Happy New Years to all those BBC members observing. We wanted to start 2023 off with some positive vibes. For those of you pretending to eat healthy this year or get in shape, you may want to avoid watching the videos below. Pepper Belly Pete does not fuck around. I’ve gained 7 pounds just from watching his videos.

If you’re unfamiliar with Pepper Belly Pete, he makes instructional videos on delicious homestyle meals with a twist. And by twist, I mean he makes them potentially life threatening loaded with unique flavors. Everything about Pepper Belly Pete is perfect. His attire, his Texas accent, his monotone voice. I wish I could be Pepper Belly Pete, but unfortunately I don’t have the culinary skills or come close in pure masculine, virile, red-blooded Americanness. 

I’m not joking, I think Pepper Belly Pete is an absolute must follow on Instagram or TikTok. The best part about Pepper Belly Pete is that he is authentic. He’s not an influencer, he’s not desperate for attention (please listen to our podcast, I beg you), he’s just being himself. My guess is he’s been doing this for years without a camera and someone said ‘why don’t you film these recipes?’ Plus, anyone that incorporates Cheez-Its (our favorite snack), into their meals is doing Gods work.

I do have some questions for him that I would love to get answered 1) He’s making banquet sized portions seemingly every day, is he eating these by himself? Is he giving these these out to others? Is he a cook as his main job? I need to know more about a day-in-the-life of Pepper Belly Pete! 2) How does he shit after eating that much cheese? I eat three slices of pizza and am backed up for at least a couple of days. He’s putting 8 different cheeses and a full pizza worth of cheese in every bite. Tell me your secret, I need help!

My favorite part of his videos are the ending. The grand finale if you will. Where he tries the food and simply states “pretty good right there” and give the camera a thumbs up. Awesome.

No catch phrase, no overselling, just a thumbs up for a job well done. We here at the Buddy Book Club give you four thumbs up, keep doing what you’re doing. Check him out on Instagram, TikTok or Facebook.

P.S. One of the BBC members, D-Man is also quite a cook himself, give TheBuddyRanch a follow on Instagram for some great cuisine tips and recipes (with slightly less calories).

I went down a Wikipedia worm hole the other day, that somehow landed me on the Red Hot Chili Peppers Wiki page. There were so many twists and turns, so many band members, so many crazy stories, that someone has to make a movie about it. 

The Red Hot Chili Peppers story spans 5 decades, with a ton of up and downs, drug use, and amazing music. As an amateur screen writer (by amateur, I mean terrible), I’ll break down all the crazy stories that need to be in the movie, the story structure and who we’d cast. The movie will include flashback to childhood of each band member to show how they became the people they are today. I don’t claim to be a RHCP expert, but I may need to pick up a few of their memoirs to get even deeper into the story and help fill in the holes.

Genre: Biographical, Drama/Comedy

Based On:  Anthony Kiedis (Singer), Flea (Bassist), Chad Smith (Drummer) & John Frusciante (Guitarist) and past Band members:

Logline: The story of a band willing to cross (and do) every line to find musical success and rock the world… While wearing socks on their dicks.   

Working Title: Under the Bridge or Scar Tissue

Casting the Red Hot Chili Peppers Movie

Anthony Kiedis – Obviously being able to replicate Kiedis’ style and mannerisms will be key in this role. I’m also a fan of actors that can actually sing (like Taron Egerton in the Elton John biopic), so it’s not just lip singing the whole time (which takes me out of the story). So in terms of look and their ability to sing, we’re going with Noah Centineo of Black Adam and To All the Boys I’ve Loved fame. This role may be a little bit darker than what he’s used to, but he has the looks and the voice to give it a crack.

Flea – Flea is a good actor in his own right appearing in a number of movies over the last 30 years. For this role we need someone that is a little off the wall that can play the eccentric talented artist. How about a guy that has been a bit crazy in real life as well in Ezra Miller. Miller has a musical background being in the band Sons of an Illustrious Father and I think could nail this role.

John Frusciante – The amazing guitarist is another eccentric character that is a a lot more quiet and reserved compared to the rest of the band, but would be a key part in the movie. Again looking for someone that actually looks like they know how to play guitar, so we went with Dylan Minnette who is most known for his role in 13 Reasons Why. But he’s also the lead singer and guitarist of the band Wallows so he won’t look out of place with a guitar in his hands.

