Steve 0:17

Guys, I'm so sorry. When that guy on Craigslist told me he could get us into Vice Land, I didn't realize that it was a sex amusement park in his basement. I'm really sorry. I know we're out of there, but it's gonna take us about two weeks to get back home.

Michelle 0:32

You know, I kind of liked the the vibe. Like, not the sex part was a little weird, but the furniture was really nice.

Kit 0:38

And like I don't really blame you for for trusting that guy. I mean, the the white van that he pulled up in and asked us to get in the back of seemed very legitimate to me.

Steve 0:47

I thought it was really interesting that he had a basket full of lotion. Yeah. Well, of course. You gotta keep your hands moisturized.

Michelle 0:54

It's summertime to watch the show.

Steve 0:58

He just once he said this is the boner coaster, I was like, we gotta go. On the boner coaster.

Michelle 1:05

Yeah.

Steve 1:06

Obviously. But once we got once we got off the boner coaster and he just whipped it out, no go.

Michelle 1:11

Yeah, that was the final straw. Yeah.

Steve 1:14

So um, listeners, we thought that we were gonna get special access to some Vice Land content. Turns out it was just a creepy guy with the boner coaster. So we're actually gonna have to wait two weeks before we put out our first episode of the Viceland series. So, in order to make it up to you, I thought that maybe we could talk a little bit about what we're watching, listening, reading right now, and give our listeners something to go over and enjoy while uh we're on the run. What do you two think?

Michelle 1:48

Um, I think it's really nice to give the people listening to the show homework um the way we've been giving each other homework. So we're gonna list some things and um then we're gonna come back and then we're gonna ask you guys for book reports on all of it.

Kit 2:01

And they will be graded.

Steve 2:03

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. We're gonna give you a shout out if you actually follow up on any of our things and say great Jorb. Great Jorb. Say Homestar Runner reference on this podcast.

Michelle 2:16

You know what? I feel like this is a really safe space, and the Venn diagram between Nirvana the Band fans and Homestar Runner fans is, if not a perfect circle, pretty damn close.

Steve 2:27

Mm-hmm. It can't be just me that paid for the upgrade on the Trogdoor board game to get the Homestar Runner meatballs, right?

Michelle 2:34

I didn't do that, but I'm sure you're not the only one. Anyway. You're being quiet. Are you not a Homestar Runner?

Kit 2:43

I am a Homestar Runner fan. I just never I didn't realize there was a you could pay to get upgrades, and so I was being very quiet.

Michelle 2:51

Okay. I got worried for a second.

Steve 2:53

Oh, this was just a Kickstarter for a board game.

Kit 2:55

Yeah, I was like, I don't know what this is, so I'm just keeping my mouth shut.

Steve 2:58

Oh, they put out a Tragdoor the Burner Nader board game. It's actually pretty decent, and you could pay to upgrade to uh wooden Homestar Runner meeples that I now use for other board games. Hey Steve, going on the jungle cruise or whatever. Anyway, since Kit's been quiet, let's start with you, Kit. What's what's your first uh item today?

Kit 3:21

Um yeah. So glad you asked. Let me pull out my notebook and see what I wrote down about two hours ago because I don't remember. Um check out Detective Pikachu over here. Hell yeah, my first one, Detective Pikachu. Um that movie is actually pretty good, I won't lie. It is. So something I have been watching that I would recommend is The Righteous Gemstones. Um this completely missed me when it was first on, in that I didn't have access to HBO um because that costs money. And at the time I didn't have that, or a friend who had money, or parents who had HBO. Um so I've been watching that. It's really great. I love seeing the gog every week. Um, and I'm a huge fan. I'm a huge fan of John Goodman. Um, he is my dad, personally. Um yeah, I'm really loving Righteous Gemstones.

Michelle 4:12

Amazing. Solid. I haven't watched that. It's been on my list for a long time. So maybe I will take the homework.

Steve 4:19

I have watched the first two seasons, but I I really do need to finish it.

Kit 4:22

We're very early on, like middle of the first season, but I'm loving it a lot so far, especially since it takes place in South Carolina, apparently. And so as someone from North Carolina, I'm recognizing some of the landmarks they're mentioning. So it's not a good one.

Steve 4:36

When I was um deep, deep in uh early parenting psychosis, um, do you know the scene in the early episodes where they run over a guy with a van?

