The bird boys are back for round two of our Halloween spooktacular! This week the boys decided to take on one of PALMREADER’s favourite horror-adjacent comedy films, Mel Brooks' “Dracula: Dead And Loving It”. This film… is… well, let’s be real here, the critics didn’t like it much but WE CERTAINLY DO. Can you believe Rotten Tomatoes gave it an 11%?! Unreal. Criminal. Uncalled for. Illegal, almost. We take some time to unpack the legacy, context, and release of this film and compare the audience reviews to what the critics had to say. If you listened to last week’s episode you’d already know that for some reason “critics” didn’t take comedy and horror seriously for a long time. Does it really deserve that rating? We say no. Not at all.

If you’re a fan of Mel Brooks and/or Leslie Nielsen and you like a good laugh, you will definitely enjoy this film. “Dracula: Dead And Loving It” is a slapstick satirical comedy based around the story of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. This film is just so much fun... full of laughs, gags, and witty writing. Super easy to watch and very silly. In this episode, we discuss some of our favourite scenes, hilarious lines, and what makes this movie really work. Plus, we talk about Mel Brooks, his status as a titan of comedy, muse on some of his other amazing works, and praise him for being so damn good at what he does. We also explore Leslie Nielsen’s career. may he rest in power, and chat about some of our favourite roles and movies. There’s also some Mel Brooks' Van Helsing impersonations, talk of voluptuous women, blood-sucking, hypnosis, and a bunch more. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

We also chat about vampires/vampire movies in general (there are so many) and try to rank our favourites, PALMREADER gushes about the new Netflix series “Midnight Mass” by Mike Flanagan (it’s so damn good), John Constantine, tulpas, Mahershala Ali as Blade, Marvel’s coming exploration of their darker characters, vampire and zombie fatigue, Max Brooks' novel “World War Z”, give an update on Otis’ various film projects, and a bunch more random stuff.

Next week? It’s a surprise! Tune in to find out.

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Here’s the teaser:

https://youtu.be/VJmjJneRzCQ

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This week the bird boys kick off their selection of spooky flicks for the Halloween season by revisiting an influential cult classic that was hated when it dropped but has quietly become one of the most important and best sci-fi horror films. Get your flamethrowers ready and step out into the cold… it’s John Carpenter’s “The Thing”. Based on the 1938 John W. Campbell Jr. novella “Who Goes There?”, this movie centers around a group of researchers facing off against an alien enemy that can assimilate and become any form. This film is a masterclass in disgusting alien body horror.

In this episode, we talk about the movie’s cultural impact, the amazing use of practical effects, body horror, the palpable tension and psychological aspects of the film, Kurt Russell being a badass, John Carpenter, flamethrowers, whiskey, proper dynamite and flare holding etiquette, dogs dying in horror movies, the uncanny other, the amazing ending, the film’s reception when it was released, how it holds up almost 40 years later, and a whole lot more.

Plus, we dive into the horror genre as a whole, what makes us love certain types of horror films, the useless idea of high and low art, the importance cultural impact has on a film's longevity, the first “Saw” movie, “His Girl Friday”, “Dumb And Dumber”, “Blade Runner”, the film’s amazing soundtrack by Ennio Morricone, and mid-episode we realize that “The Thing” is basically just a Western (kind of). 

We also rant about how dumb the critics were to dismiss this as the “quintessential moron movie of the 80’s” because… c’mon, dude. Really?! Also, we ask if the broad idea of “Classic Hollywood Cinema” is really the benchmark that we should be using in criticism today? Or at all? With cinema being an ever-evolving medium, should it ever have been something that you compare to movies after the New Hollywood movement? Hmmm. Much to think about.

“The Thing” is an incredible film. What else can we say? Go watch it if you haven't.

Next week? A horror/comedy from the master Mel Brooks and the incredible Leslie Neilson, “Dracula: Dead And Loving It”.

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Here’s the teaser:

https://youtu.be/VJmjJneRzCQ

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What is good, homies?! We're stoked to have the super talented MC and our good friend Emerson Corleone on BIRD PROTOCOL. We couldn’t be more excited to chat with him about the rising stars of the East Coast… the incredible group of rappers, producers, and artists known as “Griselda”. Comprised of artists like Westside Gunn, Benny The Butcher, Conway The Machine, Daringer, Rome Streets, Mach-Hommy, Boldy James, Armani Ceasar, and more… Griselda is an artistic collective, a record label, and a growing hip-hop movement from Buffalo, NY. They are fashion, rap, and artistry wrapped up into one amazing group that has changed the face of modern rap over the past ten years. Their output is crazy. The quality is insane. Their bars are loaded. Get initiated.

