I Just Don't See The Big Deal

In another multi-part extravaganza that begins with an uncharacteristically positive vibes-laden monologue and discussion, the boys took some extra time to discuss the masterpiece that was Logan, its relation to The Last of Us, and how it shows that if Marvel gave a shit and followed its example, they might stop producing crap that's meant for children and dorks. Stay tuned for Part 2 next week in which the boys wrap up their conversation by doing a deep dive with Frank Darabont's The Mist and Barry Jenkins' Moonlight.Thanks again to Creative Commons and the talents of these fine artists for allowing the use of their music: "Tainted Cloth" by Oelek, "The Cannery" and "Wagon Wheel" by Kevin MacLeod, and "The Troll of the Mountain Swing" by Underscore Orkestra. Extra special thanks to the additional track provided by Michael Hart with "Brutal Heart (Instrumental)."

In the finale of the Oscar megapod trilogy of 2017, the boys wrap up their discussion on 2016 while managing to shit on franchises and what that really means to be in a franchise (von Sternberg even claims that franchise films aren't actually films) and they finally get to the matter at hand: reviewing Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge and Nate Parker's The Birth of a Nation. Burgess overanalyzes and von Sternberg dismisses and many laughs are had culminating in some phenomenal racism. Thanks again to Creative Commons and the talents of these fine artists for allowing the use of their music: "Tainted Cloth" by Oelek, "The Cannery" by Kevin MacLeod, "Wagon Wheel" by Kevin MacLeod, and "The Troll of the Mountain Swing" by Underscore Orkestra. 

In Part 2 of the now-long-running Oscars-related episode of I Just Don't See The Big Deal, the boys break down their personal favorite films of the year with very little debate this time around except for von Sternberg's insistence on Denzel Washington's superiority over Casey Affleck and Burgess' insistence otherwise. Thanks again to Creative Commons and the talents of these fine artists for allowing the use of their music: "Tainted Cloth" by Oelek, "The Cannery" by Kevin MacLeod, "Wagon Wheel" by Kevin MacLeod, and "The Troll of the Mountain Swing" by Underscore Orkestra.

Because it's March, it's Oscar Recap Month for I Just Don't See The Big Deal! This is the first of a two (or three) part series covering the Oscars, their films, the boy's favorite films, and eventually the bifurcated review of two of the heavy-hitters (or one of the heavy-hitters and one of the biggest foul balls in recent film history). In Part 1, the boys focus on the show itself, debate the measures of greatness of some of the nominees and how films get remembered, and manage to spin one of their grandest conspiracy theories yet. Stay tuned for Part 2 (and possibly Part 3) in which the boys actually discuss THEIR favorite films and performances of 2016, followed by a discussion about Hacksaw Ridge and The Birth of a Nation, reviving an old debate/prediction the boys had back in June of 2016.Thanks again to Creative Commons and the talents of these fine artists for allowing the use of their music: "Tainted Cloth" by Oelek, "The Cannery" by Kevin MacLeod, "Wagon Wheel" by Kevin MacLeod, and "The Troll of th

After a two-month hiatus, the boys realized that they were getting too old for this shit, this shit being the 18 month process of watching Donald Trump run and win an election to the highest office in the land. So they went back to the drawing board, produced an idea for a rebooted franchise, and started anew with the next season of I Just Don't See The Big Deal by focusing on what they know how to do best: overanalyzing the shit out of movies. But it's no longer free-form. A format has been established and will be explained to you, dear listeners, all in good time.So in this new and improved episode of I Just Don't See The Big Deal, Burgess skewers the Grammys in the only way he knows how (by using overwrought academic hipster logic), von Sternberg vents about a Facebook slight because that's just how insecure he is, and the boys discuss two  of their favorite films that both have been avoiding for years now. Strap in and get ready to understand why Room and/or The Counselor just ain't that big a deal.Thanks

In the first post-Trump episode of I Just Don't See the Big Deal, the boys decide to tackle the possibility that leaks--as in transparency--might not be the greatest thing, at least when it comes to a pederast dork (allegedly) like Julian Assange. Fun is had talking video games and music and somehow it's all related! Opening with von Sternberg's usual call for rationality and ending with his increasingly usual call for mass suicide, this one is a treat!Thanks again to Creative Commons and the talents of these fine artists for allowing the use of their music: "Tainted Cloth" by Oelek, "The Cannery" by Kevin MacLeod, "Wagon Wheel" by Kevin MacLeod, and "The Troll of the Mountain Swing" by Underscore Orkestra.

