44 - Commitment And All That Crap (The Offspring - She's Got Issues)

Today we’re revisiting the sex jokes, cool-guy one-liners, and the anti-psychology crusade of Dexter Holland in The Offspring’s She’s Got Issues. Zooey Deschanel has a completely different take on her character in the music video, we remember confrontations at Thrice and Mars Volta shows, and we reminisce about the issue of our high school newspaper that got Albert “311” Albanez and myself fired from the staff.

Awful Spotlight #4 - Wildman Scott Weiland

Awful Spotlight #4! We’re covering three videos from Scott Weiland’s eclectic career, hand-picked by my guest, a feral human raised by a family of Wildmen. We dance the Musty Queer to Weiland’s Bowie-inspired single “Barbarella,” feel confused on behalf of titular “Sour Girl” Sarah Michelle Gellar for her part in the Stone Temple Pilots video, and we “Slither” down a toilet in Prague to watch Velvet Revolver perform the same riff for 3+ minutes.

42 - Twankle and Glisten (#1 Stunna & Get Low)

Today we enter new territory as we revisit two mesmerizing videos from late 90’s/early 2000's rap giants Birdman and Lil John. We’re talking platinum football fields, custom PT cruisers, 3/4 of the Kings of Comedy, ridiculously graphic lyrics, and I reassess my adolescent hatred of the Lil John club banger.  Stuff we like: Kanye West’s Life of Pablo and Kendrick Lamar’s Untitled Unmastered.

You can find Michael Tesauro's piece about the terrorist attack in our hometown of San Bernardino at http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/12/16/my-hometown-crisis-before-terror-san-bernardino-attacks-column/77429758/

Awful Sound-Off #2 (Lit Fam)

Listener response time! It’s a special episode today as I respond to the huge reaction you guys had to our Lit episode (still kind of surprised people remembered them). I’m reading emails, Instagram and Facebook comments with stories of angry letters to the Guitar World editor, Lit’s MTV Cribs episode, the band’s 2000 Spring Break performance, and Jeremy Popoff freaking out about negative Yelp reviews for The Slidebar.

Thanks for writing in! Continue to do so at AwfulPodcast@Gmail.com, Instagram & Twitter (@AwfulPodcast), and the Facebook page (facebook.com/AwfulPodcast)

41 - Pop Lock Pop Rock (Sugar Ray - Fly)

Today I'm talking with Nick and Matt about another "truly Californian" band from Orange County (sorry). Mark McGrath knocks his four front teeth out and breakdances on broken glass, we examine the band's secret funk metal past, and co-writer and director McG is probably Eurotrash.

 Good music dicussed on this episode: Royal Canoe's "Button Fumbla," David Bazan's "Wolves at the Door," Lee Ranaldo's "Ambulancer," and Thundercat's "Song for the Dead."

40 - Popoff Pop Rock (Lit - My Own Worst Enemy)

This week we're revisiting "My Own Worst Enemy" by 90's #bowlingrock stalwarts Lit. We chat about how unfortunately influential this video was to our younger selves, touch on their evolution from hair metal act Razzle to grunge band Stain to the band that America briefly fell in like with, and remember their horrible connection to the Kelly Thomas incident.

Also in this episode: a hard stance against Journey's Kids and vodka, an embarrassing story about covering this song in a middle school band, an edgy bowling ball named "Headhunter," being too chubby/old to do the worm, and we somehow manage to talk about Friends, Married with Children, Clarissa Explains it All, Dharma and Greg, and Frasier.

39 - Braveheart, But About Puka Shells (Real Slim Shady & Get Back)

This week, my guest and I dissect Real Slim Shady, perhaps the goofiest of sound fx wizard Eminem’s interchangeable shock-rap tracks, and Get Back by Zebrahead, a rap-metal song which, much like Real Slim Shady, is a nonsensical mishmash of pop culture references.

My guest discusses being a closet Eminem fan, his father being an outspoken Eminem fan, and somehow growing up to be a halfway decent human being after listening to this in middle school. I argue that being a dorky version of Limp Bizkit is worse than the real thing and discover a line-for-line christian parody of our Eminem track.

