I want to be like Mike. I don't want to be like Buster Sales. I also don't want to include any of these love songs on my playlists.
Episode 182 celebrates Valentine's Day in a roundabout way.
It begins with a birthday celebration of the greatest basketball player ever, and pop culture icon, Michael Jordan. A dominant champion who changed the game of basketball. A hugely influential athlete in terms of his endorsement prowess. MJ was one of the world's most well-known faces in the 1980s and 1990s. We'll do a deep dive into his impact.
We used to make it a Blockbuster night all throughout the 1990s. It was not due to this wacky employee training video. This week we go back in the day to look, laugh, and cringe, at a weird Blockbuster Video training tape from 1990. It is led by perhaps the most obnoxious character ever, Buster Sales.
The Top 5 will share some of the worst love songs ever. These are probably not the ones you want on your Spotify playlist if you want a romantic evening. Muskrats, Meatloaf, and Bubblegum galore.
There is also a brand new This Week In History and Time Capsule centered around the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre.
For more great content become a subscriber on Patreon!
Helpful Links from this Episode
- Purchase My New Book Cape Cod Beyond the Beach!
- In My Footsteps: A Cape Cod Travel Guide(2nd Edition)
- Hooked By Kiwi - Etsy.com
- DJ Williams Music
- KeeKee's Cape Cod Kitchen
- Christopher Setterlund.com
- Cape Cod Living - Zazzle Store
- Subscribe on YouTube!
- Initial Impressions 2.0 Blog
- UPDATE: Bonnie Bickwit and Mitchel Weiser Case - Rolling Stone.com
- Webcam Weekly Wrapup Podcast
- Blockbuster Employee Training Video
Listen to Episode 181 here
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 03 (00:00):
Hello world, and welcome to the In My Footsteps
podcast.
I am Christopher Setterlund,coming to you from the vacation
destination known as Cape Cod,Massachusetts, and this is
episode 182.
It's Valentine's week.
We're going to share the loveon this podcast, the love of
(00:24):
nostalgia.
It's going to kick off with alook at the basketball legend,
the pop culture icon, the legendhimself, Michael Jordan, whose
birthday is this week.
We're going to go way, way backin the day and look at a
hilariously confusingblockbuster video employee
training video.
(00:44):
I guess there's no other wordto say it.
There'll be a brand of the InMy Footsteps podcast.
(01:13):
Ah yes, sharing the love.
It seems like I'm being alittle bit sarcastic.
Not totally, but yeah, probablya little bit.
Welcome into the show.
Thank you so much for tuning inwherever you are from, whatever
your opinion is of Valentine'sDay.
Thank you for tuning into thisshow.
(01:34):
Valentine's Day is two daysaway from when the show goes
live.
Me, I'm not officiallycelebrating Valentine's Day.
I am doing a little bit oftrying to share the love, I
guess.
I hope wherever you are,though, that the weather is
good.
Winter has finally gotten itsclaws into us on Cape Cod.
We've had several storms.
(01:56):
They're not huge storms, but afew enough in a row where snow
is now impacting daily life.
I've said it before on thispodcast that snow was more fun
when I was young.
Maybe I'd have to shovel thedriveway, but I didn't have much
else to worry about.
Days off from school.
Now it's like shovel thedriveway and still go to work.
(02:18):
Of course, I can't get thisshow started properly without
sharing the love with my Patreonsubscribers.
Lori, Mary Lou, Ashley, Kevin,Leo, Marguerite, Neglectoid,
Crystal.
Thank you all for showing thelove to me.
You have something special forValentine's Day coming in a
(02:41):
couple of days.
But don't feel left out if youare not a Patreon subscriber.
If you go to the free tier,there is something for you as
well on Valentine's Day.
I'm trying to make the freetier something that's got more
content to it so that it enticespeople to go and check out my
page.
As an update on my filmingcareer, this week I did find my
(03:05):
sponsor for my first scene whereI'm playing myself, the
podcast, or this guy you'relistening to.
But the first of my threescenes in the movie, I introduce
a sponsor of the podcast.
So I was looking for preferablya friend and a local friend
with a business that I couldpromote in this movie.
It isn't too late, though.
(03:26):
Any of you out there listeningthat are Cape Codders with Cape
Cod businesses, reach out to me,ChristopherSetterland at
gmail.com.
Because in my third scene, Idon't promote a product as a
sponsor, but I can have aproduct in the scene with me.
So product placement.
This is all for an indie horrorfilm that my friend Frank
(03:47):
Durant, the one who produced theLady of the Dunes documentary,
is filming next month in March.
For those of you that arelistening, like, what is he
talking about movie?
There'll be plenty of more newsas things come up.
Like, filming won't start for awhile.
So I'm just starting to getlittle bits of details.
And I wanted to share thejourney.
Because maybe this is my onlyfilm role ever.
(04:09):
Maybe not.
So I want to kind of give it myfull attention.
But for right now, let's popthe top on episode 182.
And start it off looking at theman, the myth, the legend
himself, Michael Jordan.
Sometimes I dream that he isme.
(04:36):
You've got to see that's how Idream to be.
I dream I move.
I dream I groove like Mike.
If I could be like Mike.
You gotta be some kind of aspecial athlete for kids that
grew up in the late 80s toremember the lyrics to your song
(05:00):
in your commercial.
This is Valentine's week, butit's also the week of the
birthday of the greatestbasketball player ever, one of
the biggest pop culture icons ofthe late 20th century ever,
Michael Jordan.
I was so excited to get to talkabout him because I was lucky
enough to grow up with him inhis prime, not looking back at
(05:24):
highlights.
Or even worse, younger peopletoday that think that people
like LeBron James are betterthan him, where it's like, no,
it's very wrong.
Those of you that didn't growup then won't understand the
impact that Michael Jordan hadon the world.
So what I'm going to do is kindof a deep dive into his life,
(05:46):
but more looking at his impacton the world through sports and
pop culture.
Michael Jordan was born onFebruary 17th, 1963.
He was born in Brooklyn, NewYork, but was raised in
Wilmington, North Carolina,which is why he ended up playing
for the University of NorthCarolina in college.
He was famously cut from hishigh school varsity basketball
(06:09):
team as a sophomore, and that'swhat kind of fueled his
relentless work ethic.
It was before my time, butMichael Jordan first burst onto
the scene in 1982 when as afreshman at the University of
North Carolina.
In the 1982 NCAA championshipgame against Georgetown, he made
(06:30):
the game-winning shot, and itinstantly put his name out
there.
Jordan played three seasons forthe North Carolina Tar Heels
before declaring for the NBAdraft in 1984.
Hindsight is always 20-20, butyou look back at the 1984 NBA
draft, and the Chicago Bullspicked Jordan third.
That's right.
(06:51):
Two other players were pickedahead of Michael Jordan.
The number one pick was HakeemOlajuwon, who's one of the
greatest centers of all time,legend for the Houston Rockets,
two-time NBA champion, Hall ofFamer.
Okay.
Number two was Sam Bowie.
And I don't blame you if a lotof you out there are like, who
(07:11):
in the world is Sam Bowie?
Exactly.
He was picked by the PortlandTrailblazers and led them to
exactly zero NBA titles comparedto Michael Jordan's six with
the Chicago Bulls.
Jordan won the Rookie of theYear award in 1985, becoming
instantly must-see.
Me, I come into the picture in1986.
(07:33):
That's when I first became asports fan.
I was eight years old, growingup on Cape Cod, so we were
Boston Celtics fans.
I'm sure I probably saw orheard of Michael Jordan before
this game, but my realintroduction to him was April
20th, 1986.
Game two of the first round ofthe NBA playoffs, the Celtics
(07:54):
and the Bulls.
This is the famous doubleovertime game where Michael
Jordan scored 63 points.
He did things I didn't thinkwere humanly possible, and it
was only the tip of the icebergas I watched his career from
there.
I think I like Jordan even moreat the time because he did all
these awesome video game likemoves, but he still lost to the
(08:16):
Celtics.
I think that made it evenbetter because it was like I
loved Magic Johnson on theLakers, but I couldn't cheer for
him because the Lakers would beable to beat the Celtics.
The Bulls never could beat thatbig three era Celtics team.
And that was a big issue withJordan at the beginning,
especially his first four orfive seasons.
(08:37):
He was a guy that would get you35, 40 points a night, every
night, and do things that youdidn't think were humanly
possible.
The dunks he would do, themaking the shots, twisting
around people, hanging in theair.
But at the end of the night,the Bulls would end up being a
team that just wasn't goodenough to do anything but make
(08:59):
the playoffs and lose.
Ages ago, in episode 29 of thepodcast, I did a whole segment
about when I had a basketballhoop in front of my house
growing up.
So you can go there and getmore in-depth about what it was
like playing basketball in aslightly rural Cape Cod
neighborhood in the late 80s,early 90s.
(09:20):
But the gist of it was, I wouldmimic things I saw on TV.
I more or less modeled myshooting after Larry Bird.
But I had way more fun loweringthe basketball hoop down to
like seven feet high and thentrying to imitate the dunks that
I saw Michael Jordan do.
Those of you that are my age,around my age, you have probably
(09:44):
memories of the famous slamdunk contest where Jordan took
off from the free throw line andslam dunked it.
Me and my friends, we try totake off from the middle of the
street line and jump.
No, that didn't work out well.
It didn't matter, though.
It was so much fun to think youwere like Mike.
(10:04):
That's when those Gatoradecommercials started coming out.
He started getting all of thoseendorsements when he was a
highlight reel, a scoringmachine.
But in terms of championships,he had nothing.
That all changed in the early1990s under head coach Phil
Jackson.
Jordan and the Chicago Bullsimplemented the triangle
(10:25):
offense.
And they got to the 91 NBAFinals against the LA Lakers,
and they won.
They dominated.
There's the famous shot ofMichael Jordan going towards the
hoop with his right hand,pulling it down, putting it in
his left, and laying it up.
Just incredible.
And this was a dynasty.
The Chicago Bulls were the teamof the 90s in American pro
(10:47):
sports.
They won six NBA titles in the90s, and they only didn't win
more because Michael Jordanretired after his three-peat.
In October 1993, after themurder of his father, Jordan
lost the passion for basketball,and he retired.
This was that famous orinfamous time that he went and
(11:11):
joined the Chicago White Soxminor league team, the
Birmingham Barons.
And he wasn't a great baseballplayer.
I think he batted somewherearound 230.
But I've heard people say thatif he had stuck with it, he
probably would have gottenbetter because he played
baseball in high school too.
But basketball came callingagain in March 1995.
(11:34):
He released a statement thatjust said, I'm back.
And he then led the Bulls toanother three-peat.
Three more titles from 1996 to1998.
So you can't say anything forsure, but you'd have to think
that if he didn't retire, thatthe Chicago Bulls could have
easily won eight championshipsin a row because he missed a
(11:57):
full season and then most of asecond season.