Though “Griselda” is a new love for all of us, we don’t hold back in this episode and go deep into the history and influence of this outstanding collective. We gush about their consistency, their experimental side, the mixture of their respect for the artistry of rap while modernizing the older hip-hop tendencies of the east coast. We discuss each of the members, our favourite tracks and projects (which was VERY HARD to do because they all are amazing artists), how they are evolving the east coast sound, their impeccable instrumental choices, their features, their meteoric rise in hip-hop, being rapper’s rappers and their amazing debut as a collective, “WWCD”. Plus, we rant about why “DR. BIRDS” is truly an insane single, “criminal dissonance”, their ad-libs being the best in the industry, Mach-Hommy selling mixtapes for hundreds of dollars, their deep roots in the east coast, their amazing co-signers, wanting them to be on ETID’s holiday festival in Buffalo, naming songs after wrestlers, and more.

This one was super fun. Thank you to Emerson Corleone for being a part of this. We’ll be having guests more often going forward be we couldn’t have asked for a better person to be our first. Go stream his album “INNER MOONLIGHT” on all streaming services.

Next week? John Carpenter’s “The Thing”.

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Here’s the teaser:

https://youtu.be/VJmjJneRzCQ

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This week the bird boys are back with another “Lazy Bird” episode to tide you over and bring you into our weird and whacky lives. We cover a variety of topics from the set design in “Alien” to Otis’ comedy show to PALMREADER going back to the gym to the vaccine mandates and the state of the pandemic to our current choice of video game to what we’ve been listening to lately… oh, and also a crazy Japanese comedy where ten comics have to make each other laugh without laughing themselves. So, buckle up and join us for a fun little romp through our current headspace.

Plus, grinding some stats in real life, taking a step back from social media and why it’s time for us to do that, Portugal being elite, social media becoming a cesspool of idiocy, Otis getting an NYT subscription, the proper way to use accents in comedy, co-op video games, “For Honor” versus “Chivalry 2”, “Aliens: Fireteam Elite” and the various other “Alien” video games, a little chat about the current state of wrestling, our “Left 4 Dead” memories, “Back 4 Blood” and other upcoming games, and more.

It’s your standard chatterbox episode with your favourite birds.

Next week? GRISELDA with our homie Emerson Corleone (for real this time).

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Here’s the teaser:

youtu.be/VJmjJneRzCQ

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This week. the bird boys revisit one of the greatest films of all time for PALMREADER’s official birthday pick, Steven Speilberg’s 1993 epic action-adventure sci-fi flick “Jurassic Park”. Starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Samuel L. Jackson, Wayne Knight, BD Wong, and a host of others… this movie was innovative technically, culturally, and cinematically. It was a phenomenon, and rightly so. I cannot stress how much this movie means to us and to so many people and that’s why we’re stoked to be doing an episode on it. “Jurassic Park” is a modern classic.

There’s a lot to cover on this episode and the bird boys try to do it justice. Not only was “Jurassic Park” the first film to REALLY integrate CGI into live-action filmmaking but it also made tons of money, changed filmmaking in almost unfathomable ways, blew people’s minds, brought dinosaurs back (in more ways than one), gave the Toronto Raptors their name, and spawned tons of merchandise (video games, comics, toys), and launched an IP that still continues (for better and for worse) today. Not to mention that you can’t help but feel like a kid again every time you press play.

From the first awe-inspiring moment that we see a dinosaur on the screen to the T-Rex escape to the Raptors in the kitchen to Muldoon saying “clever girl” to chaos theory to the incredible final roar of the Tyrannosaur… this move just GOES. All tied together with an absolutely amazing score from John Williams. The pacing, the editing, the SFX, the acting, the world-building, the cinematography… all incredible. This is one of those movies that remind you what cinema is all about. It also boasts a stacked production team working at the top of their game. They really brought us a masterpiece of cinema and a true spectacle in the best way. Buckle up, it’s going to be deep dive.

We also talk about the many video games, briefly touch on the sequels, praise the marketing and design, share stories about PALMREADER being “the Jurassic Park guy”, look at the common themes in Speilberg’s body of work, talk about Jeff Goldblum’s sex appeal and look at Michael Crichton as one of the most important figures in sci-fi. Plus, people crying at the CGI T-Rex walking, Godzilla’s influence, the science of the film being ahead of its time, Timmy’s survival rate when the fence turned back on, a nod to Pirates Of The Caribbean, Palaeontology in real life, and more.

Life, uh, finds a way and the bird boys, uh, revel in it.

Next week? GRISELDA with our homie Emerson Corleone. Let’s get it.

