Coolest Alive

In this raw, unfiltered three-hour-plus marathon straight from the heart—no script, no safety net, no second takes—Joe goes all-in on why he’s obsessed with the idea of a real monoculture, the shared cultural air we all used to breathe together that’s been deliberately shattered over the last decade, and how this show (with its 1.3 million warriors) is quietly becoming the seed of a brand-new one: a tribe that laughs at the same jokes, sees through the same lies, and marches toward the same horizon. Part love letter to the audience that’s turned his wildest dreams into inevitability, part victory lap now that every door in entertainment is swinging open, and part unapologetic blueprint of what’s coming next—from bigger stages and bolder projects all the way to the insane endgame of a full-blown amusement park—this special Thanksgiving episode is pure gratitude, zero brakes, and a promise that the best chapters are still ahead because you, the listeners, made the old rules irrelevant.

The iconic gold five-screw cart, the second quest secret, the save battery revolution – why the original Zelda NES release is still the most legendary cartridge Nintendo ever made, almost 40 years LATER!

Greg McLean’s sun-baked Aussie nightmare pits tourists against a monstrous saltwater croc in the outback – practical guts, smart CGI restraint, and tension that never lets up thank you to a killer script & direction from the same man!

Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver’s brutal 2001 graphic novel that built the metahuman Alcatraz, birthed Murmur, Double-Down & others, and dragged Wally West’s world into the dark for good & for BETTER!

Disney’s arcade-hopping love letter to 8-bit and 16-bit glory – packed with real cameos, zero condescension, and what we think must be the best depiction of what it actually feels like to live inside a game ever “rendered”.

 On the 22nd anniversary week of its release, we rip into Brody Dalle’s masterpiece “Coral Fang” – the divorce-fueled, major-label monster that turned The Distillers from cult heroes into legends!

This week on Coolest Alive, we’re celebrating one of the wildest, weirdest, most unexpectedly enduring franchises of the VHS era: CRITTERS! From the scrappy 1986 original that won over Siskel & Ebert, to the bonkers Easter-egg massacre of Critters 2, to Leonardo DiCaprio’s first film in Critters 3, to the deep-space madness of Critters 4, all the way through SyFy’s Critters Attack!, Shudder’s A New Binge, and the two fan-made shorts keeping the Krite flame alive — we’re covering the entire saga. Horror, comedy, sci-fi, practical effects wizardry, bounty hunters, ham-eating murderballs… It’s all here. If you love creature features, cult classics, or anything truly alive, this is one you DO NOT want to miss.

Listen, I caught Little Shop of Horrors on Broadway (many years ago now) but holy crap, it’s hands-down the greatest musical I’ve ever seen live, the way Howard Ashman’s lyrics and Alan Menken’s tunes explode with that doo-wop soul and razor-sharp wit, turning a cheesy B-movie into this wild, hilarious monster mash of temptation and chaos on stage. The puppetry for Audrey II is always straight-up ingenuity or genius, devouring the set with attitude, while the cast belts out “Suddenly Seymour” and “Feed Me” like they’re possessed, blending laughs, heart, and edge-of-your-seat spectacle that leaves you humming for days NO MATTER WHICH CAST PERFORMS IT! Catch a local production ASAP; it’s pure theatrical fire that demands to be experienced raw.

Bro, if you thought the Monty Python crew peaked with Holy Grail, you gotta hunt down Yellowbeard immediately, this batshit-insane 1983, Graham Chapman-led pirate comedy is basically the unsung fifth Python film, packed with legit Python royalty (Chapman starring, John Cleese, Eric Idle, plus Cheech & Chong, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, and even David Bowie in a cameo). Chapman plays the nastiest, drunkest, most treacherous pirate ever, staggering around looking for his buried treasure while everyone double-crosses everyone in the most unhinged way possible. It’s crude, ridiculous, quotable as hell (“I’m not yellow, I’m just bearded!”), and feels like Life of Brian crashed into a rum barrel. Total cult madness that deserves way more love, fire it up, and thank me when you’re crying laughing.

