Jimmy Fallon engages in Brainstorm with Arnold Schwarzenegger:
I've seen people give this bit flak for being a ripoff of Carnac but EVERYONE is doing Carson bits anyway, I don't see a problem with this example.
Friday, June 26, 2015
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Tonight Show - The Mets Bucket Hat Guy
The Mets Bucket Hat Guy is back.
Each time they do it, the lonely, mournful walk away gets more exaggerated. Will they eventually run out of material? Only time will tell.
Each time they do it, the lonely, mournful walk away gets more exaggerated. Will they eventually run out of material? Only time will tell.
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Movie Review: Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music
Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music (1970)
When asked about what it was like to be at Woodstock, the people I've heard, in second and third-hand accounts, will tell you how it was muddy, there wasn't enough food, it rained and there weren't enough places to shower or go to the bathroom. Asked about what it was like to play at Woodstock, the artists will tell you that the sound was bad, artists cancelled at the last minute, the playing order had to be improvised sometimes and notable acts obviously performed stoned (to their dismay when they heard the tapes). But the event has become the defining event of a generation that one simply HAD to be at - probably partly due to generational nostalgia but probably the release of the documentary movie "Woodstock" played a large part too.
I remember seeing clips of "Woodstock" on PBS when I was a teen. I've always appreciated the music of that time but found the presentation of the movie a bit silly. Much of the movie consists of split-screens two or three frames wide - I suppose they thought they were really being "far out there" when they thought of that. And the interviews with everyday concertgoers - aren't they just stoned out of their minds? These people thought they were starting a revolution?
But watching it now, I was completely missing the point. I laughed at the extent to which it was "of its time" but that exactly what's to love about it. It's dirty and spacey and experimental because it's a product of that time. The split-screen (most of the time credited to Martin Scorcese, though he credits director Michael Wadleigh) IS amazing - it creates the sense of the "bigness" of the event. The interviews with flower children ARE valuable because they give a sense of the people living in that time and place. Even when a revolution fails, it is nonetheless interesting to examine the attempt.
Some of my favorite interviews in the film don't even involve hippies (at least directly). The film crew goes around to talk to the townspeople who live in the Woodstock area and ask the invariably old people what they think about all these visitors descending on their home. Many of the old people don't like it and say so. I was wondering what the intent behind these interviews is. Are we supposed to laugh at the "square generation" as they "don't get it"? I don't think so. I'll take the filmmakers on their word that it's an honest attempt to capture a spectrum of opinion.
And then there's the music.
Watching the Director's cut, at almost 4 hours long, there's a good deal of music that I don't care for. And many of the best bands are not even featured. The Band were so unhappy with the sound, they refused to allow the video to be released. As I said, they were not alone - The Grateful Dead and Creedence Clearwater Revival were others with similar stories. Carlos Santana is in the movie but his performance is under the influence of mescaline - he thought it was safe to take it and then was told he was going on stage early. But even with all of these drawbacks, the music soars. Crosby, Stills and Nash do the entire "Judy Blue Eyes" suite. Sly and the Family Stone are amazing. Joe Cocker does "With a Little Help from My Friends". And, of course, Jimi Hendrix gets significant screen time. It occurred to me watching it this time that when he comes to "the rockets' red glare" and "the bombs bursting in air" he extends the section to actually express the rockets and the bombs bursting.
There's more than a little distance between me and the Woodstock generation. Far from a muddy pit, I watched the concert from my couch. I was, I admit, occasionally distracted by my laptop and I had no trouble using the restroom. But it is Summer and, over the four hours that I watched "Woodstock", the day slipped into night and I felt no need to turn on a light. Watching in the dark, bathed in a stream of images from that historic event and soaking in the great music, it did feel like a magical experience, it did feel transcendent even if the strongest thing I had ingested was iced tea. Oh, and it just started to rain.
8/10.
When asked about what it was like to be at Woodstock, the people I've heard, in second and third-hand accounts, will tell you how it was muddy, there wasn't enough food, it rained and there weren't enough places to shower or go to the bathroom. Asked about what it was like to play at Woodstock, the artists will tell you that the sound was bad, artists cancelled at the last minute, the playing order had to be improvised sometimes and notable acts obviously performed stoned (to their dismay when they heard the tapes). But the event has become the defining event of a generation that one simply HAD to be at - probably partly due to generational nostalgia but probably the release of the documentary movie "Woodstock" played a large part too.
I remember seeing clips of "Woodstock" on PBS when I was a teen. I've always appreciated the music of that time but found the presentation of the movie a bit silly. Much of the movie consists of split-screens two or three frames wide - I suppose they thought they were really being "far out there" when they thought of that. And the interviews with everyday concertgoers - aren't they just stoned out of their minds? These people thought they were starting a revolution?
But watching it now, I was completely missing the point. I laughed at the extent to which it was "of its time" but that exactly what's to love about it. It's dirty and spacey and experimental because it's a product of that time. The split-screen (most of the time credited to Martin Scorcese, though he credits director Michael Wadleigh) IS amazing - it creates the sense of the "bigness" of the event. The interviews with flower children ARE valuable because they give a sense of the people living in that time and place. Even when a revolution fails, it is nonetheless interesting to examine the attempt.
Some of my favorite interviews in the film don't even involve hippies (at least directly). The film crew goes around to talk to the townspeople who live in the Woodstock area and ask the invariably old people what they think about all these visitors descending on their home. Many of the old people don't like it and say so. I was wondering what the intent behind these interviews is. Are we supposed to laugh at the "square generation" as they "don't get it"? I don't think so. I'll take the filmmakers on their word that it's an honest attempt to capture a spectrum of opinion.
And then there's the music.
Watching the Director's cut, at almost 4 hours long, there's a good deal of music that I don't care for. And many of the best bands are not even featured. The Band were so unhappy with the sound, they refused to allow the video to be released. As I said, they were not alone - The Grateful Dead and Creedence Clearwater Revival were others with similar stories. Carlos Santana is in the movie but his performance is under the influence of mescaline - he thought it was safe to take it and then was told he was going on stage early. But even with all of these drawbacks, the music soars. Crosby, Stills and Nash do the entire "Judy Blue Eyes" suite. Sly and the Family Stone are amazing. Joe Cocker does "With a Little Help from My Friends". And, of course, Jimi Hendrix gets significant screen time. It occurred to me watching it this time that when he comes to "the rockets' red glare" and "the bombs bursting in air" he extends the section to actually express the rockets and the bombs bursting.
There's more than a little distance between me and the Woodstock generation. Far from a muddy pit, I watched the concert from my couch. I was, I admit, occasionally distracted by my laptop and I had no trouble using the restroom. But it is Summer and, over the four hours that I watched "Woodstock", the day slipped into night and I felt no need to turn on a light. Watching in the dark, bathed in a stream of images from that historic event and soaking in the great music, it did feel like a magical experience, it did feel transcendent even if the strongest thing I had ingested was iced tea. Oh, and it just started to rain.
8/10.
Friday, June 19, 2015
Tonight Show - True Confessions
To promote the new season of "True Detective", Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn play "True Confessions" with Jimmy. Each of them reads a confession from their past that could be true or it could be a lie and the other two have to guess which one it is.
This game feels like it should be called "Good Cop/Bad Cop".
This game feels like it should be called "Good Cop/Bad Cop".
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Conan Reviews Video Games - Halo 5
Conan and his team, Team Coco, challenge Team Silicon Valley in the won't-be-released-for-a-long-time Halo 5. Treachery is afoot!
This video gives me a queasy feeling as it reminds me of playing Halo, myself. Those were dark days. In other news, I've been watching Silicon Valley recently. It's pretty good.
This video gives me a queasy feeling as it reminds me of playing Halo, myself. Those were dark days. In other news, I've been watching Silicon Valley recently. It's pretty good.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Conan - New Spotify Channel
Conan has a new Spotify channel at http://teamcoco.com/spotify. Before they upload the Minty Candy Cane Theme, they're first uploading playlists containing every musical guest that has ever appeared on any Conan talk show. The playlists are divided by year.
