tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56317064115057098692024-03-18T16:03:45.339-04:00The Optimistic CurmudgeonComedy, music, and musings.Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-87502962497727610882021-07-01T13:20:00.000-04:002016-06-08T23:37:57.637-04:00Perfect Routines: Inside Shelley Berman and the Wonder of Sound<center>
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This album, and this routine in particular, has a lot to do with shaping what I find funny. The cadence, the ideas, the timing. Even the pronunciation adds to it. I heard this for the first time as early as fourth or fifth grade, and it was in regular rotation with Bill Cosby, Joan Rivers, Steve Martin, and The Muppets, the "Oliver" soundtrack, and the "Star Wars" Moog band album on my little brown portable record player made to look like a suitcase. Sometimes I would just stare at these albums while they rotated, soaking in the words and wondering how a solid object could contain sound, as if it were trapped in there all the time and the needle just let it out. A stack of records was a world of noise and wonder waiting to be released. The fact that I was listening to this before I had my own locker may also have been a contributing factor to why I used to get punched on the bus. <br />
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It would be a long time before I would understand why a line like "My tongue is asleep... and my teeth itch" was funny, or the feelings associated with waking up repeating, "Oh god, god, god." I had no idea what it meant to be drunk, or to attend an adult party. I didn't take anything more than a sip of alcohol until I reached college, where my fellow students considered me something of a challenge. But I digress. Whatever I didn't understand about the themes of this, it didn't matter. I could imagine every frame Berman was describing. This was unrelentingly funny, and still is. The goofy laugh preceding the punch, moving straight on to the next piece of business with barely a beat. The sheer silliness of fizzy Alka Seltzer being torture. Every word and inflection is perfect, and the rest of the album is at or near the same quality. Even "Buttermilk" was daring. <br />
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It's a prototypical routine, too. I would hear its echo later on listening to Robin Williams take on alcoholism. "I took a dump in your tuba? Oh, you said <i>sit</i> in with the band." Inside Shelley Berman was released in 1959, 13 years before I was born. But as a kid, it sounded completely modern to me. To my young self, it may as well have been a new release. My conception of time is still a little fuzzy, but back then, everything in existence was new. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelley_Berman" target="_blank">Shelley Berman</a>, Andy Griffith, Robin Williams, and Steve Martin were all things I just happened upon. I had no hang-ups about something being too old or out of fashion. At this time in my life, I still coveted the nifty "Billy the Kid" three-piece suits I saw at the Sears and Montgomery Ward. So "cool" wasn't even an option for me.<br />
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But this album was cool. Still is. And any number of comedians who happened upon it when they were uncool kids, too, will tell you that. <div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-40898673929333079562015-03-22T23:11:00.003-04:002015-03-22T23:11:33.783-04:00Find Your Ultimate Meme Name Just to settle this once and for all...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVvW6tufxIFcmG24oWDsEFUY-oLf7oKZR81yyDjoLP4_3sE2kM9TleFY7uSLHkibUTqT_p0QdiIRYdUTsqSEfDozGYgqDgY7Au25QsTf0ve5yP0gGdKq5btnMBKj78GamNFK28EL77s57U/s1600/Meme+Name.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVvW6tufxIFcmG24oWDsEFUY-oLf7oKZR81yyDjoLP4_3sE2kM9TleFY7uSLHkibUTqT_p0QdiIRYdUTsqSEfDozGYgqDgY7Au25QsTf0ve5yP0gGdKq5btnMBKj78GamNFK28EL77s57U/s1600/Meme+Name.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-68323845883952365052013-06-06T02:25:00.000-04:002013-06-06T02:25:23.191-04:00Horror Picks: Rammbock Keeps It Short and Sweet<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilmQSosN7XxRY2Pi50hkedXe_pcYgpC89XKHrmkGNnnrTvyXUx_w53D-NfLTAko1Tb0jUeIykAZmM90cd9sKTiCtLAyHJlCeZH7CJsQ5Q1h_j7fqN3hUk-gML8qWyOlbkLHyljmvz0dNZh/s1600/Rammbock_Berlin_Undead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilmQSosN7XxRY2Pi50hkedXe_pcYgpC89XKHrmkGNnnrTvyXUx_w53D-NfLTAko1Tb0jUeIykAZmM90cd9sKTiCtLAyHJlCeZH7CJsQ5Q1h_j7fqN3hUk-gML8qWyOlbkLHyljmvz0dNZh/s320/Rammbock_Berlin_Undead.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rammbock: Berlin Undead</td></tr>