Yo, dive into Torso if you want a gut-punch of real American horror. Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyko’s graphic novel rips open the unsolved Cleveland Torso Murders of the ‘30s, where Eliot Ness swaps bootleggers for a headless-body-dumping psycho, chasing clues through foggy streets and corrupt shadows. Packed with actual crime scene photos, gritty black-and-white art, and that noir vibe that’ll have you flipping pages like a detective on edge, it’s not just a story, it’s a raw homage to Bendis’ hometown that snagged Eisner nods for good reason. If true crime comics get your blood pumping, this unsolved nightmare is mandatory.

Dude, if you’ve never seen Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, stop everything and fix that tonight. This 1993 theatrical gem is legit the best Batman movie, undisputed amongst fans, with that perfect ‘90s Animated Series vibe, jaw-dropping art deco animation, and a heartbreaking noir story that actually digs into Bruce Wayne’s soul like nothing else. You’ve got a mysterious masked killer bumping off mobsters, Bruce torn between vengeance and falling in love with Andrea Beaumont (the one instance where the love story lands in a Batman film), Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill at their absolute peak as Batman and Joker, and Shirley Walker’s score that’ll give you chills for days. It bombed in theaters because marketing sucked, but real ones know it’s a straight-up masterpiece, dark, romantic, tragic, and still unbeatable. One watch and you’ll never skip it again.

Man, if you’re craving that raw, unfiltered heavy metal fury from the ‘90s that hits like a sledgehammer to the soul, Widowmaker’s Stand By for Pain is your fix, Dee Snider dialing up the grit post-Twisted Sister with killer riffs, snarling vocals, and tracks like “Killing Time” that dive straight into the dark underbelly of the mind. Recorded in a blistering 30 days, it’s got that urgent edge of a band pouring everything out before the metal wave crashes, blending hardcore hooks with a ‘90s polish that still shreds today. Crank it loud and feel the adrenaline surge; this one’s a time capsule of pure rock rebellion you’ll blast on repeat.

Jesse Blaze Snider, lifelong Gremlins superfan, goes full mogwai-mad, dissecting the freshly announced “Gremlins 3”. From potential locations, resurrections, stars, practical vs. CGI, and wild pitches into the creative void, Jesse unpacks every delicious “what if” that could make this threequel the ultimate after-midnight monster mash that’ll leave you chanting “bright light!” in excitement.

Fortnite remains the ultimate family gaming phenomenon, dropping players into vibrant battle-royale chaos where building, shooting, and dancing collide in a colorful cartoon world. Whether squad-ing up across continents with cousins or dropping into creative mode to build dream forts together, this free-to-play juggernaut keeps everyone connected with constant updates, crossover events, and pure joyful mayhem that turns screen time into shared family memories, no matter the distance.

Richard Pryor and John Candy light up the screen in the 1985 comedy classic “Brewster’s Millions,” where Pryor’s minor-league pitcher must blow through $30 million in 30 days without owning anything to inherit $300 million. Directed with manic energy by Walter Hill, this coolest of ‘80s comedies delivers nonstop laughs, outrageous spending sprees, and the unbeatable chemistry of two legends turning a simple premise into a timeless riot of hilarity and heart.

Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee’s 2000 miniseries “The Sentry” (One of the Most Classic Character Introductions in Comic Book History!) The Sentry delivers one of the most classic character introductions in comic book history, unveiling Marvel’s forgotten golden god, a Superman-level hero with the darkest secret imaginable; through haunting prose, mind-bending twists, and Lee’s breathtaking painted artwork, this psychological powerhouse redefines what a superhero origin can be, leaving readers stunned by its revelation that the greatest threat was inside the hero all along.

