The Blindboy Podcast
Andy's Podcaster Podcasting Podcast #31
Intro Music
Andy
It’s Andy’s Podcaster Podcasting Podcast - EPISODE 31
ANDY
Hello you Knackered Backpacks… Hello you Grumpy Teabags… Hello you Half-assed Snapchats… how you doing? a big nod there towards the show I’m reviewing today - The Blindboy Podcast. He always starts his show like that - with a funny embracing greeting that nods towards the surreal. Great stuff, got a huge podcrush on this show, but I’ll get to that in a minute… few things before we kick off… I was a bit worried I’d get some backlash from the last podcast looking at some of the biggest shows in the Catholic Podcast scene… but no, there was nothing really. One email from JEZ in Manchester - basically asking why I didn’t I mention how badly the Church has treated the gay community? Yeah, I was going to say something but then I had the Christ’s Foreskin sketch in there and then Bernie called and I was looking at a mad long show - over an hour - way too big for me, like a double episode really - more really when you add in all the listening hours - and I didn’t get to it. But yeah, you are very right - Father Schmitz runs very hard line and Taylor Marshall with his long tirades about ‘effeminate Bishops’ are very intolerant and promoting horrible marginalization of the gay community which leads to outright homophobia. But once you start unraveling something like the infamy and crimes and history of the Church you could probably never stop. How deep is the ocean of shit you would have me wade through? It could be subject of a Podcast series in and of itself. But like I said, I’ll be back into Catholic and religious podcasts some day in the FUTURE - this is after all - one dad’s quest to review every podcast in existence, while juggling kids, having a laugh and fighting back against the Capitalist Extremists that are out to destroy humanity - and I’ll get to it. BUT anyway - from the looks of the download stats, a lot of y’all weren’t up for an hour long deep dive into the Catholic Podcast scene anyways, even though I did try to make it as funny as I could - and the feedback I’ve got is that there were multiple laughs and chuckles in the show— but I get it, it probably might have looked like a bit of downer - coming after my poem TELL ME LIES ABOUT CAPITALISM in the show before, and after the long break after Carl’s death and Eulogy episode, and yes, it is February - the darkest month of depression - during the never-ending pandemic lockdown. HA. Yeah, maybe an hour on the Catholic Podcasts was a bit much… One really interesting thing from the download stats that popped up once the Catholic episode dropped… - like 15 downloads rung up instantly GHANA… which was interesting - either like there’s a group with a google alert on any mention of the Holy Foreskin, some kind of Ghanan A-Team who are still searching for Christ’s Magic Foreskin, constantly sweeping the web for clues and information… I’d watch that show… NBC are desperate, they’ll be making that sooner or later. Either that or some glitch in the system or maybe with someone has a VPN set up to register hits and downloads from Ghana but they are going somewhere else - probably some church media centre somewhere… wouldn’t put it past them - IN 1900 they sent out a decree to stop people talking about Christ’s Foreskin on pain of ex-communication - but you know you can’t hide all the Pictures Lads, you can’t hide the history… well not yet anyway…
Or - the other thing with the Ghana Downloads is that there some priests who partook in the Rwandan Genocide hiding out in Ghana and have google alerts up for anyone talking about that. Those are the only possibilities obviously…HA… So, I think there’s a lesson their - if you’re going to do big crimes - have the google alerts go to some other continent. OK what else… - talking about past shows - Dear Joan & Jerrica are back for another season. Still DAMN FUNNY. And… Sarah and Andrea at GASLIT NATION dropped another scorching episode the other week - called ‘WHERE IS CHRISTOPHER WRAY’ excellent stuff, check that out - highlighting how the FBI and justice is missing and not going after the real culprits behind the Capital Riots in which 5 people died. Biden’s going to keep Wray, (Christie’s former clean up guy and Lawyer during ‘Bridge-gate Yale, prob Skull and Bones) as head of FBI of course, just like Obama kept all those Republicans in positions of power when he rode in on HOPE & CHANGE. Red Puppet Blue Puppet. We’ve been played, AGAIN… What else… I’ve thrown up some Youtube video clips of stuff from previous episodes - find them on the Youtube Channel - done a version of the Holy Skin sketch with a bunch of pictures of classic medieval art and there’s a version of the Capitalism Lies poem and the Bernie Calls. Check them out, please like and share them… What else… Oh yeah! I’m really impressed with all of you taking part in FLANUARY - baking all those flans and posting pictures on Facebook and Instagram. Beautiful - FLANS - I’m hungry, beautiful pictures. AND even the impossible Chocolate Flans that reverse their bake levels in the oven. I’m deeply envious of your baking skill. AND you even raising money for those Cat Charities and raising awareness of the SKINLESS WEASLE which I didn’t even know was a type of CAT… You’re just beautiful people… I’m totally inspired… I’m going to give it go… What else… Texas Texas - sad for them but we’re all fucking Texas now - Capitalist extremists - have destroyed the climate - nobody owns the resources of the earth, we’re supposed to be custodians of the planet so future generations of the species can live here. Elon Musk’s plans for Fire Island 2.0 on Mars or the moon or whatever are not going to work out. We’re scattering crisp packets and Amazon packing peanuts like some monstrous child everywhere. I don’t if it’s too late. But we have to try. We can retool our societies away from psychotic Wetiko self devouring cannibal capitalism if we want to. But Texas is just a wee preview. Preview of the Rich running away from regional events… Ok, was that it for the housekeeping?…
NO - OH MAN - The new INTERZONE album finally got here, ETERNAL FICTION - the mails been really crazy slow lately - but I got my signed copy finally - and it’s brilliant… links in the show note and transcript. But this new album… Eternal Fiction… Herbert’s driving drums and Lukas on Bass - funky Mission Control, and Mario flying you into space… I don’t know who’s providing your Jazz - but I think you should switch to these cats… links to buy the album… in the show notes and on the webpage.
