If you’ve listened to all of the previous episodes of The Popdose Podcast — hell, even if you’ve only listened to three minutes of any given episode — you’ve likely thought the following at some point: “Man, these guys are assholes.” Well, we’re not necessarily taking that as an insult (even though we know you meant it as one). Some people actually strive to be assholes. Do we? We’re not saying, but we’ll tell you this: we do not intend to be douchebags. What’s the difference? So glad you asked!

See, on today’s podcast, we’re talking about assholes. We’re talking about how one becomes an asshole, what qualities make them an asshole, and what famous assholes we can look to for inspiration, guidance, and perhaps even warning. That’s why we’ve gone with the brilliant title of The Popdose Podcast, Episode 7: Assholes. And don’t worry, we’re not the only assholes on today’s show; no, today we’ve invited a Special Guest Asshole to join us — someone who’s an expert on the subject. Click, download, listen away, and for the love of assholes everywhere, please leave us a review on iTunes!

The Popdose Podcast, Episode 7: A**holes (1:04:39, 74.0 MB), featuring Jeff Giles, Jason Hare, and Dave Lifton, with special guest Chris Illuminati, co-author of Assholeology: The Science Behind Getting Your Way – and Getting Away With It.
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Show Notes

0:00 No time to waste, assholes! We jump right into our topic, starting with Jeff recounting a story of when he was an asshole to one of his brothers. It involves a turkey.

3:53 Jason shares his history of mouthing off to cops, and which family member he gets his assholish tendencies from.

9:03 It’s time for everyone’s favorite new game, Rock & Roll Assholes! We’re not going to spoil the show by revealing all the people we discuss, but we’ll tease you with a few: Daryl Hall, Murry Wilson, Don Henley, and Lou Reed. Also, Jeff names one specific artist that we’re almost positive has never been called an asshole before — ever.

30:29 Special Guest Chris Illuminati jumps onto the podcast, but unfortunately can’t get a word in edgewise before the three of us start in with the mother jokes. He tells us all about the origin of his awesome new book, and how he came to join the other two authors. He also illustrates the distinct differences between an asshole and a douchebag, and even breaks down the a-hole/d-bag demographics for the fine state of New Jersey. We test his knowledge on the previously-mentioned Rock & Role Assholes and others, and ask him to weigh in on specific asshole-ish scenarios. Chris Illuminati is clearly an expert in this field, and we’d like to thank him for joining us, and also give a big thanks to Don Povia at Hugging Harold Reynolds and the Blogs With Balls podcast — Don came in at the very last minute and made our chat with Chris technologically possible. You rock, Don!

EnDOSEments

52:46 Jeff endorses the Snowball USB Microphone from Blue Microphones, which he used for the first time during this podcast — with great results.

55:09 Dave endorses the medium of podcasting in general — go out and find some new shows to listen to! He specifically mentions The Sporkful as a new podcast he’s currently enjoying.

58:51 Jason endorses Super Mario Bros. Wii. It’s awesome and that is all you need to know. (Apologies for the digression into his triathlon training, but Dave started it.)

Wrappin’ It Up

1:01:15 Thanks again to Chris Illuminati for being such an awesome guest — go buy his book! Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes, and to visit our Facebook fan page as well as the Popdose Twitter feed. Thanks for listening and we’ll see you in April!

Holy crap! Is it February already? It seems like only yesterday your three favorite idiots from The Popdose Podcast were blathering on about…what did we talk about last month, anyway? No matter. It’s a new month, and time for a brand new topic — and this one’s pretty great, if we do say so ourselves.

Loyal listeners of Ye Olde Popdose Podcast know that, when possible, we like to focus our discussions on a specific holiday: Thanksgiving, Christmas, etcetera etcetera. But here’s something particularly awesome about February — we have a holiday that lasts a whole month! Yes, it’s Black History Month, and what better way to celebrate it than with a trio of pasty white dudes? Please, join us for The Popdose Podcast, Episode 6: Awesome Black People! And before you start shaking your head, wondering if you can possibly listen to our usual irreverent banter with a clear conscience, we’re proud to announce our very first guest on the podcast — none other than Popdose’s own Mike Heyliger, an Awesome Black Person in his own right, who challenged us to come up with as many offensive questions for him as possible. Were we successful? Did he hang up on us? Am I writing this from jail? There’s only one way to find out. So click away, or do so on iTunes (link below), and speaking of iTunes, don’t forget to leave us a review. You’ll be our favoritest Valentine.

