Changes: Munch Squad

Revision as of 21:12, 2 September 2019

Munch Squad is a segment created and perpetrated by Justin McElroy. Every Munch Squad features a press release from a major fast food company, typically discussing their new products. Justin reads the press release out loud and the brothers provide analysis and commentary. The humor in the segment is largely derived from the bizarreness of the products, the choice of words used to describe the products, and the sometimes unorthodox promotional tactics used to promote them. Restaurants discussed include: Papa Johns, Denny's, Wendy's, McDonald's and every other fast food place that ends with 's.

Episodes with Munch Squad include:

"Theme" song

The Munch Squad segment often starts with Justin making sounds that can be compared to: a radio adjusting itself, crackling fire, the running of tiny angry feet, or the approaching of thunder. Justin then announces, with the booming voice of the gods,

"I WANNA MUNCH!"

to which Griffin and Travis, incredibly unenthusiastically reply,

"Squad."

Justin then sings a guitar riff that is almost, but not exactly, the one in Twisted Sister's "I Wanna Rock", presumably the inspiration for the theme song. Recently he has started adding new elements in to extend the opening riff, such as the "oh-ah-ah!" from Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," even adding a kazoo instrumental riff. Each episode that the Munch Squad appears in, Justin seems to extend the bassline riff, miraculously getting lower and lower. This has sparked concern for his mental and vocal health.

Then follows the Munch Squad segment, which always happens to start just when I've left the house and I'm on the train and haven't had any lunch and I'm trying to eat healthy and now I want a god damn cheeseburger, thanks Justin.

Featured Items

The "food" featured on Munch squad in chronological order.

