Episodes › Ep. 40 2024-12-30 · 35:50
Listener Q&A Episode 2
This listener Q&A episode opens with holiday chatter from Seth, Andy, and Jorma, with Akiva absent, before the hosts review the Criterion Digital Short rankings from the previous pod and tackle speed-round listener questions. They explain the origin of the 'Jorm Dances' bit, filmed at SNL during band rehearsals. The Criterion tier debate stands out, including the unresolved Laser Cats question and the Kim's Video nostalgia. The hosts then answer questions on 'souffle' and 'Here I Go' song similarities, Griff Banks and the Second Chance Theater, and bleeped songs in the studio. They cover the Lincoln Llama and Showgirl backstage tradition, and Hot Rod's Queens of the Stone Age-style cameo and wedding songs. A Swedish chef impression showdown follows, and Akiva calls in with a voice note on Yorm Dances and the early YouTube era of the group's videos. The Lincoln Llama and Showgirl backstage gag and the Yorm Dances origin story are the moments to remember.
Heard here, not in the AlmaNick yet
- Jorm “hey what's the deal with yorm dances yeah what's the deal with that jorm”
Shorts discussed: Lazy Sunday, Natalie's Rap, Dear Sister, Dick in a Box, Laser Cats, Mirror, Roy Rules, People Getting Punched, Doppelganger, Best Look in the World, United Way, Diaper Money, Pop Star, Griff Banks the Sensitive Bully, Dick in a Box, Hot Rod, Yorm Dances
← Ep. 39 The Criterion Episode · Ep. 41 Listener Q&A Episode 3 →
Pop-ups (18 · 5 fan picks from YouTube comments)
-
Fans point here
3:571 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 9 likes.
Well, we're coming off of, you know, people ranking our stuff, so rank away, I'd say. I mean, look, life is a listicle. Who's the top 10? Some things that people said in the very brief early YouTube comments about the…
-
Jon Hamm sends a photo
6:10Jon Hamm, a friend of the pod, sent a photo of himself in an outfit the hosts jokingly compare to a GQ spread. He is expected to come on for his own episode.
He sent us a photo of himself in the best look in the world.
-
Laser Cats as one Criterion entry
7:15The hosts debate whether all seven Laser Cats should be treated as a single Criterion entry, one per year, and ultimately decide to hold off on it.
all seven Laser Cats should go in as one.
-
Mirror lands in Kim's Video
8:38Mirror had no outside-world vote total, so the hosts place it in the Kim's Video tier rather than Criterion.
I think Mirror very happily lands in Kim's video, right?
-
Kim's Video as a New York haunt
10:31Kim's Video was a West Village video store, a pre-streaming cinephile destination the hosts compare to Amoeba Music.
Kim's video just implies, hey, man, this is a cool thing.
-
Fans point here
14:132 YouTube comments timestamp this moment, 8 likes.
Let's definitely try for it. will you guys do an episode on pop star palm springs your albums or sketches you did before snl uh pump springs probably not but pop star yes 100 pop star and i very much hope the albums…
-
How the verses get split
14:53Each Lonely Island member writes their own part, then they trade and pick the best from each other, sometimes writing for an absent member.
we all write our own parts, and then we choose what we like of each other's
-
Fans point here
16:591 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 16 likes.
Hey, what's the deal with Yorm Dances? Yeah, what's the deal with that, Jorm? I don't know how we started doing it, but I think we hadn't had enough work throughout the week. So then when bands would rehearse at SNL,…
— Seth -
Origin of Jorm Dances
17:15The Jorm Dances series began when the crew needed filler during band rehearsals at SNL, with Jorma dancing shirtless in front of the bands.
we're like, hey, let's record me dancing in front of them.
-
Jorm Dances to Gaga
18:11Jorma recommends a Jorm Dances clip set to Lady Gaga as the best of the series; the hosts promise a dedicated episode before Palm Springs.
I'm dancing to Gaga? Because that's the best one.