The Popdose Podcast, Episode 6: Awesome Black People! (1:07:00, 76.7 MB), featuring Jeff Giles, Jason Hare, and Dave Lifton, with Gordon’s friend from Sesame Street, Mike Heyliger.
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Show Notes

0:00 Intro: Jason reminds everyone he’s in Acoustic ’80s, and then we’re off on this month’s topic, which is (in case you forgot already) Awesome Black People.

2:56 Jason expresses his love for Stevie Wonder, leading into a discussion of Stevie’s excellent ’70s work and his…less-excellent post-’70s work. Jason feebly attempts to defend A Time to Love. We also discuss Prince’s sometimes too-prolific output (sorry, guys from Ickmusic!), Billy Joel’s crappy post-’90s output (I don’t think we need to apologize to anyone here), the awful Songs in the Key of Life album cover, Toto’s cover of “Living for the City” (send your complaints to Jeff), and Barry Manilow’s new steaming pile o’ crap.

16:34 Reggie! Reggie! Reggie! Dave praises the work of New York Yankee Reggie Jackson — both his athletic ability and his penchant for causing controversy. Other parts of his career are mentioned, including his fine work in BASEketball and The Naked Gun, and his California car commercials. Dave mentions Brad Benson’s similar venture. That somehow leads us into a digression on the awesome television show Men of a Certain Age.

25:27 Jeff’s vote for favorite black person? Roosevelt Franklin. (Check out that album cover.) Of course, this leads us to reminiscing about the classic days of Sesame Street. (There are at least three mother jokes in this section of the podcast.) We also discuss Franklin Delano Bluth from the amazing Arrested Development.

Special Guest!

35:40 Dave, Jeff and Jason welcome Mike Heyliger to the show. Jeff presents Mike with a Very Special award, complete with a Very Special song created just for this occasion (written and recorded by Terje Fjelde and Jason). Mike contributes to our Awesome Black People discussion by casting his vote for Michael Jackson.

40:40 Mike happily participates in our next segment, Ask a Black Person, where he shares his thoughts on Tyler Perry, on being a minority three times over, meeting Tupac, The Nutty Professor and…well, we kind of go downhill from there.

EnDOSEments: Black History Month Edition

49:48 Jeff endorses three products he’s recently reviewed: Rhino Handmade’s excellent boxset from Wilson Pickett, Funky Midnight Mover: The Atlantic Studio Recordings (1962-1978, the movie Black Dynamite, and the documentary Soul Power. (Song: James Brown, “Say It Loud – I’m Black And I’m Proud”)

54:08 Dave endorses Raphael Saadiq’s excellent 2008 release The Way I See It, and we discuss exaxcly why it sounds so fantastic. (Song: Raphael Saadiq, “Love That Girl”)

58:03 Jason endorses the pop-up pull-out coffee table book Michael Jackson Vault: A Tribute to the King of Pop 1958-2009, written by none other than Dave Lifton. (Song: Michael Jackson, “Rock With You”)

1:01:42 Mike endorses the upcoming documentary Soul Train: The Hippest Trip In America, premiering February 6th at 9:30 PM EST on VH1. (Song: The Isley Brothers, “It’s Your Thing”)

Wrappin’ It Up

1:04:14 Outro: Thanks so much to Mike Heyliger for being a fantastic first guest, and for having a fantastic sense of humor! Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes, and to visit our Facebook fan page as well as the Popdose Twitter feed. See you back here in March!

When it comes time for your three favorite schmucks to gather ’round their computers and record themselves talking for a couple of hours, usually they’ve already spent at least a week discussing possible topics that will truly engage and amuse their listeners.

Not this time.