After the second three-peat in1998, Jordan retired again, but
then he came back in 2001 andplayed for the Washington
Wizards.
That was kind of a fail, a sadlast chapter, but he still had
some great games, includingscoring 51 points in a game
(12:18):
against the Charlotte Hornets.
So that's Michael Jordan, theplayer.
But there's so much more.
Michael Jordan, the culturalphenomenon.
You can't talk about MichaelJordan without Air Jordan shoes,
his Nike endorsements.
I remember always wanting NikeAir Jordans.
For me, when I playedbasketball, I mean, I played for
(12:39):
town teams, YIBL, YarmouthInstructional Basketball League.
I played on middle schoolteams.
I played more intramural inhigh school.
So my skills did not match theshoes, but I still wanted those
shoes.
And those of you that grew upthat are around my age, you can
(13:00):
name off all the otherendorsements or most of them
that Jordan had.
Nike, Gatorade, McDonald's.
Jordan also starred in the 1996film Space Jam, which was a way
to blend basketball andHollywood in a way no athlete
had done before.
Sure, legendary football playerJim Brown became an actor in
(13:24):
the 70s and 80s, but MichaelJordan...
in the 1990s was a bigger dealthan Jim Brown was at his peak.
And that's not to speak ill ofJim Brown's skills.
He was probably the greatestfootball player ever.
But Michael Jordan became aswell known for stuff he did
outside of the actual basketballcourt as he did on it.
(13:46):
Those that are growing up now,people that are younger, below
30, there are giant stars inprofessional sports.
LeBron James is still a bigdeal, but Steph Curry, Patrick
Mahomes, Shohei Ohtani.
It was just different in thelate 1980s, early 90s, watching
(14:09):
Michael Jordan live.
You knew if you watched himplay, you were going to see at
least one thing that you couldnot believe actually happened.
Even before they werechampions, the Chicago Bulls
were always on primetimebroadcasts of basketball.
When you get into sportsdebates, there's always a lot of
(14:29):
different opinions.
I'm sure there are some of youlistening right now, hearing me
talk so glowingly about MichaelJordan and saying, yeah, well,
Wilt Chamberlain was better, oryeah, well, Kobe Bryant was
better than him.
And it is a lot of subjective.
I can say, oh yeah, well, lookat his stats, look at his
(14:50):
championships, and look at hisoverall cultural impact.
But I'm not going to yell atyou if you think Wilt
Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, Magic,Bird, LeBron, if your opinion
is they're better, then so beit.
I just spent 10 minutes statingmy case for why Michael Jordan
(15:10):
was the greatest basketballplayer ever and maybe the
greatest crossover athlete ever.
Still to this day, MichaelJordan causes a scene when he
comes into a room.
Everyone knows who he is, evenif you didn't grow up watching
him.
And this week coming up, heturns 62 years old.
So happy birthday to, in myopinion, the greatest basketball
(15:34):
player ever, bar none, hisairness, MJ, Michael Jordan.
This week in history, we'rereally sharing the love.
We're going back 96 years agoto Valentine's Day, February
14th, 1929, and the infamous St.
(15:58):
Valentine's Day Massacre.
Nothing says love like abrutal, bloody mob hit.
On the morning of Valentine'sDay, 1929, the streets of
Chicago's North Side witnessedone of the most notorious and
brutal crimes in Americanhistory.
It was later dubbed the St.
Valentine's Day Massacre.
(16:19):
So we gotta go back a fewyears.
The early 20th century saw arapid rise in organized crime.
And this was fueled by theenactment of Prohibition in
1920, which was a ban onalcohol.
The idea of banning alcohol wassupposed to curb crime and
moral decay.
Instead, it created a boomingblack market for illicit liquor,
(16:41):
controlled by ruthless mobbosses.
So in Chicago...
There were two main factions,Southside Italian mob led by Al
Capone and the Northside Irishgang, once headed by Dean
O'Banion and later by GeorgeBugs Moran.
In the late 1920s, tensionsbetween the Capone gang and the
(17:03):
Moran gang escalateddramatically.
There were frequent clashesover territory, bootlegging
routes, and control ofspeakeasies.
Capone, who was operatingprimarily from Florida at the
time, sought to eliminate Moranand gain complete control over
Chicago's underworld.
Reports suggest that AlCapone's men, led by his trusted
(17:25):
enforcer Jack Machine GunMcGurn, orchestrated the plot to
lure Moran's men into a trap.
A lucrative shipment of whiskeywas allegedly used as bait,
with instructions given for ameeting at a garage located at
2122 North Clark Street, a knownhangout of the Northside gang.
At approximately 10.30am onFebruary 14th, seven men
(17:49):
affiliated with Moran's ganggathered inside the garage,
unaware of what was about tohappen.
Witnesses later recountedseeing four men, two dressed in
civilian clothing and twodisguised as police officers,
arriving at the scene.
Assuming it was a routinepolice raid, the gangsters
inside offered no resistancewhen ordered to line up against
(18:10):
the wall.
Without warning, the gunmenunleashed a hail of bullets from
Thompson's submachine guns andshotguns, firing at point-blank
range.
The massacre was swift andbrutal.
Each victim was riddled withmultiple gunshot wounds.
Then the assassins staged anescape by having the fake
(18:30):
officers march the two civiliansout at gunpoint, creating the
illusion of an official arrest.
Ironically, Bugs Moran, who wasthe intended target of the
massacre, was not among thedead.
He had arrived late to themeeting and upon seeing the
police officers instinctivelyturned away.
And the twist of fate saved hislife but shattered his criminal
(18:52):
empire, leaving Capone with anearly unchallenged grip over
Chicago's bootlegging industry.
Despite the sheer brutality ofthe massacre, no one was ever
convicted for the crime.
Suspicion immediately fell onCapone, but with an airtight
alibi, the case remainedunsolved.
It did intensify public outcryon organized crime, with
(19:16):
authorities ramping up theirefforts to take down Capone's
empire.
And although he evaded directpunishment for the massacre, his
reign came to an end in 1931when he was convicted of tax
evasion and sentenced to 11years in prison.
The St.
Valentine's Day Massacre becamea defining moment in the
history of organized crime,marking a turning point in the
(19:38):
government's efforts todismantle the mob.
It remains one of the mostinfamous crimes of the 20th
century and has beenimmortalized in films, books,
and documentaries.
And that infamous St.
Valentine's Day massacre inChicago took place 96 years ago
this week in history.
Well, we'll try to bring thelove here with a brand new time
(20:05):
capsule.
We're going back 45 years agoto Valentine's Day, 1980.
You want to know what was goingon in the world of pop culture
back then?
Well, let's find out.
The number one song was Do ThatTo Me One More Time by Captain
and Tennille.
This was off of their albumMake Your Move and was their
(20:28):
second number one song afterLove Will Keep Us Together.
This song was seen as a bit ofa comeback for Captain and
Tennille, who, after their kindof a down period for the last
few years, didn't have theirrecord contract renewed.
We may be hearing a little moreabout Captain and Tennille in
the top five segment, and itmight help to explain why their
(20:50):
record contract was not renewed.
The number one movie was TheFog, and you could get into the
theater with a ticket costing$2.69.
This is a supernatural horrorfilm, an indie film produced by
John Carpenter of Halloweenfame.
It's about a deadly fog thatinfests this coastal town a
(21:14):
hundred years after a ship sunkoff the shore.
It was a big hit, making morethan $21 million on a budget of
$1 million.
And John Carpenter even broughtback Jamie Lee Curtis from
Halloween for this movie.
It's 76% fresh on RottenTomatoes and definitely is an
excellent horror scary film ifyou haven't seen it before.
(21:36):
The number one TV show wasThree's Company.
The classic comedy, JohnRitter, Suzanne Somers, Joyce
DeWitt, Don Knotts.
The show was on for sevenseasons from 1977 to 1984.
And the hijinks involve JohnRitter's character Jack Tripper
(21:58):
pretending to be gay so that Mr.
Roper at the beginning willallow him to live in the same
apartment with the two women.
There were even a couple ofspinoffs from the show.
The Ropers, when they movedout, that failed.
Three's a Crowd, that lastedfor one season in 1985.
It also has a pretty good themesong you can probably hear in
(22:22):
your head right now.
And if you were around backthen, Valentine's Day 1980,
maybe you were looking for acheap date for Valentine's
Night, well, you're in luck.
I got something for you.
You can go to see the fog, andthen you can go have dinner at
Howard Johnson's.
Oh, they got some specials foryou.
(22:42):
Chicken and biscuits in africassee sauce for $2.95.
If you don't like chicken, youcan get fried filet of flounder,
also for $2.95.
So there you go.
Dinner and a movie.
Now all you need is a timemachine to go back to 1980.
That wraps up another timecapsule in This Week in History.
(23:05):
Now we're going to continuesharing the love for Valentine's
Week as we look back at, atleast in my opinion, the top
five worst love songs ever.
So let's get into those.
Oh yes, love songs andValentine's Day, they go hand in
(23:27):
hand.
The past few weeks on socialmedia, I've been sharing sunsets
and love songs on Instagram, onmy stories.
Just combining what I think,well, they're my favorite love
songs, and then just pictures ofsunsets, a little bit of
romance.
I'm about to undo all of thatgoodwill with this top five.
(23:49):
Your opinions will vary.
This was a tough one to narrowdown because when I say worst,
it's a quicker way to say onesthat are either cringy, cheesy,
confusing, stupid, all thosewords.
But again, it's all subjectivebecause I guarantee some of you
out there, I'm going to name offsongs and you're going to be
(24:11):
like, wait a minute, I love thatsong.
Just like I'm sure some of mysongs I've been sharing on my
Instagram stories, my favoritelove songs, some of you have
probably heard and said, ah,really?
You like that?
All right, so with most ofthese top fives, they're in no
particular order, and there'ssome honorable mentions.
I'm going to try my best toblast through the honorable
(24:35):
mentions without getting toomuch into them.
So for Valentine's Day...
Turn down the lights, lightsome candles, and don't play any
of these songs.
All right, here we go.
So honorable mentions for worstlove songs ever, in my opinion,
there is Picture by Kid Rockand Sheryl Crow.
(24:56):
This is from his 2001 album,Cocky.
Another honorable mention isLady in Red by Krista Berg.
and cheesy and on his 1986album Into the Light.
Another honorable mention isHero by Enrique Iglesias.
(25:19):
This is off of his 2001 albumEscape.
Another honorable mention is IWould Do Anything for Love by
Meatloaf.
This is off of his 1993 albumBat Out of Hell 2.
And is mainly on here becausewhat the hell is I won't do
that?
What won't you do?
(25:40):
Anyway.