Kit 4:46

Yes.

Steve 4:47

I video edited it to make it blippy.

Michelle 4:52

To make the guy they run over blippy or okay. Yes. That's fair. I think from my limited exposure to blippy, that's very fair.

Steve 5:00

It was a real, real rough week when I did that. But anyway, Michelle, what uh what uh what are you what are you digging?

Michelle 5:05

Um I am also watching an HBO property that I um didn't for a while because I didn't have access to HBO, but recently regained that and really just powered through all of hacks. Um it's a perfect show. It just ended. I watched the entirety of it um between like mid-April and now. Um it is just like I think one of my favorite television shows I've ever watched. I watched the series finale and then immediately went back and watched the first episode again. Um it's it's so good. Gene Smart is amazing, Hannah Einbinder is amazing, it's got a perfect soundtrack, like building on our conversation a couple weeks ago about needle drops. Um, I think Hacks has some of my favorite music choices of like any television show I've ever watched. Um like one of the notable ones from the first season is a drop of Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez that made me cry while I was watching it. Oh wow. Um, which I wouldn't expect. Um, but it's it's just so perfect. Um and highly recommend it. It's it's an incredible show.

Steve 6:19

Awesome. Um, for my first one, I'm gonna go to uh the fine country of Canada. Uh I recently finally watched Channel of the Vax Mile N Kicks, uh executive produced by Matt Johnson himself. Whew. Um one of my favorite movies of the year, right behind Sheep Detectives. Uh and it is it is a movie that I related to so much more than I thought. Like I was on an indie rock kid, but like it's a really honest reflection of like finding yourself and being part of a scene and fucking up and seeing like how fucking phony people are, and that's like it was just this really honest, authentic uh reflection on a time that was really formative for me, and it's just a great movie. Music's great, everyone's in it. Most of them are pretty hot, that's always good.

Michelle 7:12

Hell yeah.

Steve 7:12

Uh people are fucking. Um, really funny, great movie. Uh My Land Kicks, I really, really recommend it.

Michelle 7:19

That's also in my list to watch. I will leave it up. Um I tried to hum O Canada since you were talking and couldn't do your your normal duty. That's a hard song to hum. Especially when you uh don't have any internal pitch. Um so kid, if you feel like you need to cut my track there, please go for it. Back to Kit.

Kit 7:42

So I don't really do anything when I'm not recording with my friends in this in this Zoom call. Um I am either asleep or at work, or I have stopped using my brain and have become part of the couch. Um, so something I'm going to recommend that isn't necessarily a show, um, but is a way of watching media. Um, that being make one of those spinny wheels and put a bunch of random things on it, and then have the spinny wheel choose what you watch. Um I have been doing this with my partner for the last like month now, where anytime someone mentions a movie or a television show to us, we put it on the list for the wheel to choose. Um, and so we have a bunch of things on that list. Um from finishing, I think, Scavenger's Rain to starting hacks. Hacks is on our list to movies that we've meant to see. Um, and then to keep things interesting, we have a couple bummers that we've just added just in case the wheel decides to choose something different for our evening. So we could watch hacks, or we could watch multiple maniacs. Multiple maniacs rocks, or we could watch Faces of Death. Not so much, or we could watch the original funny games. No, thank you. Yeah, so we have a bunch of bummers on there. Um, so it it adds to the excitement of like what the wheel is gonna watch. It could be Celebrity Jeopardy, or it could be Tetsuo. So who knows? Wow, recommend doing that.

Michelle 9:16

What a range. Yeah, it's it like movies and TV shows on the wheel together. Mm-hmm. Fascinating. I'm gonna have to try this. I I always find myself with movies that I've been wanting to see and specifically the bummers. I'm like, well, I don't I'm gonna wait till I'm in like the right mood to watch this movie about the Holocaust. And you know what?

Kit 9:38

You're never in the mood. So put it on the wheel, let the wheel decide your evening. Will you have a good time or a bummer time? Yeah.

Steve 9:45

That was me with the Lenny Riefenstahl documentary from last year.

Kit 9:48

Oh, what is that?