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Found another good one on Netflix streaming --<i> <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rammbock_berlin_undead/" target="_blank">Rammbock: Berlin Undead</a></i>. The basic plot -- a mild guy named Michael goes to Berlin to return apartment keys to Gabi, with whom he has recently broken up. Instead, he gets stuck in her apartment building with a plumber's assistant during a strange outbreak that tears the city apart. <br />
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Zombie enthusiasts, don't get too excited by the title. If it's strictly the undead you're interested in, you won't really find that here. This is more like <i>The Crazies</i> -- still an outbreak, but rage-based. No one is rising from the dead. But there's still that siege mentality, the classic claustrophobia of a great zombie film, and a good plot to support it. There are subtitles, but it clocks in at 61 minutes, so you won't have time to get tired of them. That also means that there are no wasted moments and no aimless filler. Director Marvin Kren still found a way to slow the story down in a few moments so the human characters can process what's happening, while never losing urgency. <br />
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There is a wonderful twist to the infection that Michael has to fight throughout the latter part of the film, something that brings his emotions to the forefront and lets us see that even without the quasi-supernatural crisis developing around him, he'd still be battling to keep himself from falling apart. <br />
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And though technically, <i>Rammbock</i> may not be a zombie film, it follows the zombie film axiom. The best stories are rarely about the creatures outside. They're about the people trapped in overwhelming circumstances and the choices they make. And the choices here are often beautiful and tragic.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8StJgFa-Hq4" width="560"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-15677400522038221612012-11-18T00:40:00.001-05:002012-11-18T23:05:17.283-05:00Danny and the Memories - Neil Young Looks Back<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/53CSOJZ1bIs" width="640"></iframe><br />
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Do you recognize these guys? Most of you probably don't. I wouldn't have, until started to read Neil Young's new autobiography, <a href="http://www.neilyoung.com/wagingpage.html" target="_blank"><i>Waging Heavy Peace</i></a>. He talks about being obsessed with this video, for a lot of reasons. Chief amongst them, this is most of Crazy Horse - Ralph Molina and Billy Talbot - the band he had played with for the past several decades and on the two albums he released this year.<br />
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Up front is Danny Whitten, since this is Danny and the Memories. Unfortunate name. For Young. And for Whitten. Whitten is the guy, or one of the guys, for whom Young wrote "Needle and the Damage Done." He wrote that while Whitten was still alive. Young looked at this video and came to the conclusion that Whitten was more talented than he was when they first came together. He regrets stealing the high part away from Whitten on "Cinnamon Girl." Believes he should have given Whitten a bigger role in those early collaborations, and that he could have gone somewhere big. <br />
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Whitten didn't get far. Forty years ago today, Danny Whitten died. Young fired Whitten from the band because he couldn't remember the songs. He told him he didn't have it together enough to play, and sent him back to LA. Young got the call from the coroner the night Whitten flew back to LA, November 18. Whitten had ODed. He was 29 years old. <br />
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Google his image and see if you can reconcile what comes up with the guy in the suit in this video singing a song thousands of oldies covers bands have plied in cheesy bars for decades. If you want to add an extra layer of madness to Young's guilt, Google photos of Kurt Cobain and compare the two. And think about how Cobain quoted Young in his suicide note, "It's better to burn out than to fade away," and how much trouble that gave Young (he poured his troubles into <a href="http://www.neilyoung.com/archives/discography/nyd_start1.html" target="_blank"><i>Tonight's the Night</i></a> after Whitten, and <a href="http://www.neilyoung.com/archives/discography/nyd_start1.html" target="_blank"><i>Sleeps With Angels</i></a> after Cobain). <br />
