Episodes
Ep. 231 | The Beatles "Help!" (1965 Film)
âHelp!â Itâs the second smash film, from the biggest band in the world, released when Beatlemania was still at its peak. Itâs filled with great - and in a few cases, top-tier - Beatles music. Its cast includes well known actors, and the director was an expert in maximizing the boys comedic, personable on-screen talents. It satirizes the burgeoning Bond franchise and, itâs in color! (Take that, Boxing Day 1967 UK airing of âMagical Mystery Tourâ)
And yet the question must be asked all these years later: is âHelp!â a classic? A great movie? Merely a good one? And in the grand scheme of Beatles excellence, whatâs wrong with that?
UBPâs Medved and Maltin (which oneâs which??) ask these questions, and also ponder:
â Is Poisonâs âEvery Rose Has Ken Thorneâ the most famous power ballad about the âHelp!â incidental music composer?
đż Are The Skitles Obertauernâs most famous skiing-themed band? No? Cool, go ahead and name a few more, since you seem to know so much about ski-bands from Obertauern. Weâll wait.
đŠ (Angry Chicago Guy): HOW COME MACCA DEEP CUT âZOO GANGâ DIDNâT GET NO LOVE AS THE THEME SONG TO ED ASNERâS SHORT LIVED 1987 NBC DRAMA, âTHE BRONX ZOOâ? AND HOW COME CBS DIDNâT GIVE MARTIN MULLâS âDOMESTIC LIFEâ MORE TIME TO GROW AN AUDIENCE BACK IN â85? AND HOW COME WOR SUPERSTATION OUT OF NEW YORK DONâT SHOW âDOMESTIC LIFEâ NO MORE LATE AT NIGHT AFTER MARTIN MULL DIED AND DIANE STILL AINâT HOME FROM BOWLING LEAGUE?
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Ep. 230 | All-Star Beatle Batting Orders
WHEW! What a Fest that was! This week, the gents are catching their breath. So join us in the bleachers with a cold one, as we revisit a summertime classic.
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Originally released August 13, 2022
Itâs obvious that The Beatles first love was music. But their fabbest love was for the American sport of baseball, with its electrifying foul balls, nail-biting bunts, and contemplative rain delays. And thatâs why this week, T.J. and Tony have each compiled a major league set of fab tunes to compete against one another in this All-Star Beatle Batting Order Midsommer Classic.
This Week in Untitled Beatles Baseball:
đ„ After a severe brow-beating from Cubs manager Lee Elia, is pinch drummer Jimmie Nicol getting sent down to the minors?
đź Did superstitious T.J.âs â8-Track Onlyâ fast cause him to make a crucial Sgt. Pepper fielding error?
đ Should Tony "Bullethead" Mendoza have gotten ejected for trying to doctor the âBungalow Billâ?
Plus another edition of Starâs Search!
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Ep. 229 | The Beatles Live at Essen (1966)
This week, Tony and T.J. step aside and hand their mics over to Eurotrash broadcast sensations GlĂŒcklich und Froh, recording LIVE from the Grugahalle in Essen, Mutter Deutschland. Listen along as they dig into the recently surfaced bootleg board recordings from the start of the Beatlesâ 1966 world tour.
Was it sloppy? Was it rock n roll? It sure was feelinâ dank.
While theyâre at it, the Zwei Zornzwerge wander off the autobahn and wonder:
đ„ Which Peter would you take in a fist fight: Brady or Gordon?
đ„ Which âGot To Get You Into My Lifeâ would you take in a fist fight: Cliff Bennett and the Rabble Rousers, or Blood, Sweat & Tears?
đ„ [Angry drunk Chicago guy] How come EMI still ainât released the bootleg board recordings from the St. Peterâs Wooltonâs Parish Church fete?
DANKE SCHĂN. UND MACH SCHAU BABY. But please vonât vhistle.
EPISODE LINKS
Catch us at the Fest for Beatles Fans August 10 at 2:30 p.m.!
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Ep. 228 | A Beatlefest Preview With Skylar Moody
The 2025 Chicago Fest for Beatles Fans is coming up...like a flower...next Friday, in beautiful, mobbed up Rosemont, IL. To preview the merriment and madness (#ourhouse), the UBP welcomes #1 Beatle Stan, Fab/Gear social media influencer, and friend of the program, Skylar Moody!
Plus, Producer Casey drops by to help preview the 3rd Annual UBP F**k It We'll Do It Live Taping at The Fest! And as piano hero and fascism fighter Ben Folds says, "but wait, there's more!", like...
