The Juggernaut

The Coens have made some of the most iconic and idiosyncratic films in the history of the medium. You've probably seen at least a few of their films, or probably have at least *heard* of them. On today's show, film nut Josh Fischberg joins to rank all the Coen Brothers' movies, both to try and understand what's so unique and lovable about their blend of humor and pathos and wildness, and also to help find you some great movies to add to your "must-see" list.

NOTES:

Follow Josh Fischberg on Twitter: @DetectiveFisch

A fun short the Coens did called "World Cinema," for a Cannes anthology: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4AeXMEIeNI

Chris Harris's novel, "The Big Clear": www.thebigclear.com

D.T. Max is a New Yorker staff writer who wrote the first biography of Wallace and has become a great, low-key advocate for DFW's work. D.T. developed a picture of a writer who tried really hard, who had his genius and his flaws, and whose fiction performed the rare feat of offering solutions as well as identifying problems. This conversation will hopefully encourage listeners to cut through the cultural baggage reading Wallace's work has accrued, and experience the pleasure and relief of having DFW's voice come alive anew.

SHOW NOTES: ============

"Every Love Story Is a Ghost Story" is D.T. Max's biography of David Foster Wallace

Wallace's book-length work discussed:

Novels:

The Broom Of The System, 1987

Infinite Jest, 1996

The Pale King, 2011 (published posthumously)

Short Stories:

Girl With Curious Hair, 1989

Brief Interviews With Hideous Men, 1999

Oblivion, 2004

Nonfiction:

A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, 1997

Everything And More, 2003

Consider The Lobster, 2005

Vox.com's culture editor Todd VanDerWerff has written that the best show on TV is "The Americans." But why? What is FX's little-seen, low-key espionage drama doing that hasn't been done before, and why does it appeal to our sensibilities in ways so much mass-produced TV doesn't? Todd joins the Juggernaut to help decode the best show you haven't been watching.

Marty Beller is the amazing drummer for They Might Be Giants. Shouldn't that be enough? Well, it's not: Marty also composes film and TV scores, and is currently music director for a terrific play called "The Total Bent." The fact that his creative process is so painful illustrates how high his standards are for his art: he thinks art's ambition should be no less than to throttle us.

NOTES: ======

Marty Beller's play is called "The Total Bent" and is playing for much of June at the Public Theater in NYC.

11:50 - They Might Be Giants, "The Mesopotamians"

18:30 - R.E.M., "Radio Free Europe"

27:45 - The Who, "Happy Jack"

31:45 - Scene from Sebastian Junger's documentary "Korengal"

Steve Almond is a writer, a thinker and a self-professed curmudgeon, and he's spent much of his professional life trying to cut through bullshit. From his upbringing by parents who partook in the Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam movements, to a journalistic and fiction-writing career, to his recent book exploring the conflicted plight of the NFL fan, Steve has a history of brilliant gallows humor and avoiding easy answers.

NOTES: =====

Steve Almond's football TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JdM4UNI3jY

Steve's book "Against Football": (www.amazon.com/Against-Football-Fans-Reluctant-Manifesto/dp/1612194915)

Steve's podcast: Dear Sugar Radio (http://www.wbur.org/series/dear-sugar)

The short story collection that changed his career: "The Voice Of America" by Rick DeMarinis (www.amazon.com/Voice-America-Stories-Rick-Demarinis/dp/0060974877)

Steve's short story collection that Chris mentions: "My Life In Heavy Metal" (www.amazon.com/Life-Heavy-Metal-Steve-Almond/dp/0802140130)

Chris's football novel that Steve mentions: "Slotback Rhapsody" (www.amazon.com/Slotback-Rhapsody-Novel-Christopher-Harris/dp/1466485566)

Steve's nonfiction book about music fandom: "Rock And Roll Will Save Your Life" (www.amazon.com/Rock-Roll-Will-Save-Your-ebook/dp/B0036S4E4Q)

"Our Band Could Be Your Life" by Michael Azerrad (www.amazon.com/Our-Band-Could-Your-Life/dp/0316787531)

"So You Wanna Be A Rock & Roll Star" by Jacob Slichter (www.amazon.com/Wanna-Rock-Roll-Star-Machine-Gunned/dp/0767914716)

Professionally speaking, first and foremost Josh Larsen is a film critic, one half of a successful duo on the Filmspotting podcast. But he's also a man of faith. We talk about the intersection of movies and Christianity, and how that influences Josh's criticism. And then we tackle a fun task: recommending underappreciated films since 2000.

NOTES: View Josh Larsen's work at Think Christian: http://thinkchristian.reframemedia.com View Josh Larsen's full list of film reviews at: http://www.larsenonfilm.com

Josh's Overlooked Movies:

Smart Dumb Comedies: Cedar Rapids (2011) Nacho Libre (2006) Casa De Mi Padre (2012)

Overlooked Indies: Bamboozled (2000) The Promotion (2008) All The Real Girls (2003) Memphis (2014)

Underrated Hollywood: Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow (2004) Enough Said (2013) Duplicity (2009)

Chris's Music Movies:

This Is Spinal Tap (1984) Almost Famous (2000) The Commitments (1991) Dig! (2004) Frank (2014) Love And Mercy (2015) Mistaken For Strangers (2013)

What do you do when you achieve your rock-star dreams, and then discover they're killing you? You may know Ross Flournoy as the frontman of Apex Manor, whose song introduces every episode of our sister podcast. His story is one of frustration and perseverance, from his time in the late, lamented Broken West, to his changeover to a more hard-driving style in Apex Manor, to battles with addiction, and finding a way to survive in today's music industry.

Notes:

Follow Ross Flournoy @ApexManor

Check out Ross' music with The Broken West and Apex Manor

Featured:

7:15 - Apex Manor, "Under The Gun" 26:25 - Big Star, "The Ballad Of El Goodo" 30:00 - ELO, "Loser Gone Wild" 32:00 - The Broken West, "Like A Light" 53:50 - Apex Manor, "The Party Line" 1:01:30 - Phil Collins, "In The Air Tonight"

All themes, intros and outros by Quiet Company:

Opening Theme: "The Most Dangerous Game" Interview Intro: "Seven Hells" Interview Outro: "Understand The Problem" Closing Theme: "I Heard The Devil Say My Name"

For more about Quiet Company, visit www.QuietCompanyMusic.com or follow them @quietcompanytx