And the final honorable mentionis How Can We Be Lovers If We
Can't Be Friends by MichaelBolton.
This is off of his 1989 albumSoul Provider.
And I'll be honest, it was theone I chose out of several of
his songs that I thought couldhave been on this list.
(26:01):
Sorry, I'm not a Michael Boltonfan.
But hey, he has sold more than75 million albums with a voice
that sounds like someonestrangling a rubber chicken, so
I can't hate on that.
Ah, yeah, so there's thehonorable mentions.
How many of those songs are inyour rotation for Valentine's
Day?
I apologize for ruining yourplaylist.
(26:22):
So let me ruin it even more bygetting into the actual top
five, starting with number one.
You Are So Beautiful by JoeCocker.
Ironically, this is anothersong that Michael Bolton
actually did.
So much of this, it's cringy,but a lot of it comes down to
(26:43):
Joe Cocker's voice, much likeMichael Bolton's voice.
His raspy, screeching voicedoes not lend itself to a
touching love song.
This is off of his 1974 album,I Can Stand a Little Rain.
Joe Cocker had some other bighits.
The song Feelin' Alright, thatfits more with his vocal style.
(27:06):
And for kids like me that grewup in the 1980s, his cover of
The Beatles with A Little HelpFrom My Friends being the theme
song for The Wonder Yearsinstantly gave him a soft spot
in my heart.
But this song just doesn'twork.
Now I will say a lot of theseare my opinion, but I did
(27:26):
research.
There are so many...
Other people out there withtheir picks for worst love songs
ever.
Some that are just randombloggers or random podcasters
like me.
But there are others like bigtime music magazines like
Rolling Stone or news outletslike ABC, NBC.
And some of these songs are ontheir list.
(27:48):
So it's not just me.
I'm really trying to sell this.
Like, please don't be mad.
Let's get more mad with numbertwo.
Your Body is a Wonderland byJohn Mayer.
This is off of his 2001 debutalbum, Room for Squares.
It's a song that hasn't agedwell.
(28:08):
It's so cringy.
It's got some weird lyrics.
Like, what the hell isbubblegum tongue?
Like, when you kiss your girl,you're going to chew on her
tongue?
Like, is that what you'redoing?
I think part of it is also thatAs we got to know John Mayer
more through his fame, he becameless of a reputable character.
I mean, it's hard to see him asa nice guy when he's dated so
(28:34):
many different people likeJennifer Aniston, Jessica
Simpson, Taylor Swift, and theydon't really have a lot of nice
things to say about him.
I'm not saying you have to be achoir boy, church-going boy to
sing love songs, but just don'tbe a douchebag and then try to
pass yourself off as someonewho's sweet.
Let's continue with somecringe, though, with number
(28:55):
three, Having My Baby by PaulAnka.
This is off of his 1974 albumAnka, and the lyrics are
literally, you're having mybaby, what a lovely way of
saying how much you love me.
It's just creepy, cringy,weird, I guess would be the best
ways to describe the lyrics tothis song.
(29:17):
This song has been voted worstlove song or one of the worst on
several different polls,including CNN.
He got the Keeper in Her PlaceAward from the National
Organization for Women for thesexist overtones of this song.
It is said due to the backlashthat when he performed the song
(29:38):
live, he would change the lyricsto You're Having Our Baby
because that makes it so muchbetter.
Number four is Muskrat Love byCaptain and Tennille.
I teased it a few minutes agoin the time capsule that we
might hear from Captain andTennille again.
This is off of their 1976 albumSong of Joy.
(30:02):
This song is about a romanticencounter between a pair of
anthropomorphic muskrats namedSusie and Sam.
All you need to know about thissong is go Google muskrat love
and type in worst and you willget lists of this song being on
worst song ever lists.
(30:23):
A lot of people say it's juststupid and nonsensical.
But there are others, and maybesome of you listening, that
find it charming, a slice ofnostalgia, and I know better
than anyone how importantnostalgia is.
The song did chart on theBillboard Hot 100, but it was
followed up by two albums thatbasically ended their recording
(30:46):
contract.
That's why I had mentioned inthe time capsule that Do That To
Me One More Time was seen as abit of a comeback song.
And it's sort of like thedownfall began with Muskrat
Love.
And finally, number five on, inmy opinion, the worst love
songs ever is Get Her Back byRobin Thicke.
(31:06):
I could almost copy and pastewhat I said about John Mayer as
far as his public personacompared to what he writes in
his songs.
This is off of his 2014 albumPaula.
The entire album served as atribute to Robin Thicke's then
ex-wife, Paula Patton.
The couple divorced afterciting irreconcilable
(31:30):
differences.
The video for this song is justRobin Thicke basically
bare-chested from the mid-chestup, but he's got like bruising
and blood on his face.
I'm sure there are some thatwill see dedicating his entire
album to his estranged wife assweet.
But way more people see it ascreepy, desperate, humiliating,
(31:54):
and ultimately what killed hiscareer.
Even more so than being suedfor copyright infringement for
his Blurred Lines song.
Sure, love and heartbreak andbreakups will make you do and
say a lot of weird things youmight regret.
I may not have the ability tomake a whole album dedicated to
an ex-girlfriend, but it wouldbe like me getting her name
(32:16):
tattooed on my wrist orsomething.
Now after the fact.
But there you go.
My opinion, the worst lovesongs ever.
How many of these are on yourlist?
How many of these do you loveand you're now mad at me and you
want to stop the podcast?
Don't worry, I've got somethingsuper fun coming up right now.
(32:37):
We're going to look at one ofthe weirdest employee training
videos that I've done thus far.
So let's go back to BlockbusterVideo.
Let's finish off this podcastby making it a Blockbuster
(32:57):
night.
I love doing these employeetraining video reviews.
So, how I got to this one is afew weeks ago I was going
through some stuff in my closet,trying to get rid of some old
things that I don't need.
It was then that I found my oldBlockbuster Video membership
card.
I'm literally holding it in myhands.
(33:17):
That's me pulling the plasticof it.
The address on the back is 1070Main Street, Route 210.
I don't know if that meansRoute 28.
I'm assuming this was the onethat was in Yarmouth,
Massachusetts.
So in the middle of Cape Cod.
It got me thinking I shouldlook to see if there are any
(33:38):
training videos for peopleworking at Blockbuster.
And oh boy, was there ever.
This video is from 1990.
It's about 17 minutes long.
And it's for something calledBlockbuster University.
The funniest thing about it,it's a very weird training
(33:58):
video.
And in full transparency, I'lltell you, I watched this last
week to kind of, you know, scoutit out.
And to make it more fun, a realblockbuster night, I popped an
edible and I watched this video.
And part of me thought maybethe edible had taken hold early
because it was so weird.
(34:19):
So then when I watched it againto now share it with you, I
realized, no, it's just theweirdest training video.
I mean, it is quintessential90s.
It starts off with this cheesyfake bass music as they pan
around a blockbuster video,which those of you that are my
(34:41):
age, you remember what it lookslike, the video store in
general.
So it definitely brings back alot of nostalgia.
We end up focusing on the leadin this video.
(35:05):
She's not dressed in anyblockbuster uniform, no blue
button-down shirt.
And the girl bumps into aregular customer, knocks her
videos out of her hands, andshe's so sorry.
Then she wonders where she'sbeen, and the woman says that
her VCR had been in the shop, sothat's why she hadn't been in.
So far, normal.
(35:26):
But then it gets weird.
This girl is putting videosback on the shelf and a TV
behind her turns on and thisreally weird looking guy pops up
on it.
I will say I'm being nice insaying this guy was incredibly
annoying.
Like I'm sure the actor wastold to play the character this
(35:46):
way, but he's instantly the mostunlikable guy.
Just smug and condescending tothis girl.
We find out the girl workingthere is named Marie, but this
smug guy in his super cheesy,like, nightclub guy shirt is
named Buster Sales.
And he starts explaining who heis.
(36:09):
Yo,
Speaker 01 (36:12):
Marie.
Hey, let's wake up.
Who are you?
The name's Buster.
Buster Sales.
Speaker 02 (36:19):
Um, our trailer tape must have jammed.
Speaker 01 (36:23):
He
Speaker 03 (36:25):
tells her that he's a professional opportunist.
And he says he's there becausehe sees that she needs help
doing her job, as in making moresales of videotape rentals.
And it gets really weird reallyfast where the girl Marie says,
oh, she knows all about findingopportunities.
And this buster's sales startsgiving her crap about some
(36:48):
customer's son that asked herout and she said no.
Like he's already dug into herpersonal life like this.
Speaker 02 (36:55):
I know an opportunity when I see it.
Speaker 01 (36:57):
Sure.
Like the time Mrs.
Harris' son Brian asked youout.
And you turned him down and gota Jane Alworth stupid slumber
party.
Speaker 02 (37:05):
After
Speaker 03 (37:08):
that, creepiness is out of the way.
Buster Sales tells her to goover to this customer again that
she bumped into earlier andtell her about how you can rent
a VCR if yours is in the shop.
Which I guess makes sense.
I remember you used to be ableto rent video game consoles at
the rental store, so it wouldmake sense they'd have VCRs.
(37:29):
Although in this, they don'tcall them VCRs.
They call them VCPs, videocassette players.
So I don't know the difference.
I guess you couldn't use it torecord things.
So the mother is looking atdifferent videos to rent for her
son's party, and she's askingMarie for help.
And then after she's done, thatstupid Buster Sales comes back
(37:51):
on, and he's kind ofhalf-heartedly congratulating
her for helping this woman out.
But she mentioned she likedSean Connery, and so he's mad
that she didn't push this womanto get other Sean Connery movie
videos.
This was when Hunt for RedOctober was out, so that'll kind
of date when this is from.
(38:12):
This is where it makes it seemlike working at Blockbuster is
way more involved than it is.
Buster Sales tells her tomemorize a book of the 50 best
movies and to learn all themovies that different actors
have been in.
Like, think about how manypeople that worked at
Blockbuster Video at the timereally took it seriously as a
(38:35):
career.
And this mascot in the TV istelling them to do all this
homework so that people willrent an extra video.
Like they're going to makecommissions on it.
Later on, Marie is checking outa girl at the register who's
got like seven videos and shenotices that the girl has rented
the same movie like five times.
So buster sales as annoying asever pops up on a monitor and
(38:59):
he's just clearing his throat injust an annoying way.
But he's convincing her to tryto get this girl to just buy the
video instead of continuing torent it.
So there's an upsell for that.
Of course, Buster Sales is nothappy with how Marie has done.
Because she didn't get thisgirl that's renting all the
(39:20):
videos to get a gift certificatefor her brother who loves Star
Trek.
The guy Buster Sales, he lookslike he should be a game show
host around that time.
Like you'd see him on aNickelodeon game show.
Then we turn the creep factorup even more, but it's not from
Buster Sales.