âłïž At which legendary Rosemont dining establishment are the UBP3 (#Cantaloop?) more likely to dine during a union-mandated Fest dinner break: Giordanos, Caddyshack, or that Hyatt bar that used to rotate but no longer does unless you've made mistakes?
đ If you can't own a physical copy of "Beatles '64", does it even exist? Do you?
đ» Will the UBP's live Tribute to Terri Hemmert be the most memorable event in Chicago media history since Geraldo opened Al Capone's vault?
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Ep. 227 | Untitled Beatles Summer News Extravaganza
When did the news become so awful?
A: 2015.
That was more of a rhetorical question, but youâre 100% correct. It was 2015. So after 10 YEARS of doom-scrolling our collective souls (#shine) into a revolting, malodorous tarpit of human despair (access to misery included for a small monthly surcharge), how can the news be worth our time?
A: When itâs SUMMER BEATLE NEWS!!! Thatâs why this week T.J. and Tony catch up on a romantic hammock and muse freely on the latest from the Land of Fab. And as they sway to the calm breezes of the Beatleverse, it rocks them to sleep #FileUnderRock, conjuring delightful afternoon visionsâŠ
đïž Settling into his fireside armchair, T.J. enjoys an aperitif of Martini & Rossi while cracking into the 26-Volume Encyclopedia of Press To Play by Luca Perasi, with foreword by Danny Zuko from Grease.
đ At a White Hen Pantry, Tony tries a new slushie flavor: Lemon Twig, which elicits an acute case of brain freeze. Channeling Sexy Sadie, he recites a MANTRA OF THE COSMOS, and hovers above a display of various Ringo reissues from the 00s. In his trancelike state, Tony pitches/pesters the clerk about selling âTom Green-flavored condomsââŠfor GOATS!
đș Itâs last call at Ratcatcherâs Tavern. There, leaning on the edge of the bar like itâs his only friend (it is), the Angry Drunk Chicago guy launches into his latest Ted Talk:
HEY IF HEâS SO SMART HOW KUM DAT MEATHEAD ROB REINERSDORF WASNâT IN DA MOVIE ABOUT MEATBALLS?? (belch) YA KNOW... (fart) DOZ MURRAY BRUTHERSSS OWE ME BIG TIME. CUZ GHOSTBUTLERS WUZ MY IDEA...
And out of nowhere, a Vaudeville cane removes him from the frameâŠ
Scroll up for the Untitled Beatles Summer News Extravaganza!!!
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Ep. 226 | "Yesterday and Today" (1966) Side 2
Maybe, just maybe, "Yesterday"...And Today, was a modern-day Robin Hood (Men In Tights). Sure it stole from the rich, in this case, the U.K. "Revolver". But it also gave to the poor, in this case, American Baby Boomers, whose dreams would eventually be crushed under the weight of their own selfish interests from a life unfulfilled.
Anyhoo! The Gab 2 dissect this essential Capitol album, and butcher both facts and myths as they discuss it and more, like:
đ If you're a Sanford, and your son isn't in trash, are you super pissed?
đ« When did Tony become such an expert on pricey London Town neighborhoods?
đ Will the deluxe reissue of Dark Horse include the rare demo of George's quite personal raga, "Goiter In His Gut"?
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Ep. 225 | "Yesterday and Today" (1966) Side 1
Bill Miller isnât just Texasâ fastest growing BBQ joint this side of that one suburban Manila Kenny Rogers Roasters. No, sir/maâam! Once upon a time, Bill Miller traded in his Texas, wet-rub BBQ stained hands to prepare something better and more culturally significant than chickân: a U.S. Beatles album!
Longtime Capitol butcher Dave Dexter was (allegedly) too busy running Nixonâs campaign to assemble a Beatles album comprised of songs left-over from the British albums âHelpâ, âRubber Soulâ, and ripped from the not yet released âRevolverâ. So that job fell to Bill Miller, the fast-growing Texas BBQ joint. HEARD OF IT, LIB? #Freedumb
And in the process, the infamous - yet famously fun-to-spin - final U.S. capitol album of ânewâ material was released: YesterdayâŠAnd Today. (a.k.a. âYesterday...And Todayâ for you cassette freaks! We see you! We are you!)
This week, Tony & T.J. begin a deep dish of this classic, million selling Beatles album, which was unavailable and out of print from 1992-2014. Along the way, they ask the questions that only two guys with this much weirdo time on their hands would ask, like:
đ (Angry Drunk Chicago Friend - heâs mad because none of youz bought a new shirt with his mug on it yet, theyâre available on Tee Public or the UBP website you jagbags): How come Disneyâs too woke to let me learn how to make an AI of Minnie Mouse singing âA Wank Is A Wink Your Fart Makesâ?
