Smart Mouths #21: Jackson News Network
by Penny on Jul.07, 2009, under Episodes, Uncategorized
Hey Revolutionists! We’ve got another GREAT episode of Smart Mouths for you!
- New stuff: P.O. Box and listener challenge!
- The Roundup is a depressing place this week. Plane crashes, train crashes, and dead people oh my!
- Greg makes a death prediction.
- One listener puts us in our place.
- Penny and Laura present the latest breaking news!
- In Politics and World News: N. Korea, Al Franken, and Sarah Palin.
- Sarah Palin is one of Gov. Sanford’s ‘indiscretions’.
- NEW GAME: The Match Game (complete with cheesy 70’s music)
- Micah enlightens us to more WTF News.
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Direct Download link or update your iTunes feed!
Thank you to all of the wonderful people who have donated to Smart Mouths so far! You all rock!!
WTF News Links:
- 800 lb hog found in swimming pool
- Two-year-old chain smoker
- Give your soul as collateral in these tough times
- Furry things in your bra
- Takes ‘dropping off your kids’ to a whole new level
- Never try to be your own mohel
16 Comments for this entry
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Smart Mouths Podcast is a brand new show brought to you by the creators of MuggleCast, HPProgs, and Imprint. Upon first listen, you may be surprised - this show is unlike the ones you're used to listening to. Smart Mouths is about anything we want to discuss, and we're not holding back!
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July 7th, 2009 on 11:13 PM
Just signed up to the forum, member #944. Let’s see the sweet disco dancing, Greg!
July 8th, 2009 on 1:26 AM
Love the new epoisode.
As always you guys are awesome.
July 8th, 2009 on 9:46 AM
I can’t help but think that Greg would be happier in some venue other than this podcast; his comments are often awkward and inappropriate, and his attempts at humor usually fall flat. I really don’t intend to be mean, but I just need to voice this opinion.
July 8th, 2009 on 6:25 PM
Can I donate through mail? Me and my cousin want to but our parents won’t let us get a paypal account -_-
July 9th, 2009 on 7:06 AM
loved the michael jackson spewff(sorry i suck at spelling) it was great…and i would have signed up at the forums to boost your numbers but i’m already signed up
and i can’t wait to see greg’s video…and i got my husband listening to you guys now too, so far he’s finding it interesting…anyways just wanted to say you all are doing a great job
July 9th, 2009 on 10:40 AM
Lb- I totally disagree with you. I (and based on the comments on the forum, a lot of other people) think Greg is GREAT for this show! He has a dry sense of humor which may cause the other hosts to not realize he is joking for a few minutes but that definitely doesn’t mean his jokes fall flat. I think he isn’t your type of “funny” but I think he is a great asset to this show.
July 9th, 2009 on 12:24 PM
For fucks sake, he was acquitted of all charges for the molestation trial. I know if MJ touched my child, I wouldn’t be content with getting all this money from him, I’d want him to rot in jail, and not just settle for money. Michael Jackson didn’t touch them bitch ass kids.
July 10th, 2009 on 2:23 PM
Amen SM. Anyone who actually looks at the trial evidence can clearly see the defense had a weak case at best. Read up on it, even Wikipedia is better than nothing, before you condemn him. But most people don’t do that and just listen to Nancy Grace. *sigh* I’ll get off my soap box since no one ever listens…
July 11th, 2009 on 7:27 AM
SM and Maureen I agree, most people hear the word paedophile and immediately judge him without looking at the case themselves, I think it’s easy once you research it to believe he was innocent. The problem is that most people don’t think for themselves and just believe everything the media writes which is almost always subjective, fabricated and biased.
To be honest smart mouths I found your last episode boring, okay I know that the media coverage has been a bit over the top but this is the only aspect of Michael Jackson’s death you talked about, I would have found a discussion on how the media treat celebrities like MJ, the way they build people up and then rip them down, or what he did and how he changed pop culture far more interesting than Laura’s rant about CNN. Laura seemed to give the impression that politics is far more important than pop culture, but i thought “nothing goes undiscussed”, just because I care about Michael Jackson’s death doesn’t mean I don’t care about other world issues, I found it annoying that Laura managed to turn this pop culture discussion into another political one. If your podcast has a fault it is that it can often be very one sided, you’ve had that feedback before but the problem is still there. I’m really sorry to sound so negative and I really do love your podcast but I felt I had to give my opinion.
July 11th, 2009 on 12:32 PM
Exactly. I seriously doubt any of the smartmouthers read any of the comments, but I’ll say this for the benefit of anyone who does read it…
His impact on the world was more significant than most politicians. Sorry, but it’s true: how many of you can name all the representatives in the house? Now name 5 Michael Jackson songs….see? He was even recognized by Ronald Regan for his humanitarian efforts. He donated an estimated $500 million to various charities in his lifetime, he even started his own foundation called Heal the World. He was missed not only because of this but because of his music. Evolutionarily, we probably developed music before or at the same time as speech, so it is central to our character in that ALL people love some form of music. It’s not surprising that people were affected by his art.
In terms of racial politics, MTV didn’t even play black music until Thriller was just so popular it couldn’t be denied. He transcended ethnicity and nationality with his music; he was the first international star to perform a concert in post-communist Russia. In the US we view him as a joke, but anywhere else in the world he’s nothing short of the greatest pop icon.
