The year was 1976, and Bob Dylan was in Colorado at Hughes Stadium singing one of his greatest songs ever, “Shelter From the Storm.” Originally from Blood on the Tracks, the song was being filmed and recorded for Bob’s live record Hard Rain. “Shelter From the Storm” is one of Bob’s most enduring poems. Its a universal anthem that blithely crosses nostalgia with tall tales of true romance and bitterness. The video below is taken from NBC’s hour long film of the concert and showcases what Dylan would do in a live setting for the rest of career, namely never playing his classic songs the way you heard them on record. This version of “Shelter From the Storm” is transformed from a somber acoustic ballad into an upbeat rocking rave. It’s also a sight to see Bob play that incredibly unique electric guitar with a slide no less! This is a wonderful rendition, and a must watch for fans of Bob’s middle eastern head gear phase.
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.
The “Seinfeld” obsession continues, this time with a great documentary on it’s unlikely creation and even more unlikely smash success. It’s a revealing 6 part look into how the show started off as a quirky experimental program whose premise was wrapping a sitcom around a standup comedians act. It was a totally novel creation springing from the minds of Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. The documentary is great because you see the enormous strain and pressure Larry David was under in the creation of this thing countered with the unnatural calm and ease that Jerry Seinfeld exuded during the whole creation. The whole video series is great, a must for “Seinfeld” fans, which should just about include the entire human race. Sadly, Part 3 and 5 cannot be embedded! Stupid youtube censors. Don’t worry, I’ve provided links so you won’t miss out. Enjoy.
How about that keyboard reflecting in Ray Charles’s sunglasses? That’s rock and roll, or more specifically, the blues. This legendary scene, from the “Blues Brothers” movie, is and irreplaceable document of blues rock awesomeness. The Blues Brothers were a group formed by Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, two SNL geniuses who loved the blues and came up with this brilliant concept for a Chicago based blues group. The dark suits, hats, and shades are icons of TV and movie magic. It’s just another example of the insane role that the likes of Aykroyd and Belushi were on in the late 70s/early 80s when it came to dominating the coolest ideas of global comedy. The original Blues Brothers band consists mostly of the first SNL band, and they really cook. It’s a reminder of how huge SNL was in the late 70s that even the band members got starring roles in a blockbuster feature film. The movie, directed by hot 80s director John Landis, is a crazy car crashing romp of great music and fantastic dance sequences, evidenced below. Check it out.
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. Read more »
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!”
It’s the Beastie Boys, its the Roots, and they’re performing “So What’cha Want” LIVE! Well, it was live, on the Jimmy Fallon show not too long ago. This is an awesome clip of Mike D, Ad-Rock, and MCA killing their classic hit single from their 1992 LP Check Your Head. I’ve always like the Beasties, but never really delved head first into their records until recently. I appreciate their aggressive 3 pronged vocal attack, recording creativity, and their general subversive attitude they interject into the mass culture. They are three radical uncompromising artists who command a massive fan base which is an impressive feat in today’s sell out sort of world. This is a flawless performance showcasing their rock solid vitality, an amazing feat in itself for any group that’s been together as long as they have…
Posted in Youtube Favs on June 30th, 2011 by Willie
Sex sells! I want to thank this “Drunken Angel” above and Tal Wilkenfeld from yesterday for drawing a few extra clicks to my humble little site. Before anyone accuses me of perversion or lechery or something, I’d like to defend myself a bit by saying this is one of the better lists of rock and roll you are gonna find on the internet. So, in that spirit, lets close it out right now with clips 24-1 and put this beautiful list to bed once and for all.
#24. Bob Marley, One Love/People Get Ready – It’s Bob’s version of “All You Need is Love,” and its basically just as good. Whatever melody making power the Beatles had, Bob had too.
#23. Bob Dylan, The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll – I wish I had more Dylan on my list, but I couldn’t find too many choice clips of him playing my favorite Dylan songs. This is an exception, one of the greatest Dylan videos you are gonna find on ole youtube. Read more »
Welcome to part 48 of my youtube countdown! Sorry music fans, I got a comedy video for you, and guess what, I’m not really sorry! This is Louis CK, the funniest standup comedian alive, talking about how nobody is happy with the incredible futuristic society we were all born into. I actually remember seeing this appearance on the Conan show years ago, 2004 I think, and NEVER forgetting it. Luckily, the folks at youtube never forgot either. Louis basically says everything that’s been on my mind about people in today’s world, and I won’t spoil it by repeating his brilliant and hilarious insights. Please, do your soul a favor, sit back, and prepare to laugh, a lot.