Happy Tears

It's spooky season! As October comes to a close, we reflect on some of Brandon's favorite spooky movies, and Nick's (a scared boy) favorite anti-spooky movies. Newton's first law of spookiness: for every spooky movie, there will be an equal and opposite anti-spooky movie. For every bloody slasher, there's a wholesome musical. For every ghosty, there's an adorable animated fish girl. All is fair and balanced in this spooky season recap. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

A Chinese & Taiwanese fusion episode. An anniversary episode. A great, great movie episode. In The Mood For Love from director Wong Kar-Wai is a seductive visual masterpiece about the painful beauty of longing and heartbreak. Edward Yang's Yi Yi is a generational family story about the under-appreciated beauty of our ordinary, messy lives. Both are visionary works of art released 20 years ago and they are two of cinema's greatest achievements from master filmmakers. Through some technical difficulties on this episode, we have some fun discussion and Nick achieves possibly the ultimate happy tear? What does that even mean? In the Mood For Love starts at 6:45 Yi Yi starts at 32:15 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

Taylor Swift! SAULT! Fleet Foxes! Other musicians! Our favorite albums of the months of July, August, and September in the year of Corona: 2020. Despite an absolute dumpster fire of a year, there has been some wonderful and uplifting music to help us cling desperately to our collective humanity. If you're looking for hope and levity, there's some here. It's not much, but it's something.

This week on the pod we revisit Stillwater and the Band-aids for the 20th anniversary of Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous. Come sing "Tiny Dancer" with us as we cry happy tears and remain uncool. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

We finish our deep dive of the career of the incomparable Fiona Apple with an exploration of her albums Extraordinary Machine, The Idler Wheel, and Fetch The Bolt Cutters. Drinking game: take a shot any time you hear the words: genius, stunning, striking, or "she's just SO GOOD!" Extraordinary Machine starts at 1:55 The Idler Wheel starts at 27:40 Fetch The Bolt Cutters starts at 51:30 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

The release of Fiona Apple's stunning 2020 album, Fetch the Bolt Cutters inspired us to take a look at the career of the incomparable Fiona Apple. In this episode we examine the state of the mid-90s music industry that Fiona exploded onto, as well as her first two albums Tidal and When the Pawn... Music Industry background starts at 8:46 Tidal starts at 10:50 When the Pawn... starts at 30:30 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

On this episode, we discuss the comic book sensation, Saga. This sprawling space opera is one of the most celebrated comic books of the last decade. From its incredibly imaginative character design, to it's detail-rich worlds, and it's incredibly charming ensemble, this universe has captured the hearts of millions of readers and just might belong among the greatest sci-fi stories of all time...(?) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

Despite being an ongoing, seemingly never-ending train wreck in every other sense, 2020 has been an incredible year for music. We go through our favorite albums, month by month from January to June. We discuss such artists as Andy Shauf and Fiona Apple and SAULT and Denzel Curry and Jeff Rosenstock and Phoebe Bridgers and many, many, (maybe too many?) more! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

Bed-Stuy, do or die! We're spending some time in pre-gentrified Brooklyn this episode to discuss James McBride's new novel Deacon King Kong and Spike Lee's legendary film Do The Right Thing. These works both feature wacky ensembles, uproarious humor, love, hate, a lot of light, a little bit of darkness, and they're both really, really good. WAKE UP! Deacon King Kong starts at 4:35. Do The Right Thing starts at 19:05. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

026: March by John Lewis // SAULT Congressman John Lewis was a civil rights activist and an American hero. We honor him in this episode as we discuss the comic book series MARCH (written by Congressman Lewis, Andrew Aydin, illustrate by Nate Powell) which is a three-part graphic novel about the civil rights movement of the 1960's. Then, we explore the incredible, afrocentric, new album UNTITLED (BLACK IS) by the UK collective SAULT. As a work of revolutionary art that explores the black experience, often as it relates to police and the establishment, this album may have arrived precisely at the moment that it was most needed. Rest in peace, John Lewis. March starts at 6:30. SAULT starts at 26:15. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

On this episode, we revisit two great albums released 10 years ago. First, we get down and dirty with The Black Keys breakthrough album Brothers. Then, we go on an abstract sci-fi, indefinable, dystopian adventure with Janelle Monáe's The ArchAndroid. Two albums that have virtually nothing in common besides the fact that they were landmark moments for each artist both released on the same date in 2010 and they are super super good. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

What came first: the Happy Tears or the misery? Our friend Chad Kerski joins us to discuss the book, movie, and tv series, High Fidelity. Chad shares stories of running into the production of the movie in late 90's Chicago, we discuss favorite top-5s, and of course share our happy tears moments. "It's good." "I know." --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

Look, it's a stressful time for everyone right now. We don't always need a reason to cry, but sometimes a beautiful movie can help give you that release. We're Zoom-ing into your ears to give you our top 5 (currently streaming) movies that will give you some much needed happy tears. Some are sad, some are hopeful, some are funny, all are great. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

