The Log Driver's Waltz with Aaron Reynolds: Deep Thoughts About Canadian Masculinity, Quirky Comedy, and Keeping Animation Weird

Deep Thoughts About Stupid Sh*t: A Pop-Culture Podcast

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I'm not sure that it's business of yours, but I do like to waltz with a log driver.

Tracie and Emily welcome six-time Webby Award winner Aaron Reynolds (of Effin Birds fame) to the podcast this week to share his deep thoughts about the animated short The Log Driver's Waltz. Created by the Canadian National Film Board in 1979 and aired between gaps in children's programming (because there were no commercials!), this three minute animation ran so often that it became burned in Aaron's brain. He thought that meant the song was just what he uses to tune his ukulele and introduce Americans to Canadian culture. But, as he discovered during the conversation with the Guy sisters, The Log Driver's Waltz has also had an outsize effect on his understanding of comedy, romance, and masculinity, and it gave him permission to be unexpected.

You can find Aaron at EffinBirds.com

Check out The Log Driver's Waltz here:

https://www.nfb.ca/film/log_drivers_waltz/

Throw on your headphones and go birling down and down the podcast! It will please you completely!

This episode was edited by Resonate Recordings.

Our theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Learn more about Tracie and Emily (including our other projects), join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus episodes, video versions, and early access to Deep Thou​​ghts by visiting us on Patreon or find us on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/guygirls

We're having a party, please come! A Zoom happy hour, Tue, 11/18, 7:30 ET / 6:30 CT. (THERE WILL BE PRESENTS!) So get ready to pour your favorite beverage, overthink some Thanksgiving-themed pop culture, laugh, and feel a little bit smarter.

It’s free, but please register at guygirlsmedia.com/happyhour, so we can share the zoom info with you! (Also, who doesn’t like knowing who’s coming to their party?)

We are Tracie Guy-Decker and Emily Guy Birken, known to our family as the Guy Girls.

We have super-serious day jobs. For the bona fides, visit our individual websites: tracieguydecker.com and emilyguybirken.com. For our work together, visit guygirlsmedia.com

We're hella smart and completely unashamed of our overthinking prowess. We love movies and tv, science fiction, comedy, and murder mysteries, good storytelling with lots of dramatic irony, and analyzing pop culture for gender dynamics, psychology, sociology, and whatever else we find.

We are on socials! Find us on Facebook at fb.com/dtasspodcast and on Insta at instagram.com/guygirlsmedia. You can also email us at guygirlsmedia at gmail dot com. We would love to hear from you!

פרקים

1. Setting the Stage: Juxtaposition & Humor (00:00:00)

2. Meet Aaron Reynolds & Episode Focus (00:01:20)

3. What Is The Log Driver’s Waltz? (00:02:27)

4. Folk Roots, Hemsworth, and Recording Oddities (00:03:54)

5. Log Driving 101: Danger and Skill (00:05:24)

6. The NFB Short: Style, Scenes, and Music (00:07:20)

7. Nostalgia, Canadian TV, and Heritage Minutes (00:10:24)

8. Masculinity Reframed: Strength and Grace (00:12:20)

9. Canadian Identity and Nonconformity (00:17:03)

10. Art Influence: Animation to Line Work (00:20:03)

11. Ukulele, Craft, and Learning by Imitation (00:23:23)

12. Juxtaposition as Core Comedy Engine (00:25:33)

13. Batman ’66: Humor Without the Wink (00:28:03)

14. Feminine Agency and Subverting Norms (00:30:58)

15. Culture Contrast: Ads vs Public Media (00:33:53)

16. TV Ontario, Film Literacy, and Influence (00:38:03)

17. Permission to Be Unpredictable (00:42:03)

18. Translation, Audience, and Internet Pedants (00:46:13)

19. Canadian Humor Lineage and Aspirations (00:50:23)

20. Takeaways, Links, and Closing CTA (00:55:03)