Unexpectedly bereft of guest this week, the Men of The Spoon charge ahead dauntlessly: the Cuba thing, grouper sandwiches, terrible interview stories, great TV finales, offensive accents, vegetable lore, why Plan 9 needs a gritty reboot, whatever happened to the "war on Christmas" anyway, appreciation for DJ skills, the future of jacking-on, The Colbert Report is  ending, North Korea vs The Interview, tales of gin-fueled wedding insanity, and speculative locations for future holiday shows.

Music by:
Karen Basset
The Mockers
The Wellingtons

Top 5 Alternate titles:
5- Hate Never Tasted So Good
4- I Was Trying To Avoid Saying Lubrication
3- Humor Is Always The Biggest Threat
2- Asparagus Is Fun To Say
1- Have You Seen The Horror Movie That Is This Guy's Brain?

Friend of the show Dan Miles finally meets The Men of The Spoon on their home turf, and the battle is well and truly joined! Topics include: placenta revisited, favorite interviews, pop instrumentals, ethnicity in music, The Lennon Boys, nature vs nurture, the new Ludditism, disproportionately angry ranting from Thom, a dearth of phone booths, the importance of boredom, Maron vs Gallagher, tasteful plankspanking, the Fill In The Blank Game, bands vs solo artists, and psychopathic toddlers.

The Friends Of Dan Music Podcast
Gil Scott Heron - "Whitey On The Moon"
Iron Sky 2 trailer

Music by:
Esperanza Spaulding
Bad Religion
Enuff Z'Nuff

Spoon-feeding:
Muscle Shoals
Milius
Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet
BoJack Horseman

Alternate Titles:
Honorable Mention: I Lick The Receiver 
5- The Racist Underbelly Of The Spoon
4- Anything Can Blow Up These Days
3- Pro Cannibalism, Pro Germs, Pro Gallagher
2- Mugged By A Four Year Old
1- Life Is Iffy

Carey Anne Farrell and Jessica Hebert are here to snark your asses off and chew bubblegum, and...well, you can guess the rest. Ingredients in this post-Thanksgiving stew include botched intros, Canadian outsourcing, The PDX Broadsides, dropped trombones, Star Wars prequel bashing, Theme Music flashmobs, a feud over Frozen, accidental scientists, repeated eye-rolling, translucency, Basic Bitches, autopsy noises, a foodie face-off, a middle finger to death, and the worst advent calendar ever.

Music by:

20/20
Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey
Linda Horwatt

Spoon-feeding:

Airplane Mode
Open qPCR Kickstarters
I'm Glad I Did, by Cynthia Weil
Garfunkel & Oates
Fire Cider

Alternate Titles:

Honorable Mention - I Like The Steaky Parts
5- The Great Canadian Entertainment Conspiracy
4- A Serving Of Stomach Juice
3- Songs For Broken Trombone
2- Robbie Just Wants To Put A Big Heart On
1- The East India Company Can Suck It

Ripped from the archives! Before the show officially returned in January of 2014, The men of The Spoon executed a few dry runs to test the gear and get back into the swing of things. As a special Thanksgiving treat for our friends and listeners, we present here the best of those experimental excursions into whimsy, recorded in late December 2013, and including some actual pilgrim talk amongst the other topics. Enjoy our vintage shenanigans and we'll be back with a new show next week!

WARNING: This episode may contain one or more of the following ingredients: framed babies, creative vomit, the youth vote, Theme Music stories, legalized weed, procrastinated flossing, partially de-fatted fatty pork tissue, Robbie's complete pessimism, comet landings, civil engineer jokes, wabi-sabi, compulsive bird-rubbing, secret cannibal families, dream water, very intense mathematics, tasteful wordsmithing, and at least four potential cures for hiccups. All that, and Bob Fenster, too. Can you dig it!

