Episode 63: “Wolf Like Me”
This week, Matt Drufke returns with a new challenger, and their name is Skitz M Jones–a Chicagoland comedian. Jones brings a delightful romp into the world of lycanthropy with TV on the Radio’s “Wolf Like Me.”
Episode 62: “Good Boy” and “Thinking ‘Bout Somethin'”
Digging deep into his love of Big Bang and K-Pop, Mat returns to discuss one of his current favorite jams “Good Boy” by Taeyang and G-Dragon. In addition, he digs up a mini-episode Matt Drufke recorded a year ago for the super-fun Hanson song “Thinking ‘Bout Somethin’.”
Episode 61: “2 Legit 2 Quit”
Returning champion Chris E. Hayner heads back to the show to talk about one of the weirdest and most amazing long-form music videos in existence.
Episode 60: “Bad Guy” & “Friday”
Chris E. Hayner stops by as the two discuss Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy” and Rebecca Black’s “Friday” from San Diego Comic-Con. Mat & Chris talk way too much about how they love “Friday” and hate the producer behind it.
Episode 59: “Stick ‘Em Up” & “Know Your Chicken”
Matt & Erin Drufke have a couple’s counseling session this week. Each member of the husband/wife duo picked a weird video the other hasn’t seen. This week, the two are discussing Quarashi’s “Stick ‘Em Up” and Cibo Matto’s “Know Your Chicken.”
Episode 58: “Triumph”
Killer bees are on the swarm this week. Mat spends the episode talking about hip hop and rap, and how he’s always loved the genre of music. Additionally, he discusses Wu-Tang Clan’s “Triumph” and responds to your favorite hip hop and rap memories.
Episode 57: “Sweet Dreams” And “Enjoy The Silence”
Mat discusses two music videos that he remembers from his childhood that have stuck with him, for better or worse. First up is “Sweet Dreams” by Eurythmics and “Enjoy the Silence” by Depeche Mode.
Episode 56: “7 Rings” And “You Need To Calm Down”
It’s been a long time, folks. But after a 13 month break, Mat Elfring has returned to Podcast Killed the Video Star after finally adjusting to being a father. Now, after hearing the same kid’s music for a year straight, he’s discussing songs that get stuck in your head AKA earworms. This week, Mat is talking about Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings” and Taylor Swift’s “You Need To Calm Down.” Hopefully, next time, there won’t be any ring rust.
Episode 55: “Video Killed The Radio Star” And “Alone”
It only took a year and a half, but we’re finally discussing the music video that kicked off the video revolution: “Video Killed The Radio Star” by The Buggles. Additionally, Mat discusses Marshmello’s “Alone,” which is fitting since there’s no co-host this week.
Episode 54: Madonna Part 1
For the first time, the guys dive into the work of Madonna by watching “Borderline,” “Express Yourself,” and “Music,” three videos from the singer from three different decades.
Dumb React Thing 1: “Express Yourself”
Before Episode 54 hits your ears, our Madonna episode, you may be wondering what the guys do while watching the music videos. So we recorded us watching “Express Yourself” by […]
Episode 53: “Dream Warriors” and “Princes Of The Universe”
The gang is headed to the movies to check out some music videos. Mat, Will, and Andrew are discussing Dokken’s “Dream Warriors” from Nightmare on Elm Street 3 and Queen’s “Princes of the Universe” from Highlander, and yes, they all spend way to much time on Sean Connery impressions.
Episode 52: Mat’s Birthday 2018
It’s time once again for Mat Elfring to pat himself on the back for living through another year. This week, he’s joined by Andrew “Cheeseburger” Parks and Will “Gravy” Ash, and the guys discuss some of Mat’s favorite music from the 2000s, which includes “It’s Time to Party” by Andrew WK, “Go Right Ahead” by The Hives, and “You” by Mustard Plug. The guys have had a bit to drink and spend a lot of time talking about concerts they all went to during their 20s.
