Remember Shuffle

Of the three presidential elections that happened in the Y2K decade, 2008 was, without a doubt, the most entertaining. It features a fascinating cast of characters: alien body-snatcher Hillary Clinton, sex rascal Bill Clinton, legend-icon-moment Barack Obama, foreign policy war psycho John McCain, and the ineffable Sarah Palin. She’s ineffable in that she can’t talk right. Put all these people on the national stage, and you’re guaranteed a spectacle only rivaled by 2016. We walk through the marathon democratic primary between Hillary and Barack Obama, move on to the general election between Obama and McCain, and wrap up with the collapse of the economy in the Fall of 2008 and the ongoing aftermath of the election. En route, we discuss Hillary Clinton’s myriad weaknesses, Bill Clinton’s sex crimes, the media’s shameless support of Obama, John McCain’s total self-immolation of his reputation, Joe Biden’s failing upwards, and Sarah Palin’s inability to produce a thought or recall memories.

Nowadays, the content mill churns out superhero fare at maximum capacity. Whether that’s the endless multicoloured sludge of the interconnected MCU across platforms, or the Justice league being released twice - with viewers being able to see both the soy Whedon and self-serious Snyder cuts, but what if we told you that there was a time before society took seriously movies based on baby brained picture books? And these two films from the Y2K era, more than anything else, changed that. Today the Shuffle Bois are looking at Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight.” the two films most responsible for the legitimising of superhero content as “art.” While the hosts acknowledge that these films undoubtedly rock, they also discuss the half-baked Y2K politics of the films, the exponentially increasing gaping plot holes across all three films, and why Christopher Nolan is in fact a neo-feudalist.

On this episode of Remember Shuffle, the Shuffle bois return to the world of… well I wouldn’t call it “literature,” but maybe books? We’re talking about the ultimate mormon edging fanfic book: Twilight. We discuss how to write around sex and temptation through vampire metaphors (so as to maintain your mormon sensibilities), the attraction to danger and mystery that may or may not be universal, and the many, many toxic aspects of the Edward-Bella relationship. We also discuss the horrendous movie adaptation and its problematic casting choices, Donald Trump’s Twitter feud with one of the stars, and Twilight’s lasting impact on the publication of fan fiction.

What’s the worst you’ve ever screwed up at work? Whatever it was, we promise you it’s not as bad as today’s topic. In this episode’s Reading Series, we discuss the media’s influence on and culpability in the lead-up to the Iraq War. We focus on two commentators who, despite being hilariously, comically, aggressively wrong, failed upwards to prestigious positions in the liberal media sphere: Joe Scarborough and Megan McArdle. When it comes to holding people accountable, the Shuffle Bois can proudly say: “Mission Accomplished.”

The 2000s were such an apolitical decade that even the folk music and abortion movies lacked any social commentary. Remember Shuffle takes a look at 2007’s “Juno” and asks some Very Important Questions™: is Juno an indie film darling that struck gold, or a cynical cashing-in on the twee craze of the aughts? Is it a sweet film about an independent and self-sufficient teenager maturing and embracing vulnerability, or is it a coded message to the working class that the bourgeoisie is fracturing and through class solidarity there is a world to win?  Is Juno single-handedly responsible for the Dobbs decision stripping away reproductive rights in most of America, or can movies not do that?Links to Jordan’s Book:Booktopia:https://www.booktopia.com.au/ugly-paul-fenech/book/9781761043727.htmlPenguin website:https://www.penguin.com.au/books/ugly-9781761043727

Are you a right-wing chug who’s tired of the Lib woke media ramming its PC content down your throat? Are you a lib who worships the ground Obama walks on, and wants to watch some of the former president’s favo(u)rite shows? Are you dissatisfied with your life and want to escape to a world in which bad things don’t happen? Are you illiterate? Today Remember Shuffle is discussing Entourage, a show that would satisfy all four of those hypothetical viewers. The Shuffle Bois discuss how Entourage was the ultimate post 9-11, wish fulfillment, dudes rock show, how it ran for 8 seasons despite nothing fundamentally changing or happening after early season 3, and how it may, totally on accident, be the greatest criticism of Hollywood ever created.

In hono(u)r of the recent marriage of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, Remember Shuffle is looking back at how their fairy tale love story began: with full-page ads in the press, intense paparazzi attention, and what is likely the most offensive and terrible film of either of their careers, Gigli. After discussing the power couple, the Shuffle Bois go beat by beat through Gigli, so that you don’t have to. You can find Tessa and her standup at tessamfleming.com and on IG @TessaFleming

Dive into the cultural significance of Green Day's iconic album, exploring its bold political statements during a turbulent era. Unpack the evolution of protest music and the challenges artists face in expressing dissent. Analyze the narrative depth of 'American Idiot,' contrasting suburban angst with disillusionment. Critique the adaptation into a Broadway musical, focusing on its choreography and character portrayal. Examine punk's commercialization and its lasting impact on today's youth, all while celebrating an era that embraced musical rebellion.

Grab your Doritos, Xbox controllers, and Mountain Dew Gamer Fuel and buckle up for a tight 57-minute conversation about the Halo franchise-- a formative video game series of the childhoods and adolescences of millennials everywhere. Along the way, we attempt to discuss the surprisingly deep lore of the Halo universe, talk about the rise of “The Operator” in both politics and culture, and Cortana's slow creep into being a strange sex symbol. Nota bene: Dan Carlin does not appear in this episode, we just riff on his distinctive voice and speech patterns at 34:30 mins in.

Hi, we’re Remember Shuffle, and this is our Jackass episode. In this episode we discuss the absolute masterclass of early 2000s reality TV that is MTV’s Jackass. We analyze the pure, anarchic, joyful chaos of the 2000s reincarnation of Diogenes' cynicism, look at how the Jackass energy has been diffused throughout our pop-culture, and touch on why the nostalgia cycle of reboots seems to be shortening.