Pop Culture Yearbook

Is your house on fire, Clark? It’s Christmas in July! This episode breaks down National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. While we clearly stated our love of the original in the first episode of the series, we all feel this movie is at least its equal...maybe even better. We start with some warm Christmas memories from our childhoods, specifically the Dukes of Hazzard Big Wheel!

We then get into more of the brilliance of Chevy Chase as a comedic and physical actor. From the cast to the lines to the gags to the humor and the emotion, this movie has it all. Give yourself a present by listening and reminiscing with us. Don’t forget your saw!

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Episode 2 of our Summer Vacation Series focuses on the second installment in the movie series: National Lampoon’s European Vacation. For your usual hosts, this movie is the ugly stepsister in the series. However, part-time host Dave (kind of the ugly stepsister of PCY) views it differently. So we recruited him to join us once again to make the case for this movie. If only politicians could listen to each other as well as we do. No one’s minds were changed, but we listened, we learned, and we had a great time discussing the film.

Learn about Dave’s love for this particular Rusty and his other reasons for thinking that not only is this a good movie, but in fact his favorite of the whole series (WHAT??!!?). To his credit he comes prepared. Maybe you’ll agree with him? Probably not. Giff, Pete, and Brad do share the bits they like, but mostly the reasons they are not fans. In the end it all adds up to a great episode anyway! Enjoy! 

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This July, we're packing up the Family Truckster and going on vacation! Summer is a time for family vacations, road trips, and all the chaos that comes with it. All your hosts at PCY (except maybe one part-timer) are huge fans of the original Vacation movie series. So it felt like a great idea to use this opportunity for another very special set of episodes. There are four original Vacation movies, so we're going to go for it, Honey!

Up first, 1983's National Lampoon's Vacation. Pete, Giff, and Brad break it down as only they can. Hear why Brad thinks Chevy Chase could have won an Oscar. Keep listening for Giff's college viewing days with the "classics." Stay for Pete's memories of renting movies as a family back in the day. For each of us this is probably one of the most "important" films of our lives. It has meant so much to all of us and we were so excited to kick off this set by breaking it down. From Chicago to St. Louis to Wally World; from Cousin Eddie's farm to Aunt Edna riding on the roof through Phoenix; from camping in Colorado to a glimpse of the Grand Canyon, we got you covered. We're proud of this one. Enjoy!

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Oh, hi everyone! We cap off 2009 with Dave’s final choice, The Room. This cult classic film is near and dear to all our hearts and has been for about 10 years now. From midnight showings to friendly get togethers, the movie has taken on a life of its own in our group. The so bad it’s good masterpiece is a one of a kind film by a one of a kind filmmaker. And yes, we have even met Tommy Wiseau in person. You don’t have to have seen the movie to enjoy this episode, but you will probably want to get a group together to watch soon after listening. Good thinking!

We then wrap up our look back at 2009 by discussing other guilty pleasures / love to hate them movies and shows. And as always, we give a serious look at our top movies of 2009. It was quality over quantity for most of us when it came to our selections. 

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Episode 3 of 2009 is a supersized episode! Not only is Dave back once again to join Pete and Brad, but Giff makes it all four of your favorite hosts at once! We are talking about Breaking Bad. This is the year Dave discovered the show, and he was hooked immediately. We dive into all aspects of the series, but for discussion purposes, he chose the season five episode “Dead Freight” as our main focus.This is a fantastic episode that really encompassed all the best aspects of the series, and we have a great time breaking it down. From favorite characters (which changes all the time) all the way down to Skyler (yuck) and Todd (yikes), we’ve got you covered. And if you haven’t watched, we don’t give everything away. In fact, Pete hasn’t watched the series, and did just fine with this one.

Following up on Breaking Bad, we get into our all-time favorite non-comedy shows. Among the four of us, it is an expansive and varied list. None of them are the same. We also discuss our favorite TV shows of 2009 as well to cap things off. Is this one of our finest episodes yet? You’re goddamn right! 

