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Existential Shred

Levi and Jordan

15 episodes

2 days ago

Discussing media that makes you feel sad, bad, and generally not rad.

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All content for Existential Shred is the property of Levi and Jordan and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

Discussing media that makes you feel sad, bad, and generally not rad.

Show more...

Episodes (15/15)

Existential Shred

Ep. 11 - Longlegs

Part of me wants to write an episode description in the tone of a TikTok / Instagram reel where someone pops in with that influencer voice and is like “ALRIGHT GUYS TODAY WERE LISTING THE TOP 5 SPIDERS STARTING WITH THE DADDY LONGLEG…”, but I already used a spider joke to start the episode.

I’m just going to fill up the description with some quick rambling as I listen to “LOADED” by HMLTD.

You know what would be sick? A “Bone Tomahawk”-eqsue Western with Nic Cage. Like, just throw him into a Weird West movie and have him play it completely straight. I feel like that would be gold. Just throwing this out there, but could you get SPIRITWORLD to make some original songs for the sound track too.

Man… I can’t wait until I can be an old man and just spend my nights reading books about the Old West by the light of a bed side lamp. Just reading about how Cowboys were really only around for 30 years and audibly going “huh, how interesting” with my glasses on the tip of my nose. That’s going to be the life.

Insta: @existentialshredcast

Theme Song: SWISS by D3adrum (Insta: @d3adrum)

Artwork by Garlic Hero (Insta: @thegarlichero)

4 months ago

1 hour 15 minutes 35 seconds

Existential Shred

What’s Going On - I

On this episode of What’s Going On we decide to take a step away from examining some existential horrors and just talk about the existential horrors of our own lives. Topics include: Marvel Rivals, Pokemon Showdown, Captain America: Brave New World, will the MCU ever die, Companion, Stephen King’s The Monkey, Mickey 17, the nightmare of having to get up to use the bathroom in a movie theatre, the jubilation that is sneaking multiple ice cold Iron City beers into a movie theatre, progressive bluegrass (thanks Levi), jazz fusion (thanks Levi), the band Organ Freeman (3 for 3 there Levi…),the new Lady Gaga album, the new Russian Village Boys album, the new clipping album, Robert McCammon’s novel Stinger, Emily St. John Mandel’s novel The Lola Quartet, some other nerdy sci-fi books, and how America ruined Godzilla. Phew… a lot of topics going on here. Insta: @existentialshredcast Theme Song: SWISS by D3adrum (Insta: @d3adrum) Artwork by Garlic Hero (Insta: @thegarlichero)

7 months ago

56 minutes 19 seconds

Existential Shred

Ep. 10 - You Were Never Really Here

Well he's gone and done it again, Levi has picked another topic that has given us polarizing views, maybe he really does hate doing the cast, maybe he just enjoys making Jordan sit through things he won't like. Who are we to really say? Join us as we discuss Lynne Ramsay’s 2017 crime thriller “You Were Never Really Here” about a deeply disturbed veteran who saves girls from human trafficking rings. I know what you are thinking but no this isn't Taxi Driver Insta: @existentialshredcast Theme Song: SWISS by D3adrum (Insta: @d3adrum) Artwork by Garlic Hero (Insta: @thegarlichero)

7 months ago

57 minutes 5 seconds

Existential Shred

Our Top 5 Favorite Albums of All-Time

On this week's episode, we talk about our Top 5 Favorite Albums of All-Time, which should come as no surprise since you saw the episode title. What should come as a surprise to you is that historians have almost unanimously agreed that the year 536 CE (or AD if you’re still into that) was the worst year in human history to be alive. Let’s start off with the big dawg in this whole conversation, there was a volcanic eruption that caused a VOLCANIC WINTER. What kind of land before time type of disaster is that!? Turns out that the volcanic eruption was so bad that it actually caused the average temperature in Europe and China to fall to the point where they experienced crop failure and famine for over a year. It’s not like they could just order something on GrubHub either, I mean this era literally just figured out what static electricity was from rubbing amber with silk. All the while, the Byzantine Empire was waging war on the Goths over in Italy-land because they were tired of listening to The Cure and being mandated by the government to wear Tripp pants and studded belts. Don’t even get me started on the mutiny that was happening in Carthage (now Tunisia). Also, I know what you’re thinking. “But Existential Shred, what about 1346 when the Black Plague was decimating Europe’s population?” Which is a valid question, but that volcano really messed things up for a while for a lot of people. If you’re really curious check out the podcast “Oral Presentations” episode 47 “The Worst Year to Be Alive”. Unironically, it’s my favorite podcast of all time and you can say you listened to something educational today if you do. Anyway… oh yeah, we talk about 5 albums that we would call “pretty great”. Insta: @existentialshredcast Theme Song: SWISS by D3adrum (Insta: @d3adrum) Artwork by Garlic Hero (Insta: @thegarlichero)

