The Toy Department – Episode 358

In Episode 358, Madden and Kolsky lament Derek’s illness before he pushes through to discuss:

  • The new Mitski album The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We (2:20), how it differs from Mitski’s past output and the deep darkness and moments of bright light within it…
  • The return of pod favorite Sex Education (14:30) and its undeniable charm, plus how its end coincides with a desperate lack of similar quality on Netflix…
  • A few thoughts on Winning Time (24:10) and its cancellation…
  • The based-on-a-true-story film A Million Miles Away (37:40) and the remarkable life of astronaut Jose Hernandez…
  • British true-story-heist series The Gold on Paramount+ (41:30) and whether the first two episodes are enough to draw our hosts into what is undeniably an interesting real life tale…
  • A mile marker episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2 (46:20) and the end (at least for now) of one of the Challenge Universe’s truly legendary careers…
  • Homework for next week (1:04:35), including: another episode of The Challenge: USA Season 2, the British rom-com Still Up on Apple TV+, the movie Bottoms (available on VOD of your choice) and the Amazon Prime Video film Cassandro, plus Kolsky said will try to listen to The National…

The Toy Department – Episode 130

In Episode 130, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are a day late thanks to Kolsky suffering from a nasty cold, but still manage to get through:

  • Nicki Minaj’s new album Queen (4:15) and how its lack of focus and extended length take a little away from its high points…
  • Mitski’s new album Be The Cowboy (12:35) and how remarkable precision within an eclectic approach makes it a triumph…
  • USA’s show The Sinner (19:10) and whether Season 2 has sucked the guys in yet…
  • Stories from the life of Derek Madden including his new dog (27:55) and seeing a couple of old bands in concert – specifically Pearl Jam (32:10) and Smashing Pumpkins (37:00)…
  • Some quick thoughts about the Oakland A’s (43:40) and the state of baseball in general…
  • Homework for next week (47:50), including: Travis Scott’s album ASTROWORLD, an episode or two of AMC’s new show Lodge 49 and the season finalé of Sharp Objects on HBO, plus Madden is seeing Hamilton and will report back…

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