See, because of the holidays, we’ve gotten a little off our regular monthly schedule, so in order to knock us back on track, we present you with this very special (read: unrehearsed) Bonus Episode of The Popdose Podcast, in which the three of us get together and just talk about whatever we want. Don’t worry, you’ll still get your fill of mother jokes (if you didn’t get your fill of Dave’s mother last week…ZING!) and comments about Mellowmas, Michael McDonald, and, of course, Wing. Just think of this episode as the aural version of us going commando, and then proceed to erase that image from your mind so you can get through lunch.

So please, have a click, won’t you? You can do so here or on iTunes (link below), and speaking of iTunes, don’t forget to leave us a review if you like what you’ve heard!

The Popdose Podcast, Episode 5: The Bonus Episode (1:08:46, 78.7 MB), featuring Jeff Giles, Jason Hare, and Dave Lifton.
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Show Notes

0:00 Intro: Jason & Jeff applaud themselves for another harrowing season of Mellowmas, discussing Lindsay Lohan, the “best” Mellowmas track, Jason interviewing New Yorkers about Bob Dylan, and the awesomeness that is the Popdose mic cube. We also discuss the volume of snail mail Jeff gets on a daily basis, yet he can’t seem to snag a screener of Crazy Heart.

10:24 At long last, the anticlimactic story of When Jason Met Jefito, including an unfortunate digression into My Two Dads, and the effects of a Stereogum link on traffic.

16:51 Holiday Recap! Dave did nothing, Jeff went to Florida and smoked cigars, and Jason went to a “toptional” resort in Cancun. Dave also didn’t get any gifts, but not because nobody loves him — it’s just the way his life is set up. Jason’s wife’s secrecy in preparing his Christmas gift leads to — of course — a discussion about Michael McDonald. Jason bitches about the man repeatedly blowing the lyrics to a Christmas standard, and we all do an attempt at a McD impression: first Dave, then Jason, then Jeff.  This leads us to ask you, the listener:

We then discuss the duet of “Little Drummer Boy” featuring Michael McDonald and Billy Corgan (which none of us were willing to listen to, so we had no idea it was actually just a joke), and the horrible implications of having any social contact with Corgan.

26:07 Jason reports on training for a triathlon in July, and will be raising $5400 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The mention of July brings up Jack Wagner’s eventual return to the Mohegun Sun, and our plans for the very first Popdose Carnival — stay tuned for more details once we figure out what the hell we’re talking about.

EnDOSEments

34:58 Jason endorses the book So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star by Jacob Slichter, drummer from Semisonic. A digression into the music of Semisonic follows, including an argument between Jeff and Dave on whether “Closing Time” is their worst song ever, followed by a completely ridiculous digression regarding the upcoming remake of Mannequin. Jason tells a story about “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” and realizes he has all of his facts wrong, and Jeff gets unnaturally angry over the song being nominated for an Oscar. The three of us lament over Carly Simon’s “Let the River Run” Oscar win, and Dave highlights the completely incongruous guitar solo. (Nice word, Dave.) Jason proclaims his love for Lee Sklar, which leads to a discussion of our favorite bassists. Jeff tops Jason’s Mannequin story with an inaccurate claim of his own, much to Jason’s delight. Somehow we end up talking about Air Supply. Goddammit. (Song: Starship, “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”)

56:30 Dave endorses Big Fan, now out on DVD. For some reason, we have nothing else to say about it. (Song: Bruce Springsteen, “Wrecking Ball”)

1:00:13 Jeff endorses the latest season of Friday Night Lights and mentions some of the work of Peter Berg, including his upcoming film version of the board game Battleship, leading to a digression of some of the more pathetic movie treatments on their way to theaters. (Song: Lyle Lovett, “That’s Right (You’re Not From Texas)”)

Wrappin’ It Up

1:06:07 Outro: Thanks for listening to us ramble, and don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes, and to visit our Facebook fan page as well as the Popdose Twitter feed. Finally, Jeff offers a teaser for our February episode, which you definitely do not want to miss.

