The Greatest American Band Debate: Run The Jewels

SeedSing is filled with music lovers. We can not agree on who is the best band from the States. The Greatest American Band Debate will be a regular feature where we discuss and compare bands who started in the good old USA. If you have any suggestions of bands we should debate Contact us seedsing.rdk@gmail.com

With the new year here and all of my best of lists done, I'm going to get back to my regular writing schedule. So that means, on Wednesdays, we will be getting back to our greatest American band debate here on SeedSing.

Today I have a newer group, but I feel like they are on their way to superstardom. It's another hip hop group, so get used to me writing about hip hop because it's one of my favorite styles of music and I've been listening to a ton of it lately. The band that I'm going to nominate today has only put out two albums, one in 2013 and the other in 2014, but they are currently working on their third record as we speak. This is a "super group", but it only consists of two rappers. The band I'm speaking of is Run The Jewels.

This group is rad. The members are Killer Mike and EL-P. Killer Mike is part of the dirty south rap movement. I first came to know him from his guest appearances on older Outkast records and the Dungeon Family stuff he did. I was always a fan of his style. He is gruff, disturbing and phenomenal. His rapping is so fast yet so clear, I'm amazed at what he can do with a mic. He is a wizard with words. He has become bigger over the years, stepping away from the Dungeon Family and the Outkast stuff, doing his own solo thing, and that has benefitted him very much. He found his own voice and had crushed on several solo albums, most notably "R.A.P. Music". Killer Mike is a beast. EL-P is a new discovery for me. I had heard his name as a producer when I was in my early twenties, but I had no idea he was a rapper too. The person that introduced me to him rapping was my brother Seth, who's made an appearance on our podcast. He is a great rapper as well. He has a slower delivery, but with his New York accent, it works like a charm. He has a smooth voice and since he's a producer and a beat maker, he has a great ear for making great rap songs. He is a legendary producer, but with Run The Jewels, he can become a legendary rapper. Basically, he's a better version of what Kanye West is doing, but since he isn't married to a reality star, he doesn't get the love he deserves. He gets it from the indie hip hop community, but he needs to be known nationally. EL-P is a great rapper.

The two of these guys got together a couple of years ago and immediately connected. They both like the same style of music and they both have unique styles that, when put together, makes some fantastic music. They couldn't be more different in their deliveries, but it works so well together. In 2013 they released "Run The Jewels". This record is a must have for hip hop fans. It's so good. They open with the title track, "Run The Jewels" and it's a beast of a song. EL-P has the first verse and he crushes. He has that smooth delivery going over a very hypnotic, yet oddly loud beat that works so well. Killer Mike comes in, and even when talking about shooting a poodle, I can't help but nod my head to his lyrics and the beat. This is a great entry way into the world of Run The Jewels. You get both rappers styles and the beats are top notch. The very next track has Killer Mike teaming up with Big Boi, from Outkast, on a song called "Banana Clipper". The great thing about his song, Big Boi only has one verse and it's at the very end. Usually, when you have a guest, they get about half the song. That's not the case on "Banana Clipper". Killer Mike has the first verse, he crushes, EL-P has the second, it's excellent and Big Boi closes the song out with one of his best verses since early Outkast. This is an awesome song. And props to Big Boi for letting EL-P and Killer Mike shine, most big time rappers would want the spotlight, but Big Boi takes a back seat. I like that. They actually close out "Run The Jewels" with a "Christmas" song called, "A Christmas F&^%*&g Miracle". Now, this is by no means "Jingle Bells" or "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", and it's not meant to be. This is a jokey holiday song that is made awesome by these two kick ass rappers. They even made an ugly sweater that goes along with this song and the sweater is very ugly and very cool.

In 2014 they followed up "Run The Jewels" with "Run The Jewels Volume 2". This is another thing I like about these guys. No pomp and circumstance, no weird album titles with weird album art, just give me the title and the same art and I know exactly what I'm getting. I like that they get straight to the point. This album is just as good as their debut. On "Close Your Eyes(And Count to F&%k)", they are exceptional and it's made better by the reappearance of Zach de la Rocha. Everyone that reads my stuff knows that I'm a Rage Against the Machine fan and I love de la Rocha, he's a legend. He actually does the chorus which is also the beat by saying "run them jewels fast, run them jewels fast, run them, run them, run them f&%k the slow mo" and I was instantly on board when I heard this. This is a lot like "Banana Clipper", with EL-P and Killer Mike getting the first and second verses and de la Rocha closing it out, and it's equally as good, but better in my personal opinion. EL-P and Killer Mike do their thing and de la Rocha absolutely destroys the final verse. It is so good to hear his voice and hear that he is still one of the best rappers/singers/activists out there. He's a monster and I wish he did more music. "Close Your Eyes" is my favorite Run The Jewels song, and it's the one I always listen to first when I put their albums on my iPod. "Jeopardy" is another great tune on the album that lets both guys do what they do best. Killer Mike is there with his super fast, super awesome flow and EL-P produces an excellent beat and gives us that smooth style that we have grown accustomed to.

In my personal opinion, I think they are a better "super group" than Odd Future, and I love Odd Future. They are the best "super group" since the Wu Tang Clan. They only have two guys also, how crazy is that. I've heard that their live shows are phenomenal, and if they come to, or close to Saint Louis, you better believe I'm going to see them. I cannot wait to see what they do for this third album. I know it will be awesome, and hopefully even better than their first two. I know it's hard to put a band in this conversation that has only released two records, but damn it, those records are incredible and these guys belong in our conversation. The future is bright for Run The Jewels.

These guys can become legends.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He is currently try to form a supergroup of bad rapping rec center basketball stars. Join his team by following Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty's (first) Annual NFL Playoff Predicitions

Playoff football and chili. Must be January

The NFL playoffs start this weekend and I have given a preseason (NFC, AFC, and postseason) and a mid season report, now I want to give a playoff preview and prediction. Both my preseason and mid season picks were way off the mark, I'm looking at you Indianapolis and Green Bay. But, with the playoffs now set, I'd like to give it one more crack, maybe this time I'll do better.

This upcoming Saturday we get the AFC first round playoff matchups between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans and the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals. Both these games should be decent, but I think it's pretty obvious who the winners will be. In the Chiefs-Texans game you have one team, the Chiefs, riding a 10 game winning streak. The Texans were in the AFC South, so 9 wins easily made them the division winners. The AFC South is a joke of a division and while the Texans have a pretty good defense, they have zero offense. They've used way too many quarterbacks this year that are all below average NFL starters. They have had no running game since Arian Foster went down for the season and save for Deandre Hopkins, they have no threats in the passing game. Hopkins is great, but if you can hold him to a 6 or 7 catch game, you can pretty easily beat Houston. The Chiefs aren't much better on offense, but they have way better playmakers. Alex Smith is a much better QB than anyone Houston will throw out there. They have struck gold with their backup running backs, Charcandarick West and Spencer Ware, after losing Jamaal Charles to a torn ACL. They also have a receiver that's almost as big a threat as Hopkins in Jeremy Maclin and they have a much better tight end in Travis Kelce. Oh, and there defense is just as good, if not better than the Texans. Sure, JJ Watt may get a couple of sacks, but what will Houston do with the ball on offense and will they be able to totally shut down the Chiefs? I don't think so. The only thing they have as an advantage is, they're playing at home, but that won't matter. Chiefs win by 10, with the final being 20-10. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati could have been a game, if not for the Andy Dalton injury. Cincinnati gets short changed every season. Sometimes it's their fault, other times, injuries derail this team. They have an okey running game with Giovanni Bernard and Jeremy Hill and they have one of the best receivers in the game in AJ Green, but that won't matter with AJ McCarron throwing and handing the ball off. The Bengals defense is top notch, but they have no one that will be able to slow Antonio Brown even a little bit. The Bengals line may stuff the run and even pressure Roethlisberger a bit, but he will still find Brown. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, has an elite offense clicking at the perfect time. They don't have their typical stout defense, but they can and will outscore opponents. I may not like the person, but Ben Roethlisberger is playing elite football right now. And, as I've mentioned before, he has Antonio Brown to throw the ball to. He also has Markus Wheaton, Heath Miller and Martavis Bryant to throw too as well. They lost LeVeon Bell earlier this year and DeAngelo Williams appears to have gotten injured in their finale, so that leaves the running game to Fitz Toussaint, former Michigan running back, but the Steelers don't need to run to win, In fact, I bet they run only 10 to 15 times the whole game. Steelers win in Cincy, crushing the Bengals playoff dreams in the first round once again, final score of 28-14. 

This Sunday we get the NFC first round matchups of Green Bay and Washington and Seattle and Minnesota. Both should be good, hard fought, close games. Green Bay travels to Washington to face the DC team on a roll right now. Whoever thought Kirk Cousins would be this good is a god damn liar. They have an okay run game, but they like to throw and they play some solid defense. Green Bay is a total enigma. They can never seem to get it going until it's too late, or they play to their ability and they blow out inferior opponents. Green Bay cannot protect Rodgers, their run game is non existent at times, but can also be great and their receivers can't get open, or if they do it's too late because Rodgers got sacked. Rodgers deserves a lot of the blame too for those sacks. Sometimes, when he does get good protection, he just holds on to the ball for way too long. Green Bay's defense is sub par at best. One week they totally shut a team down, the next, they give up big plays This is a total toss up, but I'll take Green Bay because of experience in big games. Washington's players haven't really been in big time playoff games and Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers have. Maybe I'm blinded by my fandom, but so be it. Green Bay wins 17-14. In the other game we get Minnesota and Seattle. Everyone and their mother is back on Seattle's bandwagon, but not me. I have to give credit to Bill Simmons for this, I was listening to his podcast this morning, and reminded me that the Seahawks just lost, only scoring 10 points at home to the Rams 2 weeks ago. Everyone wants to forget that because Russell Wilson has been putting up big numbers and their defense is playing better, but the Rams went to Seattle and owned them. The Vikings are a better version of the Rams. They have a better QB, receivers and a better, albeit a child abuser, running back. Their defense isn't as good as the Rams, but it's still good. The game is in Minnesota at noon as well. That means in Seattle, it's 10am. I know that doesn't sound like an advantage, but it is. I truly believe that Minnesota can replicate what the Rams did even better and I think they win this game. That would be great so everyone, including Chris Collinsworth, can shut the hell up about how great the Seahawks are. I'll take the Vikings in a very low scoring game, 14-10.

The following week we'd get the second round games in each conference. The four teams that had byes will all be in play and the big time games start happening. In the AFC the matchups will be Chiefs-Broncos and Steelers-Patriots. The Broncos will lose this game if they start Peyton Manning. Sure, he came in relief last week and they won, but it was their run game and their number one ranked defense that won, not Peyton Manning. Brock Osweiler deserves his shot. The Chiefs are good, as I mentioned above, but I cannot trust Andy Reid to win a big time playoff game on the road, I just can't. The Broncos have a stable of running backs, they have DeMaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders to throw to and they have the best defense in all of football. I don't see how they lose this game, unless they rely on Peyton Manning to make plays. He's a Hall of Famer, but he's done. Let your young QB start, rely on the run game and let your top of the line defense send you to the AFC title game. Broncos win 20-13. The Patriots-Steelers game will be interesting. Pittsburgh is elite offensively, but so is New England, if healthy. They have Gronk, Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola and a rejuvenated Steven Jackson on offense. But, their O line is very bad and are Gronk, Edelman and Amendola really healthy. Also, Brady took a hit in the Miami game, so who knows if he'll be one hundred percent. Neither of these teams are great on defense, but the Patriots are better. That won't matter because no one can guard Antonio Brown. Sorry New England, but the Steelers will steal this game in Foxborough and head to the AFC title game. Final score, 35-30.

The NFC will feature Green Bay-Carolina and Minnesota-Arizona. Carolina is on fire right now. They're 15-1, they have the MVP in Cam Newton, they have decent and very tall receivers and they have a pretty great defense. They also control the clock with their elite run game. Green Bay is a sitting duck. They've already been beaten once by Carolina this year, one of two teams with a winning record that Carolina has beaten, and they have not learned a thing from that game. Green Bay's season will end and it won't be pretty. Cam Newton is playing fantastic football and they will grind this game out and walk away with an easy victory. Carolina wins 20-7. Arizona and Minnesota will also be a blow out. Arizona has a better defense, a better QB, an equally as good run game and much, much better receivers. Carson Palmer in the runner up MVP and playing some of the best football of his career. Larry Fitzgerald has morphed into the best blocking receiver and best slot guy in all of football. David Johnson has filled in quite nicely for Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington and their offensive line is the best in the NFL. Minnesota had a good run, but it ends in resounding fashion in Arizona. Cardinals win 35-10.

Now we are down to four teams. In the AFC championship we have Denver-Pittsburgh. One relies on offese, the other on defense. Denver has some great corners capable of shutting down Antonio Brown, but I feel like typical Broncos will show up and blow this game. They should win easily. They can rely on their run game to chew clock and keep Pittsburgh offense off the field, but John Elway, Gary Kubiak and Peyton Manning will try to win with Manning being the hero and it will back fire. This game will be close, but Pittsburgh will pull it out and win 27-20. Arizona and Carolina could be a close game, but it won't. Carolina will finally see up close and personal what a real NFL team looks like, with a real offense and a legit defense. They will shut Newton down, they will force them to pass and that will cause turnovers. On offense, Arizona will do whatever it wants. This will be a runaway for the Cardinals. Arizona wins 38-14.

So that leaves us with a Pittsburgh-Arizona rematch in Super Bowl 50. Arizona has the one corner, Patrick Peterson, that can actually give Brown some trouble. They also have an offense that will light up a weak Pittsburgh defense. This game also has the makings of a blowout. I think it will be close until midway through the third quarter and Arizona will run away with the game. Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald will finally get their rings and Bruce Arians will be recognized as one of the best coaches in the NFL. Cardinals roll to a Super Bowl win, final score 35-20.

I feel good about this one.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He is working on a fifth alarm for his big game four alarm chili. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty is Not a Big Fan of Johnny Clipboard

Johnny's money will still come from daddy, just not from the NFL

Now that the NFL has finished it's regular season we are about to see a bunch of coaches get fired, players declaring for the draft, free agents signing elsewhere and players opting out or asking to be traded. One such player that will be asking for a trade, or will just be traded straight up, no questions asked, is Johnny Manziel.

Now, before I get going on a roll, it needs to be said that I'm not a Johnny Manziel fan. I really, really hate the player and the person. He's an entitled, snotty, frat boy douchebag that's never worked that hard for anything in his life. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and he acts like it. Take the court side seats he had in Miami while he was still in college. I mean, come on, how much more of an asshole can you look like. It's not enough that you are getting your college paid for with your scholarship, but you get to sit courtside at Miami Heat games when they had Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh? That's unfair. First of all, I'm sure there are lifelong Heat fans that are much more deserving of those tickets. Secondly, don't flaunt it in this day and age of very prevalent social media, you know that people are going to roast you, such as I'm doing right now. It makes you look even more douchey than you already do.

Then, there's the antics while at Texas A&M. Sure, as a red shirt freshman, I found you a bit enjoyable to watch. You were exciting and you made games fun to watch, even for a person like me that thinks the SEC is wildly overrated. You deserved the Heisman that year, but that's when you became the supreme asshole that you are now. You got way too big for your britches. You thought you were some kind of superstar when you are not. Yes, you won the Heisman, but the competition for it that year was very light. Manti Teo was up for the award that year. Anyone else remember him?

During the offseason between freshman and sophomore year, you were spotted at many night clubs and bars partying way, way too hard for someone that's under age. I get it, young kids make stupid decisions, it happens to everyone, especially in college, but you are on the national radar. You have to make the right decision, not the fun decision. That's the price of being a high profile college football player. You did get suspended going into your sophomore year, but only for a half of the first game against a nobody opponent. Then, when you got in the game, you popped off at the mouth and kept doing that dumbass money gesture where you rubbed your fingers together. That's when my hatred reached a boiling point for you. I don't mind celebrating, go ahead and celebrate your accomplishment, but keep it to a minimum, don't make it all about you, involve your teammates. But, Manziel only celebrated himself. So much so, Kevin Sumlin pulled him out of the game because he kept getting personal foul penalties for excessive celebrations and taunting. That's childish.

During his sophomore year, Manziel was not the same player. He bought into the hype and played like he thought the other teams would lay down because "Johnny Football" was coming to town. Quite the opposite happened. Opponents wanted to crush him. Linebackers, safeties and the defensive line would gang tackle him and just hope that they'd get a blindside hit on him. Texas A&M finished his sophomore year with a whimper and he declared for the draft, to no one's surprise.

Then, there was talk that he would not only be a first round pick, but he could be the first overall pick of the draft. I couldn't believe my ears. Let's leave the fact that he's a selfish, self involved dick head out of it and just look at his ability. Yes, he's good enough to be a backup in the NFL, but no way is he a starter and no way is he the first overall pick. He abandons plays way too early, he relies on his legs way too much, he doesn't slide, he takes too many hits, he's wildly inaccurate and he's not interested in putting in the work to be a starting NFL quarterback. GM's and owners, for the most part, realized all of this and he dropped to the late first round, I think 21 or 22 overall to the sorry ass Cleveland Browns. I still couldn't believe he was a first round pick, but at least he was with a terrible team and I could go on irrationally hating this guy. What made it even better, he continued his partying ways and failed to do his job and was a backup behind Brian Hoyer his rookie season. There were national media guys, mainly Tony Kornheiser, saying he should start, but we all knew he wasn't a starting QB. He wasn't even good enough to beat out Brian Hoyer. When he did get a start, the Browns started hot, cooled off as they always do and Hoyer got hurt, so he was pushed into the starting role, he failed tremendously. He missed on his first four or five passes against the Bengals, his first completion was to a Bengal defender and he was sacked and hit repeatedly. It was exactly what I thought would happen.

After this game, he was relegated back to clipboard duty and that's when one of the greatest t shirts ever created came out. His nickname in college was "Johnny Football", still a god awful nickname, so some other haters of Manziel created the "Johnny Clipboard" t shirt of Manziel doing his money celebration, but he's holding a clipboard. It is genius.

He obviously didn't take this well and retreated to being an asshole alcoholic. He tried to get better last offseason, even going to rehab, but he still had his arrogant, asshole attitude. He threw a water bottle at a heckler during an open practice in Cleveland. I know that hecklers are the worst, but you have to carry yourself in a professional manner no matter what, especially in sports because there's always going to be people that hate you. He once again was a backup to start this season to Josh McCown. He hadn't done enough in the offseason to get the starting job and he was "Johnny Clipboard" once again. The Browns were the Browns all year, playing awful football and being covered by ESPN like a god damn super bowl contender.

Manziel got to start, again against the Bengals and while he played a teeny bit better, he still played with his legs more than his arm, over and under threw passes and complained all the way to a blowout at the hands of the Bengals again. He was covered like an All Pro, something I will never understand, and people thought he turned a corner, but they were all wrong. He was spotted partying again. A video surfaced of a drunken Manziel, he went to rehab I remind you, and then he tried to get people to cover it up. He lied to his employer but, did they fire him, no, they gave him his ten thousandth chance, something he didn't need or deserve. They should have cut him right then and there, but they didn't. They even let him start again.

Now, the night before the season finale, he missed curfew and was spotted at a casino in Las Vegas. How arrogant and childish is that?! You are a professional football player. You have one of the easiest, best jobs in the world. Show some god damn gratitude for the awesome lot in life you have.

Reports have come out the past couple of days saying that he wants out of Cleveland and they want to be rid of him too. Finally is all I have to say. I also read that he wants to play for Dallas. Please, please let this happen. I cannot think of anything better than Jerry Jones signing Johnny Manziel and the Cowboys being 2-14 for the next couple of seasons until they finally cut Manziel. It would be glorious.

Manziel is at a point in his career where he either needs to accept the fact that he's not a starter in the NFL or be relegated to playing in the CFL or any other "minor" league football. I don't even think he's good enough for the CFL, but that's me. This prick needs to grow up and realize that he's not the superstar that he thinks he is. He's a never was that will never be. He had his highest moments in college and he is a nothing player in the NFL. He's the equivalent of a freak show. People cover him because it's an easy story, not because of his playing ability. The love for Manziel needs to stop and stop now. He's a mediocre QB at best who only cares about himself and partying.

Johnny Manziel is a selfish asshole.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. His enjoys flashing the money sign to his kids when they ask for a new toy. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The SeedSing (half) Year in Idea Farming

We have a few ideas

Part of SeedSing's mission is to highlight the ideas and technology that will create a better future. We call this collection of essay's The Idea Farm. Contributors seek out and discuss these innovations on the pages of the website. What began as a few book reviews posted in the Politics/Society portion of SeedSing has grown into its own community. Join us as we highlight the (half) year in Idea Farming.

Kirk Aug started his posting career on SeedSing by taking a look at the unintentional benefits brought to us through piracy. He stayed in the world of computers and customization with a look at a future without an installed dedicated operating system on our computers. The use of one's electronic devices may one day allow us to communicate with anyone around the world. The pirates of yesterday have become the innovators of tomorrow.

How we conduct our day to day lives through technology is rapidly changing. Your car will soon not need your participation to get from point A to point B. The Microsoft Band and Android Wear watches started occupying space on our wrists long before Apple's offering. Even as we speak, unmanned drones are slowly filling our skies, confusing many of library patrons. The productivity of one's office is rapidly changing. Guest contributor Matthew Young highlighted many new technologies beneficial to the business world.  While there does not seem to be a lot of use for 3-D printing in the home, the technology is radically transforming the world of manufacturing. The technology innovations of today will be parts of our normal lives in the future.

The Idea Farm was not only about looking at future tech. Tina S asked us why we celebrate stupidity in our society. RD wanted to know if it is time we give up on the poisonous ideas of capitalism. Kirk wanted to give a proper name to the communicator he carries around to make calls and search the internet. The future is full of questions and uncertainty. Once we have worked our way through these questions, it is best to relax and mediate.

The Idea Farm was very interested in the food of the future. One of our most popular posts came from Kirk and asked us all what is real food. The rise of lab created nutrition may create a safe and guilt free hamburger. If the idea of eating something that looks and taste to natural turns you off, one could always take a sip of some Soylent. The farms of tomorrow are being cultivated in the lab.

The world we are creating is exciting and unknown. Electronics have moved away from the desktop and inhabited every aspect of our world. Hunger and global climate change can be reversed with some of the innovations surrounding nutrition. We have a lot to be hopeful for, and a lot to be anxious about. When the drones fill you with dread, go home and have a nice meditation session. It will all be ok.

RD Kulik (and the SeedSing contributors)

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing. Come join the conversation of tomorrow by writing for SeedSing today.

The SeedSing (half) Year in Pop Culture: The Top Five Sports Moments of 2015

Reenactment of the year in sports

Closing out my best of 2015 countdown I'll pick my top five sports moments of the year. Being a Cardinals, Thunder, Packer and Wolverines fan, it's been a struggle for the most part. Sure, they've all had good seasons, but they've suffered some tough loses and missed opportunities. My countdown is actually filed with sour grapes. Teams that I loathe lost games and series in spectacular fashion and it made me happy, the irrational side of me at least. On with the countdown.

At number five I have the most brutal Michigan football loss that I've ever seen. The list is sports moments that I will remember for the rest of my life, so some will be bad and this one takes the cake. I mean, Michigan had this win. It would've, at the time, put them in the conversation for the college football playoff. Harbaugh would've beaten MSU, who's bullied Michigan for the past five years. It was all coming up Michigan, then they muffed the punt. It was shocking. All they had to do was catch and kick the ball. Blake O'Neil, after muffing the snap, could've just fallen on the ball where he was and forced MSU to try a very long field goal on a windy afternoon. Harbaugh could've sent his offense out there and held the ball as long as possible and then chuck it in the air to run the clock out. There's a million other options, but the most unfortunate thing happened. This win got MSU in the playoff, where they promptly got their asses beat by Alabama last night. Without this game, MSU would be playing in the Citrus Bowl today and Michigan would've had a shot at the playoff or a New Year's six bowl. But that's not what happened. Also, the people that attacked Blake O'Neil on social media need to get a life. He's a kid that made a mistake in a game. Get over it. This was a very brutal, brutal game, but I will always be reminded of it, so it goes on the list.

At number four the sour grapes come into play. The Clippers collapse in the second round of the Western Conference playoff last year was a thing of beauty to watch since I'm such a big Clipper hater. They had this series wrapped up. They were up 3 games to 1 and held a 20 point lead in the second half of game five. Surely, they'd close it out and go on t the conference finals to get crushed by Golden State. But something magical happened. The Rockets made a furious comeback in the fourth quarter of game five, all while James Harden was on the bench, and won that game. Then, they crushed the Clippers in game 6 and then closed it out in game 7. I loved it. The Clippers were the Clippers once again. Chris Paul moped and griped at players and refs alike. DeAndre Jordan sat on the bench in crunch time because he can't shoot a free throw. Blake Griffin became the disappearing "superstar" that he is. He's a choker. JJ Redick was too busy fixing his hair and playing lackluster defense. And Doc Rivers was making terrible coaching decision after terrible coaching decision. What made me most happy was that stupid moron Steve Ballmer getting his comuppence. He had that stupid grin and wild activity on the sidelines all season and it annoyed the hell out of me. Almost nothing made me happier than seeing that stupid asshole have a frown affixed to his face in game 7. And now, the Clippers look worse than they did last season and I love it even more. Screw that team forever.