Chad Smith – The easiest casting for Chad Smith would be Will Ferrell he looks exactly like him, and can play drums. But unfortunately Will Ferrell is a bit too old for this role being only 6 years younger than Smith. We went with Ansel Elgort, who, staying on theme, is a talented actor that also has musical chops. Not sure if he can drum, but he did a good job drumming out songs in Baby Driver. I think look wise if he grew out a beard and hair he could look like a young Chad Smith (although I can’t get Will Ferrell out of my mind).

Red Hot Chili Peppers Movie Outline

Here is a breakdown of the movie by key plot points. Obviously a lot of the story would have to come from the band itself and I’m sure there is a ton of humor and good natured elements, but most of the below is a bit depressing. 

ACT I – Origin Story

1) Flea & Anthony Kiedis Meet in High School – Like any great movie we’ll have the artists being the bullied outsiders, that are brought together by music. Flea, Kiedis, and original drummer Jack Irons and guitarist Hillel Slovak all met in high school and initially the band went by “Tony Flow” and “Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem”, before settling on Red Hot Chili Peppers. 

2) Beginners Luck – Next we’ll show how the their energy and love for music created an immediate buzz. They saw immediate success with their punk-funk music, selling 300k copies of their initial album. They were pretty much playing every night as they went on a 60 show in 64 days tour. Sure there are a lot of early day funny stories that could be added in here. The early RHCP days had similar energy but the music was a lot more punk/rap in style.

3) Second Album – In order to ramp up the funk, they turned to famous funk musician George Clinton to help produce their album, and while it didn’t propel them to stardom, it did get them a feature in the movie Thrashin‘.

4) Drug Use & Downward Trajectory – During the making of their second album Freaky Styley, Kiedis and Slovak both developed heroin addictions. It impacted their music and eventually became so bad that they ended up firing Kiedis. Flashback: Kiedis listening to rock legends Led Zeppelin & Jimi Hendrix and being introduced to drugs by his father at the age of 12. 

5) Rick Rubin Passes – The famous producer who helped a number of famous groups/bands, met with them but declined to help with their third album due to their drug problems.

6) Rock Bottom – Kiedis and Slovak both went to rehab and tried to get clean, but the withdrawals impacted their performances. Slovak at one point had a mental breakdown, and was unable to play a show. After touring ended, Slovak went home and overdosed on heroine while in seclusion. Kiedis was so distraught he didn’t even attend the funeral. Drummer Jack Irons decided to leave the band instead of seeing more of his friends die to drugs. It looked like everything was unravelling and this was the end of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

ACT II – Resurgence

1) Getting the Band Back Together – Kiedis finally took getting clean seriously and visited Slovak’s grave. Needing a new Drummer and Guitarist the band tries out a few people but eventually land on the core we know today, adding John Frusciante and Chad Smith. Frusciante was an avid fan of the band already and was an easy choice. Smith was considered more of a hair-metal drummer that the band initially wrote off, but he ended up winning them over. Flashback to show the independence of Chad Smith, teaching himself to drum at a young age and running away from home for a whole summer.

2) Immediate Chemistry – This is the RHCP we know and love as the quickly produced Mother’s Milk, Blood Sugar Sex Magic (with Rick Rubin now back in the picture and helping them produce the ladder album).

3) Global Success – With hit songs Under the Bridge and Give It Away, the RHCP not surprisingly saw worldwide success. They started doing major tours and even had small bands Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins opening for them. Lot of great stories along the way here and we’d have a lot of reenactments of some of their famous live events.

4) Frusciante Drug Use – Everything seemly was going great until things started to unravel once again, this time it was their guitarist Frusciante as the bands sparkplug developing a heroin problem.

5) SNL Performance & Frusciante Leaving – The SNL performance is quite infamous as it either was a culmination of a lot of tension or the start of things. Would love to be a fly on the wall for how this all went down, but things seem to come to a head during the SNL performance below.  It looks like Frusciante was purposely sabotaging the performance (although the alternative version still didn’t sound half bad) – and his bandmates don’t seem too pleased. Shortly after this he left the band.

6) Frusciante Living in Squalor – Frusciante could really have a full movie made just about him. After he left the band he went to work on solo projects, but really he was heavily into drugs and pretty much homeless. If you want to watch something really depressing here is a documentary made about him in 1993, well before he hit rock bottom. Flashback to Fruciante playing guitar alone for 12-15 hours a day when he was younger.