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I think I can see some of what has been obsessing Young about this. Yes, there is some truly horrible dancing going on around these guys, especially the woman in the blue pants, whose name I can only hope is lost to history. It's a hokey set-up. But there are a couple of elements that stick out for me. There is the arrangement of the song, and that demonic foghorn blast of "oh yeah" from the band. It doesn't sound like a celebration, it sounds like a warning. Combine that with the black stage and the red twilight in the background, and this could be a poorly choreographed deleted dance scene from <i>Clockwork Orange</i>, if it had originally been conceived as a vehicle for Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. <br />
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But the most compelling thing is Whitten's face. There are times when it seems like he's having fun or goofing off, but he's the tightest one of the bunch. And there are also times when he looks desperate, mostly at 1:27 and after. He looks like he's dancing on strings. It's easy to look back and read that in, knowing how the story ends. But watch it and tell me if you don't see it, too. <br />
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To write the book, Young was thinking a lot about his past. He talks a lot in it about not being inspired to write music and knowing he was going to reunite with Crazy Horse. The first album was <a href="http://www.neilyoung.com/americanapage.html" target="_blank"><i>Americana</i></a>, an album of folk standards, with "Get A Job" tossed in. Some of these were arrangements that Young had played before in his past. And then there was the jump to the new(est) album, <a href="http://neilyoung.warnerreprise.com/" target="_blank"><i>Psychedelic Pill</i></a>, the first track of which is "Drifting Back," which finds Young wondering if you'll get his music, having to listen to it in meager, compressed modern formats, if he's getting through to you. <br />
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That process may have been jumpstarted by this video. The albums and the book make more sense once you've seen it. Tomorrow, <a href="http://www.neilyoung.com/tour.html" target="_blank">Neil Young and Crazy Horse play in Toronto</a>, his old stomping grounds, after having played Winnipeg yesterday. Today, the band has off. It's a safe bet this video will play on the tour bus before the day is through.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-83971602257776843162012-05-30T18:23:00.001-04:002012-05-30T18:26:13.556-04:00Mort Sahl Answers Your Questions on Twitter<iframe frameborder="0" height="340" scrolling="no" src="http://cdn.livestream.com/embed/mortsahl?layout=4&clip=flv_1d6fea9e-e8ed-45a2-b0dc-07c0400fed82&height=340&width=560&autoplay=false" style="border: 0; outline: 0;" width="560"></iframe><br />
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Watch <a href="http://www.livestream.com/?utm_source=lsplayer&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=footerlinks" title="live streaming video">live streaming video</a> from <a href="http://www.livestream.com/mortsahl?utm_source=lsplayer&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=footerlinks" title="Watch mortsahl at livestream.com">mortsahl</a> at livestream.com</div>
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To me, politics in stand-up comedy begins with Mort Sahl. I've had the pleasure of interviewing the man twice (<a href="http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2007/08/24/at_80_mort_sahl_is_as_funny_and_pointed_as_ever/" target="_blank">here's one of the resulting articles</a>, my apologies for the pay site), and getting to see him live in Boston at Jimmy Tingle's Off Broadway Theatre (now closed) and the JCC theater in Newton. He doesn't get out as often as he used to, but his voice is still vital. He's still sharp, and still sees all the angles. So I was happy to see that he will be popping into my computer every Wednesday at 5PM EST to answer questions via Twitter starting June 6. <br />
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As you can tell from this video, Sahl is opinionated, but he's not binary. He doesn't simply choose from the two offered options, right or left, with us or against us. I spoke with him last in 2007 as the presidential election was ramping up. He was discouraged but hopeful that Americans would ask more from their culture, from their politicians, to want better than what we get, intellectually and spiritually. "It’s optimistic but I don’t know if it’s justified," he said then. "The world is worth saving, more people have to work at it.