Episode 51: Remembering “Remember The Time”
The Triad of Mat, Andrew, and Will is back and discussing another minimovie from Michael Jackson. They’re discussing “Remember the Time, ” the video featuring Eddie Murphy, Iman, Magic Johnson, and Zues Lister as MJ is on the run after wooing Queen Iman.
Episode 50.5: “Sleep in the Heat”
Mat’s been gone after his wife had their child, and he’s adjusting to fatherhood. He and longtime parent Andrew “Cheeseburger” Parks decide to let YouTube pick the videos for them, which leads them down a weird rabbit hole, which finally ends with their frustration and watching an Outkast video.
Episode 50: Down The Rabbit Hole
Mat’s been gone after his wife had their child, and he’s adjusting to fatherhood. He and longtime parent Andrew “Cheeseburger” Parks decide to let YouTube pick the videos for them, which leads them down a weird rabbit hole, which finally ends with their frustration and watching an Outkast video.
Episode 49: Christmas 2017
It’s the holiday season once again, and Mat is on the hunt for more Christmas music videos. However, he’s already scrapped the bottom of the barrel with “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey, “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber, and “Oi to the World” by No Doubt.
Episode 48: “Hotline Bling” and “Legend Has It”
After a short break, since Mat and his wife had a baby, PKThe is back. This week, Mat asks Twitter what he should discuss, and it said “Hotline Bling” by Drake. In addition, we’re talking about “Legend Has It” by Run the Jewels from earlier this year.
Episode 47: Wrestlers Sing!
Mat, Andrew, and Will sit down to watch four music videos sang by WWE wrestlers. They’re discussing “Speaking From The Heart” by Randy Savage, “Bad Bad Man” by John Cena, “Dance All Night” by Naomi, and “#MMMGorgeous” by Tyler Breeze. Also, we learn Andrew does a stellar Macho Man impression.
Episode 46: The Celebrity Music Video Endurance Challenge Part 1
The guys are watching as many music videos featuring celebrities singing that they can before they tap out or get too drunk. This week, they’re discussing videos by Eddie Murphy, Don Johnson, Joey Lawrence, and Lindsay Lohan.
Episode 45: Halloween 2017!
Time for a Halloween Spooktacular! Mat Elfring, Andrew Parks, and Will Ash are back and having a frightfully good time drinking beers and watching terrifying music videos. This week they watch “Come to Daddy” and “Rubber Johnny” by Aphex Twin, “Somebody’s Watching Me” by Rockwell, and “Scream” by The Misfits.
Episode 44: The J-Pop Special Part 1
Mat is joined by Cheeseburger Parks and Will “Gravy” Ash as they try to make sense of J-Pop. The guys watch BabyMetal’s “Doki Doki Morning,” Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s “Ponponpon,” and a special video chosen by Parks, who doesn’t get the concept of the episode.
Episode 43: “Trapped In The Closet” Part 6
All good things must come to an end, and for Mat Elfring at his guests The 5-50 Band, that means the final chapters of R Kelly’s “Trapped in the Closet,” for now. They watch the anti-climactic Chapters 29-33, which features the best and worst of the entire series.
Episode 42: “Trapped In The Closet” Part 5
It’s time, once again, to dive into R Kelly’s insane world that is “Trapped in the Closet.” Mat is joined by Chris, Brian, and Koopa of The 5-50 Band, formerly known as Los Mysterios, and they try to figure out just what in the hell is going on in Chapters 23-28.
Episode 41: “Super Bowl Shuffle” and Other Dumb NFL Music Videos
To celebrate the start of the NFL season, Mat is talking about music videos performed by NFL teams. Of course, he’s discussing the “Super Bowl Shuffle” by the Chicago Bears. In addition, Mat learns about the overly-sexual “Ram It” by the LA Rams and ponders “Fear Da Tiger” by the Cincinnati Bengals.