The official 20th (20th!) episode of I Just Don't See the Big Deal couldn't have come at a more appropriate time: Donald Trump has become president of these United States and Burgess and von Sternberg are here to unpack that for you and call you all morons (you know, the usual). It's their most epic episode yet, but these are epic times that require epic deconstructions and epic expressions of contrarianism. Epic.Thanks again to Creative Commons and the talents of these fine artists for allowing the use of their music: "Tainted Cloth" by Oelek, "The Cannery" by Kevin MacLeod, "Wagon Wheel" by Kevin MacLeod, and "The Troll of the Mountain Swing" by Underscore Orkestra.

The long-awaited and teased conspiracies episode is here! Burgess and von Sternberg were lucky enough to be joined by the incorrigible Milo Weil for this episode, an old partner in crime of theirs when they were first dipping their toes into the podcasting waters. The guys cover almost every conspiracy theory imaginable all while trying to decipher why they might have thought or not thought the big deal was with these stories and the people that spread them. It's an epic, sprawling podcast, but manages to be entertaining throughout, despite von Sternberg's best efforts to derail it during his excoriation of online activism during the opening monologue. Enjoy!Thanks again to Creative Commons and the talents of these fine artists for allowing the use of their music:"Tainted Cloth" by Oelek, "The Cannery" by Kevin MacLeod, "Wagon Wheel" by Kevin MacLeod, and "The Troll of the Mountain Swing" by Underscore Orkestra.

After a month of some significant changes, the boys have a brand-spankin' new episode of the podcast, the first of two recorded during von Sternberg's sojourn back to the Twin Cities. During their first recording jaunt (which took three attempts overall), von Sternberg tries to exorcise his racist demons by excoriating the mass-beloved Neil deGrasse Tyson and his push for bare enthusiasm for science without any of the follow-through. Burgess just wants to blow Tyson or something (but manages to sneak in a good counterpoint or five). The debate was heated! Laughs were had! Enjoy the decent audio quality!p.s. You might also notice the new theme song and outro piece. That's right, the guys have finally ditched exploiting licensed music! Thanks to Creative Commons and the talents of these fine artists for allowing the use of their music:"Tainted Cloth" by Oelek, "The Cannery" by Kevin MacLeod, "Wagon Wheel" by Kevin MacLeod, and "The Troll of the Mountain Swing" by Underscore Orkestra.

In this special episode (and 20th!) of I Just Don't See The Big Deal, the boys decided to turn one of Burgess' intro rants into a discussion on the recent fiasco of Colin Kaepernick deciding to keep his ass warm. More importantly, Burgess got von Sternberg to talk about sports for almost an hour.Thanks again to Creative Commons and the talents of this fine artist for allowing the use of their music: "The Troll of the Mountain Swing" by Underscore Orkestra.

In this newest episode of I Just Don't See the Big Deal, Burgess does his damnedest in convincing von Sternberg that music festivals are a legitimate way to consume music. The boys also wax poetic on the pitfalls of preorders in a post-No Man's Sky world, and even manage to get a little racist when they talk about the double standard at play with the handling of Nate Parker--the writer/director/star/producer/line cook/animal handler of the upcoming Birth of a Nation--and his rape allegations.Thanks again to Creative Commons and the talents of these fine artists for allowing the use of their music: "Tainted Cloth" by Oelek, "The Cannery" by Kevin MacLeod, "Wagon Wheel" by Kevin MacLeod, and "The Troll of the Mountain Swing" by Underscore Orkestra.

In this overdue episode of the podcast, the boys tackle what metal music means to them, somehow getting there from yammering on and on about Game of Thrones' season finale. This episode was recorded over a month ago, but remains prescient thanks to Burgess' hot takes on Trump and how veterans are getting the shaft from both the left and the right. Any regrets? As Lemmy Kilmeister says, "Regrets are pointless."Thanks again to Creative Commons and the talents of these fine artists for allowing the use of their music: "Tainted Cloth" by Oelek, "The Cannery" by Kevin MacLeod, "Wagon Wheel" by Kevin MacLeod, and "The Troll of the Mountain Swing" by Underscore Orkestra.

Are you feeling like the world is collapsing around you? You've probably been listening to Donald Trump's RNC speech again. But you're also not alone. Burgess and von Sternberg are here to break it down for you in the only way they know how: ranting, raving, and calling out people who can't hear them. This beast of an episode was a long-time coming. After a brief hiatus, Burgess and von Sternberg reunite in the midst of July to break down what the hell has been going on to make 2016 feel, shall we say, DIFFERENT. Thanks again to Creative Commons and the talents of these fine artists for allowing the use of their music: "Tainted Cloth" by Oelek, "The Cannery" by Kevin MacLeod, "Wagon Wheel" by Kevin MacLeod, and "The Troll of the Mountain Swing" by Underscore Orkestra.