At number three I have the blazing hot start that the Golden State Warriors got off to at the start of this season. They won their first 24 games. That's unheard of. I'm not a Warriors fan, but to watch them play, when they're on fire, is almost as beautiful as watching the Spurs ball movement. Steph Curry raining threes at an extremely high rate, Klay Thompson playing lockdown defense, Draymond Green, inexplicably, being the best overall player on the best team and Andre Iguodala playing like an all star. Let us not forget about Harrison Barnes taking the next step towards super stardom. He's been excellent all year. They also did all this with Steve Kerr sidelined due to a back issue. Luke Walton has been the coach for them all season. This team is scary good and they look like they could win back to back titles. The Warriors became must watch TV for me this season and I already stated I'm not a fan. When they get on a tear, you cannot look away. What they did to start this season was magical and it will be talked about forever.

Number two is Malcolm Butler picking off Russell Wilson to end Super Bowl 50. This was a HUGE moment for football and sports fans everywhere. After Jeramine Kearse made that catch, the ball bouncing all over his body, never touching the ground, I thought that I'd have to suffer through another love fest for Jesus and the Seahawks. They were easily going to run the ball into the end zone with little to no time left and walk off the field with their second straight Super Bowl win and I'd have to hear all those players talk shit and their dumbass fans talk on social media. Then, after play faking to Marshawn Lynch, which already made my mind explode, then Wilson telegraphing his slant pass and Butler coming up with the pick, I mean, it was the most exciting three seconds I've witnessed during a football game. Now, I'm not a Patriots fan, but my hatred for the Seahawks completely outweighed my neutrality for the Patriots. Looking at the Seahawk sideline prior to the pick, seeing Richard Sherman smiling and joking with his teammates, hearing Russell Wilson talking about how it's god's will that they win, seeing Pete Carroll's shit eating grin, I was angry. But, right after the pick, I was elated. Sherman's smiles and laughter immediately turned to a frown and questions. Wilson walking to the sideline asking why his receiver didn't make a quick enough cut, because it's never his fault and Carroll not admitting he made a massive mistake was delightful. This team, for all the shit talking they do, one hundred percent deserved to lose this game the way they did and I'm glad it was a team like New England, whom every outside of Boston hates, beat them. It was glorious.

My number one moment occurred almost exactly one year ago, the start of 2015, when Michigan hired Jim Harbaugh as their new head coach. I didn't like the idea at first, he never stays at one job for more than four years and he works his players tirelessly, but what he did in year one made me a believer. I picked the Wolverines to go 7-5 and play in a lowly bowl game. The team came out rough against Utah, but a season opener on the road is always tough, and it was a close game all the way to the end. Michigan even had a chance to win. Then, they crushed Oregon State at home. After that, they went on a three game winning streak, not allowing a single point. That's what made me happy. Their offense was blah, but their defense was playing lights out. That's the Michigan I know and love. Sure, there was the MSU game I mentioned earlier and they got crushed by Ohio State and Indiana and Minnesota should have beaten them, but they found ways to win close, tough games. That wouldn't have happened under Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke. The team would've given up because that's what I saw for seven years. Harbaugh has brought back a sense of urgency and toughness to this team that has been lacking. I'm glad Michigan did everything they could to get him there and he's turned me into a supporter. I hope he sticks around for awhile because I believe he can do great things in the college game. College fits his coaching style perfectly. As I like to say, I'm proceeding with caution as to how good this team can be, but with Harbaugh aboard, I know they won't quit, they'll always fight to the last whistle.

There you have all of my best of 2015 countdowns. See you all next year when I get back to my regular writing schedule. Happy New Year everyone.

Ty 

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is looking forward to the good karma coming Michigan's way after their one disasterous play of 2015. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The SeedSing (half) year in Pop Culture: The Top Five Podcasts of 2015

Time to remember the mic's best guests

Continuing my week long best of 2015 countdown today I'll pick my top five podcast episodes of the year. I'm a very, very big fan of podcast, mostly comedy podcast. Comedy podcasts are very well represented in this countdown, but there's one pretty serious, not very comedic episode that tops my list. I could've easily done a top 25, 50 or even 100 for this topic, so paring it down to five was tough. Here it goes.

My number five podcast episode of 2015 was the return of "Go Bayside" when they critically deconstructed the "Saved By the Bell: Hawaiian Style" movie. By they I mean the excellent and very hilarious host, April Richardson and her equally as funny best friend, Millie De Chirico. I was so pleasantly surprised and happy when my podcast app showed me that there was a new "Go Bayside". I put time away to go on a hike so I would not be bothered while I listened. April Richardson took a long time off after she finished doing all the pertinent episodes of "Saved By the Bell", but she promised to return to do this movie and the one when Kelly and Zack get married. This episode made it well worth the wait. Richardson and De Chirico come out hot from the start, just chastising the racism in this movie. It was so funny. I loved how upset they both got t the fact that there was a principal's convention in the exact same spot of Hawaii that the students were vacationing in. They couldn't fathom a world that in all of Hawaii these people picked the same spot to vacation in. I couldn't agree more with them. They constantly bad mouthed Kelly's vacation boyfriend for being a creep and this actor totally deserved it, he was terrible. My favorite thing in the whole episode was how they kept going back to the piece of paper that the hotel lease was written on that was literally, a plain sheet of paper. They kept asking why this wasn't a more important document that they would keep in a special place and I found myself asking the same questions. It's baffling. This was such a great episode of my all time favorite podcast and I can't wait until April Richardson does the wedding of Zack and Kelly on what I assume will be the final episode ever of "Go Bayside".

Number four is the episode of "Doughboys" where they talk about In and Out Burger. "Doughboys" has been my new favorite podcast and this episode takes the cake. In most episodes, there's a back and forth between Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger and the guest just chimes in with whomever they are friends with. It's all very funny, but this episode was bizarre in the best possible way. Their guest was Armen Weitzman. Comedy fans know who Weitzman is, and how weird he can be, but he was off the handles in this particular "Doughboys". He would go back and forth between talking about the food to talking straight nonsense. While I was listening, I was enthralled at how wacky this episode was becoming. Even Mitchell and Wiger seemed to be taken aback at where all this was going. They even stopped their bickering towards each other and let Weitzman go on some long, strange rants. The best part was Weitzman explaining why his basketball podcast with Mitchell never came to fruition. This was the most bizarre thing in a completely absurd episode. I loved every second and I've listened to it multiple times just to hear the craziness. Not every episode is like this one, but I'm glad they have this, because it's one for the ages.

Coming in at number three I have "The Bill Simmons Podcast" episode with Michael Rappaport. As we all know by now, Simmons was fired from ESPN, took a social media hiatus for a couple of months and finally announced he'd be returning with a podcast and a TV show soon. The podcast was first and his early episodes were with friends and former athletes. It was basically the same thing as the "B.S. Report". Then, he had Michael Rappaport on and it was magical. He talked about everything fro his love for Knicks basketball to Rocky's trainer being a ladies man. He professed his love for Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis, calling him the "Latvian Gangster". He also kept calling Latvia, Lativia. He added an "I" that didn't need to be there. He also pushed Simmons to say something bad about ESPN. I loved how he was all in his business trying to get Simmons to say anything about his firing and what led to it. Simmons didn't say anything on air, but I like to imagine he crushed ESPN off air. Rappaport was a great relief from all the Patriots, Red Sox and Celtics love that flooded the first month of Bill Simmons new podcast. He was lively, constantly cursing and just being himself. I loved it and I know most of his listeners did too. I can't wait for part two because there needs to be a part two.

My number two podcast episode was Comedy Bang Bang's fourth edition of "Farts and Procreation". This was bittersweet. Harris Wittels unfortunately overdosed and died the week before this episode came out. It was tragic and he has been greatly missed. He died way too young and had a horrible addiction problem. I didn't even know him and I miss him, so I can't even imagine what was going through Scott Aukerman's head when he did the intro. Well, his intro was an absolutely beautiful homage to his friend. He spoke of the good and the bad times they had and their close friendship. These two were very good friends. I'll admit, the intro brought me to tears. Then, they played their annual episode and it was as funny as one could've hoped for. Wittels, Chelsea Peretti and Adam Scott were as goofy and funny as they were on the previous three. Aukerman did his thing as the host, keeping the pace. Wittels did his classic "Harrison's Foam Corner" where he tells jokes that aren't ready for the stage yet and it was, once again, riotous. Peretti and Scott were great too. This was a great sendoff to the great career of Harris Wittels that was cut way too short. This is another episode I go back and listen to because it reminds me how truly talented Harris Wittels was. He was a great comedy writer nd he will be deeply missed.

And that brings us to my number one podcast episode of 2015, the "WTF with Marc Maron" episode where he interviewed President Barack Obama. This was a watermark moment in podcast history. I know that Obama was on other podcast, but not a comedian's podcast that thousands of hard core comedy fans listen to. This was a huge deal to me because I am an Obama supporter and I'm a Maron fan, so put those two together, I'm immediately on board. Maron did a great job with the interview, asking him all types of questions. Obama was even better, answering everything and telling more. He spoke of his father not really being around. He spoke of his love for his mom. He praised his wife. He talked about being a dad to teenage girls. He came off as a regular guy, not the President and I loved that. This was easily the best one hour of podcasting I listened to every year. And, I'm glad it was Maron that got the interview. He's gotten some big time people to be on his show, but he got the President and to people of my generation, this was great for us to hear this powerful man sound like an everyday guy. Maron and Obama did a great job with this episode. I mean, how could anything else be number one beside this episode.

So there you have my top five podcast episodes of 2015. Come back tomorrow where I wrap it up with my top five sports moments of 2015.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Next year his top five podcasts will all be ones he is a featured guest on. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik. 

The SeedSing (half) Year in Pop Culture: The Top Five Television Shows of 2015

Find the nob and change the channel

Day three of my best of 2015 countdown will be my top five shows pf the year. All the shows are in their second, third or fourth season except for one of them. The shows don't have to necessarily be shows that premiered this year. Sometimes the second or third season of a show is the best. Take the US version of "The Office". That show peaked in year four but they went on to make five more seasons. The majority of my countdown is all comedy shows. That's what I prefer. Sure, there's one show that could be considered a dramedy, but I'm a comedy fan. No "Mad Men", which I loathed this final season. I also don't watch any of the superhero one hour shows, be they on Netflix or basic cable. So, don't expect what the majority has put as their best of 2015. Comedy takes a certain taste and most publications writers don't have that taste. On with the countdown.

At number five I have "Better Call Saul", the dramedy of the group. I was very skeptical of this show when I first heard about it. I thought the writers of "Breaking Bad" did an excellent job of tying up the story of Saul Goodman, so why make a prequel type show for him? I began to get on board when I saw that Vince Gilligan and the majority of the "Breaking Bad" writers were hired to write the series. Then I watched and I couldn't look away from the TV. This was a show when it was on, I was focused. No cell phones or computers to look at, "Better Call Saul" needed my undivided attention. The show has many characters but make no mistake, this is Bob Oedenkirk's show, he's the star. And he does a damn fine job as the title character. We meet him as Jimmy McGill, his name before he became a "criminal" lawyer and he's a schlubby, down on his luck kind of guy. He lives in his brothers shadow, played excellently by Michael McKean. His brother has a melt down and won't leave the house, so Jimmy tries to take up the slack. There's a ton of great episodes in the first season. Jimmy becomes a lawyer for the elderly, he gets some skateboarders involved in a hit and run scam and he even helps a family launder thousands of dollars. You can see early on that he is a shady person. The best episode, by far, of the first season was when we get Mike Ehrmantraut(Johnathan Banks) back story. We all remember Mike from "Breaking Bad" and this episode lets us see why he does what he does on both shows. It's an incredibly moving and powerful episode. It's one of the finest 44 minutes TV has had on in quite a while. "Better Call Saul" goes into season two in February and if it's half as good as season one, we will have a mega hit on our hands.

My number four show is "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp". This show was perfect in every sense. I love that all the original actors from the cult hit "Wet Hot American Summer" recreate their roles. They've all aged the 10 or so years since the movie, but they're actually playing younger versions in this series. The fact that it was on Netflix was awesome because I watched the whole thing in one day. I loved this show. I also like that they brought in new actors like Kristin Wiig, Chris Pine, Jordan Peele and Jason Schwatzman. They were all great. Jon Benjamin as the camp counselor that becomes the can of talking vegetables was hilarious. This show was great in every possible way. Paul Rudd shines once again and Michael Showalter was just as hilarious. My favorite episode was when Elizabeth Banks, who's a reporter at a magazine, poses as a teenager to get a story on how real teenagers act. All she has to do to look like a teenager you ask, pull her hair into a side ponytail. Hilarious. I hope they do more episodes because this show was just what the fans of the movie needed.