8 months ago

49 minutes 51 seconds

Existential Shred

Ep. 9 - David Berman & Purple Mountains

“A second New York is being built a little west of the old one. Why another, no one asks, just build it, and they do. The city is still closed off to all but the work crews who claim it’s a perfect mirror image. Truthfully, each man works on the replica of the apartment building he lives in, adding new touches, like cologne dispensers, rock gardens, and doorknobs marked for the grand hotels. Improvements here and there, done secretly and off the books. None of the supervisors notice or mind. Everyone’s in a wonderful mood, joking, taking walks through the side streets that the single reporter allowed inside has described as “unleavened with reminders of the old city’s complicated past, but giving off some blue perfume from the early years of earth.” The men grow to love the peaceful town. It becomes more difficult to return home at night, which sets the wives to worrying. The yellow soups are cold, the sunsets quick. The men take long breaks on the fire escapes, waving across the quiet spaces to other workers meditating on their perches. Until one day… The sky fills with charred clouds. Toolbelts rattle in the rising wind. Something is wrong. A foreman stands in the avenue pointing binoculars at a massive gray mark moving towards us in the eastern sky. Several voices, What, What is it? Pigeons, he yells through the wind.” “New York, New York” by David Berman Insta: @existentialshredcast Theme Song: SWISS by D3adrum (Insta: @d3adrum) Artwork by Garlic Hero (Insta: @thegarlichero)

8 months ago

54 minutes 50 seconds

Existential Shred

Ep. 8 - Princess Mononoke

どれだけ頑張っても

君は僕を押しのけ続ける

そして僕は突破できない

君と話すことはできない

君が去ってしまうのはとても悲しい

それを信じるのに時間がかかる

でも結局

君は孤独になるんだ、ああ

愛の後の人生を信じるか？

僕の心の中で何かが言っているのを感じる

君は本当に強くないと思う、いや

愛の後の人生を信じるか？

僕の心の中で何かが言っているのを感じる

君は本当に強くないと思う、いや

僕は何をすればいいの？

座って君を待つ？

そう、それはできない

そして後戻りはできない

前に進むには時間が必要だ

強くなるには愛が必要だ

なぜなら僕はそれをじっくり考える時間があったから

そして僕は君にはもったいないのかもしれない、ああ

Insta: @existentialshredcast

Theme Song: SWISS by D3adrum (Insta: @d3adrum)

Artwork by Garlic Hero (Insta: @thegarlichero)

9 months ago

1 hour 9 minutes 10 seconds

Existential Shred

Ep. 7 - Curse of the Man Who Sees UFOs

Today on “Ancient Aliens”, we discuss the curious case of Monterey Bay’s own Christo Roppolo and his extraordinary claims of mass Unidentified Flying Object activity in the idyllic California town.

You might be curious, what is it we’re dealing with here? The Grays? The Mantis’? Surely it can’t be the Venusians, can it?! Psh, what is this amateur hour… what we got is an outbreak of Stinkleberry’s, Eggmen, and Woowoos.

If we can get down to brass tacks though, the footage of our Alien Overlords isn’t even the best part of this here documentary. I know it sounds ridiculous, but the real selling point is an intimate dissection of a man with extraordinary claims and somehow an even more extraordinarily tragic life. Can he make his mark on the world with out of this world claims and overcome the unexpected left turns his life continued to make? I guess the only way to find out is to watch the documentary that was made about him then listen to 2 random guys talk about it for roughly 40 minutes. Which, if you think about it in a meta sort of way, can basically answer the question without even having to do either of those things.

