Tag Archives: music

The Toy Department – Episode 126

  By toyAdmin | July 17, 2018 - 4:03 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 126, please excuse any audio issues AGAIN on the part of Matt Kolsky, as he joins Derek Madden live (to tape) from a DIFFERENT road trip, specifically on the road to Lake Tahoe, CA where he is scheduled to see the band Phish… The discussions cover:

  • Kolsky’s questionable life decisions…
  • The USA show Sinner (4:00) which is currently binge-able on Netflix — but is it worth binging??
  • The new Sacha Baron Cohen show Who Is America? (12:30) and how the same old Ali G schtick falls flat in 2018…
  • Hannah Gadsby’s standup special Nanette (26:55) and how she brilliantly crafts a show that is both hilarious and incredibly thoughtful and thought-provoking…
  • Boots Riley’s triumphant directorial debut Sorry to Bother You (37:15) and how amazingly original and insane and beautiful it is…
  • Homework for next week (50:45), including: well, nothing — the hosts were woefully underprepared for this portion of the show…
  • Derek’s experience at The Pretenders’ show (53:55) and how you should probably go see legends of music whenever you can…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 124

  By toyAdmin | July 3, 2018 - 12:10 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 124, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky talk a little Fourth of July before they dive into:

  • The wild weekend of NBA free agency (4:50) including LeBron James going to the Lakers and Boogie Cousins heading to the Golden State Warriors…
  • The 2018 FIFA World Cup (19:45) and just how delightful it has been through most of the Round of 16…
  • A quick discussion of Drake’s new album Scorpion (28:15) and how the Canadian pop artist continues to disappoint…
  • The new season of GLOW (32:45), how wonderful the show is and how great a job it does of honoring the diversity and complicated nature of humanity…
  • A check-in on I’m Dying Up Here (41:05) and a chat about how it has really climbed up the TV rankings for both Madden and Kolsky…
  • A check-in on Succession (49:25) and how it presents a world of miserable, terrible people that somehow both guys still want to watch…
  • Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger (53:50) and how it differs from most superhero fare and whether Derek liked it enough to continue watching through the first season…
  • Homework for next week (1:01:40), including: HBO’s new Amy Adams-starring series Sharp Objects, more World Cup and NBA offseason discussion and some subset of films currently in theaters (like Ant Man & The Wasp, Jurassic World 2, The Incredibles 2, Sicario 2 and Tag)…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 117

  By toyAdmin | May 8, 2018 - 11:23 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 117, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky do a bit of housekeeping from last week’s show (figurative housekeeping, not literal) before addressing:

  • The second season of Dear White People (4:40) on Netflix, and how it manages to be a lot of fun while still speaking to relevant social issues…
  • A return to HBO’s Westworld (13:00) to discuss both Madden and Kolsky’s fading interest in it…
  • The second season premiere of Showtime’s I’m Dying Up Here (28:35) and how it succeeds in being a good hang despite some swings and misses on bigger themes…
  • A check-in on Showtime’s Billions (36:00), wherein Kolsky raves about just how wonderful a show it is…
  • Janelle Monáe’s awesome new album Dirty Computer (53:15) and the less-awesome 48-minute video released alongside it…
  • The new Childish Gambino video (1:03:30) and its powerful artistic statement about America…
  • John Mulaney’s Netflix stand-up special Kid Gorgeous (1:08:40) and his skill as a comedy writer…
  • Homework for next week (1:15:55), including: the season finalé of Atlanta, a few episodes of David Letterman’s show on Netflix and possibly a movie or two — come back next week to find out!!

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – EPISODE 100

  By toyAdmin | January 2, 2018 - 3:45 pm | Uncategorized
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In a very special Episode 100, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky finally see the benefit of starting the episode numbering system at 001, not to mention experience a live and in-person Toy Department recording for the very first time in podcast history as they discuss:

  • What in the hell Kolsky is doing in the far-north winter hellscape (1:50) that is Minneapolis in January…
  • The first two episodes of the new season of Netflix’s Black Mirror (7:15), the resounding success of one and the missteps of the other…
  • The new Netflix documentary/news footage/narrative action series Wormwood (19:05) and how Errol Morris is attempting to advance the documentary form…
  • The Guillermo Del Toro film The Shape of Water (24:35) and how Madden’s response to the movie differed from Kolsky’s…
  • Year-end Spotify playlists!! Madden and Kolsky both made Best of 2017 playlists (31:25) and break down the contents thereof (with assorted digressions); you can find Derek’s playlist here and Matt’s here…
  • The upcoming first round of the NFL Playoffs (1:04:50), with the repulsively messy AFC and the excitingly wide-open NFC…
  • The College Football Playoff (1:16:40) and how the excitement of the first round points towards expanding the field to eight teams…
  • Homework for next week (1:24:00): including Dave Chappelle’s new Netflix specials, two more episodes of Netflix’s Black Mirror (specifically the third and fourth episodes of the new season) and the series premier of Showtime’s Lena Waithe-created show The Chi…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 98

  By toyAdmin | December 13, 2017 - 8:04 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 98, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky have a lot to say, so they begin with purpose and discuss:

  • The new SyFy show Happy (1:15), which one of them REALLY did not like
  • U2’s new album Songs of Experience (10:20) and how it falls completely flat…
  • James Franco’s new film The Disaster Artist (26:20) and what a great job it does of telling a deeply human story…
  • A dip into the sports world (35:45) results in an aborted argument about baseball…
  • Conversation about the NFL proves more fruitful (39:10) and gets into the many problems the league has to confront in its near future…
  • Sports talk continues with some NBA thoughts (51:10), getting into the year’s most compelling storylines and projecting the rest of the season…
  • Homework for this week (1:22:45), including: a Best of the Year episode next week — Top 5 and 10 lists in TV, movies, music and sports, plus watching the new Star Wars film…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 97

