REVIEW: JRE #812 – Russell Brand and Jim Breuer
Words, words and more words, as two of the most prolific talkers in the world philosophise up a storm.
If there is one thing that both Joe Rogan and Russell Brand are capable of, it’s a lengthy expansion on a point, and this intense three hour conversation is filled with exactly that, multiple times. These two similar counterculture leaders from opposite sides of the Atlantic, who have gathered an army of fans (and critics) surrounding their sometimes controversial views, turned out to be a most intriguing pairing.
The first 15 minutes or so are Brand on overdrive, and even he had to pull himself up at one point, much to Rogan’s amusement. It appears that Joe’s famous bulletproof coffee had Russell pinging like an adventurous teenager returning from the cubicle at a rave, which lead to an important piece of information; he’s been drug and alcohol free for 8 years. I know this isn’t new information, but it’s hard to really compute when you listen to him talk, about some of the mischief he’s got up to in his life. Maybe you really don’t need drugs to party and have a good time?
Brand’s colourful past isn’t really discussed too much here, which is hardly surprising being that Rogan’s podcast is traditionally a ‘chat’ rather than an interview. He did, however, briefly mention that his sex, drugs and rock n roll past never made him happy, even if it was fun. So yeah, getting blown by strippers while drinking champagne on a private jet does have it’s positives, but it’s not the tonic for your soul you might expect. Good to know.
The pair were joined for the show by comedian Jim Breuer, who had stuck around after recording a three hour episode of his own earlier that day. That’s a long day of podcasting for both he and Joe, but neither seemed fatigued by it, if anything they both seemed to revel in it. Jim is very funny comedian, but he’s also a surprisingly deep and introspective thinker, and he actually created some really nice balance to the frenetic chaos that is Russell Brand on a thought bender.
Religion, politics, consciousnesses, yoga, hallucinogens, the universe, society… it’s all here, and it’s all unpacked to the nth degree by two guys who just love learning about stuff and discussing it. It’s a brilliant three hours for somebody who is a fan of both of these guys, but I feel even if you’re not, there would be something in here that would at the very least, provoke your thought.
This is top shelf podcasting, and further proof that this medium is going up to the next level.
You can watch the full episode on youtube here:
