After I saw that Bored to Death trailer that featured the boys going crazy on Coney Island to the Beastie Boys song Triple Trouble, I myself, have gone crazy, seeking this song out in all its forms. So, that’s what I’ve done, finding three killer performances of the song on youtube. The song, which samples heavily from rap’s first song, “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang, is just one of the catchiest things I’ve ever heard. I love the sped up version the best, performed on MTV in 2004. They absolutely kill it. The second performance is from AOL’s live sessions, and is just a perfect display of their rap mastery. The third performance is the music video itself. I really like it, but the song doesn’t start until about a minute and a half into it. It features some bizarre story about the Beasties making a fashion statement at an awards show, before Big Foot comes to fight and dance with them. I hope you enjoy this incredibly funky and fresh cut. And just in case you like it as much as I do, don’t forget to vote for me in the CBS’s Best NYC Blogger Contest, in which I am a finalist. Just click these words! Thanks!
I normally don’t update twice in one day, but news such as this demands action on my part. I am a massive George Harrison fan, and when I heard a few years ago that Martin Scorsese was putting together a three and a half hour George Harrison documentary, I started counting down the days. At last, the film is finished, and will get its premiere on HBO on October 5th and 6th in two parts. To casual fans of rock and roll, George Harrison is known as the “Quiet Beatle,” but hard core Beatle fans know he was anything but. In many ways, George was the most radical Beatle, refusing to conform to any traditional system of life living. He was a rule breaker and a seeker, blazing new frontiers in his own quest to figure out why the world was so miserable, and what he could do about it. Lastly, he was a beautiful musician, criminally overshadowed by his Beatle friends, who unfairly excluded him from the tight partnership thing that Lennon and McCartney formed in the early Beatle days. Paul McCartney even admitted that there was nothing stopping him and John from excluding George, other than feeling superior to him via their dominant personalities and older ages. Also, it is really hard to blame Paul and John because when they were young boys making these decisions, it was impossible for them to know what impact such choices would hold in music history. Its a silly footnote in rock history, but one made all the more remarkable as George blossomed his own unique musical genius with little help from his friends. (Zing!) Anyway, I’m the sure the documentary will cover these issues with greater complexity, so I’ll leave my own historical commentary to a minimum for now. Enjoy the trailer, and don’t forget you can vote for me to be CBS’s top NY blogger! Already voted? Well, don’t let it stop you because you can vote once every day! Just click these orange words, it only takes a second!
The trailer for “Bored to Death” season 3 just came out, and of course, its awesome. I have an incredibly soft spot for this show. For starters, I live in Park Slope, Brooklyn, the predominant location of the show’s adventures. Next, I love detective comedies, long story there. Lastly, the cast is brilliant and the show high brow and hilarious. That’s two or three things, but whose counting? Anyway, the season 3 trailer is just Ted, Jason, and Zach gallivanting around Coney Island to the Beastie Boys “Triple Trouble.” If this doesn’t make you happy, I want you to stop reading my site. Well…read my site less, or just read it the same amount, but respectfully disagree with me on the subject of liking this show. BORED TO DEATH!!!!
John Lennon was really offended by Bob Dylan’s latest single, “Gotta Serve Somebody.” Dylan recorded the song for his 1979 album Slow Train Coming. The album and the song was part of Bob’s short lived conversion to Christianity. In his diary, John wrote, “The backing was mediocre by Jerry Wexler, the singing was really pathetic, and the words were just embarrassing.” The Grammy people didn’t think so, they gave Dylan a huge spotlight at the 1980 awards, and let him take home the trophy for “Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Male.” In a snide retort, John wrote/improvised a funny little rant called “Serve Yourself,” a track which never got an official release. Well, the Grammys are a joke, and always have been, and I fully understand John’s sense of embarrassment and betrayal by Dylan, but I kinda love “Gotta Serve Somebody.” I think the message is clever enough that it extends beyond the religious into the philosophical, and it sets up an interesting battle of ideas between the two rock gods. I always suspected that “Gotta Serve Somebody” was Dylan’s response to Lennon’s line from ten years earlier when John proclaimed, “I don’t believe in Zimmerman [Dylan's real name for the uninitiated],…I just believe in me” from “God” (Plastic Ono Band.) It’s Dylan rejecting Lennon’s idea of discarding all figures of worship and idolatry and claiming that in the end, whether you like it or not, you are serving something, whether it be a God, a devil, or just a concept. Lennon disagrees, and he makes no bones about making it known, or he would have had he lived. Anyway, here are both tracks, in all their glory. Who do you think wins? Dylan, Lennon, God, or the devil? Let me know.
