As charmingly effusive as it is effortlessly delightful, Mike and Tom Eat Snacks (MATES) is a show with a simple premise: eat some snacks. Michael Ian Black and Tom Cavanagh form a power duo, voraciously consuming snacks with a backdrop of banter and a definitive verdict on the exact merits of a product, to the people who may or may not be viewers.
Tom Cavanagh, Producer Ian and Michael Ian Black
With such a simple premise, the keystone of the operation is always going to be the relationship of the co-conspirators. They take one of the great foibles of lazy podcasting (to eat snacks into, or mildly off, microphone) the pair transform a common annoyance into a triumphant signature. Many of the episodes begin with an anecdote or two from the twosome’s lives, discussed and dissected as an aperitif to the upcoming snack, readying their minds to the analytic challenges posed by Guacamole, Lay’s or Chex Mix. They dovetail beautifully as the seasoned podcasters they’ve become, matching an eloquence, brevity and charm with an indulgent portion of ludicrousness and revelry in the ridiculous that is as silly as it is infectious. The pair carry the show with a great ease and liquidity, filling out topics with an irreverent humour and proliferance of nonsense. They barrel on at a cracking pace, though never at too much of a rush to stop and take note of the scenery. One can also cite a great boon being the briefness of the show, coming in at an unusually self-restrained (for a podcast) 40 minute-ish stint, they understand that they cannot simply ramble endlessly and fruitlessly. Especially if the show is about Clementines.
The snacks usually take up a little under half the show, leaving ample room for the ruling of the perfect PER system, that is: pick a snack; eat a snack; rate that snack. This system allows for a contained and full-sighted reaction, consumption and definition of a snack item, carefully packaged in banter and quizzical remarks. As yet, snacks have ranged from products like Pirate’s Booty and Pop Tarts to cold pizza and Edamame. That they range so enthusiastically in terms of both taste and type, the show can leap from theme to theme each episode, meaning that listening to several episodes in a row is neither repetitive nor grating, instead offering up varied insights into the tastes of both Michael and Tom. Personal highlights include episodes where the gourmand pairing ravish products sent in from listeners in far-flung lands, as this forces the joint hosts to eat things they haven’t had before, giving the experience another level of freshness. It also gives causes for such phrasing gems as ‘I don’t know that I needed to have a soy sauce chocolate bar.’
Ratings Guide, (via ChrisM70 on Flickr)
That they limit themselves to coming in at less than 45 minutes, whilst also having a food to ruin/discuss/decide the fate of, defines the show as much as it creates it. Through these restrictions and necessities the co-consumers never get too bogged down in their mispronunciations, contemplations over what makes a snack or re-enactments of charming american football chants. This is a great standing point for a podcast to have, especially in a market very similar to that of snack foods themselves, in which homogenisation, normalising and repetitiveness are seen as the keys to success. If we take podcasts as a proper medium, rather than simply a promotional/practice tool as we must, then MATES is making huge strides of progress. You want a longer episode? Just listen to another one! Only got forty minutes? Here’s a whole show, not a half-a-show! Tom and Michael make a virtue of an anchor, aligning themselves firmly within the podcast culture, but not simply as one of so many grains of sand, but as both an exceptional example and (an albeit minor) reinvention of the medium. The cleverness of employing one of the ‘great listener problems’ of podcasts as the shows hook is one which probably will be considered more by reviewers and in hindsight than it was in the inception of the show, but remains an achievement nonetheless.
A show which is crafted from the love of two people and a love of a whole cornucopia of snacks, MATES is a wonderful example of minor difference proving a major selling point. Even beyond the wider spectrum of podcasts, Mike and Tom Eat Snacks is just a fun listen, full of charm, wit, snacks and fun. It is, in the very best sense, classic podcasting.
You can find the podcast up on iTunes or www.matescast.com. I believe they’re both on twitter as well, @CavanaghTom and @michaelianblack. Go listen, go natter, go download!