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The party birds have arrived! It’s our first ever group podcast with our friends Cody, All, Meg and Peary. Recorded in Muskoka during a week-long vacation, this episode gets a little chaotic but is full of laughs. Try to remember that, as Cody points out many times, we were all under the influence during the recording of this episode. We played fast and loose with this one but in the end, we all had a great time. That’s why this one is called a party bird episode!

This week, this motley crew of unhinged individuals attempt to have a civil discussion about one of our favourite TV shows of all time… Ru Paul’s Drag Race! Bet you didn’t see that coming! Well… Shantay you stay! Don’t sashay away! I promise that it’s a good one. We’ve all had a love for this groundbreaking and heartwarming show for a while now and we wanted to do something different. It’s good for you, food for your soul and opens your mind to so many things that you may not have known (especially for someone who identifies as cis-gendered).

That’s right, we chop it up about the drag queens and the drag race show that started it all. We crack a few drinks and dish on our favourite queens, judges, outfits, challenges, lip-synch performances, and seasons. Plus, we rant about our least favourite queens, the contestants’ lives after Drag Race, queens who got a second chance, the drama, the comedy, Michelle Visage, Ross  Matthews and Carson Kressley, Santino’s crazy hats, drag culture and how it has changed and become more mainstream, the related and affiliated shows, Ru Paul’s amazing suit collection, and more. There’s a lot to cover and we try to hit it all.

Plus, a killer Santino impression from Cody, Ru Paul being beautiful both as a man and queen, Drag Race Go Kart Mario, Otis’ having a crush or two, tucking, cinching your waist, Dr. Otis Business Stockmarket, Halloween costumes, and a whole lot more incoherent nonsense. Remember… if you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love someone else? Can I get an Amen?!

It’s also PALMREADER’s birthday halfway through the episode. That’s wild.

Check out the homies and their artwork:

Megan (Megulatorr Makes) - https://www.megulatorrmakes.com & @megulatorrmakes

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Get ready for part two of our back-to-back Action Bronson series! This time around, the bird boys are talking about Bam Bam et al. on the television! That’s right… we’re going deep on our favourite comfort show “F*ck, That’s Delicious!”. Plus, we talk about the insane, spastic, and bizarre “Traveling The Stars: Action Bronson And Friends Watch Ancient Aliens” and we even briefly cover “The Untitled Action Bronson Show”, Action’s youtube videos for Vice, and his original Youtube show “Action In The Kitchen”.

Let’s tell it straight… BIRD PROTOCOL loves FTD. It’s one of our favourite shows. It has everything you might need, compressed into easily digestible 30-minute episodes. Food? Yup. Friendship? Yup. Weed? Yessir. Music? Oh yeah. Comedy? You can count on it. Fried chicken? You already know what it is. Organic Wines? It’s a wrap.

What makes this so special is that it’s such an honest, fun, and enjoyable watch. The series is filled with so many characters… like the pillar of humanity known as Big Body Bes, The Alchemist (aka The Food Villain) and the seafood king himself, Mayhem Lauren. It’s a show about situations of all types… leathers, New York wisdom, bodyboarding, amazing food, inside jokes, body-isms, athletics, shrimp, hash, music, and more. The show perfectly balances the high and low of culinary culture and showcases their friendship so well. Every episode is filled with hole-in-the-wall eateries, high-end restaurants, camaraderie, and all kinds of fun adventures across the globe. We’ve watched this series over and over again since its debut in 2016 as it is surprisingly complex, yet simple, charming and so easy to rewatch. It comes highly recommended.

We also talk about the so-crazy-that-it-only-makes-sense-when-you’re-super-stoned “Traveling The Stars” where Action and friends get high in a green screen room and watch “Ancient Aliens”. Hilarity ensues. This show is filled with all kinds of insane guests and random events like massage therapy, basketball, buffets, and more. It’s wild. If you’re a fan of Adult Swim or Trixie and Katya’s “UNHhhh”, or you love “Ancient Aliens” and Action Bronson, this show is right up your alley.

We also talk about “Tears Of A Tiger” and “Body Language”, plumbers, PALMREADER’s basement flooding, Gordon Ramsay’s ass, and a bunch more.

We’re off next week for our cottage trip but, the week after, we’ll be bringing you two new episodes… the classic Speilberg flick “Jurassic Park” and our first-ever Party Birds episode on “Ru Paul’s Drag Race”.

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We’re back after a week-long hiatus that we had to take because Otis was busy shooting a movie! Can you believe it? Now we have street credit. We’re really ABOUT THAT LIFE… or at least Otis is. This episode is the first of a two-part series on one of our favourite rappers Action Bronson (and his rogue’s gallery of friends). This episode is mostly focused on Action Bronson’s music and personal artistry… but we do talk a little bit about The Alchemist and Big Body Bes. Next week, we’ll be covering “F*ck, That’s Delicious!”, “Travelling The Stars” and all that other good stuff.

