This week: Sketch duo Tim & Eric tell us the secret to comedy… Lucinda Williams on etiquette and (non) barbecuing… Chuck Klosterman tackles football… Shalom Auslander’s words about last words… CNN’s Kat Kinsman talks about not talking about “bone luging”… And the science of “disgusting.” Plus, a running joke, your letters, and new Shins.
Icebreaker: Chairlift
Caroline Polachek and Patrick Wimberly of the band Chairlift race us to the punchline. Their much-anticipated new album Something comes out next week.
Small Talk: Richard Lawson
Richard Lawson, culture editor at The Atlantic Wire, delivers a whopper of a story.
A History Lesson With Booze: Roller Coasters and “The Thunderbolt”
This week back in 1885, one-time hosiery salesman LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the roller coaster. Hear about his invention’s rickety ride from coal country to Coney Island, and then get your thrills in liquid form:
The Thunderbolt, as thrown down by James Quigley of Peggy O’Neil’s, in the heart of Coney Island.
In a 8 oz glass with ice, add:
- 2 oz. orange-infused vodka
- 2 oz. cranberry juice
- A splash of Red Bull
Stir, shake, and rattle it all together, then ride it down and feel the rush. (Caution: Do not attempt BEFORE riding a coaster.)
Guest List: Chuck Klosterman
Chuck Klosterman is perhaps best known for his novels and pop culture essays, but he’s also a highly regarded sports writer and one of the featured contributors to the sports journal Grantland. As we enter the last week of the NFL playoffs, he lists a few reasons why the three Americans who don’t pay attention to football… should.
Etiquette: Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams chronicles love and loss, grit and gratitude like few others — Emmylou Harris once wrote Williams “Could sing the phone book and probably give it meaning.” Her latest album “Blessed” has earned her a 15th Grammy nomination – this time for “Best Americana Album.” An astute observer of human behavior, she answers listeners’ questions about how to act at barbecues and holiday meals, and how to show off a good pair of boots. (Lucinda’s in the midst of a West Coast tour, culminating at UCLA’s Royce Hall, and you can catch her at the 2012 Grammys on Feb 12th.)
Eavesdropping: Shalom Auslander
Shalom Auslander’s writing has appeared in Esquire and The New Yorker. He just released his second book (after the much-lauded debut “Foreskin’s Lament”) – a blackly comic novel called “Hope: a Tragedy.” This week we overhear him reading some dinner-party-worthy excerpts about famous last words.
Chattering Class: The Science of Disgust
In her new book “That’s Disgusting: Unraveling the Mysteries of Repulsion,” Brown University professor Rachel Herz dissects all manner of off-putting phenomena – from food to body odors. She schools Brendan on our ick impulse, “healthy” smells, and a certain hair-raising syndrome.
Main Course: “Bone Luge”
“Bone Luge” sounds like a joke (or a prehistoric Olympic sport?) but it’s very real: a few Portland bartenders are pouring booze through a bone (along the marrow channel) into your waiting mouth. The trend is so gimmicky many food editors have refused to discuss it altogether. Kat Kinsman, editor of CNN’s food blog Eatocracy, is one — she joins Brendan to talk about not talking about bone luging.
Guest of Honor: Tim and Eric
If you happened to stumble upon Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim’s surreal sketch comedy series “Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” during it’s five-season run on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, you might’ve mistaken it for a cable-access channel programmed by insane Martians. Now Tim & Eric are preparing for the debut of “Tim & Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie” (also featuring Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly and other comic heavy hitters) at this week’s Sundance film festival. Rico talks to the duo about making work look like play, and overdosing on Reese’s Pieces.
One for the Road: The Shins – “Simple Song”
The Shins are back…or at least they’ll be back this March when they release their full length album entitled “Port of Morrow.” To tide you over till then, here’s an advance single, simply called “Simple Song.”
Other Music in this week’s show:
The Sea & Cake – “The Argument”
Aphex Twin – “Boy/Girl Song”
Tipsy – “Liquordelic”
John Philip Sousa – Josef Franz Wagner: “Under the Double Eagle”
Railroad Jerk – “Rollerkoaster”
Rap Beats – “Cyclone”
“San Francisco 49ers Fight Song”
Johnny Pearson – “Heavy Action (Monday Night Football theme)”
Lucinda Williams – “Blessed”
Lucinda Williams – “709-Joy”
CSS – “Let’s Make Love And Listen To Death From Above (instrumental)”
Puro Instinct – “Everybody’s Sick”
The Meligrove Band – “Bones Attack”
The Herbaliser – “Goldrush”
The Shins – “Simple Song”