Music by:

The Sons Of Lazaro
Secret Affair
Goo Goo Dolls

Spoon-feeding:

Mel Brooks: Make A Noise
Dry-Brined Turkey 
Guy On A Buffalo

Top 5 Alternate Titles:

Honorable Mention - Properties Of Immiscible Fluids In Porous Media  
5- The Inside Of Someone's Brain Coming Apart
4- Why Does The Pudding Skin Have Leg Hair?
3- Darryl & Carol & Their Other Brother Darryl
2- We've Yet To Insult People With Hiccups
1- Check Your White Rice Privilege

What's in a name? The men of The Spoon may not have the answer, but they ask the question with gusto! This week, the politics of professional pseudonyms, the amusing, appalling sobriquets of childhood, the mythologizing of market monickers, the gamble of googling oneself, and the not-so-secret weaponizing of middle names by all parents everywhere. Plus, road gig decompression, documentaries with friends, animation crossover madness, the carnal stats of con culture, and a future segment is born!

Music by:

The Well Wishers
Agony Aunts
Steve Barton & The Oblivion Click

Alternate Titles:

5- I Still Like To Hold Something And Look At It
4- Streamlining The Normalcy
3- You Guys Go Show Off And Be Cute
2- Giant Bags Of Stuff That I Will Never Eat
1- Today It Was Grey, And So Was I

The Men of The Spoon don't normally stand on tradition, but a sesquicentennial episode only comes once, so this week our former executive producer Johnny Dam (aka Johnny Darko, aka Leon The Thundertaker) returns to gaze upon the show he helped birth and pronounce his hilarious judgement. Plus, the virtues of a Pennsylvanian lifestyle, how to write a joke, dissecting the Baha Men discography, a short recap on the mid-term elections, and no small amount of self-referential archive diving. Enjoy!
 

Music by:

Cliff Hillis
Willie Wisely
Chris Von Sneidern

Spoon-feeding:

Doc's Hard Cider
Indie Bohemians Morning Show 
Does The Dog Die?
Rist/Hillis/Wisely/Von Sneidern 

Alternate titles:
5- The Last Thing I Wanna See In My Porn Is You
4- What Do Pittsburghians Eat?
3- Set Up, Punchline, Tag Tag Tag!
2- The Incoming Angle
1- I Will Leave My Car On The Mayor's Lawn For Six Bucks

Stooges? Musketeers? Blind mice? Cornered hat? Whichever metaphor you use, the Men of The Spoon function best as a trio, and this week's episode demonstrates it particularly well. In breakfast cereal parlance, it not only pops, but snaps and crackles as well. Join us on a rollicking journey through voice branding, lookalike partying, role model surfing, ebola panicking, halloween movie watching, the end of all things middle, and more demographic insults than you can shake a white witch at.

Music by:

The Like
Locksley
The Number 12 Looks Like You

Spoon-feeding:

Drunk History
Serious Eats
La Brujeria

Top 5 Alternate Episode Titles:

Honorable Mention: Unexpected Wankery In The Middle
5- If I Hate This, I'm Gonna Punch You
4- Embrace The Panic
3- You Could Do A Little Slicey-Dicey
2- Where Da White Witches At?
1- #BlameBurton

The Spoon stirs in triplicate once more! Robbie returns from Spain with a head full of stardust and a gut full of sea creatures, and the show hits the ground sprinting with topics ranging from the mummification of rock to the weaponization of flatulence, with stops in between for vegetarian sci-fi, multiple-choice biographies, millennial insults, a eulogy for the instrumental single, a glimpse into the show's cranky old man future, and a fine array of sweet, sweet white crosses for added courage and zing! 

Music by:

Sintonicos
Nancy Gardos
Suzy Y Los Quattro

Spoon-feeding:

Pete Townshend, Who I Am
Fletcher Rhoden, Santa & Me
SETLIST.FM

Top 5 alternate episode titles:

Honorable Mention: Hewing To The Pete Side Of The Force
5- It Just Works, Dammit
4- A Lot Of Guys Stepping On Ducks
3- This Machinery Is Starting To Wear Down
2- All Those Sea Creatures Made Me Tall
1- The Satirist Who Has Nothing To Write About Is Apparently Not Looking Around Enough

If Bill Funt falls in the woods and Robbie Rist is not around to mock him mercilessly, does hilarity still ensue? You bet it does! Follow us down this week's spoony rabbit hole as we write in our slam books and make delicious s'mores while discussing domesticus interruptus, not-so-civil forfeitures, soda flavors of the 80s, soft vs hard stress, the pros and cons of Sirius XM, online jackass fatigue, and the third coming of Themestock.