Good music discussed on this episode: Savages, Death Grips, and some of Eminem’s better material

38 - Mixed Metaphorical Arts (Ain't Love Grand & On Wings of Lead)

Today we return to the metalcore/fashioncore/brocore scene of the early 2000's with Atreyu's Ain't Love Grand and Bleeding Through's On Wings of Lead. We remember the strange phenomenon of tough guys in eyeliner and bleach-streaked mohawks busting MMA moves and singing melodramatic lyrics about being drowned in blood by ex-girlfriends.

We also discuss merch-buying protocol, listening to these bands while far superior bands were playing at the same venues, how terrifying a mosh pit was to a fourteen year-old first timer, and getting a snarky email from Jacob Bannon of Converge.  

Good bands discussed on this episode: Converge, Integrity, Disembodied, Cave-In, and many more

37 - Take Off Your Pants & Inspector Jaggit (David Duchovny & Gillian Anderson)

To celebrate the return of the show, we're dissecting two unlikely songs and videos from the cast of The X-Files: the titular track from David Duchovny's Weather Channel inspired, cliche-ridden debut album, "Hell or Highwater," and Gillian Anderson's hyper-sexual, spoken-word nonsense for Hal's Extremis.  

Also: A review of Duchovny's ridiculous children's(?) book, Holy Cow, my guest relays a story about in-laws from Roswell, these two "red-blooded males" find Gillian Anderson attractive enough to acknowledge her personhood, and, as always, a selection of delicious YouTube comments.

36 - Woodstock '94 (Paper Lanterns & I Alone)

Today we're revisiting the corporate circus of Woodstock '94 as Travis Duscay and I analyze performances by Green Day and Live. Could something like this ever happen at a modern festival like Coachella? Was their mudfight the precursor to Billie Joe's iHeartRadio "meltdown"?  Will Live get lucky again and release a single to coincide with an attack on American soil? Find out today!

Good music: Woodstock performances of NIN's "Reptile" and and Metallica's "For Whom The Bell Tolls"

35 - Scooby Dooby Doo (Scatman & Mambo #5)

Today I'm joined by Albert "311" Albanez to talk about two bizarre novelties from the 90's: Scatman John's "Scatman," and Lou Bega's "Mambo #5." We explore the Scatland utopia described in the Scatman's 1995 hit concept album, Scatman's World; try to decide if Mambo #5 is a failed attempt at a Macarena-style dance craze, and examine Lou Bega's stunningly rich assortment of terrible covers. We also remember David Bowie and share a story of a drunken scat-along to Under Pressure. Lots of scat. 

34 - A Flash of Genius (Breakfast at Tiffany's)

Today we’re talking about Breakfast at Tiffany’s—a song by that band whose name you don’t know. We dissect their on-the-nose, breakfast-filled music video, fashion styles lost to the ages, and with the help of a few YouTube commenters, take Beethoven down a notch. We also discuss Good Songs by Broken Social Scene, Garbage, Save Ferris, and Polaris (yes, it’s that one)

33 - Click With Trust (Reel Big Fish - Take On Me)

On today's episode, my guest details her love/hate relationship with Reel Big Fish, and I argue that this cover might be the superior version of the song. We also discuss how the overbearing dorkiness of the two frontmen would have appealed to middle-school kids, and how the trumpet player reminded my guest of a Nightmare Theater Boyfriend she had in high school.

32 - Dad Rave (Two Princes & Run-Around)

The show's first guest, Aaron Brock, returns to help me dissect Dad Jam Anthems Two Princes and Blues Traveler's Run-Around. Why are these supposed hippies in Spin Doctors writing lyrics about medieval courtship rituals? Is the fake band in Run-Around a deliberate parody of Counting Crows' Adam Duritz? Are either of these groups actual jam bands?

Aaron also tells me about seeing Soul Asylum and Jimmy Buffet in concert as a kid, we discuss the Dad Rave known as the HORDE Festival, and discuss a couple "Adult Alternative" songs we actually like: Weezer's El Scorcho and Ben Folds Five's Do It Anyway.

31 - Forced Americana (Zoot Suit Riot & Rock This Town)

Season 2! I talk to returning guest Cahn Curtis about swing revivalists Cherry Poppin' Daddies' "Zoot Suit Riot" and Brian Setzer's Stray Cats' "Rock This Town." We discuss the swing revival of the 90's, whether or not Stray Cats are punk (they're not), and argue about the merits of revisionist Americana. Happy New Year!