This is my all time favorite solo Paul McCartney music video. It would have been on the site years ago, but I could never find a version of it on youtube that I was able to embed on my website. Those days are over, so, at long last, I can proudly paste “Coming Up,” on williesimpson.com. The song, which kicked off the otherwise disappointing McCartney II, is one of solo Paul’s best ever. Its a bubbling psychedelic techno folk anthem of positivity. The song, and its genius accompanying video which debuted on Saturday Night Live, was so good, that it kicked a then retired John Lennon in the balls to start making pop music again. John famously claimed that he couldn’t get the song out of his head, and also thought that he could do exactly what Paul was doing, saturating the pop music scene with delicious little throwaway pop numbers. Personally, I believe it was the first ember that would spark the eventual reunion that never happened in the late 80s/early 90s. I’ve posted about it before, but what people don’t really understand about the Beatles Anthology, was that it was decades in the making, with John having a firm hand in its creation, all with the idea that some sort of reunion would happen one day on an important anniversary. Despite John’s needing to distance himself from the whole Beatle circus, he knew deep down that it was a special achievement in his life, and that one day, he’d have to take the effort to put the Beatle thing its place and history, from his, and the other Beatles’ perspectives. Anyway, that is stuff that has little to do with “Coming Up,” and its hilarious music video that you should watch right now. “Feel it in my bones!”
Archive for Saturday Night Live
Paul McCartney, Coming Up
Posted in Paul McCartney with tags 60s pop, 60s rock, 70s rock, 80s pop, 80s rock, Beatles Reunion, British Invasion, British Rock, Coming Up, Coming Up Music Video, England, folk rock, John Lennon, Linda McCartney, McCartney II, New York City, NYC, Paul McCartney, Paul McCartney Coming Up, piano pop, Pop, psychedelic pop, psychedelic rock, Rock and Roll, Saturday Night Live, SNL, the Beatles, willie simpson on June 27, 2012 by WillieEddie Vedder, Emilio Estevez, Adam Sandler Shooting SNL Promos in 1994
Posted in Fun and Crazy, SNL, Youtube Favs with tags 90s comedy, 90s rock, 90s SNL, Adam Sandler, comedy, David Spade, Eddie Vedder, Eddie Vedder Emilio Estevez Adam Sandler Shooting SNL Promos in 1994, Eddie Vedder's Tribute to Kurt Cobain, Emilio Estevez, funny, grunge, grunge rock, hard rock, indie rock, Kurt Cobain, Lorne Michaels, NBC, New York City, Nirvana, NYC, Opera Man, Pearl Jam, Rock and Roll, Saturday Night Live, Seattle, SNL, The Opera Man, willie simpson on December 6, 2011 by WillieMaking a television show is difficult, especially one like Saturday Night Live where all the content is written and produced a week in advance before live airing. From the looks of this video, making an SNL is a long an tedious process. Here, they are just making a promo spot, and even though this video is edited to 9 minutes, it probably took well over an hour. It’s fantastic to watch though. First you have Eddie Vedder, appearing in April of 1994, a few days after Kurt Cobain killed himself. Eddie and Pearl Jam did a nice little tribute to Kurt as you can see in the picture above with the “K” on Eddie’s chest. That’s just a bit of rock and roll history, but in this clip you get to see a nervous and very young Adam Sandler yuck it up with Eddie, whom Adam is clearly enamored with. You also get to see the oddly detached Emilio Estevez, famous brother of Charlie Sheen, and son of Martin Sheen, interact with these other two icons of film and music. At one point Eddie asks Emilio, how’s it been this week, to which Emilio replies, “I believe everything’s been good, just fine.” It was awkward, and Emilio looks like he’d rather be anywhere else then with some long haired grunge rocker and with the jittery nutbar Adam Sandler. This video is fascinating and revealing, and an awesome time capsule of one of SNL’s golden eras. Check it out!