7) Band Troubles – Frusciante was really the key piece to the band and after he left, their next album, One Hot Minute, wasn’t as strong and the addition of guitarist Dave Navarro wasn’t necessarily meshing. A number of shows ended up getting canceled because of injuries, drug relapses, and band relations. Navarro was eventually kicked out of the band in 1998 and once again it looked like it may be the end of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

ACT III – The Second Wind

1) Return of John Frusciante – With no guitarist, Flea decided they needed to get the old band back together, and that meant finding Frusciante who at this point was in such poor shape that he had to have surgery because of the scarring on his arms, and needed multiple oral surgeries to fix a deadly oral infection. Flea convinced Frusciante to get clean and eventually asked him to rejoin the band. Flashback to Flea at 13 comforting his mother after another violent outburst from his step-father.

2) Californication, By the Way, Stadium Arcadium – Red Hot Chili Peppers went on to make 3 great albums and once again solidifying their place in rock-in-roll lore.

3) The band taking a break – After the three albums and touring for multiple years they take a break, but this one is differen.t This break will be the one time for positive reasons, they are taking a successful hiatus rather than a forced one. 

4) Ending – Accepting the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame award – culmination of their journey and the they still continue to rock to this day.

Lotta stuff happens after this obviously, but these are really the key areas. Well, this was supposed to be a short post but ended up being way longer than I anticipated and I had to read way more than usual (is there an audiobook version of Wikipedia?)

Let us know what you think, and what story lines and fun facts we missed out on. Reach out to us!

The Good Nurse, starring Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne was just released on Netflix. Its a crazy true story, that is well acted, and a solid watch (although it’s a bit creepy). My biggest takeaway though was the performance by Nnamdi Asomugha, who played one of the detectives in the movie. He crushed his role. A professional actor being good at his/her job isn’t much of a story, but the Nnamdi Asomugha I know is a lock down cornerback in the NFL. 

Nnamdi Asomugha wasn’t just a good NFL player, he was a 3x pro bowler, and was ranked the 18th best player by his peers in 2011:

Typically anytime a professional athlete makes their way onto the silver screen it’s pretty obvious they don’t belong. Like me behind a microphone or keyboard. But my guess is the vast majority of people that watched the movie had no idea that Nnamdi was an NFL player. It’s pretty rare for an elite professional athlete to completely change careers and hold his own with academy award winners.

This isn’t like a musician also being good at acting. Those art forms are similar, acting and athletics usually don’t mix (although soccer players are great at both…) Think of all the past athletes that have appeared in movies, they’re typically 1) In a comedic role – Michael Jordan in Space Jam or Terry Bradshaw in Failure to Launch 2) An action movie – Carl Weathers in Rocky or Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock in anything he does.  Nnamdi has pretty much only performed in dramas so far, including going on Broadway. He has taken a much harder route than most athletes. Typically athletes will play themselves, or draw attention to their past achievements and embrace athletic roles. Nnamdi seems to have almost shied away from what is easy. It’s pretty impressive to say the least.

Comparable Acting Journeys to Nnamdi Asomugha

In terms of rise to prominence the most accomplished actor/athlete at this point is probably John David Washington who had a brief stint as an NFL player, and has now become an A-List actor. He was blessed with great genes being the son of Denzel, but still pretty impressive to rise to the highest ranks of both professions. He also played running back a position that constantly is getting hit in the head, so I’m not sure how he was able to switch over to such a cerebral profession.

The other comparable actor starred along side John David Washington’s father in He Got Game. None other than Jesus Shuttlesworth himself, Ray Allen. Allen hasn’t done much acting outside of He Got Game, but it is pretty insane to be the co-star of a Spike Lee film, as your debut role, only a couple years into your Hall of Fame basketball career. The role did have him playing as a basketball player, but it was still a drama. Allen’s success in the NBA is probably the most comparable to Nnamdi’s in the NFL (I would say Allen does have the edge).

Top 5 Most Talented All-Around Athletes

These types of freak talents are just unfair. Nnamdi stands at almost 6’3″, can run a 4.45 40-yard-dash, and is an unreal actor? Save some for the rest of us. Am I extremely jealous? Yes. Does he also happen to be quite an attractive man… Also, yes. Anyway, here are the top 5 most talented athletes/my biggest crushes:  

5. Peyton Manning – I’m a Tom Brady guy until I die, so naturally I hate Manning. But the guy is unfortunately really funny and great on Manning Cast (Bill Burr sums it up well). 

