Episode 16 — Pop Culture Expiration Dates

[JulyDiaz 2797]

Jack O'Brien welcomes Soren Bowie into the studio and calls up Jason Pargin (aka David Wong) to have a discussion about why certain types of music, like classic rock and old school hip-hop, can always seem cool, but why others, like hair metal, become more embarrassing with age.

[EddieArafat 18]

Borat was 8 years ago! Not 2!

[slatron 5]

Great to have this back for the new year. This has gradually become my favorite podcast. I know because I play it before even CBB each Monday.

 

Thanks again, Earwolf for putting out such great content.

[Quarky 9]

Another great podcast guys. A few things I'd like to touch up on:

 

Sir-Mix-A-Lot - Baby Got Back. While the song (and the video moreso) are considered a joke, is it wrong to say that the song has lead a huge influence on people today? Within the last 10-15 years a primary focal point of attractiveness comes from a woman's ass. IE: Jennifer Lopez and Kim Kardishian. What makes this interesting is that the song was released in 1992 - but it's not until10 years later where it's influence took effect. Most pop culture fads stemmed by movies/music happen immediately then fade away. This is a slightly long winded way of saying it was ahead of it's time- which goes to my next point.

 

Comedies are difficult to gauge as what will stand the test of time. But the case seems to be that the more 'ahead of it's time' the comedy is, the more it will be remembered later. The podcast talked about Reality Bites which had near zero effect on pop culture and was directed Ben Stiller. Stiller had also made Cable Guy, another bomb at the time, yet over the years it's somehow retained this certain charm about it that was overlooked the first time. Ace Ventura was a huge hit for Carrey and it should be noted I think it was one of the first movies that started the whole "yelling whatever the main character is saying to be funny". Now it's looked back on as being "stupid" and Cable Guy being the far better movie.

 

The trick is that when it comes to Comedy- you have to be two steps ahead. You can't be starting or continuing a fad- you have to be thinking what's still going to be funny- and can it start to be funny in 10 years? Another good example is Mr. Show with Bob and David. While it only lasted four short seasons it's really held up over the years. Despite being a minor hit as it stands, I also think 30 Rock will definitely retain it's humour over the next generation.

 

It's when comedies become TOO successful that tend to reach a point in their cycle where they're no longer funny. Some TV shows subvert this like Seinfeld and Frasier which have retained it's humour over the years, but I don't think we're going to be talking about Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men the same way- despite being enormous hits- they're already looked at as bruises in pop culture. Some stuff can still be "ok" but be REALLY dated. That 70's Show just feels... 90s and... silly. And the same goes for Married...With Children.

[Lando 2019]

One thing that I don't think they covered enough was the resurgence of trends. They talked about how once Hair Metal was huge and then died with grunge, which is only half true. Hair metal did have a resurgence in the early 2000s, bands went from playing 30k arenas in the 80s to playing 1k night clubs in the 90s to playing 10k pavilions in the 00s. I wouldn't be surprised at all if in 10 years Limp Bizkit will be doing a headlining pavilion tour.