Episode 48: P.O.D.'s "The Fundamental Elements of Southtown", or P.O.D. and the Works of Darkness

For just the second time in the show's history (and perhaps the last time), we are covering our namesake band, as we dive into the P.O.D. well once again to review their major-label debut, "The Fundamental Elements of Southtown". I'll say this: we like it a heck of a lot more than we did "Satellite". Doesn't stop us from finding lots to chew on here though, as Bryan remembers grappling with liking this album when it first came out with the fact the band was Christian, and we wonder how much that affected the general populace's enjoyment of them as well, as it's hard to like a Christian band in front of your friends. In 2023 without that context, there's quite a few great songs to be had, but it's also pretty front-loaded and limps to the finish line. We also take a look into Sonny's Christian missionary work, learn far too much about the "Miss Rocklahoma" Pageant, and we end the episode by discovering two of the most insane articles we've ever found doing this show, written by a devout Christian who spends roughly 30,000 words wondering just how Christian P.O.D. indeed are. If you want to become a more devout follower of this show, you can head on over to patreon.com/thepodkast, where $4/month gets you access to THREE bonus episodes every single month. Last month, Josh Gondelman joined us to discuss the soundtrack to the weird Canadian animated sci-fi movie "Heavy Metal 2000", and for the first time ever, we introduced the $7 tier, which gets you VIDEO of that very same episode. It was a great time. The $7 Tier also comes with a bunch of other cool perks, and at any tier, you get access to our entire back catalogue, which comprises over 100 episodes. Don't miss out!