Don’t know what to get your friends and loved ones for the holidays this year? If they’re lovers of merriment, obnoxious humor and immature behavior, we can think of no better gift than The Popdose Podcast, Episode 4! Sure, it doesn’t cost anything to give as a gift, but that just leaves you more money to spend on yourself this season. Because let’s face it — you’re worth it.

In this episode, our illustrious hosts discuss — you guessed it — the holiday season, from gifts to music and everything in between. You’ll also find out exactly how Cabbage Patch Kids are born. We only wish we were making this up. Please leave us your thoughts in the comments, and if you like the show, please leave a review on iTunes. Enjoy!

The Popdose Podcast, Episode 4: Cabbage Section (1:01:45, 70.7 MB), featuring Jeff Giles, Jason Hare, and Dave Lifton.

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Show Notes

0:00 Intro, leading into a varied holiday discussion. We start by discussing the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and Jason’s emotional attachment to the 3-D Santa Claus. We also discuss Jeff’s daughter and her newly-found Christmas spirit (much to Jeff’s dismay), Christmas in NYC, Yule a Go-Go, tonight’s Acoustic ’80s Christmas Show, Bruce Springsteen’s “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” and the In Harmony and In Harmony 2 albums, the Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York,” Jeff Vrabel’s hatred of “Wonderful Christmastime” and everything else except for Jimmy Buffett, Buffett’s Christmas album, Carly Simon’s Christmas album and the Pet Shop Boys’ Christmas album, Carly Simon’s new album and the unfortunate cover, unnecessary covers of “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” heckling a Five For Fighting concert, Wing’s Christmas album and last year’s Mellowmas finale, and the end of a very, very long sentence. Finally, come join the Facebook group page for the Popdose Podcast!

Theme: Best Christmas Present

22:51 Jason admits his favorite present: a Cabbage Patch Kid when he was eight years old. This leads into a discussion of the Cabbage Patch Kid consumerism rush of the mid-’80s. Jeff regales us with the story of Babyland General Hospital and Dave recalls an episode of This American Life that discusses the FAO Schwarz “nursery.” That brings us to an awesome idea for a Cabbage Patch Graveyard, and product graveyards brings us, of course, to Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Graveyard.

34:10 Speaking of ice cream, Dave shares his favorite present: a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker, which he’s used to make awesome flavors like Bourbon Vanilla Pecan and Gingerbread Latte. If you buy one (and you should buy one), he recommends getting the Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book.

38:02 Jeff recalls getting a TiVo, completely ignoring the awesome wireless headphones Jason bought him two years ago. Dave recalls using the World Cup as a good excuse to get TiVo.

EnDOSEments, Holiday Style

41:39 In another EnDOSEment move that surprises nobody, Jason endorses The Yule Log. He also endorses the John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together album. (Song: Percy Faith, “Joy To the World,” which opens up the yearly presentation of The Yule Log)

49:04 Though Jeff has no real favorite holiday movie (except this one), he notes he has a lot of holiday films on his shelf. This year, he’s introducing How the Grinch Stole Christmas to his kids. We digress into a discussion of the new Mel Brooks box set, and the potential awesomeness of having the Popdose staff all in one office. (Song: Thurl Ravenscroft, “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”)

54:54 Dave expresses his love for A Christmas Gift To You From Phil Spector, Darlene Love and Ronnie Spector. (Song: Darlene Love, “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)”)

Outro

58:40 Don’t forget about Mellowmas (as if you could possibly forget about Mellowmas), and please leave us a review on iTunes. We wish you a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, and a very, very Happy Kwanzaa!

Thanksgiving 2009 has come and gone, and chances are you’re feeling that all-too-familiar bloated feeling — the one that can only come from stuffing yourself full of turkey and suppressed familial anger. There’s only one cure for your condition: The Popdose Podcast, Episode 3!

As you might expect, much of this episode focuses on Turkey Day, but as you might also expect, the conversation between the three of us devolves quickly enough to a point where none of us can breathe from laughing so hard. We hope we’re not the only ones who find ourselves so amusing.