Episode 41 Show Notes
Below, you can check out the actual notes Mat took while watching the videos and preparing for the show! Note: This will not appear in your regular RSS feed. Here’s […]
Episode 40: “Look What You Make Me Do”
Matt Drufke dives into Taylor Swift’s newest music video “Look What You Make Me Do,” which has broken YouTube records. Mat Elfring chimes in occasionally, even though he wasn’t originally part of the episode, to give his thoughts and some background info on the Taylor Swift/Katy Perry feud.
Episode 39: “Sabotage” & “Get Back”
Returning champions Matt Drufke and Erin Kulinski are here to talk about a couple of Spike Jonze videos: “Sabotage” by Beastie Boys and “Get Back” by Ludacris. Mat and Matt discuss the finer points of bathroom etiquette, and Erin enjoys a good fake mustache and wig.
Episode 38: “Hello” & “Goodbye”
It’s been months, but Matt Drufke and Mat Elfring are back together again! They are joined by Erin Kulinski to talk about Lionel Richie’s “Hello” followed by “Goodbye” by the Spice Girls, which was only chosen because it had wolves in the screenshot.
Episode 37: Listener’s Choice Part 1
This week, Mat takes suggestions from fans of the show and watches three videos recommended by you! He watches Ima Robot’s “Greenback Boogie,” Shudder To Think’s “X-French Tee Shirt,” and Gorillaz’s “Saturnz Barz.”
Episode 36: “Dirrty,” “Toxic,” and “Nasty”
Things get a little sexy on PKThe After Dark, as Cheeseburger picks out the videos for what he describes as a “very horny episode.” We watch “Dirrty” by Xtina (Before she became Xtina), “Toxic” by Britney Spears, and “Nasty” by Janet Jackson. Cheeseburger’s reactions are a bit gross.
Episode 35: “He Who Laughs Last,” “Miss Murder,” & “Kill For Candy”
After a long week at San Diego Comic Con, Mat is back! He and Cheeseburger Parks are discussing the evolution of singer Davey Havok throughout the years, and their first time seeing AFI live. This week, they watch AFI’s “He Who Laughs Last,” “Miss Murder,” and Dreamcar’s “Kill For Candy.” Honestly, this is all just a ploy by Mat to get you to buy Dreamcar’s album because he loves it.
Episode 34: “The One Thing” and “Thrash Unreal”
Returning champion Matt Drufke hosts this week’s episode, and it revolves around the classy and refined tradition of dinner parties. He welcomes comedians Alex Crockman and Steve Comenduley as they was Against Me!’s “Thrash Unreal” and INXS’s “The One Thing,” all while serving up the greatest foods you can never see because this is an audio podcast.
Episode 33: “Thriller”
Mat and Cheeseburger take a tour of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” a John Landis directed music video that takes place in a dream, in a Vincent Price directed movie. While many consider “Thriller” to be one of the best music videos ever made, does it still hold up? After Cheeseburger and Mat discussed “Black or White,” they’re a bit skeptical. However, spoiler alert, “Thriller” is still awesome and has the best jacket featured in a music video of all time.
Episode 32.5: “Praying”
In this miniepisode, Mat discusses Kesha’s newest music video “Praying.” The artist has gone through a tremendous journey over the past couple of years and created this image-heavy and emotional new video. This isn’t your typical PKThe episode, as we keep it on the serious side of things.
Episode 32: The 2017 USA Special!
Time to shoot off some fireworks and blow some stuff up! This week, Cheeseburger and Mat are getting uber-patriotic, drinking American beer, and watching three music videos about America: “Living in America” by James Brown, “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. by John Mellencamp, and “Party in the U.S.A.” by Miley Cyrus.
Episode 31: “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” And More Wrestling-Related Videos
After having the flu for a week and binging GLOW on Netflix, Mat hunkered down and put together an episode revolving around wrestlers in music videos. You can hear about Mat’s story hosting an event at E3 and just how sick he got as he discusses “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Bif Naked, “It Doesn’t Matter” by Wyclef Jean, and “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper.
