We're Friends!

Ep. 49 - Aysa, Tabitha, Rip

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:07:00 +0000

It's here for you if you want it!

DOWNLOAD.

We discuss:

Dash went to da beach!

James is very protective!

No one gives a RIP!

Cuckolding!

Songs discussed:

"Superfast Jellyfish (feat. Gruff Rhys & De La Soul)" by Gorillaz

"I'm Awake" by Maria McKee

Music:

"Krieger [Aphex Twin Baldhu Mix]" - Die Fantastischen Vier

"Watch Us Work It" - DEVO

"Deep In Velvet [Aphex Twin Turnips Mix]" - Phillip Boa & the Voodoo Club

"Lightweight Jammin (feat. Clyde Carson & Husalah) - E-40

Extras:

Fake Prom!

Dumba!

Sky Stadium!

Flynn!

Thanks for listening!

e-mail: wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com

-Your Freinds!

EPISODE 48: Blue Movie, Weird Cities, Psyche

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 03:13:00 +0000

NEW STUDIO ("Callanetics") AND WHO'S THAT LAUGHING IN THE BACKGROUND?!

DOWNLOAD.

We discuss:

Sailors!
Weird movies!
Dash explaining comedy to cops!
James explaining how love is based on trivial bullshit!

Songs discussed:

"Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)" by Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz - Dash's choice
"2 Sides (feat. Shawty Lo)" by Killer Mike - James' choice

Music:

"Let My Fish Loose [Aphex Twin Remix]" - Nobukazu Takemura
"Nightdrive With You" - Anoraak
"SAW2 Cd1 Trk2 [Original Mix]" - Aphex Twin
"Funky in the Basement" - Bob Gainey

"How to Nab a Sailor"

Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse Unveils His Rokoff Portrait from Mayor Sam Adams on Vimeo.

Green Porno!

Bumper Nuts :[

Thank you so much for listening and e-mail us at wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com

-Your friends

Ep. 47 - Beej, Rubber Bands, Fortune

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Sun, 16 May 2010 15:45:00 +0000

Episode 47 has finally crawled through time and wants to tell you a secret!

DOWNLOAD

We discuss!:

James invented a cologne!

Dash is a champion!

Fortune telling!

Lessons learned!

Songs discussed:

Disconnected by Receptors (James' pick)

Wind's Dark Poem by Mount Eerie (Dash's pick)

Music:

"Une Femme N'Est Pas un Homme [Aphex Twin Mix]" by The Beatniks

"Tenderoni" by Kele

"The Beauty of Being Numb (Section B) [Mix] by Nine Inch Nails

"Spirit of the Night" by Tesla Boy

Extras:

CheeseNBeer!

Nightmare fuel:

Rumspringa!

THIS LINK WILL FAIL!

Put This On by Jesse Thorn & Adam Lisagor!

Fortune teller!

Dash's amazing shirt!

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com

-Your Friends!

Science/Fiction.

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:48:00 +0000

Before they adopted the stage names of "James" and "Dash", Paul and Ed originally set out to do a lighthearted science fiction podcast. All that remains of that period before We're Friends! is this....

ENJOY

-Your Friends!

At the End of the Road

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:40:00 +0000

November 19th, 2008. On that Wednesday the We're Friends! Podcast was shoved through the internet and into the ears of you people. Today is Monday, January 25th, 2010. For over a year we have recorded 45 episodes of the podcast and have made over 150 blog posts along with the episodes. We have had 11 guests on the podcast. We've reviewed around 62 songs. We've had 2 intro songs and 1 outro song. We've reviewed 14 different foods. We even recorded a few episodes while on opposite coasts.

Well, it has come to an end.

For a while now, Dash and I were planning on stopping this podcast, both of us feeling that there wasn't much we could do with the format we had created. It was fun definitely, but creatively we didn't think it was cutting it. So instead of continuing a podcast that neither of us had our hearts in, we decided to cut it before it became (more of) a joke.

Now, every episode is still available for download, our videos are still up, every blog post will continue to be there for you to read. Have you gone through the whole thing? There are some great gems in there. Check it out!

This podcast was a great fucking time, and all of you reading and listening made it happen.

