Sport is business. Business is war. War is fashion. Fashion is community. Community is music. Music is sport. On and on, 'till the break of dawn. Don't worry, it will all make sense in context. The important thing is that Robbie, Chris, and Thom manage to weave nearly half a show on the subject of sports and sports fandom, despite -- or perhaps because of -- their abject lack of knowledge and expertise on said subject. Then, heady with power, they move on to tackle other mysteries of the universe, including the connections between fruit juice and school shootings, the questionable origins of "My Sweet Lord," the secret history of NASCAR, the impending retirement of Kevin Smith, and the omnipresent threat of foot-in-mouth disorder. Also, the first installment of The Greatest Songs You've Never Heard, and Robbie unwittingly demonstrates the 100th Monkey Principle via his disdain for George Lucas. Music by Paul Collins, Kitty & The Tree, and Cotton Mather

This week's show is a bit like a pinball game, with the conversation bouncing about at odd angles, running down sometimes unexpected corridors, and banging against the proper surfaces to score a few points, all the while generating a pleasing combination of shiny and loud. The Twenty-Aught-Eleven Grammy nominees set off some grumbling about the music industry's increasingly desperate and misaimed attempts to perpetuate a manufactured Culture Of Cool, which then leads to a broader discussion of whether the direction of pop zeitgeist has ever truly been in the hands of artists, which then leads a Skype listener to demand "more penis vomit talk." (No, really.) The tireless and multi-talented Fletcher Rhoden joins us in the second half to discuss his impressively hyper-prolific career, including his latest endeavor: a stage musical based on the genesis of I Love Lucy. (No, really.) Other topics include the similarities between puppies and Christmas trees, the aesthetic versatility of redheads, and the fateful Supreme Court decision to allow corporations the rights of individuals, which bears bitter comedic fruit in Sodomizing A Legacy: British Petroleum. Music by the aforementioned Mr Rhoden, Ed James, and 20/20.

Joey Cola and Arthur Alexander from New York's legendary Sorrows drop by to bathe the show in effortless cool, shaking our fair trio out of a malaise born of sleep-dep and growing mistrust of the coming year. With tales to tell both cautionary and inspirational, J&A detail their efforts in taking control of their music and obtaining that rarest of atttributes: an un-sodomized legacy. Other topics include: crossbow mishaps, why every band needs an asshole, the importance of not confusing Sybian with Sabian, advice on calming one's inner Travis Bickle, and the riveting sound of three guys passing an iPad back and forth. Also there is a lot of pimping for the Nice Guy Eddie + Sorrows + Neighborhood Bullys + Dirty Eyes gig coming up on Friday Jan 14 ...and everyone is just gonna have to be Ok with that.

In the first new installment of 2011, the boys hit the ground running with all guns blazing, full of piss and vinegar, and other cliché metaphors as well! After an opening exchange of pleasantries and congratulations on Robbie's commitment to arrive on time despite obstacles both psychological and auto vehicular, talk turns to a recent essay by Patton Oswalt on the current state of so-called geek culture, and the remainder of the hour blazes by like The Flash on an espresso bender. By turns confessional, confrontational, conspiratorial, and ultimately conciliatory (in a cognitive sort of way) the show's conversational cuisinart tries like hell to process tribalism, consumerism, nostalgia, technocracy, identity, and other conundrums into a media-based 21st century gumbo, with observations about the lack of neckwear for chickens and visions of Jabba The Hutt feeding his enemies to Tony Robbins thrown in for spice and color. Does the resulting dish satisfy? Let us know. Music by Neighborhood Bullys and Sorrows