Tag Archives: USA

The Toy Department – Episode 130

  By toyAdmin | August 22, 2018 - 3:39 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 130, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky are a day late thanks to Kolsky suffering from a nasty cold, but still manage to get through:

  • Nicki Minaj’s new album Queen (4:15) and how its lack of focus and extended length take a little away from its high points…
  • Mitski’s new album Be The Cowboy (12:35) and how remarkable precision within an eclectic approach makes it a triumph…
  • USA’s show The Sinner (19:10) and whether Season 2 has sucked the guys in yet…
  • Stories from the life of Derek Madden including his new dog (27:55) and seeing a couple of old bands in concert – specifically Pearl Jam (32:10) and Smashing Pumpkins (37:00)…
  • Some quick thoughts about the Oakland A’s (43:40) and the state of baseball in general…
  • Homework for next week (47:50), including: Travis Scott’s album ASTROWORLD, an episode or two of AMC’s new show Lodge 49 and the season finalé of Sharp Objects on HBO, plus Madden is seeing Hamilton and will report back…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 126

  By toyAdmin | July 17, 2018 - 4:03 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 126, please excuse any audio issues AGAIN on the part of Matt Kolsky, as he joins Derek Madden live (to tape) from a DIFFERENT road trip, specifically on the road to Lake Tahoe, CA where he is scheduled to see the band Phish… The discussions cover:

  • Kolsky’s questionable life decisions…
  • The USA show Sinner (4:00) which is currently binge-able on Netflix — but is it worth binging??
  • The new Sacha Baron Cohen show Who Is America? (12:30) and how the same old Ali G schtick falls flat in 2018…
  • Hannah Gadsby’s standup special Nanette (26:55) and how she brilliantly crafts a show that is both hilarious and incredibly thoughtful and thought-provoking…
  • Boots Riley’s triumphant directorial debut Sorry to Bother You (37:15) and how amazingly original and insane and beautiful it is…
  • Homework for next week (50:45), including: well, nothing — the hosts were woefully underprepared for this portion of the show…
  • Derek’s experience at The Pretenders’ show (53:55) and how you should probably go see legends of music whenever you can…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 90

  By toyAdmin | October 17, 2017 - 11:11 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 90, Matt Kolsky and Derek Madden bravely fight through a Skype failure at Madden’s Minneapolis studios to break down:

  • Kolsky’s disappointment with the critically-acclaimed Blade Runner 2049 (2:00) and the state of film criticism…
  • Madden’s experience at the Imagine Dragons show (11:40) and the merits — or lack thereof — of backloading your concert set list…
  • The season premiere of Mr. Robot (17:10) and the split feelings of the hosts…
  • HBO’s The Deuce (22:40) and why you should stick with it, even if the lack of major plot developments have you concerned…
  • Showtime’s new comedy White Famous (31:20) and where its first two episodes fail and succeed…
  • The new St. Vincent album MASSEDUCTION (40:35) and all the things that make Annie Clark a star…
  • The start of the NBA season (45:25) and how it’s going to be a great one despite the championship being somewhat of a foregone conclusion…
  • Homework for next week (1:14:10) including: Beck’s new album Colors, the new Billie Jean King/Bobby Riggs film Battle of the Sexes, and new Netflix series Mindhunters and American Vandal…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes/Stitcher/Google Play/etc. you can just click on the link below the player (and don’t forget to leave us a review!!)… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com… or tweet us: @MaddenOnAir & @thekolsky.

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The Toy Department – Episode 34

  By toyAdmin | August 10, 2016 - 11:22 pm | Uncategorized
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In Episode 34, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky open with a recounting and reviewing of their weekend at Outside Lands music festival in San Francisco, and then discuss:

  • Netflix’s new show Stranger Things (14:30) and the guys’ differing opinions on the experience… and a little compare/contrast with the other big summer show, HBO’s The Night Of…
  • The latest episode of USA’s Mr. Robot (29:10) and how the show seemed to maybe, possibly figure some things out about itself in last week’s episode…
  • The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio (44:00), with some discussion of the TV ratings and NBC’s broadcast choices as well as the viewing interests of Madden and Kolsky… which somehow develops into a US Women’s Soccer debate (56:00)…
  • And while they’re on the soccer subject, a little bit of an English Premier League preview (1:01:40), by which we mean Kolsky asks Madden how to properly watch the EPL and gets scolded for choosing Chelsea as his team…

By the way, if you like this podcast, TELL A FRIEND!! And if you want to subscribe via iTunes you can just click on the link below the player… Some other links down there as well… And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com.

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The Toy Department – Episode 7

  By toyAdmin | January 21, 2016 - 12:46 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 7, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky open with a discussion of the Eagles in the wake of Glenn Frey’s passing – a conversation wherein Kolsky may have inappropriately slandered a band that just tragically lost a member – before transitioning into a movie conversation that should be significantly less offensive. Specifically, they talk about Room (18:30) and its engaging star Brie Larson, before getting into some specifics on The Hateful Eight (28:20) and its divisive director Quentin Tarantino. Then it’s on to television (37:15) and a discussion about the future of television programming in a world where TBS and TNT are wading into the prestige TV game. And then, FINALLY, they finish things off with the long-awaited All-Time Trash Talk Team discussion (49:45)…

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes (and you really should), just CLICK HERE!!  And if you want to contact the Toy Department, it’s easy — find us at ToyDepartmentPod (at) gmail.com.

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The Toy Department – Episode 5

  By toyAdmin | January 7, 2016 - 3:17 am | Uncategorized
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In Episode 5, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky start with a little holiday break recap and quick Star Wars follow-up (thanks to George Lucas’ odd comments) before Madden attempts to convince Kolsky to to watch the Netflix series Making a Murderer (starting around 9:30). Then it’s a breakdown of some prestige TV (24:30) – mostly FX’s incredible Fargo but also the USA series Mr. Robot. Kolsky talks about a hip-hop audio tour of the Bronx (41:10) to spur a brief discussion about art and human nature, and then there’s some discussion about the Baseball Hall of Fame and its awful voting process (49:00) to finish off strong.

Oh, and if you want to subscribe via iTunes (and you really should), just CLICK HERE!! 

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