Portrait of a Lady on Fire might be the most beautiful movie you will watch during the COVID-19 quarantine, or ever, for that matter. Céline Sciamma's 18th century drama is a stunning film that speaks to eternal truths of romance, womanhood, love and friendship. If we say anything more, we'll spoil it so just GO WATCH IT. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

What do you get when you combine a sprinkle of Parasite, a dash of Marriage Story, a pinch of Uncut Gems, and a smattering of other film-gredients? Our top 10 ranking of the best movies of 2019! Also discussed this episode: funniest scenes, most underrated acting performances, favorite musical moments, and of course, top happy tears! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

Kevin Parker is a long-haired Australian gentleman who makes psychedelic, progressive rock music that features intricate hip hop-influenced percussion, swelling synths, and ear worm pop hooks. He is Tame Impala and his fourth studio album, The Slow Rush, is an introspective, sometimes painful, often beautiful album about time and our relations to it. Our friend Derek Simpson, AKA Homage, AKA a professional beat maker and music composer, AKA the creator of the Happy Tears theme music (!), joins us to break down this complex record. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

It's another CLASSIC Happy Tears case of word association: Honey Boy and Honeyland. First, Honey Boy is a film directed by Alma Har'el and written by Shia Labeouf based on his own life working as a young actor and eventually coming to terms with a diagnosis of PTSD connected to his relationship with his father. Then, Honeyland is a documentary about a Macedonian beekeeper who's quiet life is threatened by outside forces. This episode is super sweet. Honey Boy starts at 10:50. Honeyland starts at 29:20. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

Andy and D'Angelo! (Say it out loud.) We celebrate the 20th anniversary of D'Angelo's opus, Voodoo. Then, we have a drink at "The Neon Skyline", the setting of the story told in Andy Shauf's new narrative concept record. Classic neo-soul, contemporary indie-folk, a few happy tears - this episode has it all. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

Parasite! 1917! The Irishman! Little Women! Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood! Joker! Marriage Story! Movies! The biggest film awards show of the year is coming up so we're previewing with our picks, our expected academy picks, and SNUBS! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

It's a tale of two movies: One is almost universally praised by critics and awards shows alike and the other is generally lauded but tragically SNUBBED! Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story stars Scarlet Johansson and Adam Driver as an artistic couple weathering their way through an increasingly painful divorce. Uncut Gems, directed by the Safdie brothers and starring Adam Sandler, is the frenetic, anxiety-inducing nail-biter about a New York City sleaze ball looking for his next big score. Both are great. One was SNUBBED! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

We like TV and we don't care who knows! Our top 5 TV shows of 2019 along with favorite books, graphic novels, video games of the year. From Chernobyl to Fleabag to Glow - Check out what takes our top spots of 2019! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

The dead speak! This is it! For all the marbles! A bunch of movies, TV shows, toys, comic books, spinoffs and billions of dollars later, the final chapter of the Skywalker saga is here in Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. Our hot takes will be the spark that ignites the fire that will burn down the First Order. Then, The Mandalorian TV show is the first major offering on the Disney+ streaming platform. Our tepid takes will be the torch that warms the hearts of all listeners like that of 1000 baby Yodas. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

If you were to ask Nick in a random poll that he made up if he'd like to listen to a 30-year-old man cry about comic book characters for 90+ minutes, his response would be "I'd rather kill myself." Now presenting: Nick, a 30-year-old man crying about comic book characters for 90+ minutes! First, HBO's Watchmen is a fresh take on the classic graphic novel that tackles race, inequality, family, and power structures in America. Then we discuss the last 10 years of Marvel Movies, their impact on us, our favorite moments, and our hopes for the future of the franchise. Let's do Marvel! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

Whodunnit murder mystery and gangster betrayal! Knives Out, Rian Johnson's Agatha Christie-style film starring half of Hollywood, is a fun ride with a surprising amount of thematic richness. Martin Scorsese's gangster film, The Irishman, follows Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino through a decades-long epic tale of loyalty, betrayal and morality (or perhaps amorality). Nick and Brandon's reactions align on one of these films and they disagree on the other. Discourse! Knives out starts at 12:24. The Irishman starts at 28:22. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

Nick and Brandon list their top 5 albums of 2019 and cover other music-related topics such as: favorite tracks, stank-face of the year, under-rated albums, favorite concerts, and of course, favorite music-related happy tears moments. Nick also cries twice on-mic, so there's that. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

Today we bring WWII nazi satire and retro-soul psychedelic rock! Name a better duo - we'll wait. First, the new comedy from director Taika Waititi, Jojo Rabbit pokes fun at nazis and hatred. Then we get funky and soulful with Michael Kiwanuka's third studio album, Kiwanuka. Come for the anti-hate messages, stay for the anti-lame jams. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

We're getting weird, we're getting dark, we're getting tense, we're getting OSCAR BUZZ. On this episode of the pod we discuss two highly acclaimed films: Bong Joon-Ho's Parasite and Robert Egger's The Lighthouse. Give it a listen – just don't spill yer beans. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

Caroline and Coraline! In a brilliant display of word association, we took a new album from Caroline Polachek (Pang) and paired it with the scariest movie Nick is willing to watch: Coraline. We're just a few days late on spooky season but we really enjoyed revisiting the stop motion classic as well as diving into the fun new experimental art pop album. Let's get arty and spooky. Pang starts at 8:30 Coraline starts at 30:05 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

