Brain Soda Podcast - Episode 11 - They’re Autotuning Mushrooms Now Jerry!

Episode Date: April 15, 2023

On this week's episode we discuss the history of autotune, mushrooms, and Seinfeld! 

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the distinctly competitive Brain Soda Podcast. I am Kyle, here today with Brad, and with Frog, today we're going to be talking about mushrooms, about Seinfeld, but first, gentlemen, I'm going to tell you the story about an engineer. He's analyzing data to help oil companies find spots where they can drill for oil. Within an early 1996, he customizes a Macintosh computer and developed something that launched in September of 1997, and his name was Andy Hildebrand. Okay, so he was like a mechanical engineer then? Yeah, I would assume so. From what I saw, he was just labeled as an engineer who developed

this thing. So I don't know if he was just a software engineer, or what exactly his specifics were. He is a PhD holder, so he is a doctorate, right? All right. And what is this thing? It is auto-tune. Okay. So really quick, previously, music had things similar to auto-tune, as far as the way that it sounded and things like that. So we're going to talk about that first. There's a thing for vocal distortion known as a top box. And what that simply was was performing an instrument into like a rubber tube that was adjacent to a microphone and into your mouth, and then redirecting that into a microphone, right? It's really where all of these come from

sonically and conceptually. And then in the late, late 60s and early 70s, you have a guy named Robert Moog, and he developed a vocoder, which existed in various capacities for a while beforehand. But what he did was make a synthesized vocoder that like you hear in disco and funk and electronic music that was just kind of burgeoning at that point. In 1997, this becomes a software designed to be able to adjust pitch and correct vocals on the fly. And it revolutionized the music industry. So is that kind of like when digital music kind of started then? Like, because, you know, like hip hop and stuff, that's like, you know, almost was all done on mixers and things like that, correct? With synthesizers, four track recorders, things of that sort. No, definitely the electronic

consumer age, I think is one of the things that fueled hip hop to a large extent, like the prosumer culture within music at that time and the advent of technology coupled with it, right? But like, on the exact same side of it, me and Frog have talked about this before, like, you can make a good argument for some of the rap songs that are best just being simple snare drum bassline rap, right? Exactly. Yep. I love that type of stuff. When it's literally just the lyrics that that is the song, you know, yeah, the story. So one of the things that we're getting into when we talk about this is what predates that and what hip hop early, early hip hop spun out of is the disco scene, right? Like one of the most successful disco songs that time was a guy taking a synthesizer

and putting in, I believe, like Beethoven's fifth and like, you know, using the electronic symphony of that, the notations of that music, right? Like we were talking about in episode seven. So now with autotune, you have this virtually automated system of being able to correct pitches without multiple takes, without trying to clip in and out the audio that somebody has. And it just like apparently feeds in from the audio bank of previously recorded takes and files or what's going on ahead of or behind that particular clip and just adjusted accordingly. But it really did kind of revolutionize the way that people are able to play music at a performative stance because live it can be used as a part of a rig. It can adjust guitars and obviously someone singing live

may not hit the notes that they hit every single time that they did in the studio a year and a half before or whatever it is, right? So in that sense, it's really revolutionary just for that and that alone, right? So I have a I have a quick question. Yeah. Who was the best to ever use autotunes and who was the worst? That's really hard because there's so many people who have used it at this point now to varying degrees. Like that's that's one of the things that I find to be so interesting about this is you can literally use it so that way. I'm someone who uses autotune, but I only use it when I'm hitting this really, really high note and my voice will end up wavering. I do the same thing live and like other than that, I try to keep it as real as possible.

Or you can make it a part of your voice. So what was the first song used in autotune? So as far as the first song ever used for autotune, I don't know, but the song that made it break the first song that was really notable for autotune was shares believe in 1998. So like a year later, and this is already what they what the producers said they did was use it to the most aggressive level just in the the chorus though. Well, right. But the point is, is that that gave it this like robotic kind of eerie tone. And then from there out, it starts to branch out as more of an actual effect. In 2001, Radiohead used it to get this kind of like nasally kind of voice. So then you get into like 2005. And that's when you have epiphany, the first T-Pain record. And one of the things I