4. Sam Hunt – College QB, massive country star, model looks, likes to drink. Just like me, except I only check one of those boxes. 

3. Nnamdi Asomugha – Expect Nnamdi to be cast in some future Make it a Movie blogs, looking forward to seeing what he does next.

2. Myron Rolle –  NFL Player, Rhodes Scholar, doctor, board member for S&P 500 company. I guess we just have slightly different life goals. I’m just proud of myself when I finish a young-adult novel in under a month. 

1. The Rock – Former University of Miami/Canadian Football league defensive lineman. One of the most likeable people in the world (I watched wrestling briefly only because of him), and now megastar. Probably a future president.

Christian Bale is currently on a press tour to Promote his upcoming movie Amsterdam and The Pale Blue Eye.  For a guy that isn’t very public and doesn’t talk much with the media, this is a really cool breakdown and worth the watch:

I’ve been a Christian Bale fan since watching him as the emotionless killing machine in Equilibrium and then again as the emotionless killing machine in American Psycho. “Emotionless killing machine” also happens to be what people call me when I’m on the ping-pong table.

For these rankings it’s not about his actual performance, but instead where the movies as a whole rank (which he obviously plays a huge role in). The Machinist could be argued as his best acting performance, but I don’t think most people consider that one of his best films. Without further ado, here are the rankings:

Christian Bale’s Top 10 Movies

10. American Psycho 

Lot of great scenes in this movie, but overall probably not the greatest movie. Once you realize it’s really supposed to be a dark comedy, and a satirical story about Wall Street/Capitalisms in the 80’s (as Bale points out in the video above), you appreciate it a bit more. Book wise I’ve heard this is one you can pass on, as it’s quite repetitive and just a much longer drawn out version of the movie.

Award: Most Realistic Psychopath – There isn’t a single moment in this film that you don’t believe Christian Bale is a full on psychopath. He really did embody that character.  I remember the first time I saw him do an interview I was shocked that he didn’t have an American accent and wasn’t a clean cut Wall Street guy.

Best Christian Bale Scene: Lot of great scenes, this one pretty much summarizes the whole movie, plus is pretty funny.

9. Vice

I’m not the biggest fan of movies based on real people, I think they’re usually pretty formulaic, generally some sort of rags to riches storyline. They’re usually entertaining enough as they have a high floor but have a limited ceiling. Bale no doubt carries Vice by nailing Dick Cheney. Interesting movie but not one that is super rewatchable or memorable.

Award: Identity Theft is Not a Joke Jim – A lot of people go all out to recreate real people in history, but Bale may be the best to ever do it. I think that a lot of people were disappointed in the movie because they were expecting such amazing things after seeing Bale’s character.

Best Christian Bale Scene: Another scene that really sums up the whole movie:

8. American Hustle

Solid movie, with a really strong cast, but one that I think critics liked more than the average folk (92% vs 74% on RT). The acting and overall star power is better than the overall plot, but still an enjoyable watch.

Award: Fully Committing to Looking Ugly for No Reason – I think it was funny that he gained all that weight and looked like a mess, but similar to Mac in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, it wasn’t exactly necessary to the plot of the movie. Yes, he was based on con man Mel Weinberg, but it wasn’t like Mel was that super overweight. Plus, they definitely could have found other ways to make him look sloppy and fake. 

Best Christian Bale Scene: Not many famous actors, who look like Batman and Patrick Bateman would gain weight and look like this for a movie role:

7. Equilibrium

One that the BBC crew has a disagreement on, but I’ll always go to bat for Equilibrium. The first Rotten Tomatoes Variance blogs were inspired by Equilibrium because it’s a movie that critics will hate, but people that want a action packed dystopian movie can appreciate.

Award: The Best Matrix Sequel– Did the movie kind of rip from the Matrix… perhaps. But it certainly was better (and made more sense) than any of The Matrix sequels. So if you’re looking for a movie similar, check it out.

Best Christian Bale Scene: Christian Bale saving puppies, by killing a lot of bad guys? Will always be a great scene.

6. Ford vs. Ferrari

This was just an all-around fun solid movie. I think it’s one that you could recommend to anyone and they would like (not surprisingly it has a 92% critic & 98% audience score). The story isn’t overly complex, but it’s still a fun ride (pun intended).

