recognisable situations without always kow-towing to the authority figures" Here's a clip that demonstrates its dedication to those thorny issues, using language that would never be allowed on regular TV these days, let alone kids' TV.

BLUE PETER / MAGPIE

Blue Peter, the BBC's flagship childrens' programme, taking on a magazine format covering items of interest for kids. Skateboarding, knitting, pets, skydiving... that sort of caper. Magpie, rival station ITV's equivalent is described far more eloquently by Wikipedia: " It... attempted to be more "hip", focusing more on popular culture. The show's creators Sue Turner & Lewis Rudd named the programme Magpie as a reference to the magpie's habit of collecting small items, and because of "mag" being evocative of "magazine", and "pie" being evocative of a collection of ingredients."

Of Blue Peter, @transdiffusion said "Very middle class, but ultimately of amazing influence on 3 or more generations of well-spoken children." and provides a beautifully detailed and personal account of the show via the Trasdiffusion site. All Click also has a personal connection to Blue Peter, "I have to agree with Transdiffusion and say that looking back, Blue Peter was a great show. I still remember now the recycling stories they would do and the yearly trip to the bloody (literally!) yorkvic Viking center. I rolled my eyes as a lad at the time but now realise I still tuned in all the time. Did I mention I was actually on Blue Peter? True story." We need clips, damnit! We join the Blue Peter team of the year 2000, as they dig up the time capsules buried by the 1971 and 1984 Blue Peter teams....

Magpie, on the other hand, gets a sound drubbing as @ACELCT throws it into the vat of acid, saying, "I always remember when during a Christmas appeal, some little kid sent in his 5p week's pocket-money... Mick only said, we're looking for more than 5p... miserable bastard (in hindsight, Jenny was pretty hot!)"

TISWAS

A few votes for the anarchic Tiswas from Brits of a certain age, and guess what? Here's the famous clip mentioned on the show! This is what they want!!

DANGER MOUSE

Wherever there is danger he'll be theeeeere! Danger Mouse is spoken of in glowing terms by Mrs. Old Spike, "How could you not love Danger Mouse? A mouse. With an eye patch. A sidekick whose vision is not all it's cracked up to be. They're MI something-or-other secret agents who battle the forces of evil on a regular basis. Loved it! David Jason was positively suave as DM and, I'm convinced, gave lessons to James Bond."

Honourable mentions go to The Mr Men:

Play School:

Reading Rainbow:

Mr Wizard's World:

and Camberwick Green / Trumpton / Chigley:

....well, OK. One more. I know you're just itching to hear the proper version of the "Chorlton And The Wheelies" theme tune.

Thanks, as always, for the excellent correspondence.

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

podcast #305 - Kids' TV

2010-08-27T19:31:00.003-04:00

In a specially extended version of Too Grumpy Critics (don't panic, you have the option to ditch out at the usual time), P&S discuss television history's most important kids' shows. All that, plus Sherlock, Filmation and country music.

0:00:00 - Before anyone even says hello, red state America and country music get it firmly between the legs. Ouch, man! But there is good news; P&S have decided to divide control of the show between who is the least sober at the time, and there's a handy household hint on how to make an alcoholic pillow.

0:09:08 - Paul's Week In Stuff includes some epic 80s in the form of 1982's unmissable "Mega Force", from the makes of "Stroker Ace". Can you believe the audacity of a composer who goes to Bm? tchoh! That, and a "hot pianist chick" in the documentary about the man with the most worn-out doorbell in Vienna, in "In Search Of Beethoven". Jeff Bridges tugs at the heart - and banjo - strings in "Crazy Heart", and a producer opens up some insight (see what I did there?) in "Classic Albums; The Doors' The Doors".

0:27:09 - Is there anything better than swearing and ultra-violence from an eleven year old girl? According to Spike's Week in Stuff, there isn't, as "Kick Ass" gets a viewing. Also, could it be... Spike published? No, probably not, but he is announcing a "Prisoner Cell Block H" episode guide nonetheless. Plus, an unfinished documentary about the making of "Blake's 7" and - shock horror - Paul has finally seen the redux of "Sherlock"... but, did he like it?

0:44:17 - A three-pronged question regarding the world of childrens' TV - A: The most culturally important kids' tv show of all time - 2) Your personal favourite kids' tv show, and III] the kids' tv shows that need to be thrown into a vat of acid.

0:59:27 - As we wave farewell to the listeners on traditional radio, P&S get on with analysing the kids' tv choices of the commentariat.

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Every week, the wonderful snark-masters over at PopBunker provide their own breakdown of the show! In addition to providing episode updates on your favourite shows (or soon-to-be-favourite shows) , you'll find weekly updates of Too Grumpy Critics, written in their own inimitable fashion. Be sure to toddle over there on a Friday night (or Saturday morning) to catch their take on this week's show.

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You can also find us at The Twitter: @paulandspike - @jockopablo - @spikester - @popbunker

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The Paul And Spike Show is syndicated weekly by Radio Six International, and is available on their audio stream at 10pm UTC on Friday nights at www.radiosix.com, and on 88.2 World FM in Wellington New Zealand at 7pm local time on Saturday nights (saturday 0700 UTC, 3am EST). To add the show to your radio station or internet station, contact Radio Six International Syndication.

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

This Week: The Question(s) Of Kids TV.