đ Whereâs Herb? And whereâs Herbâs beef?
đ» Do Redneck White Sox fans drink (Pabst) Blue Ribbon beer before they beat the daylights out of a defenseless, elderly first base coach?
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Ep. 224 | "Backbeat" Soundtrack (1994)
âNevermindâ. âTen Summoners Talesâ. âThe Backbeat Soundtrackâ. Sensing a theme here, fellow alt-rocker?
Perhaps more than any other record not named âThe River Of Dreams", these three albums are at the very heart of the alt rock/grunge/post-chillwave scene. Going to Metro in 1994? Better bring your cassingle of âFields Of Barleyâ. Because at Metro, they donât take American Express.
And yet, of all the great grunge albums, none is grungier than the motion picture soundtrack of âBackbeatâ.
Was (not was) that a little too much? Cut me some slack! The Backbeat Soundtrack really does have some of the early 90âs most notable alt rockers, tearing through a selection of early rock standards that the pilled-up, live Beatles once adored. This week, Tony & T.J. travel back to a time when the world was still mourning the painful assassination of âCheersâ, and ask about Backbeat:
Does the soundtrack hold up? Did it ever? Did Wilson Phillips hold on for one more day? Is our angry Chicago friend still upset that they closed the Phillips gas station on Wilson in 1982? AND HOW COME CHANNEL 9 STOPPED RUNNING âPHYLLISâ IN STRIP SYNDICATION ON WEEKDAY AFTERNOONS, IS CLORIS LEACHMANâS TONED ARMS TOO WOKE FOR SKILLING? And is one full-length paragraph of questions the new format going forward for these blurbs? I mean, does anyone even read these? If so, stay tuned all holiday weekend to Appletonâs Home For F**K Rock, WFUK, 96.69 FM. Kathy and Judy will return, in oil, after these words from the Sheboygan County Correctional Center and Drive Thru.
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Ep. 223 | âBackbeatâ Film (1994)
1994 proved to be one of the most fertile years for Beatles-inspired filmmaking. The titles of cinematic classics either directly about The Beatles (âThe Secret Of Roan Inishâ, âBlue Chipsâ) or clearly inspired by their music (âSki School 2â, âWesley Snipesâ Sugar Hillâ) were â94âs dominant cultural and commercial hits. (Yeah, go ahead and f off, âThe Air Up Thereâ.)
Perhaps the most notable fab film from that year was âBackbeatâ, which focused primarily on Stuart Stucliffeâs brief but incredibly/debatably important tenure as a Beatle. What does the film get right? What does it get terribly, offensively wrong? How do Beatles (and cinema, damn it) EXPERTS Tony & T.J. feel the film holds up on itsâ 31st anniversary? (Forgot about that milestone, huh, Calderstone/Polydor??) The Gab Two deep dish âBackbeatâ, and more, including:
đ€ Before he became a brilliant artist and bassist, was Klaus Voormann an eminently punchable German street urchin?
đ» (Angry Chicago guy:) How come the fellas who wrote the musical âHairâ didnât make no song about R.E.M. bass player Mike Mills? And how come The Lemonheads didnât fix that when they had the chance? And how come the White Sox ainât got no more dollar beer nights, why donât Steve Dahl do something?
đ Would there even be a Hooters without âBackbeat?â And does that make The Beatles technically responsible for Hooters? Or vice versa? Like, could there even BE a Beatles without Hooters, man? Why are you so afraid to consider all opinions?
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Ep. 222 | An Untitled Tribute to Brian Wilson
One of the darkest days for the UBP was in May 1990, when Vic Tayback, a.k.a. Mel on CBSâ âAliceâ, left this earth; and perhaps others. Despite taking place literal decades before the UBP began, Mr. Taybackâs death caused a deep level of pain that has us forever kissing our own grits.
Flash forward to June, 2025. Another entertainment hero is gone - one arguably bigger than Mr. Tayback - who helped define American music in the 1960âs, and inspired Paul McCartney and The Beatles to reach arguably their greatest artistic heights.* (*Does not include âNow And Thenâ.)
Indeed, the incredibly sad passing of Brian Wilson was felt deeply by the Gab Two; longtime Beach Boys fans who, in this episode, pay tribute to one of Maccaâs undying inspirations. Along the way, they also ask:
đ F'k Mike Love, yeah?
đž Is it ironic that âKokomoâ tends to be the #1 Brian Wilson-penned song for people who openly voted for/support fascism?
đââïž Did T.J. actually mean to refer to the milquetoast Beach Boys cover of âCalifornia Dreaminâ from the 1986 compilation âMade In U.S.A.â when he mentioned âRock & Roll Musicâ?
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