Music by:

Sparkle*jets UK
Rosewood Thieves
The Andersons!

Spoon-feeding:

Thug Kitchen
Star Wars Rebels
The Many Loves Of Dobie Gillis

Top 5 alternate episode titles:

Honorable Mention: The Orange Shirt Is Appropriate
5- Just Stick To Your Shuffle
4- A Timespace Continnuum Fucker-Upper
3- The Call Is Coming From Inside The Kitchen
2- All Of The Great Taste, None Of The Eternal Damnation
1- Sometimes Stuffy Is A Real Dragon

Robbie is still out rockin' the continent, but in his stead we offer you the mighty Quinton Flynn, and there is much rejoicing! Ingredients of this week's verbal stew include bands that work, lonely cavemen, handgun substitutes, irregular heartbeats, cool party tricks, unpleasant surgeries, TSA ladles, and plain white sleeves. Plus, Thom gets lost in the gigosphere, and Chris considers having to cosplay Bane just to get a decent night's sleep. Music by Glen Burtnik, Heliopolis, and The Mockers.

Things get very nerdy very quickly this week, as Allen Lulu joins Chris & Thom for a rollicking discussion of sci-fi physics failures, alternative fantasy presents, movie tie-in novels, the latest iPhone shenanigans, sculpting the fandom of children, and the value of turning shuffle off to enjoy full albums again. Plus, tributes to missing family and fallen comrades. Happy belated Rosh Hashanah, everybody! Music by Rich Creamy Paint, The Old Joe Clarks, and Sons Of Nothing.

Robbie is off on tour bringing the rock to the people, so Chris and Thom are joined by special guests Bill Holmes and Dave Berges for this week's excursion into whimsy. Topics include big band adventures, advice column musicals, celebrity mortality, mental assassination, voiceover shenanigans, and more weather talk than you can shake something sharp at. Plus, tequila! Music by Selby Tigers, Pete Krebs & Gossamer Wings, and The Woody James Big Band (featuring Mr Berges himself)

Though battling unusual and disorienting recording times (not to mention time zones) The Men of The Spoon remain doggedly on their game this week, whether taking care of business in the front with the horrors of war and the weirdness of biblical gender politics, or dropping a party in the back with the ranking of rock movies and forays into sci-fi nostalgia. Plus, spoon feeding, 20 points of compatibility, and the dawn of battle tennis! Music by The Little Girls, The Onlymen, and Kenny Howes.

In the beginning, there is discussion of our American stew of propaganda, fear, and violence, and what might be done decrease its levels of poison, or at least lighten up the flavor. In the end, there is much whimsical jousting about cartoon people, video rodeo and the bureaucratic nature of the universe. And in between, splitting the show's two sides like a diamond bullet to the brain, is the return of Oliver Mattson. Prepare thyselves. Music by The Bus Boys, 3D Picnic, and Kristian Hoffman.

The Spoon's family has suffered another heartbreaking loss, as today we say goodbye to Chris's beloved bulldog Frankie. Then Quinton Flynn arrives on the scene in revealing and relatable fashion, ready to hurl hilarious, narrowcasting smart-bombs. Plus, fake news evolution, demonic phone possession, late night host dishing, action star metaphors, random calls from the south, and a generous quantity of artisanal moonshine to wash it down. Music by Linda Horwatt, The Day I Fell Down, and Fernando.

The men of The Spoon come together to celebrate and mourn, as friends and heroes pass away and 2014 edges ever closer to the suck column in the annals of history. But though our cups of sadness are saturated and our shame drawers are packed, we take comfort in the punky spirit of art unfettered by cynicism, liberally laced with camaraderie, gallows humor, and not so cheap sentiment. And you are more than welcome to join us. Music by Randy Burns, The Dickies, and Pursuit Of Happiness

The world has problems, the men of The Spoon have solutions! Some of these solutions may appear to merely be needlessly elaborate long cons which serve no purpose other than our own amusement, but to paraphrase the great Sledge Hammer: trust us, we know what we're doing. Plus vomiting scenes, coyote scams, padawan braids, 9/11 protest songs, the return of Sharknado, the best worst segue ever, and a new round of spoon feeding. Music by Maria McKee, Throttle Back Sparky, and Gear Daddies.

