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If you’re looking for spirit-lifting, celebratory music, I might suggest listening to another podcast tonight. 5RVLN5 creates dark, hopeless industrial sounds that feel like the “regret” side of a days-long bender. Chuck Clybourne of 5RVLN5 is here to welcome us to the dark side.

Joel McHale is one of the funniest actors/hosts/comics/writers/directors in entertainment. Joel joins Car Con Carne this week as part of a partnership with the Brent Sopel Foundation. Brent and I talk with Joel about hosting the 2014 White House Correspondents Dinner, “Tiger King and I,” “Community,” the comedy community and “Stargirl.”Brent joins me for the chat, and you can watch the longform interview on the Brent Sopel Foundation’s Facebook and web pages. That conversation digs deep into Joel’s experiences of living with dyslexia.

“Blue collar hip hop” artist Southside Jake is a Chicago-based songwriter whose latest song, “Outside,” is a throwback to more innocent times. We talk about that, growing up on the south side, the music scenes he straddles and the positives of Cameo.

Malört: Turning taste-buds into taste-foes for generations. CH Distillery owner/head distiller Tremaine Atkinson joins me to talk about the most “Chicago” spirit of all.  We also cover plenty of CH history, too.

Meet The Well Tempered. RIYL Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, New Order. The synthy, moody gloom of the Well Tempered feels appropriate for January, to say nothing of a January spinning out of 2020. The project of musician Robert Bock recently released the “Three Sisters” EP, a song cycle that emerged from emotions around the pandemic. Robert joins me tonight!

I talked tonight with Cesar Marron and Shawn Decker, the managing partners of Sketchbook Brewing Company, about their company history. We went back to the beginning, when they were serving 2 oz. pours in an Evanston alley, and covered everything through their present-day new taproom and facility in Skokie. Grab yourself an Orange Door and enjoy this interview!

Have kids? They could probably use some advice. Author, filmmaker and old JVO schoolmate Marc Fienberg is on tonight to talk about his helpful, insightful and entertaining recent book release, “Dad’s Great Advice for Teens.”

“This is Spinal Tap.” “The Big Lebowski.” Lots of Kung-Fu movies. The drive-in situation at Rock Island Public House is awesome for the rest of the month. RIPH drive-in movie curator and movie fanatic Mike Vanderbilt is back on tonight!

The best thing about TheLINE’s sound is it’s *their* sound. You can find hints of stuff you love in everything they do, but the end result is uniquely theirs. After a considerable time away, TheLINE reemerged in the late 10s, followed by the “Sour to Punker” EP last year. Ryan Immegart of TheLINE is on Car Con Carne tonight. Oh, he’s also the Global Head of Marketing for Volcom. NBD.

Do you like dogs? How about dogs in people's clothes? Do you also like supporting members of Chicago’s music community? I have just the thing for you: “Bobo, 12 months a year,” a handsome calendar featuring Bobo the dog, owned by The Atlas Moth’s Stavros Giannopoulos. The Kickstarter project to back the calendar ends late tomorrow afternoon (1/4/21), and Stavros is here tonight to talk about it and share some fabulous Bobo pictures. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bobofor2021/bobo-12-months-a-year

There’s nothing worse than a last-minute blow-off from a guest. I was just waiting for the guest to pop up on Zoom, and… nothing. I called. I texted. Nothing. So here I am. Hi. Just me. If that’s not the most symbolic way to do the last show of 2020, I don’t know what is.

Zanies is ringing in the new year with a live streaming event of Chicago comedians, hosted by the very-funny Calvin Evans. Calvin’s my guest tonight, as we try to burn 2020 from our minds.

Miki’s Park opened in River North in March, 2020… mere days before it would be forced to close for a couple weeks. Miki’s Park’s story isn’t unique or special, but it is emblematic of what a challenging year it’s been for the service industry. I’ll be talking about those challenges with Orville Diaz, GM/Partner at Miki’s Park, as well as the innovations that have sprung from this year. We’re talking Korean food and beverage, New Year’s Eve and restaurant management during the time of COVID tonight.

Just before Thanksgiving, we checked in on the progress of local artist George Zak. Since then, he remarkably has even more pieces to show and discuss… right before Christmas. At this rate, I should probably go ahead and book him right before Valentine’s Day. Visit George at oddkidart.com!

What keeps Cornerstone Restaurant Group COO Danny McGowan hopeful for the service industry? What types of innovation and creativity kept restaurants moving forward this year? What can independent restaurant owners do and think about, heading into 2021? Danny's one of the service industry's great thinkers and advocates, and this was a fascinating and engaging conversation. We talk about Cornerstone's restaurants, as well as where the industry is at right now.   Support Cornerstone's fantastic Chicago area restaurants: Michael Jordan's Restaurant Michael Jordan's Steakhouse (it will be back!) Urbanbelly Table at Crate Chef Bill Kim's Ramen Bar pop-up Chef Bill Kim's Pizza and Parm

Get ready for a fun new slasher flick to distract you from wrapping presents and waiting out the vaccine. “GetAWAY” has an old school horror vibe, but with distinctly modern twists. The film comes out 12/23 on VOD and DVD, and writer/director Blayne Weaver and lead actor Emma Norville join me to talk about the movie. Check out our (mostly spoiler free) discussion tonight, then watch the movie tomorrow!

As I type this, my feet are resting comfortably in a pair of Jack Purcells. The history of “signature shoes” goes way back, and to walk us through that history is Ryan Trembath, author of “Signature Shoes: The Athletes Who Wore Them and Delightful Pop Culture Nuggets.”

2020 wasn’t the year any restaurant owner would have chosen for their business. Fooditor’s Mike Gebert makes his annual Car Con Carne visit to recap the past year in Chicago dining and to chat about his recently-published “Fooditor 33: Chicago’s Best New Places to Eat.”

After many years making music for national-level bands like The House of Lords, Giuffria and Jesse and the Rippers (Full House), Lanny Cordola now devotes his days to teaching the guitar to kids in war-torn countries. Lanny joins me tonight to talk about The Miraculous Love Kids, Girl With a Guitar and his ongoing efforts. His stories are extraordinary and inspirational. I think you're going to really appreciate this interview.

Christmas is 10 days away. Log off Amazon and shop local! Uvae Kitchen and Wine Bar is hosting a holiday pop-up retail market that features premade gift baskets as well as DIY “gift baskets” you can create with products from local businesses and artists like Andersonville Fine Foods, Twidley Bits, Tasting India, Downstate Donuts, Rewired Pizza Cafe & Bar, Uncommon Coffee Roasters, Slumbering Alligator and Articulate Studios. Uvae owner, sommelier and chef Lindsey Anderson-Perez joins me tonight.