International Internet Strangers: Recent Episodes
Goathead Enterprises
Damon & Xen have been friends over 20 years, but they've never met. Each week they discuss mixtapes they've made for each other, and cultural differences growing up in the US and UK
We're back, baby! Damon and Xen both spend too much money shipping local treats to each other, but nobody's disappointed in the results. Fun note: Damon brings up Sierra Mist in this episode, and by the time it was edited and ready to post Pepsi had retooled their lemon-lime offering as Starry, a bizarre name and a "just fine" lemon-lime soda.
Damon dips into his bag of interview questions, Xen coins the phrase "nothy," and a little cameo by a tiny guest
We catch up with our beloved hosts' reading over that last few months, Xen uses the resources around them, and Damon continues to make only himself giggle with the Fake Patreon bit
What are Tom Hanks' best 4 movies? Xen and Damon discuss! This episode's thumbnail is an AI generated image based on the prompt "Tom Hanks' greatest movie"... We don't know why there's a goose or why Tom has 6 fingers on his right hand. Ask the robots.
Xen and Damon discuss the 29 year old X Files pilot and try to figure out whether either of them actually understood the plot...
Damon & Xen finish off Phase 2 of the mixtapes, wrapping up 2003's A Prize For the First Runner-Up. They discuss Björk's exponential creative output, Damon's last remaining Mel Gibson movie, and the geography of East Anglia
Damon & Xen declare the show's official Favourite NIN Album, but reveal that it also contains the show's official Most Disappointing NIN Track, exchange NIN urban legends, and have a brief interruption
One of our hosts (and we will never tell which!) checks in and lets you know we still love you all
Heavy vibes of the early 00s continue as our intrepid hosts reflect on dinosaurs in popular media, tie Trent Reznor to the world of country music, and marvel and the combination of rap music and nu metal.
Songs covered are:
"Off He Goes" - Pearl Jam
"Manta Ray" - Pixies
"Pin" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
"In a Young Man's Mind" - the Mooney Suzuki
"Shook Ones pt II" - Everlast & Mobb Deep
"Still Not a Playa" - Incubus & Big Pun
As Damon & Xen dive back into 2002's A Prize For the First Runner-Up, they explore details of the Mars Volta Extended Universe, albums you got from your crush, and the dumber aspects of linguistic and vexilogical jingoism.
Songs discussed are: "More Than This" - Soulwax
"Amsterdam" - Coldplay
"There Goes the Fear" - Doves
"Concertina" - The Mars Volta
"Tourniquet" - Headswim
Damon is out in the desert and doesn't have access to his soundboard, so he & Xen take up a casual chat about horror master Stephen King. They discuss their King origins, current reads, and favourite adaptations
An episode that was supposed to be a filler so that the feed wasn't dormant end up publishing four weeks later because Damon got called away to the desert for work.
Damon & Xen discover Prince's most cursed album title, discuss stalker songs, and probably damn something with faint praise.
Songs discussed:
"Talk Show Host" - Radiohead
"#1 Crush" - Garbage
Damon & Xen bring revive 5 Songs, this time to celebrate Prince.
Songs are:
"I Wanna Be Your Lover" from Prince (1979)
"When You Were Mine" from Dirty Mind (1980)
"P. Control" from The Gold Experience (1995)
"My Name is Prince" from [Love Symbol] (1992)
"Partyman" from Batman (1989)
"Trust" from Batman (1989)
"Cream" from Diamonds and Pearls (1991)
"3121" from 3121 (2006)
"Thieves in the Temple" from Graffiti Bridge (1990)
"Kiss" from Parade (1986)
Damon & Xen discuss how many tube stops between Charing Cross and Greenwich, avoid discussion of the First Wave of Mormon Cinema, and Damon withholds an impression.
No playlist for this episode, we're talking about movies
Damon and Xen dabble in regional accents, the many projects of the DeLeo brothers, and finally wrap up Damon's first mix
Songs this episode:
"Lady Picture Show" - Stone Temple Pilots
"Walls (Circus)" - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
"Farewell and Goodnight" - The Smashing Pumpkins
Damon & Xen discuss backward bandnames, horror movie box art, and parody t-shirts. Full playlist here
Songs covered: "Hey Jealousy" - Gin Blossoms
"Round Here" - Counting Crows
"Heart Shaped Box" - Nirvana
"Wonderwall" - Oasis
"The Sweetness (Demo Version)" - Jimmy Eat World
Lucky episode 13 coming out on 311 Day (North America), what a blessing. Damon & Xen discuss the Clash's most London-y song, Utah liquor laws, and the mystery of Rivers Cuomo.