It’s going to be madness.

This week, we cover his overall amazing body of work, his stellar features, his fire mixtapes, his overall persona and his amazing ability to manifest his future through his raps. Plus, his charisma… his bombastic style… his wordplay… his metaphors… OH, MAN. He’s really a rapper’s rapper. Plus, did we mention that he’s a television star, a painter, a chef and a published writer?

For real, though, Action Bronson has been a staple of our friendship since day one and we’re super stoked to finally cover him. We talk about our history with his music and being a fan of his for years. We both hold him in such high regard so this episode is pretty much a gush fest. We talk about his style, his creative vision, his various other artistic endeavours, his books, his amazing music videos and album covers… UNREAL. Action, if you see this, we love you. Answer my DMs.

We also chop it up about our favourite records, mixtapes, songs, the amazing producers he works with, his humble beginnings, our favourite features, some of our favourite lines, and a hilarious and prophetic cameo on “The Layover” with Anthony Bourdain. Plus, complaints about the UPS and Amazing delivery guys, awkward pauses, a discussion about Asher Roth and how he is very underrated, and Otis talks to us about the movie(s) he has been working on. Come back next week for part two. We’re gonna have a blast.

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The bird boys are here with another Lazy Bird episode! This week is a thought-provoking journey through current events and our twisted minds. This one is a long episode but it was super fun to kick back and chop it up about whatever.

We cover all sorts of stuff in this episode including Fat Joe looking elated at the Verzuz battle, PALMREADER's experience with Ferber - a tall slender man in Oakley sunglasses and a du-rag who “knows his rights” and eventually meets some nice police officers inside a Shoppers Drug Mart, the vaccine, anti-vaxxers and the general madness going on right now. Plus, things are opening up… we don’t feel so sad anymore, have been able to hang out in person, and have been eating some good food! Check out “El Pueblito” in Bracebridge, Ontario. Shout outs to their amazing Mexican food.

This week we also talk about all the crazy things happening at music festivals… the Limp Bizkit renaissance and Fred Durst’s new look, DaBaby being an idiot and a generally awful human being, Lil Boosie being scared of LGBTQIA+ people and society progressing, the stupid amount of homophobia in hip hop and why it's time to let that go, Jadakiss and THE LOX being absolute New York and rap legends, all that good stuff. Plus, we discuss that Matt Damon interview and we talk about his views on Marvel films as well as him getting in trouble for making progress as a person. There are also some Mark Whalberg impressions. 

We also chat about context and why that is important, wonder why people are so obsessed with watching others suffer for their mistakes, and Otis shares a true story about a wild text from a lady who has a problem with nude art and doesn’t know how to be a parent. The entitlement in some people is truly insane. This leads to a conversation about art, nudity, and the over-sexualization of Western culture. It’s actually kinda deep? I don’t know.

As usual, we share what we have been listening to, watching, and we somehow wind up talking about "Sicario" again.

Next week? The first part of our Action Bronson double whammy.

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This week the bird boys are covering an insanely fun, intuitive, and well-made Playstation exclusive. Are your spider senses tingling yet? Mine are That’s right, it’s an episode on Insomniac’s spectacular series "Marvel’s Spider-Man" and "Spider-Man: Miles Morales"!

We're covering both games in one episode because although "Miles Morales" is a standalone game, it feels more like Spider-Man 1.5 and not a true sequel. That doesn’t mean it isn’t sick though! Both of these games are some of the only superhero games that we’ve played that manage to actually make you feel like you are a hero. With a huge open world, so many side quests and achievements, awesome suits, amazing power-ups, and great gameplay… this game is easily one of our favourites.

We get to all the good stuff… gameplay, story, combat, the rogues' gallery, movement…. everything that Spider-Man has to offer. We talk about our favourite and least favourite boss battles, which suits and power-ups we love to use, the skill progression, and the amazing and lifelike map of New York. We go through what we love about both of the games and the few moments where this series makes a misstep. We muse on what is coming in the sequel (Spider-Gwen? Symbiotes? Green Goblin? New Maps?) and talk about what makes this game so much fun to play. Plus, we go deep on some of the great enemies, the awesome design, and the over-the-top storylines! With intuitive combat and movement systems, this game makes you really FEEL like you are the web-slinger and that just brings it up a notch for us. The game offers so many different ways to approach every situation and makes grinding out achievements fun (even for PALMREADER).

So suit up. The city needs a hero.

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