My number three show is "Last Man on Earth". When we left the first season, Phil(Will Forte) and Carol(Kristin Schaal) were on the move from Tucson. We picked up this season with them trying to find a new place to live. Nothing was as good as Tucson so they went back to find it completely abandoned. We come to find out that every else moved to Malibu. When Phil and Carol end up in Malibu, that's when all the hilarity starts. First of all, we get a cameo from Will Ferrell. He doesn't say one word and is spooked to death by Carol, literally. Everything else that ensues is great. Phil, who is now going by his original name, Tandy, is put in stocks and has an electric dog collar on until they find it fit for him to live with everyone again. Carol is her usual upbeat self, even when the worst things are going on around them. Todd(Mel Rodriguez) and Melissa(January Jones) break up. The other Phil(Boris Kodjoe) professes his undying love for Carol, but finds out he's impregnated Erica(Cleopatra Coleman). And Gail(Mary Steenburgen) is deeply distraught by the fact that her lover, Ferrell, was scared to death. There's a lot going on this season and the season finale was very heavy, but this show was pretty damn funny all season long.

My number two show is "Review". This show is the weirdest, most innovative thing I've seen on TV ever. Andy Daly plays Forrest McNeil, a guy that reviews everyday life. Not movies or TV or music, just life situations much to his and the people he loves demise. This season saw him start a cult and lose the cult to his girlfriend. The girlfriend he got in an earlier episode was from a review that was to sleep with a teacher. He gets his first girlfriend locked up for stealing pills from a hospital on the first episode of the season. He now lives with his dad and he got both his dad's home and summer home destroyed this season. He also tries to get the perfect body, but becomes addicted to steroids. Everything is so hilariously messy and the best episode was when he had to review, "killing someone". He doesn't want to, obviously, but he accidentally kills a man that he was in a fight with earlier in the episode. This leads to him going to jail and reviewing life experiences from jail. He says that the producers of the show are not who he thinks they are and that they want him to struggle and lose everyone he loves. He even has a chance to get back together with his ex wife, but that blows up in his face as well. "Review" is an excellent show and I love that Andy Daly finally has a project that suits his comedy to perfection.

Coming in at number one is "Nathan For You". What else is there to say about this show that I haven't already said. He's made man caves in women's clothing shops, he's walked a tight rope to make someone else famous, he made a play that was literally just people sitting at a bar smoking cigarettes and talking about absolutely nothing. He did so many crazy things this season. The best for me was the outerwear that supported Holocaust history and the fitness craze, The Movement, that he started. The Holocaust thing was absurd, upsetting and hilarious. The setup he had, with a rabbi's blessing, in that store was downright appalling, but he found a way to make it funny. He's also earned over 300,000 dollars for Holocaust awareness due to his new line of jackets and hats. The fitness craze episode was just bizarre. He convinced a body builder type guy to be the spokes person for losing weight and gaining muscle by only lifting and moving boxes. The episode as a whole is one of the most cringe worthy, yet laugh out loud funny things on TV all year. I'm currently reading the book that a ghost writer wrote, who Nathan Fielder hired off of Craigslist, wrote in two days. "Nathan For You" is by far the best show on TV and I cannot wait to see how he tops himself in season four.

So there you have my top five TV shows of the year. Come back tomorrow for the best podcast episodes, in my opinion, for 2015.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He is building muscle mass by moving Christmas presents from one house to another. Learn all about his secret by following Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The SeedSing (half) Year in Pop Culture: The Top Five Albums of 2015

These are the records to put on

Day two of my Best of 2015 countdown will be my top five albums of the year. I'm a huge music fan and there has been a decent amount of music put out this year. Bands and musicians like Sleater-Kinney, Earl Sweatshirt, Thundercat, Kurt Vile and Father John Misty all put out excellent records. I've also been introduced to some older bands and albums from years past this year. For example, I love both Run The Jewels albums. Shit, I was this close to putting them on this countdown because they're so good and I just recently started listening to them. I also recently got way into AC/DC. Their older stuff is excellent rock and roll music, but it wouldn't be fair to put them in this countdown. I picked five albums that were released this year. They are my five favorites and the ones I go back to the most. They're all fairly popular, but that doesn't make the music any less listenable. On with the countdown.

At number five I have a band that I was just introduced to five days ago, but I can't stop listening to their record. The band is Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats and the album is self titled. This album is great. It hearkens back to the good old days of early alternative soul music. I was introduced to this band while listening to the Sklar Brothers music podcast and the guy that was talking about them gave the perfect comparison. He said that Rateliff sounds like Van Morrison and the band is like the studio bands for soul music in the 60's and 70's. I couldn't agree more. This album is good from top to bottom. Rateliff has that Morrison/old soul gruff voice and the band is tight. The highlight of the record for me is the song, "Howling at Nothing". It has everything you could want in this style of music. Great vocals, great background music and a kick ass guitar solo. This record is excellent.

Coming in at number four I have what every other publication has at number one, Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp a Butterfly". Oh my god, this album is so complex and so awesome. It's a total detour from his record last year, "good kid, M.A.A.D. city", but that's oaky. The funny thing about this record, I didn't care for it the first time I heard it, but on the second, third, fourth and so on and so forth listen, I grew to love this album. It's so god damn good. Lamar is a beast. He has taken over the throne as the best rapper out there right now. He is the best writer and his delivery is top notch. This is more an art piece than a rap album. Lamar pays tributes to the people that influenced him and the last track where he reads a letter to Tupac and has Tupac responding is chilling. I love this album. I'm a big rap fan and the things that Kendrick Lamar does on "TPABF" is light years ahead of any rapper out there right now. He's so much better than Drake or Kanye West, it's funny that they're mentioned in the same sentence as him. I cannot wait to see what he will do next.

My number three album is "Yours Dreamily" by The Arcs. I've heard some hipsters complain that this album is no good or complain that Dan Auerbach needs to stop doing side projects, but why not work with some good musicians and do some different, interesting things. Sure, it sounds a bit Black Keysish, but most stuff will if Auerbach is the lead singer. I think "Yours Dreamily" is better than any indie rock or alternative album that was put out this year, with one exception that I will get to at number two. The album spans many different genres of music and I like to hear what Auerbach can do with a full band. When I wrote about this album earlier this year, I said it was like a western movie soundtrack, but in the best way possible. Upon further listens, I still feel the same way, but I also think it's just a downright awesome rock album. Songs like "Velvet Ditch" or "Outta My Mind" are awesome rock/blues songs with Auerbach crushing on vocals and guitar. Auerbach can do no wrong musically. The best track on this album is "Stay in My Corner". There's a different singer, but the song is sweet, rock and roll and blues all mixed into one song. The vocals are great, the music is great and the chorus is memorable. This will be a wedding song for the hipsters that like this band for many years to come. "Yours Dreamily" is a great record, don't listen to the music snobs out there saying that it's not so good, they're wrong.

My number two record is the one alternative record I like more than "Yours Dreamily". That album is "Sound and Color" by the Alabama Shakes. I mean come on, how did they top their debut record, "Boys and Girls" so easily? "Boys and Girls" was a revelation to me, "Sound and Color" has the makings of a classic album. This is a record that I feel my kids will play for their kids. Alabama Shakes could've easily stayed in their little indie corner and make more swamp records and been very successful, but they took a huge chance by playing poppy prog rock and they hit a grand slam. This album is so different from their debut and I love that. "Sound and Color" proved that they were willing to take huge chances and showed a lot of diversity. This is the type of album you put on and listen all the way through without skipping one song. The highlights for me are "Sound and Color", "Future People" and "Dunes". "Sound and Color" is a super trippy, slow burning tune that works perfectly. You may have heard it on the most recent Apple Mac Air commercials. The marimba and Brittany Howards vocals are hauntingly beautiful. "Dunes" is another slow song with flat out awesome music in the back ground. Howard, once again, crushes the vocals as well. "Future People" is the high light of this phenomenal album. It's slow, it's heavy and it builds to be the perfect rock song. The guitar effect used during the chorus is one of the coolest things I've ever heard. "Sound and Color" is so good, Alabama Shakes is now one of the best and most talked about rock bands of the 21st century. Best alternative rock record of the year by far.

My number one album of 2015 is Leon Bridges "Coming Home". I've been on the Leon Bridges bandwagon for about nine months now. I've written about him twice on the website and my first blog on him was about a YouTube video I saw of him before he released his debut album. This album is so wonderful. It brings 60's soul and R&B into the 21st century. Bridges vocals are perfect for this style of music. His background band reminds me of the ladies that sang with guys like Rufus Thomas, Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes. The band plays and records on retro equipment. I mean, this is the coolest thing I've heard in quite some time. The fact that Bridges is only 25 years old makes this album all that more impressive. He is going to be a humongous star if he continues on this path. "Coming Home" is the best 30 minute album I've ever listened to. Songs like "Brown Skinned Girl" and "Better Man" sound like Stax Records re opened their doors and let him record there. Those songs are timeless. My favorite track on the record is "River". It's a quiet song that just builds and builds to a beautiful ending that has Bridges softly and smoothly singing the final lyrics. I love his voice and his band and everything about this album. "Coming Home" is far and away the best record I heard in all of 2015 and it was the first of my top five that I listened to. It's stayed with me all this time, that's how awesome it is.

So, there you have my top five albums of the year. Tell me why I'm right or wrong in the comment section and let me know what I left out. Come back tomorrow for my top five TV shows of the year.

Also, RIP Lemmy Kilmister, you were a guitar god and you will be greatly missed.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. Next year he is planning on getting into the BeeGees and Black Flag. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The SeedSing (half) Year in Pop Culture: The Top Five Movies of 2015

Time to fire up the projector

Being that the new year is coming up on Friday, I'll be doing my best of 2015 all week. Today, I'm going to start the week off with my top five movies of the year. Everyday I'll do a different top five and today I want to start with movies.

I see a lot of movies. Some I see in the theaters and others, I watch at home. I love movies and this has been a pretty good year for movies. So good in fact, movies like "Inside Out" and "Me and Earl and The Dying Girl" and "The Wolfpack" didn't make my top five and I really, really liked those movies quite a bit. So, on with the countdown.

Coming in at number five, we have a tie. My number five movies are "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and "Kingsman: The Secret Service". These are both blockbustery type movies, "Avengers" way more so. "Avengers" was fantastic. Go back and read my review. This was an absolutely breath taking super hero movie. There was action, adventure and even a bit of a love story. We also got Hawkeye's back story, and that made me like a character I once never really cared for. My favorite scene was when the Avengers were fighting Ultron and his army of robots and everything was in slow motion and we got to see each hero fight in super slow motion, it was excellent. "Avengers" Age of Ultron" is one of the greatest superhero movies of all time. "Kingsman", on the other hand, was a gory, action heavy, hand to hand and weaponry combat movie for the ages. This movie was criminally under the radar. I heard almost nothing about it while it was in the theaters and I didn't watch it on DVD for about five months. But, I'm so glad that I took the time to watch because this movie was incredible. My review was put up fairly recently. I loved pretty much everything about this movie. The opening fight scene with Colin Firth and the bar patrons was phenomenal. The fight scene in the church, once again featuring Firth, was one of the coolest things I've seen in a long, long time. The tests given to the future Kingsman were heart racing and incredible to watch. The main character, Eggsy, was expertly played. Samuel L Jackson was excellent as the villain. "Kingsman: The Secret Service" is the perfect summer action movie. Go check it out if you haven't seen it and I promise you, you'll love it.

My number four movie is "The End of the Tour". This is one of the most quiet, yet most poignant movies I've seen. Jesse Einsenberg is great as Rolling Stone writer David Lipsky. He plays the jealous, yet enthralled writer perfectly. I cannot picture anyone else in this role. Jason Segel, as David Foster Wallace, is absolutely phenomenal. He plays Wallace so realistically, it's almost like watching a documentary. He shows vulnerability, anger, sadness and genius all very, very expertly. He one hundred percent deserves an Oscar nomination for this role. This movie is basically just these two talking for two hours, but it never seems boring or dull. I was into the story and the movie the whole time. "The End of the Tour" is great.

