How Did We Get Weird with Vanessa Bayer and Jonah BayerIt must be Vanessa’s birthday (tomorrow) because Jonah and her are thrilled to welcome their childhood friend and Rolling Stone Senior Writer, Andy Greene!! They’re talking all things elementary and middle school, from lice checks to spine checks to the massive, intimidating structure that was their high school. We also get the dirt on Andy's recent features on nostaglic acts like Live and Mötley Crüe, discuss our favorite music gossip sites and share our early concert experiences. Plus, who knew how helpful middle-school keyboarding class would be? (Despite the fact that Andy pulled a major scam in it.) Speaking of scams, the trio ask what was up with the betrayal of our teachers dating each other and not telling us? Finally, in a rousing round of CHANGE.DORK, the three of us debate bringing back the original Cookie Crisp recipe, the original TGIF lineup and a little store at the mall called Hot Topic. Whether you think Seniors 2000 rule or not, you've gotta check out this hilarious episode!!!
Hi. I'm Vanessa Beyer and this is my brother Jonah.
We're two siblings who love to talk about our childhood and nostalgia and how it shaped us into the people we are.
Today, who are pretty excited about our guests today because Senior's two thousand.
Rule, welcome to how did we get weird?
Jonah?
Because we went to high school with our guests today and middle school in all school with our guests today, I thought we could talk about something from when we were little that used to happen that was absolutely humiliating, which was when the moms would come into the classroom and check everybody for lice.
Do you remember that, Jonah?
I do remember that. I wonder if that still happens.
Yeah.
That you would come in, you have to sit down. They'd have those little.
Like like popsicle sticks almost.
Yeah, popsicle sticks, and they kind of would just go through your hair and I think it was like kids moms, right, I don't think. Yeah, And they would look for lice, I guess, and if you had him, you'd get sent home.
If you had him, you'd get like sent I think, to the nurse's office. It never I never had, but it was such a. It was such a nightmare moment because if someone got sent out of the room, it was like shaming them. It was like, yeah, they've got lice, they're unhygienic, and.
It doesn't seem very scientific the way they're doing it either.
Yeah, and also I think had we been like a few years older when they were doing it, it would have been like so humiliating. At least we were like young enough that maybe we didn't get as embarrassed as if we were, but it was still anyway, I think we should want to introduce our guests because I'm really curious if he remembers this.
I'm sure he does. He has an amazing memory, and what his thoughts are.
Let's yeah, let's do it. Do you want to give a little intro?
Yes, our guest today is a senior writer at Rolling Stone who writes about music, movies, and television and runs the Unknown Legends and King for a Day Interview franchises. He is also the author of the New York Times best selling book The Office, the until story of the greatest sitcom of the two thousands. He's also my friend growing up and the person I go to with every question about our high school.
Please welcome Andy Green.
Ye, guys, I'm told the big here, So thanks for having me.
Thanks so much for being here. Now, Andy, do you remember life tests.
I have vivid memories of the PTA moms. They would enter our classroom and we line up by the sink.
We go one by one. We'd put our head down, they would go.
They would use chopsticks in our hair slowly and go through everything. And I would just pray, please don't have me be the dirty kid who sent to the office. It would be so humiliated. And you have to leave the room with lice. It was like a scarlet letter or something that you had to wear. Yes, I never had it, but my sister had it once and they called me home.
Yeah. So I got called on the PA down.
To the nurse's office and I'm like what I do And they go, you have to go home because your sister has lice.
I'm like, I don't have lice.
So I had to go home and I might have my hair washed and the stain with this gross crap and everything. It was just mortifying.
Oh man, Yeah, I don't think I don't think we ever got it, Vanessa.
I don't think we ever got it.
Either because I don't remember, but I but I remember that was the thing, right, was like if you had it, you had to use this like really strong shampoo.
It was ransom crap that I hated. I was like six or something, but I still remember this. I have stronger memories of the spine checkshich the same pta moms. Yeah, they come in and do you would be in the gym, locker room or the corner of the classroom. You would put your shirt up to your shoulders. You would bend over and the moms like traced your spine with her finger or something. It was completely insane because they weren't doctors.
Right to see if you had scoliosis.
Right, Yes, yes, yes, I don't remember that. I remember. Do you remember in Jim there was a thing where like it was like almost like a stretching competition, whereas like they'd put blocks up and if you could reach your to it was like some kind of international like test or something.
Yes, are you talking about the like universal Yeah, where there was like thirteen challenges.
The only Nathan Canner did all of them.
It was j Justfathan Canner who could do anything.
Yeah, she was amazing.
What was it called it was called like the it was called like the National There was like throwing a basketball at a wall and oh yeah, oh yeah our producer Olivia the Presidential Fitness Test.
Yeah, it was very stressful when you're throwing that basketball against the wall on have a stopwatch.
I'm like, yeah, yeah, to throw a basketball against a wall and catch it and then you have to jump with both feet over a stick or like over sort of like a low balance beam. And I remember watching Delia Wheat do it and she was like incredible at it, and I tried to do it.
I got over like twice in a minute.
I couldn't do shit.
But they kept the records that were from past years even and it was just Nathan Canner down the line for everything.
I remember like Nathan Canner being in the gym in like seventh grade and accepting an award because it was like he was the only one.
Because it was sort of weird.
It's like if this is the residential fitness as, like why is it so hard?
Like why it shouldn't be because all the presidents are like eighty year old guys.
Yeah yeah, that George H. W.
Bush he could throw ballie, he gets the wall one hundred times in a row.
Yeah.
What's funny is the kids counted. So I remember Rob Frice, he won by some huge number and he whispered to me, I think they counted way.
Wrong, you know, So it was not right. It was not enforced very well.
Yeah, it's like this pta mom thing. It's like you got to have the right systems in place.
Yeah, it was, yes, exactly.
Yeah.
Also was one of the challenges also to do an obstacle course or was the obstacle course separate?
That was different, and that was freaking crazy because.
It was you.
It was you and your switch class would both be in the gym and you'd sit there for the whole gym class and have like two minutes on your own as so as the whole is like sixty kids. They'd watched you do this thing and I was slow. I could get over the wall or anything, you know, And it was like girls who I crushes on everything were watching me just like run into a wall over and over again. I'm trying I go through like that weird tunnel thing. It was just humiliating.
Yeah, it's so like, why did they set up an obstacle course for us in the gym, like just let us live our lives.
Yeah, and our friend Matt Nef is a gym teacher now, and he told me, yes, he is just awesome. And he told me that looking back on that, it breaks every single rule that they're taught in school about about how to do gym class because there's no activity for most kids, it's just sitting there for the whole class base.
Right, Yes, does he play battleball with his students, because that's the one thing that I really am still mad about.
I think they've kind of killed battle qualified. Yes, it was ridiculous. Yeah, it was petrifying to just stand there as balls are just being shucked at your face and everything.
Yeah.
Yeah, like the super bad kids were just like so violent about it.
They were going nuts.
Yeah, hide him back by the by those rustling mats that they rolled up and just cower and fear.
Same.
I was always like the last person because I last persons standy because I was hiding.
Yes, Andy, I had a couple and I don't want to change a tone of this podcast because to this, but I had a couple kind of music questions for you. Sure if that's okay, because we both you know, I was in music at our alternative press. We both have kind of been editors. I know, you know, I've written for Corey and bred to other people at Rolling Stone, and so we don't know each other.
We went we went to the same school, two years.
Apart, two years apart. You have a good memory. I have a terrible memory.
Do you remember, wait, really quickly, Andy, do you remember Jonah floating down the hallway in such big jinkos that you couldn't even see his feet move?
No?
He don't.
Yeah, we had like parallel existence. But but you know what's interesting is like, you know, I read Rolling Stone and every time I read, you know, I know Corey does a lot of the Metallica stuff, which is like incredible. But also whenever I read a story that I'm like, oh, this is a story I would be interested in writing, it's it's almost always something you wrote. And the two that really stand out to me are the feature about Live and the mc mars Montley crue one Yes, And I'm just wondering, like what it was like kind of writing. I know they're very different stories, but to me, like it got so deep into Live and the lawsuit and it was so complicated and or if you could just talk about that a little bit.
Wait, is this about the band throwing?
Yeah?
Got it?
Yeah?
And that's kind of a nostalgic band, both of those bands, So I wonder if you could just talk about those a little because you wrote these trouble stories.
Yeah, for Live, it was kind of crazy. I have an interview franchise that Fanessa match called King for Day where I interview replacements, singers and rock bands. So people that sang for Journey or Yes or Genesis and were fired later, you know, it's always a great story. Now, speaking to the guy who sang for Live about six years ago, he was just there briefly and he was like, shit has gone insane. It in Live right now. It's like had fired the whole band. They're suing each other. It's gone fucking bonkers. So I'm like, so I did some research. I saw that it's just complete madness. That the band that they fired at the same state one point, and then he came back and then fired them, and it's all so if you saw Live six years ago and you see them now, it's completely different people up on the stage. That So I was fascinated. So I emailed all the guys. I'm like, hey, I love to do a feature. I'm live.
And it was just the guitarist who got back to me.
So he goes, He goes, dude, if you come to Pennsylvania, I will spend the day with you. I will tell you everything. So I went great.
I took the train out there, and he told me this wild story about this alleged con artist that entered their world and he allegedly stole all of their money.
And there's a million lawsuits and they hate each other, and the drummer's gone QAnon and none of them are speaking, and they're all suing each other. And this alleged con artist guy, he was under house arrest for sexual assault against one of their employees. And and so I just went in deep and I talked to all of them who I could. I spoke to the guy who was under house arrest, I spoke to the drummer who's very trumpy, and wrote just this wild story of how this nineties band just devolved into absolute chaos. And in all my years of rolling style, I've never talked to people who have such hatred for each other. Yeah, like this raw, burning, obsessive hatred of each other. Oh yeah, I was sad.
Well, it's like it's interesting because I read my kind of guilty pleasures reading this website Blabbermouth, which is yeah, of course, and it's like incredible, how many of these guys now in their like fifties and sixties are just all fighting, all seeing each other, all in like nineteen different bands, fighting for the name. It's like, what, well, how many people are even interested in this in the first place.
Yeah, it fascinates me that the band rat or something, that they're all fighting for crumbs. They're all fighting for the right like to play at these tiny bars and make virtually not enough money to pay like their gas on their hotel. It's this faded spotlight they're all clinging to as hard as they can, and they just hate each other.
And I'm fascinated. There's people like Simon and Garfunkle and Pink Floyd that they're in their eighties now and the hatred of each other is had never been worse.
Yeah, and so yeah, speak of that. What was it like going to Mick Mars's house, because like that is such an and you were kind of the exclusive person writing about this.
Yeah, yeah, that was intense. He lives in like this gothic just castle in the suburbs of Tennessee, and in my mind I view him as like this vampire or something who is He's the guitarist and Moley crue that they spot got it.
Got it okay, And it's kind of a contentious. They're suing each other now yeah yeah, okay, okay.
And he's this wicked spying disease. His whole body is like a question mark. He's all hunched over.
It was fun though. He was super funny, he was super warm. We'd spent two days talking.
Then I had Mickey six on the phone, who was not too happy with me or Mick or this article happening.
It was very awkward, but it was the same thing of.
Just lawsuits and just rage at each other, just absolutely hating each other.
Was SA, What kind of music were you into like when we were in like high school, middle school, were you into like alternative music or what was your kind of pride?
I was in the classic Rocke It was all like ninety eight to five. It was just tattooed in my brain. I grew up on all that stuff on Cleveland Radio. I was in the Prague guy like Genesis, but then I got way into Bob dyl and Bruce Springsteen and like and like Neil Young and dress all that stuff.
Yeah.
And one of our first concerts both of us was Phil Collins Genesis.
Yeah. Oh yeah, yeah, I love Genesis. I have since the fifth grade. When We Can't Dance came out, I saw Steve Hackett play Foxtrat about five days and go straight through. It was awesome.
Wow. Yeah. I went with Jason Williger's parents to see him on there we Can't Dance tour.
Oh wow, was at Cleveland Stadium and that was in ninety two and the pouring rain right.
Yeah, that was and that my actually my first concert was Phil Collins solo on the Butt Seriously Tour.
Wow, it's going way back that that's like nineteen ninety.
It was like ninety ninety. It was my first. I was like, you know, eleven years old or something, but yeah, I saw those. Those are my first two shows. And then my third was Guns N' Roses Illusion to Our at Richfield Colseum with.
Our mom, with my mind, with your mom.
Yeah yeah and skid Row.
Wow, wow did you wear a kilt?
It was you know, I think he was wearing Remember he would wear that nine in snail shirt, that white one with like the big red he I think he was wearing that shirt. I remember.
That's awesome. I'm very I'm very jealous that.
Yeah. Yeah, you saw those shows. I would have killed it seen any of that stuff.
Well, it sounds like you're making up for it now.
Oh yeah, I see.
How can I ask what? I just want to ask about something that came up earlier? What is Blabbermouth? Is it like a gossip site for rock bands?
It's kind of like it's like kind of the opposite of Rolling Stone. I would say it's like basically, if someone gets like, uh, if and Andy you explained, I mean, I can explain if I'm curious your take on it.
It's a heavy metal and hard rocking news site that pretends as if Vince Neil's solo work is still really interesting and recovering. And so every time the bassist in La Guns is on a podcast, they transcribe like the choice bits of it and they band they posted.
They do no interviews of their own.
Yeah, but basically the fact that we've mentioned Motley Crue with Andy on this podcast could be seven articles on blackermos because they basically just take quotes from podcasts and just like make them into nineteen articles.
And every time that Vince Neil plays a solo show at the casino in like the Keepsie, they post the audience video and it's the same songs he always does. Now, there's no news value, what subverge, Like watch Vince Neil send girls girls Girls at a casino.
Yeah, it is daily. Yeah yeah.
Rob Zombie says new record is going to be pretty good, and it's like a quote.
Yeah, it's the worst quotes and the same twelve acts over and over and over again. Yes, Oh I go there every day about five times.
Yeah, I know. Me and I have a friend, my friend Brian, We just send stuff back and forth because it's just it's so and it's also like the the source material they're using. It's like James's rock blog, you know, it's like the most obscure YouTube channels and stuff. Like it's so funny.
I always think it's so easy, you know, to get d Snyder on the phone for a interview.
Just do your own interviews, right right.
That was our question too. We were like, do you think any of people say no, to things like based on what they're doing, Like do you think I was like, eh.
No, I think these guys say yes to everything.
Yeah.
Yeah, Okay, Now speaking of saying yes, Andy, what a great segue. You just got married in our hometown of Cleveland, and yes, first of all, congratulations.
Congratulations life, Thank you very much, thank you.
Was there anything super nostalgic or like high school that happened while during your nuptials or during that visit to Cleveland?
It was weird to be in Cleveland and have a few high school friends there. Our friend Dan Jacobson, he was the officiator of the wedding, yes, which was incredible.
I love Dan to death.
He's so funny. I bet he was so great. He's so great.
I didn't know what to expect exactly, and was standing there in front of one hundred and fifty people.
And was it a lander Haven executive suites.
No, we did tour lander Haven as a possibility. It felt very bar Mitzvah.
It felt very say that's where Jonas bar Mitzville luncheon? Was there?
Great lunch?
Yeah?
Yeah, it was at Hillbrook.
Okay, okay, great, very.
It's very non Jewish there, but that's okay. You know we took over.
Did anyone have their bar? Is that where John Falcon Mike Wasserman had.
Their Oh I remember their co bar mitzvah. I don't remember that was. I know Dan and Scott promutters that they were at Worldly Ball, which was the best armitzvah.
Awesome.
Yes, yes, that was always the best.
So mine was the best.
Yes, I have no doubt. Yes, I had mine. It was at Lake Forest and it was the first one of the year, basically because I'm so old. Whoa, Yeah, I guess that. Joel shrellows it was the week before, but mine was the second.
Yes, got it. When's your birthday?
It's in June of eighty one.
So I was on the cusp of the two grades, and my parents decided that I was very little at an extra year of preschool would be fine for me, got it?
So I drove first. I was from Midsford First.
Everything first.
Yeah, Jony, you're similar to September twenty seventh, you were.
I was September, so I was old for my grade. I was on the older side. Yeah, so I was yeah tough first. Yeah, which is good, A good spot to be in to.
Like drive to school. The first day of tenth grade was awesome.
All these people that I talked to in like six years that were like, hey, and yea, I will, I would love a ride home today.
You know it really oughtn't It was was very good for me.
Yeah yeah, same here, same here.
I was probably driving to school because Jonah was older. So probably the first day of tenth grade, Jonah, you would have been a senior. You would have been blasting no effects and getting me to school about ten minutes late.
Little late. Yeah, it wasn't real priority for me.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, can you do well?
On that note, We're going to take a quick commercial break, but we'll be right back with our friend Andy Green, and we're back. Well, Andy, we're already getting into so much nostalgic stuff, and we asked you for a topic for today, and you gave us.
Like seventeen incredible topics. Yes, thank you, So we're going to have to have you back on the podcast. But the one that really resonated that I don't think we talked about is keyboarding class. Yes, and I'm wonder if you could just talk about that. Little Me explained it to be like anyone under thirty or thirty five. They have no idea what we're talking about.
For anyone over sixty five.
It's where they taught you how to type, which was an important skill, and you didn't start until sixth grade. So I had this vivid memory of being his fifth grade walking down the hallway. I was going to art class and I looked in this room. It's a whole room. It was full of actual typewriters at that point, which we didn't have, but our fifth grade, the sixth graders were, We're on these all they were on these.
It was it was these.
Modern typewriters that were quase electric but were like they looked like typewriters. And I'm walking past and the teacher it was it was like mister Abins, right right, mister Edwards grade Yeah that was fifth grade, Yeah, who was my advisory teacher. But so I'm walking past and there's this big mustachio guy in there that's like ce B A R E space And I was like, holy shit, sixth grade's gonna suck.
What the fuck is that was? It's petrified me.
Yeah, And by the time we got there, they had updated to computers that had a floppy disc.
It was much more modern.
They call it typewriters in the side room that were piled up to the ceiling, and they taught us the home keys and on the whole deal. You know, it was sort of intimidating.
Yeah, well, so here's here's what happened. I'm two years older than both of you, so I was two grades ahead. And here's what happened. We started in fifth grade. So we took keyboarding in fifth grade, okay, and they changed it. They said, no, now you need to take in sixth grade. So we took in sixth grade. Then they said no, we're changing it to seventh grade. So my class took it keyboarding three years in a row.
Wow.
Wow, And to this day it's the most valuable skill I've probably learned it in my whole school experience. I'm such a good typist. I got asdfjklsum here. I'm just for transcribing interviews. I mean, it's it's funny.
Yeah.
We would do like all the games like words per minute accuracy. We had like a white out key on those typewriters if you made a mistake. But that we had to keep doing this class with mister Edwards over and over every year.
So your seventh grade year, was it on a computer or.
I think at one point, yeah, it was on those typewriters because I remember we had it.
Like I said, they were like word processors, right.
Yeah, there was a key where if you made a mistake, there was like almost like a little thing that would click up with it.
Oh, so it was like a typewriter.
But then later we had more like almost word processors where it felt like there were like almost video games where it's like it would time you and then everyone would try to type as fast as possible. But also you had to maintain a level of accuracy.
Yeah.
Yeah, no, now I remember, well, I remember the ASDF some like that, going through those keys, and once in a while mister Edwards like I remember like on the first day of keyboarding or one of the early days, he had us write out like ass or something like he had us write like a swear word to like be funny, and it really worked. Like it was like we were like this is this guy is fantastic. I feel like some of his popular like I feel like it was harder. I guess, like my opinion of him, you know, probably a good person, but as this signments would get harder. The class became less fun, like sometimes you'd have to type out so much stuff in one day in a way that was like, why are we like filing these briefs?
Were like kids.
In By seventh grade it became secretarial teaching. It really taught us how to be a full on secretary. He gave us these documents to type out in full and we have to format the margins, change the fonts, do all of this bullshit, and it got very tedious, and I did something I'm not proud of.
Yeah, Andy, if you don't mind telling this story, end up.
But I still.
Confess to something. I'm not a cheater. I went through school with honor. In Latin class, I had my I had my textbook cloths as I was doing all of the quizzes and everything. But seventh grade I had a moral failing of I got very sick of having to type out all these elaborate things. And they had these cases by our computers at that had and there were floppy discs and like all of them of our other kids, and they were all labeled for other classes. And I saw a kung was written on a disc that was over my head and I was like, that's James Kung's disc. I guarantee you that his work is perfect. It's absolutely perfect. So when he wasn't looking the teacher, I put it in. I opened up the assignment that he did he did that morning. I hit select all copy and put it in mine, hit paste and was done for the day. I told my friends about this, and they were like, cung me. You know, you know I would be cunned. So I would sit down and when he would look away, I would, I would con my entire row. I would just.