  By toyAdmin | December 5, 2017 - 10:27 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 97, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky dispense with the pleasantries and proceed immediately with:

  • Concert stories!! Madden’s experience with Queens of the Stone Age (1:00) and Kolsky’s trip to see Syd from The Internet (11:45)…
  • The new Netflix documentary Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond (15:05), which looks back at Jim Carrey’s performance as Andy Kaufman in the film Man on the Moon…
  • Season 2 of Netflix’s Joe Swanberg-directed show Easy (31:35) and how it picks up right where it left off…
  • The Amazon original show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (37:00) and how star Rachel Brosnahan makes it worth your time…
  • New albums from both Noel and Liam Gallagher (43:10) and how they’re definitely better off together…
  • Homework for this week (49:30), including: an upcoming end-of-year-review, the new U2 album, the new film The Disaster Artist and other upcoming releases, and perhaps finishing off Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It on Netflix…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 96

  By toyAdmin | November 28, 2017 - 10:14 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 96, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky have a prettty, prettttttty, prettttttttty good opening before discussions about:

  • Joe Morgan’s letter to the Baseball Hall of Fame (2:10) and how misguided his views on “steroid users” and “cheaters” are…
  • The Martin McDonagh film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (18:05), where it succeeds and where it maybe misses the mark…
  • Netflix’s new western series Godless (28:40) and how it elevates tropes from western films but still doesn’t appeal to Madden…
  • USA’s Mr. Robot (38:10), just what the hell is going on and how an increase in action has not led to an increase in Madden’s enjoyment of episodes…
  • Netflix’s new Spike Lee TV joint She’s Gotta Have It (45:30) and how it hits all the Spike Lee high notes with a great cast and thoughtful commentary…
  • Homework for this week (53:40), including: new albums from both Noel and Liam Gallagher, the Amazon Original show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, the Netflix/Joe Swanberg show Easy and the Netflix documentary Jim & Andy about Jim Carrey’s performance as Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 88

  By toyAdmin | October 3, 2017 - 9:12 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 88, Matt Kolsky and Derek Madden get right into it with:

  • The passing of Tom Petty (1:25) and his place in the pantheon of American rock music, leading to…
  • A breakdown of the Mount Rushmore (7:15) of American rock artists…
  • The new Fox show Ghosted (20:05) starring Adam Scott and Craig Robinson…
  • Another Fox comedy, The Mick (24:35) as it begins its second season…
  • The newest entry into the Law & Order canon – True Crime (28:55), focusing on the Menendez brothers murders…
  • The definitive debate about the all-time Law & Order fantasy cast team (39:00) – starring Lennie Briscoe, obviously, but WHO ELSE?!?!
  • Homework for next week (1:01:30) including: new albums from the bands Alvvays and Death From Above 1979, the USA v. Panama soccer game coming up on Friday, Episode 5 of Bojack Horseman and the new Netflix cartoon Big Mouth (from the mind of Nick Kroll) and revisiting The Deuce on HBO…
  • A few words on the NFL’s continued blackball of Colin Kaepernick (1:07:00)…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 87

  By toyAdmin | September 26, 2017 - 11:53 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 87, Matt Kolsky and Derek Madden fight through a recording snafu to get to a variety of topics, including:

  • The unstoppable interaction between sports and politics (1:30) and where Donald Trump’s behavior has gotten us with the NFL…
  • The Netflix movie The Fundamentals of Caring (11:10) and the idea of the Netflix indie…
  • Rapper Leikeli47’s new album Wash & Set (16:30) and Madden’s seeming disinterest in female rap artists…
  • FX’s Better Things (25:15) and how the guys are feeling about it early in Season 2…
  • HBO’s Vice Principals (35:15) and whether the show will hold up through a second season… or that would have been the discussion but THE RECORDING CUT OUT!!
  • Several hours later, Kolsky and Madden reconvene (36:35) and begin with a brief discussion of Derek’s other podcast and their interview with Rolling Stone’s Rob Sheffield…
  • They revisit some of the topics from the lost recording (41:00) including: the Killers’ new album, lady rappers and NBC’s The Good Place…
  • Homework for next week (46:45) including: TV shows The Mick, Law & Order: True Crime and Ghosted, and a plan to pick favorite all-time Law & Order teams for next week… Plus checking back in with HBO’s The Deuce…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 86

  By toyAdmin | September 20, 2017 - 1:17 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 86, Matt Kolsky scolds Derek Madden for his persistent failure to complete homework assignments before they discuss what he DID manage to get to, including:

  • The Emmy Awards (5:55) and the state of television in general…
  • The beginning of the new season of Netflix’s Bojack Horseman (22:00) and whether it was enough to convince Kolsky to watch more…
  • The seas0n premiere of Comedy Central’s Broad City (28:20) and whether the Sliding Doors-esque design got the job done…
  • Top of the Lake: China Girl (32:00) and how it marks a significant change in tone from the first season of that show…
  • The National’s new album Sleep Well Beast (44:00) and the fundamental differences between Madden and Kolsky’s respective musical tastes…
  • Homework for next week (1:06:30) including: Madden’s make-up work (Better Things on FX and Netflix original film The Fundamentals of Caring), the new seasons of HBO’s Vice Principals and NBC’s The Good Place, the movie Patti Cake$ (if available) and the new album Wash & Set by rapper Leikeli47

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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