Insta: @existentialshredcast

Theme Song: SWISS by D3adrum (Insta: @d3adrum)

Artwork by Garlic Hero (Insta: @thegarlichero)

9 months ago

43 minutes 22 seconds

Existential Shred

Ep. 6 - Older (and Wiser) by Lizzie McAlpine

Well, it’s been a fun ride. After 5 Shred-pisode’s and 2 mini-shreds, our mighty media empire crumbles before our very eyes… and it’s all because we don’t enjoy Lizzy McAlpine’s “Older (and Wiser)” to the same magnitude. Why would Levi sabotage us like this? Did he want the cast to end? Is it because he hasn’t emotionally recovered from watching “The Whale”? I mean, if we don’t have the exact same opinions on what we talk about, what’s even the point?

Tune in to hear the vitriolic, venom filled back and forth about the merits of an artist who finally gets to create a piece of art that reflects the inner turmoil of a failing relationship and how her own sense of self changes throughout without the interference of a Record Label looking to pump out TikTok soundbites for kids to put behind planking photo montages or whatever those little idiots are doing.

Let our tombstone read:

RIP Existential Shred (2024 - 2025)

“In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.”

Insta: @existentialshredcast

Theme Song: SWISS by D3adrum (Insta: @d3adrum)

Artwork by Garlic Hero (Insta: @thegarlichero)

9 months ago

57 minutes 3 seconds

Existential Shred

Our Favorite Music Releases of 2024

It’s that time of the year again where in order to safely complete the last leg of our rotation around the Sun, we must lull the Sun into a state of unassuming bliss by compiling lists of all of our favorite things that happened during this rotation. Which, of course, we know is what has kept it from initiating the “Red Giant Phase” of its life cycle and completely destroying every last trace that we ever were and ensuring that we will never be again. We’re doing our part here at Existential Shred by offering up another off week episode dedicated to our favorite musical releases of 2024 to the almighty Sun deity. About halfway through Levi’s dogs Molly and Ruby also start chiming in from the yard outside, so apologies for that. They don’t understand that out of the almost 7,000 languages spoken here on Earth, the Sun doesn’t quite understand dog. Insta: @existentialshredcast Theme Song: SWISS by D3adrum (Insta: @d3adrum) Artwork by Garlic Hero (Insta: @thegarlichero)

10 months ago

26 minutes 24 seconds

Existential Shred

Ep. 5 - The Whale

Strap in Ishmael, on today’s episode we talk about “The Whale or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bird” which is the latest entry in Darren Aronofsky’s long line of films that are known, for various reasons, to elicit extremely visceral reactions from the audience. Charlie, our main character and a recluse college writing instructor, is likely living the last week of his life. Before it’s over he is visited by an End Time’s religious missionary, a pizza delivery man named Dan, and his estranged teenage daughter. Tragedy, mystery, and redemption are the main drivers of this unfortunate slice of life we are given the opportunity to take a look into. From its beginnings as a single set stage play to its 10 year transformation into a single set movie we’ll discuss how this movie came to be, some technical aspects of the filmmaking process, and even dive into some symbolic analysis of the movie’s most interesting character… a bird. Insta: @existentialshredcast Theme Song: SWISS by D3adrum (Insta: @d3adrum) Artwork by Garlic Hero (Insta: @thegarlichero)

10 months ago

59 minutes 8 seconds

Existential Shred

Seasonal Shred - Christmas Music & More

Scene: It’s late November. Establishing Shot, Internal: A person walking into Target. Close Up Shot of protagonists: We see their eyes darting back and forth, pupils widening in what the audience understands as fear. Dutch Angle Shot: The Starbucks employee removing the sign for Pumpkin Spice Lattes to quickly replace it with a sign promoting the seasonal Peppermint Mocha. Our protagonist begins to sweat, we follow a single bead of sweat rolling from their forehead to their temple. They know the season is upon them. They retrieve a shopping cart and begin walking when over the loud speaker, a familiar sound begins to play. It’s reminiscent of a musical box, but instead of lulling them to sleep it signals the beginning of the end. That’s when we hear the all too familiar “I don’t want a lot for Christmas…” Our protagonist falls to their knees in utter defeat and anguish, it’s over. The end times are here. Christmas music is upon us and there’s nothing we can do but accept our fate as the captive audience for Mariah Carey’s annual vampiric ritual of stealing all of our collective psychic energy through the prevalence of her siren song in every facet of our lives. Insta: @existentialshredcast Theme Song: SWISS by D3adrum (Insta: @d3adrum) Artwork by Garlic Hero (Insta: @thegarlichero)

10 months ago

37 minutes 28 seconds

Existential Shred

Ep. 4 - The Discovery

Known largely for his contributions to the hit TV show “How I Met Your Mother” and comedies such as “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “I Love You Man”, Jason Segel sticks to his comfort zone on “The Discovery”. As an audience, how long do we let Jason Segel get away with shoe horning questions like “what if we had some kind of proof of life after death and how dangerous would that knowledge be to the world around us” into every project he gets his hands on?