So download away! You can do so here, or subscribe in iTunes (link below). We’d love to accompany you on your Black Friday trip to the mall, while you decorate your Christmas tree (too soon!), or on your drive home from your family get-togethers. Please leave us your thoughts in the comments, and if you like the show, please leave a review on iTunes. And here’s a promise from the three of us: no soup was defiled during the recording of this broadcast. Enjoy!

The Popdose Podcast, Episode 3: Edible Merkins (1:04:21, 73.7 MB), featuring Jeff Giles, Jason Hare, and Dave Lifton.
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Show Notes

0:00 Intro, including discussions on Black Friday, scented candles, and A Very Special Prepared Statement From Dave Lifton Regarding Last Month’s Unfortunate Soup Discussion.

Theme: Dysfunctional Thanksgiving Memories

7:37 Jeff recalls inappropriate conversations at the Thanksgiving table with his grandparents, which leads into childish giggling (surprise) and a discussion of Macaulay Culkin’s The Nutcracker and Macaulay Culkin just sitting around cracking nuts on television.

14:22 Jason reminisces about Thanksgiving in the Adirondacks, including a life without cable television, the dangers of eating too much food (which digresses into his dad thinking Jeff’s an alcoholic), his family members nearly coming to blows (which digresses into Dave getting in trouble with Jason’s aunt on Facebook), and his dad inventing shit up out of whole cloth.

29:37 Dave recalls the unintentional family slights that were only brought up years later, which is pretty much how the Jews traditionally celebrate holidays. Jeff and Dave digress into a discussion about football, including the Jets’ awful history of bad draft picks and a joke from Artie Lange’s new CD. Jason runs for the bathroom.

EnDOSEments: What are you thankful for?

36:44 In a move that surprises nobody, Jeff endorses bourbon. He also endorses Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ new box set, Live Anthology, but suggests you buy the Best Buy version. (Song: John Lee Hooker, “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer”)

39:50 Jason endorses those who post good Christmas music on the Internet, specifically Jeff Ash of AM, Then FM. Jeff contributes a phenomenal joke about Jason’s mother. (Song: Arthur Lyman, “Winter Wonderland”)

45:42 Dave endorses Chicago. No, not the band (that’s Jeff’s job), but the city to which he moved a year ago. He discusses the beautiful blue skies (photos by Dave) and Jeff recalls visiting the International Museum of Surgical Science. (Song: Frank Sinatra, “My Kind of Town”)

Wrappin’ it Up

48:53 Year-end activities at Popdose, including the Popdose Best-of Lists for songs, albums and films, and, of course, Mellowmas. Dave recalls his favorite from last year, Jason recalls his favorite, and Jeff sings the praises of MooT BooXLe’s awesome “A Merry Talkbox Christmas.”

58:17 Outro: Jason gets needy and begs you to review the podcast on iTunes. Thanks for listening! (Song: Alan O’Day, “Have a Merry Mellowmas (Theme From Mellowmas)”)

]]> http://popdose.com/the-popdose-podcast-episode-3/feed/ 18 http://popdose.com/the-popdose-podcast-episode-2/ http://popdose.com/the-popdose-podcast-episode-2/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:30:24 +0000 Jason Hare http://popdose.com/?p=33396

Wow! You like us! You really like us! The numbers for Episode 1 of The Popdose Podcast were so high that we knew we had to come back for a second episode. (In all honesty, we were coming back regardless. We had too much fun last time, and none of us know how to take a hint anyway.)

With Halloween just a week away at the time of this recording, we decided to ask ourselves: what scared the crap out of us as children? Although our therapy bills this week have definitely skyrocketed, we hope you’ll find our confessions entertaining — and if not, you can count on plenty — plenty! — of digressions into other topics on the way.

So listen away! You can download here, or subscribe in iTunes (link below). Please leave us your thoughts in the comments, and if you like the show, please leave a review on iTunes. Enjoy!

The Popdose Podcast, Episode 2: Dixie Carter’s Laundry (1:01:36, 56.5 MB), featuring Jeff Giles, Jason Hare, and Dave Lifton.
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Show Notes

0:00 Intro, including an unfortunate digression into having sex with soup.