Award: Best Star Movie Chemistry – The reason this movie has was liked by pretty much everyone is it’s hard to not like Christian Bale and Matt Damon anytime they are on screen.  Which is why they were able to pull off a funny/but real looking fight:

Best Christian Bale Scene: Hard to pull off a scene like this but these two stars make it possible:

5. 3:10 to Yuma

I’ve never been a big western fan, but this one is an exception. It’s got a great characters, story, adventure, acting, and action. Just a great overall film and one of Russell Crowe’s best films as well (Gladiator #1 obviously).

Award: Best Western – Unlike the hotel, this movie is super underrated and one of the best modern day western movies (Django and Hell or Highwater probably have it beat).

Best Christian Bale Scene: This movie has a lot of layers, it’s strange to see Christian Bale being the weaker, non-super-hero-like character. But he shows his acting range and pulls it off:

4. The Big Short

Remember how I said I don’t like movies based on real people? Well you can just throw out for the next two movies. The Big Short is an ensemble cast, and Christian Bale isn’t really asked to carry it, but he leaves his mark on the movie for sure. Overall, it’s a smart, funny movie that really makes you hate everyone involved in the 2008 crash. Definitely worth the watch.

Award: Best Movie to Binge YouTube Clips – Because there are so many great actors and scenes in this movie, it’s a great YouTube clip binge movie. Tons of great breakdowns of complicated ideas, and a lot of scenes talking about economics and financial jargon, that should be boring, that are somehow funny and/or entertaining.

Best Christian Bale Scene: Hard to choose just one scene from this movie, but this one includes Margot Robbie, so this is the one:

3. The Fighter

Let’s be honest if we can be for a second. Movies made about people from Massachusetts are the best. You got Good Will Hunting, The Town, The Departed, Manchester by the Sea, Gone Baby Gone, Shutter Island and so on and so on. Add The Fighter to that list. It’s one of the best boxing movies ever (and there are a lot of them). It is a biographical movie, but there is so much going on it seems like fiction.

Award: Best Crackhead Interpretation – I know Christian Bale is known to be a method actor, so I’m not sure if he actually partook in any illicit drug use or not but he has an incredible take on the well worn ‘addict’ role.

Best Christian Bale Scene: All of his interactions with Amy Adams in this movie are great, this clip cuts off right before that, but still shows just how committed he is to the role.

2. The Batman Series

I am one of those old curmudgeons that hates that fact that everything today is super hero based. If you’ve seen our book selections you know we love fantasy, we love adventure, but at this point the super hero stuff is played out and super predictable. Christian Bale and Nolan’s Batman did it right. Super hero movies today lean entirely into the lore and comic books, but take out the super hero element and there isn’t much substance. These movies were so well written and acted on their own. You didn’t need to know anything about batman or even like comics and still enjoy these.

Award: Best Super Hero Movie – As mentioned above, no super hero movie will ever touch this series in my opinion, it’s dark, it’s real and it isn’t Disney-fied.

Best Christian Bale Scene: The Dark Knight was clearly the best movie of the trilogy and nothing was better than this scene:

1. The Prestige

A movie about two rival magicians doesn’t seem like it would be all that great, but this is a terrific story, that keeps you guessing the whole time. Super rewatchable, and would make for a great RT Variance (only a 76% critic score), but I don’t think it is one that most normal people under rate.

Award: Best Twist & Turns – You like thrillers, like being at the edge of your seat and constantly guessing? Than this is the movie for you. 

Best Christian Bale Scene: Can’t use too many scenes without giving away the movie, just go watch it if you haven’t already. 

Bonus Worst Movie – Rescue Dawn

I know this is a bit controversial as even the BBC members had argument about it, but I couldn’t not mention Rescue Dawn. Bale crushes his role, naturally but the tone of this movie made zero sense. Everything felt off, the audio seemed weird, how things were shot felt weird, the tone seemed all wrong. 

Award: Best Disney Movie Made About Prisoners of War – The tone felt closer to a Disney Original Movie at times. There was comedy in weird places, the characters seemed aloof and nonsensical. Maybe it just went above my head, but it seemed like a story that didn’t have any direction and wasn’t very well produced.

Worst Christian Bale Scene: The ending of this movie really explains what I’m talking about, this is a gritty movie about a POW… why does it end like it’s Remember the Titans?