think is most important about that record is that he uses autotune to not only distort his voice, but amplify it and like harmonize as a backup and forefront vocal, I feel like, right? Like anybody can use an autotune effect and make it like work in a different way for their voice. That anybody can use it to make sure that their voice is always on key, right? That's part of its design nature. But then you have this guy that totally used the way that he's saying to manipulate this technology into like a whole different sphere. And now I feel like that's 90% of hip hop and R&B. Yeah. Well, and like, it's weird how he uses it because like, he's actually a really good singer though, you know, if you've ever heard him without autotune, like T-Pain is a really good singer. So

but all of his songs are autotuned. And I know back in the day, you know, we actually had this discussion was whether him or Kanye was the first to use it. And you're saying right that in hip hop, I guess, but he was using it before Kanye, then? Or so I when I remember hearing it for the first time as an effect and with that like kind of wavering pitch dynamic that's in it used for like emphasis and emotion, a lot of early Kanye stuff. It's on college dropout or late registration. And I think both of those albums, I'm pretty sure predate epiphany, if not, they're right in that ballpark timeframe. As far as as a hip hop artist, like who was the first to use it, I feel like you can argue Kanye, but first doesn't always mean best. And later on,

you can really see why Kanye leans on it as heavy as he does. And I feel like he does his own thing with it as well, where like, it's used for emphasis and emotion a little bit more. And like, another guy who was a big pioneer in it was Will. I am actually. Yeah, you say that. I guess they do use used auto tune line. So will I am actually has this quote that I feel like is is for anybody who has criticisms of auto tunes used within modern music, which may be very fair. The point is I want you to take into mind what will I am says here, because I do feel like it's a very important noteworthy positive thing. What auto tune allows is for people like myself and Kanye West, not to depend on the singer. Back in the 50s, the songwriter was rendered invisible. Now the songwriter is

there in the forefront. Will I am? Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Because like, you know, there is people that do just write songs, you know, and like, I always, I don't know, with with hip hop, though, particularly, I associate the songwriter with the person singing it. I don't really like others, you know, other genres, I don't really associate that with, but it seems for some reason hip hop just to me, I feel like if other genres use it, they use it to sound better versus I'm using I mean, maybe I could see metal bands. Well, I'm not even saying songwriters. I'm not talking about a songwriter. I'm not talking specifically songwriters. I'm not talking about an auto tune. But yeah, definitely, they do. Yeah, they use it to make them sound better

or make them their voices sound different. I didn't know that. That's what I was going to say. I was some sort of vocal distortion I could see being used, but like not on your screens. That's the other thing is like, if you're in my mind as a metal fan, even if I'm not that big and like black and death metal and stuff like that, where that is really emphasized and like there's different. Oh my God, it's too much. It literally is just too much for me. But anyway, I think one of the things is, is that if people were to find out this guy who's like on so many different articles as a top five screamer, put distortion on his stuff or used auto tune on his stuff, people would like, I feel like people would get kind of nasty and salty about it.

And like that doesn't even mean that it doesn't happen. Yeah, I'm sure. Like the problematic element with a lot of metal is that like in punk and hard rock and stuff like that is that like there's gatekeeping and elitism and stuff like that. So like, just because this band does heavy metal, it's not allowed to do things that literally any other major label band artist is allowed to do almost any artist that that's that's not doing metal. Like I don't think that's fair, but I think that would happen for sure. Yeah. And like I appreciate authenticity as well. But like at the exact same side of it, like I want something polished. I've never been all that big on like, yeah, this record that sounds like a tin can man, it's heavy. Check it out. There's some stuff I've

listened to that like, yeah, you can tell it was recorded in 1998 in a tiny little studio somewhere. But like 10 to 15 years later, that album comes out because it's an album that broke a band and they've remixed and mastered it. And it sounds a million times better. Land of God, I'm looking at you. Because like that second Land of God record remixed and remastered sounds absolutely different and a million times better. And that's how you think that has auto tune then? I don't think so. No, I think I think that's mixing and mastering. But I feel like I feel like the importance of what the look at this podcast as an example, the importance of what an audio engineer or editor or whatever it may be, working with someone's craft that lay laid out to bear can be just as

important as the craft laid to bear. Right? Now, like I know it's used a lot in hip hop. So you're not saying it's used much in metal. So is that really used really maybe it's used now in country because country is kind of like crazy. But like pop uses it. I'm trying to think like and think about how much pop country there is to like, I bet you Florida, Georgia line uses it. And that's the other thing is maybe maybe every other metal artist uses auto tune is just a well kept secret. I'm not at all saying it doesn't happen. Sure. I mean, like it's but like because auto tune can be like just even like just perfecting a little bit in an album, you know, like it's not necessarily like the sound keeping you on key. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, and here's the thing. So let's let's say every