I’m pretty sure this is from the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” pilot, but who cares where its from exactly, I’m not double checking Wikipedia. All you need to know is that its genius and hilarious. This is Larry returning to his roots, doing strait up stand up, and killing. He riffs on masturbation, blow jobs from Jews, Clinton, Hitler, Chinese men, answering machines, and Jack Kevorkian. It’s a brilliant montage of his best jokes, and it all ends on a joke that sums up his entire comedy philosophy. Just sit back, press play, prepare to laugh, and thank me later.
If you caught last Sunday’s episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Palestinian Chicken,” you know Larry David is on a hot streak. There are a lot of genius comics in the world right now, but Larry is going for the throne of world’s funniest man. I can’t get enough of Larry and the world of “Curb,” and because of my addiction, I found this awesome series of clips featuring Larry, Cheryl Hines, and Jeff Garlin talking about the creation and origins of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” This is a long multi-video post, so be sure to click the more button so you don’t miss out on any videos.
VIDEO #1- Larry on the show’s creation. Here Larry talks about how he thought his return to standup would be stale, so he decided to wrap it around a clever little mockumentary idea.
VIDEO #2- Jeff Garlin, director and executive producer of the show, explains how Larry coaxed him into starring on the show as Larry’s agent.
If you’ve been following the site lately, you’ve noticed that I’ve been alternating its content between rock and roll and Larry David. Larry is just one of my biggest comedy heroes, and his newest 8th season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” is off to a roaring start. The trailers for season 8 point to an appearance by legendary British comic Ricky Gervais, creator of “The Office.” For anyone who has followed Rickey, you know that he loves “Seinfeld” and considers George Costanza the greatest sitcom character of all time. I found this incredible 6 part interview of Rickey sitting down with Larry, where they have an enlightening and hilarious conversation about comedy, and delve deep into each others pasts. It is so entertaining, insightful, and funny, and it’s guaranteed to be the best thing you watch today, so enjoy.
Larry David’s rise to full on stardom was a long an interesting road. He started off as a standup but got his first big break as a writer and performer on ABC’s answer to SNL, “Fridays.” After “Fridays,” Larry made it to SNL as a writer for the 84-85 season. He only ever got one sketch on the show, and it aired in the show’s last spot. Right around the time “Seinfeld” got going in 1989, Larry had a bit part in Woody Allen’s “New York Stories.” As”Seinfeld” grew in popularity, Larry could be seen and heard in bit roles throughout the show’s run, all in relative complete anonymity. “Seinfeld” gave Larry massive showbiz and financial clout, but he was still not a star by any means. When he launched his hugely successful HBO show “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Larry the performer really took off. As “Curb” enters its eighth groundbreaking season, Larry has also officially taken his place as a pop culture icon; an anti-hero waging a war against awkward social moments, instances of perceived unfairness, and sleights against himself. With Larry being such a big star now, it’s fun to look back at his more forgotten moments when he was still finding his comedic voice, and when he had much much crazier hair. Below I’ve assembled some clips from “Fridays” and from his appearance in the Woody Allen movie for all you Larry fans out there. Enjoy.
Clip #1 showcases Larry’s recurring character, Saully Mullens, from “Fridays” where he plays a hapless temp worker sent in for assignments way outside his realm of expertise. In this clip, Larry fills in for the US Secretary of State.
Clip #2 again finds Larry in a temp role, this time filling in for Gloria Steinham at an E.R.A. rally. I don’t know about you, but to me, Larry seems to be a cross between Woody Allen and Harold Ramis, all with a tough guy NY accent.
Clip#3 features Larry and Michael Richards in a sketch where a group of friends remember how much they tormented and teased each other. In the early days, its clear to see Larry’s natural nervousness and unease with performing, but also the enthusiasm and joy he was experiencing doing it.
Clip #4 is Larry’s small role in “New York Stories.” I’ve never seen this movie, and have no idea what is going on, but it’s clear that this scene probably inspired the “Seinfeld” episode where Kramer scores a line in a Woody Allen movie. “These Pretzels are Making me Thirsty!”
Larry David is coming back, this Sunday, to HBO. Seinfeld, Larry’s first masterpiece of television an amazing 9 seasons, so it’s equally incredible that Curb Your Enthusiasm is about to enter its 8th glorious season, and by the looks of it, Larry hasn’t lost his touch one bit. The write up today in the nytimes proclaims that the new season is just as brilliant as any other, and these trailers I’ve provided below seem to indicate the truth of such statements. From what I gather, Larry travels back to New York City, comes across Michael J. Fox, Ricky Gervais, and even former disgraced Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner! Unreal. I am dying with anticipation for these episodes. DYING! My enthusiasm will not be curbed…Check it out!