In this episode of I Just Don't See the Big Deal, Burgess and von Sternberg thought it was a good idea to talk about rape and racism. Burgess prickles at von Sternberg's suggestion that a hug is nice, but not sufficient for helping victims and von Sternberg prickles at Burgess' notion that the Stanford rapist got off light because of his race. So...really, what could go wrong?!Thanks again to Creative Commons and the talents of these fine artists for allowing the use of their music: "Tainted Cloth" by Oelek, "The Cannery" by Kevin MacLeod, "Wagon Wheel" by Kevin MacLeod, and "The Troll of the Mountain Swing" by Underscore Orkestra.

In this episode of I Just Don't See The Big Deal, the boys tackle the (possibly fake?) enigma of Radiohead and their fan-base. This one was a long time coming, possibly the longest--the origin of not seeing the big deal in things, even. When they're not making enemies of the gay community with their eye-rolling at Beyonce, Burgess and von Sternberg are also dissecting what could be the greatest episode of Game of Thrones and the pain that comes from holding the door.Thanks again to Creative Commons and the talents of these fine artists for allowing the use of their music: "Tainted Cloth" by Oelek, "The Cannery" by Kevin MacLeod, "Wagon Wheel" by Kevin MacLeod, and "The Troll of the Mountain Swing" by Underscore Orkestra.

In this special episode of the I Just Don't See The Big Deal podcast, the boys deal with another current event. Burgess' gears got ground into anger and von Sternberg needed to step in to pick up the pieces. They can be called even now, after the clusterfuck that was Brussels. What begins as a discussion of the recent North Carolina legislation of bigotry against transgendered people (and Mississippi's legislation against cohabitating non-married straight couples), segues into a discussion on the infighting on the modern left and the discovery of the hateful dad joke. It's chaos as usual; get into it.Thanks again to Creative Commons and the talents of this fine artist for allowing the use of their music: "The Troll of the Mountain Swing" by Underscore Orkestra.

In the month-late 12th (real) episode of the I Just Don't See The Big Deal podcast, Burgess and von Sternberg tackled something that really was a long time coming: Bernie Sanders. Burgess had been warning us of this day for a long time, so it shouldn't come as much of a shock that something happened to tick the guys off enough to pretty much lose all faith in future President Larry Sanders. Less of a shock at least than the death of Minneapolis' favored son, Prince Rogers Nelson, who Burgess mourns a little less than the narcissism of the so-called mourners that gathered to honor the dead with their selfie-sticks. Come for the witticisms, stay for the pessimism! It's I Just Don't See The Big Deal!Thanks again to Creative Commons and the talents of these fine artists for allowing the use of their music: "Tainted Cloth" by Oelek, "The Cannery" by Kevin MacLeod, "Wagon Wheel" by Kevin MacLeod, and "The Troll of the Mountain Swing" by Underscore Orkestra.

In the 11th episode of I Just Don't See The Big Deal, the boys rally around Hulk Hogan's patented courtroom body slam deposited upon Nick Denton and his media empire. But before that, they dive into one of their favorite rhetorical pass-times: discussing why hippies and stoners are too stupid to talk about simulation theory (because, frankly, obviously takes one to know one). Warning: there ARE some forced references to A Serbian Film. As per usual.Thanks again to Creative Commons and the talents of these fine artists for allowing the use of their music: "Tainted Cloth" by Oelek, "The Cannery" by Kevin MacLeod, "Wagon Wheel" by Kevin MacLeod, and "The Troll of the Mountain Swing" by Underscore Orkestra. 

In a break from what's becoming a biweekly tradition, the boys decided to throw in an extra episode because von Sternberg just couldn't keep his bigoted Islamophobic mouth shut and Burgess needed to calm him down, and they figured documentation was in order. The liberal/conservative response is discussed, as are the double standards of the aforementioned "liberal" response, and some good old dissections of fear and narcissism are thrown in for good measure. Check out the only important (or real) post-Brussels conversation you're going to find two liberals having on the entire internet.Thanks again to Creative Commons and the talents of this fine artist for allowing the use of their music: "Tainted Cloth" by Oelek.

In the 10th (the 10th!) episode of I Just Don't See The Big Deal, Burgess and von Sternberg sit down (separated by half a continent this time, sadly) to discuss a point of minor contention that goes back to the first episode of the podcast about Game of Thrones: is grimdark valid? The boys manage to shit on Crash again while praising the Serial podcast, and then the episode quickly devolves into the classic clash of civilizations debate about the validity of comic book films (specifically Marvel), but stick around; von Sternberg might have finally won a debate with Burgess for once.Thanks again to Creative Commons and the talents of these fine artists for allowing the use of their music: "Tainted Cloth" by Oelek, "The Cannery" by Kevin MacLeod, "Wagon Wheel" by Kevin MacLeod, and "The Troll of the Mountain Swing" by Underscore Orkestra.Post-Script Note from von Sternberg: In the process of explaining why the "Roger Ebert" method of criticism matters, I neglected to explain myself further than "what I like and