Really? no, Really? with Jason Alexander & Peter Tilden

You know you've made it in the music industry when "Weird Al" Yankovic requests to parody your song. "Weird Al" has spent more than four decades turning hit songs into time capsules that often outlive the originals. In a career that includes Grammy Awards, Platinum records, best-selling tours and the number one album decades. On this episode of the Really? no Really? Podcast, Jason and Peter sit down with Al and discuss his journey being a shy kid on the accordion to being the king of parody music. "Weird Al" has an extensive library of parodies that not only spans genres and decades, it's also a reflection on music history and culture ranging from Madonna to Michael Jackson to Nirvana to Coolio just to name a few. But not everyone has been on board for the "Weird Al" bump. Jimmy Page is a fan of Al's but wasn't crazy about a Led Zepplin polka. Al, Jason and Peter delve more into this. We'll also discuss how Al's career has taken some pretty wild and amazing turns from selling out venues like Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden to writing his own parody biopic and casting Daniel Radcliffe playing himself.
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Eighty-seven million households in the United States own pets. Over $147 billion in spending for the pet food industry and related services, such as grooming. But we bet of the 87 million pet owning households, nobody feels confident that they're feeding their pet the right food. On this episode of Really? no Really? Jason and Peter speak with Bonnie Wertheim, Cultural Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal and author of the article, "My Accidental Journey into the Wide Wild World of Pet Wellness." Bonnie will answer our big questions such as whether we are feeding our pets the right food?
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Alcohol consumption globally has hit it's lowest rate since the 1930s. This has resulted in $830 billion of liquor stocks being wiped off. Multiple US distilleries have filed for bankruptcy. There's supposedly a lake of 220 million gallons of alcohol somewhere that can't be sold. Wineries all over the world are backed up resulting in wine revenue down over $1 billion last year. So who's to blame for this? Millennials and boomers? On this episode of Really? no Really?, Jason and Peter sit down with with celebrated author, Doug Melville, who recently was a former board executive of luxury group in Switzerland. He'll break down down the complexity behind the the liquor industry's decline.

It's easy to blame younger generations like Gen Z for the current situation because the liquor industry relies on younger drinkers. It's true the younger generation is more focused on living healthier lifestyles and are preferring liquor that has fewer calories and less likely to give them a hangover. However, Doug addresses that current state of drinking isn't just a generational issues. It's also a political issue with Republicans have a double digit drop in alcohol consumption whereas Democrats have had a two percent decrease in alcohol consumption over the past few years. Doug also explains how it's a class issue as well.

You may have seen Doug interviewed by Charlamagne Tha God on The Daily Show regarding his best-selling book, Invisible Generals, The Quest To Honor America’s First Black Generals. We'll also delve more into that discussions. He's partnering his book with his favorite types of bourbon.
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You have to appreciate the guys who are getting hit for the love of the game, not for the money. And you know what's funny about it? It's just taking one. On this episode of the Really? no Really? Podcast, Jason and Peter learn more about the psychological and biological rational behind UFC Founder, Dana White's latest phenomenon, Power Slap.

Writer and Essayist, Ander Monson, wrote about how Power Slap originated in Oklahoma City from two guys who worked at a Dollar Store and started Power Slap as a form of camaraderie and create a sense of community in a time of heightened isolation. We'll delve into how there's a deeper resonance than what the title is.

What attracted Ander to this story was this kind of weird brotherhood that's not necessarily trying to hurt the other guy like you were just trying to win. Afterwards you still are in the same world. You're still in the same town, you're still in the same text chain.
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Director Barry Sonnenfeld joins Jason Alexander and Peter Tilden on this episode of the Really? no Really? Podcast with more true stories from his career as both a Hollywood director and cinematographer.

Peter discovered a TED Talk that Barry did called How to Get People to Do What You Want, that was fascinating, funny and very informative. Barry also has a new book out called, Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time: True Stories from a Career in Hollywood, that's filled with fascinating stories spanning his whole career in Hollywood. From starting off as a cinematographer for the Coen Brothers to directing blockbuster movies like Men In Black, The Addams Family and Get Shorty. Barry will share some pretty entertaining stories.

Some of our favorite stories include a scene from Get Shorty that needed to be cut for budget purposes but was also the head of MGM's favorite scene. Plus, you'll want to hear about his story working with Tommy Lee Jones and Rip Torn on Men In Black. They truly hated he each other.
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