Bill "Yancy" Holmes returns to the show, in an episdoe that not only runs the gamut, but runs it over. Trying to shock an unshockable world, othering through the ages, the evolution of barrel technology, the virtues of voice actors, a hearty round of spoon-feeding, the acknowledgement of a professional milestone or two, and the crazy dream of Spoon Action Figures. Plus, how many ways can you describe a bottle of tequila? Music by Matt Bunsen & The Burners, Abby Travis, and Kenny Howes.

The men of The Spoon are nothing if not adaptable: faced with a last-second guest cancellation, they gleefully charge ahead into conversations both alien and familiar, simultaneously embodying the smartest kids in the class whilst also mocking them mercilessly. This week's mill grist: spelling bee hookups, literary Mt Everests, the semiotics of the mixtape, the mythos of green M&Ms, innovations in cannibal technology, and more. Music by Seven Deadly Five, Sun Sawed In Half, and The Vandalias. 

War. Disease. Necrophilia. Disney musicals. When such horrors are visited upon our world, it is important to remember the good in life...especially if you happen to be special guest Bill Funt, who had no idea what a seriously NSFW rotor blade of a conversation he'd be walking into when he agreed to appear on the show this week. Plus, tattoo negotiations, comic artist rotations, and the true meaning of Ringo Starr's birthday. Music by Martin Mull, The Abe Lincoln Story, and Los Abandoned.

Let us now come together in praise sharpness, whether embodied by the sharp barbs of gallows humor, the sharp hook of a well-crafted pop song, or the the sharp sting of sparking wires near one's genitals while occupying a stolen car for fetishistic purposes. (No, really.) This week, all of those forms and more are employed to keep your Overhost from slipping too far down the sharp spiral of ennui and general misanthropy. Plus, metaphorical poo-throwing! Music by Bad Religion, Finland Station, and The Wondermints. 

WARNING: this week's episode may contain traces of the following: haircut etymology, microfame, heirloom seeds, gun talk, tribute band culture, Rob making Macca jokes, green M&Ms, Bobbygirls, German opera, baby piercers, Chris revealing his rap monicker, lurching buses, PB&J, death-related navel gazing, airport cross-dressers, Thom being defensive about Styx, more gun talk, moms without filters, shellac (to give it a glaze), insights & anecdotes from special guests Circe Link and Christian Nesmith,  and music from The Proclaimers, The Monks, and The Radio Stars. Please listen responsibly.

The Men of The Spoon can’t solve all the world’s problems, but many solutions begin with discussion, and that’s where we live. Gun violence is still on everyone’s mind this week, as well as the frustrating culture war cliches that surround it, but in between verbal jabs in that direction, there is also time for the evolution of social media, the future of artisanal cheese, the sublime satisfaction of a Scrabble victory, and a bevy of other topics rife with drinkability. Get to chugging! Music by The Orion Experience, Redd Kross, and The Wondermints.

It’s all about recipes this week: the alchemy of combining separate ingredients into new and exciting creations. Cucumbers and ice cream. Guns and churches. Large vans and West L.A. parking. Our fair show and returning guest Karen Blankfeld Bassett. Any animal and any other animal, if Rob ever gets to fulfill his entrepreneurial desires. The list goes on and on, ‘till the break of dawn. Plus, the difference between Grammer People and grammar, people! Music by David Geddes, Suzi Quatro, and The Angels. 

After a brief forced hiatus brought on by extremely sucky real life events, the men The Spoon are back to navigate the perils of growing up aimless, the wonders of the microscopic world, the horror movie moments that stick with you forever, and the terrifying celebrity nexus of music and sport embodied by the 1985 Chicago Bears. We didn't come here looking for trouble, but....you know the rest. Spoon on! 

From the archives: originally planned for the show's 100th episode, it's a best-of made up entirely of other best-ofs, culminating in a dada dash of hyper-condensed Spoony goodness. Enjoy!

No show prep, no problem: anything is possible with a dose of vitamin Q! Actor/musician/co-Snozzberry Quinton Flynn returns to The Spoon this week with mucho gusto, and the sparks they do fly. The high wire of gallows humor, the delicious chaos slash fiction, the melancholy of Captain America, the likely fate of a retired David Letterman, and the white noise of over-documentation are all grist for the conversational mill. Plus, an impromptu musical performance by our own Chris Jackson!

If specificity is the key to podcasting success, the men of The Spoon are giving it their level best this week by digging deep into their pop-musical dorkitude, getting granular on the magical combinations of slickrick-ness, slobrob-ness, and smartart-ness in their favorite artists, and championing random acts of stoopid. Plus, special guest Allen Lulu dispenses sage acting advice and wearily approves of the Marvel movies, all while on a mission to clean up Los Angeles -- literally! Music by Sorrows. Bruce Matis, and Pink Slip.

For the first time in over a year, Robbie, Chris, and Thom meet in the same room to conduct their Spoony business, and there is much rejoicing, as well as much talk of music, mortality, microphone protocol, and alternative uses for human skin. (Hey, you bought your ticket, you knew what you were getting into...) Music by Plasticsoul, Patrolled By Radar, and The Neighborhood Bullies.

At long last, the men of The Spoon welcome the mighty Matt Brown (resident of New Jersey and The Internet) to a special after-dark edition of our little show. Tales of many sizes, shapes, colors, and flavors are spun from this historic gathering, including but not limited to the genesis of Theme Music, the metastasis of Idiocracy, the resurrection of Cosmos, and the legend of Suzy Thunder. Plus, Rob's birthday is imminent, and Frankie finally gets a word in...or, at least, a snuffle. Music by Crazy Squeeze, Gameface, and Jimmer Podrasky.

This week the men of The Spoon, along iwth the able assistance of multi-hyphenate mirth-making magnate Fletcher Rhoden, concoct a tasty stew made up of roughly equal parts righeous indignation, benign bemusement, and reality TV sausage. Plus, the death of pop fashion, the birth of the food replicator, and the proper number of strings for a bass guitar. Music by Mr Rhoden, as well as Chris Von Sneidern, and The Vampyre Bunnies.

Dave Shalansky returns to The Spoon, his sunshine-fueled, coffee-flavored personality propelling the show to new heights of topic hopping merriment. We'd list them all here, but really, once the patent trolls take over, what's the point? Just keep in mind that it's always darkest before the Bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk, and everything will be Ok. Plus, a new installment of Love Bites, and music by Uncle Green and Joe Giddings.

It's a dark world out there. A lot of stuff going on. There are things you wouldn't understand. Things you couldn't understand. Things you ...shouldn't understand. This week, the men of The Spoon get to the bottom of an uncomfortably long list of those things, dancing around the ephemera of the fringes and questioning every answer. Also, a hefty dose of TV nerdery, and yet another cast member's medical malady. Music by Randy Burns, Jennifer Trynin, and Eytan Mirsky.

After a week's hiatus, the men of The Spoon come roaring back to ruminate on adventures both individual and collective. Rob romances CNN, Chris combines snowblower technology and pest control, and Thom treats us all to the gory details of his recent eye surgery. Plus: the flashpoint of creation, the golden age of television, the debut of a new mid-show segment from Rob and Lisa Orkin, and the best/worst baseball song you've ever heard. Oh my stars and garters, what a lovely tea party! Music by The Running Jumps, Honeychain, and Scott Stapp.

The men of The Spoon are feeling a little intellectually punch drunk this week. Need proof? Look no further than the sheer volume of motley, off-beat slang that permeates their discourse as topics veer wildly from Olympic fever to sangria-fueled snowmobiling to pondering the nature of poetry with semi-straight faces, and a hundred conversational hyperlinks in between. Plus, the return of Sodomizing A Legacy prompts a call for artistic death panels...of a sort. Music by Anni Celsi and Corin Ashley.

This week finds the men of The Spoon striking a swell balance between whimsy and pragmatism, doggedly deconstructing deconstructionism, stacking things on top of other things, and just generally cheering on the nitty gritty nerdosity of topics ranging from songwriting alchemy to chickpea cookery, while also pondering the elastic nature of time in the pop culture realM and almost forgetting to mention the rise of the Superb Owls. Almost. Who is this episode for? No one and everyone. It's like the wind, baby. Music by Material Issue, The John Faye Power Trip, and Joe Armstrong.

