The Spoon

It may be true that "nothing lasts, nothing is complete, and nothing is perfect," but after six weeks apart, the dramaturgical triad of Rob, Chris, and Thom are back in the same room together and all seems right with the world again... at least for the next 50 minutes or so. In addition to an extended meditation on the existential empowerment of everyone's favorite 1920's cartoon sailor, our fair trio slash and burn through such topics as: grammatical faux pas in rock lyrics, the (literally) unbelievable story of Sambo's Restaurant, extinct fast food joints and their oversized mascots, the final wishes of Gigi Allen, the evolution of the alternative-sexuality lexicon, the unlikely new career of Bryan Adams, the abandonment of art, and the virtue of sucking. Also, Rob and Chris ridicule Thom constantly and mercilessly over the debut of The Geek Agenda, but only because he really, really deserves it. Music by The Goldbergs, Dingo Fish, and Bowling For Soup.

The world is off-kilter. You can feel it in the air, and hear it on The Spoon. Robbie returns to find that comic fodder is in shorter supply than when he left, which leads into some serious discussion on earthquake preparedness, led by special guest #1 Jenni Rosen. Thom's head is more jello-encased than usual as he juggles his regular duties in addition to laying out a manifesto for The Geek Agenda, the new show that he is preparing to host with special guest #2, R Andru. Chris is absent in the flesh, but makes a vocal appearance via Skype and provides the show a much-needed injection of the spicy semi-sequiturs at which he so excels. Can this ongoing series of alternate configurations be broken? Will our fair trio ever be fully reunited again? Perhaps in the future, but for now... courage. Other topics include: Jedi kittens, fantasy acceptance speeches, relationship vaguery, grammatical nerdery, surprisingly versatile applications of The Human Centipede, and the unbridled awesomeosity of this week's featured GSYNH artists, The Piper Downs. Plus, how many words can you think of that rhyme with Funt? Additional music by The Mockers.

The Sheening of America continues unabated! Chris and Thom are reduced to helpless, hypnotized, somewhat snarky bystanders as Charlie's awesomeosity continues to roll out over the land like a big rolling thing, and not even the ebullient presence of special guest Dave Shalansky can stop the coming Winpocalypse! Other topics (yes, there are a few) include the sad, Bixby-esque retirement of Phil Collins, the time-traveling goofiness of David Lee Roth, the parsing of copyright law as it relates to words vs phrases, belated kudos heaped upon The Karate Kid remake, and a hearty round of subtitle-font snobbery. Plus...McDavid's? Music by Harvey Danger and FADE.

Chris takes over hosting duties while Robbie is overseas, Thom returns from his Deseret sojourn, and friend of the show Dave Shalansky arrives to inject his keen insight and conversational rocket sauce to a post-mortem of Oscar night, what might end up as a pre-post-mortem of Charlie Sheen, and an attempt at putting all of the show's communications-related ducks in a row (which plays out a little more like a herding of cats.) Also, this week's Sodomizing A Legacy is an mighty epic of vocal contortion, featuring a quote of an impression, wrapped in a caricature of mimicry. WINNING!!! Music by the The Goldbergs, The Wonderstrucks, and Glen Burtnik.

With their minister of information away on special assignment, Robbie and Chris are left to grapple with matters technological on their own. Multiple forms of hilarity ensue. As for matters conversational, our dynamic duo are assisted by guests Johnny Dam of Porn Star Pundits and Good Green Witch Rhonda DeFelice whose collective presence supercharges the show to terrific effect -- partly because of the fierce intelligence and witty repartee that they bring to the proceedings, but also because working with the boss in the room really, really seems to wig Rob & Chris out. Topics include: Super Bowl grief as a libido killer, the importance of proper tattoo placement, a historical perspective on coping with extreme cold, speculation on the contents of a Schindler's List blooper reel, the secret to an impervious perineum, existential dread and body horror as depicted in 127 Hours, A Night At The Roxbury, and The Star Wars Holiday Special, the nature of heroism, alternative martial aids, and the most revolting casserole recipe you've ever heard. Plus, Robbie invents a new word: "relationshippily." Music by Dingo Fish, The Sun Kings, and Tube Top

The twists and turns on this week's conversational motor way are acutely sharp, some verging on hairpin, and we recommend that all proper safety measures be taken. Some of the briefly visited rest stops along the way include: The best Super Bowl commercials (one of which never aired, the other premiered days earlier-- go figure), social networking for better theological clarity, the growing (and welcome) backlash against melismatic vocals, the sudden proliferation of the so-called muffin top, and society's inevitable slide into Wall-E inspired sloth. Also, Chris dives into the Twitter-verse, Rob and Thom nerd out about Queen, radio worlds collide as NDR meets NPR for this week's Greatest Song You've Never Heard, and the saga of the Sybian takes on a new wrinkle... err, so to speak. Music by a trifecta of Johns: John Faye, John Hoskinson, and John Flanders & Double Helix. We're #7! We're #7!

Quoth the textbox: "Finally, some ovaries on the show!" And not a moment too soon. Just as Robbie, Chris, and Thom are drifting into a conversational tailspin that threatens to cause serious whiplash to both themselves and the listeners, friend of the show (and girlfriend of the host) Jenni Rosen stops by to inject some much-needed linear thought into the proceedings. Her treatise on the lameness of Valentine's Day -- and instructions to the fellows out there on how to make it less so -- is met with a considerable amount of deflection and puerile humor... which only serves to underscore her message all the more. Also, Eddie Murphy's legacy gets a rogering that neither it nor you will soon forget. Music by Willie Wisely, 3D Picnic, and The Vandalias.

Sport is business. Business is war. War is fashion. Fashion is community. Community is music. Music is sport. On and on, 'till the break of dawn. Don't worry, it will all make sense in context. The important thing is that Robbie, Chris, and Thom manage to weave nearly half a show on the subject of sports and sports fandom, despite -- or perhaps because of -- their abject lack of knowledge and expertise on said subject. Then, heady with power, they move on to tackle other mysteries of the universe, including the connections between fruit juice and school shootings, the questionable origins of "My Sweet Lord," the secret history of NASCAR, the impending retirement of Kevin Smith, and the omnipresent threat of foot-in-mouth disorder. Also, the first installment of The Greatest Songs You've Never Heard, and Robbie unwittingly demonstrates the 100th Monkey Principle via his disdain for George Lucas. Music by Paul Collins, Kitty & The Tree, and Cotton Mather

This week's show is a bit like a pinball game, with the conversation bouncing about at odd angles, running down sometimes unexpected corridors, and banging against the proper surfaces to score a few points, all the while generating a pleasing combination of shiny and loud. The Twenty-Aught-Eleven Grammy nominees set off some grumbling about the music industry's increasingly desperate and misaimed attempts to perpetuate a manufactured Culture Of Cool, which then leads to a broader discussion of whether the direction of pop zeitgeist has ever truly been in the hands of artists, which then leads a Skype listener to demand "more penis vomit talk." (No, really.) The tireless and multi-talented Fletcher Rhoden joins us in the second half to discuss his impressively hyper-prolific career, including his latest endeavor: a stage musical based on the genesis of I Love Lucy. (No, really.) Other topics include the similarities between puppies and Christmas trees, the aesthetic versatility of redheads, and the fateful Supreme Court decision to allow corporations the rights of individuals, which bears bitter comedic fruit in Sodomizing A Legacy: British Petroleum. Music by the aforementioned Mr Rhoden, Ed James, and 20/20.