The simple fact is that pop culture and politics are intertwined. The idea that one of these is “more important” is relative. Coverage should reflect what events are affecting the rest of the world. I’m not saying we should obsess over Linday Lohan’s new penthouse, but a real impact on the world should be respected by the news media. Well, guess what, MJ’s death DID impact the world. Candlelit vigils were held in China and around the world. Russia has an impromptu shrine. Londoners did a mass moonwalk.
I agree with Freya in that a far more interesting discussion could have been made about this. In fact, why not talk about WHY people are so affected, instead of mocking them for caring about music so deeply they’re saddened by the performers death? Maybe each person should imagine if their favorite musician suddenly died, and then ask one of their friends to make fun of it and whine about all the media making such a big deal over nothing. That will be the equivalent to what I heard on the last smartmouths.
I love the show, but I was not happy with the last podcast episode.
July 11th, 2009 on 2:48 PM
When I listen to the show, sometimes I feel really patronized and stupid for caring about things besides Obama and the middle east. So I’m very glad there others who feel the way I do about this idea that politics is somehow “more important” than pop culture. I believe they’re equally important. Pop culture is a huge part of our society and it’s history. Consider movies like “Milk”, TV shows like “The L Word”, campaigns such as NOH8 with all it’s celeb endorsments – those are the things that further cultural acceptance of gay rights, far more than any politician. Pop culture has more influence on society than just about anything or anyone else.
As for Michael Jackson, everyone is so quick to call him an amazing singer/dancer but they’re afraid to call him a good person because they don’t bother to see past all the bullshit. Well, as far as I’m concerned, he was a good person. Just as his talent is undeniable so is all the money he gave to charity, so is the impact he made on civil rights, so is the message of love he spread through his art.
Anyway, I sent you guys an email about Jackson as well, so I’ll shut up. I was just happy to hear that I’m not the only one who believes pop culture and the people in it are important too.
Thank you.
July 11th, 2009 on 8:06 PM
Annie-I totally agree with you. I think Greg is hilarious! I thought this week’s episode of SM was one of the funniest yet!
July 12th, 2009 on 12:23 PM
I have to say, I didn’t expect everyone to be so upset about the MJ thing when I first heard it. So, I guess that I should speak up and say that I felt it was perfectly fine. It was a joke, and I think people are being too sensitive. Actually, it was one of the few times I totally agreed with Laura. I think the media is way out of hand. When news about his cause of death, or who gets custody of his kids comes out, then fine, report it. But I do not need to flip through the channels and see the same MJ specials/life stories that were on yesterday, the day before, and last week. Even Miley Cyrus had enough common sense to say the whole thing was out of hand on her Twitter. And clearly, if pop culture is as important as politics, then Miley Cyrus has just as much power as Obama, and she should be running this country alongside him. However, pop culture and politics are nowhere near the same thing, and if things were ideal, politics would be more important. Just because Paris Hilton made fake videos about how she was going to run for president doesn’t mean that all of sudden pop culture is just as important as politics. When we try to make them have the same importance, we get Sarah Palin. And for anyone who says that they feel bad for liking pop culture when listening to the show, let me remind you that everyone on the show is a fan of either or both Twilight and Harry Potter. Laura loves Green Day, and Andrew loves Springsteen. Everyone loves aspects of pop culture, but at the end of the day, what is going on in Iran is more important than Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince’s premiere, or Kevin Jonas getting engaged. I think that was what the hosts were trying to say, or at least that’s what I got out of it.
July 13th, 2009 on 12:59 PM
@Riley – When talking about the relative importance of pop culture vs politics I was speaking more broadly than the Michael Jackson/JNN discussion and it didn’t have much to do with any particular episode; I am more addressing an overall “slant” the entire show seems to have.
To infer that I must think Miley Cyrus has as much power as Obama is carrying my statement to its most absurd conclusion. And I certainly know that some boyband member getting married matters little compared to the situation in Iran. When I say that pop culture is equally important I’m not talking about specific people or icons or events. I’m talking about the collective messages, images and ideas (the acceptance of other races, religions, and sexualities, the importance of voting, strong women, ect) that are brought into our everyday lives and mindset by these cultural figures. As a small example, I learned about the true importance of worldwide literacy through Harry Potter not some smarmy politician. The line between pop culture and politics is not black and white. They are intertwined and complimentary of one another. I don’t think it would be ideal for either to be of greater importance than the other.
Also, I never said the media’s coverage of MJ isn’t/wasn’t overdone – I think it was. And I thought the concept of JNN was funny. But to accuse him of being a “kiddy fiddler” even in jest is bad taste considering he was tried and found not guilty of those same, very serious accusations. Michael Jackson is in fact the perfect example of how those kinds of false accusations can ruin a person’s life. At least, that is my personal reasoning for not being entirely comfortable with that particular segment.
I don’t want anyone thinking I don’t love the show and the hosts because I really do. I just happen to disagree this time.
xoxo
July 13th, 2009 on 6:36 PM
“He diddled little children.”
Out of line.
“He probably did molest these kids.”
Based on what knowledge? Do you know what went on at Neverland?
July 14th, 2009 on 9:47 AM
It seems we had a different idea of what exactly pop culture we were talking about, because I was thinking of things strictly from pop culture, while you were thinking of things that have been influenced by politics,or even vice versa. I apologize for the misunderstanding, I should have looked at things in a broader sense. It is true that they can work off of each other, but I don’t think that was the type of pop culture that SM’s was bashing. I think the shallow stuff is what the U.S. (the world, actually) typically gravitates towards, and things like Milk and Harry Potter get lost in the hype of Miley Cyrus and Twilight.