Put their discs in one second. I would.
I would control the and we'd all get cunned. And we were high five at lunch. We would we were going straight eight pluses. We're doing no work. It was super easy. And then one day we came in and he.
Was like, can I see you guys?
This was a teacher. I'm like, oh fuck. And he had circled the same mistake on all three of ours. It was like two spaces and two capitalizations that were all in a row. And I was like, what and he goes, and he goes, the odds of three of you you would have the same mistake on one in a million. I'm like, that's funny. I don't know what it happened. And he's like, it's obvious you two were just helping each other. I go, I go, I go, how's it even possible we were typing it? And he goes, look, I know what happened to you guys that you're working together. And I'm like, I don't underneath, I don't understand how I played dumb. I pretended I didn't even know how that was possible. I think he wound up. We had to stare down from it. It was very tense. Whoa And I think he gave us like a D minus on the assignment as a compromise of sorts, and we dodged a bullet and he never even realized that it was James Kung's disk.
Wow, he never put that together.
And ever put together. It was a different class.
Yeah, because to.
Say that you were working together, it's like, that's not what happened. Like that would be actually not that big of a deal if you were like, here's how you type this part.
Like the point is like you didn't type anything.
No, I didn't do jack shit. Well, I felt bad about it.
I'm happy James didn't care in trouble because James didn't do it dance.
Do you think that James knew that that happened? Do you think he knew you used his disk?
I think he had no clue into this day. I'm sure he has no clue. James, if you're lifting this, sorry about that.
Well, as Jonah pointed, Jonah asked, is this the same James Kung who opted to not sign the pledge to not smoke in fourth grade? Yes, because, as you know, Andy, we were part of the smoke free class of two thousand and we were asked in fourth grade to sign this thing that said we would never smoke, and I signed it and I stuck to it. And I still have never smoked and smoked a cigarette because I signed a waiver and I don't want to, you know.
But James stood up in our class.
I've told this story on here before and said that when he's in college he might want to experiment with cigarette, which is he's.
The smartest kid in the world.
And yeah, yeah, And James was so smart that in middle school, a small bus it would come to the school in the middle of the day take him to the high school. From high school, math classes because he was that smart.
Wow, he was so smart.
We could do a whole episode about James Kung.
I mean he's yeah, I just said.
One more just storygo Chans Kong, that Dan Jacobson. He goes to Brown and he meets these friends in his hallway and there from Sacramento, which is where James moved in the middle of high school. Right.
He looked at what grade was James in when he moved. It was sad when he least like tenth or something. I think, okay, okay.
And so they're talking about the smartest kid in their high school that they said that. They go, wow, and this kid James Kong with a freaking genius at my high school in Sacramento.
It was the same James Kung.
Yeah, incredibly God. Well, I want to, you know, speaking of mister Edwards, I don't know if you remember this Andy so So. Yeah, guy hit a big mustache. He seemed like he was like fifty years old. He was probably twenty five. Like when you're that young, everyone every adult seems so old.
That's right.
But he I think got married to another teacher at our school, like an art teacher. And I remember actually feeling sort of like betrayed by because I think there were rumors about it, and then I remember they got married, and I was sort of like, well, why didn't he just tell us what was going on? That's also like, well, why would he tell a bunch of thirteen year old kids about his personal life?
Of course not Yeah, no, And we saw it happening because her art room was right across the hall. It wasn't Miss Dewey, it was Missotastic or something.
Yes, I think you're right. I think you're right.
Yeah.
I hope they're very happy. I'm I'm glad that he and Missotastic found love. Not the only well, Andy, I want to let you say, what were you gonna add? Because this is what I was gonna say, is not the only couple that got together in Brady Middle School.
And deceived us?
Because Okay, I just want to I want to say we went on this trip in like sixth grade where we went and we were Jonah, I don't know if you guys did this too, but we went and we we went to learn about the environment by saying it like a sewer, Andy, do you know what I'm talking about? Where we stayed a few nights at like this like Concerva.
H Yeah, it was Hiram House camp for older grades. And our grade was the first grade to go to the Cayahaga Valley C HC A some long acronym where we lived there for two nights.
Sixth grade, right, it was sixth grade.
Because seventh grade was the Columbus trip in eighth grade was DC.
Yeah, we went to high my grade went. We went to him.
We went to hire Up. Okay, we went to this place that was like a little further out.
Okay, yes, it was by it was by the Ritual Coliseum. And we were there three full days.
I mean I was. I was next mister Turpak and a bunk bad was very awkward.
It was, Yeah, it was really weird.
And we stayed in these rooms with bunk beds, and every room had like maybe ten students or so, I don't I don't even know how many, and maybe more than that, and one teacher. And I remember the teacher in our They didn't put me with like a lot of my friends.
I do remember that.
I remember being like basically the person that I feel the closest to in this room is the teacher, which was Miss Merchant, and so we had like we had like sort of a night of like girl talk one night, like very very like mild girl talk with her, and it was like you can ask everyone. It felt like very unthreatening. As I'm saying it, it seems more it seems more like scandalous than it was. But I remember we asked her, like, what's going on with you and mister Apple, who was the gym teacher, And this is.
What she said to us.
Okay, she fully lied in our faces, which, by the way, I love miss Merchant.
She can do no wrong, but this was wrong. She said.
Mister Apple and I are kind of the old only teachers at Brady Middle School who are the same around the same age. So we just really hit it off, like we just really get along because we're kind of like from the same generation, and we just like, you know, we just like talking.
We're just friends. Cut to.
Like two years later and they're like getting married and she's having a baby. I think I can't remember if they had a baby, but they were fully in a relationship and she just lied to us. And I remember when I found out they were getting married, I was like, this is fucked up.
That's a big betrayal.
I remember Andy Vermilion saying to me one day, he goes, Dude, I went to dinner last night. I was at Jimmy Dodono's and at the next table was mister Apple and Miss Merchant. I was like, no shit, God, yeah, spotted it at Jimmy do Donno's.
Wow, Wow, Wow, scandalous.
This is unbelievable.
And the one thing other thing that you put a note about was your diet in high school, which I really want to dig into because I think we had kind of some similar eating habits. How would you kind of describe what you were eating during this period of your life.
It was every single thing I ate from the moment I went to bed the moment that I mean for that was from the moment I woke rough the moment went to bed with sugar based I'd wake up and have cappin crunch cereal or like cookie crisp. My lunch was just peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and doritos and ho hos occasionally I'd have that my my my lunch at school was a cinnamon raisin and frosting bread from Gales with cream cheese in the center. Which is just cake. It's cake for lunch. And I didn't even think of that. And then I'd go, yeah, I got go home. We'd get Chinese food. I'd get sweet and sour chicken with extra sweet and sour sauce, fried rice and like walnut prawns coated like a white sugar sauce. And then I would then we'd like go to Dragons or something. I'd get like a giant Sunday And that was every day for years, and I weighed two pounds and then made of apple cider and apple juice. I would just mainline it all day long, and I never I didn't I thought sugar was just in like candy bars. I didn't realize that I was happy, like a thousand grams a day.
