The Best Stuff In The World

Kevin is joined by filmmaker David Bettencourt and film superfan Bryan Murray to discuss Sam Raimi's 1987 horror/comedy classic Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn!Evil Dead 2, which stars the great Bruce Campbell, is credited with inventing a new film genre - splatstick, which combines physical humor reminiscent of The Three Stooges with the extreme gore that was gaining popularity in the 80s with splatter and slasher films. It's also a monstrously original piece of filmmaking - Raimi's camera is always doing interesting things and it elevates what's ostensibly a cheap exploitation film to arguably one of the greatest films ever made. It's funny, it's scary, it's violent, and, yes, it's groovy.You can find David Bettencourt's films on his YouTube Channel!

G.I. Joe is the code name for America's daring, highly-trained special mission force. Its purpose: to defend human freedom against Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world! It's also a toy line, a cartoon, a series of comic books, and a nostalgic touch point for dudes of a certain age. Kevin is joined by two such dudes: Richard Chicago Borges (of Borges fame) and Gary Mitchel, co-host of the horror podcast A Podcask of Amontillado and co-director of Dragon Con's American Sci-Fi Classics Track, to discuss it all. Well, everything except those terrible movies from the 2000s, which we did talk about but then got edited out for time. Spoiler alert: they aren't very good. Now you know. And knowing is... well, you get the idea.

Kevin is joined by author Jane Duffus to talk all things regarding the Sarah Records label. Jane's new book, These Things Happen: The Sarah Records Story, tells the story of the record label, the bands who released music on it, and the people and culture who were affected by it. Sarah was started in 1987 by Clare Wadd and Matt Haynes in Bristol (United Kingdom) - they put out 100 releases, mostly records but occasionally a release would be a fanzine or (for their 50th release) a board game. The label deliberately ceased operations with a big party, a manifesto, and a final compilation album called There And Back Again Lane. Sarah releases were often maligned in the British music press for being twee or wimpy but their steadfast refusal to bow to the prevailing trends always made them seem all the more punk to me. Jane has a wealth of knowledge and insight about the label from both putting together her book and her own experience as a teenage fan of the label.You can order Jane's book through her website or in the U.S. through Rough Trade.

One of the first and best punk bands, The Ramones recorded their first album in 1976 and they existed as a band for about 20 years after that. Their 70s material is the most beloved, although they continued to tour and put out records until they broke up. It's not an overstatement to say that despite achieving very little commercial success during their time as an active band their influence has resonated through pop culture in a way that musical artsts' have. I'm an enormous fan and I was excited to talk with musicians Ted Rao (The Double Nuthins, The Moneyshots) and Dan Schafer (who occasionally goes by the stage name Dan Vapid, and whose work in bands Screeching Weasel, Sludgeworth, The Riverdales, Noise by Numbers, The Methadones, Dan Vapid and the Cheats and more ranks among the best Ramones-influenced pop-punk ever made) about this absolutely classic American band. Hey ho, let's go!

Kevin is joined by writer and musician Andre Salles and Amber Lee from the Queer in Cyber podcast to discuss The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - the radio shows, the books, the stage adaptation, the tv series, the film, the computer game and the towels. Every facet of Douglas Adams' infinitely improbable comedy science fiction franchise is tackled by our intrepid panelists. Don't panic!Andre's albums can be found here: https://andresalles.bandcamp.com/musicYou can also find Andre's music blog here: https://tm3am.com/Be sure and check out Amber's podcast! Queer in Cyber is a cyber business podcast that features LGBTQI+ cybersecurity professionals.

This time out we're discussing Watchmen, the 12 issue comic book maxi-series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Watchmen is widely regarded as one of the great achievements of the comic book medium and, like a lot of people, it totally blew my mind the first time I read it. I'm joined by Kevin Eldridge of The Flopcast to discuss the comic, its influence, its themes, its characters, various adaptations, and why it's one of the greatest superhero stories ever told.Be sure to check out Kevin Eldridge's podcast, The Flopcast!

Sleep No More is a long-running immersive theater show in New York and we're joined by original cast member Kelly Bartnik to discuss the show's magical run in Boston, the transition to NYC, the challenges of creating immersive work, the art that inspired her, and her experience in being part of the launch of such a long-running, successful show.

It's our first full episode! Welcome to The Best Stuff in the World, the podcast for people who like things. This time out we're joined by TV Reporter (and Beatles superfan) Bob Ward and filmmaker Guy Benoit to discuss 1964's A Hard Day's Night, the first film by the Beatles.