Someone in the youtube comments requested the Cameltoe Annie Theme. That's a deep cut.
The first ever musical guest? Radiohead playing "Creep" in 1993.
Announcement Video.
Someone in the youtube comments requested the Cameltoe Annie Theme. That's a deep cut.
The first ever musical guest? Radiohead playing "Creep" in 1993.
Announcement Video.
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Seinfeld Doesn't Like Talk Shows
Jerry Seinfeld explains why he doesn't like doing talk shows and probably won't be on them in the future.
I don't think there's anything particularly interesting, funny or revelatory here, exactly. I think it's no secret that talk shows do pre-interviews. It's just a matter of degree. And there are pros and cons each way.
Letterman, on one end of the spectrum, didn't rely on the pre-interview hardly at all and the result was a genuine conversation that might be boring, might be awkward or might be amazing.
On the other end of the spectrum is Conan, who'll always get the funny interview but it's utterly artificial. Anytime you hear questions like "You were on vacation recently, I wonder if you enjoy foreign breakfasts." or "You're pretty popular, I bet you have some interesting conversations with toll booth operators", it should be obvious to anyone on the planet who's given it even a second of thought that this is not a real conversation - he knows there's a funny story there and he wants the monkey to dance.
I don't think there's anything particularly interesting, funny or revelatory here, exactly. I think it's no secret that talk shows do pre-interviews. It's just a matter of degree. And there are pros and cons each way.
Letterman, on one end of the spectrum, didn't rely on the pre-interview hardly at all and the result was a genuine conversation that might be boring, might be awkward or might be amazing.
On the other end of the spectrum is Conan, who'll always get the funny interview but it's utterly artificial. Anytime you hear questions like "You were on vacation recently, I wonder if you enjoy foreign breakfasts." or "You're pretty popular, I bet you have some interesting conversations with toll booth operators", it should be obvious to anyone on the planet who's given it even a second of thought that this is not a real conversation - he knows there's a funny story there and he wants the monkey to dance.
Terms of Service Endearment
For the first time since its cancellation the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 returned to Comedy Central. Now the makers of Rifftrax, they appeared as guests on "At Midnight".
I haven't been watching "At Midnight", although I am a fan of host Chris Hardwick. But somewhere along the line, it changed format from a late night talk show to a sort of faux-comedy-game-show. I don't understand that plus I very much doubt that these jokes are "off the cuff" and not prepared beforehand. Still, the bottom line is: it's funny.
This is the one clip available on youtube:
The whole show is very funny, you can watch the full episode here.
I haven't been watching "At Midnight", although I am a fan of host Chris Hardwick. But somewhere along the line, it changed format from a late night talk show to a sort of faux-comedy-game-show. I don't understand that plus I very much doubt that these jokes are "off the cuff" and not prepared beforehand. Still, the bottom line is: it's funny.
This is the one clip available on youtube:
The whole show is very funny, you can watch the full episode here.
Monday, June 8, 2015
Late Show - Buzz Aldrin at the Daytime Emmys
The Late Show posted this video as part of the buildup to Dave's show but I didn't notice until now. Remember the time the Late Show sent Buzz Aldrin as their special correspondent to the Daytime Emmys? Here it is.
Brian Regan has a bit (and special) entitled "I Walked on the Moon" which is very similar. I wonder if this was the inspiration.
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Best of the Worst
Here's a podcast/youtube show worth trying out. In "Best of the Worst", four people watch three bad movies, discuss each one and then try to determine which one is the "best of the worst". Usually they'll also determine what the worst movie was and destroy it. The three bad movies are usually random VHS tapes and they're almost always in the sci-fi, action and horror genres.
The show is done by redlettermedia. Some of you may know them for the Mr. Plinkett Reviews or Half in the Bag show.
The movies they discuss have bad language, violence and nudity so, by extension, this show is NSFW kinda.
The show is done by redlettermedia. Some of you may know them for the Mr. Plinkett Reviews or Half in the Bag show.
The movies they discuss have bad language, violence and nudity so, by extension, this show is NSFW kinda.
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