They’ve got to work at it more. They
think they’re off the hook if they can make some money." </div>
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You can keep up to date about the Wednesday show at <a href="http://www.mortsahlofficial.com/">www.MortSahlOfficial.com</a> or better yet, follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/mortsahlsays" target="_blank">Twitter</a>. </div>
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</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com76tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-67645416864115601732012-03-13T01:06:00.002-04:002012-03-13T01:06:50.882-04:00Road Trips and Pawn Shop Guitars<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3vYWx6ThQnjwrF_XDP3tyeEvqimPAYBs2CwRne1D7DMfMckFgzesb3r2xS_rUkyxkUScDWIby16qwMglymoameBw_SQIldt8CQrUZ0GxRbz89Z07qb0jUHjAWPuS84i9LVfmo9bedsuaP/s1600/strangersalmanac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3vYWx6ThQnjwrF_XDP3tyeEvqimPAYBs2CwRne1D7DMfMckFgzesb3r2xS_rUkyxkUScDWIby16qwMglymoameBw_SQIldt8CQrUZ0GxRbz89Z07qb0jUHjAWPuS84i9LVfmo9bedsuaP/s1600/strangersalmanac.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whiskeytown's Stranger's Almanac (1997)</td></tr>
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Whiskeytown's <i>Stranger's Almanac</i> is an album I leaned on heavily during some less than ideal times. I have a tape of it I wore out playing in the car, along with Alejandro Escovedo's <i>More Miles Than Money</i>, Uncle Tupelo's <i>Still Feel Gone</i>, and Elvis Costello's <i>My Aim Is True</i>. It was traveling music from Buffalo to Boston dozens of times before I moved here. It helped pass the miles, first literally, then metaphorically. <br />
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I finally picked up the Deluxe Edition today. In the liner notes, I found that Ryan Adams showed up to the original recording sessions with no guitars. They had been left outside of the van in Raleigh, North Carolina when it was loaded before the drive to the studio in Nashville. The band couldn't afford anything but pawn shop guitars, so the acoustic on the recording of "Inn Town" and probably several others, the one that sounds so fantastic, that I listened to a thousand times or more, was a $100 Alvarez pawn shop guitar. Also noted, they didn't even change the strings. That makes me happy for some reason. <br />
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I have to think of who used to own that Alvarez, what it lived through before that session. I think of some kid who bought it as a student guitar, struggling to learn "Stairway To Heaven," "Free Falling," or even "Wonderwall" (which, coincidentally, Adams would cover beautifully on 2003's Love Is Hell, pt 1 EP). Some kid who had just graduated and needed some cash, and was hoping to come back for it. Or, probably more likely, it had been a birthday present for someone who played it for two weeks and never picked it up again. Whatever function it filled originally, it had a hell of a second act. <br />
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I wonder if Adams kept it. I hope not. I hope he let it loose back into the stream from whence he first caught it, and it got picked up soon after that. Maybe by that college kid, who had no idea what happened to it while he was away. Maybe some new songs fell out of it that weren't in it before. <br />
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I recently bought a Fender resonator on Craigslist. I know the history of most of my other instruments, but not that one. I bought it from a guy in Salem who seemed fairly disinterested in it (and the Dean acoustic/electric bass I also bought from him, and a couple of other guitars he had for sale). Who knows what's in there. But it feels right when I play it. It changes songs I've been playing for years. And it's just about time I introduce it to "Inn Town."