album had to get marked what has auto tune on it and one doesn't just because it's a two on the auto tune scale versus a 20. Does that make it a better album? I don't believe so. No, I mean, well, it's all it's music. That's the thing. Like, I don't know. Right. As I've gotten older, I've realized like music is just like, it doesn't matter how you make it. It matters how it makes you feel. Really, you know, like, it doesn't matter if you're making it with like, you know, you know, an instrument or, you know, a computer or exactly like if it's a good song and it sounds good, that's really what matters, you know, that's I mean, honestly. So that for the most part is yeah, I mean, it's pretty much used in the music industry overall in general. And I think

you're almost hard pressed to find people who don't use it unless they explicitly try to make a note that they don't. And you know what I mean, I think it's really important. Now that we've kind of wrapped up auto tune, I want to know something about mushrooms. So Brad, why don't you help us out with that? All right, yeah. So I mean, like, I know mushrooms, obviously, people know what mushrooms are, you know, but I don't think a lot of people know what like mushrooms really are, you know, so like, when you guys think of mushrooms, what do you like classify them as, I guess, they're a super food, and you can use them because well, remember, remember how I was getting into the the fitness and stuff and I was buying all those supplements. So I bought them performance mushrooms,

there's the four types of mushroom, lion's mane's one of them. There's a C one, I can't think of what that's called. Yeah. Shakura. Oh, chanterelle. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I mean, for me, in most recent events, I've learned that mushrooms are very beneficial health wise. So I've kind of attacked them from that angle. Definitely. Yeah, they've been used for like millennia, you know, like thousands of years for medicinal uses and things like that. We'll get into that a little bit later. But you know, like the crazy thing is, is that when people talk about mushrooms, like, you know, or even when you think about them, you think about them as, you know, the food, you think of them as vegetables, you know, when really they're not, they're fungus, you

know, and they're actually more closely related to humans or well, animals than they are to plants. No, that's weird. It's pretty crazy. They actually branched off after plants had, you know, had branched off in the evolutionary tree where they started, you know, growing their chlorophyll and all that. They don't have that cell wall like plants do. They have more of an open cell or a plasma membrane like we do. However, they do have something that's different than mammals, and that's chitin. And chitin is kind of, chitin is what's in insect shells and stuff like that. It's that hard, like, kind of brittle substance. And if you've ever cooked mushrooms, frog, you're cooked, you know, you should know. Oh yeah, I, Morales, Portabella is, I mean, all of them. Okay.

Now, like, you can, do you have you noticed that you can just like cook them forever and they don't really like, they'll never get overcooked in a way. So the one thing, yeah, that is true. But the one thing too, like when you're making a, oh, it's wrapped in a mushroom breading. Oh, um, you know, with the beef and everything. Yeah. Yeah. Beef, uh, beef wellington. You actually have to dry them out and kind of essentially overcook them to get that crust. That's true. Yes. Yeah. And that's because they hold so much water. Yeah. You know, like they're full of water, right? Yeah. But like, that's the thing, what you can cook them until then, because the chitin, it's essentially, you'll just dry them out to that chitin, you know, like you can never really

overcook like, burn them, essentially, you know, I guess you can burn them. I can't say that. But it's kind of crazy. Like, that's what they're made of, you know, they're not made of, like, the things that animals or plants are made of. They're their own thing, you know, completely. So here's a million dollar question real quick. Shout out of a cannon. What came first? The mushroom or the human? I think mushrooms, well fungus at least. Well, definitely. I mean, if you're talking to humans, yeah. That's what I was going to say. I would, I would assume that while we were in Neanderthals, they were thinking like mushrooms around, right? They had to have been almost. Oh, yeah. Mushrooms were around, I think, like,

one of the first, one of the first things on earth. So is fungus bacteria? No, fungus is his own thing. Okay. And like, honestly, I could go on that today, but I only, I kind of focus on mushrooms themselves when we get asked. So what, I guess the reason why I ask is fungus bacteria is because I'm wondering like, if at least if it functions in the same way, yeah. Well, I mean, I guess I kind of understand what you're saying. Like, yes, they do, they do have cellular respiration. Like they do take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide, like, you know, like we do and bacteria and stuff. They're not like plants where like, you know, they, they don't have photosynthesis. But yeah, they kind of evolved through that,

