Podcast Summary: Holmberg's Morning Sickness – Entertainment Drill (09-02-25)

Episode Overview:
This quick episode of the Entertainment Drill finds the HMS crew (John Holmberg, Brady Bogen, Bret Vesely, and Dick Toledo) in their trademark irreverent and punchy form. As Brady is clearly under the influence of prescribed Oxy (for medical reasons), the team rolls through various bits of show business banter, offbeat news, and a run-down of unlikely pre-fame jobs held by rock stars. The mood is loose, chaotic, and hilarious, with the hosts riffing on each other as much as on their entertainment news. Brady’s deteriorating state is a running joke throughout, punctuating the segment with playful concern and off-the-wall humor.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Brady’s Oxy Adventure and the “Salad” Incident

• The episode’s running gag centers on Brady feeling the effects of his Oxy medication, which leads to a series of confused, sometimes nonsensical remarks.

  • “Oxy’s eating you up. Better get to it, man. Did you say salad? … You are on drugs.” – John Holmberg [01:26]
  • Brady careens between topics, at one point blurting out “salad” and distracting himself with mention of chicken wings.

• The rest of the team expresses mock concern with their trademark dark humor, riffing on his glazed-over demeanor:

  • "You may not hear a difference between, you know, stuttering Brady and stroke, but seeing him kind of float around while he's reading, he looks happy." – John Holmberg [06:54]

2. Entertainment Drill: Movie Set Romances

• Brady shares an Ethan Hawke quote about falling in love on a movie set being like "falling in love at summer camp," not reflective of real-life connection.
  • “Isn’t that part of being in the world of make believe, that sometimes it bleeds over into your real life…?” – John Holmberg [04:06]
• The crew muses, in typical snarky tone, about the blurred lines between actors’ real and fictitious feelings.

3. Rock Stars’ Pre-Fame Jobs

Brady rattles off a new list of rock stars' day jobs before they hit it big. The reactions are a blend of mockery and bemusement:

• Ozzy Osbourne – Slaughterhouse worker
• Chris Cornell – Fish handler
• Kurt Cobain – Janitor (“That does not surprise me…all he was qualified to do.” – John Holmberg [04:44])
• Axl Rose – Tower Records manager
• Corey Taylor – Sales associate at an adult store (prompted John’s sarcastic alternate title: “Account executive”)
• Courtney Love – Stripper/Prostitute (“Same thing.” – John Holmberg [05:14])
• Rob Zombie – Production assistant on Pee-wee’s Playhouse
• Fred Durst – Tattoo artist ("I didn’t know that." – John Holmberg [05:33])

4. Offbeat & NSFW News: “Buttering His Cob” at Korn Concert

• Brady reports that a man was ejected from a Korn concert for public indecency—a story the team cannot resist lampooning:
  • “He was whacking off, not buttering his cob.” – John Holmberg [06:30]
  • "It's lunchtime, man." – Brady [06:35]
• The phrase "buttering his cob" launches several corny puns and jokes from the hosts.

5. Ongoing Banter & Health Concerns

• The escalating concern (mock and otherwise) over Brady’s medication leads to funny, exasperated quips about his health, including kidney function and impending transport home by wife Ronnie:
  • “Ronnie is like, I'm on my way to get him now she's hearing it, too.” – John Holmberg [06:14]
  • “That kidney is barely functioning as it is. And now he's high, too.” – John Holmberg [07:11]

6. Quick, Morbid Humor About Weight Loss

• The hosts imagine a dystopian, AI-generated skinny version of Brady, with dark WWII references and trademark HMS shock humor.
  • “Auschwitz Bogan… that’s a picture. Just get him some striped pajamas…” – John Holmberg [07:32]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Brady drifting in and out:
  “No, everything's good. Are you okay? Oxy's eating you up. Better get to it, man… You are on drugs.” – John Holmberg [01:26]
• Rock star jobs summary:
  “Kurt Cobain, janitor. … That does not surprise me. That's what he would have been had he not found music. That was all he was qualified to do.” – John Holmberg [04:44]
• Fred Durst confusion:
  “Didn’t he do Steve-O’s, one of Steve-O’s?” – John Holmberg [05:33]
• Buttering his cob at Korn:
  “He was whacking off, not buttering his cob.” – John Holmberg [06:30]
• Oxy comedy:
  “You may not hear a difference between...stuttering Brady and stroke, but seeing him kind of float around while he's reading, he looks happy.” – John Holmberg [06:54]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Brady’s Oxy-induced state and derailment: 01:14 – 01:56
• Entertainment Drill begins: 03:49
• Ethan Hawke on movie set romance: 03:49 – 04:21
• Rock stars’ first jobs: 04:26 – 05:55
• Korn concert “buttering the cob” story: 06:22 – 06:41
• Brady’s condition and the wrap up: 06:54 – 07:47

Tone & Style

• Fast-paced, irreverent, with frequent sarcasm and playful dark comedy.
• The hosts riff off each other in a style that feels unscripted and spontaneous, leaning heavily into banter and running jokes.

For listeners who missed this episode:
Expect a rapid-fire run through weird news, rock trivia, and pop culture, all filtered through a haze of inside jokes, gallows humor, and the chaos of a co-host openly fighting off prescription painkillers. Not much “hard news” here, but plenty of laughs and memorable moments in the signature HMS style.