A few special thanks:

Jeff aka VultureMoose
Cullen aka Big C-Man
Shannon and Evan
Our parents for putting up with us
Abigail, D'Arcy, Mike, Awesome, Matt, Tom, Nat, Robbie (and Ashley), Jeff, Facundo and Tabitha.

Thanks guys. Stay friends!

-James

PS JamesTwitter DashTwitter

"Laugh it up fuzzball."

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:44:00 +0000

Can we determine why we love the things we do? I don't mean people and relationships! What do you think this is, some sort of tumblr made by a 13 year-old girl about her dumb crush?! I'm talking about movies and books and music. What makes us obsess over certain media? WELL I HAVE NO IDEA. What I do know is that I love Star Wars, EPISODES 4, 5 AND 6. The story is simple, the music's epic, and it's a lot of fun. Today I'm gonna show you some other fun Star Wars stuff.

First, "5 Star Wars Status Updates":

There's four more, all hilarious. Also google other movies (LOTR for instance) to find other parodies.

Next, the Star Wars Weather Forecast:

This is a great website to have as your home page. When you start your browser in the morning and get greeted with what the weather is like out there. AND it compares the weather to a planet in the Star Wars universe OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG. This is what I got today:

And finally, a 70-minute video review of "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace"

Ok, ok, I know. That's over an hour, I was skeptical too. "Do I really want to waste that much time listening to a fanboy trash a movie I already know sucks?" YES. Yes you do. One of the great things about the review for me was getting real reasons why Phantom blew, instead of the overall "ugghh" feeling I usually had. Also, the guy who made this is doing this really weird character the whole time, mispronouncing words, getting historical events wrong, doing a weird voice and talking about keeping people in his basement. Trust me, if you like Star Wars (and maybe even if you don't) you'll find this to be well worth your time. This is a picture of him asking some guy to describe Qui-Gon Jinn's personality:

Thanks for reading everyone, enjoy the bounty I have given forth! And remember, Boba Fett is the most bad-ass bounty hunter in the galaxy.

-James
----------------
Now playing: Converge - Damages

Studio Nintendo.

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:02:00 +0000

This is how it all goes down at Studio Nintendo.

-Your Friends!

Shoot for the STARS

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:36:00 +0000

I think that most people's goal regarding their career is pretty simple: get paid to do something you really enjoy. My dad has an engineering degree, but has worked most of his life has a cook or a chef. He loves creating delicious food, so he does it. Then you have people like my friends Evan and Shannon, who work jobs they're not crazy about, but with the money the jobs provide they teach, run a record label, play music, set up shows, etc. etc. In my opinion, you can do what you enjoy one of two ways. Either you find a way to do it that can actually pay you enough money to provide the life you want or you work somewhere else that provides the income that allows you in your free time to do what you enjoy.

For me, I guess what I would most enjoy doing is working in film or TV. Directing is the dream of course, but there are a bunch of positions I would not mind in the least doing. Anyway, when I got my first paid cameraman gig, I was elated. I met a guy named Tim when I worked with him and others on some short films for a production company these guys started called Sweet Victory. Tim also worked for a website called ZooToo, a site for pet news. Sounds silly, but it gets tons of hits. Anyway, he saw that I was competent regarding film stuff and offered me my first freelance job. It entailed me going to the oldest pet cemetery in America, meeting a reporter, and shooting interviews and b-roll. Later, I did another job for ZooToo, this one detailing the lives of three dogs in the Westminster Kennel Club competition. Unfortunately I can't embed the videos, but please CLICK CLICK

However, I can show you two shorts I did with Sweet Victory, first "THE BIRDBOY" and the second "Glen".

So uh, follow your dreams everyone?!

-James

Now playing: Arvo Pärt - Spiegel Im Spiegel

Ep. 46 - Back Injuries, Death, Fasting

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 23:18:00 +0000

vfbvksdbdnbb DOWNLOAD!

We discuss!:

James dealing with death!

Dash was laid out!

Fasting for Jesus!

No one likes this show!

Food of the episode:

Songs discussed:

Prayer to God by Shellac (Listener Jeff's suggestion)

The Peeper by Adam Sandler (Listener Cullen's suggestion)

Music:

"In the Glitter, Pt. 2 [Aphex Twin Mix]" by Buck Tick

"The Robot Rock" by Stochastic

"Zeros and Ones [Aphex Twin Reconstruction #2]" by Jesus Jones

"Years 1-4" by Starscream

Extras:

E-Mail: wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com

-Your Friends!

They're coming to get you Barbara...

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 18:43:00 +0000

The other day I was fantasizing about being a homeowner. I was thinking about how difficult it might be for me to actually select a place, because at least half of my consideration would be based on how well I could fortify the place against zombies and their reckoning. Where would I store a stockpile of 2x4's, a hammer & nails? Are the stairs made of wood so I can destroy them easily with an ax? How close am I to a major city? Would my family forgive me for making sure we were on the side of town furthest from a hospital? Is it better for people to assume I have a katana collection because I'm an anime nerd or should I tell them it's because the gun stores will be the first to get ransacked?

"Night of the Living Dead" was the first zombie-related piece of media I was ever exposed to. It's hard to say what about that film flipped a switch in my brain, but I think it has something to do with my feelings of mortality. I don't want to die. I have come to terms with the fact that I am going to, in fact it is the ONLY thing I am sure of in this world. The thing with zombies though, is that you are given the opportunity to prove how much you want to live. Death surrounds us, with zombies it becomes quite literal.

I don't know man, zombies are just fucking rad. It may have more to do with my imagination. Zombies are a creative tool, allowing me to create hundreds of scenarios and possibilities.

What do you think about zombies? Do they interest you? Let's chat!

Wasting Time, Playing Games

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:57:00 +0000

How do you waste time on the internet? Do you have certain blogs you read, or perhaps a slew of webcomics? Maybe you like to go on omegle and meet new people? Or maybe you just look at porn, even when you're not in the mood? (That one's weird.) Or maybe, JUST MAYBE, you play free games online. Well if you do, you're in luck, I'm about to list some awesome websites for you.

First, Bookworm:

This game is pretty simple. You get a bunch of letters on tiles dumped randomly in columns, out of these letters you try to create words. Longer words get you more points. A green or gold letter tile is worth bonus points, and there are words that will get you more points as well. BUT WATCH THE FUCK OUT, SOME OF THE TILES ARE ON FIRE AND WILL BURN EVERYTHING IF YOU DON'T USE IT QUICK. If you dig Scrabble and other games of that ilk, you'll dig this.

Next, Winterbells and other games on Orisinal:

I don't remember when or how I found out about this game, and I don't recall ever becoming so frustrated by something so cute. Winterbells is a game where you play as a bunny. This bunny jumps up into the sky and hops on bells that fall slowly from the heavens. You must jump from bell to bell and try not to fall back onto the snowy ground. How ADORABLE. The first bell is worth ten points, and each subsequent bell you jump on increase by ten points exponentially, ie 1st bell = 10 points, 2nd = 20, 3rd = 30 which gives you a total of 60 points for the first three bells. Also, you can jump on a bird passing by which doubles your points! How DELIGHTFUL.

But listen here chum, as you go higher and higher into the obsidian nothingness of the sky, the bells grow farther and farther apart. And not only that, they also get smaller! Soon your jumping on nothing but what seems to be dinner bells that are so far apart your LITTLE BUNNY TOES BARELY REACH THE EDGE BEFORE YOU FALL TO YOUR...well not death, the bunny always lives. In any case, as you egt higher and higher, and the game gets harder and harder, the idea of falling (and thus haveing to start over) is a thought equal to great, searing pain. Take a look at LOL-Comics #101:

SEE?! This is what this game does to you. Anyway, along with Winterbells, this site houses 57 very simple and extremely cute games. Good stuff!

And finally, the thousands of games on Kongregate:

This website is pretty unique within the niche of game websites. It took the blueprint of a normal free online gaming website and added one very important feature. The entire website itself is a a game, sort of. Anyone can submit a game to the website, if it gets approved then the public gets to play it. BUT, if it gets really popular, the website can add Kongregate badges to the game. Meaning, not only can there be missions to beat, levels to finish, and checkpoints tor each in your game, but you can added other milestones to get points within the website itself.

Confused? Ok, it works like this: I have an account and by getting these badges, I gain points and my accounts level increases. At the moment I'm at level 13 with 1,303 points. Why does this matter? Well it's kind of psychological thing, these points can't be redeemed for much besides bragging rights, but it's more about the idea of trying to go farther and reach goals I guess. Like not doing anything else until you finish that next chapter of whatever book you're reading. No real need to do it, yet you feel compelled. Also, next to each game are chat rooms you can join and talk with people as you play. Sort of neat, but can be dumb too of course.

OH RIGHT, THE GAMES! There are tons of great games on Kongregate, and of all different kinds. Check out my favorites.

Have fun wasting your life away!

-James

Now playing: Mr. Bungle - The Air-Conditioned Nightmare

Interviews

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:53:00 +0000

On this most momentous of Mondays, the day of the week where oranges cats talk of how loathsome the day is before bating a loving dog into submission, we here at We're Friends! inc. would like to give unto you two delightful interviews. One of Dashiell interviewing Mr. Shafie and another of James interviewing Mr. Coombs. We hope you enjoy.

Dash interviewing James:

James interviewing Dash:

We hope you learn something about us, and about yourselves.

-Your Friends

Boulder!

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 04:15:00 +0000

-Dash

NEW AND OLD

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:44:00 +0000

IT'S THE YEAR 20X DICKWEEDS, SO HOLD ON TIGHT OR YOU'LL GET THROWN INTO OBLIVION.

So here's some stuff that I'm experiencing in the new year:

The book Spirit and Flesh by Dr. James Ault. Ault is a sociology professor and documentary filmmaker, and this book is a companion piece to his movie Born Again. Both are about the time he spent in a fundamentalist baptist church, studying and learning about the people and practices within it. The perspective is as unbiased as he can be, since he's viewing the time in a sociological manner. It's a really neat book on a way of life that not a lot of people, myself included, know much about.

The 2010 demo by the hardcore band John Wilkes Youth:

I'm not well versed in the world of punk and hardcore, but I definitely like some of it. Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Paint it Black, Killing the Dream, Dead Kennedys, Misfits, Pulling Teeth, all great bands to me. So when I hear that two friends of mine are in a hardcore band, knowing full well that they are good at hardcore already, I am interested. The demo is fast, heavy, and aggressive, go download it! http://www.myspace.com/johnwilkesyouth

The television show Man V. Food:

Everybody should know I like food. With my love of blogs about it, morbid fascination with what people get for their last meal on death row, and interest in school lunches from around the world, I sure do like to talk about it too. Friend and former guest of the podcast, Mike "Awesome" showed me two episodes of this show and I was hooked. It has this dude Adam go around the nation and hit up the best "pig-out" spots. He eats a lot of unhealthy food and also takes on food challenges, like eating a 72oz steak in under an hour or eating six of the spiciest buffalo wings in the state without water. It's like binging vicariously!

And here's a list of the top 20 artists/acts that I listened to on my computer in 2009:

1 Neurosis - 409
2 Enslaved - 346
3 Queens of the Stone Age - 330
4 Coil - 305
5 Tomahawk - 278
6 Clint Mansell - 260
7 Andrew W.K. - 250
8 Ceremony - 243
9 Pendulum - 236
10 Rosetta - 231
11 Daft Punk - 228
12 Toroidh - 204
12 Nine Inch Nails - 204
14 Liars - 201
15 The Green Evening Requiem - 200
16 Arvo Pärt - 193
17 Gojira - 183
18 Jesu - 170
18 Converge - 170
20 The Beach Boys - 167

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Ep. 45 - Tabitha, Thwip, Kubaki

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:25:00 +0000

Episode 45 is here! It's got a guest!!!!

DOWNLOOOOOOAD!!!

We discuss!:

Dash can't stop talking about Nicolas Cage!

James is excited for Spider-Man!

Tabitha!

Kabuki Bukkake!

Food of the Episode:

Songs discussed:

Chin Music by Future of the Left (Dash's choice)

Slam by Pendulum (James' choice)

Music:

"Journey [Aphex Twin Care Mix]" by The Gentle People

"Suprise Hotel" by Fool's Gold

"Heroes [Aphex Twin Mix] by Phillip Glass

"Go Power at Christmas Time" by James Brown

Extras:

DEWEY'S MIDNIGHT MADNESS!!!

E-mail: wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com

-Your Friends!

Merry Holidays.

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 04:27:00 +0000

-Dash

Winter

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 20:35:00 +0000

Here in New Jersey, we recently had a small blizzard and the snow hasn't melted just yet. It's also Christmas Eve, and I got to thinking about this time of year, and what stuff reminds me of it. Lots of us have things we attach to winter, memories, books, food. Here's a few things for me that go really well with winter.

Blankets by Craig Thompson

Blankets is an autobiographical graphic novel that revolves around the author's life at two points, when he was in middle school and when he was nearing the end of high school. He writes/draws about his relationships with his family, specifically his brother and also of his first love. Almost all of the book takes place in winter, which makes curling up with this book in December yourself even more satisfying. It's a coming-of-age/love story, but it also delves into the idea of faith, specifically of a Christian sort. It's a sad, yet warm book and you should buy it.

Die Hard

The ultimate Christmas action movie. John McClane is an NYC cop in LA and now some goddamned terrorists have taken Nakatomi Plaza, the building his wife is in. He's gotta walk over broken glass in his bare feet, deal with incompetant cops on the outside, all the while trying to save his marriage. Here's the (fucking) short version:

At the Heart of Winter by Immortal

This is THE black metal band. They may not have created the genre, they may not be the best within the genre, but Immortal defines black metal. Grim, frostbitten, tr00 and kvlt, these guys love telling you about ice, snow and other cold things while wearing corpse paint and shin guards. When you listen to this album, you better put on a coat! Here's my favorite song of it:

Go sledding!

-James

Now playing: Pig Destroyer - Alexandria

6 Docs

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:20:00 +0000

All this goddamned podcast/blog seems to talk about is goddamned movies. David Lynch this, John Carpenter that, JEEZ! Well, let's not upset the status quo, in this joint post, we will be telling you lovely people about six of our favorite documentaries. Three will be from Dash, and three will be from James. Now these aren't necessarily our all time favorites (though they might be OOOOOHH), just ones we love a lot, enjoy:

James - Man on Wire

This is the story of one man (Philippe Petit) who in 1974 walked between the Twin Towers in New York City on a high-wire. This movie plays out like a heist or a thriller, with reenactments, riveting interviews and footage from the "crime". This had me on the edge of my seat and it totally deserved the academy award it won.

James - Word Wars

The story of four "professional" Scrabble players doing the circuit of Scrabble tournaments. All four are weird in different ways and all four want to win. This documentary is a bunch of fun and one of those movies that I pick out when I've got a few friends over who want to have a good time. Everyone picks who they want to win the big championship and gets to see all four players at their quirkiest.

James - The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)

I saw this at the IFC Theater in NYC with the co-directors present for Q & A. They are Ellen Kuras (a well-known cinematographer) and Thavisouk Phrasavath. This documentary was filmed for over 23 years, detailing the life and struggle of one Laotian family from the time of the Vietnam war to the (nearly) present. Not only does this movie show the horrors of war, it also presents a story that is embedded in America's history: of immigrants trying to make it in the US.

Dash - Burden of Dreams

The story of Werner Herzog trying to make his film Fitzcarraldo. While making the film of a man moving a ship over a hill, Herzog attempts to actualize the event. In the process, everything goes wrong and actor/crazy-person Klaus Kinski does nothing to help it.

Dash - Instrument

Over eleven years of footage was shot of the band Fugazi. Some amazing concert footage and wonderful moments of fun and sincerity with all members of the band.

Dash - The Comedians of Comedy

Laugh until the very concept of laughing becomes foreign and you start laughing at the ridiculousness of laughing. The film is a great concert taping, but if you want the reeeeeal shit, find the six-part television series. TONS of great footage of what it's like to bring this type of comedy to other parts of North America.

-Your Friends!

CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEM MAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNN.

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 02:39:00 +0000

-Dash

PROTEST PROTEST

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:02:00 +0000

So, a few weeks ago, former guest Mike "Awesome" and I went to a counter-protest. The Westboro Baptist Church, a congregation of a few hundred that are most related, decided to do a small "tour" of the North East and protest things they do not particularly like. Stuff like same-sex marriage, not believing in God and being Jewish. Now, I believe every person has the right to protest whatever they like, but these guys...well, take a look at their placards:

They're not exactly tactful in their expression. So anyway, we were going to the Rutgers campus, where the Church was having their protest, and join a counter-protest. Awesome made a sign and brought it with him, of which you can see here:

His sign is pretty ridiculous, but it's part of a growing trend of protest signs that are humorous. Also, there are some signs that are completely serious, but some of us might find them hilarious anyway. I found a great article on Buzzfeed about "The 50 Best Protest Signs of 2009". Here's a few to start you off:

-James

Now playing: The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble - Caravan!

Ep. 44 - Chopping Cart, Radio, Chip Music

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:04:00 +0000

'Dis...'dis is an episode...FULL OF FUN!!

Downlooooooooooooooooooad.

We discuss:

Dash's father breaks the internet!

James is moving!

Working at a horror market!

The mighty WFMU!

Food of the episode:

Songs discussed:

As the City Burned We Trembled, for We Saw the Makings of Its Undoing in Our Own Hearts by The Ascent of Everest (James' choice)

Smashed Pennies by Paul F. Tompkins (Dash's choice)

Music:

Time to Find Me [AFX Fast Mix] - Seefeel

Scissor - Liars

Raising the Titanic [Big Drum Mix] - Gavin Bryars

Jungle Boogie - Kool & the Gang

Extra stuff:

THE GOOD GUYS RADIO SHOW.

AV Club interview with directors of Before The Light Takes Us.

E-mail US wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com

-Your Friends!

Rare like Mr. Clean with hair.

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 03:38:00 +0000

Alright, I know this is like, the eighth time I've posted a Fireman post, but I am SO stoked for the Weezy documentary.

"This is going to be [this generations] 'CRUMB'."

-Dash

Michael Shannon

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:31:00 +0000

Two days ago, before I went off to work, I look at my email I had an invitation to a private premiere at the IFC Center on Friday! Oooh boy lucky me, well, I am a member of the IFC Center (Auteur level MMMMMM). But what was the premiere of? The film My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? which is a film both Dash and I have been looking forward to for a while. It's directed by Werner Herzog, produced by David Lynch and stars Michael Shannon, Chloë Sevigny, Willem Dafoe and even Udo Kier! This is exciting! Also, the invitation said that Herzog, Dafoe and Shannon were all going to be attending! OH MY GOD. Here's the trailer:

After I RSVP'd, I got another email stating that I was on the standby list because too many people had RSVP'd. Meaning I probably was not going to be able to go. :[

AH WELL. Anyway, the main lead in this movie is Michael Shannon. A person who I consider to be my favorite living actor. He hasn't been acting as long as say DeNiro, Spacey, Freeman or whomever else, but he has the ability and the skill to have a body of work that could possibly outshine them all.

Shannon has a manner about him that makes him distinctive in the movies he's in. You notice how he's unique, he's not a character actor like Mike Myers or Jim Carrey. However, he's not really with the other side either, you know, the actors who always seem to be playing a version of themselves like Christopher Walken or Al Pacino. He's in the middle, able to meld into any role, but still retain the aspects of himself that make him stand out.

I first noticed Shannon in the movie Bug, a surrealist movie based on a play (that he was in) about a woman who befriends a man (Shannon) and they both go sort of crazy. His performance was very off-putting and I became curious about this guy.

Then I saw the movie Shotgun Stories, here's the trailer:

This movie absolutely blew me away. I really really REALLY recommend all of you find it and watch it. Shannon is the lead in this and to say he has a presence is a great understatement. He barely raises his voice or changes his expression, yet it all shines through.

The movie that led to a lot of people noticing Michael Shannon and his skill was Sam Mendes' film Revolutionary Road. He played a mentally ill son whose mother was a neighbor to Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, who played the lead couple. His performance was riveting and led him to an academy award nomination.

So every last one of you needs to check out this guy. Here's a list to get you started:

1. Shotgun Stories
2. Bug
3. Revolutionary Road
4. The Woodsman
5. Before the Devil knows You're Dead
5. The Missing Person

-James

Now playing: Okkervil River - Red

Idea Fairy.

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:08:00 +0000

Here's what REEEEEEEEEEally happens:

-Your Friends

BAMRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrr.

wearefriendspodcast@gmail.com (Dashiell Coombs & James Shafie) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 02:40:00 +0000

Maria Bamford is a wonderful comedian. She did something awesome this month and decided to offer a comedy special for free on her website. Check it out. I was asked recently if I liked female comedians...I do. Here is a list you should check out (these are specifically female comedians, there are plenty of other funny ladies out there though, like mother fuckin' JANE LYNCH):

-Dash