but they grow at different conditions. Like that. Well, they grow on all sorts of different conditions, but you know, right, they are, they are different. Like, and especially mushrooms, like they're a lot different than bacteria, you know, like mushrooms, mushrooms are actually the fruiting body of, of the fungus, you know, like the actual, like the majority of the fungus is usually underground in what's called mycelium. It's, it's kind of like roots, but it's not. It's like a thread like structure, you know, but it's not, it doesn't, it's not like roots in the sense that it doesn't like pull nutrients up to transport it to the above ground, you know, because like they're only really above ground

when they're, when they're like trying to reproduce with, which is the mushrooms itself. Like, like you guys know a lot of the common, the common edible ones, you know, like the button mushroom is your, like the ones you see on like pizzas and stuff like that or whatnot. You got your portabellas, your shiitake, or like you said, frog, your morels, or, or like a lot of Asian countries use the Anoki mushrooms. So I have a, I have a coworker that's actually bringing me, she says she gets them all the time in her yard. Those big balloon types, she says they taste like chicken. Chicken to the woods or puff balls? I don't know. She said they're big old balls. And she's like, they grow up all over my front yard. She's like, you can have a bunch of them,

cook them up, they taste like chicken. I was like, really? Okay. But I mean, I'll be careful with that. Be careful though. Like, make sure you identify it because, well, I'll use my, what's it? What's that app? Picture this, right? Yeah, picture this. I'll use that. You know, Google lens works better, I think, but I mean, not to advertise on anything. Google like just click the camera button on your Google search bar. Yeah, no, I mean, just be careful though. Seriously, make sure you identify, like if you're going to eat a wild mushroom, make sure you know what you're eating, because some of them can look a lot alike. And they're actually poisonous, you know. But you know, some of them are actually good for you, you know, like there's like, like I said, let's say earlier, they've been

used for millennia for like things like respiratory infections, boosting the immune system, reducing inflammation and like, anti cancer, even benefits like have been shown using mushrooms. If that's all antioxidants taking care of carcinogens and stuff like that. Yeah, like, I mean, I think it's like the different chemicals and stuff within it. I didn't look too much into the different, like, anti cancer benefits. But like, you know, a frog was saying like, there's lots of different like lion's mane is very common to be used further that boosting the immune system and stuff like that. Nice. So what was what the mushrooms that's in that so it's, this is performance mushrooms and it's energy and cognition. That's its main focus. And it's shaga mushrooms, cordyceps,

lion's mane, and mataki. Okay. Those are the four that's in this mushroom supplement that I use. Okay. And you could put that right in your coffee. Really? You just like mix it right in? Honestly, you do notice a difference like when you drink the regular coffee versus drinking that you I feel like it enhances the coffee. Okay, like gives that added drive like doesn't just give you uppity, it gives you a little like the focus like it talks about, you know, you feel a little more defined. And there is like, because like, there's so many different chemicals of mushrooms, like, I mean, you know, there's even like the psychedelic variety and stuff like that, you know, it's pretty crazy. Like, I mean, there's, there's three main mushrooms that we eat,

essentially. And that's, that's like that ascomycota, the vasidiomycota, and the, well, we don't really eat this much, but we actually do eat it because it's in a lot of different things is the glomeromycota, which is the ones I was talking about a few episodes ago, about, I think on episode six with George Washington Carver, when we were talking about peanuts and everything. Yeah, though, the glomeromycota is they they're the beneficial fungus that that Okay, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So they're the ones that that form that symbiotic relationship with the plants. And they they provide nitrogen fixation and stuff like that. They're really important for the ecosystems and stuff like that. But we don't really eat them necessarily, you know, like

as mushrooms. The ones we do really eat mainly are the vasidiomycota, which is like, you know, has the button mushrooms and stuff like that. But the ascomycota are the things like morales and truffles and actually yeast too. The difference between those is that the ascomycota has like a sac shape reproductive structure, whereas the vasidiomycota has like more of like the gills and everything. And, yeah, they have like a club shaped reproductive structure under the gills where called the vasidia, and that's that produces the spores and they drop down, you know, and float away. Now, have you guys like, have you heard about like the, the biggest organisms in the world and stuff like that, like, or the oldest and things like that? Have you guys ever like done