TIME
1PM
SFX PLAYING TETRIS. THE GAME IS NOT BEING NICE.
ANDY
FLAT ONE - GIVE ME A FLAT ONE… NO NOT THAT. A FLAT ONE YOU BASTARD! OH YOU FUCKER…
SFX - FIRE ALARM / COMMOTION / KIDS / OVEN / FLAN CARRIED OUTSIDE.
ANDY
Don’t worry, just a bit of smoke…
SIERRA
Father, what’s happening?
BLAISE
Is the house on fire?
ANDY
No, just a little smoke…
BLAISE
What’s a flan?
ANDY
It’s a kind of cake.
SIERRA
Why are you baking a flan, it’s isn’t anyone’s birthday?
ANDY
It’s something people are doing, you bake a flan and take a picture and try to save the skinless weasel…
Sierra
I don’t think a cake can save an animal…
ANDY
No, well you bake a flan and then donate money… there’s some bad people they capture them and put them in small cages and take their cream…
I got inspired by all the FLANUARY stuff… Anyway… it’s still ZOOM SCHOOL, I’m sorry, but can you go back to class. Thank you Sierra. Blaise… where are you going man?
BLAISE
I’m going to look at the Flan cake….
ANDY
Blaise. It’s garden Flan now man. Leave it alone.
Music - rise of the black centipede - Mario rom’s interzone
ANDY
Its… Review… Time… Mmmmmwahahahahahahahahahahaha
AnDY
Today we’re considering The Blindboy Podcast… This is a cracking show, it’s like a secret little lecture club, on all kinds of topics… from ruminations about World History to great practical advice about managing your mental health with a real world personal introduction and practical application of CBT - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. I was recommended this Pod from my old friend Mark Luscomb from Birmingham, CHEERS MUNCH - great referral thanks a bunch. Thanks a bunch Mr Munch! He recommended the episodes breaking down Art History - in particular how the CIA funded and popularized Abstract Expressionism. The show comes in like about three flavors - you get these sort of intimate lectures of topics like QANON, Guinness - and how 9/11 was used to turn American Tears into a straight up corrupt colonial oil grab. The host calls these his ‘Hot Takes’, and it was one of these that launched me off on research about The Holy Foreskin actually - and inspired me to write that sketch for last show. So there’s ‘Hot Takes’ and then there’s other episodes with a rich playful surrealist humor woven in, and he reads his short stories with a BLUE JAM / Joe Frank style ambience, which -is kind what I try to do at times on this show but my core influences mean I try to break more towards Python / Ken Nordine / Firesign Theatre. So anyway he does that stuff and then the third type has more traditional interview episodes, where he talks to various people like Adam Curtis, Roddy Dolye and Spike Lee.