Of sugar, I know.
And it's leat addict.
And it's also like because back then it was so different. It was even probably the peanut butter we were eating wasn't didn't even have peanuts, and it it was just like sugar flavored like peanuts.
Yeah.
Yeah, it was everything that our moms that they would pack us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches just every day, and they didn't think that there's no nutrition in this whatsoever.
Were just white bread and sugar.
I mean, I will say if you try like Jiff peanut butter now or peter Pan peanut butter, which was our dad's favorite now that like grocery stores often have like organic peanut butter or even just regular peanut butter, is just peanuts. And if you try Jiff or any of those peanut butters now, you're like, oh, this is a dessert, Like this.
Isn't Yeah, no, it's frosting. And then the first when we when we toured Brady Middle School in fourth grade and we get into the to the big lunch room, I'm like, what is that machine over there by the pretzel rods? And they were like, that's a slushubby machine. Yeah, slush puppies. And I'm like, you can get slush puppies in school. So every day I had like four of them, and I didn't know it was basically poison. I mean, it was just the most disgusting, sugary, syrupy crap that Monkeny.
It didn't occur to me.
They had that little snack bar area like kind of and I'd go, You'd be like, I get my lunch. I got my girl cheese and I'm gonna like grab a couple of zebra cakes like a teenage Nija turtle custard bie. Maybe it's slushy. I mean, it's so funny to think about it.
Jonah also had like a real issue.
Jonah sort of discovered at Brady Middle School cafeteria, like what was important to him, and he like learned, how okay.
This is going to set the tone for my entire adult life. You remember we had a certain day of the week. We had Domino's pizza Fridays, right, Fridays, okay, And I remember it was a dollar fifty slice. Yeah, so it's a dollar fifty a slice of Dominoes. And I remember going up to a teacher and being like, this is too expensive. I was like, a pizza is like six dollars. You're charging a dollar fifty is like the pizza. And I remember them saying some the effect of like Joan, if you think it's too expensive, don't buy it. But I remember being like feeling like it was this injustice.
Yeah, yeah, it was expensive.
Yeah. Now you go to like a fancy pizza placer paying thirty bucks for like a twelve inch pie, right, you know, I'm sure a dollar fifty. I mean, don't get me started, but but yeah, I remember having this kind of visceral attitude, being like this seems like a total ripoff.
Yeah, and every fourth Friday it would be Mexican Pizza Day.
Oh I don't remember that. That sounds good though.
And was that something that was made in the cafeteria or that was big?
So yeah, yeah, it was may there. It was like a circle.
Yeah. Well the other real big lunch issue was like, remember we were not supposed to leave campus for lunch in high school. In high school, even if you had a car, And I remember like sneaking out to go to like McDonald's or Burger King and there was someone monitoring it, and it was like this whole huge ordeal. Wow, did you guys ever sneak out to get lunch Burger King?
Now?
Try?
Yeah, yeah, you could do it. It was risky. It was risky.
Joanah was taking a lot of risks between between between sneaking out to go like a block away to go to McDonald's and uh putting. We've talked about this so many times, but Andy Joan also had a book scam at where he helped contribute to.
That demys of Borders. I would, yeah, really quickly, yeah, I would. I would me and my friend would go to Walden Books. We'd buy a bunch of books on clearance. Then we'd take them to Borders, say we got these gifts, return them no receipt and they would give you the full credit and we would buy CDs. So we'd spend like shit twenty dollars on hardcover books and then we would get like two hundred dollars in credit of Borders to buy like like bel and Sebastian import CDs or like whatever.
You know.
Yeah, so it was a pretty good They caught on eventually, but yeah, and Dan Patton used to get get deep into this awesome and I was using a fake ID and then I got busted because my friend's sister was working the counter and she was like, why are you using a fake ID to return books? And so being that age, I just said, hold on, I forgot something in the car and just left nice. So that's how you dealt with things. And that's so funny because I feel like that's so much how I dealt with things at that age. If something was stressful, I didn't know how to react. I would just be like, I'm just gonna leave.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Yeah that was kind of your.
It's kind of my move, kind of your mo. Yeah. You don't get a lot of resolution though, Yeah, you gotta. Then he called me. Then I had to deal with it, you know.
So, yeah, your friend called you and was like, why were you using a fake ID?
And why did you just run away from my sister at Borders?
Yeah? Very weird.
Now, okay, I just want to revisit something really quickly. So you two never cross paths, and I.
Don't think so. I mean, you know, Andy, I was like playing in bands a lot, like in high school. I was playing like like Euclid Tavern or the grog Shop or like I was really involved in like punk and hardcore and that kind of play. You know that stuff. But it sounds like you weren't really as into that type of stuff.
I was going to the Odion back then and seeing I was seeing Gensis Chibute bands. Okay, well you know I was seeing stuff like that. I was in a weird circle back then. Yeah I had I didn't go with the grog Shop then, or I ain't that stuff in that era that was more college. I discovered like different music.
Okay, yeah, the Odeon. I would definitely go to the odio.
Yeah.
It was kind of interesting because I had a guitar teacher in Solin, and he kind of would take me out with his band and so like we would they would play gigs at like Peabody's Cafe or like the Odeon or all these So I saw a lot of these places when I was like fifteen sixteen, so that kind of exposed me to a lot of that stuff.
I remember being in like eighth ninth grade, some bolder kids they played they played Pink Floyd's Money or something at a big assembly and they.
Look really cold to me. I guess it wasn't you, though I don't remember.
I almost got the Orange Talent Show in high school shut down permanently, according to mister Hegner.
Because the Brady Brady Talent Show. Was it Brady Town Show? Well that was mister Hegner, was Brady.
Right, Yeah, maybe it was seventh grade, seventh or eighth grade, I think it was. It was at the high school. Maybe it wasn't a high school. Okay, you had to rehearse to be in it. It was like this whole big thing. I got rehearsed with some guy. Anyways, my band played and we were like a punk band and like our singer tried to get a mosh bit started and like spit on the audience or something, and like mister Hegner freaked out and was like, no, kids from other schools can can be in the talent show because it was a bunch of kids from like Shaker and other schools I was friends with. I was just like a lot of kids from other schools at that point in my life. And it was so funny because he was like, we're gonna never have a talent show again, and he thought this would be a punishment. Me and my friends were like, this is so cool. We shut down the whole town show like we thought it was awesome. It was so it was like the opposite reaction. They wanted, wow, that's great. Really we did that. Yeah, we played that, But yeah, I guess, I guess we weren't really crossing over in the music. I was also a couple years older, so you know, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I didn't interact much with the with the ninety eight kids.
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, ninety eight for life. Well two thousand were, yeah, of.
Course, or like zero zero, which was on our jackets, and that really caused a ruckus back in the day, right right.
