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. Download from You can also subscribe to the podcast’s RSS feed.
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 (more…)
More than 25 years ago, Steven Spielberg and a talented group of puppeteers and craftsman worked painstakingly for months to create E.T. the Extraterrestrial, who would become perhaps the most beloved non-human movie character of all time. If those people knew that their efforts would eventually lead to Aliens in the Attic, they would have probably just given up and done a sequel to 1941 instead.
Now, I have not seen Aliens in the Attic yet; I say “yet” because it strikes me as one of those movies my kids might convince me to take them to in a weak moment, like on a Sunday afternoon after it’s been raining for days and there stands a good chance that if we don’t leave the house, someone will actually commit violence.
But even if it’s not a pained, derivative cross between E.T. and Gremlins (my God, I think I just channeled the pitch meeting), I still say there are plenty of other aliens-among-us movies that are probably better – even if they’re worse. Here are just five:
Okay, this one’s just downright freaky. It’s supposed to be songs inspired by the movie E.T. However, you won’t hear any songs remotely like this in the movie itself!
The first song we encounter is the “E.T. Overture.” I thought they would have at least included a few bars from the movie theme, but no. This is more of an overture for the songs on the record, with some weird kid saying stuff like “Where did you come from? Another world?” in a dreamy, annoying voice.
Next we have the tender ballad “E.T., I Love You.” I still can’t figure out who’s supposedly singing these songs. Is it Elliott? Gertie? Some kid in the background they were saving for the sequel?
Now the tempo picks up with the song with “So Near and So Far,” a sort of Tiffany/Debbie Gibson lite kind of song. I’m not really sure what this has to do with E.T., though: “Were there really purple creatures? Did they look just like my teachers?” Huh? And is that the sound of a toilet flushing later in the song? Gotta love the robotic-sounding chorus! (more…)
Hiya, kids! This week’s mix is brought to you by Jeff Johnson, who’s been a friend of mine since high school. Ever since I’ve known him, Jeff’s tastes in music have skewed toward the soundtrack side, specifically orchestral soundtracks. We attended film school together (I changed majors at the end of my junior year), and he went on to write and direct a feature film called Holly vs. Hollywood. Nowadays Jeff is happily ensconced as the online store manager at the ever-popular soundtrack store (and record label) Intrada in Oakland, California. Intrada is one of those rare record stores where they not only exclusively stock movie soundtracks, they also restore and reissue them. Jeff also cohosts the podcast Filmed, Not Stirred with his gal pal Lisa. It’s unique because they review a new movie and compare it with an older movie in a similar genre or director. So you see? There is life after film school! —Ted
You’re about to discover six pieces of music you’re not even really supposed to notice. So what is it about film-music geeks that makes it virtually impossible for them to watch a film without noticing its music? And even more curious, why would they want to listen to it on its own?
In coming up with this list of my favorite soundtrack cues, two things are obvious: 1) all the pieces are composed by either Jerry Goldsmith or John Williams, and 2) they were all composed between 1976 and 1982. I don’t know what that means, except to say that I discovered all of them when I was between the ages of 11 and 17. I had them all on vinyl and played them so many times as a kid that I wore out the records. These aren’t necessarily the best pieces of film music, but they are some of my favorites. (more…)
More than 25 years ago, Steven Spielberg and a talented group of puppeteers and craftsman worked painstakingly for months to create 
Okay, this one’s just downright freaky. It’s supposed to be songs inspired by the movie E.T. However, you won’t hear any songs remotely like this in the movie itself!