There's this weird music andMarie is putting videos on the
(39:42):
shelf and there's this guy inlike a sweater vest and bow tie
and glasses that is picking upevery tape she puts down and
looking at it and just followingher.
Yeah.
Speaker 02 (40:00):
Excuse me, is there something I can help you find?
Oh,
Speaker 00 (40:03):
I doubt it.
I'm a 60s movie buff, and I'vebeen to eight video stores in
the last three days looking forthe last movie.
I don't know the name.
Speaker 03 (40:13):
If you ever saw a guy like that in a video store,
the girl would probably turnaround and slap him because he's
just so creepy and weird.
He ends up being a 1960s moviebuff looking for the last film
that had Peter Sellers and WoodyAllen in it.
Like, he's giving her trivia.
He says he's been to eightvideo stores looking for it, but
(40:35):
he doesn't know the name of it.
Just remember, this was adifferent time in 1990 where you
spent all kinds of time drivingto video stores.
It wasn't streaming.
It wasn't seen as a waste oftime back then.
And Marie is getting ready tohelp this weirdo look for this
movie.
And that Buster Sales justblows a whistle.
(40:58):
And then she turns around likeshe's happy to see him.
Like, I don't know how shewouldn't want to, in reality,
like, whip a soda bottle at thisguy.
Buster tells her to use thevideo log.
It's like a huge, it's likethree times the size of a phone
book filled with movies.
Like I said, it was a differenttime.
So they're looking through thisvideo log.
(41:20):
Do any of you out there thatused to go to Blockbuster, do
you ever remember the video log?
I might vaguely.
I don't think I ever used it.
I think I went in and knew whatI wanted and got it.
I never had to go and lookthrough this 3,000 page book of
every movie that's on video.
Marie does a good job.
(41:42):
She convinces this guy to notonly order the movie, which is
Casino Royale, So he orders itand it's going to be in at the
end of the week.
He has to buy it.
Then she convinces him to rentother Peter Sellers movies like
the Pink Panther movies.
So Marie goes to get this guy acopy of the Pink Panther.
And then, God, this bustersales.
(42:03):
It's like he becomes instantlytriple hated because he pops up
on the TV and he's bangingcymbals to get her attention.
Speaker 01 (42:13):
Just trying to get your attention.
Speaker 02 (42:15):
Well, if you don't mind, I'd rather you stick with
the whistle.
What is it this time?
I found the man his movie.
Speaker 01 (42:20):
Yes, and you're still batting 500.
How
Speaker 02 (42:24):
so?
Speaker 01 (42:25):
You remember?
Listen, think, act?
Speaker 02 (42:28):
Right.
Peter Sellers' comedy moviesfor rent.
Speaker 01 (42:32):
Good.
Now think again.
Speaker 03 (42:34):
Like, this is the reason why when I was watching
this after my edible, I thoughtthat it was something maybe was
wrong with me.
But then watching it back, justseeing how incredibly annoying
and obnoxious this characterwas.
I mean, I guess he's trying tobe cool, like the cool jerk.
So that when you've got 16,17-year-old boys likely working
(42:57):
at Blockbuster in 1990, they'dwatch this and be like, oh, I
want to be cool like BusterSales.
He's mad that she didn't showthis guy that likes Peter
Sellers where he could buypreviously used tapes.
It basically seems like Mariecan't do anything right for
buster sales.
So we go back to the front andshe's checking out the woman
(43:19):
from the beginning whose sonasked her out and she said no.
Now she's saying, tell him Isaid hi.
Oh, but it's not over yet.
Stupid Buster Sayles pops up ona screen behind her after the
mother leaves, and he's justthrowing popcorn at her, and
he's eating it with this stupidsmug face.
(43:40):
Like, can you tell that I hatethis character?
He's like the worst of allthese employee training videos
I've seen yet.
Then we get a fun little maybecoincidence where dumbass Buster
Sayles says, here comes MargeSimpson.
So basically this customer, hername is Marge Simpson, that
wants to introduce Marie to herson.
(44:03):
At this point in time, theSimpsons were actually on TV, so
I don't know if it'scoincidence or if they picked
the name out because of that.
So Marge Simpson comes up tothe front desk with her son, and
he's just like the biggest nerdever.
And while she's standing there,God, that Buster Sayles is like
(44:24):
fake crying in the backgroundand like making pig noises.
It's like, God, who wrote this?
Speaker 02 (44:32):
Hello, Mrs.
Simpson.
Hi, Marie.
Marie, have you ever met myson, Douglas?
Hi, Doug.
Speaker 00 (44:38):
Hello, Marie.
So, looks
Speaker 02 (44:45):
like you have everything you wanted?
Speaker 03 (44:46):
Yes.
We get into Marge Simpson beingupset.
Her husband is not named Homer,it's Richard.
But she says he gets mad if shespends more than $10 on movies
at the video store and she'scomplaining about him and his
fishing lures.
Like, would you really talklike this to a random associate
at a blockbuster video?
(45:07):
All your personal stories?
I don't know.
Marie uses like a Jedi mindtrick on her, saying, oh, you
can...
stay below your $10 limit eachtime at the video store if you
just come into the store more.
So she gets her to come in moretimes a week.
So she's actually spending waymore money, but it's never more
(45:28):
than $10 at a time.
What did videos cost to rentback then at Blockbuster 1990?
99 cents?
$1.99?
I don't know.
I wasn't the one paying forthem at the time.
But if it's $1.99 and she'sspending more than $10, I mean,
five movies each time, I don'tknow, that seems kind of
(45:49):
excessive.
Marie then upsells MargeSimpson on VCR head cleaners,
saying that you should cleanyour heads of your VCR every 20
hours that you watch tapes.
So there's another question foryou out there.
How many of you with VCRs cleanthe heads of them every 20
hours or every 100 or 200 hours?
(46:11):
I probably could count on onehand with fingers left the
amount of times that I used aVCR head cleaner.
After Marge Simpson pays forher videos in the VCR head
cleaner with exact change out ofher change purse, her idiot son
says parting is such sweetsorrow, like he's quoting Romeo
(46:33):
and Juliet to her.
But finally, as we're near theend, Buster Sales says that she
did terrific upselling MargeSimpson.
Now he's like super sweet afterbeing the most annoying
character I've seen in thesevideos ever.
Speaker 02 (46:50):
So, how was I?
Speaker 01 (46:53):
You were terrific.
Now, you ready to go out onyour own?
Speaker 02 (46:56):
Honestly, I'm not sure.
I mean, I almost missed out onthat opportunity with Mrs.
Simpson.
Speaker 01 (47:02):
But you didn't.
So tell me, what have youlearned?
Speaker 02 (47:04):
Well, to listen to the customers very carefully and
to think because anything theydo or say may be signs of their
needs.
Speaker 03 (47:14):
So finally, Marie is done with that idiot Buster
Sales, and it shows her talkingto that son that she wanted to
date from the beginning.
His name is Brian.
So it's like BlockbusterUniversity.
It's kind of like 90210.
It's like, yeah, we're rentingyou videos, but it's also all
(47:34):
this teenage drama going on.
And we get to this point wherethere's a new associate at
Blockbuster who is talking tothe video screens and Marie
figures it's Buster Saylestalking to her.
So Marie helps her out withBuster's big points.
Listen, think, and act.
And also upsell everyone thatcomes in.
(47:57):
And it ends with the samecheeseball music and Buster
Sayles making this stupid face.
Like just to remind you howpunchable his face was through
this whole thing.
It's then that we get to theend and it says it's produced in
association with Jack MortonProductions in Atlanta, Georgia.
(48:18):
And that this whole video wasfilmed at store number 13011 in
Roswell, Georgia.
And they tell you that RyanLocken is the manager.
No word on who played BusterSales.
I guess they didn't want peopleto go after him and harass him.
And that ends BlockbusterUniversity from 1990.
(48:40):
I had a lot of fun watchingthis.
It was different each timebecause, like I said, at first I
thought there was somethingwrong with me.
But it turns out, no, it wasjust Buster Sales was written to
be the most annoying personpossible.
Nothing ruins your mellow of anedible than some guy in
(49:01):
cheeseball 90s clothes bangingcymbals real loud.
I'll put a link to the video inthe description of the podcast
if you want to watch bustersales for yourself.
And stay tuned.
Sometime in the not-too-distantfuture, I'll do another
employee training video becauseI love finding these and then
sharing them with you.
They're a load of laughs.
(49:22):
But until next time, that'sgoing to wrap up episode 182 of
the podcast, Valentine's Weekepisode, sharing the love with a
lot of hatred sprinkled inthere, worst love songs, St.
Valentine's Day massacre andbuster sales.
Thank you all for tuning in tothe wackiness that is my weekly
(49:45):
podcast.
If you enjoy the show, $5 amonth on Patreon.
You can become a supporter, asubscriber.
You can always check out thePatreon page without being a
supporter.
There's a lot on the free tierthat I keep adding.
Subscribe to my YouTubechannel.
I've got hundreds and hundredsof videos up there.
All the podcasts go up in audioform, so there's no video with
(50:09):
it.
That's just linked to when thepodcast goes live.
Read the Initial Impressions2.0 blog that details my
wackiness of my weekly life.
Like I said, I've kind ofpaused the Webcam Weekly Wrap-Up
podcast.
It's just time-consuming.
It happens every now and then.
I keep adding things to myplate just repeatedly until
(50:32):
finally it's like a mountain offood that falls on the floor.
I'm sure at some point I willbring it back, but I've got,
with the movie role, I have awhole bunch of other ideas that
I want to try for content andjust in general.
I'm experimenting with my newphone, the video format on it.
My hope is that sometime in thespring when it gets warm on
(50:55):
Cape Cod, eventually, is to dosome kind of short film with
several friends.
I have an idea.
So I know if you're listening,Greg, I haven't forgot what we
talked about on Christmas Eve.
I'm going to try to storyboardan idea so we can do something
fun like that.
You can follow me all oversocial media.
(51:16):
I've got a Facebook fan page.
I am on Instagram.
There's a page for the podcastthere.
I'm on threads, blue sky.
I am constantly sharing andmarketing my content because if
I don't, who else will?
The hits will just keep oncoming.
Next week is episode 183, thepost-Valentine's hangover.
(51:38):
Hopefully, some of you that arelistening now that are in
relationships will still be inthem after Valentine's Day.
If not, you can come drown yoursorrows with me or celebrate.
I don't know.
I don't want to judge what yourrelationship is like.
So whether you're digging outfrom loads of snow like up here
(51:59):
in the Northeast or you'resunning yourself on a warm
tropical beach to escape fromall of this, I hope that
whatever you're doing, it's thebest it can possibly be.
Enjoy those you're with.
Enjoy where you're at the bestyou can.
If things aren't the way youwant, hopefully this podcast
gives you a little bit of anescape about an hour each week.