Right, And by the way, when I was introducing you, I said, seniors two thousand rule. Do you remember this sort of controversy about the two thousands? Andy and I both graduated in the year two thousand and do you remember there were like T shirts that like the popular girls made that said two thousand on them, but like not everyone got one, and then the school made a rule that everyone had to get one.
Remembering the story so poorly.
I remember first day of senior year that was walking in a bunch of people. They were wearing senior shirts and I was like, I'm not a shirt. But it didn't eve occur to me or possibly be getting along, you know. So yeah, I don't call that.
I just remember everyone saying seniors two thousand rules, and it's something that I still say to a lot of people when I see them from our.
High school, right y two k remember that remember that one Oh wow theaters?
Yeah, yeah, that was people didn't know what was going to happen, you.
Know, Yeah, and it was nothing, Yeah.
It was nothing. It was absolutely nothing.
We're going to take a quick commercial break and then be back with our friend Andy.
Green, and we're back Andy. Before we get into this game. There is one more topic that you sent them. I just wanted to touch on, and it was essentially this idea that Beverly Hills and I too and Oh set some kind of realistic expectations about high school would be what it would be like.
Yes, I watched a lot of that show in the first two seasons because my sister is five years older, so I was pretty young. I was nine ten years old watching this show and high school it kind of scared me. It was this big brick building and the kids there were so old booking. It's just I couldn't imagine being in those hallways. It just petrified me that I'm watching this show where everybody is like a model and like thirty one years old in dealing with cults and rape, and a kid dies when he's a gunnadad he start drowing on his finger. Yeah, and everything was so dramatic. And then prom came and you had to like wear a tux and look like Luke Perry, and it was just I would sit there on the couch just being like, oh my god, I'm scared for middle school, but this shit, Oh my fucking god, I don't know how I'm going to do any of this. Yes, I know, and I you know, I didn't think that in the summers I would like work out like a surf club or anything.
But I definitely thought it would.
Be more sophisticated and more and more weighty issues were going to be dealt with on a weekly basis than actually happened when I got there, and now was like much older, whereas it was much more like freaks and geeks than actually, I don't do it. Oh, and it actually happened.
Yes, it was interesting.
I remember, I still remember, and I think it was because we were having rehearsal for Stage Crafters, which was our after school theater program or something, and we were rehearsing at the high school. And I remember the same thing about the high school being like, as like a nine or ten year old, it was like, this school is so enormous, It is so scary. How does anyone know where they're going at any time? It's just like it was like it felt like it was like an amphitheater or something like it felt like it was just like, yeah.
Well in your defense, in both your defense, you know, it was eighth through twelfth grade, so you do have like thirteen year olds and like eighteen year olds, and that's a pretty big gap.
Also, we only had like two hundred people in a grade, so it wasn't like it was like, true, that's enormous.
Yeah, but I'm saying the age difference was big. The age that big.
Yes, absolutely, yeah.
And we go there to swim when we were at Brady and it was scary enough that you had to like a little locker room about a bathing suit and go do laps and everything.
It was petrifying.
And then to walk through those halls and had wet hair and he's so little, and it was just like, oh my god.
Yeah, it was. Do you remember that we had a day when you were at Brady where you went to visit the high school and like you'd meet high school kids. And I remember I was wearing a mega death shirt and like I was just a little kid. I was like in seventh grade, and I remember like these guys being like, oh, this guy's like into you know. It's like but I remember it was so scary, like you're dealing with the other you have to go visit the classrooms, and all these kids are kind of like feeling I don't know, I remember like feeling out. The vibe was really I remember wearing the shirt and having being so scared talking these high schoolkids seemed so old.
Yeah.
I remember there was a bomb threat or something and we had to go to the high school and they served us lunch in the cafeteria and they gave us all free like chicken nuggets. This is what I remember about it. And I remember being like, this is awesome.
It was the best day ever. I love bomb scared day. Yeah, that we were in the theater for hours, just like fuck.
Yeah, it was great.
Also, speaking of the theater in the high school, Andy and I had sort of an infamous grade in that we couldn't have people come speak to us at assemblies.
Is that what it was?
Because we were so rude and we would talk through what was the rule.
We were We were so rowdy and such little assholes, and anybody would come in, there'd be a voice in the back of the theater like paint us.
You know.
We just couldn't be trusted to deal with anybody. We were like in a tooriously bad grade.
Yeah, and so they were like, like, you don't get assemblies anymore, Like these are a privilege.
And you don't get them anymore. And because our grade would just like yell and talk, it's like.
The Talent Show. So yeah, we didn't want it. Anyways, you're taking away something. Yeah, the moon wants maybe give us some privileges we're interested in. Okay, right, all right, So let's get into this game, Andy. This game is called change dot.
Door Change Door.
Otherwise known as you know, let's make fun of people who don't know how to use change dot org. So in this game, we're going to bring up three different somewhat nostalgic things people are trying to bring back on change dot org, and we'll each vote for our favorite. Great So, this first one is called change Cookie cris back to its original flavor. This is thirty three signatures. It's made out to General Mills. It's kind of long, but I'll really little. It says, years before the age of forgetfulness, a sweet treat of undeniable grandeur existed. It was a taste of joy and a magical concoction of cookie and milk. Flavor. This was the original eighties and nineties experience, you know this cookie crisp. Sometimes in the two thousand, General Mills decided their indoctrination vis a vis the dog mascot have been significantly enacted. Now the celia must change its flavor to that of a vaguely depressing chocolate whisper on top of whole grain deliberately made to sound like corn and bed dog food. Anyways, this person's basically saying they change the recipe of cookie crisp in the early two thousands, and it's not as good and it's not as cookie tasting. Do you have any thoughts on this?
Yeah, I think it's a good plan. If you buy cookie crisp, you know what you're getting. Yeah, you're getting just an injection of sugar, like straight into your spine basically, So why water it down? I fully agree it should go back to like the previous version.
Okay, fair enough, finesse you my thoughts on this.
Yes, I do think it's interesting that they changed it. I agree with Andy. I think this is you know, sometimes I get annoyed with the people writing these petitions because I think they get like a little self serious and you know.
They using some three silver words in this. It's a lot for a cookieeshist.
So we treat of undeniable ander existed. It's like, we got it.
But right, I do think there is a point that like that Andy made, which is that if you're buying cookie crisp, you know what you're you know what you're buying, and it just doesn't I don't know why they're kind of watering it down.
Yeah, Jonah, what about you?
Yeah, well, you know, I can put aside my my issues with the CEO of General knows Jeff Hammeronning. Oh yeah, Jonah, He's been someone who I've had a lot of issues with over the years. But I will say I'm going to take Jeff's side on this one only because Yeah, it's like I feel like it's like it's just going to be unhealthy. Like it's probably like maybe slightly less unhealthy, but it doesn't taste good. Like if this is an indulgent thing, just make it what it is. Like I feel like trying to make stuff that's really bad for you and then being like it's a little lower calorie. It's like, what's the point at this, you know? So to me, it seems a little silly. Go back to the original one. At least you know what you're getting. Yeah, And as you want to get into the next petition.
