iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

John Cullen @johncullen.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

We discuss this at length on the episode and might be at least somewhat true

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John Cullen @johncullen.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Spent the entire episode trying to figure out how this band got a record deal above the tens of thousands of bands in America who sound like this that play at your local bar every Friday

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John Cullen @johncullen.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I like Fireproof a lot. I think TWFM has some great songs but portended the decline where they started sounding like they were covering themselves. I know it's people's favourite National album but I've never been close to getting there with it. It's #4 though for sure

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Narrowest misses were: Modest Mouse - M&A (similar indie gateway band) Broken Social Scene - YFIIP (same) Wye Oak - Civilian (late-era indie gateway) Kanye - MBDTF (had a hip-hop phase that was 100% due to Kanye) A few other (scre/emo) albums that were huge to me (Thrice, Glassjaw, Circa Survive)

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Heard WATT first, also sure it's a way better album than FC even though I also very much like FC

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Yeah I heard Boxer before anything else but it wasn't too much longer after I went back and heard Alligator and decided it was better. I probably initially thought Boxer and Alligator were better than High Violet when it came out, but now I'm quite sure HV is better than Boxer too

I did it chronologically so it's also funny that "Asleep in the Back" is there before Dredg and Thursday because I spent almost all of 2001-2004 listening to that wave of emo/screamo and didn't hear AITB until 2004 but it was absolutely my "indie gateway" album

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Like I'm pretty sure Alligator - Boxer - High Violet is among the best 3-album runs by any band ever, however I'm also pretty sure Boxer is the weakest of the 3 but most people aren't ready for that conversation

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John Cullen @johncullen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Mostly thought about the "taste in genre" shifts that occurred in my life and the albums that were the cornerstones of those shifts. Boxer and Asleep in the Back aren't even my fave albums by those bands, Alanis was the gateway to both pop music and the female-fronted indie I'd later love, etc.

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They got JF out here posing like a Sunshine Girl and you know what? He’s pulling it off………

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Reposted by John Cullen

Blocked Party @blockedparty.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

BP Classic 13: Niki Mohrdar v. An Ex's New Girlfriend. Niki is back with a truly bizarre Block Tale and a lot of breakup chat. And puke chat. And Go Off Kings got suspended. www.patreon.com/blockedparty...

BP Classic 13: Niki Mohrdar v. An Ex's New Girlfriend | Blocked Party

Niki Mohrdar (comedian) returns to the show fresh off of a breakup from an 8-year relationship, and weirdly, her ex already has a new girlfr

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Obviously jokes aside this sucks and I don’t understand how a platform can just take away people’s right to a living when they aren’t doing anything nearly as wrong as literally thousands of other people

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Finally Twitch responded to the numerous angry emails I’ve sent in over the years

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Wife and I agreed that she is the Australian equivalent of Jessica Knappett

You’re about the 4th person to say this so I’m very excited. Wife and I are gonna start NZ next

I believe it. She was extremely funny

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I think it’s almost impossible to argue. You could have them in a different order but it’s a clear tier there for me

At least they had her spiritual comedy mother Anne Edmonds on

That's next on our list! Concetta maybe had the biggest swing for me of any contestant ever. First 2 episodes I was sure I hated her and wasn't getting the vibe at ALL and then by the end of the series I never wanted her to leave

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A few people have said similar, I don't necessarily mind when contestants are bad at tasks, but I never identified with the ways in which he was bad

Haven't watched NZ yet, that's next

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Season rankings: 1. Season 5 2. Season 3 3. Season 4 4. Season 2 5. Season 1

Blocked Party @blockedparty.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Back with more Taskmaster rankings. I have now watched the 5 existing seasons of Taskmaster Australia and am ready to rank its contestants. I feel like Australia has less GREAT contestants than its UK counterpart, but also less who are outright bad. And once again, I have made a perfect list.

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Stefan Hell 7: The Death of a Fast Food Reviewer w/ @kevinbartelt.bsky.social. Joey nearly dies and we dig into it all here. Could we have foreseen this? Will he eventually die in his car? And John gives an algo update www.patreon.com/blockedparty...