(52:22):
If you're just tuning in, youcan binge all the other
episodes.
You can go back and listen tothe first couple dozen episodes
where I definitely am morebuttoned down like I tried to
make it serious rather thanletting my insanity just shine
through.
Lean into the things that makeyou happy.
It's like the late great singerJim Morrison said, no one here
(52:45):
gets out alive.
So spend more time enjoyingpeople, places, foods,
podcasters, crazy ones like me.
And I'll do my part bycontinuing to pump out the
content in audio, video, writtenform.
And remember, in this life,don't walk in anyone else's
footsteps.
Create your own path and enjoyevery moment you can on this
(53:08):
journey we call life because younever know what tomorrow
brings.
This has been the In MyFootsteps podcast.
I am Christopher Setterlund.
You already knew that.
And I'll talk to you all againsoon.
Hello world, and welcome to the In My Footsteps
podcast.
I am Christopher Setterlund,coming to you from the vacation
destination known as Cape Cod,Massachusetts, and this is
episode 182.
It's Valentine's week.
We're going to share the loveon this podcast, the love of
(00:24):
nostalgia.
It's going to kick off with alook at the basketball legend,
the pop culture icon, the legendhimself, Michael Jordan, whose
birthday is this week.
We're going to go way, way backin the day and look at a
hilariously confusingblockbuster video employee
training video.
(00:44):
I guess there's no other wordto say it.
There'll be a brand of the InMy Footsteps podcast.
(01:13):
Ah yes, sharing the love.
It seems like I'm being alittle bit sarcastic.
Not totally, but yeah, probablya little bit.
Welcome into the show.
Thank you so much for tuning inwherever you are from, whatever
your opinion is of Valentine'sDay.
Thank you for tuning into thisshow.
(01:34):
Valentine's Day is two daysaway from when the show goes
live.
Me, I'm not officiallycelebrating Valentine's Day.
I am doing a little bit oftrying to share the love, I
guess.
I hope wherever you are,though, that the weather is
good.
Winter has finally gotten itsclaws into us on Cape Cod.
We've had several storms.
(01:56):
They're not huge storms, but afew enough in a row where snow
is now impacting daily life.
I've said it before on thispodcast that snow was more fun
when I was young.
Maybe I'd have to shovel thedriveway, but I didn't have much
else to worry about.
Days off from school.
Now it's like shovel thedriveway and still go to work.
(02:18):
Of course, I can't get thisshow started properly without
sharing the love with my Patreonsubscribers.
Lori, Mary Lou, Ashley, Kevin,Leo, Marguerite, Neglectoid,
Crystal.
Thank you all for showing thelove to me.
You have something special forValentine's Day coming in a
(02:41):
couple of days.
But don't feel left out if youare not a Patreon subscriber.
If you go to the free tier,there is something for you as
well on Valentine's Day.
I'm trying to make the freetier something that's got more
content to it so that it enticespeople to go and check out my
page.
As an update on my filmingcareer, this week I did find my
(03:05):
sponsor for my first scene whereI'm playing myself, the
podcast, or this guy you'relistening to.
But the first of my threescenes in the movie, I introduce
a sponsor of the podcast.
So I was looking for preferablya friend and a local friend
with a business that I couldpromote in this movie.
It isn't too late, though.
(03:26):
Any of you out there listeningthat are Cape Codders with Cape
Cod businesses, reach out to me,ChristopherSetterland at
gmail.com.
Because in my third scene, Idon't promote a product as a
sponsor, but I can have aproduct in the scene with me.
So product placement.
This is all for an indie horrorfilm that my friend Frank
(03:47):
Durant, the one who produced theLady of the Dunes documentary,
is filming next month in March.
For those of you that arelistening, like, what is he
talking about movie?
There'll be plenty of more newsas things come up.
Like, filming won't start for awhile.
So I'm just starting to getlittle bits of details.
And I wanted to share thejourney.
Because maybe this is my onlyfilm role ever.
(04:09):
Maybe not.
So I want to kind of give it myfull attention.
But for right now, let's popthe top on episode 182.
And start it off looking at theman, the myth, the legend
himself, Michael Jordan.
Sometimes I dream that he isme.
(04:36):
You've got to see that's how Idream to be.
I dream I move.
I dream I groove like Mike.
If I could be like Mike.
You gotta be some kind of aspecial athlete for kids that
grew up in the late 80s toremember the lyrics to your song
(05:00):
in your commercial.
This is Valentine's week, butit's also the week of the
birthday of the greatestbasketball player ever, one of
the biggest pop culture icons ofthe late 20th century ever,
Michael Jordan.
I was so excited to get to talkabout him because I was lucky
enough to grow up with him inhis prime, not looking back at
(05:24):
highlights.
Or even worse, younger peopletoday that think that people
like LeBron James are betterthan him, where it's like, no,
it's very wrong.
Those of you that didn't growup then won't understand the
impact that Michael Jordan hadon the world.
So what I'm going to do is kindof a deep dive into his life,
(05:46):
but more looking at his impacton the world through sports and
pop culture.
Michael Jordan was born onFebruary 17th, 1963.
He was born in Brooklyn, NewYork, but was raised in
Wilmington, North Carolina,which is why he ended up playing
for the University of NorthCarolina in college.
He was famously cut from hishigh school varsity basketball
(06:09):
team as a sophomore, and that'swhat kind of fueled his
relentless work ethic.
It was before my time, butMichael Jordan first burst onto
the scene in 1982 when as afreshman at the University of
North Carolina.
In the 1982 NCAA championshipgame against Georgetown, he made
(06:30):
the game-winning shot, and itinstantly put his name out
there.
Jordan played three seasons forthe North Carolina Tar Heels
before declaring for the NBAdraft in 1984.
Hindsight is always 20-20, butyou look back at the 1984 NBA
draft, and the Chicago Bullspicked Jordan third.
That's right.
(06:51):
Two other players were pickedahead of Michael Jordan.
The number one pick was HakeemOlajuwon, who's one of the
greatest centers of all time,legend for the Houston Rockets,
two-time NBA champion, Hall ofFamer.
Okay.
Number two was Sam Bowie.
And I don't blame you if a lotof you out there are like, who
(07:11):
in the world is Sam Bowie?
Exactly.
He was picked by the PortlandTrailblazers and led them to
exactly zero NBA titles comparedto Michael Jordan's six with
the Chicago Bulls.
Jordan won the Rookie of theYear award in 1985, becoming
instantly must-see.
Me, I come into the picture in1986.
(07:33):
That's when I first became asports fan.
I was eight years old, growingup on Cape Cod, so we were
Boston Celtics fans.
I'm sure I probably saw orheard of Michael Jordan before
this game, but my realintroduction to him was April
20th, 1986.
Game two of the first round ofthe NBA playoffs, the Celtics
(07:54):
and the Bulls.
This is the famous doubleovertime game where Michael
Jordan scored 63 points.
He did things I didn't thinkwere humanly possible, and it
was only the tip of the icebergas I watched his career from
there.
I think I like Jordan even moreat the time because he did all
these awesome video game likemoves, but he still lost to the
(08:16):
Celtics.
I think that made it evenbetter because it was like I
loved Magic Johnson on theLakers, but I couldn't cheer for
him because the Lakers would beable to beat the Celtics.
The Bulls never could beat thatbig three era Celtics team.
And that was a big issue withJordan at the beginning,
especially his first four orfive seasons.
(08:37):
He was a guy that would get you35, 40 points a night, every
night, and do things that youdidn't think were humanly
possible.
The dunks he would do, themaking the shots, twisting
around people, hanging in theair.
But at the end of the night,the Bulls would end up being a
team that just wasn't goodenough to do anything but make
(08:59):
the playoffs and lose.
Ages ago, in episode 29 of thepodcast, I did a whole segment
about when I had a basketballhoop in front of my house
growing up.
So you can go there and getmore in-depth about what it was
like playing basketball in aslightly rural Cape Cod
neighborhood in the late 80s,early 90s.
(09:20):
But the gist of it was, I wouldmimic things I saw on TV.
I more or less modeled myshooting after Larry Bird.
But I had way more fun loweringthe basketball hoop down to
like seven feet high and thentrying to imitate the dunks that
I saw Michael Jordan do.
Those of you that are my age,around my age, you have probably
(09:44):
memories of the famous slamdunk contest where Jordan took
off from the free throw line andslam dunked it.
Me and my friends, we try totake off from the middle of the
street line and jump.
No, that didn't work out well.
It didn't matter, though.
It was so much fun to think youwere like Mike.
(10:04):
That's when those Gatoradecommercials started coming out.
He started getting all of thoseendorsements when he was a
highlight reel, a scoringmachine.
But in terms of championships,he had nothing.
That all changed in the early1990s under head coach Phil
Jackson.
Jordan and the Chicago Bullsimplemented the triangle
(10:25):
offense.
And they got to the 91 NBAFinals against the LA Lakers,
and they won.
They dominated.
There's the famous shot ofMichael Jordan going towards the
hoop with his right hand,pulling it down, putting it in
his left, and laying it up.
Just incredible.
And this was a dynasty.
The Chicago Bulls were the teamof the 90s in American pro
(10:47):
sports.
They won six NBA titles in the90s, and they only didn't win
more because Michael Jordanretired after his three-peat.
In October 1993, after themurder of his father, Jordan
lost the passion for basketball,and he retired.
This was that famous orinfamous time that he went and
(11:11):
joined the Chicago White Soxminor league team, the
Birmingham Barons.
And he wasn't a great baseballplayer.
I think he batted somewherearound 230.
But I've heard people say thatif he had stuck with it, he
probably would have gottenbetter because he played
baseball in high school too.
But basketball came callingagain in March 1995.
(11:34):
He released a statement thatjust said, I'm back.
And he then led the Bulls toanother three-peat.
Three more titles from 1996 to1998.
So you can't say anything forsure, but you'd have to think
that if he didn't retire, thatthe Chicago Bulls could have
easily won eight championshipsin a row because he missed a
(11:57):
full season and then most of asecond season.
After the second three-peat in1998, Jordan retired again, but
then he came back in 2001 andplayed for the Washington
Wizards.
That was kind of a fail, a sadlast chapter, but he still had
some great games, includingscoring 51 points in a game
(12:18):
against the Charlotte Hornets.
So that's Michael Jordan, theplayer.
But there's so much more.
Michael Jordan, the culturalphenomenon.
You can't talk about MichaelJordan without Air Jordan shoes,
his Nike endorsements.
I remember always wanting NikeAir Jordans.
For me, when I playedbasketball, I mean, I played for
(12:39):
town teams, YIBL, YarmouthInstructional Basketball League.
I played on middle schoolteams.
I played more intramural inhigh school.
So my skills did not match theshoes, but I still wanted those
shoes.