Episode 30: The Turquoise Jeep Special
This week, Mat and Rock n Roll Andy celebrate their love of Turquoise Jeep, a record label that puts out bizarre, mainly green screened, videos which are seemingly satire of contemporary R&B and hip hop. The guys watch “Wifey Boo,” “The Cleaning Lady Hates Me,” and “Lemme Smang It.”
Episode 29: The K-Pop Special Part 1
PKThe takes the time to celebrate the nation that is dominating when it comes to music videos: South Korea. Rock N Roll Andy and Mat are joined by Brian Leh, as both he and Mat have a love for K-Pop, more specifically, Taeyang. The guys watch “Bang Bang Bang” by Big Bang, “New Face” by Psy, and “Wedding Dress” by Taeyang. Take a shot every time someone says “Taeyang,” and you’ll be drunk in 10 minutes.
Episode 28: “California Love” and “Wild Boys”
Mat and Cheeseburger get weird again. This week, they’re in a post-apocalyptic future watching two videos about the post-apocalypse: “California Love” by Tupac and “Wild Boys” by Duran Duran. Will […]
Episode 27.5: The NBA Spectacular
Matt Drufke returns for a new miniepisode where he tries to find worthwhile videos involving NBA stars! Sadly, there aren’t many, so Matt discusses “Forever” by Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem, as well as “Jam” by Michael Jordan.
Episode 27: “Welcome to the Black Parade” & “The Ghost of You”
Believe it or not, this week, we talked to My Chemical Romance’s singer, Gerard Way, about his favorite music video. Don’t get too excited… It’s a 30 second interview. Andrew and Mat talk about two MCR’s videos and spend way too much time working on their southern gentleman accent.
Episode 26: “Trapped In The Closet” Part 4
Mat, Cheeseburger, and Rock N Roll are joined by the band Koopa & Los Mysterios for another round of R Kelly’s “Trapped in the Closet.” Things in the hip-hop dramedy start going off of the rails, and the guys have a lot of conspiracies about these characters and whether or not this is all based on a true story.
Episode 25.5: “Cochise”
Matt Drufke goes solo this week to discuss Audioslave’s “Cochise” in the wake of Chris Cornell’s passing.
Episode 25: “Trapped In The Closet” Part 3
We’re back! This week, Mat and Cheeseburger Parks are joined by the band Koopa & Los Mysterios on their continuing journey through R Kelly’s hip-hop dramedy, “Trapped in the Closet.” In addition, we renew our love for Tron, even though his name is actually Twan.
Episode 24.5: “Malibu”
In this short, bonus episode, Mat discusses Miley Cyrus’s new video “Malibu.” How has she changed as an artist and does the newest, highly-anticipated video live up to what we were expecting? Find out more in this week’s topical episode.
Episode 24: “Wrecking Ball” & “Bad Romance”
Mat and Matt are back and discussing two incredibly popular videos from the past few years, Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball” and Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” The guys talk about the impact the videos had on the world, and they discuss one of the directors of the video, who has an allegedly shady past.
Episode 23: “X Gon’ Give It To Ya” and “What U See Is What U Get”
Mat and Cheeseburger put the “X Gon’ Give It To Ya” joke to rest as they watch the classic DMX video as well as one of Mat’s all-time favorite music videos “What U See Is What U Get” by Xzibit.
Episode 22: “Sorry For Party Rocking” and “Last Friday Night”
In this very special Minimovie episode, Mat, Rock n Roll Andrew, and Fitzy are joined by Thom Clancy and Andrew “East Coast” Bellon, who just happened to be in the studio that day. They start off by watching LMFAO’s “Sorry For Party Rocking,” but end up going on a journey into the career of director Mickey Finnegan, which resulted in watching Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night.”
Episode 21: The 420 Episode
Lots of stoners out there will be reminding you this week that April 20 is coming up: a day people smoke marijuana more than normal. Mat and Cheeseburger Parks investigate whether or not people who smoke way too much weed understand humor. They do not. The guys watch “Because I Got High” by Afroman and “Dr Greenthumb” by Cyprus Hill.
Episode 20: “Men In Black” and “Wild Wild West”
Matt Drufke and Mat Elfring are back and diving into the world of music videos that tie into movies once again. This time, they take a look at the work of Will Smith, whose songs completely describe the plots of his films.
Episode 19: “Love Me Like You Do” and “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever”
Lewis and Jocelyn are back, and this week, they’re talking with Mat about two music videos from the 50 Shades of Black movie series: “Love Me Like You Do” by Ellie Goulding and “I Don’t Want to Live Forever” by ZAYN and Taylor Swift.
Episode 18: “My Way” and “Butterfly”
Shaun Fitzpatrick returns to the show to talk with Mat about Limp Bizkit’s “My Way” and Crazy Town’s “Butterfly.” They quickly remember it’s not the best era for music nor music videos.
Episode 17: “Tonight, Tonight” and “Freak on a Leash”
It’s Mat Elfring’s birthday this week, so he and Matt Drufke are watching two videos Mat loved during his teen years: “Tonight Tonight” by Smashing Pumpkins and “Freak on a Leash” by Korn. Interesting enough, they were both directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris.
Episode 16: “Trapped in the Closet” Part 2 (With Brian and Chris Leh)
It’s part two of our six part series, diving into R Kelly’s magnum opus. Mat, Cheeseburger Parks, and Rock N Roll Andy watch chapters 7-12 of R Kelly’s “Trapped in the Closet.”
Episode 15: “Trapped in the Closet” Part 1 (With Brian and Chris Leh)
In the first of a six-part planned series, Mat, Cheeseburger Parks, and Rock N Roll Andy watch chapters 1-6 of R Kelly’s magnum opus “Trapped in the Closet.” Alongside the gang is Brian Leh and Chris Leh of Koopa and Los Mysterios.
Episode 14: “Take on Me” and “Rock Me Amadeus”
Mat talks to returning guest/comedian/artist Shaun Fitzpatrick about the iconic music video “Take on Me” by A-ha. Then, in a PKThe first, they take a request from one of their listeners and watch “Rock Me Amadeus” by Falco.
Episode 13: “It’s All About The Benjamins” (Rock Remix I)
It’s minimovie week! Mat Elfring and Matt Drufke are discussing one of Drufke’s favorite music videos: Puff Daddy’s “It’s All About the Benjamins (Rock Remix I).” The guys discuss how Puff Daddy got from going on tour to playing a high school prom with BDSM enthusiast Lil Kim, in this Spike Jonze video.
Episode 12: “Head Over Heels”
Mat Elfring, “Rock N Roll” Andrew Leh, and “Cheeseburger” Andrew Parks are talking about two very different music videos featuring the same title: “Head Over Heels” by Tears for Fears and the Go-Gos.
Episode 11: The Grammys: Part 2
Mat Elfring and Andrew Parks return to wrap-up the rest of the Grammy-nominated songs for Best Music Video. They decide which video should win the award and try desperately to forget about that Coldplay video. Also, Mat admits he accidentally confused Xzibit and DMX the week prior.
Episode 10: The 2017 Grammys: Part 1
Get ready for the 2017 Grammys! Mat Elfring and Andrew Parks discuss three of the five “Best Music Video”nominations and keep track of which one’s they think are going to win. They watch Beyonce’s “Formation,” Leon Bridges’ “River,” and Coldplay’s “Up & Up.”
Episode 9: “Opposites Attract” and “Bad Blood” (With Lewis Rhine and Jocelyn Hulme)
Podcast Killed welcomes the husband/wife comedic duo Lewis Rhine and Jocelyn Hulme to this week’s episode. They discuss the abusive relationship between Paula Abdul and MC Skat Kat in “Opposites Attract.” Then, Jocelyn schools the guys on who everyone is in Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood.”
