Kiss Your Dad Square on the Lips: The McElroy Bros. Thread

[Patrick]

EDIT: TITLE STOLEN FROM JBEAR

We need a bit of humor and positivity these days, so why not talk a bit about internet darlings Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy?

They are some of the funniest people around, and they are constantly putting out new stuff. Starting with their comedy advice podcast, My Brother, My Brother and Me, the McElroys have spawned a veritable empire of podcasts and video series. Most notably, Monster Factory and The Adventure Zone. They also do the commentary in 100' Robot Golf, they have a show coming out on SeeSo, and tons of other stuff. Also, they are incredibly thoughtful. I keep coming back to this advice post Justin made on his blog three years ago. I assume that most of you have at least heard of them, but if you haven't checked them out yet, there's no better time than now.

I can't decide on the single best video to include here, so maybe other people can help me out and post their favorite funny stuff.

[Loki]

Randy is dead therefore Griffin is dead to me

[estragon]

Just watch every episode of Griffin's Amiibo Corner. Just do it.



(Or maybe don't. He nails the awkward cadence of amateur and amateurish-pro nerd media that it's ruined a lot of things for me, because I can't help but hear Griffin's Amiibo Corner seeping out.)

[Adrenaline]

I started listening to My Brother, My Brother and Me in February when I started my current job. I have now listened to 298 episodes. I've also caught up on The Adventure Zone, Til Death Do Us Blart, Monster Factory, Things I Bought at Sheetz, Griffin's Amiibo Corner, and I've started watching Car Boys. You could say I'm a McElroy fan.

EDIT: I also listen to Quality Control, but that's usually not very funny since it's just light interviews with people who review games for Polygon.

[Patrick]

Me too! Griffin's Amiibo Corner is excellent. I haven't watched Car Boys yet, but I did see the first episode of Touch the Skyrim. Nick isn't as good of a co-host as Justin, but it's still funny. Oh, and Griffin's Nuzlocke Run is really fun and makes me want to pick up one of the new games. Plus I've been listening to a ton of Sawbones and MBMBAM. Man, so much good stuff.

[JBear]

Dammit, I literally was about to hit post on my own McElroy brothers thread a couple of hours ago when I got dragged into a meeting and now I've been ninja'd. >_<

I hate to waste the effort, so imma post it here anyway.

Also, my thread title was better.

Originally Posted by Patrick

Do we have a McElroy Bros. thread yet?

We do now! Maybe now we can stop hiding our discussion of Griffin's Nuzlocke run in a different thread. >_<

I debated which forum to put this in, but I'd say they're still better known for their many podcasts than Polygon's video content. For that matter, they also have their fingers in video games and, recently, television, and discussion of any McElroy property is welcome here.

So who are the McElroys? They're three brothers (Justin, the oldest; Travis, the middlest; and Griffin, the baby) who started a weekly podcast six years ago called My Brother, My Brother and Me (MBMBaM) where they respond to listener questions and give advice. That advice is sometimes good, frequently terrible, but always funny.

From there, they've sort of established a tiny media empire, but through it all they remain cool dudes with a unique, goofy style of humour. A small sampling of stuff that they do:

Podcasts
--
They have so many podcasts, you guys. If you're a new fan, know that this rabbit hole goes deep. Their flagship podcast is still MBMBaM, and it still makes me laugh every Monday. From that, they spun off The Adventure Zone, a Dungeons & Dragons podcast where Griffin DMs for his brothers and their father, who can't tell a D20 from a D4. It's a fun time even if you're not into D&D.

From there, they went all sorts of weird places. Worried about proper manners? Travis and his wife Teresa have you covered with Schmanners. Intrigued by weird medical history? Justin and his wife Dr. Sydnee McElroy can give you a guided tour with Sawbones. Want to dish about the latest episode of The Bachelor/The Bachelorette/Bachelorette Canada but can't find a water cooler? Griffin and his wife Rachel share all the juicy deets in Rose Buddies. Curious how Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 holds up? Of course you are. Well worry no longer: the boys join forces with Tim Batt and Guy Montgomery of The Worst Idea of All Time fame to bring you 'Til Death Do Us Blart.