You nerds ready for some sci-fi surrealism? You better be because we (nerds) are talking all sci-fi everything this week. First, Amazon Prime’s new series Undone is a mind-bending story about a twenty-something girl who gains the ability to transcend space and time after a near-fatal car accident and uses the power to uncover the mystery of her father’s death. Or is it all in her head? Then we discuss the first two entries in Ted Chiang’s latest collection of sci-fi short stories called Exhalation. Get ready to feel a little smarter, a little more human, and cry a lot of happy tears. Undone begins at 12:30 Exhalation begins at 36:30 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

The classic Batman villain, Joker gets a stand-alone origin story in Todd Phillips's JOKER starring Joaquin Phoenix. We dissect and try to work through our mixed feelings on this dark, gritty money-maker. We also discuss Martin Scorsese's 1982 film The King of Comedy which was a huge inspiration for Joker. We also try to poison Gotham's water supply HA HA HA. Joker starts at 14:45 The King of Comedy starts at 1:01:50 Show notes can be found at happytearspod.com/episodes/010 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

Alabama Shakes front woman Brittany Howard's first solo record is a majestic, funky, introspective album that explores the many different sides of Brittany. Her powerhouse vocals, incredible songwriting, and strong instrumentals make this a must-listen. Speaking of musts, one of the must-watch films of the year, The Peanut Butter Falcon, is an uplifting, funny, and heartwarming Mark Twain-style adventure for an unlikely duo. Also featured in this episode, our first EVER on-air happy tears. Try to predict who's crying before you hit play. Jaime starts at 10:45. Peanut Butter Falcon starts at 43:45. Show notes at happytearspod.com/episodes/009 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

The 'Space' episode! We discuss the James Gray film Ad Astra, starring Brad Pitt. This movie a sprawling space odyssey about a man searching for his father in the vast reaches of space as he wrestles with solitude, family connection, the mysteries of life, and the limits of the human spirit. We also cover the comic book series Descender, written by Jeff Lemire, illustrated by Dustin Nguyen, and published by Image Comics. This space adventure follows a young boy robot traveling the galaxy to find his long, lost, human brother as the rest of the galaxy attempts to capture him. Show notes at happytearspod.com/episodes/008 Ad Astra starts at 14:24. Descender starts at 44:30 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

Looking for music that has incredible vocals, insane horns, and complex layering and production? You've found it! On this episode, we review two VERY different albums that include all of those elements. First, Atlanta-based hip hop duo, EARTHGANG, gives us Mirrorland which takes you through a fantastic, dark, and weird carnival of southern rap. Then, Little Ghost by Moonchild chills us out with smooth, funky, neo-soul vibes. Expect an abundance of stank face from both great albums. Mirrorland starts at 22:00. Little Ghost starts at 36:05. More info at happytearspod.com/episodes/007 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

Lulu Wang's film The Farewell is a true story that follows a young woman caught between her Chinese heritage and her American upbringing when her family chooses not to tell their matriarch that she has cancer. There There by Tommy Orange is an exploration of the modern urban Native American experience. Both are fascinating stories about identity, culture, love, and pain. The Farewell starts at 16:25. There There starts at 43:16. More info at happytearspod.com/episodes/006 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

Can one of our most beloved directors adeptly adapt a New York Times Best Selling comedy novel about an agoraphobic architect? We discuss Maria Semple's Where’d You Go, Bernadette along with Richard Linklater's film adaptation of the novel. There is one thing for certain: tears will be shed. More info at happytearspod.com/episodes/005 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

Superheroes! They’re a thing right now. We start with the grim, gritty, irreverent world of The Boys (Amazon Prime) where the world of Superheroes is corrupted by absolute power and corporate greed. Then we rewind to the golden age of comic books and explore the excitement and wonder of Michael Chabon’s fictional novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. More info at happytearspod.com/episodes/004 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

A Quentin Tarantino double-header! (Double feature?) Tarantino’s latest film Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood is a send-up to old Hollywood complete with celebrities, hippies, and a very well-trained dog. As one of QT’s most grounded films, its a great pairing with Jackie Brown (1997). The guys fill in a major QT blindspot with this great heist thriller starring Pam Grier and Samuel L. Jackson. More resources and info on this episode can be found here. More info and resources on this episodes can be found at happytearspod.com/episodes/003 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

Thom Yorke’s abstract dystopian dance short film and album “ANIMA” and Childish Gambino’s island fairy tale short film “Guava Island” are prototypes of the future of music videos. These films partnered with acclaimed directors and massive streaming services in different ways to add new dimension to their music. More resources and info on this episode can be found at happytearspod.com/episodes/002 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message

AKA “the one where Nick say ‘beautiful’ too much.” In this episode we discuss the album and short film from The National: “I Am Easy to Find” as well as Richard Linklater’s “Before Sunrise” film trilogy. Get ready for a reflection on time, humanity, and the nature of existence. More resources and info on this episode can be found at happytearspod.com/episodes/001 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happytears/message