Episode 8: “Popular” and “You Get What You Give” (With Shaun Fitzpatrick)
Artist and comedian Shaun Fitzpatrick stops by to talk Mat about that weird era of post-grunge music where things got really poppy. They discuss the very weird and memorable “Popular” by Nada Surf, as well as the anti-establishment video “You Get What You Give” by New Radicals.
Episode 7: Best of 2016
In this week’s over-sized episode. Mat Elfring and Matt Drufke discuss the best music videos of 2016. Drufke comes up with a convoluted way to figure out what three videos to talk about. The guys come to a conclusion of what their favorite videos were for 2016.
Episode 6: “Black or White”
It’s minimovie week! Mat Elfring and Andrew Parks break down a music video they loved as kids, Michael Jackson’s “Black or White.” They quickly realized it is a terrible video.
Episode 5: “Hurt” & “Oh So Quiet”
Comedian Matt Drufke returns to talk Johnny Cash and Bjork with Mat Elfring. They watch the incredibly depressing “Hurt,” then move onto the light-hearted “Oh So Quiet.”
Episode 4: “November Rain”
It’s minimovie week! Guitarist Andrew Leh returns to talk to Mat about the epic 90s video “November Rain,” by Guns N Roses.
Episode 3: Christmas 2016
This week, Koopa and the Los Mysterios guitarist Andrew Leh comes on and we watch Wham’s “Last Christmas” and NSYNC’s “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays.” It’s a Christmas miracle!
Episode 2: “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)”
Comedian Matt Drufke comes on the show this week to talk about Meat Loaf’s “I Would Do Anything For Love,” directed by Michael Bay.
Episode 1: “Cool It Now” & “Basketball”
Longtime friend, Andrew Parks, comes on the show to talk about two of Mat’s favorite videos by Kurtis Blow and New Edition.
Podcast Killed The Video Star Episode 0.5
RSS Feed Show notes: Podcast Killed the Video Star coming in December. Music from BenSound.
The Tri-Cities Music Scene Part 2: The Internet is Punk Rock
Part one is here. This took quite a long time to put together because I found that a lot of old punk websites still existed. Things were a bit of […]
The Tri-Cities Music Scene: Enter the Scene (Pt 1)
When I started writing this piece to talk about how many bands I was in, more for me than anything else. It quickly became something bigger. So while there is […]
Your Opinions on Black Friday are Wrong
Thanksgiving is just a few days away, and for the past month, or so, I’ve been seeing a ton of memes and pictures a lot like this one: Black Friday, […]
Goodbye, My Friend
Last Saturday, I got inspired to work on a short story I wrote back in college and adapt it into a comic. It’s something I really need to do and […]
I Have Other Standup Comedians Living in My Head
I’m weird. I’ve always known I’ve seen the world a little differently than most people and my idea of what’s funny isn’t the same as everyone else. At the same […]
Beard Watch: The 2014 Academy Awards
Every year, I live tweet a bunch of award shows, mainly to check out who has the best beard. Comedians Jack Baker, Matt Drufke, and I started using #beardwatch on Twitter, last year or so, and this year, I decided to actually give away awards for different types of facial hair, except for mustaches, simply because there weren’t any worth mentioning.
Living With Epilepsy
In 1999, I was diagnosed with epilepsy. This is one aspect of my life I really don’t talk about, until now.
Messing With E-Mail Scammers
Back in the days of Prattle Rattle, I’d post my e-mail conversations with scammers. I’d lead them along and try and screw with them as much as possible. My main […]
People Who Say “Haters Gonna Hate” Gonna Hate Some Hate
I don’t like the term “haters gonna hate.” In fact, you could say I am a hater of said commonly used phrase that gained its fame on the net, mainly […]
Keeping Tabs on My Coworker: 8/2/2012
My job isn’t extremely tough, but you have to have an insane amount of knowledge about English and the art of writing to be good at said job, and I […]
Welcome to the start of a terrible relationship
Hey guys. It’s been a while since I’ve put some serious work into a blog, since Prattle Rattle (a blog by Chicago comedians) fell apart. I’ve done a few like […]
Podcast Killed the Video Star 