Coming in at number three, I have "Ex Machina". This movie was so creepy and eerie because something like this could very well happen in the very near future. I mean, honestly, how far away are we from having robots walking amongst us? It's going to happen. Some rich, eccentric genius is going to create a humanoid robot and it will only grow bigger and bigger from there. Oscar Issac plays that eccentric genius billionaire so well. He is every bit creepy as he is lonely in this movie. He has his own lush home in the woods and he invites an employee, played by Domhnall Gleeson, to come out for what seems to be a vacation. It couldn't be more different. He is thrown into a type of lab project to see how he interacts with a female robot played so well by Alicia Vikander. This is another movie small in structure, but huge in story. As I said, something like this is going to happen very soon and this movie made me terrified for that future. It was haunting and terrifying and I'm not looking forward to the robots taking over. The final scene, I won't spoil it, was one of the scariest things I've seen in a movie in a very long time. It still aunts me. "Ex Machina" was the best horror movie of 2015, even though it's categorized as science fiction.

My number two movie is "What We Do in the Shadows". This was the funniest movie of the year by far. "WWDITS" follows the lives of vampires living together in a flat in New Zealand. Being that it was made by Taika Waititi, one of the "Flight of the Conchords" primary directors, it was so funny. It was done mockumentary style and it was perfect. Jermaine Clement, playing Vlad the Poker, was so great. A once powerful vampire, he now was not so powerful after his break up with "The Beast". He was excellent in this movie. Taika Waititi played Viago, the pretty boy vampire, and he was great as well. He was worried about keeping the flat clean and he longed for his lost love that was now in her mid to late 80's. The scene where he lays paper down to keep the blood of a victim off the couch, then hits a vein and bloods spills everywhere, is hilarious. The star of this movie, to me, was Johnny Brugh who plays Deacon. Deacon was a German vampire during the reign of the Nazis and he fled to New Zealand after stating, "if you are a Nazi, people hate you. If you're a vampire, people hate you. If you're a Nazi vampire, forget about it. I had to get out of there and flee to someplace safe". His character had me in stiches the whole movie. "WWDITS" is the best comedy of the year by far.

My number one movie should come as no surprise to anyone, "Mad Max: Fury Road". What else is there to say about this movie that hasn't been said already? It's the best action movie ever. It has the best social commentary. It lets a female be the lead badass. It has the best imagery in a movie in about 30 years. I mean, this movie is perfect from start to finish. Tom Hardy is excellent as Max. He's just as understated and hard core as Mel Gibson was in the original "Mad Max". Hugh Keys-Byrne was so creepy and so good as the ultimate bad guy, Immortan Joe. His breathing apparatus he wore still scares me when I watch the movie. Nicolas Hoult, playing war boy Nux, was surprisingly badass and totally cool. All the young ladies that played Joe's wives were awesome for many different reasons. But, Charlize Theron as Furiosa was absolutely phenomenal. She was the biggest badass, the toughest fighter and the smartest person in the whole movie. She was so great. Much like Segel for "The End of the Tour", Theron one hundred percent deserves not only an Oscar nomination, but she deserves to win. She was so perfect in this role. She beat so much ass and won at the end of the day. Theron was incredible. "Mad Max; Fury Road" is not only the best movie of 2015, it's probably the best movie I've ever seen. It's that good.

So, there you have it, my top five movies of 2015. Tell me what I left out in the comment section and come back tomorrow for my top five albums of the year.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He is lover of movies and a passionate lover of good movies. Feel Ty's love by following him on twitter @tykulik. 

The SeedSing (half) year in Politics and Society

What is the opposite of progress?

SeedSing was launched on May 1st (National Workers Day) so we could look at politics and pop culture from the common person. We are not interested in influence or telling stories that will protect the egos of the well connected. What started out as one man's personal political philosophy has grown into a discussion covering a variety of topics. Join us for a look back at the year in politics and society.

The first article posted on our Politics/Society section was about The Ohio Problem. Every presidential election states like Ohio become very important to the national Democratic Party. Out of state consultants are brought in to fund raise and create a massive voter outreach program for the presidential nominee. In their effort to secure the state, the Democratic Party forgets about the local candidates. The lack of voter turnout during non-presidential elections is a direct consequence of the Ohio problem. There was another election in November of 2015, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky saw the election of a Tea Party zealot for Governor, large in part because voter turnout was so low. This is directly related to the Republican Party taking over the majority of local offices in many blue states. We identified the The Ohio Problem, and then tried to find out how to solve this issue. Technology and an emphasis on local messaging are two solutions we put forward. In 2016 SeedSing is looking forward to many other solution oriented ideas on how to fix a problem like Ohio.

The how and why of the modern Republican Party was featured many times on SeedSing. The hypocrisy, lack of global leadership, the need to be hateful, the absence of vision, and the celebration of failure, were all on display for the Republican Party this year. The only glimmer of hope in their dreary future seems to be Senator Rand Paul, but the Republican Party does not seem to care about a candidate who can grow the parties voter base. The parties faithful base would rather rally behind a loudmouthed bigot idiot that has never heard of Muhammad Ali or Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

The traditional press and the original internet taste makers were beginning to show their incompetence in 2015. The rise of Donald Trump is upon us because the news people on television love to have a good story. It is time to ignore the press before they really bring disaster to our society. The old icons of the internet were not behaving any better than their television counterparts. Reddit and Gawker may be letting out their final breaths. At SeedSing we believe it is time for the old walled ways of the internet to die, and it is time to make way for a new open discussion.

How we live and the way we define people became a topic of discussion all over the internet. Tina S shared her views on what #ILookLikeAnEngineer really means. The saga of Rachel Dolezal briefly made us talk about how we identify race. Kirk Aug recommended books on  the failure that is the war on drugs, and the policy side of death. We took a look at the legalization of marijuana, and it's eventual failure at the Ohio ballot box.  Who we are and how we live will determine the type of society we will die in.

Gun violence became a larger problem with a solution falling farther away. Guns were used as tools of destruction for a racist. Guns were used to kill two people trying to do their jobs. Guns were used to cause terror at rural community college. Guns were used by crazy people to insight terror in Paris. Predictable we decided to fight this terror with more destruction. Each event was covered by the news, and as a society we tried to find meaning. The public was never able to discuss the gun as being part of the problem, and the violence continues. 

We had many challenging discussions at SeedSing about the state of our politics and our society. 2016 looks to be an even more exciting year. We have a Presidential election to look forward to. Will Hillary win it all (probably)? Have something to say about the state of politics and society? Come join our conversation.

Thank you for 2015. On to 2016

RD Kulik (and all the SeedSing contributors)

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing. Do you love SeedSing, but do not want to write? Money is always welcome around here.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Music: Day 24 - Snoopy's Christmas

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday song for every day of Advent. This is the greatest music of the season. Enjoy.

Day 24: Snoopy's Christmas by The Royal Guardsman

Opened doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten,

 Eleven Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen,Sixteen,Seventeen,Eighteen,

Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty One, Twenty Two, Twenty Three

The Christmas season can feel like a battle. There are large crowds and everyone seems to have their own agenda. People are constantly fighting each other for parking, space in line, and the hot holiday gift. We move through the malls and hardly acknowledge one another. On Christmas Eve, the holiday season reaches its peak while everyone rushes past one another to complete their individual goals. Christmas Eve is the final struggle we face on the battlefield of the holiday season.

"Snoopy's Christmas" is the 1967 follow up to The Royal Guardsman hit "Snoopy vs The Red Baron". The band made their name by incorporating in their songs the Peanuts character of Snoopy, and his exploits of aerial dog fighting against The Red Baron. "Snoopy's Christmas" reads like a classic tale from Charles Schultz's Peanuts comic strips. The Red Baron is terrorizing the skies, and Snoopy with his trusty Sopwith Camel (his doghouse) must engage in  battle high in the sky. While Snoopy valiantly tries to defeat the German ace, disaster strikes. The Red Baron shoots down the pup in German territory. Snoopy lands and believes that the end is here, then suddenly the bells ring out over the countryside marking the beginning of Christmas. Being inspired by the spirit of the season, the Red Baron offers Snoopy a drink and wishes him a Merry Christmas. The brotherhood of Christmas Day causes the foes to befriend, and they then go on their separate ways. Christmas Eve saw bloodshed, Christmas Day is about peace.

The exciting tale being told in "Snoopy's Christmas" is based on a true event, the 1914 Christmas Truce of World War I. British and German troops were shelling each other on December 24th, suddenly the firing stopped when both sides heard the bells from the countryside ring out for the beginning of Christmas Day. The Germans invited the British troops to cross no man's land and have a peaceful celebration. The enemies shared food and drink, showed pictures of their families, and even played games together. The magic of Christmas stopped sworn enemies from killing each other. The feeling of brotherhood trumps the anger of war. It is a magnificent piece of human history.

Christmas Eve can be a tough day. Many people are frantically trying to get that last must have gift. We have no time to be kind and courteous to our fellow man. If you are not relentless, you will lose the battle of the Christmas Season. Once midnight hits and the bells of the village rings out for Christmas Day, a new feeling takes hold. Our disagreements on religion, geopolitics, and philosophy take a day off. Christmas makes us one family. Enjoy your holiday, and thank you for your eyes this Advent Season. As the Red Baron would say, "Merry Christmas my Friend".

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. No matter who you are, or what you believe, the bells at midnight will make you the editor's new friend. Join our circle of joy by liking SeedSing on Facebook.  

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Music: Day 23 - Christmas in Hollis

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday song for every day of Advent. This is the greatest music of the season. Enjoy.

Day 23: Christmas in Hollis by Run DMC

Opened doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten,

 Eleven Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen,Sixteen,Seventeen,Eighteen,

Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty One, Twenty Two

For SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday music, I'm going to talk about the phenomenal "Christmas Time in Hollis" by the great RUN DMC. This song is one of the greatest holiday songs of all time. I've mentioned many times before that I don't care for holiday music, but this tune and "Christmas Time at My House" are the two exceptions.

"Christmas Time In Hollis" is a rap song about the holiday. This could only be done by RUN DMC. They're the only straight forward rap group that could pull off a holiday song. Do you think Eminem or Wu Tang Clan or Tribe Called Quest could really pull off a holiday song? I love all those people, but no way. This was one of the first holiday songs I heard that I wanted to hear over and over again. The beat is classic RUN DMC. It's repetitive and thumping and just downright awesome.

I love the way it starts out. The opening lyrics give you the date and the place, then they say, "When I see a man chillin with his dog in the dark". So, they think they just see an old haggard man walking a dog, but then, "I approached them very slowly with my heart full of fear. Looked at his dog, oh my god, a illin reindeer". It may sound corny, but when they rap these words, I'm in. They've grabbed my attention and I'm fully on board for what RUN DMC is going to tell me throughout the entirety of the song. They go on to say, "But then I was chillin because the man had a beard and a bag full of cookies, 12 o'clock had neared". They realize that it's Santa. This is not only a perfect song for rap enthusiasts, but for kids too because they keep the myth alive that Santa is a real person. I love it. Then they turn their heads and Santa is gone, off to do his work since it was midnight, making it Christmas day technically. I also love that they check out his wallet, because he dropped it, and they find a million dollars in it. I didn't know Santa rolled like that. He's a baller. Being the good people that they are, RUN DMC doesn't steal the money from Santa, they mail it back to him that night. What a bunch of saints. But when they get home, they realize the wallet and the money was a present for them from Santa, he left it there purposefully. The boys were bummed, but they'd soldier on.

Then the greatest chorus in holiday music history is spoken, "It's Christmas time in Hollis Queens, mama's cooking chicken and collard greens. Rice and stuffing, macaroni and cheese and Santa putting gifts under Christmas trees". Poetic. This is the coolest chorus in, not only holiday, but all of music history. I love the rhyming structure and the ferocity that they deliver it with. This chorus has been in my life so long, when playing one of the first iterations of Madden on PlayStation One, the Jaguars had a kicker named Mike Hollis and my brother and I would sing the chorus after every extra point and kick off. I still hum this chorus in my head all year long. I absolutely love it.

In the second verse, they talk about decorating the tree and the house with the excellent line, "snow's on the ground, snow white snow bright". RUN DMC are lyrical geniuses. It seems simple, but it's complex and fantastic. Then they say, "The rhymes you hear are the rhymes of Darryl's, but each and every year, we bust Christmas carols". I love that they don't have to be hard core, or gangster. They are rappers that like holiday music, how cool is that. They almost make me like holiday music. If only every holiday song could be like "Christmas Time in Hollis". I like how upbeat they are throughout the song. Lines like, "Jack Frost chillin, the hawk is out and that's what Christmas is all about", or, "The time is now, the place is here and the whole wide world is filled with cheer". It's so great. They're the happiest rappers in the world. They work clean too, so, like I said before, I can listen to this song with my three year old and not worry about any swear words.

