Full Carts

Devin and Andy visit a Moleskine store and discuss notebooks. Has Moleskine fallen off, or do people just like to complain online? Is Field Notes still crushing it? Do we hold by Wirecutter reviews? Does a notebook store necessarily feel like a gift shop? How many products can be sold with Ernest Hemingway’s posthumous endorsement? Can you be legendary and iconic, or should you pick one?

Music by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Jed Becker⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, art by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Margaret Flatley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, production assistance by Skye MacLeod. Contact [email protected]

Devin and Andy head to a few NYC souvenir shops near Rockefeller Center. Why are we being followed? What’s the best way to show that you heart NY? Can the souvenir shop and its wares be modernized? What store would you hole up in?

Some souvenir/NY merch links:

We Are Happy To Serve You Cup

Official I Heart NY tee

Melamine state memento trays and plates (not NY, but cool)

Pretzel Hotdog NY beanie

NYC Pigeon Pin and Magnet

NYC Parking Violation Magnet

As referenced in the episode:

Callvin Condoms

Blue Q gear

NYPD Hoodie

SNL “I Hate When that Happens" sketch and song

(Note: we are not affiliated with these sites and do not receive any remuneration for anything purchased through these links.)

Music by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Jed Becker⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, art by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Margaret Flatley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, production assistance by Skye MacLeod. Contact [email protected]

Devin and Andy head to FAO Schwarz in Rockefeller Center. Will the Schwar(t)z be with them? Is this toy store overwhelming in a good way, just overwhelming, or not overwhelming enough? Are the toy demonstration vibes more state fair or uncanny sci-fi? Are you tempted by this magic snow? Does the floor piano live up to its star turn in Big? How cool is this McDonald’s wallet? Or this TMNT one? 

Music by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Jed Becker⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, art by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Margaret Flatley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, production assistance by Skye MacLeod. Contact [email protected]

Devin and Andy discuss “Underwear Power,” the lively last chapter of The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again). It's an essay about shopping for socks and underwear with a friend at Macy’s. Is buying more American than thinking? Is underwear shopping really that revealing? Does everyone have a four minute set about losing socks in the laundry? What would Andy make of our current world?

Music by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Jed Becker⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, art by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Margaret Flatley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, production assistance by Skye MacLeod. Contact [email protected]

Devin and Andy visit a Gap Factory store and think about Gap. Does most of 90s pop culture emerge directly from Gap’s Khaki Soul (1999) ad? Are we still swinging to Khaki Swing (1998)? How crucial is pocket quality to a pair of pants? Does Gap Factory need the SNL Gap Girls to fold things into shape? What does the Gap arch logo on a sweatshirt mean these days? And what would it take for Gap to preside over the present as it once presided over the late 1990s, when it could just say (or sing) the word and have "everyone" wearing leather, or vests?

Music by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Jed Becker⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, art by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Margaret Flatley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, production assistance by Skye MacLeod. Contact [email protected]

Devin and Andy visit Foodtown: larger than a corner store, smaller than a supermarket. Does anyone read into font choices like Devin? Can Andy figure out how to open the door? Will Devin find spiritual uplift in the soda section? Can you Do the Dew on only 7.5 ounces? Why all the breadcrumbs? Is anyone in the salad dressing aisle shipping Paul Newman and Ken?

Links:

Tell it To My Heart by Taylor Dayne, Tig Notaro on Taylor Dayne, Parentheses by The Blow, 2010 NYT article about Foursquare mayoralties

Music by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Jed Becker⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, art by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Margaret Flatley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, production assistance by Skye MacLeod. Contact [email protected]

Devin and Andy explore fast food merch sites and discuss their findings. The expansive McDonald’s selection (two sites!) includes some tempting Crocs, but shouldn’t they be called Krocs? Why is the current Taco Bell merch so serious, as opposed to their normally playful vibe? Could Chipotle pivot from burrito seller to clothing/accessory line? How many podcasts have started with an idea jotted down in a Little Caesars Cheesy Notes notebook? What does it mean that we as a culture have shifted from souvenirs to merch?And Devin was right: Arby’s did sell curly fry bowling balls!

Music by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Jed Becker⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, art by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Margaret Flatley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, production assistance by Skye MacLeod. Contact [email protected]

Devin and Andy visit Forbidden Planet, a giant comic book & toy & more store in New York. Is Bazooka gum the original jaw enhancer? Has the comic book world gotten friendlier and more open? Is Forbidden Planet like being inside the best claw machine in the world? What patches are on your battle jacket?

Music by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Jed Becker⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, art by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Margaret Flatley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, production assistance by Skye MacLeod. Contact [email protected]

Off-price retailer Marshalls (no apostrophe), sister store of TJ Maxx, is the subject of this week’s Full Carts. Has the Golden Age of Discount Department Stores passed? Does coconut-based candy count as health (or at least healthy) food? Is Def Leppard more clothing logo than band at this point? How is this podcast like the NFL combine?

Music by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Jed Becker⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, art by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Margaret Flatley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, production assistance by Skye MacLeod. Contact [email protected]

Devin and Andy visit Party City to gather material for the party that is this podcast. Can a store greeting embody the whole of its shopping experience? Does the party supply game always come down to balloons? Should a party store be intentionally bland so as not to upstage the actual parties they’re supplying? Can an impressive selection of Pop Rocks and Big League Chew make up for shortcomings elsewhere?

Music by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Jed Becker⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, art by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Margaret Flatley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, production assistance by Skye MacLeod. Contact [email protected]