Papa's Basement

Co-host Pete spent the weekend getting loaded at the Music And Gaming Festival (MAGFest), a local event where video game nuts of all stripes hang out, get loaded, and pretty much treat it like an 8-bit key party. Through Pete's recollection of the weekend, be a fly on the wall for this weird and fun event.

It isn't all good news, however: Deadpool

was top of the box office for a second week in a row. For those of you that think this is good, it isn't. And, after you hear my logic, you'll have to agree with me. Or call me a stupid, uninformed asshole. Maybe somewhere in the middle.

Click here to listen to the latest episode of Papa's Basement in your browser or here to open and listen in iTunes.

While the name "Eden Center" suggests a new-age retreat or maybe a cult where the bedding of the underage is not only tolerated but encouraged, it's actually a Vietnamese mall a few miles outside of DC we have mentioned in passing on the show a few times previously. Well, Pete wanted to finally visit the place, and he and I spent several hours eating some good food, gazing upon other food we wouldn't eat on a dare, and buying pan-Asian goods at what I'm sure was a 2000% markup. If you're ever in DC, I really suggest taking the time to swing by.

We also cover how, year by year, Valentine's Day gifts get lazier and lazier, as if by universal law. Do we suggest anything to remedy this? Nope. We just silently and mournfully watch it happen, like a captain going down with his ship. Oh, and DMX almost died about five minutes before the show ended, so we tossed that in, too.

Click here to listen to the latest episode of Papa's Basement in your browser or here to open and listen in iTunes.

We start with a tribute to Maurice White of Earth, Wind and Fire, who died right before the recording. If you're expecting anything in-depth, don't: I'm a honkey in my mid-30s, meaning I can name three EW+F songs and have banged to none of them. But we do our best.

The bulk of the show is dedicated to our harrowing tales of surviving Blizzard Jonas, which tore through the DC-area like frozen shit through a even more-frozen goose. If you aren't on the East Coast or live in an area that can handle snow without collectively screaming like a hysterical sissy, enjoy the insight into living in a city that, for the life of it, cannot cope with cold white powder from the heavens for a goddamn.

Click here to listen to the latest episode of Papa's Basement in your browser or here to open and listen in iTunes.

And, for those feeling especially selfless who want to help out big time, instructions on leaving an iTunes review, which helps us get new listeners, so you someday might not sound like a psychopath uttering the words "I just listened to and loved a show called Papa's Basement":

DESKTOP/LAPTOP USERS: Click here to visit the iTunes Papa's Basement webpage. On the subsequent browser page, click "View in iTunes". Once iTunes launches, click on "Ratings and Reviews", located near the top of the page.

IPHONE/IPAD USERS: Click here to launch the podcasts app. Select the the "search" magnifying glass in the lower right, look for "Papa's Basement", and click the icon of the show (the sad clown face) that appears under "Podcasts" at the bottom of the screen. After doing that, select "reviews", then "write a review" on the next screen. Easy as calculus after an all-night bender! Thank you. And apologies for making you read the words "click here" 46 times in a row.

The start of 2016 has been a bloodbath for interesting artists. David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Glenn Frey, Jon Lovitz...it's just all been bad news. Co-hostess Butters and I cover what we thought of each (passing judgment from our mighty tower of podcast triumph) and I also give my thoughts on what Twitter and Facebook etiquette should be when a celeb of some renown passes. Given my high-born status, again, these thoughts matter.

There's also talk of how our New Year's eves went (it's been a while, I know) and Butters discloses just how crazy her evening got. Given she seems kinda clean-cut, this one amused me. Enjoy!

Click here to listen to the latest episode of Papa's Basement in your browser or here to open and listen in iTunes.

And, for those feeling especially selfless who want to help out big time, instructions on leaving an iTunes review, which helps us get new listeners, so you someday might not sound like a psychopath uttering the words "I just listened to and loved a show called Papa's Basement":

DESKTOP/LAPTOP USERS: Click here to visit the iTunes Papa's Basement webpage. On the subsequent browser page, click "View in iTunes". Once iTunes launches, click on "Ratings and Reviews", located near the top of the page.

IPHONE/IPAD USERS: Click here to launch the podcasts app. Select the the "search" magnifying glass in the lower right, look for "Papa's Basement", and click the icon of the show (the sad clown face) that appears under "Podcasts" at the bottom of the screen. After doing that, select "reviews", then "write a review" on the next screen. Easy as calculus after an all-night bender! Thank you. And apologies for making you read the words "click here" 46 times in a row.

Can you imagine if Making a Murderer was an investigation into the death of Lemmy Kilmister? Now THAT'S entertainment! Alas, the two articles in the title are unrelated, meaning we first mourn the passing of one of rock's great singers, then get to our latest Netflix addiction: Making a Murderer which is like Serial but with visuals, thus making it way, way better (that logic does not apply to our podcast, of course). The show chronicles the possible wrongful convictions of two Wisconsin men (Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey) who both sound a little, well...special. Watch it and I guarantee your friends and family will want to make you the victim at the center of a potential second season of the show because you'll be doing a Wisconsin accent ad nauseam.

Click here to listen to the latest episode of Papa's Basement in your browser or here to open and listen in iTunes.