Steve 9:49

There was a documentary where they finally were like poking holes in Lenny Riefenstahl's whole story about how like she wasn't a Nazi, she just made propaganda films for them. Oh my god. And I was like, you know, every time I put it on, I'm like, you know, I already don't think she's a good person. Maybe I don't need to watch more about her. Yeah. Because I'm just like, I'm never gonna be like, let's let's watch the Nazi propaganda movie. So I feel that pain. But Michelle, what what else have you been up to? What are you recommending?

Michelle 10:16

Um, my next recommendation is please go listen to Masayoshi Takanaka. Um, I am a new fan. I'm I'm one of the many people enjoying the resurgence in popularity of this 73-year-old Japanese city pop guitarist. Um he's amazing. Uh he's been putting out music since the 70s that fucking rocks. It's so, so good. Um a couple months ago, I was just sort of mindlessly scrolling and saw this little animation of a bunch of goblins. Um, like it was goblins in a band, and the song was just like this sort of like funky beat and uh the word goblin over and over and over again. And I sent it to some friends, and one of them was like, Oh, this is one of my favorite songs. It's from this great album from Masayoshi Takenaka. It's an album version of a children's book by uh a Brazilian author whose name I'm forgetting and should look up, but it's called The Rainbow Goblins. Um, and he made this like whole audio album that like is someone reading this like kids' storybook and um has like a really great funk beat behind it. And love that album. Started listening to some of his other music, and it's like been the soundtrack to a lot of my life for the last few months. Um have gone out and got a couple of CDs because the vinyl is really hard to find, and um had a guy at a cool record store tell me great choice, which really made my day. So nice. Mm-hmm. Uh, but it's great. It's it's like the music that he makes is sounds like what's in the background of like Mario Kart and Wii Sports. Um and he didn't work on any Nintendo stuff, but like there's I've read a little bit about him, and like a lot of his work inspired the music that's in those Nintendo games, and it's just like perfect, lovely, like really upbeat, poppy funk music that I love and would recommend to anybody.

Kit 12:26

Yeah, when you shared that goblin song with me, like it took over my life for at least two weeks. It's so catchy and fun.

Michelle 12:34

It's so good. He was playing in Brooklyn. He like did I think his first US tour ever this year, and he was playing in Brooklyn not long after I found that, and I came very close to spending uh an egregious amount of money to take like a last-minute train and um get standing room tickets, but you know, five hundred bucks a pop felt a little a little too much. Yeah, that is a lot. Although he does have a cool guitar. He has a big cool guitar that looks like a surfboard, and I would have loved to see that in person. Maybe someday.

Steve 13:06

Steal it.

Michelle 13:07

Yeah.

Steve 13:08

Uh Steve, what's next on your list? I'm gonna briefly rattle off two comic book series that have been really filling me with a lot of joy. Nerds. Um, yeah. This is my time to be the nerd on this podcast. So ever since 2022, there's been a uh mini-series that every time I'm feeling a little down, I go and I read. Um, and I think it's pretty kit-coded, I was saying earlier. Um, Leah Williams's Exterminators Run. Uh, which from 22, 20, 23, it's five issues. Uh um, it's an X-Men book. I'm gonna read you uh the log line. When Jubilee and Boom Boom agree to take Dazzler out for a night on the town to console her after her nasty breakup, they have no idea that they're about to be kidnapped and put into elaborate death traps for their efforts. And it's a bunch of vampires kidnap Jubilee, Dazzler, and Boom Boom, and it's super intentionally sexy, it's ultra violent, it's really funny. Um, it is just a grand old time. It is j it is a grindhouse movie X-Men comic.

Kit 14:13

So I typically avoid superhero comics mainly because I find the amount of issues and history behind them overwhelming, and I get scared and I just back away. I will be reading that. One, I'm a Jubilee's number one fan, number one defender.

Steve 14:29

Uh, fuck you, that's actually me.

Kit 14:32

Wrong, bitch. That's me. Love Jubilee. Um, two, that they're in a saw trap and that rocks. Three vampires? Hello.

Steve 14:40

Teeny tiny spoiler. At one point, in order, I don't know if either of you are know Boom Boom, she can like shoot explosives from her body. And at one point to distract a bunch of vampires, she takes her boobs out and makes them explode.

Kit 14:51

Incredible.

