Tag Archives: music

The Toy Department – Episode 223

  By toyAdmin | August 6, 2020 - 12:04 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 223, Madden and Kolsky talk a bit about the busy return of sports before switching to pop culture for discussions on:

  • A quick revisiting of HBO’s Perry Mason (4:45) to set up a longer discussion after this coming Sunday’s finale…
  • The second season of Netflix’s Umbrella Academy (11:55) and why the second season is even better than the first…
  • The Go-Go’s documentary on Showtime (19:10) and how it is a little too cookie cutter to really stand out…
  • Season Five of the Netflix docu-series Last Chance U (27:10) and the fertile storytelling ground that is Oakland’s Laney College…
  • HBO’s docu-series I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (36:20) and how it deftly covers two converging storylines…
  • Beyoncé’s new visual album Black is King (44:10) and the greatness of the Queen…
  • Homework for next week (52:30), including: the season finale of HBO’s Perry Mason, the new HBO Max film An American Pickle and the return of Hard Knocks (also on HBO), plus LOTS of sports action and maybe a touch of Shark Week…

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The Toy Department – Episode 222

  By toyAdmin | July 30, 2020 - 11:02 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 222, Madden and Kolsky start with a discussion of babies and zoos before getting into:

  • The second week of The Challenge: Total Madness Reunion (5:00) and the general let-down of this season’s end…
  • The return of HBO’s Room 104 (21:10) and just how delightful the first episode of this season was, even if it doesn’t make the show feel essential…
  • The new Amazon Prime film Radioactive (28:20) and some of the curious choices made by the filmmakers…
  • The return of sports (32:45) with MLB already underway (for now, at least), the NBA set to start and the NFL opening training camps…
  • Homework for next week (52:45), including: the new season of Umbrella Academy on Netflix, the fifth season of the Netflix docu-series Last Chance U, the new Go-Go’s documentary on Showtime, the end of HBO’s docu-series I’ll Be Gone in the Dark and revisiting HBO’s Perry Mason…
  • The new Taylor Swift record Folklore (57:15) and how it doesn’t quite resonate with either of our hosts…

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The Toy Department – Episode 207

  By toyAdmin | April 4, 2020 - 4:29 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 207, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky discuss their personal COVID-19 ordeals before getting into:

  • Week 3 of Bravo’s Top Chef (7:55) and all the intrigue therein…
  • The premiere of The Challenge: Total Madness (29:25) and who’s back for what looks to be a wild and twisty season…
  • Netflix’s documentary sensation Tiger King (52:40) and how everyone on the show is awful and awfully bizarre…
  • A few thoughts on Netflix’s Ozark (1:04:10) and a promise to get deeper into it next week when both guys have finished Season 3…
  • A review of the new Pearl Jam record Gigaton (1:06:50) and how it manages to feel both topical and like a classic Pearl Jam album…
  • Last week’s somber episode of Last Week Tonight on HBO (1:12:15) and what political comedy shows are doing in this strange time…
  • Homework for next week (1:19:10), including: new episodes of Top Chef & The Challenge, the end of Ozark Season 3, the HBO Sports documentaries The Scheme and Screwball, the film The End of the Tour (available on Netflix) and the old Showtime movie Sucker Free City (rentable on Amazon and viewable on YouTube)…

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The Toy Department – Episode 203

  By toyAdmin | March 5, 2020 - 7:17 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 203, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky have MUCH to discuss, so dive right into:

  • The HBO Sports documentary Ali & Cavett: Tale of the Tapes (1:25) and how it adds something to the historical record on a well-covered sports titan…
  • Dwyane Wade’s documentary Life Unexpected (8:00) and how it is very much the Dwyane Wade version of the Dwyane Wade story…
  • PBS’ American Masters episode on Miles Davis, entitled Birth of the Cool (14:55) and what a complete picture it painted of a complicated man who was truly one of the great musicians in human history…
  • The return of Better Call Saul on AMC (24:00) and how it is probably the best show on television right now…
  • The new Amazon show Hunters (30:55) and the surprisingly understated performance of Al Pacino…
  • AMC’s new show Dispatches from Elsewhere (37:00) and how producer/writer/director/star Jason Segel has created a fascinating and exciting curiosity through two oddball episodes…
  • The new Netflix comedy Gentefied (44:55) and how it fails to really grab the viewer in its first couple episodes…
  • Pete Davidson’s Netflix standup special (48:10) and how he’s a promising young comedic talent…
  • Homework for next week (57:40), including: the return of Better Things on FX, the end of The Outsider on HBO, Devs on FX/Hulu, Dave on FXX (it’s an FX-heavy week), the Netflix Lil Peep documentary Everbody’s Everything, Netflix’s I Am Not Okay With This, the HBO Sports documentary Women of Troy and Marc Maron’s new special End Times Fun…

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The Toy Department – Episode 202

  By toyAdmin | February 20, 2020 - 11:04 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 202, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky discuss their feelings about camping before jumping into:

  • The new Tame Impala album The Slow Rush (4:30) and how it hit the ears of each of our hosts…
  • The new film The Photograph (16:05) and where it falls a little short of its potential…
  • The new Hulu show High Fidelity (23:10), the charm of Zoë Kravitz and when the series really locks in, plus thoughts on Hulu’s mediocre interface…
  • A check-in on TBS’ Miracle Workers (30:45) and what makes it entertaining as it really gets into its new premise…
  • The latest season of Brooklyn 99 (34:50) and how it has grown (or not) over its life as a series…
  • Homework for TWO weeks from now (39:45), including: Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes, the end of The Outsider on HBO, the new show Hunters on Amazon Prime, the new comedy Gentefied on Netflix, the return of Better Call Saul on AMC, the Dwyane Wade documentary Life Unfiltered on ESPN and PBS’ Miles Davis doc Birth of the Cool…