Unlike every other suburban white kid, I wasn't raised to worship Star Wars. Which means, despite my paunch, beard and glasses, I don't really give much of a shit about the release of The Force Awakens.

Co-host Pete Maybe tries to tell me I'm an idiot for this, and we fight the eternal battle that is Star Wars vs. Star Trek for much of the episode.

For those of you that have a sex life, we talk more than nerd shit. There's Christmas gift-giving (and begging, as in, if you like the show, feel free to send us shit), and a discussion of Seven Deadly Sins, what might be the grossest damn show you will ever see. Give our latest episode a listen and then tell your friends about us. Even if we are profane as hell. If your friends can't handle "titty" being said 20 times in the span of an hour, who needs those Flanders, anyhow?

Click here to listen to the latest episode of Papa's Basement in your browser or here to open and listen in iTunes.

Last week, Amy Schumer took a photo for the Pirelli Magazine that couldn't be more unflattering if it tried. Tons of people (our dear co-host Butters included) have praised it as brave and beautiful. And, while I agree it's brave to put out a horrid photo of oneself, when it comes to the beauty part, we have some different views (see how mildly I can state things?).

But that's not all: Black Friday came and went, and we take a nice dump on American consumer culture you'll want to hear and then regurgitate to your friends to prove how witty and insightful you can be. And I make good on a bet to co-host Pete Maybe in a very, very memorable way. Enjoy it all on the latest Papa's Basement Show!

Click here to listen to the latest episode of Papa's Basement in your browser or here to open and listen in iTunes.

Terrestrial radio fucking sucks. That sentence both random and vulgar without context, so permit me to elaborate: There was a time I loved radio. As a kid, my local "guy talk" station, WJFK, started my day with Howard Stern and gave me Don & Mike in the afternoon. It was the first and only style of comedy to grab me by the throat and "speak" to me, for lack of a better term. I was too stupid to realize in my youth that I should have gone into the medium as soon as I could, and instead listen to my foolish immigrant parents, who demanded academic success and steered me toward college (which I barely limped through, so haha mom and dad, the joke's on you).

In the ensuing decades, radio has been eviscerated by boosts in the FCC's power to censor via fining, not to mention its previous advertising revenue increasingly being funneled into online marketing. What's left are toothless music stations that play the same songs every hour, milquetoast sports talk to quench the thirsts for entertainment of men and horrid mixed-gender celeb-news cackle-thons (like the aforementioned Kane Show) to appeal to the ladies.

Into this, the Papa's Basement Show will finally be injected, heard on terrestrial air at a local community station. Pete Maybe and I do a "clean" show in celebration of this, tackling the local Kane Show and also spending a segment focusing on the fact that Queen's Roger Taylor kinda made a hot chick...and that the Internet agrees. Please share and enjoy.

Click here to listen to the latest episode of Papa's Basement in your browser or here to open and listen in iTunes.

We recorded this almost two weeks ago, so I remember very little of the content. It was a jumble of thoughts after the terrorist attacks in France and a meditation on religious beliefs, radical or otherwise, in general. It probably sounds as dated as a fucking Fat Boys record because that's how life in this Internet age is, but give it a shot.

Click here to listen to the latest episode of Papa's Basement in your browser or here to open and listen in iTunes.

And, for those feeling especially selfless who want to help out big time, instructions on leaving an iTunes review, which helps us get new listeners, so you someday might not sound like a psychopath uttering the words "I just listened to and loved a show called Papa's Basement":

DESKTOP/LAPTOP USERS: Click here to visit the iTunes Papa's Basement webpage. On the subsequent browser page, click "View in iTunes". Once iTunes launches, click on "Ratings and Reviews", located near the top of the page.

IPHONE/IPAD USERS: Click here to launch the podcasts app. Select the the "search" magnifying glass in the lower right, look for "Papa's Basement", and click the icon of the show (the sad clown face) that appears under "Podcasts" at the bottom of the screen. After doing that, select "reviews", then "write a review" on the next screen. Easy as calculus after an all-night bender! Thank you. And apologies for making you read the words "click here" 46 times in a row.

For those of you that don't play video games whatsoever and find even their mention disgusting, don't worry: The title of this show is due to a ten minute rant toward the end of the show. You can enjoy the rest just fine. We discuss the new Star Wars trailer. The winner of the Halloween Costume Contest is chosen. And co-host Jay turns 30 and worries he's losing his boyish good looks like one of Liberace's young boyfriends right before getting the boot.

And let me go on record saying this: My angry words don't apply to Nintendo whatsoever. In fact, of the three big system makers left, only Nintendo seems comfortable making titles that feature a variety of experiences that embrace lighthearted gameplay while still displaying the craftsmanship of a Swiss watch.

I also get that there are a variety of titles made for the PS4 and Xbox One as well: But the ones that get the biggest budgets, the biggest advertising campaigns and sell the most copies? I'm sorry, but it's all interchangeable shooter schlock as far as I'm concerned.

So listen to my bitter tirade if you're a video game fan (and no doubt call me an idiot that doesn't get it if you swear by team PS or Xbox) and give the latest episode of Papa's Basement a listen.

Click here to listen to the latest episode of Papa's Basement in your browser or here to open and listen in iTunes.