any research about that? Or like, no, I know that like, it was the oak trees that can last like hundreds of years and stuff like that. Yeah, turtles can live up to like hundreds of years and stuff. I mean, there's stuff like that that I know. Cedar, is that it? Okay. Yeah, that's what I was thinking of. Yeah. Yeah, like some of them out west. Yeah, well, like, I know like the biggest organism, though, is this fungus, which is actually in America. It's an organ. And it's called the humongous fungus, but the armonia ostiae is the actual name of it. It's a type of honey fungus, and it's in this national forest, the Malheur national forest. And this thing, it's, it's like 3.4 square miles large, you know, like 8.9 square kilometers. Yeah, it's huge. Like,

so it's like a reef, but on land like that type of size. Essentially, well, I mean, it's underground, you know, like it's okay, like through DNA testing, they can, they can see like, you know, where it is, where it's killing the trees, unfortunately, because it's parasitic. But through that, they can tell that like, it's all the same, it's the same organism everywhere, you know. So, and this thing, like, they estimate it to be a way like 605 tons. So it's like, this just huge thing, and it's all one organism, you know, it's insane to think that it's, there's like, I don't think so, because like, if it's parasitic, yeah, I was like, no, no, right? Yeah, I mean, it feeds on living, it causes root rot, root rot entries and stuff like that.

And like, it only fruits in like, these little small clusters of mushrooms in the fall, and things like that. But I mean, it's in this one spot in Oregon, though, it's like three miles, four miles long. So I remember how I was doing terrariums. I actually want to do a couple mushroom terrariums here in the spring, once they start popping up. You really could, man. I think they're so pretty. Yeah, like oysters and stuff like that. Lions, man, you can grow your own mushrooms. You can buy kits. And I always thought told schools look cool, terrarium style. That would be cool. It'd be cool to have like a little layout in your yard of them and the big red capped ones. They're, they're pretty cool. They're pretty cool. And uh, Hogwarts legacy, when I make

potions out of them, are those the, how about how cool they are in Mario frog? Yeah. So those are the Amonita mascara. I don't really know like too much about them, but I do know that they like supposedly reindeer eat them and people used to drink the reindeer pee to like trip from it. Yeah. That's crazy. Yeah. But I think that like some people think that's how it's associated with, uh, you know, the red and white with, uh, Christmas and all that. Apparently, I don't know. Allegedly, I'm just saying. So just for clarification, the toadstool mushroom is used for the invisibility potion. Okay. Just, just to clarify. Cool. Yeah, I appreciate that. Anyways, so some, some mushrooms though, even can glow. Have you

guys seen these? Like I've heard of that iridescent ones or whatever. Not with a certain light or just in general, in general, like on their own. Yeah. They don't even need light. Yeah. It's not like a sheen coming off them. Yeah. Yeah. Well, um, well, it's a thing. It's a specific chemical. Is that what's similar to, uh, like fireflies? Yep. It's actually the same chemical. Okay. Really? Yeah. It's, it's a thing called luciferin and, uh, it's, it's found in like a lot of different things, you know, like down in, uh, underwater with fish and stuff like that. Oh, yeah. Angler fish or whatever. Yep. There's actually like, uh, there's like this place in Japan, I guess, where it's just like all over. It makes the whole forest glow at night.

It'd be insane to go go see that. I'd love to go see it. No, it'd be cool. Yeah. They're found all over the world, not just in Japan. You know, they're found in like even in North America and Europe and Asia and like they mostly, you know, uh, like I said, they go, they glow at night. They use this, this chemical called the chemical called luciferin and that reacts with oxygen and it makes an enzyme called luciferase that produces like, um, and that's what happens with fireflies and all that. So it's really cool. So like, is it, is it at the surface level of the mushroom? Like if I were to come up and like kind of grit it in my hands, would it like rub off and now my fingertips are going to be all iridescent? Yeah, I think so. Like if you smush it over your

hands, it does have fireflies. Yeah. Does it lay, uh, does it have like a film on the, the mushroom or is it like inside? It's all within it. I mean, not within it. It's throughout, you know, like it just produces it throughout. I think. Yeah. Right. I mean, do fireflies have control of what they're doing? Obviously the mushrooms don't have as much physical control, but I don't know. I don't know. I think they do. Yeah. Fireflies at least, I don't know, like consciously, it's a main thing. Exactly. Yep. Yeah. You can tell the different, um, species of fireflies based on the way they blink. Really? That's one. Yeah. Like their patterns and stuff. It's actually really cool. Yeah, it makes sense though. Yeah. But for now,