-
Melodic overlap with Dick in a Box
20:59A listener noticed a lyric-and-tune pattern in 'Here I Go' that echoes 'It's My Dick in a Box.' The hosts say the overlap was not intentional, and Andy notes Asa made the beat for both songs.
you know there's definitely a little overlap there it's the one moment that i did notice like oh there's a little dick in a boxy in there but it was not intentional
-
Fans point here
22:192 YouTube comments timestamp this moment, 3 likes.
If two of them have a little bit of a similar melody, then I own that. I wear that. And I do own that. You know what I mean? I wear that. One thing I didn't see coming, as you were talking about, sometimes I have…
— Andy -
Griff Banks the Sensitive Bully
23:37A cut sketch featuring the character Griff Banks was later revived on Second Chance Theater, where it gained acclaim. The hosts recall Forte and Suds also staged cut sketches there.
Inside is Griff Banks.
-
Horse mouth and souffle callback
26:38Seth makes a quick joke tying the souffle name thread to horseback riding, a callback to the earlier egg-souffle tangent.
He might grow up souffling. That's possible.
-
Bleeped versus unbleeped studio audio
27:32Live SNL bleeps must be heard in studio, so the audience hears the censored version. The uncensored version sounds better musically, with no echo from audience laughs.
No, it has to be bleeped in studio.
-
Fans point here
27:401 YouTube comment timestamps this moment, 5 likes.
No way around it. Here I go. I did notice that the uncensored version now has more views. Oh, does it? I believe so, despite the incredible head start that the broadcast version has. I mean, I'm not surprised.
-
Lincoln Llama and the Showgirl backstage gag
29:00A recurring backstage prop joke on SNL, cited as a hint that a sketch is about to arrive. Seth clarifies he did not invent it, and it reportedly dates to the 1970s.
what is up with the Lincoln, the Llama, and the Showgirl?
-
Eagles of Death Metal cameo connection
31:01The Lonely Island became friends with the band after Akiva directed music videos for them, which explains the Hot Rod cameo. The hosts joke about a late-era Eagles collaboration.
We became buddies with Hami and those guys because Akiva directed a video or two for them.
-
Late-era Eagles joke
31:34A running joke about a hypothetical Akiva-directed late-era Eagles video, mocking the idea of a collaboration.
Just late era Eagles. Saw a dick in a box and were like, hey, we got to get that guy, man.
-
Yorm wedding photo joke
32:53Jorma jokes that his wedding photos show Hot Rod's disappointing reception, a running gag about the film's poor performance.
So every time I look at my wedding photos, I'm like, man, Hot Rod really shat the bed in that variety.
-
Walk-down-the-aisle Lonely Island songs
34:20The hosts debate which Lonely Island song they would walk down the aisle to, with Seth choosing 'I Wish It Would Rain' and Andy picking 'Japan.'
I would, not that anybody asked me, I think I would walk down the aisle and say, I wish it would rain.
-
Swedish chef impression showdown
35:11A listener asks whose Swedish chef impression is better, Andy's or Seth's, and the hosts treat it as a rankled debate with Jorma as tiebreaker.
whose Swedish chef impression is better, Andy or Seth's?
-
Akiva's Yorm Dances voice note
35:58Akiva backs Jorma's Yorm Dances video, explaining that early YouTube videos were an experiment since phones couldn't record decent footage.
And then the actual real reason I am calling in is Yorm Dances. I definitely wanted to just say that I support Jorm in the we of it.
People and sketches mentioned (26)
Mike Shoemaker Jake Tapper Jake Shur Kristen Wiig Jon Hamm Eminem Bill Clinton Dan Goor Devin Neil Brennan Josh Asa Catrice Barnes Josh Homme Hami Alexi Johanna Jorma Taccone Seal
Brooklyn Nine-Nine Pop Star Palm Springs Dick in a Box Second Chance Theater Hot Rod Pop Star
Source: whisperx-v2+speakers transcript, read by anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5 on 2026-10-21; audio timestamps mapped to the YouTube cut by word alignment. Timestamps shown are YouTube time. Report a bad pop-up.