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The second episode of 2009 sees the PCY gang breaking out of their general routine. While we are obviously pop culture fans first and foremost, we also love all the sports. Growing up in Minnesota, we have been huge fans of the Vikings all our lives. In part 2 we want to share the agony and (near) ecstasy we have experienced over and over because of this unfortunate passion. 2009 was the year public enemy #1 Brett Favre joined forces with the purple and led one of the most memorable seasons in the franchise’s long and sordid history. Because of the presence of Fav-ruh and about a million other reasons, this season was ripe for discussion. 

But there is so much more to the history of the Vikings. We don’t only cover 2009. We share our personal Vikings’ Mount Rushmores and rank the teams from our lifetimes that coulda, shoulda, woulda won that elusive Super Bowl. Tears will be shed, anger will be released, and some joy will be had, just never the ultimate joy a sports fan longs for. This is the tragic tale of a Minnesota sports fan. (But the sound is better! So we got that going for us...which is nice.)

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Tune in this June for very special episodes of Pop Culture Yearbook. In the first episode, Pete develops a bad drug habit and needs to turn to his friends to get his life back together… No, not that kind of special! Special because we have Dave joining us all month. Dave is one the originators of PCY, but he took a behind the scenes role. This June, he busts out like the Kool Aid Man! Not only will he be joining Pete and Brad all month, but he has hand picked the content. 

In this first episode, you will learn why Dave chose 2009 and what the year meant to him (and Pete and Brad). We will revisit the year with our memories, and Dave gives us a preview of the three important upcoming topics we will be digging into. We also discuss the music of 2009 in this episode to close things out. ***Side note: Dave isn’t the most technologically sound, so his sound in this episode is not as crisp as it should be. But spoiler alert, he figures it out and the rest of the month will sound like buttah!

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Closing out 1989 is our bonus choice, Heathers. While we are all fans of John Hughes and teen movies in general, Heathers holds a special place in our hearts as a stark alternative in the genre. Winona Ryder (another Minnesotan!) and Jack Nicholson, I mean Christian Slater, are perfectly cast in this ultra dark satire. Controversial in its time, how did this content come across to us today?  

Finally, we wrap up our look back at 1989 with our favorite TV shows of the year. Hear once again the tragedy of Giff not getting NBC out on his farm. You can guess he must have been a big fan of ABC’s TGIF lineup by necessity. Pete and Brad will save the day with their plethora of options that Giff lacked.

We hope you enjoyed looking back at 1989 with us. Please tell a friend about our show, subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen, leave a review, or interact with us on Facebook or Twitter. We’d love to hear from you!

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Giff’s choice, Road House, is our topic for part 3 of 1989. Coming in just before the decade ended, this was one of the most ‘80’s of all ‘80’s movies. Learn about great kill scenes, professional coolers, and monster trucks for everyday use. Road House is ludicrous and it never slows down.  It is a time capsule of ‘80’s excess and toxic masculinity. And we break it all down for you. 

We finish with our favorite movies of the year. Like the music choices, we couldn’t stick to five. 1989 was a monster year for movies, especially for impressionable youngsters who wanted to take in everything they could. We rattle off a list that is sure to contain 1-2 of your own favorites. And just remember, if a polar bear happens to fall on you, the pain don’t hurt!

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We got a live one here! Our second installment of 1989 focuses on one of the biggest movies of the ‘80’s: Batman. This movie and the anticipation for it took the nation by storm and captured the imagination of young Brad. The hosts remember when they first saw Batman and talk about how it holds up today in a sea of new superhero movie options. 

A movie this big deserves a big soundtrack too. Not many artists in the ‘80’s were bigger than Prince, and since we’re from Minnesota we are contractually obligated to discuss him whenever it’s relevant. How does the soundtrack sound today? Is there a reason we kind of forgot about it? After answering those questions, we discuss our favorite soundtracks from other movies. Don’t dance with the devil. Just listen to this episode with us by the pale moonlight. 

Please tell a friend about our show, subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen, leave a review, or interact with us on Facebook or Twitter. We’d love to hear from you!

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