how about we hear about Seinfeld? Fraud? Seinfeld? Yeah. I love, I love Seinfeld. I could put on Seinfeld and a lot of times at night, I just, on Netflix, I'll just, I'll play Seinfeld to go to sleep too. It is a good background. Wake up, eat breakfast. Yeah, it's perfect. George's patheticness just makes me feel better about myself. Jason Alexander portrays the most beautiful, pathetic bald man I've ever seen in my entire life. He's, he's stubby dude too. He's like, especially when you put him against Lurch in Michael Richards and like an average height guy like Jerry Seinfeld, like he does. He just looks like a little peg like pirate. And he just, he's just constantly. Yeah, that's what he does. It is the perfect character. I did a thing and the little

thing, yeah, but yeah, always. I'm going to start smoking, Jerry. She'll break up with me, Jerry. So do you guys know how Seinfeld kind of began? I don't. Stand up comedy. Yeah, yeah. A well-known comic at that point, right? Him and his buddy were comics together. Larry David, which I know you're familiar with, Kyle. Okay. He did Curb Your Enthusiasm. Yeah, I'm familiar. He was on it. He was the writer for it, right? Yeah. And he was the director of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Yeah. Well, no, I'm talking about Seinfeld, like Larry David. Was he like the showrunner for it or? I believe he had a lot of, he had a lot of like writing credits on it. And then as far as a guest appearance, yeah, he's probably in there in some scenes and stuff like that, but like

it very, I can't remember. Yeah, I was going to say like, I can't remember him being like a Jackie Childs or I don't think he's the voice of Steinbrenner or anything like that. Like he's not a recurring character. Yeah. In Seinfeld. Brian Cranston had more parts than. But he didn't direct it either, though. He just, he just wrote it, right? Or? Well, he was a co-writer with Jerry. Okay, gotcha. Yeah. Yeah. Because Jerry used a lot of these, a lot of the, used the characters and situations based on real life situations. Of course, it was a show about nothing, but they, you know, he brought in a lot of his situations and made them. Can I just say that is, that is one of the most ingenious ways to market your show ever on the planet because like every sitcom is

then technically about nothing, Jerry. Like it, what it really is, is that it's situational comedy, the exact name of the thing. And it's like the premises in a family, it's a group of friends within New York City experiencing all these different facets of life, which could mean anything. That's all. That's all that it means. To be fair, that show will forever be known and considered the show about nothing. It's the, yeah, it's, that's the mission statement. I mean, but it's also like one of the biggest shows ever, though. To get started one night, 1988, Mr. Seinfeld, Mr. David, two comedian friends decided to pop into a Korean deli in New York for some snacks, came out with an idea and the idea was Seinfeld, which started, because Jerry

at the time was the more successful of the two comedians, of course. I mean, because nobody really knows Larry David outside of, you know, his film work, you know, is they know him in part with Jerry. They also know him from Kirby. And other than that, we don't, if you haven't seen him live, you probably don't really know who he is. At this point, I think, I think Seinfeld had probably lined up a number of late night appearances and maybe like some guest star spots on certain shows. But like, yeah, he's probably like a mid tier profile, stand up comedian, especially at the time that he would have broke. He kind of reminds me of like, what's that guy that used to go off with Joe? Doug Standhope.

Oh, Doug Standhope. Yeah. He makes bread now. I mean, people that know him know him, but people that people really don't know him. You know what I mean? Yeah. He's that second. He's a good comedian, though. No, but I mean, like he wasn't, he wasn't Sam Keneson. He wasn't Rodney Dangerfield. He wasn't George Carlin. He wasn't Richard Pryor. He wasn't like, he was not the headline would be like A-list actors, if not doing stand up of their time. Exactly. Those other guys were, you know what I mean? Like, was he a high profile New York comedian? Most likely. Was he like at the epicenter of about being the biggest star in television? Not necessarily until he comes up. So what made him the biggest star? Like, yeah,

like, why did Seinfeld become the biggest show ever? Or not ever, but you know, like, it's gotta be in the top five, I'm sure. My reference for Seinfeld for a lot of years was earlier episodes where he would start off doing stand up that like may or may not most likely not be directly related into the episode you're about to watch. And it would cap off, it would like end cap each other like that, right? The beginning and end opening, we're always these cold openings of Seinfeld doing stand up. It's actually the 33rd episode of Seinfeld. Okay. It aired on February 5, 1992, and the episode won the award for outstanding writing for a comedy series, which I think is when it which could be when it really started. I mean, when it got its notice,