Stefan Hell 7: The Death of a Fast Food Reviewer w/ Chef Kevin | Blocked Party

Chef Kevin (podcaster/streamer) joins us for the first time for another edition of Stefan Hell, where Stefan decides what we cover for an ep

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John Cullen @johncullen.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

That’s true lifetime without question

John Cullen @johncullen.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

This Blue Jays team has found more ways to lose baseball games than maybe any other in history

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John Cullen @johncullen.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Any day Claire writes about Jeopardy! is a good day

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Claire McNear @clairemcnear.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I’ve spent the last bit talking to dozens of alumni of Alex Trebek’s favorite part of Jeopardy!: the Teen Tournament. Come journey into what happens when you put 15 very smart teenagers on national TV, from queasy contestants and dance parties to romance and trivia glory: slate.com/culture/2026...

Jeff Haylon (2012 quarterfinalist): My hands were shaking so badly that I had to rest them on the stand in front of me with the buzzer. I don’t believe this is allowed anymore, but it was that or have people concerned I was undergoing a medical emergency of some kind.

Eschliman (2012): I was sitting in the audience while everyone else was taping, and when it was my turn to tape, I had sweated through my dress shirt. They ushered me backstage, had me raise my arms, and used a blow-dryer to try to mitigate the pit stains.

Zielenski (1995): I was often dry heaving and sipping on water. The others must have thought I was nuts.

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John Cullen @johncullen.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Kids Week coming back is interesting, a bunch of kids who did it went public saying it basically traumatized them, which is why they stopped doing the tourney in the first place. Curious

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Well we say it on the pod but it’s gone 10x platinum so…you are definitely not alone haha

Pretty universally held opinion about them I think

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Trying to understand Bryan’s mind is a fool’s errand

I've considered it and I have rejected the premise. For the record, I don't think they are outright BAD and there's no denying their high-level jams/big singles are really good. But listening to an entire Sublime album is extremely not for me

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If you think Sublime is better than Korn I simply don't know what to tell you

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The POD Kast @thepodkast.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

For being a band that kinda sucks and made white boy reggae music, it's weird that guys who were into heavy music almost all sorta universally accepted Sublime as part of that world too. We dig into it all here

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Y'All Want a Single #137: "April 29, 1992 (Miami)" by Sublime. We cover the dorm room and poolside staple Sublime for the first time ever, and reckon with the fact that a lot of nu-metal guys really liked this band for some reason. www.patreon.com/thepodkast/p...

Y'All Want a Single #137: "April 29, 1992 (Miami)" by Sublime | The P.O.D. Kast

Thanks to Barksdale, we cover Sublime on the show for the first time, a band that is absolutely not nu-metal but a band that a lot of nu-met

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UncleofJamiroquai @jessefarrar.com · 09/09/2026

Whoa check this out. I read a weird little story for an audiobook podcast called Goblin Market from writer Nolan Sordyl. Listen to it now! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

podcasts.apple.com

Cloudlands ft. Jesse Farrar

Podcast Episode · Goblin Market · September 8 · 52m

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Blocked Party @blockedparty.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Blocked Bag 67: In a Cave w/ @mbalazo.bsky.social. Michael Balazo joins us to answer your questions about the status of a cave, the four humours, and our secret ingredients. $5 for 3 new episodes a month! www.patreon.com/blockedparty...

Blocked Bag 67: In a Cave w/ Michael Balazo | Blocked Party

Michael Balazo (comedian) returns to the show to answer YOUR questions about the four humours, being in a cave, the CBC show "Heartland", an

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John Cullen @johncullen.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

As a civilian, you and Ferg both have a finisher. Once a year, you can use that finisher on someone with no repercussion. It’s guaranteed to put any situation to bed—whoever you use it on is “finished”. Pick your finisher and tell me when and where in the last year you’d have used it

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John Cullen @johncullen.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Me during every Stefan Hell episode

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Hm I don’t think that would be possible

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I mean, I agree that she is a maniac but it's not in any of the ways she thinks she is

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For me, it's not even that it's Carrie Underwood covering it. Pop stars doing cheeky nu-metal covers and nu-metal bands doing cheeky pop covers has always existed. It's more that she's wearing Fred's hat like a costume and her Christian ass is censoring herself from all the swearing

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