The Burning Gentleman

JUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNE! I could listen to Miss June Diane sing the songs from Grease 2 all day, every day. I don't have the same level of affection for Grease 2 that June does, but I absolutely have it for the first Grease. There was a chunk of my life when I watched Grease every day after school. I knew that movie backwards, forwards, and to every side. Grease 2 I never thought was good, but I did watch it an awful lot, and it's hard for me to not be really fond of it. Michelle Pfeiffer is just so..cool. She gets far and away the best song in the movie (sorry, guys, "Cool Rider" is way better than "Reproduction" - "Cool Rider" is the only one that feels like a real song to me). Jason points out that the songs in Grease 2 don't advance the story the way the songs from the first movie do, and it's no surprise that Grease 2 was directed by the choreographer of the first one, Pat Birch, and that this is the only feature she has directed. The dance numbers in the first one are great, and they're not too bad in this one ("Back to School Again" is no "Summer Nights," but hey, it's quite a production), but top-notch musical storytelling this is not.

I am beginning to accept the wonderful reality that this happened. That the Scotts sat their juicy butts down and interviewed U2 - THE BAND! Maron landing the Obama interview? Wow, cool - of course, if any comedy podcast were to have President Barack Hussein ObamaCare on, it'd be WTF. The Scotts landing the U2 interview - WHAT THE WHAT?! No way, this CAN'T be real! But it's a week later, and guys? I'm pretty sure it's real. I'm also pretty sure I'd listen to a podcast from each and every member of U2 (the rock and roll band). "I Love Films" with U2?! Bonobos drawing a picture of a dick 'n' balls?! Who would have ever thought it would come to this?! I can't stop with the interrobangs! Because not only did they get U2, but U2 were ready to play - and they love films!

I love that they do these, because each one eliminates any slight "I have to watch this" feeling I might have. I had my doubts that Jason watched this one, though, given the number of times he had no idea what Paul (or Scott) was talking about. I do wish they'd waited for June to be available to do this one. HDTGM can still be good without her, but it's incomplete.

The moment that broke me: Eban playing the Danny Elfman Batman theme at 1:18 (shortly after "I'd like to be the Commissioner Gordon of your genitals"). Truly he is only the best.

I got the impression that Scott's trying to move away from the "It's been a while!" at least a bit. I hope so, anyway, because if he missed two in this episode, that's just irresponsible.

I just started listening to this one, and even though I expected June to be MIA yet again, it's still a blow. What happens next? PFT is introduced! I know he's making the podcast rounds (slightly more than usual) to promote Spontaneation, but that was still a delightful surprise, considering he was just on the Deep Blue Sea episode.

I've been longing for an Andy Daly appearance on UTU2TM, so this is fantastic - but (1) I'm kind of disappointed there won't actually be an Andy Daly podcast where he sits around and talks about U2, and (2) I still hold out some hope that Daly will still make an appearance on UTU2TM.

Whatever this is, it's glorious (and, of course, oddly heartbreaking now). Scott, thank you for releasing it.

I'm listening to this intro and I still can't wrap my mind and my heart around this. I shouldn't say "still" as if it's been so long or I should get over it or something, but...fuck everything.

I don't know what to feel right now. This is the last thing I expected to see when going on Earwolf.com just now.

Holy fuck, does this not feel real. Is this really a thing that's happened now, not just a funny running joke on U Talkin' U2 to Me? Harris was a force in my life just through Earwolf podcasts that I listened to too many times to try to count - and that little show that inspired the Farts and Procreation trilogy. Dude was absurdly hilarious. I could never hear Foam Corner enough. I can't wrap my head around the fact that I'm posting in a thread eulogizing him.

Good lord, I forgot about Werner Herzog quoting "A Whole New World" ("Don't you dare shut your eyes") during Time Bobby 3. Hooray!

Mere seconds - MERE SECONDS - after I think, "The Jug Bandit would be a great enemy for JW Stillwater," Scott says, "I would like to see JW Stillwater battle The Jug Bandit." TOP THAT MOMENT, 2015!

I didn't know anyone said "all of the sudden" until I heard Scott say it either, on ep. 17 of U Talkin' U2 to Me? And I didn't know anyone said "halfazard" until Scott said it in part one of this Best of 2014. We're all learning so much! Anyway, I love it when Scott's Scott-isms become compulsions, as "it's been a while!" most certainly has. I'm doing it all the time, to anything with the same number of syllables (I can still rein it in when I'm around people, though). The moment in part one when Scott "been awhiles" the words "little girl," leading Paul to exclaim, "What?!" is just beautiful.

Oh boy, A View to a Kill. I don't think this is the worst Bond movie, but it's damn close. I'm a huge Bond fan, but the only Roger Moore Bond movies I have any fondness for are The Spy Who Loved Me, For Your Eyes Only, and the very unpopular Octopussy. I don't have much fun with the campier Bonds, but I wish I did. It was a blast hearing the HDTGM and James Bonding teams unite and take on AVTAK, though, and the highlight was clearly June's fixation on that butterfly "act." I've never really thought about it, but she's totally right about it. Loved the Monkey Shines callback, too. I'm also with Zouks on the troubling pronunciation of "St. John"; that's always driven me crazy. It's nuts that with all of the blimp talk, none of the hosts or guests mentioned that Zorin's blimp sneaks up on Stacey. I'm glad it's been brought up in this thread, because, again, A BLIMP SNEAKS UP ON HER.

Zouks trying to call back "Be a man!" was one of the best moments of this extraordinary episode. The callback itself was funny, but that it didn't land - not with me at first either - made it even better.

Finally, the Monkey Shines episode! And holy crap, what an episode! This is a tou de force for Miss June Diane. I'm still stunned.

I just went on the Earwolf homepage, saw that this was here, and my day was made.

U TALKIN' U2 TO ME?! The signal is lit, now where are Scott & Scott?!

I did not know this episode was going to be up today, but what a delightful surprise!

I'm listening now, and I just passed the moment where Scott starts trying to say, "I heard a great Ted talk from the bear Ted," but Jason cuts in with a classic "Nope." Hilarious, but what makes it funnier is the way Scott sort of gives up, but still has to finish it.

This whole show's been absurdly enjoyable, this episode especially so. I'm sure the entire first episode playing under this one was maddening for some - enough to snap an Earwolf listener's fragile tether to reality? Perhaps! - but I loved it. My two favorite moments were Paul F. recognizing that the Dire Straits were playing when the Scotts were reading their lists, and this: Scott now: Will you, Adam - Scott, I mean - will you... Scott then: Dr. Seuss? And then there's "Oliver Subpodcasts." And "Good Epps" (one of those moments that broke me and made me have to pause and put myself back together again)! And so on. This show's a delirious pleasure. C+

^I made a playlist with all those songs that I'm having trouble copying and pasting in a post here.

I might be dumb for not being able to place them, but what are the songs played right before and right after "Witch Doctor?"

Those sentiment-offs are mind-bogglingly funny. One of my all-time favorite features on SNL is "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey," and these Reardon-Stillwater non-sequitur duels crack me up in the same way.