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The Toy Department – Episode 201

  By toyAdmin | February 13, 2020 - 11:05 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 201, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are on the clock, so skip the pleasantries in favor of discussing:

  • The new film Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of Harley Quinn) (1:20) and the two hosts’ disparate views on its success…
  • The new Netflix film To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You (11:20) and how it retains all the charm of its predecessor…
  • Andy Greenwald’s new show Briarpatch on TBS (19:20) and whether it is worth diving into…
  • Green Day’s new album Father of All Motherfuckers (24:40) and whether it delivers on their promise to revive rock and roll…
  • Homework for next week (31:55), including: Brooklyn 99’s return, the new High Fidelity show on Hulu and the new film The Photograph in theaters, with a potential revisit to Miracle Workers on TBS…

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The Toy Department – Episode 186

  By toyAdmin | October 17, 2019 - 1:00 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 186, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky apologize for any audio quality issues as Kolsky is en route from Sacramento to San Francisco, and then get into:

  • The new film Joker (2:30) and how both guys ended up confused and disappointed after watching it…
  • A much more enjoyable film, Netflix’s El Camino (20:45), the story of Jesse Pinkman and the delightful fan service of Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan…
  • The season finalé of HBO’s Succession (27:30) and how it is functioning at a tremendously high level, particularly given how difficult it is to describe…
  • Season 4 of USA’s Mr. Robot (45:10) and whether there’s anything new or interesting to see there…
  • A new album from a new band — the self-titled Black Pumas (48:40) — and whether they are worth following into the future…
  • A new album from an older band — Sturgill Simpson’s Sound & Fury (52:15) — and whether the guys are into his southern rock turn, plus some pretty unnecessary shots at country music…
  • Homework for next week (1:02:10), including: HBO’s new series Watchmen (from Damon Lindelof), Amazon Prime’s new series Modern Love, Jenny Slate’s stand-up special on Netflix and probably a check-in on MTV’s The Challenge, plus (not mentioned) a BIG NBA PREVIEW…

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The Toy Department – Episode 181

  By toyAdmin | September 4, 2019 - 10:33 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 181, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky dive into a short list of topics including:

  • The return of MTV’s The Challenge (2:05) and the incredible prospects for high level entertainment with War of the Worlds II…
  • Netflix’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (19:40), a retelling of Jim Henson’s movie from the 80’s, and how it is really for kids…
  • The new Tool album Fear Inoculum (27:35) and how it may not win any new fans but it is definitely a strong late-period effort…
  • The now-imminent kickoff of the NFL season (36:30), the underwhelming season of Hard Knocks and how it looks at the top of the league…
  • A few thoughts on Travis Scott’s Netflix concert film/documentary Look Mom I Can Fly (53:20) and how it’s a decent look at Scott’s behind-the-scenes life…
  • Homework for next week (56:25), including: the return of The Deuce on HBO, the new film Late Night on Amazon, the new Hulu show Wu Tang: An American Saga, Good Talk with Anthony Jeselnik on Comedy Central and ESPN’s new 30 for 30 about Dennis Rodman…

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The Toy Department – Episode 180

  By toyAdmin | August 28, 2019 - 11:06 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 180, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky mince a minimal amount of words before discussing:

  • A couple of new albums — Sleater-Kinney’s underwhelming The Center Won’t Hold (1:05) and the triumphant Little Brother return May the Lord Watch (7:35)…
  • Dave Chappelle’s new Netflix stand-up special Sticks & Stones (12:40) and how it didn’t land great by Chappelle standards…
  • The new Showtime drama On Becoming a God in Central Florida (27:00) and the greatness of Kirsten Dunst…
  • The Australian comedy The Let Down (34:55) and how it’s only a comedy if you can identify with the infant parenting experience…
  • Homework for next week (40:00), including: the new season of MTV’s The Challenge, the new Tool album Fear Inoculum, the new Netflix show The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (plus Kolsky watching the original Dark Crystal for the first time), the new Travis Scott concert film, also on Netflix, and a little NFL preview discussion…

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The Toy Department – Episode 177

  By toyAdmin | August 7, 2019 - 2:32 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 177, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are trying to get Madden to a baseball game on time, so jump right in to:

  • The first episode of Hard Knocks (2:25), and how much fun this season’s time with the Raiders looks like it will be…
  • Quentin Tarantino’s newest masterpiece, Once Upon A Time in Hollywood (15:25) and all the wonderful things that both guys appreciated about it…
  • The return of Dear White People (36:50) on Netflix, and how even though there’s nothing really new here, it’s still good TV…
  • HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show (41:55) and how it has its moments, but Kolsky still struggles to get down with sketch shows…
  • Kolsky’s first experience with Bachelor in Paradise (46:00) and whether he’s ready to hang in there for the full season…
  • A few thoughts on a funny Netflix stand-up special from Whitney Cummings (56:55) and appreciation for her commitment to a bit…
  • Homework for next week (59:25), including: the new Beverly Hills 90210 reunion BH90210, the conclusion of HBO’s Euphoria, plus the returns of GLOW on Netflix, Succession on HBO and Lodge 49 on AMC…

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