Steve 14:51

Uh to kill people, it rules. That does rule. This is the first time I'm hearing of this particular X-Men, and I'm very intrigued. I I think you should both check it out. Really recommend it, and it's a good time. The other one is, and because, Kit, I have the same problem you do, I do read a lot of superhero comics, but I have that same too many issues thing. So the other one I'm gonna recommend that I've been loving is Mark Wade's World's Finest. Uh Mark Wade is one of my favorite comic book writers. He's been doing a series, I think it's like eight volumes deep now. It is Batman, Superman, Dick Grace, and Robin when Batman and Superman first met, and it's completely out of continuity. It's really funny, really fun, really sweet. It is it has some real emotional weight in some. Some of them are like gonzo intergalactic things, some of them are just super goofy. Uh, and it's it's everything I love about superhero comics without all of that baggage of like, well, anything that happens needs to get undone for this to happen because it's existing in its own little world. So if you've ever had any interest in superhero comics and find it overwhelming, really recommend picking up World's Finest. Uh it's not like gritty Batman. He's like having some fun. It's it's a good ass time. Time travel, who doesn't love that? So those are my two um quick comic book recommendations.

Michelle 16:15

Nice. I like when Batman has fun.

Steve 16:17

He doesn't get me to do that all the time. It's true. Yeah. All right, Kit, do you want to do one more?

Kit 16:22

Sure. I mean, I'm actually shocked it's taken this long for this to come up. I think mainly because I was talking about a different type of monster for so long. But for those who don't know, there is one singular person who gets me up in the morning, who motivates me to be better, to work harder, to be stronger, and that is Godzilla, King of the Monsters. I of course lovezilla so much, he is my comfort character. Um, I see him and I am just happy. So if you have never watched a Godzilla movie, I am recommending you go and find one and watch it. I have so many recommendations for you based on the type of vibe that you want, because since Godzilla has been around for over 70 years, there is a movie for you.

Michelle 17:12

Kit, who what would you recommend for somebody who is only familiar with Godzilla in the general cultural context of Godzilla and has never seen a Godzilla film?

Kit 17:22

I would say probably start off with the most recent Godzilla minus one. I think that is the perfect entryway right now. Yeah. Um, and then based on that, you can kind of spread out. I will say that the original Godzilla 54 is very different from how we think of Godzilla today. It's very, very sad, very brutal. Um and I think even though it was made in the 50s, it it it still holds up very well. Like the practical effects they do is like really remarkable, I would say. So definitely check that out as well. And if you're just here for a fun time, just seeing Kaiju beat each other up, girl, pick any movie released in the 60s or 70s, you're gonna have a great fucking time. It's gonna be just WWE with just dudes in suits, and baby, that's what I'm here for. Um, also a special mention to Godzilla 98. I know this is controversial, but I love Gene Reno. Thank you for your time. Not controversial here. I think I think all love controversial. Well, sure. Yeah, but but love of Gene Reno. Love Gene Reno. Every time I chew gum, I think about him.

Steve 18:28

Do you mean Jean Renault?

Kit 18:29

Gene Reno.

Steve 18:32

Janet Reno.

Kit 18:33

Janet Reno.

Steve 18:35

Love you, kit.

Kit 18:35

Love you.

Steve 18:37

Uh can I just jump on yours for a second? Yeah. If you're looking for a romp, I would throw Shin Gonzilla into that mix too.

Kit 18:43

That's a romp?

Steve 18:44

It's funny as fuck.

Michelle 18:45

Recently available on some streaming service. I we just saw it that it was somewhere has like a collection of a bunch of the 60s movies and also Shin Godzilla and nothing else.

Steve 18:57

I don't know. I had a grand time at Shin Godzilla. All about a bureaucracy uh gets in the way of people actually helping people.

Kit 19:03

No, I I mean I can see that, but I think I just get so hung up on like how uncomfortable that Godzilla makes me feel. Like Yeah, delightful. Evil. Love that movie though. Phenomenal.

