RECAP EPISODE: VALKYRIES RISE! Plus Other Sports and Pop Culture

Beave and Len talk through a wide variety of topics on the latest recap episode, including the NBA draft, the ASCENDANT Golden State Valkyries, Angel Reese's improved play, the Cubs' continued hold on first place, the improving Sox, and the sinking Guardians. Plus Iva-Marie Palmer joins the pod for a little 5th anniversary celebration and Top 5 lists, Len keeps everyone up to date on the New Yorker, Beave reviews the new McKinley Dixon album, the guys review Magnetic Fields' "69 Love Songs", and more! Tune in for recap excellence!

The great Scott OKen returns to Jagbags once again to discuss the all-time guitar master Jimi Hendrix, and his brief but influential career. WIll his music live on? Why has it continued to be so popular, some 55 years after his death? What is his best album? Where might his music have gone in the 70s, 80s and beyond? What songs belong on a tight 45-minute playlist? We talk his releases, compilation LPs, his ultimate legacy, and what made his guitar sound so unique and instantly successful. Tune in for SERIOUS JAMS.

The Pacers extend OKC to Game 7 in the Finals before finally bowing in defeat. Plus we go through the Cubs lineup and Len provides thumbs up or thumbs down (and Len gives periodic thumbs down throughout to Alex Caruso). Plus Guardians, White Sox, WNBA, Beave reviews a new book (The Bronx is Burning), and Len talks about the 30 for 30 episodes on the Baltimore Colts football band and the story of the USFL. Plus Madonna's "Immaculate Collection", and Beave and Len discuss the music of the Backstreet Boys (and also Jim Backus). And finally, the Darkness have a new album out!! Tune in!

Friend of the podcast Kevin Stern rejoins Jagbags to talk through the music of the Chairman of the Board: Mr. Frank Sinatra. Will his music live on? Did he put out the very first concept album? What is his influence in 2025, and will his legacy connect with the incoming generation? What are his very best songs and albums? We each created a 45-minute playlist (one is "Sinatra Sobs", another "Sinatra Swings", and the final is "Sinatra Simple"), and discuss those in great detail as well. Finally, we make too many jokes about Frank Sinatra Jr.'s collab with Was (Not Was). Tune in for some Ol' Blue Eyes!

Beave and Len continue to argue about the NBA Finals. Marlana May Carlson joins the pod to provide her top 5 U2 songs. Beave continues to review Elvis Costello's autobiography. Len mourns the season-ending injury to Courtney Vandersloot, and discusses where the Chicago Sky go from here. Len's Cubs fever also intensifies. Len reads the Atlantic and listens to Hendrix's "First Rays of the New Rising Sun". Len also reviews the new Wes Anderson movie, "The Phoenician Scheme". Plus Robert Christgau's A+ Albums, the New Yorker, and more!

Beave and Len discuss the career and films of Robert Redford, from his debut in "Barefoot In The Park" to his recent appearances in Marvel movies. We also talk the legacy of the Sundance Film Festival, as well as his directorial accomplishments. Was he actually a good actor, or just a pretty face? What are his best films, both as an actor and director? Tune in for cinema discussion!

In the latest recap, Len discusses how the Cubs are absolutely for real. Beave and Len talk the NBA Finals matchup between the Pacers and Thunder. They make their predictions on who will win (Len says OKC in 5, Beave says OKC in 6). The Chicago Sky get their first wins of the season. The Cleveland Guardians flounder about in the AL Central standings. And the Sox make strides! Beave has more thoughts on Elvis Costello's memoir "Unfaithful Music". Len recommends Roxy Music's live album "Heart Still Beating", and the book "Bear Tooth", by Callan Wink. Beave reviews the new Beach Bunny LP. Len reads the New Yorker, plus a LOT of Babyface! Tune in.

On the new Jagbags, Beave and Len go through their favorite songs that somehow either languished on the Billboard charts, or remained a deep cut stashed away somewhere on an obscure album. If you've ever loved a song, and wondered how the heck it didn't dominate radio and become a #1 hit, this podcast is for you! What are some of your favorite songs that went nowhere commerically? Tell us in the comments!

Len and Beave scratch their heads at Robert Christgau's A+ grade for the 1976 album "Have Moicy". But he is the Dean of American music critics, so he just knows more, right? Plus "I Recommend", Len reads the New Yorker and provides his insights, Beave reviews the new Beach Bunny LP, undiscovered Top 40 hits (it's a bit of a desert right now), and all the Chicago/Cleveland/Knicks mockery sports talk you can handle! Tune in now.

Len and Beave go through the career and films of Demi Moore, who shockingly lost Best Actress earlier this year for her performance in "The Substance". What were her best performances? Is she in fact a good actress? What is the key to her appeal? What movies are among her best? Has anyone seen "Wisdom", "Forsaken", or "Wild Oats"? Is "Striptease" a good movie? (Beave will defend that one to the death) And of course, has St. Elmo's Fire aged for the better or worse since its premiere 40 years ago? Tune in!