The Doors, Kids in the Hall, Waiting for the Sun
Posted in Kids in the Hall, The Doors with tags 60s rock, 90s comedy, Bruce McCulloch, California, Canada, Canadian Comedy, comedy, Dave Foley, funny, Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Kevin McDonald, Kids in the Hall, Kids in the Hall and the Doors, Lorne Michaels, Los Angeles, Mark McKinney, psychedelic pop, psychedelic rock, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, Rock and Roll, Saturday Night Live, Scott Thompson, SNL, The Doors, To Be A Doors Fan, Waiting for the Sun, willie simpson on November 8, 2011 by WillieThe Kids in the Hall were a sketch comedy team formed in the 1980s by a group of talented and semi-demented Canadian geniuses. SNL guru, and fellow Canadian Lorne Michaels gave them a show that pushed the limits of comedy to frightening new edges of hilarity. Playing out like an uncensored SNL, the Kids in the Hall tackled drugs, homosexuality, counter-culture ideas, religion, and raving lunacy with breathless confidence, finding humor in very dark places. In many ways, its no surprise they were Doors fans. The Doors were a group who too were unafraid to push boundaries, and they did both musically and socially with their manic psychedelic rock and with the outrageous behavior of lead singer Jim Morrison. So, Kids and the Hall and the Doors? Match made in heaven. Check out the hilarious clip below where the Kids in the Hall teach you exactly how to be a Doors fan, and then watch the clip of “Waiting For the Sun,” preferably at dusk.
Ben Stiller and Bruce Springsteen, SNL and the Ben Stiller Show
Posted in Bruce Springsteen, Fun and Crazy, SNL, Youtube Favs with tags 90s comedy, Andy Dick, Ben Stiller, Ben Stiller SNL, Bob Odenkirk, Bruce Springsteen, comdey video, comedy, David Cross, Dino Stamatopoulos, Fred Armisen, Janeane Garofalo, Judd Apatow, MTV, NBC, NYC, Saturday Night Live, sketch comedy, SNL, The Ben Stiller Show, willie simpson on October 10, 2011 by WillieSaturday Night Live is really hit or miss this days, mostly miss, but sometimes, when they get a guy in there who knows sketch comedy, like Ben Stiller, they can hit a few home runs. That was case the other night when Ben revived his classic impression of Bruce Springsteen from his cult hit “The Ben Stiller Show.” The bit was a clever, almost throwback comedy parody that reminded me of the golden age of sketch comedy found in the 90s. In the sketch, Ben is Bruce selling you nothing but the stories he tells in between songs, and it’s pretty damned funny. It was nothing revolutionary, but it really evoked that spirit of classic grunge era sketch comedy. The next clip is a collection of all the Ben as Bruce bits from the “Ben Stiller Show.” You get to see Bruce teaching kids how to count, delivering a baby, fighting in a bar, and warding off aliens. You even get to see Bruce travel through time and help out old Abe Lincoln, (awesomely played by Stiller Show alum Bob Odenkirk.) Speaking of Bob, if you catch a hint of Mr. Show whilst watching the Springsteen compilation, you’re not smellings things because both Bob and David were head writers there, and went on to make their own masterpiece of sketch comedy shortly following the Stiller Show’s brief run. So get ready to laugh in UHN, TWO, HEE, HOOR!
Paul Simon, Kodachrome, Coneheads Highlights!
