Prog Rock Thursday
I wouldn’t call myself a hardcore prog rock fan, but Rush, Yes and Boston are all in my iTunes library. And some days, there’s no better sound then technically sophisticated, nine minute songs. Like Roundabout, by Yes.
Johnny Cash Appreciation Day
Happy Birthday Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger played Madison Square Garden with the Boss yesterday…and he’s 90. Happy Birthday Pete. You are the man.
Orson Welles Drunk Outtake
This clip of Orson Welles was in the “Recommended for you” section of my YouTube page. I don’t know what that says about my search habits, but I watched it, and it is awesome. Orson drank about 8 bottles of the wine he’s doing a commercial for and he is a mess.
Star Wars / Dallas opening
Mashups are old news I guess, but they’re still fun. This is a great example of how editing can change the message for anything.
Empire’s 100 Greatest Movie Characters
There are actually 100 great movie characters. Although the list is a bit flawed. Why would Tony Montana be #27 and Martin Riggs is #100!!!
Bob is back!
Bob is back. And not a moment to soon.
Richter is back!
I love Conan O’Brien, even if I only watch him about twice a year. I go to bed before he comes on, and chances are if I’m watching his show, I’ve either worked late or I’m having a bout of insomnia. Either way, whenever I watch Conan I love it. He’s part Johnny Carson, part Letterman and all Conan. He’s really the Carson of the Gen Xers. He appears to be a straight man and then launches into screwball comedy that only he can create.
I was watching one of Conan’s last shows the other night, where he ripped off a piece of the set and then had some set people chop it up, so he could give it to the audience at the end of the show – classic! The whole show was devoted to flashbacks, with one very special guest, Andy Richter. In the early days of the Conan show, Andy Richter was McMahon to Conan O’Brien’s Carson. It was a great comedy team-up but Richter left the show in 2000 and started a mild tv career. (with one recent appearance on 30 ROCK as Liz Lemon’s brother – a great episode) But, he never quite recaptured the popularity of his team-up with Conan. Well, now thats changed, because not only is Conan moving over to late night, but Richter is going to rejoin the show. Why do I care? I don’t know. I just like to know that when I tune in to a Conan O’Brien show, any day of the week, I am going to be entertained and laugh my ass off. And thats something we can all use with all of the good news these days.
Welcome back Andy.
Because he’s a pro…
…David Letterman had no problem with a quiet and pensive Joaquin Phoenix, who was on the Late Show for what? Oh yeah, he was promoting a movie and retiring from acting, but you wouldn’t have known that if Letterman didn’t drag it out of him. Its not easy to sit at a desk day after day and talk up celebrities and make the time interesting, let alone a guest that doesn’t say a thing. But, in short, Letterman shows you why he is still the king of late night TV. He simultaneously calms any agitation (if that is what he was felling) that Phoenix had and then zings him with some great lines. My favorite is, “We owe an apology to Farah Fawcett, ” a reference to what was until now, the most uncomfortable Letterman appearance.