And those of you that grew upthat are around my age, you can
(13:00):
name off all the otherendorsements or most of them
that Jordan had.
Nike, Gatorade, McDonald's.
Jordan also starred in the 1996film Space Jam, which was a way
to blend basketball andHollywood in a way no athlete
had done before.
Sure, legendary football playerJim Brown became an actor in
(13:24):
the 70s and 80s, but MichaelJordan...
in the 1990s was a bigger dealthan Jim Brown was at his peak.
And that's not to speak ill ofJim Brown's skills.
He was probably the greatestfootball player ever.
But Michael Jordan became aswell known for stuff he did
outside of the actual basketballcourt as he did on it.
(13:46):
Those that are growing up now,people that are younger, below
30, there are giant stars inprofessional sports.
LeBron James is still a bigdeal, but Steph Curry, Patrick
Mahomes, Shohei Ohtani.
It was just different in thelate 1980s, early 90s, watching
(14:09):
Michael Jordan live.
You knew if you watched himplay, you were going to see at
least one thing that you couldnot believe actually happened.
Even before they werechampions, the Chicago Bulls
were always on primetimebroadcasts of basketball.
When you get into sportsdebates, there's always a lot of
(14:29):
different opinions.
I'm sure there are some of youlistening right now, hearing me
talk so glowingly about MichaelJordan and saying, yeah, well,
Wilt Chamberlain was better, oryeah, well, Kobe Bryant was
better than him.
And it is a lot of subjective.
I can say, oh yeah, well, lookat his stats, look at his
(14:50):
championships, and look at hisoverall cultural impact.
But I'm not going to yell atyou if you think Wilt
Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, Magic,Bird, LeBron, if your opinion
is they're better, then so beit.
I just spent 10 minutes statingmy case for why Michael Jordan
(15:10):
was the greatest basketballplayer ever and maybe the
greatest crossover athlete ever.
Still to this day, MichaelJordan causes a scene when he
comes into a room.
Everyone knows who he is, evenif you didn't grow up watching
him.
And this week coming up, heturns 62 years old.
So happy birthday to, in myopinion, the greatest basketball
(15:34):
player ever, bar none, hisairness, MJ, Michael Jordan.
This week in history, we'rereally sharing the love.
We're going back 96 years agoto Valentine's Day, February
14th, 1929, and the infamous St.
(15:58):
Valentine's Day Massacre.
Nothing says love like abrutal, bloody mob hit.
On the morning of Valentine'sDay, 1929, the streets of
Chicago's North Side witnessedone of the most notorious and
brutal crimes in Americanhistory.
It was later dubbed the St.
Valentine's Day Massacre.
(16:19):
So we gotta go back a fewyears.
The early 20th century saw arapid rise in organized crime.
And this was fueled by theenactment of Prohibition in
1920, which was a ban onalcohol.
The idea of banning alcohol wassupposed to curb crime and
moral decay.
Instead, it created a boomingblack market for illicit liquor,
(16:41):
controlled by ruthless mobbosses.
So in Chicago...
There were two main factions,Southside Italian mob led by Al
Capone and the Northside Irishgang, once headed by Dean
O'Banion and later by GeorgeBugs Moran.
In the late 1920s, tensionsbetween the Capone gang and the
(17:03):
Moran gang escalateddramatically.
There were frequent clashesover territory, bootlegging
routes, and control ofspeakeasies.
Capone, who was operatingprimarily from Florida at the
time, sought to eliminate Moranand gain complete control over
Chicago's underworld.
Reports suggest that AlCapone's men, led by his trusted
(17:25):
enforcer Jack Machine GunMcGurn, orchestrated the plot to
lure Moran's men into a trap.
A lucrative shipment of whiskeywas allegedly used as bait,
with instructions given for ameeting at a garage located at
2122 North Clark Street, a knownhangout of the Northside gang.
At approximately 10.30am onFebruary 14th, seven men
(17:49):
affiliated with Moran's ganggathered inside the garage,
unaware of what was about tohappen.
Witnesses later recountedseeing four men, two dressed in
civilian clothing and twodisguised as police officers,
arriving at the scene.
Assuming it was a routinepolice raid, the gangsters
inside offered no resistancewhen ordered to line up against
(18:10):
the wall.
Without warning, the gunmenunleashed a hail of bullets from
Thompson's submachine guns andshotguns, firing at point-blank
range.
The massacre was swift andbrutal.
Each victim was riddled withmultiple gunshot wounds.
Then the assassins staged anescape by having the fake
(18:30):
officers march the two civiliansout at gunpoint, creating the
illusion of an official arrest.
Ironically, Bugs Moran, who wasthe intended target of the
massacre, was not among thedead.
He had arrived late to themeeting and upon seeing the
police officers instinctivelyturned away.
And the twist of fate saved hislife but shattered his criminal
(18:52):
empire, leaving Capone with anearly unchallenged grip over
Chicago's bootlegging industry.
Despite the sheer brutality ofthe massacre, no one was ever
convicted for the crime.
Suspicion immediately fell onCapone, but with an airtight
alibi, the case remainedunsolved.
It did intensify public outcryon organized crime, with
(19:16):
authorities ramping up theirefforts to take down Capone's
empire.
And although he evaded directpunishment for the massacre, his
reign came to an end in 1931when he was convicted of tax
evasion and sentenced to 11years in prison.
The St.
Valentine's Day Massacre becamea defining moment in the
history of organized crime,marking a turning point in the
(19:38):
government's efforts todismantle the mob.
It remains one of the mostinfamous crimes of the 20th
century and has beenimmortalized in films, books,
and documentaries.
And that infamous St.
Valentine's Day massacre inChicago took place 96 years ago
this week in history.
Well, we'll try to bring thelove here with a brand new time
(20:05):
capsule.
We're going back 45 years agoto Valentine's Day, 1980.
You want to know what was goingon in the world of pop culture
back then?
Well, let's find out.
The number one song was Do ThatTo Me One More Time by Captain
and Tennille.
This was off of their albumMake Your Move and was their
(20:28):
second number one song afterLove Will Keep Us Together.
This song was seen as a bit ofa comeback for Captain and
Tennille, who, after their kindof a down period for the last
few years, didn't have theirrecord contract renewed.
We may be hearing a little moreabout Captain and Tennille in
the top five segment, and itmight help to explain why their
(20:50):
record contract was not renewed.
The number one movie was TheFog, and you could get into the
theater with a ticket costing$2.69.
This is a supernatural horrorfilm, an indie film produced by
John Carpenter of Halloweenfame.
It's about a deadly fog thatinfests this coastal town a
(21:14):
hundred years after a ship sunkoff the shore.
It was a big hit, making morethan $21 million on a budget of
$1 million.
And John Carpenter even broughtback Jamie Lee Curtis from
Halloween for this movie.
It's 76% fresh on RottenTomatoes and definitely is an
excellent horror scary film ifyou haven't seen it before.
(21:36):
The number one TV show wasThree's Company.
The classic comedy, JohnRitter, Suzanne Somers, Joyce
DeWitt, Don Knotts.
The show was on for sevenseasons from 1977 to 1984.
And the hijinks involve JohnRitter's character Jack Tripper
(21:58):
pretending to be gay so that Mr.
Roper at the beginning willallow him to live in the same
apartment with the two women.
There were even a couple ofspinoffs from the show.
The Ropers, when they movedout, that failed.
Three's a Crowd, that lastedfor one season in 1985.
It also has a pretty good themesong you can probably hear in
(22:22):
your head right now.
And if you were around backthen, Valentine's Day 1980,
maybe you were looking for acheap date for Valentine's
Night, well, you're in luck.
I got something for you.
You can go to see the fog, andthen you can go have dinner at
Howard Johnson's.
Oh, they got some specials foryou.
(22:42):
Chicken and biscuits in africassee sauce for $2.95.
If you don't like chicken, youcan get fried filet of flounder,
also for $2.95.
So there you go.
Dinner and a movie.
Now all you need is a timemachine to go back to 1980.
That wraps up another timecapsule in This Week in History.
(23:05):
Now we're going to continuesharing the love for Valentine's
Week as we look back at, atleast in my opinion, the top
five worst love songs ever.
So let's get into those.
Oh yes, love songs andValentine's Day, they go hand in
(23:27):
hand.
The past few weeks on socialmedia, I've been sharing sunsets
and love songs on Instagram, onmy stories.
Just combining what I think,well, they're my favorite love
songs, and then just pictures ofsunsets, a little bit of
romance.
I'm about to undo all of thatgoodwill with this top five.
(23:49):
Your opinions will vary.
This was a tough one to narrowdown because when I say worst,
it's a quicker way to say onesthat are either cringy, cheesy,
confusing, stupid, all thosewords.
But again, it's all subjectivebecause I guarantee some of you
out there, I'm going to name offsongs and you're going to be
(24:11):
like, wait a minute, I love thatsong.
Just like I'm sure some of mysongs I've been sharing on my
Instagram stories, my favoritelove songs, some of you have
probably heard and said, ah,really?
You like that?
All right, so with most ofthese top fives, they're in no
particular order, and there'ssome honorable mentions.
I'm going to try my best toblast through the honorable
(24:35):
mentions without getting toomuch into them.
So for Valentine's Day...
Turn down the lights, lightsome candles, and don't play any
of these songs.
All right, here we go.
So honorable mentions for worstlove songs ever, in my opinion,
there is Picture by Kid Rockand Sheryl Crow.
(24:56):
This is from his 2001 album,Cocky.
Another honorable mention isLady in Red by Krista Berg.
and cheesy and on his 1986album Into the Light.
Another honorable mention isHero by Enrique Iglesias.
(25:19):
This is off of his 2001 albumEscape.
Another honorable mention is IWould Do Anything for Love by
Meatloaf.
This is off of his 1993 albumBat Out of Hell 2.
And is mainly on here becausewhat the hell is I won't do
that?
What won't you do?
(25:40):
Anyway.
And the final honorable mentionis How Can We Be Lovers If We
Can't Be Friends by MichaelBolton.
This is off of his 1989 albumSoul Provider.
And I'll be honest, it was theone I chose out of several of
his songs that I thought couldhave been on this list.
(26:01):
Sorry, I'm not a Michael Boltonfan.
But hey, he has sold more than75 million albums with a voice
that sounds like someonestrangling a rubber chicken, so
I can't hate on that.
Ah, yeah, so there's thehonorable mentions.
How many of those songs are inyour rotation for Valentine's
Day?
I apologize for ruining yourplaylist.
(26:22):
So let me ruin it even more bygetting into the actual top
five, starting with number one.
You Are So Beautiful by JoeCocker.
Ironically, this is anothersong that Michael Bolton
actually did.
So much of this, it's cringy,but a lot of it comes down to
(26:43):
Joe Cocker's voice, much likeMichael Bolton's voice.