The next one is called bring back the old TGIF to ABC. So obviously already probably piquking a lot of our interests. So this was a petition that this woman made to ABC. It has twenty four signatures, so it's getting there.
It's getting there, And she.
Wrote, I am starting this petition because at a time like this in the world, I feel as if people need to be reminded of nostalgia and happy times. Okay, listener podcast, ma'am. The nineties was such a fun and laid back generation to be a kid. At times like these, I think we need a break from the news and TGF was a happy time for many.
I am urging ABC to bring.
Back the old TGIF blocks from years ago and put them on Friday nights. Everyone seems to be staying home nowadays, and it would be a perfect throwback to a simpler time. I'm talking all the old classics like Family Matters, Perfect Strangers, Full House, Stup By Step, Boy Meets World, et cetera. Every week could be dedicated to different shows so that we get a variety. It would also be neat to be able to see the TGF hosting parts that were made so famous. It would take us all back in time to happiness. I understand that these shows are on Hulu, but why not bring it to a universal network scene by all, so that it's free to all who want to watch. Kind of like a nod to the past. Please help me out and sign this position and bring back happier times. Okay, what do we think, Andy?
I don't think it makes sense to show TV shows that every thirty years ago on a network to the whole country. I do agree that some reboots would be in order. I would love more perfect Strangers. They're both alive, they're both willing, and with Susanne Summer's tragic death this past week, I think step by step would be tough to pull off.
But I think what this person is saying actually is I think this person is saying.
He show the old ones.
Yeah, she just wants to show the old ones.
Yeah, yeah, Well that's crazy. I mean, you can watch those on hulugain them from thirty years ago, but they could revive family matters that they're all around and the story needs to be finished. I've given a much thought A bowl can happen. It's a frequent topic when I talk with Daniel, our mutual friend, and it has to happen. They did Full House, It's it's the next in line.
I feel like right, And actually, Carl Winslow is showing up in a lot of stuff.
He's in that commercial recently.
Yeah, he isn't Diehard.
And the show ended he's In't Yeah, and in Diehard too in a brief cameo. And I think in Turner and Hooge that he's always a cop. He was he was born to be a cop. Yeah. But the show ended with Steve and Laura finally dating, but it just ended. They didn't get married, they didn't have kids.
We need to say, yeah, yeah, I think we need to see what happened. Okay, so you're so you're not for this petition, but you're for a version of this petition, which is to just bring back family matters.
Yes, Okay, Jonah, what about you?
Yeah, I think you know these shows were good, but yeah, kind of to Andy's point, you can still watch them. I think these reboots can be tricky. I had COVID last week, so I was watching a lot of stuff. One of the things I watched was the Fraser reboot. It's rough stuff. I mean, it's like it's rough. And I know one of your topics was Quantum Leap that obviously got gotta reboot. I don't know what your thoughts were.
Bullshit, it's a bullshit readbook because there's no Vacula. If there's no Scott Bakula, it's not quindently fuck this new version.
Yeah. So, so, like I said, yeah, it's tough to do. I think these shows, I do think there is something nice about like sitting down and having a block of shows you look forward to all week. But again, I think it's kids today are going to see these shows as so dated and adults like we just kind of have stuff to do. It's hard. So I think it's kind of unrealistic. But I can appreciate the sentiment from a nostalgic point of view.
Vanessa, what about you, Well, yes, I appreciate it too.
You know, I think this idea to this person is better in theory than in practice. I will say, I don't know. A few months ago, I was watching TV and I was on some weird Network and they were showing reruns of step by Step and it's pretty low like I'm and i'm I think like Family Matters is genuinely a better show than step by Step. And that is no burn to to Suzanne Summer's.
It's okay, no no one affiliated with step by Step. He was listening to this podcast.
I don't know, but I but I so, I think there's I don't mean to group them all as like being one level of funny, but I do think like some of that stuff, it seems like a better idea than it is now. I just also have to tell a story really quickly, which is that I was recently at our friend Jamie's wedding Jonah, and one of Jamie's friends was there and she was like, this is my husband Rider and I was like, oh my god. And it was Rider Strong otherwise always Sean from Boy Meets World. And it was like, yeah, I know his name is Ryder. You don't have to introduce me to him. Which it was nice of this woman to introduce me to her husband. She was actually Alex. She was really cool, but it was so crazy because I was like, what the hell is going on?
Like I knew I was going to a wedding.
I didn't know I was going to like a place where i'd get to meet Ryder Strong.
Right yeah, wow, Yeah, So incredible congratulations of Jamien Phil on their wedding.
Yes, and not to make it about myself, what a cool thing to get to do, to meet rider Strong at their wedding.
Happy. The coolest thing was that, you know, getting married. Okay, So I.
Would say, I would say that I'm not as for this. I appreciate this person sentiment, but as I said earlier before I got sort of went on a tangent. I recently watched a few episodes of Step by Step, and I just don't know that these shows are gonna are gonna have the same effect however, many years later, especially the original versions.
Yeah, fair enough, And I think we talked about this a little bit when we had mind Bialgone, because I think Blossom was part of.
That yes, which I do think they should reboot.
Oh yeah, yeah, definitely.
Okay, So this last one is called bring back nineties hot topic, and this one has thirty one signatures. A lot of people miss the old hot topic. The current hot topic is boring, not as unique it used to be. An easy access place for any form of the alternative community to shop in person. It consisted of trip NYC, pants platforms, good quality chains, all band shirts, et cetera. Now Hot Topic really has que clothes to buy, and it's band shirts are now mostly people like the Weekend, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, et cetera. I want to bring back at least a little bit of its former era back. So, Andy, what do you think about the nineties Hot Topic reboot?
I mean, I think a lot of people they want the world to be the same world that it was back when they were fifteen.
Yeah, and things change.
That the emo scene is not around much, you know, it's very different that Billie Eilish is for the current kids. And I think times change and it's right for Hot Topic to change with the times.
Okay, fair enough. Yeah, this was a tough one for me. I actually I don't know if you remember this site. There was this site Hot Topic Grand called Shotgound. Okay, so they had almost had like it was like it's sold stuff. It was an offshoot of Hot Topic was like editorial. So I do like interviews and stuff, and so actually, at one point I went to hot Topics headquarters, which was in like, oh, Studio City or something, and it was it's so funny. My editor was this guy Randy, who's a great guy still write for sometimes. And I remember walking into this huge building and like this woe in front ofs had like really tall like stripes socks and I was like, all right, this is like the Hot Topic. And each boardroom had like a different theme because we got a tour and they were like this, Oh, this boardroom is like the surgeon room, and so it's like a feel table with like weird like stuff like and like the CEO the company was there and she was on like like some kind of treadmill desk with like a walking desk with like a tr and they had like seven of these super big and it was a huge warehouse. I think they like ship stuff out of there. And yeah, I mean I never really went to Hot Topic. I worked at this record store and mentor Ultrasound Music, which is like a punk and hardcore store and metal and so Hot Topic always seemed like a little kind of too corporate for me, but I did. I was into a lot of the stuff they sold, probably especially the vinyl, So I think it's cool to have that stuff. I do think this stuff kind of still does exist, like if you go, you know, I was actually recently at Newberry Comics and they had they had a ton of vinyl in Boston. Actually ran into my friend Mike from All American Rejects there. He was vinyl shopping too, and it's like, yes, so there are stores that still sell this. But yeah, to your point, Andy, you got to sell the stuff that's kind of relevant to what's happening now. And I'm sure Andy, you personally get a lot of this at Rolling Stone, where people are like why aren't you covering this like foreigners not in the rock hall, or like you know, why aren't you covering this thing? And it's like right, cause, like this is not the stuff like we need to sell ads, like we need to write about stuff like people care about more.