Looking for some Classic R&B jams? Maybe some throw back R&B or some slow sad melodic stuff? Look no further, we’re coming in hot with a full playlist of top tier R&B sing along songs. Shoutout to life long BBC fans MAKearns & Seany-Mac for putting together a 20+ hour playlist of rhythmy blues.

Now on to some R&B rankings. Disclaimer – we are in no way qualified to talk about music (other than Tool), and it was honestly too hard to just make one list so instead we broke it down into categories.

Best Old School R&B Songs

Old school is a bit relative here but I’m going anything pre-1980 to fit into this category. These are basically just the best old school wedding songs.

5. My Girl – The Temptations

Every time I hear this song, I think of the movie My Girl and how dark it was for a kids movie. Was scared of bees forever after that. Anyway this song is a jam.

4. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

Featured this one in our Top 10 Movie Memorable Movie Song Scenes blog, great old school song.

3. The Supremes – You Can’t Hurry Love

Pretty sure I heard the Phil Collins version first (for shame). Give me the OG version, all day every day.

2. Stand by Me – Ben E. King

This 60 year old song has a casual 529 million views on YouTube with no actual video, pretty impressive, but also not surprising.

1. I Can’t Help Myself – The Four Tops

Best old school R&B song and a top 5 wedding song.

Best Female R&B Songs

Plenty of good female R&B songs in the other categories as well, just wanted to give a shoutout to a few of these classics.

5. Zendaya – Replay

Would love to see her get back to singing – seems like a movie role where she has to sing would be great as well…

4. Mary J. Blige – Family Affair

Every time I hear this I do think of this scene. And that is also exactly how I dance to it.

3. Are You That Somebody – Aaliyah

Give me Aaliyah over TLC all day.

2. How Will I Know – Whitney Houston 

For my money this is Whitney Houston’s best song, yeah that’s right, better than ‘I Want to Dance With Somebody’.

1. Say My Name – Destiny’s Child

I’ll argue to the death that Destiny’s Child > Beyoncé solo career, this song just proves my point.

Best Upbeat R&B Songs

Most of these songs may not actually be considered more pop than R&B, but nevertheless here are the top songs.

5. Umbrella – Rihanna

I didn’t think this song would have so much staying power, but even after 10+ years this song comes on and still hits.

4. R. Kelly – Ignition (Remix)

Just avoid any headlines that include R. Kelly and you’ll be able to appreciate this song. Obligatory Chappelle skit.

3. Return of the Mack – Mark Morrison

The anthem for all of us Irish (Mac, McG, McC) folks out there.

2. Gold Digger – Kayne West & Jamie Foxx

This may be closer to a rap song, but the Ray Charles sample and Jamie Foxx addition makes it seep into the R&B side of things. Old school Kanye was the best.

1. This Is How We Do It – Montell Jordan

The ultimate start to the weekend song, good vibes for days. I don’t know anyone that doesn’t like this song.

Best Slow R&B Songs

There are so many that could go in this category. It was tough narrowing things down, so we just tried to throw some original ones on there.

5. OTW – Khalid, 6LACK, Ty Dolla $ign

Super underrated song that features what I believe to be this generations best R&B singers. Also, appreciate the Boyz II Men vibes here.

4. Let Me Love You – Mario

Typically slow songs are pretty sad and depressing, nice to have a song that’s a bit uplifting.

3. Fuck It (I Don’t Want You Back) – Eamon & Mario Winans – I Don’t Wanna Know

Alright now we’re getting into the depressing songs, couldn’t leave either of these off the list. Both of these songs are both about being cheated on but each is choosing to react in the opposite direction.

2. Cry Me A River – Justin Timberlake

I never get sick of this song, old JT is up there with the best R&B singers.

1. Wicked Games – The Weekdn

First song I heard from The Weeknd and just knew he was going to be a star. Such a powerful song. The old live versions are so emotional/impressive too, incredible voice.

Best Love Making R&B Songs

This is what you’re all really here for. Now most of these songs run time is about 3x longer then the any love making I’ve done (just me?), but nonetheless here are the top 5 love making songs.

5. Drunk in Love – Beyoncé 

I for one would love to turn into this surfboard that she’s speaking about. You want a dirtier take on the song check out The Weeknd’s version or acoustic rendition check out Ed Sheeran’s version.

4. Or Nah – Ty Dolla $ign, The Weeknd, Wiz Khalifa

The good catholic boy in me blushes every time I hear this song. The Weeknd isn’t exactly using double entendres. 

3. R. Kelly – Bump N’ Grind & Pretty Ricky – Grind With Me

Both songs about grinding, couldn’t decide between them so they’re both making the list.

2. I’ll Make Love to You – Boyz II Men 

My first introduction to R&B came from Boyz II Men, most of the other ones on this list are a bit grimey, but this is a gentleman’s song. All the other songs are about having sex, this is about making love.

1. Ginuwine – Pony 

This is objectively the only song that could be number 1, there is literally no other choice.

Here are some miscellaneous ones that we couldn’t find spots for: I’m N Luv (Wit A Stripper) – T-Pain, Blame It – Jamie Foxx, Water Runs dry – Boyz II Men, I’ll Be Missing You – Puff Daddy, So Sick/Because of You, Sexy Love – Ne-Yo, Watcha Say – Jason Derulo, Slow Jamz – Kanye West, You Make Me Wanna – Usher, Sweetest Girl – Wyclef Jean, Lost/Pyramids – Frank Ocean, and probably many more.

Was there some clear omissions? Should we not be allowed to talk about R&B music anymore, let us know. Need other ways to kill time at work? Check out our other Blogs or our book club Podcast.

The soundtrack of a movie can really make or break things. It’s the ultimate mood setter. I got all jazzed up last night after hearing Nate Diaz entrance song being ‘Gimme Shelter’. Such a great song, but it always makes me think of Martin Scorsese’s movies any time I hear it. That got me thinking about all the other songs that when you hear them you instantly get transported to the movie scene. So here is a list of the to 10 most memorable movie song scenes.

For the record I think the best movie soundtrack is Forrest Gump, the best score is Star Wars and the best individual movie themes are:  Braveheart, Boondock Saints, and Requiem for a Dream.

Best Movie Song Scenes

This is a list of songs that have taken on a new meaning. Most of these movies aren’t my favorites and most of these songs aren’t really from bands I like. But despite that, I have a true appreciation for how these scenes and their perfect song pairing.

10. Rush Hour

Artist: Edwin Starr – War (What is it good for) 

I feel like in most movies this is a scene they cut because it doesn’t add much to the overall plot. But Jackie Chan and Christ Tuckers chemistry is so good, and Chris Tucker is so funny and great at improvising that this is the type of scene that have to keep in because it is what makes the Rush Hour films work. A song I’d never heard before watching the movie.

9. Old School

Artist: Metallica – Master of Puppets

This song recently gained a huge surge in popularity due to it’s use in Stranger Things, but I’ll always think of Old School when I hear it. It’s pretty hard to make use of a metal song in any movie genre and making a song stick out in a comedy is even harder, but Old School was able to do both, in this hilarious scene:

8. The Replacements & Remember the Titans (Football Teams Singing)

Artist: Gloria Gaynor- I Will Survive & Marvin Gaye – Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

If I’ve learned anything, it’s that the only way to build team chemistry is through team singing, as demonstrated in both of these movies. Remember the Titans whole soundtrack is great and we already talked about the greatness of Shane Falco and The Replacements.

7. Gone in 60 Seconds

Artist: WAR – Low Rider 

A future Rotten Tomatoes Variance movie for sure. This scene is the definition of cool. Nic cage, leather jackets, inspirational speeches, old-school jam, old vs new traditions, and did we mention Nic Cage. Just a great formula. “Okay, let’s ride” is an all-time great line as well. If you don’t like this scene, then we don’t like you.

6. The Matrix & Fight Club

Artist: Rage Against the Machine – Wake Up & Pixies – Where is My Mind  

Cheating a little bit choosing two, but both of these movies were released in 1999 and defined the era. Dark, twisted movies, with endings that had you trying to play catchup. I honestly don’t hear either of these songs that often, but immediately think of these endings when I do. Great movies, and perfect thematic songs for the movie ending.

5. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Artist: The Beatles – Twist and Shout

Had to lift your spirits after the last one. Great song, great scene, positive vibes all around on this one. The best way to describe this scene and song is that it encapsulates a wedding dance floor.

4. Goodfellas & Casino

Artist: Eric Clapton- Layla & The Animals – House of the Rising Sun

These are two famous scenes and probably could be #1 but, I would argue that you could have subbed in a number of songs and they still would have been great scenes. Nonetheless, anytime I hear these songs I think of these famous Scorsese movies.

3. Hangover

Artist: Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight

After rewatching this movie, I think it does one of the best jobs of any movie with the use of music. It’s used to amp you up (Kanye West, TI & Rhianna), it’s original (What do Tigers Dream Of, 3 Best Friends) and it’s used in a funny way (Who Let the Dogs Out) and of course the most memorable scene in the movie the guest appearance from Mike Tyson:

2. Reservoir Dogs

Artist: Stealers Wheel – Stuck in the Middle with You

I wasn’t the biggest fan of this movie, probably one I need to give a rewatch, but this scene is iconic. This song will always be synonymous with Reservoir Dogs, just a great twisted scene with the perfect song to accompany it. 

1. Almost Famous

Artist: Elton John – Tiny Dancer

I don’t know why but this scene always gives me chills. A single song seemingly changes everyone’s mood. I love when the whole bus starts singing, one of those rare scenes in a movie that you feel like ‘everything is going to be okay’. Not coincidentally, I started to like Elton John a lot more after watching this movie.

Did we miss any? Let us know reach out to us!

In honor of the NFL season finally starting, I present you my favorite YouTube video of all time. I liked this video so much I started calling people “Joe” and asking to get slapped in order to get amped up in high school/college.

I still laugh every time I see this. Somehow it has the effect of watching a great comedy and a motivational speech all in one.

Just to show you how much I’ve matured and grown, here is proof that this was my favorite video over 10 years ago. El Pres at Barstool even wrote a blog after I sent this email, so I’ve been a Barstool blogger for 10+ years:

You’re likely back at work after a long Labor Day weekend. You’re realizing summer is coming to a close, and you need some positive vibes in your life. The good news is it’s a short week, the other good news is you can keep the positive summer vibes going by watching the hilarious but somehow under-the-radar new show Chad and JT Go Deep on Netflix.

It’s a super silly and good feeling show. It has Borat type vibes, but the biggest difference is 1) Chad and JT are pretty much always the butt of the joke. I love Sacha Baron Cohen (who plays Borat), but most of the laughs come at the expense of others intolerance or from ‘dumb’ American’s. Chad and JT are constantly just making fun of themselves. It’s good harmless fun. 2) They pull off being ignorant/dumb. It’s pretty hard to act dumb and make it seem genuine/authentic/funny, but they somehow perfectly encapsulate this. What’s funny is we do the opposite here at Buddy Book Club, pretend we’re really smart by reading books to cover up our dumbness. 3) As a podcast that also talks a lot about Fast & The Furious, I really appreciated the constant references.

Here is a deleted scene, that probably should have kept in the show because it’s hilarious:

Check out the their YouTube Channel and catch them on Netflix. Hopefully they get a second season!

Do you have other positive vibe recommendations? Let us know or if you need additional inspiration check out our past Positive Vibes.

Long Monday ahead, need some fun videos to kill time? We got you covered. We’ve already talked about our love for all things involving con artists, but here are a couple of video of actual pros doing real-life, applicable magic and scams right in front of your eyes. I just love watching this stuff because it’s dudes that have spent the same amount of time as professional athletes perfecting a craft, but the craft is just deception. These videos also directly relate to movies so it combines two things we love here at the BBC. Check them out:

Do you also like to live dangerously? Give these videos a watch. Any video that references Austin Powers is an automatic click for me.

It’s Monday, you’re probably tired, likely hung over still from the weekend. Probably feeling like you’ve been hit by a comet. Maybe you’re feeling like it’s the end of the world. If you follow the news, go on Twitter or Reddit, that feeling will only be compounded. The world can seem like its full of a ton of hateful, moronic people, which is highlighted well in the movie Don’t Look Up (look below).

But now the positive part – there are still a ton of really smart people out there like Dr. Amy Mainzer. I know what you’re thinking, ‘Of course there are smart people out there Buddy, we’ve obviously listened to your guys podcast and read your blogs.’ While we’re flattered by the hundreds of compliments we receive daily, we’re not exactly rocket scientists (although we pretty much are after watching the video below).  But in all seriousness, I saw this video awhile back and it stuck with me and does give real hope:

I always thought our best way to defend against an incoming asteroid/comet was to send oil drillers to space armed with nukes. I thought Armageddon was a documentary (like I said we’re brilliant).

But it is good to know there are smart people out there that have our backs. Keep your chin up, Do Look Up, and let’s have a great week.