2010-08-25T23:50:00.001-04:00

We all grew up plonked in front of it, and we all have our favourites: kids' tv. A format maligned by some and embraced by others, mastered by the good and butchered by the bad. The three-pronged question this week (to be answered by 6pm US east / 11pm UK on wednesday 25th) is this....

Most important kids' tv show of all time - this can be because it was culturally relevent, because it was a trend-setter or because it broke/amended/re-wrote the rules.
Your personal favourite kids' tv show(s) - what's closest to your heart, and why? - Was it a show that taught you to read, a show that made you laugh, or one you remember fondly from your childhood, or your kids childhood?
The kids' tv show(s) you'd most like to throw into a vat of acid - what are the show(s) you can't stand? Squeaky puppets, repitition, tackiness, repitition, something that served no purpose other than to merchandise, something you found incredibly annoying, something with a lot of repitition?

Thanks, as always, for your input. We love hearing from you, in whatever form you feel comfortable with. Don't worry about whether the audience will have heard of the show(s) you choose - if you think there's going to be confusion over The Polka Dot Door (CAN), Tikkabilla (UK), Round The Twist (AUS) or Zoom (US), then feel free to provide a brief synopsys. Answer as many or as little of the questions as you like.

If you have a Twitter or Facebook account, you can visit PaulAndSpike.com, and leave your thoughts in the comments section by signing in with either username.

Twitter: the main show account is @paulandspike, but you can also answer us at @spikester and @jockopablo - don't forget us on #FF!

Facebook: connect with us on The Facebook, we post the question several times

Email: As always, The Usual Address is yours to use and abuse. Feel free to use TUA for any show comments, even if you missed the deadline and you still want to comment; we can fit your thoughts into a future show.

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

Let's Call The Whole Thing Off

2010-08-21T17:44:00.001-04:00

We say Burka, and you say Burping. Ah yes, there's nothing better to liven up a dull local radio talk show than a caller that's only been half listening.

Listen!

Good job they weren't talking about fox hunts or good luck, eh?

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

podcast #304 - TV WOW!

2010-08-20T18:18:00.002-04:00

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This week, P&S discuss their new friends in high places (but not high friends in new places... we hope...) and what's the matter with 3D movies. Also, the commentariat share their stories of "WOW!" TV.

0:00:00 - Vino Boxo, a freakishly small beer and an alcoholic challenge open the show, and also set the tone for it. Funny how that works, isn't it?

0:06:30 - Wow, P&S have some expert friends in high places; the movie podcast Showbiz Sandbox, hosted by three people who have more success in the entertainment industry before they munch their Captain Crunch than Paul and Spike would have if they lived to be four hundred and sixty. Following on from a recent Showbiz Sandbox episode regarding why cinema audiences have been avoiding 3D movies, P&S discuss why it is now - and always has been - a gimmick.

0:17:25 - Another busy Week In Stuff for Pablo Suave, including, in order of "papishness", 'Hot Tub Time Machine','Paranormal Activity', the space-free 'Jason And The Argonauts', 'This Film Is Not Yet Rated' (Rated R), and - finally - grab a danish and watch the Danish 'Terribly Happy', also known by its bad-hand-at-Scrabble name, "Frygtelig Lykkelig".

0:32:50 - Inspired by Paul's infomail about the DVD release of the Max Headroom series, Spike decided to give it another go with the second season episode "Neurostim", with surprising results. And, thanks to G****e Video (ptu!) you can watch it too. Also on the slate, the cult Australian soap opera "Prisoner Cell Block H". Hoo boy.

0:43:09 - This week's question revolved around TV, and the last program you saw that made you say "WOW!" for whatever reason, good or bad. Paul's WOW! moment is more like a "yeessss" moment, and Spike's is filled with excuses. The commentariat, thankfully, have far more sensible choices. CHOICES? PLURAL? I THOUGHT I WAS SEEING DOUBLE! HOO HOOOOO!

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Don't forget to visit our friends over at PopBunker! In addition to providing episode updates on your favourite shows (or soon-to-be-favourite shows) , you'll find weekly updates of Too Grumpy Critics. Be sure to toddle over there on a Friday night (or Saturday morning) to catch their take on this week's show.

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Thanks to Google selling out and turning to the dark $ide, we're ditching as many Google products as we can, starting with G-Mail. Farewell, you evil, lying bastards. I hope your Google Plex falls into the swamp. You can now email the show at the Usual Address, which is the same, only this time at live.com. Yeah! MICROSOFT. You drove us to it, Google.

You can also find us at The Twitter: @paulandspike - @jockopablo - @spikester - @popbunker

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The Paul And Spike Show is syndicated weekly by Radio Six International, and is available on their audio stream at 10pm UTC on Friday nights at www.radiosix.com, and on 88.2 World FM in Wellington New Zealand at 7pm local time on Saturday nights (saturday 0700 UTC, 3am EST). To add the show to your radio station or internet station, contact Radio Six International Syndication.

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

What Was The Last TV Show That Made You Say, "WOW!" ?

2010-08-19T12:06:00.001-04:00

Revisiting an old subject, because we wonder if your choices have changed, what we want to know for this week is this: What was the last piece of TV you watched that made you say "WOW!"

It can be WOW for whatever reason; WOW! because it was amazing, WOW because it was terrible and you can't believe how bad it was.... whatever reason, let us know what it was, and why it made you say WOW, whether it was something recent, or something un-recent.