They close out the song with some of the best lyrics in rap history. The final verse goes as follows, "My name's DMC with the mic in my hand and I'm chillin and coolin just like a snowman. So open your eyes, lend us an ear, we want to Merry Christmas and a happy new year!". It's so upbeat! I can't get enough of it. I love this song, but the chorus is the greatest part by far. As I said before, I still hum it year round and my son even gets involved now. RUN DMC can do no wrong, so no wonder I enjoy their one and only holiday song. This song is great and everyone should go listen to it now and enjoy all the merriment. It's not only a great holiday song, it's just a great song.

Ty 

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. It is not Christmas in his house until he gets a nice helping of chicken and collard greens. Wish Ty a merry Christmas by following him on twitter @tykulik

Happy Retirement to Charles Woodson, the Greatest Player Ever

It is an honor calling Charles Woodson a Wolverine

Yesterday Charles Woodson announced that he's retiring at the end of this season. Woodson has been in the NFL for 18 years. I wrote last week about him, comparing his and Peyton Manning's careers. Today, I'm going to heap praises solely on Charles Woodson and what has been an illustrious career.

First and foremost, Charles Woodson is my all time favorite football player. He's passed Barry Sanders within the past five years. Woodson is the man. Let's start all the way back at his late high school career. He was an all world recruit coming out of Ohio. Everybody wanted him to come play football at their school. Some wanted him to play running back, where he also excelled, but a select few wanted him to play corner back or safety. One such school was the University of Michigan. In what has been one of their best recruiting signings, they signed Charles Woodson in 1995. His first two years at Michigan were stellar for him, but the team was finishing 8-4 or 9-3. They were good, but not as good as they could be. During his freshman year at Michigan, Woodson saw the field quite a bit as a cornerback and in their nickel coverage. He was great. He won Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He was an All Big Ten performer and led the team with five interceptions and eight total takeaways. Pretty great freshman season. During his sophomore year, he was the man in the secondary. He set a then record with 15 pass breakups. He was named the Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Year and was named an AP first team All American. He was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe award, given to the top defensive back in college football. He also garnered first team all Big Ten honors. A star was born.

During his junior year, Woodson blew up. He was the leader and the best player on one of Michigan's all time great defenses. He also expanded his game to punt and kick returns and played some receiver. Michigan opened the season as a top 20 team, I think they were preseason number 19, but we all know how that season ended. Michigan played suffocating defense, they had a great running game and Brian Griese and Tai Streets dominated in their passing offense. Michigan defeated Washington State in the 1997 Rose Bowl and won the National Championship. I will not say co champs because Missouri beat Nebraska, although the past scores will say different. Michigan played a tougher schedule and beat a tougher opponent in their bowl game. Prior to their Rose Bowl win, Charles Woodson won the Heisman trophy. He beat out Ryan Leaf, Randy Moss and Peyton Manning. This was unheard of at the time. He was, and still is, the only primary defensive player to win the Heisman. Sure, he had some great moments as a receiver and his punt return against Ohio State is one for the ages, but he was such a lock down cornerback, the voters thought that was sufficient enough to give him the Heisman. He lived up to the award in the Rose Bowl, intercepting Ryan Leaf in the end zone to secure the national title for Michigan. Also, go back and look at the pick he had against Michigan State earlier that season, best interception I've ever seen.

Woodson left for the NFL after his junior year and was the fourth overall pick in the 1997 draft by the Oakland Raiders. His first run with the Raiders lasted from 1998-2005. He was exceptional from the start. He won the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award. He started every game and led the team in tackles from a defensive back. He was third in the league with five interceptions, returned one for a touchdown and forced a fumble. He was selected to the Pro Bowl and was named an All Pro by the Associated Press. Much more of the same accolades and production from Woodson for the next couple of seasons. In 2003, after getting over a shoulder injury, he started every game for a Raiders team that made the Super Bowl. He had an interception in a losing effort against the Buccaneers. Previous to this Super Bowl, Woodson was involved in one of the most controversial calls in playoff history. Woodson appeared to strip sack Tom Brady and the Raiders looked like they would make another Super Bowl by beating the Patriots, but that's when the "tuck rule" was created. The officials said that Brady was bringing the ball back in, so they called it an incomplete forward pass, instead of a fumble, and the Patriots kicked a chip shot field goal and went on to the Super Bowl and won. Woodson caused that fumble, I will go to my grave believing that. Later in his Oakland career, they hired the god awful Bill Callahan and he and Woodson did not get along. His contract was up at the end of the 2005 season and he signed with the Green Bay Packers. He was revitalized, although he didn't need any revitalization. He was with the Packers from 2006-2012. His first year with the Packers Woodson led the league with 8 interceptions. He also got back to retuning punts and did a fine job, averaging almost 10 yards per return. In 2008, after putting up stellar numbers once again, Woodson was named to his fifth pro bowl team, first while with the Packers. For his fantastic 2009 season, Woodson was named the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year. His stats improved every year with the Packers and he was a much better player there than with Oakland, and he was great in Oakland. In 2011, Woodson was lock down all the way through the season and playoffs, helping the Packers reach the Super Bowl. He hurt his shoulder in the first half of the game, but was integral to the Packers winning that Super Bowl. He had tremendous season and was capped off with a Super Bowl ring. In 2013 Woodson retuned to Oakland. He wanted to end his career were it started. The Raiders were not very good, but he has helped turned that team into a viable NFL defense and they are on the verge of their first .500 season since Woodson was last there.

Charles Woodson announced yesterday that he will hang it up at the end of the year, and I truly believe that he is the greatest defensive football player of all time. Look at all the accolades. Heisman trophy and national title and multiple all American nods in college. In the pros, He's won a Super Bowl, the Defensive Player of the Year, 8 pro bowls, Rookie of the year and a member of the all decade team in 2000. He's a stud. He is the GOAT and he does it all with class and grace. No showboating and trash talking. He has let his play do his talking for him. Thank you for all the many, many productive years of football that you've provided me over the past 21 years. You are a sure fire Hall of Famer and you are the greatest defensive football player to ever step on a field.

Thank you again and enjoy your retirement.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. His views on the 1997 College Football co-champs has been warped by the editor's love of Mizzou football. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Music: Day 22 - Patton Oswalt talks about The Christmas Shoes

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday song for every day of Advent. This is the greatest music of the season. Enjoy.

Day 22: Patton Oswalt talks about The Christmas Shoes (language NSFW)

Opened doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten,

 Eleven Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen,Sixteen,Seventeen,Eighteen,

Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty One

I really love Christmas music. This entire Advent Calendar project is a way to show the people who hate Christmas music that there are great tunes available to the uninitiated. My love for holiday music is directly related to the fact that while I was growing up my parents would regularly take me and my brothers to church. I was never super psyched to go to our little suburban catholic cathedral, except for one time of the year. The Christmas season was the only times of the year I was happy to go to mass, and it was the songs that created my excitement. Many of the best holiday songs come from the religious tunes the congregation would sing. Hope, light, the betterment of mankind. That is the true religious meaning of Christmas, and it sounds beautiful.

A couple of years back I heard the song "The Christmas Shoes" and I was left dumbfounded. I first thought that this "christian" song was some kind of SNL parody. It was atrocious. The basic plot centered on the story of a poor kid who wants to buy shoes for his mom on Christmas. These shoes are very important because the kid's mom is dying, and he wants her to look pretty if she meets Jesus. That plot is dumb enough, but what puts "The Christmas Shoes" into the stratosphere of appalling is that the song is from the point of view of some grumpy dude in line behind the kid. The narrator thinks that "God" sent this kid, and his dying mom, to be in this man's life so he will feel the Christmas spirit. It is a truly disgusting message.

In 2009 comedian Patton Oswalt dedicated part of his stand up set discussing "The Christmas Shoes" Everything he says is spot on. Oswalt talks about how manipulative and downright sinister the message behind "The Christmas Shoes" is. He also imagines a world with a God being pissed about people being grumpy on Christmas and a Jesus who is bitchy about a person's fashion sense. What Patton Oswalt does in the YouTube video attached to this article is take one of the worst Christmas songs ever, and give it a new hilarious life. You can skip the song and get a dose of the Christmas spirit by hearing Patton Oswalt tear this piece of trash apart. His thoughts on "The Christmas Shoes" makes the song listenable, because I hear Patton Oswalt's words behind every horrid verse.

A few weeks back my son was being rude to the checkout person at a store. When we were heading home, my wife and I were scolding him about his behavior. At one point I told him that Christmas is about being nice to your fellow person. My son was not listening and being quite defiant. As I was getting more angry and frustrated I heard the opening notes of "The Christmas Shoes". My wife and I stared at each other and smiled. My son was forgiven. The rest of the car ride was filled with joy and laughter. Patton Oswalt has made "The Christmas Shoes" a holiday tradition. Not the song, it is awful, but his thoughts about the tune's idiotic message is what Christmas means to me. Mr. Oswalt, I owe you a pair of some great Christmas shoes.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the host of The X Millennial Man podcast. Every year he tries to buy his wife some ugly shoes for Christmas, but he never has quite enough pennies. Help him buy those shoes by supporting SeedSing.

Beware the Bullying Nerds of Twitter

The Star Wars dog is trying to explain his views to the sports dog

I was scrolling through my Twitter feed yesterday, as I'm want to do, and I came across a tweet from Doug Benson that made me very upset. Now, first of all, I'm a humongous Doug Benson fan. I've seen him do standup multiple times. I've gone and watched him do a live podcast. He, in fact, introduced me to the world of podcasts and as many of you know, I'm an enormous fan of many podcasts. I own all of his comedy albums. I've spent a lot of my personal time and money on Doug Benson stuff. But, this particular tweet from yesterday just rubbed me the wrong way and I can't shake it.

In his tweet Doug Benson said, "if your Twitter avatar is of something involving sports, I don't care what you have to say about Star Wars". So, first of all, he's entitled to his own opinion, I get that, but, why does he feel he still needs to attack people that play and/or watch sports? I wonder if he was bullied as a young kid by a jock, but why does he have to lump every other sports fan in with this one particular asshole? Yes, I've played and watched sports my entire life, but I have never once bullied or picked on someone for not playing sports, or for liking Star Wars. And, furthermore, I've known many more "jocks" that have many other outside interests than just sports, Star Wars being one of the main ones. I'm sorry for this one or maybe two jackasses that teased you, but don't lump the rest of the people that like sports in with these people. It's not fair to pigeonhole every "jock" as bullies and jerks. That's a very, very small number of douchebags. Anyone that picks on someone else is clearly insecure and has deeper issues.

But, I'd like to ask Doug Benson personally, do you not care for or like Mike Schur(co creator of the American "Office", "Parks and Rec" and "Brooklyn 99") because he has a baseball player as his avatar? Do you not like Nick Swardson since he's a huge Minnesota Vikings fan and just a fan of football in general? Do you not care for Brody Stevens since he played and still watches a ton of baseball? Do you not get along with Joe Mande or Hannibal Buress because they are both huge NBA fans? And what about your personal driver and opening act, Graham Elwood? Do you not care about his opinion since he's a big time football fan? I'm sure there's dozens of other contemporaries of yours that like sports a lot that you're alienating with this one tweet.

It's also pretty sad that a tweet can dredge up this much anger, but that's the world we live in with all the social media nowadays. Also, you may need to think about growing up and getting over this particular bully. First of all, you are a 50 year old. This person that picked on you did it over 35 years ago, I'm sure they've forgotten about it, so maybe you should too. Also, you are 50, like I just said, and you ask young girls on Twitter to send you side boob pictures and pictures of them in their BB-8 underwear. GROW UP! You are old enough to be a grandparent. Stop asking girls that could be your daughter to send you pictures via Twitter. Maybe, you should lay off the weed too. If I've said it once, I'll say it much more during this blog, YOU'RE 50! GROW UP! I know that weed is your whole "image", but you have to stop doing it sometime. I'm worried for you and I don't even know you personally. I'm scared you're going to drop dead from undetected cancer or something else and I don't want you to die because I really enjoy your comedy. Also, stop throwing donuts at the crowd during your shows. Stuff like this is why foreigners hate America. We act so privileged and just throw food in a vast arena. It's wasteful and gross. Just stop it.

I'm sure you won't read this or, if you do, you'll block me on Twitter, but so be it. I'm a "jock" that has never bullied anyone and your tweet really offended me. I have many other outside interests including comedy, music and movies, but you wouldn't care to know that since I like sports. You've now become the bully. You are doing exactly what this person did to you over 35 years ago, but instead of just picking on or alienating one person, you're doing it to hundreds of thousands of people. I'll still listen to your comedy and your podcast, but not with the usual giddiness because I know you will judge me without getting to know me since my Twitter avatar is of me in my basketball gear. You won't even give me a chance and that's the real shame. I'm sorry that I like sports, but I will never lose my love for sports no matter how much you bully the sports loving community.