I mean, come on! After 208 episodes of “How I Met Your Mother” you think he would want to finally talk about something else aside from the potential of life after death from a measurable, scientific perspective. Let’s just call it like it is, this is just a sad attempt to relaunch a sadder and grittier story of Marshall’s life before he met Ted. You’re not fooling me there Jason! I’m not letting you trick us with this “prequel” non-sense.

If we saw Richard Belzer’s name in a TV show’s credits, we knew that meant Detective Munch was about to make an appearance. Now it’s getting to the point where if Jason Segel’s name is in the credits we know there’s going to be a scene where he saves a woman's life by jumping into the ocean with reckless disregard for the immaculate sweater he’s wearing.

Is this formula finally getting old or is there comfort in consistency? I guess the only way to find out is to listen to today’s episode and find out.

Insta: @existentialshredcast

Theme Song: SWISS by D3adrum (Insta: @d3adrum)

Artwork by Garlic Hero (Insta: @thegarlichero)

10 months ago

1 hour 18 minutes 10 seconds

Existential Shred

Ep. 3 - Atrocity Exhibition by Danny Brown

On today’s episode, straight from the heart of the Rust Belt it’s Danny Brown. Hailing from Detroit, Michigan all Danny had his heart set on was making it as a rapper before he turned 30. Be careful whatcha wish for though, because even as he’s in the lap of luxury and living out his dream he’s slowly destroying himself while crowds of adoring fans cheer him on. Kinda messed up huh? “Atrocity Exhibition” takes you through the highs (and trust us… there’s a lot of different kinds of highs on this album) and the extreme lows he experienced in the immediate aftermath of his breakout debut album “XXX.” Buckle up buttercup, this one isn’t an album for the faint of heart.

Insta: @existentialshredcast

Theme Song: SWISS by D3adrum (Insta: @d3adrum)

Artwork by Garlic Hero (Insta: @thegarlichero)

11 months ago

1 hour 13 minutes 29 seconds

Existential Shred

Ep. 2 - The Wolf of Snow Hollow

On today’s episode, we discuss a film by the man behind the voices of such beloved characters as Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and Smokey the Bear… Jim Cumming’s “The Wolf of Snow Hollow.”

Oh wait… wrong Jim Cummings… This Jim Cummings is the writer / director / actor triple threat who has a unique penchant for making his audience feel uncomfortable.

In the tight knit, isolated community of Snow Hollow something sinister is brewing. Vicious, violent crimes are being committed and the culprit may just be of the lycanthropic nature. Is the town in the midst of a werewolf epidemic or are Officer John Marshall and his partner Officer Julia Robson the only sane people left in town?

And of course since it’s a Jim Cummings movie we’re going to be face-to-face with themes such as addiction, loss, and unhealthy multi-generational parental relationships.

Insta: @existentialshredcast

Theme Song: SWISS by D3adrum (Insta: @d3adrum)

Artwork by Garlic Hero (Insta: @thegarlichero)

11 months ago

1 hour 7 minutes 5 seconds

Existential Shred

Ep. 1 - Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired & There Will Be Blood

D-d-debut episode of Existential Shred, the new project brought to you by Beam Out of The Mainstream host Levi and his co-host Jordan. We’re here to discuss all of our favorite pieces of media that might end up making you feel sad, bad, or generally just not rad. We're starting strong with a double header where the idea of how these two pieces of media are connected is based off of a comment I once read on a lyric annotation site that has no substantive evidence for its claim. “Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired” is the sophomore album of California pop-punk band Joyce Manor while “There Will Be Blood” is the award winning film by Paul Thomas Anderson (based on an Upton SInclair novel) where Daniel Day Lewis gets into a ton of whacky ol’ time shenanigans. What’s the thing that connects these two? Hit play and find out that and so much more. Insta: @existentialshredcast Theme Song: SWISS by D3adrum (Insta: @d3adrum) Artwork by Garlic Hero (Insta: @thegarlichero)

1 year ago

1 hour 40 minutes 40 seconds

Existential Shred

Discussing media that makes you feel sad, bad, and generally not rad.