you know what I mean? Is that season three, you said? Yeah, season three. Yeah, season three. Wow, really? Okay. I mean, to be fair, I feel like it always did well. It was 1989, 1990s when it started, which right was the year I was crafted and developed. I have a childhood love for Seinfeld. It's so weird, though, that like we were big into a show about a bunch of 30 somethings at eight years old. It was hilarious by the time. No, same, dude. You got to think on where I predominantly watch television at that time was Fox 66 between the Fox Kids Network stuff, and then the reruns of Seinfeld they would play. It made me watch Seinfeld when it aired on NBC until like 1998. I was like nine years old Max, you know what I mean? Why? I think what it is, honestly, Kyle, is that

Seinfeld kind of just shows you like human experiences. It doesn't give you an age, you know, like it could happen to anybody. Oh, yeah, absolutely. So it kind of just gives you like different human experiences so you can, that's how you can relate to it. The only human experience you can't get from Seinfeld is personally being around a constant frame rate. Or in a city, honestly, because like, you know, again, this takes place in New York City. Like we didn't live in a giant city your own up. Hustle and bustle. But it's still like it mostly took place inside of a diner and a house, you know, for the most part. This is something I didn't know until the other day when I was doing a little bit of research. And Kyle, you would appreciate this. And this is

something I don't have anything about. I couldn't tell you any of the references, even if I knew them. But Mr. Seinfeld is a very big Superman fan. And he has a reference to Superman in every episode, every single one. Yeah. And I didn't know that. There's one shelf in particular that like, and it's got Superman right on it. So every episode, there's that the very least Superman in a statue in an episode. So I think the best guest guest, the best guest star ever to be on Seinfeld was Judge Reinhold. He was the close talk. Oh my God. Yeah, I forgot. I forgot that's Judge Reinhold though. His face is priceless. Oh, I love Judge Reinhold. And you know what, dude, listen, I know this is going to be yeah. So like, I know it might be a little bit of a

cop out answer, but I kind of have two of them. One of them is, I think Brian Cranston's roles really were some of the best like Winnie Dates Elaine. And he's the dentist. Patrick Warburn's better. Yeah. And then what made it made Brian Cranston too. So whatever. But anyway, really? So yeah, I didn't know that. Yeah. No, I mean, it's what got him seen for Malcolm in the middle. Right. Yeah. Yeah. So see, I didn't watch Seinfeld enough to like know people, you know, like I did watch it a lot, but it was more like just he was just a bit role though. That's the like Brian Cranston's probably on like seven episodes max though of Seinfeld. For 30 seconds. The one guy I do remember that was a recurring character as the guy that was in Jurassic Park.

Newman, right? Yeah. Was he on before Jurassic Park? Yeah. Well, he had to be. Yeah, part was like what, 96, 97? No, Jurassic Park is like 1993, I think max. Oh, really? That I think I think max is 93 maybe 94. That would be season three of Seinfeld. That's what I'm saying. Like I don't remember Newman coming into play till like maybe later. Again, after they they took away the stand up stuff. And I want to say this the show even got shot better around that time. Yeah. But another thing you are right though, Kyle. 93. And another thing I'm always right. Anyway, I'm just kidding. But another thing is too is one of the things I loved about later on, I don't know when, but was when they brought in

Kramer's apartment as a secondary set. Because you're right, Brad, like for the most part, it was Jerry's apartment, whatever third shot they were going to need, like if they had to go out to a theater or a different restaurant or whatever. But then you had the diner that they always met at as well. Like, you know what I mean? Like you're really, you're really getting five scenes or five locations to shoot at every episode max. Best episode. Yeah. Best episode ever with Kramer's apartment is the Mark Griffin show. Yeah. I died of laughter that whole episode. Yeah, that is my favorite one. Is it is a streaming on anything? Wait, what? It's on Netflix? Also, the library is one of the better episodes when that librarian comes in and

uses his wisdom of words at Jerry. It's just what's the librarian episode. I'm forgetting that. So somebody borrows a book through Jerry's name or something. They didn't return. Yeah. I think I remember that. And the librarian comes to his house and he says a whole bunch of stuff that just, it's mind boggling and it's hilarious that he, and Jerry's, Jerry's Jerry, I mean, handles it with the utmost ease and great comebacks that he has. That and the soup Nazi episode. Soup Nazi is always a good episode. Oh, the soup Nazi is. I got a shift in the soup mode, Jerry. So let me ask you a question. And this is for both of you, because when we were talking about this off air, you guys both made a dispersion about Jerry Seinfeld, not necessarily being the