Yes, it's a frequent topic around here that no matter what we do, that we anger so many people.
Yes, Yes, And I think also like the baggage of it being Rolling Stone and having that like legitimacy and that history. It's like, well, you wrote about this band sixty years ago. I don't understand where you're not writing about it now.
Yeah. Yeah, they gets so mad if we cover young acts and the kids are annoyed if it's old stuff.
You just you can't win.
Yeah, you can't win. So yeah, so I like I like the fact that there's a store at the mall, yeah, where you could get like you know whatever, like like a Pennywise CD, and you know that that's in the mainstream culture in some way. But I think you can find all that stuff now if you look for it. And yeah, it's like these stores are just have to keep the lights on. So yeah, yeah, yeah, good, it's like this other one. Good thought, but I'm not sure it works in execution. Vanessa, what do you think in hot time?
Well, first of all, I got a little I looked up Shotgound. It was an online music downlin site, retail store, and social networking platform launched by hot Topic in two thousand and eight. Yeah, now it was only around for a few years. It closed down in twenty eleven. So yeah, you got to visit those Shotgound offices in their peak but very short era that they were happening.
But I agree with both of you.
I think you know, hot topic has to First of all, it really made me laugh when this person said good quality chains.
I'm implying.
They're implying they still sell chains, but they're not good quality.
God.
You know that just made me remember too, Jonah. Remember you would walk around with a chain on your wallet.
Yeah, and you know where I got it. Ryan Newman's dad owned like an Ace hardware, and we'd go to the hardware store and pick out little chains and put on my wallet around my neck or you had to go to the hardware. We didn't have hot topic, we'd go to the hardware store. Yeah.
Yeah.
It was seventh grade when the chain wallet's hit and they were everywhere, and I was like I was. I was like, man, I am not cool enough to carry this off. I just can't do it.
Yeah.
Well, let me tell you the problem with the chain wall especially, I would get the really thick ones. You'd sit on a bench or something that had grus and then the chain would get stuck in between like the slats, and then you couldn't stand up and you'd be pulling on it. And it was a lot of where.
Yeah, yeah, it seems like you're kind of dudgeable out there, Andy, but I could.
See yeah, like like for Carson Bassett, it worked perfectly for Michael Wasserman. It was Yeah, it was like born with him. It was it was so natural.
Yeah yeah, yeah, not for me.
I need to try.
Yeah, not for everyone. So, Vanessa, so you're kind of thinking.
I agree with both of you.
I think doing the old Hot Topic it just feels like easy for this person to say, who doesn't own the business and have to make money for it. So I don't really agree with this petition, even though I appreciate the of course, you know, of course, I completely understand the nostalgia of it and wanting to wanting to revisit those times. But it's almost like you'd have to have a different store that sold that kind of stuff and maybe call it something like the original Hot Topic and then just expect to, you know, whoever starts it to just throw money out the window.
So yes, so that's a fair point. So Andy, if you had to sign one of these petitions and just bringing them back a cookie Chris to its original flavor, bring back the old TJF to ABC, or bring back nineties Hot Topic? Which one of these would you sign? You don't actually have to sign any of them.
Can send you the links if you want to I.
Would definitely go with the cereal. I can go on Hulu and watch old sitcoms. I don't really need hot topic to be like it used to be, but I could use some old school Cookie Chris for sure.
Yeah, but Asa, what about you?
I'm in agreement with Andy.
I like the idea of bringing back the old TGIF, but I actually think it would be so disorienting to on Friday night turn on ABC and just see those especially this person also said they'd want to have the old interstitial like host things.
It would just be like, what the hell is happening right now?
And as Andy said, you can go you know, you can watch those shows on other networks now, so the repeats, So I would say Cookie Crisp.
That would be my vote.
What about you, Jonah, I'm gonna I'm going to go nineties hot topic. I know it's not really possible, but you know, like, you know, we talked a lot on this podcast about Record rev in Cleveland shutting down all these stores, and so it's like, yeah, such a bummer, And so I think having a store like that would be cool. You know, you know, would I go there a lot and buy stuff? Probably not? But I think in theory and nineties hot topics like selling this like alternative stuff would be a cool store, you know, as long as I don't have to be involved in funding it. Right, So right, that's where I'm going and shout out, you know. And I was an employee shotgun, so I got got to give them some props. Yeah, so yeah, So I think we're pretty much in agreement two to one, but not to.
One, but I think we're all sort of on the same page, you know.
Yes, So Andy, do you have anything to promote or where can people learn more about your writing or anything like that?
Yeah, they could just go on the Rolling Song website and my author page is there, and I can say and see my articles Ice lest Stones last night at a small club and I dis reviewed that. So that's the newest start. That's the newest article.
Wow, how was I read? I read? It was really small, right, it was.
Five hundred people.
I was right by Daniel Craig and Chris Rock and I almost Costello. I was right in front. It was just mind blowing cool. They played seven songs. They played four new ones and three old ones and I get to touch mixed foot the entire time. And it was like just absurdly cool.
Oh my gosh, my god, that's so amazing.
We did this sketch on SNL once where when Nick was I guess he was the host, yeah, and which was crazy. And we did this karaoke sketch where Fred did his impression of him and and I was played his wife, Mick Jagger's wife, and Seth wrote the sketch and he was like, and Mick Jagger kept being like that guy doesn't really sound like Mick Jagger, and I kept being like, yes he does.
Kevin, shut up.
Mick Jagger wanted his name to be Kevin, by the way, and Seth was like, I remember we were rehearsing it. Seth was like, you need to yell at him more like you need to yell at Mick Moore. And I was like, okay, So I had to be like I had to be like, shut up, Kevin, he does sound like to Mick Jagger, the shut out he does sound like Mick Jagger, You're stupid. Like it was so fun and it was so crazy to be like to be like, yell at Mick Jagger more about how he doesn't know what Mick Jagger sounds like.
Wow, that'sble.
It was really it was so crazy, It was really fun. So that was so much fun.
Andy, thank you so much for joining us and everybody for listening.
Oh my god, this was so OBVI.
We have to have you back on Andy because the topics that we didn't even scratch the surface of the incredible topics we give that you gave us.
But to everyone who's listening, if you if you.
Like this, please subscribe to the podcast and keep an eye out for next week's episode of How Did We Get Weird, where we will discuss more stories from our childhood and cultural touchstones like keyboarding class.
Thank you so much, Andy, this was so great.
Of court was so much fun, So thanks to you both