You can find us at all the usual places: @paulandspike, @jockopablo, @spikester,

You can log in at paulandspike.com with your existing Facebook or Twitter account and comment below the post,

Or you can send us a ye olde emaille at The Usual Address.

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

podcast #303 - The Too Grumpy Movie Club Gets Carter

2010-08-13T19:27:00.003-04:00

Good news, everyone! We've entered into a partnership with our friends at PopBunker.net, the interworld's premiere website for pop culturocity. Every Friday, they'll post their own take on the current episode of Too Grumpy Critics. Feel free to listen twice from there, too. The basic upshot of it all is that when you're deciding which version to retweet or pass on to your friends, you can choose from our version, or a version that is far funnier, more insightful and, in additional, also contains better grammar, too.

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The first week of the Too Grumpy Movie Club gets off to a roaring start, and you'll hear exactly what goes on backstage at one of those newfangled rock and roll concerts. In the 80s.

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0:00:00 - After a debate on theoretical lexicography, Paul briefs us on a sad death. Our prayers are with you at this time of terrible loss, bud. Spike makes a technological gain in the face of all the gadgets in his house failing within a fortnight. Good job there's a great email from a new listener to perk up the show and a magic porridge pot of wine.

0:06:13 - A full Week In Stuff for Paul, as we come to the alphabetical end of Roger Ebert's 'Greatest Movies' book with "Written On The Wind", which features, amongst other things, the very Seussian "smirk from Sirk". The 3D remake of "My Bloody Valentine" (won't you stay a... while! while!) gets a surprisingly positive review, as does the Colin Baker-era Dr Who story "Vengeance On Varos" - also known by it's working title; "Peri's Breasts Bouncing". Still... fwaaaar! Eh? Also, Twitter favourite Felicia Day gets an honourary mention through web series "The Guild". All that, and you'll get to hear about the fall-of-Rome-style debauchery that went on backstage at a Frehley's Comet concert.

0:31:28 - After last week's "Tom Baker Years", the Dr Who love-in continues with Spike's viewing of "The Colin Baker Years", featuring less forgetfulness and significantly less pub-related stories. Furthermore, what happens when you put a republican and a member of Greenpeace together in the wilderness....? Dual Survival!

0:43:20 - The first edition of the Too Grumpy Movie Club looks at 1971's "Get Carter". Be forewarned: the discussion contains spoilers, so if you're planning on watching the movie at any point and you don't want to know that he dies at the end, you might not want to listen to this segment.

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Thanks to Google selling out and turning to the dark $ide, we're ditching as many Google products as we can, starting with G-Mail. Farewell, you evil, lying bastards. I hope your Google Plex falls into the swamp. You can now email the show at the new soon-to-be Usual Address, which is the same, only this time at live.com. Yeah! MICROSOFT. You drove us to it, Google.

You can also find us at The Twitter: @paulandspike - @jockopablo - @spikester - @popbunker

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The Paul And Spike Show is syndicated weekly by Radio Six International, and is available on their audio stream at 10pm UTC on Friday nights at www.radiosix.com, and on 88.2 World FM in Wellington New Zealand at 7pm local time on Saturday nights (saturday 0700 UTC). To add the show to your radio station or internet station, contact Radio Six International Syndication.

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics podcast #302 - It's The Vinyl Countdown

2010-08-06T19:48:00.001-04:00

ni ni ner ner, ni ni ner ner nerrr.

This week, P&S discuss an upcoming vinyl-based feature of the show, and ask the commentariat for their vinyl memories; first and last records bought, favourite piece of vinyl and whether they rue the day they went digital.

0:00:00 - Starting the show with mouthfuls of old wine, we kick off with a correction of something said on last week's show and, in the face of a new TV version that's popped up, a discussion on what makes a good adaptation of Sherlock Holmes.

0:12:34 - Paul's Week In Stuff includes the blaxploitation homage "Black Dynamite", and wonders whether it would have been more lauded had it been directed by Quentin Tarantino. After that snickerfest, and watched through genuinely perfectly legal means (no, really) is "The Hurt Locker" - insert sound of gears crunching here, but does hype-allergic Paul think that all the to-do surrounding the movie was actually worth it...? He's been regressing into childhood with a cartoon-fest, including "Spiderman and his Amazing Friends" and "Thundar The Barbarian", and, just to put a downer on the week, he's been listening to Jim Croche, hearkening back to the days when top 40 artists could be butt-ugly.

0:26:35 - Clouding up Spike's DVD player has been the unfeasibly long titled movie "Percy Jackson And The Olympians: The Lightning Thief", demonstrating his tenuous grasp of Greek mythology in the process, by forgetting half of the names of the characters he was surprised to remember from school. Work that one out. More geekish nostalgia, this time with 1991's straight-to-video Dr Who clipfest "The Tom Baker Years", in which the expert orator forgets everyone's name, but remembers what a good time he had with them in the pub afterwards. Tom Baker, that is. Not Spike.

0:36:51 - Quick update about next week's show; You've got a short amount of time to catch 1971's "Get Carter" for next week's Too Grumpy Movie Club. Find it, watch it, and then let us know what you thought, at The Usual Address or you can log in at PaulAndSpike.com with your existing Twitter or Facebook account and comment there.