CLIP FROM BLINDBOY SPIKE LEE INTERVIEW
ANDY
SO they say you shouldn't ever meet your heroes - but this interview with Spike Lee - is beautiful evidence to the contrary. Mad class that interview - the lad has kissed the Blarney stone alright - in fact I think he’s ground up the blarney stone and is snorting the powder through a straw made from Daniel O’Donnel’s hollowed out finger bone. Imagine being a fan of Spike Lee, a filmmaker yourself - and you get forty minutes with the man as part of one of those mad film promotion carnival things - and you take him some of your mum’s scones - who thinks she made ‘em for Bruce Lee - and you hit it off so much that by the end of the interview he’s giving you his e-mail and asking you for your signed book! Giving you his e-mail. Looking at my Crystal Balls, I’d say we’ll have a 60-80% chance we’ll see a movie about the historical visit of Fredrick Douglas touring Ireland in the 1850’s
So - the host, writer and producer of this show is from Irish comedian film maker artist who created this character Blindboy Boatclub with his mate Mr. Chrome back around 2010 and they were in this band called The Rubber Bandits and they had a comedy song hit in Ireland - which launched them to fame called Horse Outside…
So this song blew up, millions of views on Youtube. If you are from Ireland or the UK you probably saw it. I didn’t catch it, I was probably emigrated and living in Chicago by that point. One of the things you should know is that their characters wear plastic bags on their heads as masks. Cheap corner store plastic bags. With the eyes and mouth cut out. Originally they used Spar bags, which is a corner store chain comparable to 7-11 over here, cheap bags but with a distinctive logo. And he’s keeping the bag on now as he podcasts, although the Bag is no-longer a Spar one it’s for a defunct local Irish grocery store because he doesn’t want to be inadvertently promoting the Capitalist agenda of a large corporate franchise. And the Bag and his choice to wear the bag is and the way the wider culture is dealing with the bag - it really triggers and enrages some people, like they try and dismiss his art because he wears a plastic bag. The personal is political, even down to plastic bag you wear on your head when you’re ruminating on the QANON phenomenon or talking to Spike Lee. It’s great. Actually. No fucking way he wore the bag in that interview though. Not a chance. If he made that kind of connection while wearing a fucking bag on his head… then, well that would be mad. If he did, I’m going to put a bag and go round Spike’s gaff now with a bottle of Redbreast Irish whiskey and talk myself into his next film. Anyway these lads the Rubber Bandits did well on the back of the hit Horse Outside and they developed their routine doing sketches on RTE Irish television and touring and developing more songs - sort following the footsteps of acts like Flight of the Conchords, and they eventually rocked up at the Edinburgh Fringe and did the business. Probably we should and could have seen a different story - that sees them get picked up for full successful TV series with these Bandits characters. Like Trailer Boys meets Father Ted or something - but better, with a surrealist edge. But, I don’t know, TV world is mostly shit and that didn’t work out or maybe they didn’t choose to go that route. But One of their later songs got in the Trainspotting Two Sound Track, more of a mature number, quite brilliant, like Mike Skinner meets the Fall or Prodigy in Ireland… As always, links in the Transcript. And anyway no big Bandit’s sitcom but they were and are still highly productive with all sorts you can find online. Anyway It’s a great Podcast. Give it listen, treat yourself. He does swear a bit, a wee bit more than me actually. And He drops the C-word. Sometimes like this… - Sometimes like this… Those are like the two extremes of Cunt word usage right there… But you know words are just sound symbols and you have understand the culture and intent behind them… like says in his interview episode with Dr Sharon a forensic psychologist - The Blindboy Podcast. Class, a growing work of art. A standout piece of audio diary work… A comedic and intellectual hug in these cold times…
He gets - 5 Stars - two thumbs up… reports of Marizio Pallini hitting the creative flow… a bit of Nelson’s Pillar, blown up in Dublin in 1966, found this chunk of it in my inlaws attic over the summer, my father in law is from Dublin… I like to imagine him or his older brother running home with it as kids… and some some of Krapp’s Last Tape.
Music - rise of the black centipede - Mario Rom’s Interzone
SFX - top of the pops - Wonder Years mix on Biden’s first bombing, feat Joe cocker, 1984 and ‘The Shifting Whispering Sands’ Jim Reeve’s version and exclusive premiere of ‘Deep in the Heart of (Climate Change) Texas by General Lee & the Dixie Schitz…
General Lee:
The snow at night is cold and white,
Deep in the heart of Texas,
The Electric Bills are as big as hills,
Deep in the Heart of Texas,
Blood and Soil Guns and Oil,
Deep in the heart of Texas,
Home of the range with climate change,
Deep in the heart of Texas,
Abbot and Cruz will probably blame it on the Jews,
Deep in the Heat of Texas,
Boastful abilities and unregulated utilities,
Deep in the Heart of Texas,
Now A.O.C. Brings money to me,
Deep in the heart of Texas,
But my rotten brain is full of Capitalist jism
And you know I’m still going to blame it all on socialism,
Deep in the heart of Texas.
ANDY
That’s a wrap!
Music - everything is permitted - Mario Rom’s Interzone
Andy
If you like listening, please spread the word, come join the group on Facebook or sign up for the transcript and news letter on the website… And if you really want to help, click the link and buy me a coffee, four bucks! Small amount of money but a huge thing for me. ANDYS PODCASTER PODCASTING PODCAST is sponsored by the American shoe council over 30,000 years of Bi-pedal History. Shoes! How else you going to protect your feet? March is Moccasin Month - Stomp in comfort across the graves of the indigenous dead in Genuine Reproduction ethnic footwear made from the finest imitation animal skins available to Prison Sweatshops… have a good one… go easy on yourselves… If your flans collapse this week… we can clean it up together ok… Don’t eat the garden flan though, that’s for the birds now bbbb-bye…