Another person that's guilty of judging books by their cover in the alternative comedy world is Chris Hardwick. He has a vendetta out for hipsters. As you all know by now, I don't particularly care for hipsters with beards, but Chris Hardwick must be ignorant to how much of a hipster he truly is. He is the biggest hipster in all of comedy. Just go back and look at that shiny silver suit, with the extremely skinny tie you wore during your last standup special. Go back even further and look at the way too short, way too tight t shirts you wore when you hosted "Web Soup". And now that "nerd culture" is the hip thing, you are the leader of the biggest hipster uprising in the history. I don't care that you can name Pi to the 100th degree and I definitely don't want to watch you saying all the digits on "The Meltdown", that's just bad TV. You may also be the biggest whore in all of television. The last thing I want to watch after "The Walking Dead" or "Breaking Bad" is you and your hipster friends discussing the episode that we just watched. I also don't need to see you handing out points to your comedian friends on your ripoff gameshow "At Midnight". That show is a complete waste of time.

Chris Hardwick and Doug Benson have become the people that they hated in high school. Sure, you guys were nerdy and into things like comedy and movies when you were younger and some douchebags thought that it was okay to pick on you, but now, you've turned into the bullies. You guys have a platform where thousands of people listen to you and instead of using it for good, you're using it for revenge. That's a pity. I thought you'd both be bigger than that, but I guess you guys aren't above the same bullies you detested in school. That sucks. As I said before, I'm sure you guys won't even glance at this, or if you do, you'll just ignore or block me, but, I felt that this needed to be said. Not everyone that likes or plays sports is a bully. Quite the opposite in fact, most of us are nice people and if you took the time to get to know us, you'd realize that. But, you'd rather just go on Twitter and bash us without giving us a chance.

You guys are the true bullies.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man. The only numbers of Pi he knows is how many slices in a whole one. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Being a reality show moron does not make a person a better cook

The proper way to serve oysters

I watch a lot of cooking shows.  I've written about my love for Ina Garten and "Barefoot Contessa". My wife and I watch "Chopped", "Cutthroat Kitchen", "Pioneer Woman", basically any type of show that makesfood the star. We love them. It's an escape and it's nice to have some noise on in the background while doing stuff around the house.

I've become to grow wary of the competition cooking shows though. These shows take themselves WAY too seriously. The way the chefs and the judges act is downright laughable. You hear the chefs talking about stupid shit like doing food "farm to table" or "cooking saved my life" or "I'm the type of chef that will smile in your face, then cut your throat out to get what I want". It's all ridiculous. Sure, I do believe, for a very small few, that cooking may have saved someone's life, but ease up. I'm sure there's other things that helped to save your life. Maybe rehab or loved ones or growing up. All those are more important than cooking, in my opinion. This whole "farm to table" started out as a nice idea, but it's been beaten to death. I'm so tired of hearing these young chefs, most born after 1995, talking about the good old days of cooking. You're 20 years old, the good old days were 1990 to you. Just stop with the whole "farm to table", unless you're a farmer. And this new breed of chef, the asshole chef I'll call them, they're insufferable. These chefs act like cooking is a sport. No offense to the elderly, but my grandma cooked until the day she died at the age of 84, and she was a much better chef than these punks that think it's a sport. Get over yourself, you're a chef, not a professional athlete.

Like I said, I'm growing very wary of the competition shows and the worst offender is "Top Chef". "Top Chef" is laughably bad now. These chefs are the worst of the new asshole chefs. They're all young, douchebag chefs. On "Top Chef", the "cheftestants" take themselves so seriously, you'd think they were saving lives with their food. Calm down, all your doing is making food. Your job isn't that important. Almost anyone can cook. And before you say I don't know what I'm talking about, my brother is a great chef. He's made that his career, but he's not an asshole. He doesn't take himself seriously at all. He knows what he does is universal. He's a great, special person that I love, he's an awesome bigger brother, but his cooking skills aren't what makes him great, it's his love he shows for me and our family. But, I digress, back to "Top Chef" bull shit. These contestants are much too passionate about a job that any 15 year old child can get. I hate the waythey present their food like its a god damn gift to the person eating it. Screw you, it's not that good. I hate how hipster and not self aware these young chefs are. They couldn't be any more ridiculous.

On a recent episode of "Top Chef", one of the contestants served oysters on a hot rock. What the hell! Is he some kind of idiot? He claimed, "I like to use the elements outside to present my food". Screw you you asshole. You suck. Don't serve something that's supposed to be ice cold on a burning hot rock. Gross. This same contestant goes on later in the episode talking about him and his wife serving food at Coachella, because of course he went to Coachella to serve food. Could this guy be anymore of a douchebag? Ugh, I hate this guy. He's chef Phillip on the current season if you're curious and want to watch a supreme dick head on TV.

Which brings me to the judges. They talk about this food like they're going to send the losing chef to jail for making sub par food. They say stupid things like, "the bass needed 4 or 5 grains of salt to really put it over the top", or "this is good, but there's a whole piece of star anise in there and if I ate that, my palette would be completely blown out". I HATE these judges. You guys are judging food! Your job is less important than the chefs! You guys suck too. I hate that they get so mad at chefs for leaving out little things on all these free meals they're getting. Ugh, you are the worst. The absolute worst judges are Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio. They take their jobs MUCH too seriously. They get legitimately mad at these chefs sometimes for the smallest things. Lakshmi, at one point, said she's "never had to wait for a table before and I'm not going to start now". Ugh, screw you. Sorry we aren't all as privileged as you. And Tom Colicchio, stop with the act that you're these chefs friends. You're just as bad as any other judge on any other cooking competition show. And don't act like you're more important because your show is on Bravo. You know what else is in Bravo, any style of "Real Housewives" crap.

"Top Chef" is just as trashy as any other reality show. You guys aren't more important than any other garbage cooking competition show. You're worse. I'm sick and tired of how serious these shows have become. I'm done watching them and I'll stick with my "Barefoot Contessa". Ina cooks for the love, not the competition. She will forever be a better chef than any douche on "Chopped", "Cutthroat Kitchen" and most importantly, the god awful "Top Chef".

Screw these shows forever.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. Not only does he think Ina could outcook any cheftestant, he would take her in a straight up fist fight with any of those idiots. Join Ty's anger by following him on twitter @tykulik.

Do not count "The End of the Tour" out as one of the best movies of the year

Ty's VCR is ready for all the great movies of 2015

As 2015 comes to a close, I've been catching up on all the big time movies that I couldn't see in the theaters. One such movie I just watched was "The End of The Tour" and man, this movie is incredible.

The movie is about a Rolling Stone writer, David Lipsky(Jesse Eisenberg) interviewing author, David Foster Wallace(Jason Segel). At least, the synopsis of the movie states that it's about the interview, but the movie is more about the relationship between the two men leading up to the interview in Rolling Stone. The movie opens with an older Lipsky receiving a phone call from a former colleague saying that David Foster Wallace has committed suicide. Lipsky is stunned and upset at this news. He immediately goes to his storage and grabs his old Walkman and a box of cassette tapes. He plays one of the tapes and you hear David Foster Wallace talking. We then cut back to 1996 where a younger Lipsky is giving a reading of his newly published book. He has also just landed a job at Rolling Stone. He's high on what he assumes will be his newfound fame, but all the people at the party, including his girlfriend, are only talking about this new book called "Infinite Jest" , and how it may be the greatest book ever written. Lipsky is annoyed, but then he goes home and on the urging from his girlfriend, he reads "Infinite Jest" and is enthralled. He can't help but admit that this is one of, if not the, greatest book he's ever read. He persuades his editor to let him go on the end of Wallace's book tour and interview him. Rolling Stone has never interviewed a writer before, so why not start with the biggest fish in the pond. He agrees and Lipsky is off to Bloomington, Indiana.

When he first arrives at Wallace's house, he's met by two large black Labradors and Wallace emerges from the front door. At first sight, Wallace is very stand offish and hard to crack. He doesn't seem to want to say too much. It doesn't help that Lipsky is always turning on his recorder so he can capture every moment. Wallace, at least at first, seems like an introvert. He doesn't seem to like the fame. He almost begrudges the fact that he has become this big time author. But, the more he gets to know Lipsky, the more a friendship evolves. They opine over food, TV and girls. Wallace loves his junk food, be it candy, fast food or any type of sweets. He also claims to be addicted to TV. He doesn't own one because he says that he'd constantly have it on. He wouldn't watch it, but it would always be on just to have noise in the background. He also says that he would want a wife and kids someday, just not now. He becomes very open with Lipsky. He has let his guard down right before they go out for the final leg of his book tour. The two of them have very long, very deep conversations involving everything from food to writing. They are becoming legitimate friends. This angers Lipsky's editor. He wants him to get the story and come home to write it. He specifically tells him to "not become friends" with Wallace. Lipsky ignores this and continues recording their conversations and continues to be friendly. They pack their bags and fly to Minneapolis, the last leg of Wallace's tour. At first, everything is going great. Not only is Wallace being open with Lipsky, but he's being open with everyone. Interviewers, fans and even his driver. He's nice to everyone. At one point though, Wallace sees Lipsky getting some love from his fans and he looks a bit miffed. Even later, while hanging out with some of Wallace's college friends, one which he briefly dated, Wallace becomes even more angry and annoyed with Lipsky. He feels that Lipsky is openly flirting with his ex girlfriend right in front of his face. This causes a big bone of contention between the two and Wallace completely shuts down. He won't talk to Lipsky anymore and he's back to his introverted self. They fly back to Indiana and get their rental. On the ride back to Wallace's house, the two men air their grievances and get it all out. This fight actually brings these two closer. The day before Lipsky is set to return home, the two of them just hang out. They're eating McDonalds, talking about life and Wallace's phone rings. He gets a call from a friend to go out dancing. As much as he wants to stay, Lipsky has to catch his flight home. Before he leaves, there's a moment when Wallace is outside cleaning the snow off his car, Lipsky has a few minutes to look over his house and he takes it all in, recording everything he sees. By the time he reaches his basement, he's amazed at everything he's seen, but the writing room takes the cake. It's totally dark and has only a single computer. Lipsky is shocked that such a great writer lives so minimalist. Wallace doesn't need the fanciest computer, desk or office, he just needs his computer. When leaving, Lipksy gives him his book, begrudgingly, and asks him to give him some notes. Wallace says he will, but with most people in his life, he doesn't follow through. We then cut to Lipsky giving a reading at Wallace's "funeral". It's moving and heart breaking at the same time.

This movie has all the potential to be a classic. And, Jason Segel is absolutely phenomenal as David Foster Wallace. Segel usually plays the over the top goofy guy, but in "The End of The Tour", he's a revelation. He inherits all of Wallace's mannerisms and the way he carries himself and how he talks. It's as if Wallace has come back to life. Eisenberg was very good too, but Segel is the true star of this movie. I would be shocked if he doesn't get an Oscar nomination for this movie. I love this movie, but, by no means am I going to read "Infinite Jest". I don't have the time to read an 1,100 page book. This movie had all the information on David Foster Wallace that I could ever ask for. If you want, read "Infinite Jest", but a better way to spend your time, in my opinion, and learn about David Foster Wallace, watch "The End of The Tour'. It's less than two hours and told me what "Infinite Jest" was about. I love this movie and I can't recommend it enough.

Check it out.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He does not have time to read a 1000+ page book because he needs his hours to watch good movies. Urge him to read "Infinte Jest" by following Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Why do the Republicans love losers so much?

How most of America watches the Republican Presidential debates

Another pointless Republican debate, another stage full of idiots, another lost night for America. The Republican party doesn't care, they love losers. The modern party embraces the failures and quitters of the political world. The current crop of national republican leaders are the height of failure. When your policy is to avoid real leadership at all costs, the biggest losers will become your leaders.  Good thing that none of these never been Republicans will be President of the United States. They are losers. They lose.

It may seem harsh, and Trump like, to ascribe the loser label to the entire Republican party. Well take a look at their nominees. Donald Trump is an ill prepared hate monger who lost money because he tried to be a business man. Dr. Ben Carson may actually be a stupid person. Carly Fiorina is one of the most comically bad CEOs in history, plus she is a pathological liar. Marco Rubio is a lazy opportunist, oh and he is also a lying about his family history. Jeb Bush is an entitled spoiled brat. Ted Cruz is a crazy person who hates the very idea of America. The rest of the cast doesn't matter because they will be lucky to win a single delegate. There is not a uniter in the group. They learned to only be dividers, like a dog learns to shake. Do a simple task and then get your reward. So not only are the Republicans losers, they do not have intelligence beyond the common dog.