0:39:35 - Inspired by an upcoming segment dealing with obscure vinyl, we asked the commentariat a four-pronged question: What was the first record you ever bought, the last record you ever bought, what was your favourite record and do you miss the format, preferring the ease and portability of CDs and/or MP3s? As always, answers ranged from the surreal to the sublime, spanning several decades. Comments regarding the quality of LPs over MP3s are surprising.

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You know where to find us - PaulAndSpike.com for further goings-on, a full archive and updates on approaching shows. You can email is at The Usual Address And/Or Twitter: @paulandspike - @jockopablo - @spikester

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The Paul And Spike Show is syndicated weekly by Radio Six International, and is available on their audio stream at 10pm UTC on Friday nights at www.radiosix.com, and on 88.2 World FM in Wellington New Zealand at 7pm local time on Saturday nights (saturday 0700 UTC). To add the show to your radio station or internet station, contact Radio Six International Syndication.

Posted via email from Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics

2GC: It's The Vinyl Countdooowwnnnn...

2010-08-02T22:19:00.001-04:00

We have an upcoming feature to announce this week, and vinyl is a big part of it. So, this week, we're looking for your input on analogue output.

What we want to kn.... what? No, when I said "vinyl is a big part of it" I didn't mean S and M, you dirty gibbon. What we want from you this week is your vinyl stories. Again, no S and M. Keep that one for a future show, when Dan Savage is the guest. Here's your questionnaire, and feel free to elaborate on these as much as you wish.

First piece of vinyl you ever bought (album and/or single).
Last piece of vinyl you ever bought (album and/or single).
Favourite piece of vinyl and why.
The case for or against vinyl; do you not care about the transition away from LPs because CDs and mp3s sound fine, or do you miss it? Why?

Answers in by 6pm (EST) on Tuesday 3rd of August, tankya!

Email - The Usual Address

Twitter - @paulandspike

or sign in with your Facebook or Twitter account to comment at paulandspike.com

Too Grumpy Critics Movie Club: "Get Carter" (1971)

2010-07-31T23:28:00.001-04:00

Yeah, yeah. I know. It's a pretty lame name, but - as the old commercial used to say - it does exactly what it says on the tin. We pick a movie or a TV show (or you suggest one) and, in a following show, we all review and discuss it. Just that simple.

This week, inspired by the much-talked-about, oft-delayed and unpopular-with-anyone-who-doesn't-have-to-look-at-the-bloody-thing-every-day destruction of the Brutalist multi-story car park that inspired the look of the whole film, (and, in turn, an era of British film-making) we put 1971's "Get Carter" under the microscope. We'll do our best to warn you about the movie picks in plenty of time, so get your reviews in for Get Carter by 6pm on Tuesday 10th of August for inclusion.

"Some hard nuts operate up there, Jack. They won't take kindly to someone from London poking his bugle in."

It's the film that made a star of Michael Caine, as the eponymous ice cold gangster who travels to the north west of England to avenge the suspicious death of his brother. In the midst of the "it's grim up north" underworld of Newcastle, he stumbles onto a network of twists, turns, pornography and deception, all of it helmed by an organisation that doesn't want him back in town to ask too many questions about his dead brother.

It's importance to British cinema can't be understated, at a time when her majesty's picture houses were home to technicolour caper flicks with bongo soundtracks, Carry On movies and "Jamesh" Bond at his campest, Get Carter's unforgiving portrayal of a down on its luck industrial town's underworld filled with deeply unpleasant characters (including the main character) was a shock to the system, paving the way for the cynical anti-heroes of the future and, at last, showing a Britain outside of London's swinging bloody Carnaby Street.

Following other classics such as "It's A Wonderful Life" and "Citizen Kane", the initial reaction to Get Carter was lukewarm at best, although it was championed at the time by infamously hard-to-please film critic Pauline Kael for its "calculated soullessness". And, like "It's A Wonderful Life" and "Citizen Kane", it has risen to the top of many film lists over the years, including being named the greatest British movie of all time by readers of Total Film magazine.

But do you agree? We'll give you two weeks to rent, buy or acquire through perfectly legal means a copy of the movie. Let us know your thoughts - whether you liked it, hated it, didn't understand it, or just mocked thoroughly it in the MST3k stylee, let us know at The Usual Address and we'll put you in the mix. If you felt particularly strongly about it and you want to join us via Skype or phone, drop us an email and we'll be glad to schedule your thoughts.

Sermon On The Mount On My Plate

2010-07-30T23:59:00.002-04:00

Imagine this. There you are, you've just slaved over a hot fryer for the better part of an hour to make your world-famous-in-my-house fish and chips and hushpuppies. You sit down to enjoy the artery-clogging dinner with a huge blob of salad cream (not mayonnaise, thank YOU very much). You get three quarters of the way through, and all of a sudden, what should appear...? How about Jesus himself? That's right, dinner gets two thumbs up from the big man (or, at least, son of the big man).

Honest to god (no pun, etc) this is 100% genuine. I have no artistic abilities whatsoever, this image presented itself entirely through chance via careless dabbing and smearing. Blessed are the meek. And my chips, apparently.

Unfortunately, I don't have the original plate to sell on ebay for a fat bag of cash. I gave into temptation and ate the rest of it, and poor salad cream JC is now just a yummy memory. I will, however, sell you a print for a tenner, if you want. For an extra $5, I'll even throw in a home-made waffle on the off chance that John the baptist's fizzog shows up on it. Hey - it could happen.