nice guy that he's kind of portrayed. Seinfeld ends with them all going to jail. Spoiler alert. But like, they're not necessarily portrayed as like the best of people, but Jerry Seinfeld, at least as a character, is supposed to be likable. And like, which he is, I feel like he's a national treasure. People like him a lot, but you guys make it sound sometimes like he's very difficult. And from I've seen the clip that you referenced earlier about Larry King and him kind of getting ornery with him about not really getting into why Seinfeld walked off the air and the fact that he did and being like, we're not, we weren't canceled. We were the highest rated show on TV, like freaking out. Is that a well known thing? By the way, I did look it up. They are the seven most seventh most

top grossing TV show of all time. So I mean, they are kind of high. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Go ahead. So aside from what you just said about the Larry King, go to YouTube, Google Jerry Seinfeld's most savage moments, and you'll just see a collection of times where he's like just ripping the people. Oh, it's like really snobbish. And yeah, see, that's yes. Okay. So at least from what I've heard is that like, he is really terrible towards his fans and stuff. If you're on his level, he's equal to you and he respects you. But if you're not, then who are you? Exactly. Like, I'm not saying that celebrities need to be like, Oh, you know, I'll sign us a sign autograph or take a picture whenever you want. You know, like, that's not what I'm getting at. We've had this

discussion before. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. But I don't think that like you need to be mean, you know, you just be like, not right now. Or I don't know. He just he like, if you're going to be a celebrity, part of being a celebrity is dealing with fans. Like that's part of the job. And unfortunately, like, but I understand everybody needs their personal personal space. But like, it can't be 24 seven if you're a celebrity, you know, like, I mean, Toby McGuire and Jonah Hill examples of that too, they, they get a little frustrated with, which I, I mean, you see me, you know what I mean? It too much is too much. Right. Yeah. I wouldn't want to be bombarded all the time either. But I'm not also not a movie star, you know, like that's the thing, you know,

I'm not getting paid millions of dollars to act. And I think sue to make people happy. Yes. I think another element of it is this, it's probably one thing if it were to just be whenever you had interactions with people, they were always like a mixed bag of like, Hey, I love your films. Thank you so much, whatever. Or they just like kind of give you a passing glance and a nod or something like that. It's another when you have people who just kind of like demand of you. And it's another thing when you have things like paparazzi. And I feel like once you get to a certain level of success, like, that's what it becomes. Right. Well, we're talking about like chasing just because they shook your hands. Well, that's like snapping pictures of you, like Britney Spears and stuff.

That's a different story. But like, from what I know, like he's mean to like just like the average everyday person trying to say, Hey, I like your work, you know, like that's not cool. Right. Yeah. Okay. So yeah, it's that bad. Then I don't think I don't think he would be he's not like mean, it would be like, Hey, I like your work. He'd be like, Yeah, well, I wrote it. You know, like just snobby, not but rude, which I do that kind of show. I'd be like, Jerry, I love you. Yeah, Jerry, I love you. Don't talk to me like this. Jerry, be rude to me all you want. I'm not going to stop liking your show. I'm going to go home. And watch it tonight. And sometimes, I mean, you yeah, you have to separate the art from the artist. Sometimes you really do. But you know,

I mean, it's just as a person like that's kind of bad, you know, on you. Yeah, exactly. Yep. We don't even need to talk about how much Kanye is a betrayal onto his fans, not even that but himself. Let's not get into Kanye. But one thing I will say is that if any of our fans come to try to meet us in public, I will gladly talk to them. I'm sure both of you guys will too. Make sure you guys let us know what you think on Facebook, TikTok, and don't be afraid to hit us up and, you know, let us know how you feel. Also, we'd love to hear from you guys. Definitely. We'd love some interaction. And with that, Kyle, you want to leave us out. And with that, ladies and gentlemen, we'd like to thank you for joining us here on Brain Soda

for Brad, for Frog. I'm Kyle and we will see you again here soon. See ya. Blame it. Got a shift into suit mode. Newman. Hey, everybody, it's Kyle here from the Brain Soda podcast, reminding you to find us on Facebook. Listen on Spotify, Google, Amazon, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. Brain Soda.