Our Very Special Boy

Off Menu with Andi Osho — [00:02:29] Merlin’s latest Off Menu listening leads to Blue Lights, Gerry, and a Game of Thrones name that becomes its own joke. This is Osho’s November 4 episode. Blue Lights — BritBox Trailer — [00:02:29] Andi Osho’s Off Menu appearance prompts a detour through Blue Lights, Gerry, and Richard Dormer’s other familiar role. International Order of the Rainbow for Girls — [00:06:40] Remembering his mother’s Rainbow Girls involvement leads Merlin to measure the age of his own references. DeMolay International — [00:06:40] DeMolay joins Rainbow Girls in the conversation about old organizations and family memories. You Can See Everything — A24 — [00:08:04] The previous member show’s challenge is held for the aftershow so the hosts can discuss the film with spoilers. Steve Kornacki’s 2026 Election Livestream — [00:11:49] The central recommendation: the full 10-hour, 38-minute Kornacki Cam stream, including the production around the broadcast appearances. Merlin wants Kornacki and Adam back in the same room. Hanna-Barbera Sound Effects Library — Demonstration — [00:13:17] A misunderstood cartoon noise becomes a tour of familiar sound effects, including the quick entrances and exits Merlin recognizes in Portlandia. Hanna-Barbera Sound Effects Library — Sound Ideas — [00:13:26] The collection behind the sound-effects detour. Merlin recalls acquiring a CD of the familiar cartoon noises. Making a Murderer — [00:15:44] Wisconsin election geography reminds Merlin of the series, which concerns Manitowoc County. Shepard Fairey’s Barack Obama Portrait — National Portrait Gallery — [00:16:44] Alex recalls Grant Park in 2008; the Obama campaign imagery takes a darker turn in Merlin’s “Hope Drones” variation. Kurt Vonnegut — Slaughterhouse-Five — [00:21:53] Late vote counting brings Vonnegut’s “mopping up” description to Merlin’s mind. Instacart’s Carrot and Arrow — [00:26:15] Merlin explains the green arrow inside the carrot, while Alex’s difficulty spotting hidden arrows produces Arrow Blind. Paul Rand’s UPS Identity — [00:27:13] The old UPS package tied with string supplies the neighboring logo example. This page shows Rand’s actual identity work. The Man Behind the FedEx Logo — Lindon Leader Interview — [00:27:16] Alex’s difficulty seeing the hidden arrow supplies “Arrow Blind.” The logo’s designer explains how the arrow emerged between the E and x. Harry Nilsson — Me and My Arrow — [00:27:39] The logo conversation becomes a song through the word arrow. Harry Nilsson — Without You — [00:27:56] Merlin sings the refrain while asking Alex about Nilsson, before the Lennon anecdote. The Beatles — Penny Lane — [00:29:08] The Lennon and Nilsson story reaches a Beatles-song punch line. The Beatles — Yesterday — [00:29:16] The spoken Scrambled Eggs reference is taken as an allusion to Yesterday’s working title; the identification is an inference. Gus’s Community Market — Its History — [00:29:57] Merlin explains the Sunset grocery trip that supplied the election-night charcuterie board. John Mulaney — Long Victorian Nightgown — [00:30:56] The rushed grocery trip recalls Mulaney’s bit about being handed an enormous Billabong T-shirt. The Mountain Goats — The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton — [00:31:30] Denton is one of the places Merlin knows through songs, starting the Texas portion of the playlist. The Mountain Goats — All Hail West Texas — [00:32:20] Merlin names the album while the musical map of Texas moves from Denton to El Paso. Marty Robbins — El Paso — [00:32:21] Merlin’s musical map of Texas reaches Marty Robbins. This is the full-length recording. The Blues Brothers — Rawhide Scene — [00:32:49] The country-and-western exchange recalls the Blues Brothers playing behind chicken wire at Bob’s Country Bunker. Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys — San Antonio Rose — [00:33:07] A Bob Wills classic to accompany Merlin’s distinction between country and Western music. Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys — Take Me Back to Tulsa — [00:33:07] More Western swing from Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks — I Feel Like Singing — [00:33:08] Merlin follows Bob Wills with Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, then names “I Feel Like Singing.” Do By Friday 473 — Songs Mentioned — [00:33:15] The episode’s musical detours, from Nilsson and the Beatles through Western swing, Fleetwood Mac, and the Rolling Stones. Savannah Guthrie’s Donald Trump Town Hall — NBC / Telemundo — [00:35:48] The hosts recall Guthrie questioning Trump in the 2020 town hall, including the staging with both of them on stools. The Newsroom — [00:36:45] Aaron Sorkin’s newsroom becomes a comparison for the election broadcast’s set and the people working around Kornacki. Fleetwood Mac — Rhiannon (The Midnight Special, 1976) — [00:43:53] Stevie Nicks introduces the song about an old Welsh witch in this 1976 Midnight Special performance. Fleetwood Mac — Gypsy — [00:44:00] Alex questions the song’s title, and Merlin answers with Honorable Roma. The Rolling Stones — She’s a Rainbow — [00:45:28] A colorful-Mac detour supplies the final identifiable song in the main recording. Patrick Stewart’s Circumcision Story — The Graham Norton Show — [00:47:20] The late conversation recalls Stewart learning that he had misunderstood his own circumcision status.