#Paul&SpikeShow - Wanted: Your Summer In Stuff

2010-07-26T15:36:00.001-04:00

That's right, we're back. Starting this Friday, we'll be back with our new(ish) show "Paul&Spike: Too Grumpy Critics" in which, quite honestly, practically bugger all changes from TPASS's format. We'll be concentrating less on news and current affairs and more on media review/discussion, which is what you wanted. You never got off your lazy arses when we asked you about the world around you, but whenever we wanted your opinion on who was the best Dr Who, whether the B-52s theme for "Rocko's Modern Life" was worse than the original or what Cheers character you'd most like to play 'Pass The Pigs' with, we couldn't move for correspondence. So be it. Media you want, media you get. Never let it be said that we don't listen to what you say. Or, at the very least, know how to take a hint.

Hanging around is the ever-popular "This Week In Stuff" segment where we discuss our media intake; what movies or tv shows we've watched, games we've played, books we've read. Paul and I have been busy over the summer, how about you? What have you been watching? Send your reviews to The Usual Address, or reply below. If you're reading this on paulandspike.com (or paulandspike.posterous.com) you can log in with your existing Twitter or Facebook account to comment.

Don't forget you can also find us on Twitter: @jockopablo and @spikester

We Jammin'.

2010-06-02T23:13:00.001-04:00

I love Jam Donaldson's blog, "Conversate Is Not A Word". Love it, love it, love it. It's probably not politically correct to point out the fact that I, as a fat, pasty European, often don't understand the ins and outs of the African American community, although having watched Comedy Central for a combined fifteen minutes or so over the past six years, I do know that there are comedians who seem to have made entire careers out of the fact that there are some differences between how white people see things, and how African Americans see things. (see also: Differences Between White People And Latinos, The and Lopez, George) The beauty of what Jam Donaldson does is that she passes comment on African American culture from the inside out, and is often highly uncomplimentary of its foibles, particularly when it comes to the lack of female empowerment. F'rinstance, here's some edited highlights from this recent post, dealing with Melanie Fiona's song, "It Kills Me" to give you a rough idea of why I think Jam is one of the most compelling bloggers around today:

Fiona’s song is basically, the desperate, pathetic woman’s anthem. Forget self-esteem, forget independent thought, forget doing what’s best for you, Fiona loudly proclaims about 15 times a day, every day, on the radio that, it’s really about a warm body.

And as if we don’t have enough problems with families in the black community, now here comes a woman who shamelessly declares that she also wants to have babies with this man, who admittedly treats her like dog shit.

At some point we must all take responsibility for the messages we are promulgating to our young people about life and relationships and choices. Can we be that surprised that our young women allow themselves to be treated poorly and then add insult to injury by having children with awful men in the name of “love” ? We wonder why our ladies come home with idiots and thugs who can’t string a sentence together or who abuse them or otherwise disrespect them? We wonder why so many young women blamed Rihanna. Well, I have one place to start looking for answers: the radio.

How about this one, about American Idol and its impact on modern goals:

Celebrity is our new religion. You don’t want to be the best, or the smartest or the most honest or the person who worked the hardest. You just want to be the most famous. However you get there, it’s fame that counts now. Those poor schmucks just want a chance to be somebody, anybody. America has taught us that celebrity is really the only thing that really counts. The only time YOU count.

How we have come to measure success has become so distorted and myopic. We have young people who are so starved for “fame” and “celebrity” and “easy riches” that their lives become solely a quest for what will make them a star. From Youtube to “Idol,” we are raising a generation whose only barometer for achievement is a lifestyle of celebrity and easy wealth. Fuck a job.

Whereas a generation ago, men and women were happy if they just achieved more than their parents: if they got to college or got a good job and had a family. That was success to them. Now, we deem ourselves failures if we’re not millionaires by 30. We are lost in what we see, what others have, what we don’t have, what we’re not. We don’t feel like somebody in our personal lives, so we go audition for “American Idol,” hoping someone will deem us worthy. Will make us feel as if we matter. Famous people matter, so we want to be them. By any means necessary.

Just as Barack Obama brings a message of hope to his presidency, I can’t help but watch “American Idol” and lament that this is the extent of hope for so many. We have lost those dreams of peace on earth and good will to men. Of family, of achievement, of community, of ending world hunger. To hell with all that. That stuff is hard.

We just want to go to Hollywood.

The comments section is always worth your eye time too, and it's fascinating to see that there are so many readers who seem to identify not only with what she's saying, but with the fact that there seem to be wider issues within the community that they want to see addressed. What makes her blog so damned readable is that I, as a man who watches a lot of daytime TV and lives in a state that - and I'll borrow Paul's perfect phrasing for this - is about as diverse as a tub of cottage cheese, only see an uber-magnified, over-emphasised, and, often, unflattering view of African Americans, and, post after post, she knocks it out of the park explaining why what we're seeing is wrong, particularly since so many in the community strive to emulate it.

In the comments section of a post about "teabonics" (the hilariously wonky speloing and grammer in sum of the signs what is held up at tea party rally's), a poster named Therren Dunham shared a jaw-droppingly accurate and beautifully researched dissection of the tea party movement. I'll post the comment in full so you don't have to go looking for it, but if you have a spare half hour, indulge your brain in the discussion that follows. It truly is a thing of beauty.

Folks, what we’re looking at are examples of society’s real losers.