Our favorite frenemy Bill Funt  returns to the show, and the sparks they do fly. This week's episode runs the gamut from cradle to grave -- literally! -- with stops along the way for pop culture groupie wars, underappreciated British comedy, a fantastic solution to the Happy Birthday problem, and a peek or two behind the Spoony curtain, whether you want one or not. Plus, traveling and fighting and traveling and fighting and traveling and fighting. And fighting some more. Music by Randy Burns, Ronnie Mack, and Johnny Angel Wendell.

As any toddler or general will confirm, sometimes you have to break something in order to build something else, and this week the men of The Spoon aim to do their share: Chris breaks into the rough and tumble Kerhonksen music scene, Thom has his esophagus broken for him in Vegas, and Rob continues to break the spirits of superfans everywhere. Plus a fit of futurism, a cadence of conservatism, and a taste of TV talk. Music by Chris McKay, Irene Pena, and Hot Pink Racers

Any time that Bill "Pee Paw" Holmes appears on the show, it's a bracing experience. Whether questioning the selective squick of human-based foodstuffs, suggesting alternate uses for yellow ribbons, pondering the eternal mystery of Bata Inu, or talking up his new favorite tequila, Bill's customary comedic rocket sauce permeates the proceedings, and we are all better for it. Plus, Google gets a side-eye, 70s music gets a teary hug, and Morgan Freeman gets...a recurring bit?  Oh, boy. Music by The Fabulous Miss Wendy, The Orion Experience, and Rich Dart.

The Spoon stirs once again! Rob, Chris, and Thom hoist themselves back into the podcasting saddle and embark on a voyage over Skypey waters, under Youtube algorhythms, through polar vortexes, and around the rare case of diphallia. Plus the usual potpourri of politics and pop culture. One thing's for certain: the more things change, the more Rob still hates Beatles fans. Music by Jeff Jensen, Steven Shumate, Joe Giddings, and the Theme Music Collective.

Robbie has always believed that entertainment doesn't have to 'be good' -- it just has to 'be'. From killing television dynasties to burying three entertainment careers, he has seen and done it all. Most of it be'd, and it be'd loudly. Outside of his Spoony activities, Robbie can be heard as the voice of Stuffy on Disney Jr'.s wildly successful animated series Doc McStuffins, and every week he helps make a case for the continued denigration of 1970s music with his ongoing K-Tel Fridays shows at Redball's Rock and Roll Pizza in gorgeous Moorpark, California. Robbie knows how much hard work it takes to 'be good'. And that is why he chooses to 'be'.

Robbie on Facebook

Robbie on Twitter

Robbie on IMDB

The Wrong Dots

Chris originally comes from the metropolis known the world over as Bradenton FL, but is now more often referred to as a “child of the universe” (note: that statement is false). He earned a Masters Degree from the University of Florida in the field of Environmental Engineering, but, luckily for all lovers of clean air and water, he is not currently practicing. He began playing piano since the age of 5, but stopped improving around the age of 9. He eventually took up guitar and singing/songwriting, and is a founding member of Los Angeles-based band Nice Guy Eddie. He also loves cartoons, which, of course, keeps him busy fighting off the ladies on a daily basis. To date, his English Bulldog, Frankie, is more accomplished in the field of entertainment than he is.

Chris on Facebook

Chris on Twitter

Thom brings to The Spoon a lifelong passion for radio, a fondness for shiny buttons, and an alarming case of OCD which he attempts to mask as "organization" and "responsibility".  He is thrilled and delighted to be peddling his semi-professional superenthusiasm via trillion-dollar DARPA technology, and strongly suspects that any moment, his mother is going to wake him up and tell him that he's late for school. When not consumed by his spoony duties, Thom can be heard hosting The Geek Agenda podcast and playing bass for prog-rockers Sons Of Nothing. His hobbies include making lists, checking them multiple times, and embracing pop culture as the one true faith.

Thom on Facebook

Thom on Twitter