54. Josh Gondelman Discusses Method Man and Redman, Blackout!

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Stand-up comedian and writer Josh Gondelman drops by to get Al caught up on Method Man and Redman’s 1999 album, Blackout!. In addition to discussing what he loves about this album, Josh talks about being a co-creator of a viral Twitter account, how his musical tastes got shaped growing up in the Boston suburbs and what he has in store for us in the coming months.

You can follow Josh on both Twitter and Instagram at @joshgondelman.

You should also give the defunct-but-still-hilarious account he co-created, Modern Seinfeld, a follow at @SeinfeldToday.

Al is on Twitter at @almelchiorBB, and this show has accounts on Twitter and Instagram at @youmealbum. Be sure to follow @youmealbum to find out in advance about upcoming guests and featured albums for this podcast.

1:14 Josh joins the show

3:07 Josh was a co-creator of one of the greatest Twitter accounts ever

6:02 Josh talks about working on Last Week Tonight

7:30 Josh’s friends from summer camp and MTV influenced his childhood musical tastes

12:19 Later on, Josh got familiar with underground hip-hop

13:42 Josh explored some other musical off-ramps, including the “Sons of Springsteen”

16:57 Josh and Al share their appreciation for They Might Be Giants

18:36 Josh explains how he got bullied into his comedy career

22:23 Josh outlines his reasons for choosing to discuss Blackout!

26:28 Discussing Blackout! represents a major shift from the last couple of episodes

28:42 Josh connects Method Man and Redman with Cheech and Chong and Adam Sandler

32:50 Josh talks about the first times he listened to Blackout!

34:58 Josh helps Al with finding credits for samples

36:50 Al shares his reaction to the album

39:34 Josh and Al enjoyed the pop culture references on the album

42:20 The density of lyrics created a challenge for Al

Reactions to selected tracks

44:29 Cereal Killer

50:16 Blackout/Well All Rite Cha

51:35 The album’s middle portion

53:25 4 Seasons

55:00 Tear It Off vs. DMX’s Party Up

58:42 Josh talks about the casual misogyny on the album and how it affects his listening experience

1:02:05 22 years later, Blackout! doesn’t come with a lot of baggage

1:05:58 Josh thinks Blackout! would have fit the cultural zeitgeist better if it came out a few years earlier

1:09:44 Al revisits the part of his life where he mostly listened to hip-hop

1:12:59 Josh tells us what we can expect from him in 2022

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