These are the people who pride themselves in believing they are defending their freedoms by any means necessary, but cower and hiss at the images and ideology of the man who coined the phrase. They’re quick to question the citizenship and patriotism of their elected President but fail to appreciate that the first person to spill his blood in the cause of American independence was of African ancestry.
[BTW: if you are a child of an American citizen, that makes you an American, REGARDLESS of where you were born. Ask John McCain (born in PANAMA).]

These are the people who equate Ethan Allen with high-end furniture, and to them Paul Revere’s only meaningful occupation was to simply ride a horse in the middle of the night, yelling at people.

They fear the erosion of the Constitution, yet they likely couldn’t spell preamble (much less recite our Constitution’s verbatim) if a Tory held a musket to their children’s heads. They want more stringint rules for Immigration, but could not pass a citizenship test themselves.

They preach that this is a Christian land, whereas many of the founding fathers were atheist. They never seem to get that the original Pledge of Allegiance never had the words, “under God;” that was a 50’s write-in to stick a thumb in the eye of the impending Communist threat. Never mind that many of the people in those pics appear to be old enough to have recited the original POA in grade school.
(FYI: just because I happen to be a God-fearing son of a pastor and grandson of a deacon, doesn’t mean that I have to disregard historical fact.)

These are the very people who blame outside forces, non-sequitrs and social boogeymen (affirmative action, illegal immigration, quotas, and big government) for outcomes in their lives that were very much in their control (THEIR hyper-spending, THEIR adherence to dead industries and THEIR failure to take advantage of all the opportunities around them, i.e. MOVE to where the jobs are, and get the SKILLS to land one.) In their hearts and minds, the only acceptible undocumented worker scamming the government is a middle aged plumber without a valid license, who fails to pay his property taxes.

These trade-in-the-USA, keeping-it-real-fake patriots are the ones whining about the government on the verge of becoming a client state of Red China (while discreetly pledging their financial allegiance to China by buying their lower-priced goods from Wal-Mart), and driving Canadian-made Chevrolets and Mexican-built Fords while turning up their collective noses at that Hyundai (or, God forbid, that Mercedes Benz some liberal must be showboating in!), both of which are built by AMERICAN LABOR in Alabama. They’d rather be seen in a Dodge Ram built across the border than in a full-sized Toyata pickup built in San Antonio.

Never mind that the top-selling make in China is, of all brands, BUICK; what are the odds that in a few years, many of these people will be driving China’s CHERY vehicles? Or working at their dealerships? Even owning a store and selling one to YOU?

THIS is what the face of America’s failure looks like. It’s more than just a bunch of uncouth individuals with bad grammar. It’s the steadfast belief in a false premise by equally selfish and disingenuous people who possess no sense of what they’re talking about. The fear is not in ignoring these morons. It’s solely in continuing to lend them credibility that’s unwarranted.

Sounds A Bit Like....

2010-05-30T11:52:00.001-04:00

First off, I'm not alleging theft here. Let's get that out of the way, just in case there happen to be any lawyers on here, looking for a "let's take the greatest broadcasting talent of his generation to court on flimsy pretenses" payday. Alls I'm saying is that seconds 14 through 26 sound a bit like the theme from the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis' infamous "Zero Wing" from a minute on. That's all.

Right?

The Paul And Spike Show, Signing Off. Goodnight.

2010-05-28T21:52:00.001-04:00

Holid-day. Celebra-ate. Holida-ay. Celebra-ate.

via flickr.com

Hello, everybodypeeps. Spike here. Your podcast in-boxes will be dark for the next few weeks, owing to the fact that @jockopablo and I are off on vacation. Not together, you understand, oh no. That would make things far too easy. No, instead, our vacations are staggered, just for maximum impact. Paul is off this week, I'm off next. And just to add insult to injury, we'll throw in ANOTHER week for no reason other than laziness, which means we're back on Friday the 18th of June.

This leads me on to the next point. You may (or may not) have noticed that I talked about a major announcement about the future of the show on last week's episode. It wasn't the fact that we're taking a few weeks off, it's actually that we're re-tooling the show. You probably won't notice too much difference, but here's what's happening and why:

The show is eschewing news and current affairs to focus purely on media. This will give it a better shelf life and, hopefully, bring in a few more listeners. Don't get me wrong, the number of listens we get on a weekly basis knocks my socks off, especially considering we're not "names", we're not publicised anywhere and that there's forty billion other podcasts that cover news and politics. We figured that by playing to what gets the most response from listeners (media questions), we could tighten up the searchable keywords and categories and be more attractive to a wider audience.
"The Paul And Spike Show" as we know it is officially no more - it will now be known as "Paul And Spike: Too Grumpy Critics". All addresses and contact information stay the same, though, as will the RSS feed, so you will continue to receive the show in the normal way, for as long as you see value in it.
We'll keep having an interesting mix of guests on, and the weekly questions to the commentariat will continue, but we will now open the show with our own Week In Stuff, followed by the guest's who, quite frankly, probably doesn't give a tinker's cuss about whether we've watched the first season of "Drop The Dead Donkey" or not. The week's question will follow on from there.
Runtime for the show will be sixty minutes. No change for the folks who listen to the show on Radio Six International, but a big change for podcast listeners. The reason we're cutting the show down is that we think 100 minutes is too long for a podcast; most podcast consumers will see an hour as a more comfortable time investment. Besides, how many other podcasts do you listen to that are more than an hour? Be honest. It is a *bit* much.
Change six: there is NO CHANGE SIX.
Change seven: no poofters.

So there you have it. See you on the 18th?

Download the show mp3 here.

TPASS#218 - Guest: Political Strategist Dusty Trice

2010-05-21T18:55:00.001-04:00

THE PAUL AND SPIKE SHOW, EPISODE #218 - Friday May 21st, 2010.

iTunes? Zune? Feed Reader? Subscribe here, or paste sub.paulandspike.com into your podcatcher of choice!

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This week's guest is political strategist and film fan Dusty Trice. Plus, you'll find out what part of a film Paul broke when he was talking to cute ushers, why Dusty thinks a certain scene in "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" would make a great political commercial and what film Spike likes, but only because Tony Wilson said it was OK.

0:00:00 - ...hold on a minute. Is Spike *flirting*? Drinks update: Paul is drinking the top-shelf tequila, Spike is drinking drain cleaner. Barf.

0:04:16 - Catchup time! Some stragglers with two American cents on last week's topic, and someone who has picked up a spooky numbers station!

0:12:47 - Some beautifully complex and smart questions from the commentariat, and a Dennis Kucinich impersonation you won't believe, as political strategist Dusty Trice joins The Boys to talk politics, social media, corndogs, and why Senator Al Franken's campaign manager jipped him out of a drink. Here's his rather impressive bio: "Dusty Trice is a New Media Professional with 14 years of political experience, most recently as a senior staffer on Sen. Al Franken’s campaign and as a Social and New Media Campaign Consultant. He has a strong political instinct with experience in using social networks and other New Media platforms to effectively convey campaign messaging."

0:43:47 - He's with Coco! Can you believe Dusty got to hang out with Conan O'Brien at an Al Franken fundraiser? How cool! Also, on the nightstand, the intriguingly titled "Lamb: The Gospel According To Biff", and he's been "kvetching over the new Dr Who" and the colour of his sonic screwdriver. One of us! One of us! One of us!

0:47:55 - Paul's Stuff week sees another one crossed off the Ebert list in the shape of Erich Von Stroheim's "Greed" (is the word is the word is the word), and the Korean action film "Shiri".

0:52:09 - Spike's been unimpressed by "Serpico", but - against all odds - manages to draw a straight line between the movies "Moon" and "Bubba Ho-Tep". Work that one out. Good news is that Paul has a plot theory. Hmmmm.

0:58:11 - This week's movie-related question is the polar opposite of last week's: which movies did you so enjoy that you can watch them multiple times? Most films people see once, maybe twice, and then forget about, but it takes an extra special movie to sustain repeated viewings. Dusty feels guilty about his low-brow choices... that is, until the commentariat put in their two uncouth cents. Want to add to the discussion? You're not too late - send them to The Usual Address and The Boys will add you to the catchup crew on a future show.

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Keep in touch! You can use your existing Facebook and Twitter accounts to log in and comment at PaulAndSpike.com, email the show any time at The Usual Address, and befriend The Boys at The Twitter: @spikester and @jockopablo

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Netflixers! Here's a link to some of the more pertinent movies mentioned, for your rentage/streamage. Brain Donors, Sex In The City, Coneheads, Star Wars (episode IV), Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, 24 Hour Party People, Seven Samurai, Maltese Falcon, Arsenic And Old Lace, Love With The Proper Stranger, Cinema Paradiso, Dirty Dancing

Tonight's Question: What Movie(s) Do You Love So Much That You've Seen Them More Than Three Times?

2010-05-18T13:26:00.001-04:00

Last week we covered movies you loved but don't want to see more than once. This week, conversely, which movies did you so enjoy that you can watch them multiple times? Most films people see once, maybe twice, and then forget about, but it takes an extra special movie to sustain repeated viewings. You can choose up to three movies, and we've set the watershed at more than three viewings. Let us know which movies, and why.

Don't forget you have TWO opporchancities to get your apeth in this week, media pundit, blogger, social networking expert and political strategist Dusty Trice joins us, so if you have any questions, thoughts or comments, you know how to get in touch...

Leave a comment on the blog - there's no registration required if you comment at paulandspike.com, you can log in with your existing Facebook or Twitter accounts.
via twitter - @spikester and @jockopablo
via The Usual Address, which IS...?
on the potentially moribund TPASS Google Wave

As always, please try to get your comments in by 6pm US-e / 11pm UK on Tuesday night. Even if you miss the deadline, go ahead and add them anyway and we'll use them in the catchup segment of the next show.

This Week's Guest: Political Strategist Dusty Trice - any questions?

2010-05-17T11:15:00.001-04:00

via dustytrice.com

Political strategist, social media expert, iPad enthusiast and all around nice guy Dusty Trice joins us on the show this week to talk politics and movies. You got any questions for him? He's got quite an incredible resume, with several media appearances, he was one of the team who got Al Franken elected to the senate, he's been named a top political blogger by the Washington Post and has spent some time hosting on public radio.

Anything you want to ask him? You can log in to paulandspike.com with your existing Twitter or Facebook accounts and leave a comment there, you can email your questions to The Usual Address or Twitter them d'reckly to @spikester or @jockopablo

Download the show mp3 here.

TPASS#217 - I Loved It! ...But I Never Want To See It Again.

2010-05-14T20:45:00.001-04:00

THE PAUL AND SPIKE SHOW, EPISODE #217 - Friday May 14th, 2010.

iTunes? Zune? Feed Reader? Subscribe here, or paste sub.paulandspike.com into your podcatcher of choice!

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This week, The Boys finally ask the question they've been threatening to unleash on the commentariat for a long time...

0:00:00 - Headphone thief Spike is experiencing disappointment with the spoils of his thievery. But all is not lost, he recommends a set of cheapies to you, the listener. So, there's that.

0:04:35 - This week on Challenge Paul, we see how much Star Trek (TOS) trivia he knows and can guess. One thing's for sure, he gruffly debates the split infinitive.

0:14:15 - Catchup from last week's "Obsessions" show, which leads on to whether scent is the strongest memory-stirring sense.

0:18:08 - This Week In Stuff, whereby The Boys share their 7-day media intake, in order to warm you to, or warn you from, what next to read/watch/play. A multimedia week for Paul, finishing "Silent Hill: Origins" on the PSP, diving into Terry Brooks' book "The Black Unicorn" and getting all zen with PBS' special "The Buddha". One more off the Ebert list, and two and a half hours he'll never get back, in the shape of Robert Altman's "Nashville", which has left an indlible mark on his hand - the shape of the remote.

0:34:02 - Wringing more value from his $9 monthly Netflix fee, Spike gets his documentary fix from the self-indulgent "We Live In Public" and the unfeasibly forgiving "Forgiving Dr Mengele". Also on the slate, two radio shows about the influential electronic music pioneer Delia Derbyshire, the brains behind the theme tune to "Dr Who", although there's not much love from Spike for the new series.

0:57:50 - This week's question is one they've been threatening to do for a long time - what movie(s) did you watch once, enjoy, and never want to see again. Up for grabs are films like "Saving Private Ryan", "Philadelphia", and a groundswell of PTSD-mails for "Requiem For A Dream". Got any to add? It's never too late to send them to The Usual Address.

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Dude, you should *totally* keep in touch. Want to submit your Week In Stuff? Got a suggestion for a question or an Over/Under? Want to respond to a previous question? Grab us all at The Usual Address, on Twitter at @spikester and @higginbothamp and the mighty PaulAndSpike.com

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Arrrr, me hearty! Be ye a Netflixer? Watch ye the movies mentioned on the show, land lubber. And other pirate phrases.

The Buddha :: Nashville :: We Live In Public :: Forgiving Dr Mengele :: "Requiem For A Dream" ::

Tonight's Question: Your Top 3 Movies You Saw Once And Never Want To See Again.

2010-05-11T10:31:00.001-04:00

We've talked about doing this one for a long time, and have - so far - never gotten round to it. But here it is - finally!

This week, we're talking about the movies that you watched once, enjoyed, but never want to see again. A movie that traumatised you? One that was hard to watch, but worthy? Or maybe a throwaway flick that killed an enjoyable 2 hours, but you don't ever need to cross paths again? Let us know - feel free to pick up to three if you're having trouble deciding.

Leave a comment on the blog - there's no registration required if you comment at paulandspike.com, you can log in with your existing Facebook or Twitter accounts.
via twitter - @spikester and @higginbothamp
via The Usual Address, which IS...?
on the potentially moribund TPASS Google Wave

As always, please try to get your comments in by 6pm US-e / 11pm UK on Tuesday night. If not, go ahead and add them anyway and we'll use them in the catchup segment of the next show.

iTunes? Zune? Feed Reader? Subscribe here!

TPASS#216 - Obsessions

2010-05-07T20:39:00.001-04:00

THE PAUL AND SPIKE SHOW, EPISODE #216 - Friday May 7th, 2010.

Download the show mp3 here.

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0:00:00 - At the third stroke, the vague reference from the past will be... the British speaking clock. doot. doot. doot.

0:08:08 - It's been a newsy week, The Boys discuss the Times Square bomber, from the same school of terrorism as the Glasgow Airport comedy jihadists. Also, Bill Maher claims that Republicans are racists. Or, rather, that racists are Republicans.

0:20:35 - This Week In Stuff, the segment where you can find out what TV shows, movies and books to either love or avoid. Have you discovered "The Singing Detective" yet? Paul is hoping that you'd watch the proper one, and not the remake. He took in another episode of "Benny Goodman: King Of Swing", which mentioned something that Mark Morriss of The Bluetones was moved to acquire, after Paul's glowing review in TPASS#209. One off the Ebert list, "L'Avventura" from prospective cereal maker Michelangelo Antonioni-Os, and one from the listener recommendation list, "The Phantom Of The Paradise". Carburetors, man! That's what life is all about! The PSP's been getting some button-mashing love, via "Silent Hill: Origins". So, sshh!

0:45:10 - Another quiet week for the Netflix-killing Spike, with the proper British version of the stunning "State Of Play", and documentaries "Dear Zachary: A Letter To A Son About His Father", and laments the "pivotable" points of "The King Of Kong".

0:54:20 - Question time. A badly asked question, or just a bad question? The Boys discuss obsessions, their own and those of the commentariat. Obsessions discussed are time, instruction manuals, shortwave radio, football and how many Christmasses Paul has left.

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Are you a Netflixer? Here are links to the movies mentioned in this week's show: L'Avventura :: The Phantom Of The Paradise :: State Of Play :: Dear Zachary: A Letter To A Son About His Father :: The King Of Kong