Ep 304: Taco Bell's Naked Crispy Chicken Taco
Ep 305: Wendy's Bacon Mozzarella Burger
Ep 306 (live show): Olive Garden's Breadstick Sandwiches and Deep Dish Spaghetti Pie
Ep 309: Burger King's Flamin' Hot Mac & Cheetos
Ep 312: Domino's Burger Pizza
Ep 321: Domino's salads
Ep 322: Pizza Hut's Grilled Cheese Stuffed Crust Pizza
Ep 324: Jack in the Box's Brunchfast Menu
Ep 326: Wendy's Taco Salad
Ep 328: Carl's Jr.'s Budweiser Beer Cheese Bacon Burger
Ep 336: Wendy's Spicy Sriracha Chicken Sandwich
Ep 340: Taco Bell's Naked Chicken Chalupa
Ep 345 (live show): Doritos' Boldest Choice Campaign
Ep 349 (live show): Jester's Jenny's Chicken Parmi Pie
Ep 351: Taco Bell's Nacho Fries
Ep 354: Taco Bell's Naked Chicken Chips
Ep 356 (live show): McDonald's Artisanal Sandwiches
Ep 357: Carl's Jr.'s Baby Back Rib Burger
Ep 358: Arby's Smokehouse Pork Belly Sandwich
Ep 363: Tim Hortons' 150th Canadian Anniversary Menu
Ep 364 (live show): Applebee's Topped and Loaded Menu
Ep 372 (live show): Yogurtland's Chocolate and Vanilla Ice Cream
Ep 374: McDonald's Buttermilk Crispy Tenders (and art posters)
Ep 375: Whataburger's Chorizo Burger
Ep 376: Taco Bell's Naked Egg Taco
Ep 384 (live show): Cinnabuns' cinnamonbun-cookie & The cookie bomb bite
Ep 385: Sweetfrog's Deck the Halls Christmas Spectacle
Candlenights 2017 (live show) : Regal Cinemas' Cheetos Popcorn
Ep 392: Einstein Bros.' Wake Up to Bagels Campaign
Ep 394 (live show): Taco Bell x Forever 21 Fashion Line (performed by Griffin)
Ep 394 (live show): Burger King's Whopper Severance Package
Ep 396: Bojangles' Heart Shaped Bo-Berry Biscuits
Ep. 401: Zaxby's Zensation Zalad
Ep. 406: Dairy Queen's Summer Blizzard Treat Menu
Ep. 408: McDonald's & Sprite's "It's the MIX" Campaign
Ep. 410: Fazoli's Breadstick Sliders
Ep. 411 (live show): Domino's pothole...thing. (not a food)
Ep. 413: Dunkin' Donuts Donut Fries
Ep 415: Hummus and Pita Co. Hummus ice cream
Ep. 417: Chick Fil A Meal Kits
Ep. 422: Chipotle Bacon & Nachos
Ep. 429: Mickey's Spicy Spooky Cheeto Pizza
Ep. 431: Burger King's Nightmare King
Ep. 437: Burger King's Dogpper, Whopper Detour, and Whopper-Shopper.com
Ep. 438 (live show): Sonic's Fritos Chili Cheese Faves
Ep. 441: CoreLife Eatery's Tim Tebow Food Revolution and Baskin Robbins' Brownie-Inspired Flavors
Ep. 444: Krispy Kreme's Say It With Donuts
Ep. 445: Bojangles 50-piece Chicken Supremes® platter
Ep. 446 (live show): Wendy's Made to Crave Menu
Ep. 447: McDonald's Donut Sticks and Domino's Points for Pies
Ep. 450 (live show): Stars of ‘The Bachelor’ Love Subway’s New Ultimate Cheesy Garlic Bread
Ep. 451: Chicken Guy!
Ep. 452: Pizza Hut's P'Zone
Ep. 453: Dunkin's Peeps Coffee and Peeps Donut and Carl's Jr.'s Truffle Burger and Truffle Fries
Ep. 454 (live show): April Foods' Day
- 7-Eleven–Avocado Toast Slurpee
- Checkers/Rally's–Unseasoned Fries
- Dunkin'–donut so big you can use it as a coffee cup holder
- Hardee's–hiring a CBO (Chief Biscuit Officer)
- Jersey Mike's–Stack Sub (two subs on top of each other)
- McDonald's Australia–McPickle Burger (a burger that's nothing but pickles)
- McDonald's Canada–McNugget Singles
- McDonald's Germany–Big Mac flavored smoothie
- McDonald's–Shake Sauce for fries
- Oreo–cookie where the cream is on the outside and the cookie's in the middle
- Carl's Jr.–Vape Cup (when you drink your soda you also get vape)
- Pop Tarts Ravioli
- Red Lobster Twizzlers Straws
- Stonefire Grill–getting rid of breadsticks
Ep. 455: fresh&co's 4/20 Menu and Toppers Pizza's Pretzel Bites
Ep. 456: Carl's Jr's Rocky Mountain HIGH Cheeseburger Delight and Dairy Queen's new tagline
Ep. 458: Krispy Kreme's Fruit-Shaped Donuts, McDonald's Worldwide Favorites
Ep. 459 (live show): Heinz's Creme Egg Mayo
Ep. 460: Earl of Sandwich debuts in Idaho
Ep. 462: GarfieldEATS
Ep. 464 (live show): KFC and Mtn. Dew's Sweet Lightning

Controversy

Justin has been criticized for luring his two brothers into a false sense of security by asking a decoy question, then interrupting his brothers' answers to introduce the segment.

In Episode 375, Justin was accused of using the abrupt and unexpected nature of the segment to avoid answering a question posed to him. He confirmed this, replacing the usual lyrics to the theme song with "I wanna deflect!"

Similarly, in Episode 396 he starts with "It's a defense mechanism!"

@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 *[[Episode 385: Horses in the Drift]]
 *[[Episode 386: Candlenights 2017]]
+*[[Episode 392: Big Game Tony Sunday]]
 *[[Episode 394: Face 2 Face: I Fritos Hard]]
 *[[Episode 396: Independence Jumanji 3]]