And there's plenty more where that came from!

Video
--
Griffin was Deputy News Editor for Polygon.com at launch, but, playing to his strengths, he's since shifted into a new role as Senior Producer for their video content, and it is aces. I guarantee that no other video game news site has videos that are even half as funny (shots fired, Giant Bomb fans!). He sometimes starts up new series and then drops them without warning, but here are a few still-running favourites.

Are you a Nintendo fan boy and have a closet vore fetish that you never get to indulge? Griffin's Amiibo Corner is the answer to your prayers. (It's also pretty fun even if you don't give a shit about either of those things.) Do you want to watch two grown men goof off in a physics playground and crash cars together like children? All while contending with an unknowable all-powerful relentless reality-rending horror? Come join the fun in Car Boys with Nick Robinson and Griffin. Hearthstone fan? Hearthstone hater? Want to watch two guys play Hearthstone really badly while making pot jokes? Join the StonerzNation with Phil Kollar and Griffin.

I don't even know where to start with Monster Factory. Griffin and Justin (who also works for Polygon) pick a different game each week and screw around with the character creator and then... magic happens. This is the only YouTube series that I can't watch at my desk because I am completely unable to keep from losing my shit.

They also have a bit of non-Polygon video stuff. Things I Bought At Sheetz is a very silly food review/quiz show with Dwight Slappe and Justin.

Other
--
I don't have a PS4, but I have every confidence that 100 ft. Robot Golf is hilarious, with the McElroys lending their voice talents. As I mentioned earlier, they also have a TV show in the works that I'm excited to see.

So, what's TT's favourite McElroy show?


[Note: I was going to make it a poll thread, but, well. >_<]

[Patrick]

Yeah, that's a great title. I hope you don't mind that I stole it! Awesome writeup!

[Droewyn]

I'd like to note that the boys voiced a few cringey opinions on transfolk and furries in the early days of MBMBAM, which they have since 100% recanted. Justin goes so far as to warn people off of the first 50 episodes or so, but there's a lot of good stuff in those early eps too, so I wouldn't go that far.

For me, I listen to MBMBAM, Adventure Zone, Sawbones, Shmanners, and Still Buffering, which is Sydnee McElroy and her two sisters discussing what it means to be a teenager, then (Sydnee and Taylor) and now (Rileigh).

[JBear]

Originally Posted by Patrick

I can't decide on the single best video to include here, so maybe other people can help me out and post their favorite funny stuff.

I love this hidden gem. Enjoy Buscemi: A Game for Kids:

Originally Posted by Patrick

Yeah, that's a great title. I hope you don't mind that I stole it! Awesome writeup!

lol, np. Thanks!

[will]

Personally, I think of MBMBAM as something of a modern-day Car Talk - it's an advice show in theory, but it's mostly about listening to some brothers laugh at each others' jokes.

There are some lovely animations of specific bits popping up. For context, this one seems to be from their Money Zone segment, where they ad lib some sponsored ads for the usual podcast things (Nature Box, Blue Apron, Extreme Restraints, Casper, etc.).



I caught their live show in Boston, including an episode of The Adventure Zone (I was mildly confused, as I had only listened to a few episodes at that point), plus Sawbones as an opening act. It was great fun!

E: Word to the wise, though - you may find yourself adopting parts of their idiolect. Like the word "boy".

[Patrick]

Yes, Car Talk is an excellent Comparison. Also, Travis produces a lot of podcasts, so you'll hear him laughing in the background of stuff like Baby Geniuses, which is pretty entertaining.

[Octopus Prime]

I've never even heard of these chaps before and now, apparently, I must hear all about them!

[Loki]

Octo!

You!!

[Octopus Prime]

I don't know if that's a recrimination...

If it is, I don't know in which direction.

[JBear]

Well, you're presently reading and replying to this thread instead of fixing the problem you confessed to a few posts earlier, so I'm going to go with "recrimination".

[Octopus Prime]

I'm at work! My capacity to enjoy podcasts is limited!

[spineshark]

i watched the first amiibo corner. "well that was pretty good, but i don't know how far this joke can go"

i'm in tears after the star fox one

[JBear]

Originally Posted by spineshark

i watched the first amiibo corner. "well that was pretty good, but i don't know how far this joke can go"

i'm in tears after the star fox one

That's two new McElroy fans already. We're doing good work here today. Everyone give yourselves a pat on the back.

[Octopus Prime]

One of the first episodes on the page for MbMbaM was a Greatest Hits compilation.

Just listened to five minutes worth of explaining how to improve scorpions.

I made a good decision here.

[Loki]

Gah!!

[JBear]

Originally Posted by Octopus Prime

One of the first episodes on the page for MbMbaM was a Greatest Hits compilation.

Just listened to five minutes worth of explaining how to improve scorpions.

I made a good decision here.

Yusssssss.

[Droewyn]

Originally Posted by Octopus Prime

I've never even heard of these chaps before and now, apparently, I must hear all about them!

Lin Manuel Miranda is their biggest fan! There are actually McElroy inside jokes in Hamilton and in his recent SNL appearance!

[Adrenaline]

[Patrick]

Originally Posted by Loki

Randy is dead therefore Griffin is dead to me

I watched that episode of Nuzlocke last night. Yeah, it was pretty rough. Here's a few funny clips to balance it out:

[Eddie]

I only really listen to the Adventure Zone but that is more than enough for me to call these gentleman heroes.

[Zodar]

These guys bring a lot of warmth into my life.

If you're interested in getting into MBMBAM, I'd recommend the first episode I ever heard: 286, Coyotes Ate Our Dad. There were a few bits in there that had me laughing so hard I almost got in a car accident.

[Tegan]

TIL I share a birthday with both Justin AND Travis. How 'bout that.

[Sprite]

I listened to Sawbones for like a year before I realized Justin was in anything else. Nothing else has caught me quite like Sawbones, but I love Sawbones. The episode where they discuss wealthy socialites eating mummies for medicinal purposes had me on the floor.

[Sheana]

honest to god, the mcelroy brothers are a trio of good good boys, the best Good Boys on the entire internet

i think i'd vaguely heard of some of their stuff in passing once or twice before, but the beginning of this year was where i first found out about them via monster factory, then mbmbam, then all their other several dozen projects

they're legitimately funny and clever people who've made me, a very tough customer, laugh their ass off (i almost hurt my stomach and got sick laughing at a monster factory once). their comedic stylings and slightly odd but amazing dialect/cadence really hit the spot

and the most important thing is that they honestly do come off as legitimately decent people who try very hard to learn, be inclusive and be Good. their first few podcasts from ~6 years ago definitely have some rough moments, mainly from a place of ignorance, and they've very much come around to being open-minded and supportive and friendly as hell, wincing at their earlier "goblin" selves and making a point of apologizing and talking to people if they feel they messed up at something, even if it's the slightest of issues. having been burned many times by other LPers and online entertainers in the past, it's refreshing as shit.

i haven't quite gotten into some of the tertiary satellite podcasts like rose buddies just yet, but mbmbam, adventure zone, sawbones, blart, monster factory, car boys, nuzlocke and now kiss the skyrim are big ol' Must Consume nuggets of entertainment in my life. they've brought me a whole ton of happiness and mirth when i need it.

[Octopus Prime]

Originally Posted by Zodar

These guys bring a lot of warmth into my life.

If you're interested in getting into MBMBAM, I'd recommend the first episode I ever heard: 286, Coyotes Ate Our Dad. There were a few bits in there that had me laughing so hard I almost got in a car accident.

This is wonderful advice...