Michelle 19:15

All right, Michelle, you got one for the road? Um, I do. I have uh I have an article that I read um literally in the the moments leading up to getting on the Zoom call, I finish reading it. Um, published in The Atlantic today by one of my favorite writers in the world, Katie Weaver. Um, is a story called Cheap Thrills, where Katie visits a a garage sale, a thrift store, and an estate sale and explores, you know, the different ways that we sell secondhand things in America and what they mean. It maybe that doesn't sound exciting, but Katie is one of my favorite writers. She had a big piece um that got a lot of attention recently that was about um her search to find the best free restaurant bread in America that I also recommend. Um, and also one of her all-time bangers um published on Gawker in 2014. My 14-hour search for the end of TGI Friday's Endless Appetizers. That is an unbelievable piece. All incredible pieces. I love her writing so much. Um, to read basically any story that Katie Weaver has ever written feels like hanging out with like the coolest, smartest person you've ever met, where you're doing something interesting and also she's like sharing history and also like things about herself that normally like you wouldn't like that are also so like surprising and delightful. Um, and this secondhand um shopping one is no exception. I really loved it and would recommend that everyone read it. I think it's great. Awesome. And also, I'm a nosy freak who loves secondhand shopping because it's like weird little peeks into people's lives.

Steve 20:56

Hell yeah. Love that about you, Michelle. Again, my stance that Michelle is secretly the biggest freak show on the podcast. True. So I'm gonna end everything on a bummer.

Kit 21:07

No.

Steve 21:08

I just finished reading a book that I found really inspirational and uh also really disturbing. Um, To Catch a Fascist: The Fight to Expose the Radical Right by Christopher Matthias. Uh it is a deep dive into um Antifa doxing campaigns. Uh, them doxing uh far right wingers and how they've gone undercover to steal all their information uh from 2017 through this year. Through 2025. Uh he interviewed a bunch of players on the ground. He really got a lot of access to information networks, how they did it, and it's um it's really disturbing to see what some people had to go through to get this stuff done, but also incredibly inspiring to see how far people would go to help others with no benefit to themselves. Uh in an age where I feel like we've gotten more and more towards selfishness, uh, it was just really, really inspiring to see a bunch of people who put their lives on the line for no other reason than it's the right thing to do. Um, so I know this is a bummer to end it on, uh, but uh I really, really recommend to catch a fascist. It's a pretty quick read. There's some gnarly shit in there, but also pretty funny shit about guys trying to get away when they got doxxed and uh fumbling miserably. Um so yeah, um it's not a beach read, but it's a great read. That doesn't sound like a bummer, though. That sounds, you know, inspirational. They get into some hate crimes, but yeah. I can definitely read that at the beach. Yeah, it's true.

Michelle 22:44

You can read whatever you want at the beach. It doesn't just have to be horny romance books. Although you can read those at the beach. You can read them anywhere you want.

Steve 22:53

You both know what I read. One of two things superheroes or incredibly dry nonfiction. Uh there's nothing in between for my reading. That's basically my whole personality. Um anywho, look, we gotta make one stop on our way home. We're gonna stop at the Gay Mets. We'll report live from Met's Pride Night.

Michelle 23:13

Oh, we will make a live stop at Gay Mets night. Wow.

Steve 23:16

I'm so excited. That's so soon. Michelle, watch me ogle Mrs. Met in person. Kit's done it more than once.

Michelle 23:23

Yep. I hope her bisexual cousin is at this game.

Steve 23:27

She will not be. We are playing the Phillies, and the vibe is gonna be terrible.

Michelle 23:31

Oh no, no, I forgot that I don't like willingly signed up to go to a game with Philadelphia sports fans. Interesting. I love the city of Philadelphia very, very much. And the people who are watching and enjoying the sports teams of that city are crazy. Yes. And I think they're gonna take that as a compliment. So shout out to you, Philadelphia sports fans.

Kit 23:55

Please don't hurt us, uh, Go Birds. Thank you.

Steve 23:59

Let's gay myths.

Kit 24:00

Let's gay myths.

Steve 24:01

All right, everybody. Uh we're gonna hit the road. We'll see you in two weeks. Uh, I've now realized Vice Land was a channel, and I've had the files to watch it on my computer this whole time. So see you soon. Nothing like a good feeling.

Kit 24:15

Nothing like a good feeling. Nothing like a good feeling.

Steve 24:32

Thank you for listening to Nirvana the band The Show the Podcast. We'd love to hear from you. You can email us or send a voice memo to Nirvanathepod at gmail.com. And we're also on Blue Sky and Instagram at NirvanaThepod. Our website is Nirvanathepod.com. Our show is edited by Kit with additional help with IJ. Special thanks to Anne Meadows for our logo. Oh, and Matt and Jay, if you're listening, we'd love to have you on the show.