On this episode of Coolest Alive, Brad Bird’s 1999 animated gem “The Iron Giant”. This film remains a coolest classic for its heartfelt Cold War-era story of a boy and his colossal robot friend; blending jaw-dropping animation, sharp humor, and a powerful anti-war message. This underrated masterpiece delivers unforgettable moments, like the Giant’s soaring flight and soul-stirring declaration “I am not a gun”, that hit harder than any superhero blockbuster and still melts hearts decades later.

On this episode of Coolest Alive our host Jesse Blaze Snider dives into the raw, unfiltered fury of Local H’s 2001 masterpiece “Here Comes the Zoo,” a blistering alternative rock classic that captures the duo at their most ferocious; Scott Lucas’ snarling vocals and crushing guitar riffs tear through tracks like “Hands on the Bible” and “Fifth Avenue Crazy,” delivering a middle-finger salute to post-grunge mediocrity and proving that two guys from Illinois could out-rock an entire scene with nothing but attitude, distortion, and unbreakable chemistry.

Deadpool is everywhere now, movies, memes, Marvel crossovers, video games, but most people don’t actually know where the real magic of the character came from. So today we’re throwing a full-blown chimichanga-powered celebration in honor of the true mastermind behind modern Deadpool: Joe Kelly, the writer who transformed Wade Wilson from a throwaway ’90s merc into the funniest, most tragic, most meta icon in comics. Plus, DP's evolution into film, animation, video games, and viral fan culture. The insane real-world story of how leaked test footage forced Hollywood to make the Deadpool movie. And yes, my own contribution to the mythos: Deadpool in “FUN With NINJAS!” from Marvel Comics Presents #10. If you love Deadpool, think you know Deadpool, or just want to celebrate a character who literally broke his way into pop culture by refusing to stay inside the box, this episode is maximum effort.

Jesse Blaze Snider closes the week on Coolest Alive, recommending Pikmin™ 3 Deluxe for Nintendo Switch. Command five flavors of adorable Pikmin, hurl them at 10-story apples, and race a 30-day juice clock to save a starving civilization; Nintendo’s cutest strategy game hides brutal stakes and OLED glory, perfect for anyone who wants to feel like a god in a garden.

Mel Gibson Wants His $70,000, And Your Soul. Host Jesse Blaze Snider recommends the 1999 revenge thriller Payback, with Mel Gibson as Porter, the double-crossed thief who claws back from the grave for one thing: his money; choose the lean theatrical cut or the bloodier Director’s Cut, either way, Brian Helgeland’s script turns a simple heist into a feral masterclass in cinematic payback.

On Coolest Alive, Jesse Blaze Snider recommends Joe Quesada’s brutal 2003 kinda fill-in run on Iron Man "The Man in the Iron Man", where Tony loses control of the suit to a love-sick & jealous AI that loves him so much he needs him dead. This is peak hubris horror and the raw blueprint for every MCU redemption arc. Please read it before the armor comes back to life!

Host Jesse Blaze Snider recommends Disney’s lo-fi 1973 gem Robin Hood, where a fox outlaw, a thumb-sucking lion prince, and a folk-ballad soundtrack turn recycled animation into pure comfort gold; grab your bow, sing “Oo-De-Lally,” and rediscover the only Disney classic that robs the rich with a country twang and zero budget shame.

Join host Jesse Blaze Snider on Coolest Alive as he recommends the unfiltered 1995 funk-metal riot Lemonade & Brownies, the Sugar Ray album that slams Red Hot Chili Peppers riffs into Beastie Boys scratches and pure SoCal skate-punk chaos; forget the pop hits, this is the fearless, weird debut that demands you crank “Mean Machine” and live in the alternate timeline where they never sold out.

13 films that crawled under my skin and nested in my marrow, from the childhood basement VHS that taught me monsters are real to the midnight theater scream that still echoes in my ribcage; each pick is a scar, a shiver, a story of how a single frame can haunt you longer than any ghost, ranked by the nights I couldn’t sleep and the shadows I still check twice.