Songs discussed are: "Simple Pages" by Weezer
"Long Day" by Matchbox 20
"My Name is Mud" by Primus
"No Peace" by King Prawn
"(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" by 311
Full playlist for 154 Minutes can be found on Spotify and YouTube
Damon & Xen kick off the second part of Damon's first contribution. They discuss an accidental quarantine anthem, herding drunks around London, and how Damon was accidentally thoughtful and mature. Songs are:
Jellybelly - Smashing Pumpkins
Pass It Along - Chumbawamba
Shameless (live) - Ani DiFranco
Creep - Radiohead
Teenager - Deftones
History of a Boring Town - Less Than Jake
When I Fall (live) - Barenaked Ladies
Damon & Xen ask each other about things in their respective countries. Damon kinda forces a boring civics lesson, they talk about the naming history of a certain wrestling promotion, and discuss people in the national news
Damon & Xen wrap up the first disc of Damon's first mix. They finally discuss Chumbawamba at an appropriate moment, un-follow-upable singles, and Xen declares their favourite track on the disc.
Songs covered: "The Man who Sold The World" - Nirvana
"I Will Survive" - CAKE
"Hungry Like the Wolf" - Reel Big Fish
"Kiss Off" (live) - Violent Femmes
"Healthy Body" - Operation Ivy
"All You Need" - Sublime
"Maxwell Murder" - Rancid
"G.S.F." - MxPx
"Comedown" - Bush
"Wish You Were Here" - Wyclef Jean
"Scapegoat" - Chumbawamba
Full Playlist on YouTube and our best approximation on Spotify
Damon & Xen tackle the middle bit of Damon's first mixtape in their exchange. They refrain from talking too long about Chumbawamba and damn Dave Grohl with faint praise.
Damon & Xen take their first crack at Damon's first offering in the mixtape exchange: 154 Minutes Spent Pondering Issues Related to Nothing At All, a title vainly hoping to suggest Fiona Apple. You can find the whole playlist on YouTube or Spotify, though they only get through the first five songs:
"Mellon Collie and the Inifinite Sadness" - Smashing Pumpkins
"O Maria" - Beck
"Why Can't I Be You?" (Acoustic) - The Cure
"Dead Man Walking" (Live on Conan) - David Bowie
"Pool Shark" (Acoustic) - Sublime
Damon & Xen get together to celebrate the music of David Bowie and their experiences with it. There's trivia, and live bootlegs, and slightly inaccurate details. Rest assured, beautiful babies, that they looked up the correct details immediately, but if you need to let them know something, there's Facebook and Twitter and Email
Xen's Five Songs: https://t.co/4JjRUyxBPS
Damon's Five Songs: https://t.co/Xplhu9fxcM
Xen's Bowie Day playlist: https://t.co/fqBUWQVGiv
You may rightly assume from the title, and if you've been following our social media, that this horror movie discussion was supposed to go up on Christmas Day. There is exactly one person upset by the technical delays of this episode, and that's Damon. One must assume that all our delightful subscribers are simply elated at new content. Damon & Xen discuss their favourite movies in the subcategories of Slasher, Creature, Paranormal and Body Horror. It's an episode full to the brim with movie suggestions, we'd love to hear if you watched anything because of this episode
Damon & Xen take a moment to talk about Christmas movies that aren't Christmas movies, Mormon holiday traditions (or the lack thereof), and Wes Anderson. The corrections department would like to point out that Hugo Drax was the villain in Moonraker and the underwater Bond movie that Damon was thinking of was The Spy Who Loved Me.
Damon & Xen finish off the first mixtape and finally determine whether you can separate the art from the sins of the artist.
Damon & Xen return again to 2002 to tackle Indian cinema, the struggles of writing your second album, and the value of songs that mention places you know.
The playlists can be heard on YouTube and Spotify:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAhlm0wnLbEtQqLoMtx75aHdCz39gU3AN
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4JgC9TvHm5HvA4pWyDCJX7
Damon & Xen finish their introductory game session. There was going to be the rest of Xen's first mix, but that session was so robust it gets to stand on its own and this episode doesn't get a proper outro.
Damon & Xen see how well they know each other, and then dig into the first mix that Xen made for Damon.
Listen to the playlist on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAhlm0wnLbEtQqLoMtx75aHdCz39gU3AN
Or a close-enough version on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4JgC9TvHm5HvA4pWyDCJX7