His raspy, screeching voicedoes not lend itself to a
touching love song.
This is off of his 1974 album,I Can Stand a Little Rain.
Joe Cocker had some other bighits.
The song Feelin' Alright, thatfits more with his vocal style.
(27:06):
And for kids like me that grewup in the 1980s, his cover of
The Beatles with A Little HelpFrom My Friends being the theme
song for The Wonder Yearsinstantly gave him a soft spot
in my heart.
But this song just doesn'twork.
Now I will say a lot of theseare my opinion, but I did
(27:26):
research.
There are so many...
Other people out there withtheir picks for worst love songs
ever.
Some that are just randombloggers or random podcasters
like me.
But there are others like bigtime music magazines like
Rolling Stone or news outletslike ABC, NBC.
And some of these songs are ontheir list.
(27:48):
So it's not just me.
I'm really trying to sell this.
Like, please don't be mad.
Let's get more mad with numbertwo.
Your Body is a Wonderland byJohn Mayer.
This is off of his 2001 debutalbum, Room for Squares.
It's a song that hasn't agedwell.
(28:08):
It's so cringy.
It's got some weird lyrics.
Like, what the hell isbubblegum tongue?
Like, when you kiss your girl,you're going to chew on her
tongue?
Like, is that what you'redoing?
I think part of it is also thatAs we got to know John Mayer
more through his fame, he becameless of a reputable character.
I mean, it's hard to see him asa nice guy when he's dated so
(28:34):
many different people likeJennifer Aniston, Jessica
Simpson, Taylor Swift, and theydon't really have a lot of nice
things to say about him.
I'm not saying you have to be achoir boy, church-going boy to
sing love songs, but just don'tbe a douchebag and then try to
pass yourself off as someonewho's sweet.
Let's continue with somecringe, though, with number
(28:55):
three, Having My Baby by PaulAnka.
This is off of his 1974 albumAnka, and the lyrics are
literally, you're having mybaby, what a lovely way of
saying how much you love me.
It's just creepy, cringy,weird, I guess would be the best
ways to describe the lyrics tothis song.
(29:17):
This song has been voted worstlove song or one of the worst on
several different polls,including CNN.
He got the Keeper in Her PlaceAward from the National
Organization for Women for thesexist overtones of this song.
It is said due to the backlashthat when he performed the song
(29:38):
live, he would change the lyricsto You're Having Our Baby
because that makes it so muchbetter.
Number four is Muskrat Love byCaptain and Tennille.
I teased it a few minutes agoin the time capsule that we
might hear from Captain andTennille again.
This is off of their 1976 albumSong of Joy.
(30:02):
This song is about a romanticencounter between a pair of
anthropomorphic muskrats namedSusie and Sam.
All you need to know about thissong is go Google muskrat love
and type in worst and you willget lists of this song being on
worst song ever lists.
(30:23):
A lot of people say it's juststupid and nonsensical.
But there are others, and maybesome of you listening, that
find it charming, a slice ofnostalgia, and I know better
than anyone how importantnostalgia is.
The song did chart on theBillboard Hot 100, but it was
followed up by two albums thatbasically ended their recording
(30:46):
contract.
That's why I had mentioned inthe time capsule that Do That To
Me One More Time was seen as abit of a comeback song.
And it's sort of like thedownfall began with Muskrat
Love.
And finally, number five on, inmy opinion, the worst love
songs ever is Get Her Back byRobin Thicke.
(31:06):
I could almost copy and pastewhat I said about John Mayer as
far as his public personacompared to what he writes in
his songs.
This is off of his 2014 albumPaula.
The entire album served as atribute to Robin Thicke's then
ex-wife, Paula Patton.
The couple divorced afterciting irreconcilable
(31:30):
differences.
The video for this song is justRobin Thicke basically
bare-chested from the mid-chestup, but he's got like bruising
and blood on his face.
I'm sure there are some thatwill see dedicating his entire
album to his estranged wife assweet.
But way more people see it ascreepy, desperate, humiliating,
(31:54):
and ultimately what killed hiscareer.
Even more so than being suedfor copyright infringement for
his Blurred Lines song.
Sure, love and heartbreak andbreakups will make you do and
say a lot of weird things youmight regret.
I may not have the ability tomake a whole album dedicated to
an ex-girlfriend, but it wouldbe like me getting her name
(32:16):
tattooed on my wrist orsomething.
Now after the fact.
But there you go.
My opinion, the worst lovesongs ever.
How many of these are on yourlist?
How many of these do you loveand you're now mad at me and you
want to stop the podcast?
Don't worry, I've got somethingsuper fun coming up right now.
(32:37):
We're going to look at one ofthe weirdest employee training
videos that I've done thus far.
So let's go back to BlockbusterVideo.
Let's finish off this podcastby making it a Blockbuster
(32:57):
night.
I love doing these employeetraining video reviews.
So, how I got to this one is afew weeks ago I was going
through some stuff in my closet,trying to get rid of some old
things that I don't need.
It was then that I found my oldBlockbuster Video membership
card.
I'm literally holding it in myhands.
(33:17):
That's me pulling the plasticof it.
The address on the back is 1070Main Street, Route 210.
I don't know if that meansRoute 28.
I'm assuming this was the onethat was in Yarmouth,
Massachusetts.
So in the middle of Cape Cod.
It got me thinking I shouldlook to see if there are any
(33:38):
training videos for peopleworking at Blockbuster.
And oh boy, was there ever.
This video is from 1990.
It's about 17 minutes long.
And it's for something calledBlockbuster University.
The funniest thing about it,it's a very weird training
(33:58):
video.
And in full transparency, I'lltell you, I watched this last
week to kind of, you know, scoutit out.
And to make it more fun, a realblockbuster night, I popped an
edible and I watched this video.
And part of me thought maybethe edible had taken hold early
because it was so weird.
(34:19):
So then when I watched it againto now share it with you, I
realized, no, it's just theweirdest training video.
I mean, it is quintessential90s.
It starts off with this cheesyfake bass music as they pan
around a blockbuster video,which those of you that are my
(34:41):
age, you remember what it lookslike, the video store in
general.
So it definitely brings back alot of nostalgia.
We end up focusing on the leadin this video.
(35:05):
She's not dressed in anyblockbuster uniform, no blue
button-down shirt.
And the girl bumps into aregular customer, knocks her
videos out of her hands, andshe's so sorry.
Then she wonders where she'sbeen, and the woman says that
her VCR had been in the shop, sothat's why she hadn't been in.
So far, normal.
(35:26):
But then it gets weird.
This girl is putting videosback on the shelf and a TV
behind her turns on and thisreally weird looking guy pops up
on it.
I will say I'm being nice insaying this guy was incredibly
annoying.
Like I'm sure the actor wastold to play the character this
(35:46):
way, but he's instantly the mostunlikable guy.
Just smug and condescending tothis girl.
We find out the girl workingthere is named Marie, but this
smug guy in his super cheesy,like, nightclub guy shirt is
named Buster Sales.
And he starts explaining who heis.
(36:09):
Yo,
Speaker 01 (36:12):
Marie.
Hey, let's wake up.
Who are you?
The name's Buster.
Buster Sales.
Speaker 02 (36:19):
Um, our trailer tape must have jammed.
Speaker 01 (36:23):
He
Speaker 03 (36:25):
tells her that he's a professional opportunist.
And he says he's there becausehe sees that she needs help
doing her job, as in making moresales of videotape rentals.
And it gets really weird reallyfast where the girl Marie says,
oh, she knows all about findingopportunities.
And this buster's sales startsgiving her crap about some
(36:48):
customer's son that asked herout and she said no.
Like he's already dug into herpersonal life like this.
Speaker 02 (36:55):
I know an opportunity when I see it.
Speaker 01 (36:57):
Sure.
Like the time Mrs.
Harris' son Brian asked youout.
And you turned him down and gota Jane Alworth stupid slumber
party.
Speaker 02 (37:05):
After
Speaker 03 (37:08):
that, creepiness is out of the way.
Buster Sales tells her to goover to this customer again that
she bumped into earlier andtell her about how you can rent
a VCR if yours is in the shop.
Which I guess makes sense.
I remember you used to be ableto rent video game consoles at
the rental store, so it wouldmake sense they'd have VCRs.
(37:29):
Although in this, they don'tcall them VCRs.
They call them VCPs, videocassette players.
So I don't know the difference.
I guess you couldn't use it torecord things.
So the mother is looking atdifferent videos to rent for her
son's party, and she's askingMarie for help.
And then after she's done, thatstupid Buster Sales comes back
(37:51):
on, and he's kind ofhalf-heartedly congratulating
her for helping this woman out.
But she mentioned she likedSean Connery, and so he's mad
that she didn't push this womanto get other Sean Connery movie
videos.
This was when Hunt for RedOctober was out, so that'll kind
of date when this is from.
(38:12):
This is where it makes it seemlike working at Blockbuster is
way more involved than it is.
Buster Sales tells her tomemorize a book of the 50 best
movies and to learn all themovies that different actors
have been in.
Like, think about how manypeople that worked at
Blockbuster Video at the timereally took it seriously as a
(38:35):
career.
And this mascot in the TV istelling them to do all this
homework so that people willrent an extra video.
Like they're going to makecommissions on it.
Later on, Marie is checking outa girl at the register who's
got like seven videos and shenotices that the girl has rented
the same movie like five times.
So buster sales as annoying asever pops up on a monitor and
(38:59):
he's just clearing his throat injust an annoying way.
But he's convincing her to tryto get this girl to just buy the
video instead of continuing torent it.
So there's an upsell for that.
Of course, Buster Sales is nothappy with how Marie has done.
Because she didn't get thisgirl that's renting all the
(39:20):
videos to get a gift certificatefor her brother who loves Star
Trek.
The guy Buster Sales, he lookslike he should be a game show
host around that time.
Like you'd see him on aNickelodeon game show.
Then we turn the creep factorup even more, but it's not from
Buster Sales.
There's this weird music andMarie is putting videos on the
(39:42):
shelf and there's this guy inlike a sweater vest and bow tie
and glasses that is picking upevery tape she puts down and
looking at it and just followingher.
Yeah.
Speaker 02 (40:00):
Excuse me, is there something I can help you find?
Oh,
Speaker 00 (40:03):
I doubt it.
I'm a 60s movie buff, and I'vebeen to eight video stores in
the last three days looking forthe last movie.
I don't know the name.
Speaker 03 (40:13):
If you ever saw a guy like that in a video store,
the girl would probably turnaround and slap him because he's
just so creepy and weird.
He ends up being a 1960s moviebuff looking for the last film
that had Peter Sellers and WoodyAllen in it.
Like, he's giving her trivia.
He says he's been to eightvideo stores looking for it, but
(40:35):
he doesn't know the name of it.