Posted in Paul Simon, SNL, Youtube Favs with tags 70s rock, 90s comedy, 90s film, Adam Sandler, Adult Contemporary, Andy Warhol, Art Garfunkel, BBC, Beldar Conehead, Chris Farley, Columbia Records, Coneheads, Dan Aykroyd, David Spade, Drew Carey, Eastman Kodak, Eddie Griffin, Ellen DeGeneres, England, folk, folk rock, Jan Hooks, Jane Curtin, Jason Alexander, Joey Lauren Adams, Jon Lovitz, Julia Sweeney, Kevin Nealon, Kodachrome, Kodak, Kodak 35mm, Lorne Michaels, Maine, Michael McKean, Michael Richards, New York City, Nikon, NYC, Parker Posey, Paul Simon, Phil Hartman, pop rock, Portland, Prymaat Conehead, Rock and Roll, Saturday Night Live, Seinfeld, Simon and Garfunkel, Sinbad, SNL, There Goes Rhymin' Simon, Tim Meadows, Tom Arnold, willie simpson on October 1, 2011 by WillieI was sitting around in Portland, Maine yesterday with nothing better to do, when on came the “Coneheads” movie. I haven’t seen in quite sometime, but its one of those movies where you just have to sit through the whole thing. I was amazed at the parade of 90s comedy superstars appearing in one scene after another. Not only did you have original SNL stars Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin in their iconic roles, you had Seinfeld stars Jason Alexander and Michael Richards, mega comedy stars Adam Sandler, Phil Hartman, and Drew Carey, and even film indie stars like Parker Posey and Joey Lauren Adams. When the film was released, it was a commercial dud, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t a cult classic. It contains Chris Farley’s best supporting role ever caught on film, where he plays the unlikely love interest Ronnie, and its riffs on the US immigration experience and laws are spot on and brilliant. Anyway, I couldn’t get enough of the film, especially the scene where Beldar Conehead gets a 35 mm Kodak camera filled with glorious Kodachrome color film, and shoots his life on Earth with his family in the late seventies and eighties. It’s a brilliant sequence set to Paul Simon’s classic hit song, “Kodachrome,” from his 1973 There Goes Rhymin’ Simon record. Bit of trivia, the song was banned by the BBC in England for its use of a trademarked commercial item in the lyrics…kinda unfair considering how much commercialism is imprinted on our lives…just ask Andy Warhol. So below, check out a sweet homemade “Kodachrome” video someone made, as well as the trailer for the legendary “Coneheads” film….See you next zearl!
The Blues Brothers, Ray Charles, Twist it (Shake Your Tail Feather)
Posted in Ray Charles, The Blues Brothers, Youtube Favs with tags Alan Rubin, Aretha Franklin, Birch Johnson, blues, Blues Brothers, blues rock, Bluesmobile, Chicago, comedy, Dan Aykroyd, Donald Dunn, Elwood Blues, films, hard blues, Illinois, Jake Blues, James Brown, John Belushi, John Landis, Lou Marini, Matt Murphy, movies, Murphy Dunne, NBC, Paul Shaffer, Pop, Ray Charles, Rock and Roll, Saturday Night Live, SNL, soul, Steve Cropper, Steve Jordan, Tom Malone, Tom Scott, Twist it (Shake Your Tail Feather), Willie Hall, willie simpson on July 27, 2011 by WillieHow 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.
George Harrison, Paul Simon, Here Comes the Sun
Posted in George Harrison, Paul Simon, Simon and Garfunkel, SNL, Youtube Favs with tags 60s pop, 60s rock, 70s rock, Abbey Road, folk pop, folk rock, George Harrison, Harrison and Simon, Here Comes the Sun, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Pop, Rock and Roll, Saturday Night Live, Simon and Garfunkel, Simon and Harrison, SNL, Still Crazy After All These Years, the Beatles, willie simpson on April 18, 2011 by WillieFor part 38 of my youtube countdown, I have another fantastic George Harrison duet. This time its with Paul. No not McCartney, but SIMON! This version of George and Paul tackle George’s incomprehensible 1969 stunner, “Here Comes the Sun.” The occasion was Saturday Night Live and the results were breathtaking. George hits all his acoustic marks with perfection, and Paul Simon’s voice just melts perfectly into George’s harmony. The freaky thing about the video is how Paul Simon keeps looking at George like he wants to take him to bed, or more likely, create a new group called “Simon and Harrison.” But George wasn’t about to be stuck with another Paul telling him what type of guitar solo to play on “Still Crazy After All These Years.” So, instead, like with most of rock and roll history, we just have singular moments, and here’s a good one, enjoy.
Eternity, the Game Show!
Posted in Fun and Crazy, SNL, Youtube Favs with tags 80s tv, 90s tv, Calvin Klein, Christopher Walken, cologne, Eternity, Jan Hooks, Kevin Nealon, Saturday Night Live, SNL, willie simpson on March 1, 2011 by WillieChristopher Walken once claimed that he speaks the way he does because he constantly keeps waltz time in his head. It explains a lot. But perhaps nothing can explain this incredible sketch from SNL, which is also part 12 of my youtube countdown. Written in SNL’s golden age, this sketch is what happens when you turn Calvin Klein’s “Eternity,” into a game show. I really don’t have much to say about this video other then watch it, watch it hard.