How did one of our major political parties come to embrace and celebrate losers? Is it racism? How about sexism? Is the current republican white male (that  is the large majority of the party) so insecure that they have to embrace known losers? The Republicans claim to be the tough ones, yet Vietnam was lost on Nixon's watch. They claim to be tough on terrorism, yet Reagan illegally sent weapons to known terror groups. They claim to have America's safety front of mind, yet George W. Bush admitted to not being that concerned about Al Qaeda or Bin Laden just a month before September 11th. The modern Republican party has been a colossal failure in nearly every aspect of foreign policy.  Even the idea that Reagan ended the cold war is comical in how much his administration over estimated the strength of the Soviet Union. The Americans had next to nothing to do with the fall of the Soviet empire. People like Reagan were very lucky to be around when history was taking its inevitable course. The war in Afghanistan had more to due with the downfall of the Soviet Union than any US military build-up. Once the Iron Curtain came down the Republican party had no idea how to handle post Soviet Russia. Years after the fall of the Soviet Union, Reagan disciple George W. Bush gave Russian premiere Putin a pass. Good old George saw into Putin's heart, and he thought all was good. Another Republican getting it horribly wrong.

Now the question becomes how can these incompetent losers still rule much of our political landscape? We have discussed many, many, many, times about how the Democrats have ceded the US Congress and state governments to the Republicans. We have also discussed how a lazy, greedy, and overall incompetent media likes to prop up the failures in the republican party. Any Republican candidate is given a head start because we have been force fed this idea that the GOP is tough on terror and good with money. The facts show a completely different story. The current Republican Party has no bold leadership, look at the folly of errors leading up to Paul Ryan reluctantly accepting the honored position of Speaker of the House of Representatives. The party has horrible when it comes to fiscal policy. George W Bush inherited a strong economy, fiddled with it, drove it into a massive recession, and then President Obama fixed his mess. The Republican parties work in foreign policy led directly to the creation of ISIS, and America's overall sense of isolation from the rest of the developed world. All of these actions are not the mark of an intelligent and winning direction for America. The debate on Tuesday night had a bunch of losers continuing to embrace philosophy that has failed.

It must be incredibly frustrating for many republicans that the competent members of their party have to be shoved aside for all the losers. Ohio Governor John Kasich is very popular in a state the GOP must win, yet the national press and his own party treat him like a pariah. Rand Paul may very well be the only one on that stage that can actual create votes, yet he his sabotaging his own campaign by trying to dumb down to the rest of the group. Mitt Romney is the best candidate the Republicans have had in a generation, but he had to cower to the zealots on Fox News and therefore ruined any chance to reach new voters. Failed Governors like Chris Christie, Bobby Jindal, and Scott Walker recieve more respect than viable candidates like George Pataki and the aforementioned Kasich. The entire Republican party is not a bunch of losers, just the people who lead them.

While the media treats the Republican party with kid gloves, and the white male Christians claim to be victims, America can feel good about itself because no one on stage last Tuesday will ever win the presidency. The GOP primary debates are entertaining in their chaos, and infuriating in their lack of truth. Americans like success, the Republicans are lacking. Americans like practicality, the Republicans fail to deliver. Most importantly, Americans like winners. The Republican Presidential candidates are losers. They lose.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He enjoys the idea of political debate and welcomes any one who disagrees to write for SeedSing. Make sure you get all of our great thoughts by follow us on twitter @seedsingrdk.

Charles Woodson is the greatest player to come out of the Peyton Manning draft

We all know a wolverine could tear a volunteer in half

I was watching Sports Center or NFL Network or something where they were talking about football. They were previewing the upcoming Broncos-Raiders game and they kept showing pictures of Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler, comparing the two quarterbacks. My wife was watching with me and, the longer we've been together, the more she knows about football. She asked me, during the preview of the game, "why are they only talking about Peyton Manning? Why aren't they talking about Charles Woodson more, he's had a better overall career than Peyton Manning, right?".

Now, Charles Woodson is my all time favorite football player, and yes, he is a University of Michigan alum and yes, I'm a diehard Michigan fan, so naturally, I agreed with my wife. Then, I looked much, much further into her statement and yes, I do believe, with no bias, that Charles Woodson has had a better overall career than Peyton Manning. Let's look even further into it though. Sure, Peyton Manning is the more famous player. He is a quarterback, he has way more endorsements, he has hosted SNL multiple times and he's won a Super Bowl. But, Charles Woodson won the Heisman over Peyton Manning in 1997, he too has won a Super Bowl and been to a second one and he's stayed healthy and productive his entire career. He's still producing at an All Pro level and he's the captain and leader of the resurgent Raiders defense. Peyton Manning was recently just benched, some will say due to injury, for a back up QB from Arizona State. But, was the injury the only reason Manning was benched? I've written about Manning before on the website and I think that blog speaks many truths on his benching. His ball has no more zip. He throws multiple interceptions per game. He cannot move in the pocket anymore. He's a Hall of Famer, but I think his time is done. Charles Woodson on the other hand, he's still picking off passes and making open field passes. In fact, when the Raiders and Broncos met earlier this year, when Manning was still the starter, Woodson picked him off twice in that game. No praise was heaped on Woodson and how well he's still playing for a 39 year old in the NFL. The announcers only talked about how Manning will always be a great pro and these interceptions were just a flash in the pan, he'd bounce back for sure. But, as we all know now, he didn't bounce back. Woodson has produced every week for the 6-7 Raiders. That doesn't sound so great, but when was the last time the Raiders sniffed a .500 or even a winning record? They have a legitimate shot, albeit an outside one, to make the playoffs this year. The Broncos are a lock, but it's not because of Manning, it's their defense. Sure, the Raiders have a good young QB in Derek Carr and a great young receiver in Amari Cooper, but they are led in their defensive backfield by Charles Woodson. Their defense is middle of the road in the NFL, but I say again, when was the last time the Raiders were relevant? I truly believe that Charles Woodson has a real chance to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He's been lockdown all season playing out of position as a safety.

Lets go back and look at their Super Bowl wins. I will give you the fact that Woodson didn't play in the Packer Super Bowl win, he had a separated shoulder. But, he was the anchor of that defense all season, leading them to the Super Bowl. If I remember correctly, he hurt his shoulder making an important tackle or even interception in the NFC Championship game. He laid it all on the line for that Packer team and he definitely helped them win that Super Bowl. Sure, Peyton Manning was playing when the Colts won, but they played a sorry Bears team led by Rex Grossman in their Super Bowl win. Also, the game was a sloppy mess and Manning didn't win the game for them, their defense and running game was the determining factor. The two of them also lost a Super Bowl. The Manning loss was solely on him. The Colts had a chance late against the Saints, but we all know about the game sealing pick six that he threw to secure the win for the Saints. When the Raiders, that's right, this is Woodson's second go around with the Raiders, lost to the Buccaneers, it wasn't their defenses fault, Rich Gannon threw multiple picks and took multiple sacks in that game. But, Peyton Manning will go down as the more remembered player. He is a QB and they're stars. That's the way it is in the NFL. Woodson has been solid for 18 seasons now, but he plays defense and, what's worse, he plays cornerback and safety. And, if you don't constantly run your mouth like any secondary player on the Seahawks, you don't get noticed. But, I think that's the way Woodson wants it. He won a title in college. He beat out Manning for the Heisman. He was the best and most important player on one of the all time great Michigan teams and he's done it with little to no fanfare.

Manning has been great, as I said before, he is a sure fire Hall of Famer, but it big moments, he's choked more than he's succeeded. In college, his Tennessee Volunteers could never beat Florida and got trounced by Nebraska when they had a shot at a national title. In the pros, he's won a Super Bowl, but it wasn't because he had a great game. Peyton Manning will go down as one of the all time greatest QB's in NFL and college football history, but will he be remembered as the greatest QB of all time? I don't think so. He's not even the best QB in his draft class, that title is firmly in Tom Brady's hands. But, Charles Woodson may very well be the greatest defensive back of all time in the NFL or college football. He's had a stellar career and he continues to produce. I 100 percent agree with my wife's assumption that Charles Woodson has had the better overall career than Peyton Manning. Look at all the reasons that I mentioned above. It's not just my love for Woodson, the facts can't be ignored. Tell me why I'm wrong in the comment section. 

I will go to my grave thinking Charles Woodson is not only better than Peyton Manning, but he is the best defensive back to ever play football.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He once benched Rex Grossman on his fantasy team for Drew Henson. Not because Henson went to Michigan, but because Grossman stinks. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The trashy "Bar Rescue" performs a record breaking dumpster dive

This strip club is way below my trash standards

ed note: Since the popularity of this article, Ty has decided to review each new episode of Bar Rescue. Look for his column on the latest episode every Tuesday.

I'm a big, big fan of the show "Bar Rescue" on Spike TV.

It's everything you'd want in reality TV. It's staged, it's trashy, people talk over one another so you can't hear what anyone is saying and the host is ridiculous. Jon Taffer is utterly insane. First of all, during the opening credits, he claims to be a member of the Nightclub Hall of Fame, whatever the hell that is. Second, his best way of delivering advice is to scream and yell and demean the owners of these failing bars. He also looks like a goblin, literally. He calls everyone failures and forces people to fire friends and family. This all sounds bad, but it's quite hilarious. His "specialists" that he brings in are just as absurd. They're all yes men and women. They look like bobble heads, anything Taffer says, they nod and agree, no matter how absurd or terrible the idea is. This show is the perfect reality show.

Taffer and his people have "rescued" a lot of bars. In fact, you can go to their website and see how many of the bars are still open. Last I checked, he had about a 50 percent save rate, not that good for all his talk. Well, on their latest episode, they did something I thought I'd never see on this show. I mean, it's pretty classless, but last night, they took it to a disgusting level.

Last night, they "saved" a strip club in Detroit. And yes, it was as gross as you'd think it could be. When they arrived, the club was called Chix on Dix. Ewwwwww! That's so appalling and very foul. When Chix on Dix first opened, the owners claimed they were making millions, I don't buy that. Then, the problems started. The club became dirty, the workers and strippers were disinterested and one of the co owners just stopped showing up. The strippers were not happy and they looked like it. They started to drink, sleep on the job and flat out quit doing their job. They also changed the name from Chix on Dix to Industrial Strip. Another terrible pun. What was the worst though, the new owner wasn't reprimanding customers that physically touched the dancers. Even I know that's illegal and I've only been to one strip club in my 33 years on Earth. I think strip clubs are depressing and gross, but that's not the point of today's blog. At this point, Jon Taffer and his "experts" are outside the club watching the action on a video in the car. Typical Taffer, he sees something he doesn't like, storms into the club and starts yelling almost immediately. Now don't get me wrong, these people deserve to be put down a couple of pegs, but Taffer could've gone about it differently. But, his go to move is to yell and berate. Taffer and his team assess the situation and get ready to go to work. His bartending expert actually had the easiest job because the current bartender was okay. She was lively and energetic, she just needed to be taught how to properly pour drinks. But, his cooking expert and his strip club consultant had their work cut out for them. The chef was the owner of the night club. Taffer hates this and addressed it right away. He made the other owner show up and be the boss and made the other owner become the chef. Needless to say, he struggled mightily. My only question, who eats at a strip club? Is the club not disgusting enough? Who goes to a strip club and thinks, I could use a meal? My only guess, A monster, but that's just my opinion. The strip club consultant, aka a lady who got to old to strip, but couldn't find a new job, had little to nothing to work with. The dancers were still disinterested no matter how hard this lady tried and she really tried. She showed them her tricks of the trade. She showed them how to interact. She showed them how to make extra tips. It all fell on deaf ears. Try as she might, these girls weren't interested. Instead of really pushing them, they just decided to bring in newer, more professional dancers. This is another Taffer staple. When he doesn't get results, he fires the old crew and brings in his people. That's pretty lazy in my opinion. After all this and the remodel of the club, Taffer renamed it The Power Strip. Another god awful pun. He put in new drink systems and new poles and cleaned the place up a bit.

As with the end of every episode of "Bar Rescue", the club looks like it's saved. Everyone is happy and flashing money along with their smiles. This episode was no different, but they went back six months later. The owners admitted that they weren't making as much money and the staff was going back to their old ways. Not surprising if you ask me. I was grossed out by this whole episode. I don't like strip clubs, as I said before. I don't drink and I definitely would not drink at a strip club. The people were flat out mean and nasty. I knew that this day was coming on "Bar Rescue". They were bound to do a strip club, but why did they pick such a gross one? It was very upsetting. I won't stop watching "Bar Rescue", but I will read what each episode is about now because I don't ever want to see them try and save another strip club.

This episode will forever haunt my nightmares.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man. Little does he know that the head editor has had plenty of meals at strip clubs, they were all for business meetings. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.