Just remember, this was adifferent time in 1990 where you
spent all kinds of time drivingto video stores.
It wasn't streaming.
It wasn't seen as a waste oftime back then.
And Marie is getting ready tohelp this weirdo look for this
movie.
And that Buster Sales justblows a whistle.
(40:58):
And then she turns around likeshe's happy to see him.
Like, I don't know how shewouldn't want to, in reality,
like, whip a soda bottle at thisguy.
Buster tells her to use thevideo log.
It's like a huge, it's likethree times the size of a phone
book filled with movies.
Like I said, it was a differenttime.
So they're looking through thisvideo log.
(41:20):
Do any of you out there thatused to go to Blockbuster, do
you ever remember the video log?
I might vaguely.
I don't think I ever used it.
I think I went in and knew whatI wanted and got it.
I never had to go and lookthrough this 3,000 page book of
every movie that's on video.
Marie does a good job.
(41:42):
She convinces this guy to notonly order the movie, which is
Casino Royale, So he orders itand it's going to be in at the
end of the week.
He has to buy it.
Then she convinces him to rentother Peter Sellers movies like
the Pink Panther movies.
So Marie goes to get this guy acopy of the Pink Panther.
And then, God, this bustersales.
(42:03):
It's like he becomes instantlytriple hated because he pops up
on the TV and he's bangingcymbals to get her attention.
Speaker 01 (42:13):
Just trying to get your attention.
Speaker 02 (42:15):
Well, if you don't mind, I'd rather you stick with
the whistle.
What is it this time?
I found the man his movie.
Speaker 01 (42:20):
Yes, and you're still batting 500.
How
Speaker 02 (42:24):
so?
Speaker 01 (42:25):
You remember?
Listen, think, act?
Speaker 02 (42:28):
Right.
Peter Sellers' comedy moviesfor rent.
Speaker 01 (42:32):
Good.
Now think again.
Speaker 03 (42:34):
Like, this is the reason why when I was watching
this after my edible, I thoughtthat it was something maybe was
wrong with me.
But then watching it back, justseeing how incredibly annoying
and obnoxious this characterwas.
I mean, I guess he's trying tobe cool, like the cool jerk.
So that when you've got 16,17-year-old boys likely working
(42:57):
at Blockbuster in 1990, they'dwatch this and be like, oh, I
want to be cool like BusterSales.
He's mad that she didn't showthis guy that likes Peter
Sellers where he could buypreviously used tapes.
It basically seems like Mariecan't do anything right for
buster sales.
So we go back to the front andshe's checking out the woman
(43:19):
from the beginning whose sonasked her out and she said no.
Now she's saying, tell him Isaid hi.
Oh, but it's not over yet.
Stupid Buster Sayles pops up ona screen behind her after the
mother leaves, and he's justthrowing popcorn at her, and
he's eating it with this stupidsmug face.
(43:40):
Like, can you tell that I hatethis character?
He's like the worst of allthese employee training videos
I've seen yet.
Then we get a fun little maybecoincidence where dumbass Buster
Sayles says, here comes MargeSimpson.
So basically this customer, hername is Marge Simpson, that
wants to introduce Marie to herson.
(44:03):
At this point in time, theSimpsons were actually on TV, so
I don't know if it'scoincidence or if they picked
the name out because of that.
So Marge Simpson comes up tothe front desk with her son, and
he's just like the biggest nerdever.
And while she's standing there,God, that Buster Sayles is like
(44:24):
fake crying in the backgroundand like making pig noises.
It's like, God, who wrote this?
Speaker 02 (44:32):
Hello, Mrs.
Simpson.
Hi, Marie.
Marie, have you ever met myson, Douglas?
Hi, Doug.
Speaker 00 (44:38):
Hello, Marie.
So, looks
Speaker 02 (44:45):
like you have everything you wanted?
Speaker 03 (44:46):
Yes.
We get into Marge Simpson beingupset.
Her husband is not named Homer,it's Richard.
But she says he gets mad if shespends more than $10 on movies
at the video store and she'scomplaining about him and his
fishing lures.
Like, would you really talklike this to a random associate
at a blockbuster video?
(45:07):
All your personal stories?
I don't know.
Marie uses like a Jedi mindtrick on her, saying, oh, you
can...
stay below your $10 limit eachtime at the video store if you
just come into the store more.
So she gets her to come in moretimes a week.
So she's actually spending waymore money, but it's never more
(45:28):
than $10 at a time.
What did videos cost to rentback then at Blockbuster 1990?
99 cents?
$1.99?
I don't know.
I wasn't the one paying forthem at the time.
But if it's $1.99 and she'sspending more than $10, I mean,
five movies each time, I don'tknow, that seems kind of
(45:49):
excessive.
Marie then upsells MargeSimpson on VCR head cleaners,
saying that you should cleanyour heads of your VCR every 20
hours that you watch tapes.
So there's another question foryou out there.
How many of you with VCRs cleanthe heads of them every 20
hours or every 100 or 200 hours?
(46:11):
I probably could count on onehand with fingers left the
amount of times that I used aVCR head cleaner.
After Marge Simpson pays forher videos in the VCR head
cleaner with exact change out ofher change purse, her idiot son
says parting is such sweetsorrow, like he's quoting Romeo
(46:33):
and Juliet to her.
But finally, as we're near theend, Buster Sales says that she
did terrific upselling MargeSimpson.
Now he's like super sweet afterbeing the most annoying
character I've seen in thesevideos ever.
Speaker 02 (46:50):
So, how was I?
Speaker 01 (46:53):
You were terrific.
Now, you ready to go out onyour own?
Speaker 02 (46:56):
Honestly, I'm not sure.
I mean, I almost missed out onthat opportunity with Mrs.
Simpson.
Speaker 01 (47:02):
But you didn't.
So tell me, what have youlearned?
Speaker 02 (47:04):
Well, to listen to the customers very carefully and
to think because anything theydo or say may be signs of their
needs.
Speaker 03 (47:14):
So finally, Marie is done with that idiot Buster
Sales, and it shows her talkingto that son that she wanted to
date from the beginning.
His name is Brian.
So it's like BlockbusterUniversity.
It's kind of like 90210.
It's like, yeah, we're rentingyou videos, but it's also all
(47:34):
this teenage drama going on.
And we get to this point wherethere's a new associate at
Blockbuster who is talking tothe video screens and Marie
figures it's Buster Saylestalking to her.
So Marie helps her out withBuster's big points.
Listen, think, and act.
And also upsell everyone thatcomes in.
(47:57):
And it ends with the samecheeseball music and Buster
Sayles making this stupid face.
Like just to remind you howpunchable his face was through
this whole thing.
It's then that we get to theend and it says it's produced in
association with Jack MortonProductions in Atlanta, Georgia.
(48:18):
And that this whole video wasfilmed at store number 13011 in
Roswell, Georgia.
And they tell you that RyanLocken is the manager.
No word on who played BusterSales.
I guess they didn't want peopleto go after him and harass him.
And that ends BlockbusterUniversity from 1990.
(48:40):
I had a lot of fun watchingthis.
It was different each timebecause, like I said, at first I
thought there was somethingwrong with me.
But it turns out, no, it wasjust Buster Sales was written to
be the most annoying personpossible.
Nothing ruins your mellow of anedible than some guy in
(49:01):
cheeseball 90s clothes bangingcymbals real loud.
I'll put a link to the video inthe description of the podcast
if you want to watch bustersales for yourself.
And stay tuned.
Sometime in the not-too-distantfuture, I'll do another
employee training video becauseI love finding these and then
sharing them with you.
They're a load of laughs.
(49:22):
But until next time, that'sgoing to wrap up episode 182 of
the podcast, Valentine's Weekepisode, sharing the love with a
lot of hatred sprinkled inthere, worst love songs, St.
Valentine's Day massacre andbuster sales.
Thank you all for tuning in tothe wackiness that is my weekly
(49:45):
podcast.
If you enjoy the show, $5 amonth on Patreon.
You can become a supporter, asubscriber.
You can always check out thePatreon page without being a
supporter.
There's a lot on the free tierthat I keep adding.
Subscribe to my YouTubechannel.
I've got hundreds and hundredsof videos up there.
All the podcasts go up in audioform, so there's no video with
(50:09):
it.
That's just linked to when thepodcast goes live.
Read the Initial Impressions2.0 blog that details my
wackiness of my weekly life.
Like I said, I've kind ofpaused the Webcam Weekly Wrap-Up
podcast.
It's just time-consuming.
It happens every now and then.
I keep adding things to myplate just repeatedly until
(50:32):
finally it's like a mountain offood that falls on the floor.
I'm sure at some point I willbring it back, but I've got,
with the movie role, I have awhole bunch of other ideas that
I want to try for content andjust in general.
I'm experimenting with my newphone, the video format on it.
My hope is that sometime in thespring when it gets warm on
(50:55):
Cape Cod, eventually, is to dosome kind of short film with
several friends.
I have an idea.
So I know if you're listening,Greg, I haven't forgot what we
talked about on Christmas Eve.
I'm going to try to storyboardan idea so we can do something
fun like that.
You can follow me all oversocial media.
(51:16):
I've got a Facebook fan page.
I am on Instagram.
There's a page for the podcastthere.
I'm on threads, blue sky.
I am constantly sharing andmarketing my content because if
I don't, who else will?
The hits will just keep oncoming.
Next week is episode 183, thepost-Valentine's hangover.
(51:38):
Hopefully, some of you that arelistening now that are in
relationships will still be inthem after Valentine's Day.
If not, you can come drown yoursorrows with me or celebrate.
I don't know.
I don't want to judge what yourrelationship is like.
So whether you're digging outfrom loads of snow like up here
(51:59):
in the Northeast or you'resunning yourself on a warm
tropical beach to escape fromall of this, I hope that
whatever you're doing, it's thebest it can possibly be.
Enjoy those you're with.
Enjoy where you're at the bestyou can.
If things aren't the way youwant, hopefully this podcast
gives you a little bit of anescape about an hour each week.
(52:22):
If you're just tuning in, youcan binge all the other
episodes.
You can go back and listen tothe first couple dozen episodes
where I definitely am morebuttoned down like I tried to
make it serious rather thanletting my insanity just shine
through.
Lean into the things that makeyou happy.
It's like the late great singerJim Morrison said, no one here
(52:45):
gets out alive.
So spend more time enjoyingpeople, places, foods,
podcasters, crazy ones like me.
And I'll do my part bycontinuing to pump out the
content in audio, video, writtenform.
And remember, in this life,don't walk in anyone else's
footsteps.
Create your own path and enjoyevery moment you can on this
(53:08):
journey we call life because younever know what tomorrow
brings.
This has been the In MyFootsteps podcast.
I am Christopher Setterlund.
You already knew that.
And I'll talk to you all againsoon.
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