Theme: Things That Scared the Crap Out of Us as Children

4:08 Jason: E.T. — The Extra Terrestrial, including digressions into The Wizard of Oz and America (the band, not the country).

18:17 Dave reveals himself to have once been scared of his own shadow, then talks about his fears of Ayatollah Khomeini, the threat of nuclear war and Reagan’s “We begin bombing in five minutes” joke, leading into digressions on Red Dawn, the power of imagination, Muammar al-Gaddafi & Oates, current events’ influence on movie villians, and Amir Talai kissing a camel.

30:04 Jeff attempts to discuss his fear, but digressions immediately lead us into watching Poltergeist, Misery, The Shining and the re-cut trailer for The Shining. That leads us to the re-cut opening of Diff’rent Strokes, Conrad Bain and the associated haircut, Bananas, George Gaines and Alex Karras, and Space: 1999. Finally we get to Jeff’s fear of department store mannequins, which, of course, leads us in numerous digressions, including Mannequin, Meshach Taylor, Robbie Nevil/Matthew Wilder/Gina Schock writing for Disney, “Hole Hearted” and “More Than Words.” It’s a wonder we ever remember what we were supposed to talk about in the first place.

Popdose Endorsements (leave a suggestion for a better title in the comments!)

46:11 Jason endorses Guggenheim Grotto. Digressions include trying to get Jason to do the podcast either with an Irish dialect, while using a talkbox, or possibly both, and Jeff’s brilliant review of the GG album. (song: “Fee Da Da Dee”)

53:59 Dave endorses The Light in Darkness, a new book about Bruce Springsteen’s Darkness on the Edge of Town album and tour, compiled by Lawrence Kirsch and featuring an essay written by Dave. (Song: “Darkness on the Edge of Town”)

56:52 Jeff endoses Matthew Ryan’s newest album, Dear Lover. See the Popdose review, Jeff’s interview with Matthew, and Jeff’s Popdose Guide to Matthew Ryan for more. Digressions include Dave’s memory of the Rambler 65 album by Ben Vaughn.

58:46 Outro: If you like the podcast, please leave a review on iTunes to help increase the show’s visibility. Thanks for listening!

So open up your pod, baby, and let us in — and remember, this is only our debut. Even television classics like According to Jim didn’t enjoy their finest moments until they’d had a little time to hit their stride, and you have no idea what we have in store for you during the coming months. (Note: neither do we.) Like what you hear? Hate it? Drop us a line in the comments and let us know. And now, without further ado…

The Popdose Podcast, Episode 1: Donkey Eatin’ a Pony (1:09:49, 64.9 MB), featuring Jeff Giles, Jason Hare, and Dave Lifton.
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Show Notes

0:00 Intro, including digressions into the end of Guiding Light, and Jason’s ass.

5:05 Jeff Giles discusses ASCAP and BMI demanding fees for 30-second samples on iTunes, plus, how Popdose may be affected.

18:53 Dave Lifton discusses hipsters ironically nostalgic for the ’80s, which leads to digressions into Lionel Richie, J-Stache, his taint and Richard Marx sniffing it, the Michael McDonald/Grizzly Bear collaboration, Jason Lytle covering Billy Joel, Daryl Hall’s expensive house, and Smokey Robinson & George Michael singing “Careless Whisper.”

38:20 Jason Hare credits Terje Fjelde’s awesome Popdose podcast contributions, then discusses Mariah Carey appearing on Oprah and covering Foreigner. Digressions continue into Mariah’s “All I Want for Christmas is You,” Journey, The Saw Lady, and Wing.

54:31 Popdose Endorsements (official title yet to be determined; offer your suggestions in the comments!): Jeff endorses fun. (song clip: “Benson Hedges”)

57:06 Popdose Endorsements: Dave endorses Robbie Fulks (song clip: “Papa Was A Steel-Headed Man”)

58:51 Popdose Endorsements: Jason endorses the Damnwells and Tragedy: An All-Metal Tribute to the Bee Gees (song clip: “Stayin’ Alive)

1:02:00 Outro: Jeff highlights his interview with Zach Curd of Desktop (song: “My Boo,” a Popdose exclusive track)