Back Porch Podcast

Ya know, a lot of folks like to debate which actor played James Bond best. Was it Connery or was it Craig? Some folks are contrarians who like to say that it was Lazenby. Quite frankly, we're not particularly interested in all of that. Sure we have our preferences, but every actor who has portrayed Bond has their own merits.

What we are interested in, is which film is the best. So, in honor of the final installment in the Craig-era of James Bond, No Time To Die, we are going to be power ranking every film in the franchise. To join us in this mission (yeah, we did that), we have John Stegemann aka Stegs, production designer and co-founder of the APB film collective. He hops on to chat with Corey and Zac about all the things that make Bond so great, from the songs, to the action sequences, to the corny, but also amazing one-liners. They cover it all.

So if you're a fan of everything James Bond, come celebrate the release of No Time To Die on the back porch as we break down all 24 films from this franchise.

And check back Friday for our bonus episode featuring a discussion about No Time To Die.

This week, we’re back with the next installment in our “Wait, You Haven’t Seen…” Series where we select a “classic” movie that we’ve never seen, watch it, and provide some commentary. 

Seeing as it’s spooky season, we wanted to choose a “classic” horror film that neither of us had seen. We ultimately decided to watch The Amityville Horror.

Join us on the back porch as Zac and Corey discuss one of the original haunted house movies; a movie that provided the template for modern horror classics like The Conjuring and The Orphanage. 

They even find some time to discuss how easy boomers had it when it came to buying houses. We promise, it connects to the movie.

This week, we are going to be discussing childhood classics like Space Jam and Rookie of the Year, as well as some all timers like Jerry Maguire and A League of Their Own. There are 22 sports-themed movies in contention and only 10 can get into the Back Porch Podcast’s 90s Sports Movie Hall of Fame.

We’ve executed this concept once before when we built the Boston Movie Hall of Fame with the boys over at Simple Minds Sports Show, and this time, rather than tackle a movie city, we’re tackling a genre. We’re joined by guest host Zac Howes and John Stegemann (a.k.a. Stegs) to help us decide which films we’ll be forever immortalized in the 90s Sports Movie Hall of Fame

This week Steve and Corey continue their discussion of the top five tracks from the year as they enter a Kanye space (don’t ask us what that is, we’re not entirely certain either) and discuss their Lil’ Wayne preferences and his recent resurgence.

The year 2005 was a lot of different things for different people. For hip-hop, it was an incredibly influential year as the southern trap sounds that are ubiquitous now first came to relevance. It’s also the year Kanye West, a Chicago native, cemented himself as an icon and force to be reckoned with, as he released “Gold Digger” Featuring Jaime Foxx.

Listen along as Steve and Corey finish out their lists, give out some honorable mentions, and discuss which artist won the year. Spoiler alert, this discussion doesn’t last long. We all know who won!

The year 2005 was a lot of different things for different people. For hip-hop, it was a fairly transformative year, where both the South, and even the Midwest, really proved that they had something to say. They were two regions that cemented their place in hip-hop and forever changed it.

It also provided the soundtrack for a lot of parties that both Corey, and our guest Steve Tyson, aka Ellect (@ellect217), attended or even DJ’d.

It was senior year of High School for Beam, so he wasn’t going to any parties. That would be wrong and unethical.

Listen as Corey and Steve talk about the importance of 2005 and what they’re favorite songs were in hip-hop from that year. And also shout out to Young Buck, pictured above, simply because we think he needs one. Just listen to the episode and you’ll know why.

Link to the episode and all of our other episodes in the bio.

You would think for two guys that have a podcast that involves talking about movies, we both have seen almost all of the classics, right?

Well, and more specifically for Beam, that isn’t the case. Surprisingly enough, there are some movies Corey hasn’t seen, which came as a shock to us all.

Because of this, we constructed a list of what can be considered “classic” movies that neither of us have seen and decided to record podcast episodes about it. For the debut in this series, we wanted to kick it off with what could be considered an incredibly prescient film.

The Truman Show.

In this episode, Corey and Beam talk about why they hadn’t seen the movie before, then they watch the film and immediately give their takes on the film, how it fits overall in movie history and where it sits in Jim Carrey’s catalogue.

And it’s just Corey and Beam on this one. Because this whole podcast, after all, is about them.

Oh, Kanye.

It’s hard to not say we have a complicated relationship with him. A literal mad genius who makes several classic albums in one minute, and then in the next does something that makes you want to cut ties with him all together. Maybe throw your Yeezy’s in the fire (which, hey, that’s a pretty boss move, money pants).

But this is Kanye and the man can make some music. So, with the release of Donda (Donda, Donda, Donda…), we are taking the opportunity to look back on Yeezy’s catalogue. An exercise none of us minded participating in.

This includes our good friend, Joe Donlon, who immediately texted Corey following the surprise release of Donda. A healthy discussion ensues.

Listen to the episode, and tell us whether we short shrifted Life of Pablo or, hell, even Ye. You’re wrong, but we’ll at least listen to you.

We continue our Twin Films series this week and decide to put our dancing shoes on…

Well, actually, depending on what type of dance, we may not need any shoes at all.

This week, we decide which is the better movie between Take the Lead and Step Up. Beam and Corey are admittedly both novices when it comes to dance and dance culture. Thankfully, Sara Senecal, who also happens to be married to Beam, is a professional dancer. So, she’s able to dunk on these uncultured dunces with her expertise.

Listen as we discuss the merits of each film and how truly desirable Antonio Banderas is.

We’re back!

Well, hopefully you all noticed we were even gone. Actually, don’t tell us if you did.

Either way, we’ve got another episode in our Twin Films series. And they are both movies involving major 80s franchises that got a bit of a reboot…

By making the main characters of each do battle against each other.

It’s Freddy vs Jason versus Alien vs Predator!

To explore both of these universes, we enlist Alien superfan John Yost to do his best to talk objectively about each film and see which one comes out on top during this 5-round fracas. We even discuss if Jason was on his way to kill a field of teenagers and a passerby asks for directions… would he give them?

Maybe.

Today we continue our conversation about some of the best hip-hop songs of 2012. We heard what Steve Tyson’s (@ellect217) top 3, 4 and 5 picks were, and what Corey’s top 4 and 5 picks were.

Will Steve slightly move away from posse tracks? Will any of Kendrick Lamar’s solo work from this year make an appearance on the list? Will Steve and Corey finally disagree on some things as Beam has annoyingly and repeatedly requested?

The answer is yes. Which we guess is a spoiler, but also not really?

Also, a reminder to check out Ellect’s debut album, Intellectual Property, on all streaming platforms, and make sure to follow him on Instagram to see his new video for “Make It Happen” and everything else going on. That includes his new podcast with his father, Style Free Podcast, on Instagram @stylefreepodcast, YouTube, or visit stylefreepodcast.com