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This was the only video I could find with the original studio version of "Inn Town," but it fits. Lyrics below. <br />
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<b>Inn Town</b><br />
(David Ryan Adams)<br />
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Parking lot, movie screen, I can't feel anything. <br />
Cigarette, beat up TV, I can't feel anything. <br />
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Now that I, I'm in town. <br />
I feel fine, fine for now <br />
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Hang around with the people I used to be. <br />
Hang around on a corner waiting to go, have a seat <br />
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Now that I, I'm in town. <br />
I feel fine, fine for now<br />
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Fifty cents, or a dollar three, I don't owe you anything. <br />
Spent a life on a heart that would rather not feel anything. <br />
I can try, I can see, Ican want it to be <br />
I can laugh, I can feel, I can't see anything without dreaming <br />
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Now that I, I'm in town.<br />
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Hang around with the people that we used to be <br />
We hang around on a corner waiting to go have a seat <br />
And I can try, I can see, I can want it to be <br />
I can laugh, I can feel, I can't see anything that seems real <br />
It's just like a dream. <br />
I can feel, I can laugh, I can want it to still be real <br />
It's a dream I've had. <br />
It's the last, now it seems. <br />
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Now that I, I'm in town. <br />
I feel fine, fine for now<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-58650828229361269372012-03-05T23:39:00.000-05:002012-03-05T23:39:45.755-05:00Help Beaver Nelson Kickstart Macro/Micro Film and Tour<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beaver Nelson's Kickstarter campaign ends in two days.</td></tr>
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If you are a fan of great songwriting, please take a look at <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1259507576/beaver-nelsons-macro-micro%20">Beaver Nelson’s new Kickstarter project</a>. Less than two days left to go, and touring plans depend on just a few more donations.<br />
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I have been a fan of Beaver Nelson since I first heard a snippet of his “Forget Thinking” from 1997’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Last-Hurrah-Beaver-Nelson/dp/B00000DC3W/ref=pd_sim_m_4" target="_blank"><i>The Last Hurrah</i></a>. The name and cover of that, his debut album, was a bit of an inside joke. Nelson had recorded a few albums that never saw the light of day and had been called a prodigy by <i>Rolling Stone</i>. Considering his past experience in the music industry, no one could blame him for thinking that would be the first and last album.<br />
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It’s tough to keep yourself going if you’re an independent musician. It’s been five years since Nelson’s last album, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Exciting-Opportunity-Beaver-Nelson/dp/B000QEILDS/ref=ntt_mus_ep_dpi_4" target="_blank"><i>Exciting Opportunity</i></a>. I had thought perhaps that would be the last I heard from him. I was thrilled to learn a few weeks ago that I was wrong. Nelson has a new album all ready to go called <i>Macro/Mirco</i>, which has a tentative release date of May. It’s his most ambitious work to date, musically and thematically. I’ve heard it, and will have more to say about it either here or in one of the music magazine for which I freelance.<br />
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Nelson would like to tour with it, but he needs a backing band to pull it off. That is an insurmountable expense, so Nelson is making a movie he can tour with. The album is the soundtrack, and Nelson will bring that on the road and play along.<br />
<br />
Here's some more info about the project:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="360px" src="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1259507576/beaver-nelsons-macro-micro/widget/video.html" width="480px"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-66268086251195753042012-03-01T12:48:00.002-05:002012-03-01T12:51:31.400-05:00Serious Comedy Criticism at TheSpitTake.com<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_526811379" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="86" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggPuzwdbWThGx5xRfMbXww_CcAAHVYxbEc9wiXulz0eI3iHYl-ZZ51D6e_CVdHdccgvaIWDTktlfqLkvX4gxrymKEJg9LI9zPVWLhNf8Qd0-bJwson9dHsAiDMCGpcrz0mUOHdPK0o8cO2/s320/spittake_small.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Serious comedy criticism at www.TheSpitTake.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}" style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">For
people on here who know me from writing about comedy, I have a new gig
writing for a new site, officially launched this week, called
<a href="http://thespittake.com/">TheSpitTake.com</a>. It is a bit of a departure for me. Most of my time
writing about comedy has been spent writing profiles and news bits. This
site is devoted purely to criticism. Some of you have actually asked me
to be more opinionated in my writing. This is wher<span class="text_exposed_show">e that will happen. <br /> <br />
It has taken some getting used to, as I have written several reviews up
on the site already. I don't particularly love the idea of writing
negatively about comedy, but where I see problems or something negative,
I will now be obligated to say something. I try to make every effort to
look at something from every angle before I comment, and to make sure
my criticism is fair. But if there's a more subjective artform than
comedy, I have yet to see it. To some, it might not seem like a big
deal, but I feel sometimes I have had to take a deep breath and dive in.
<br /> <br /> I am really hoping this site is successful. I'm putting as
much of myself into it as possible. And I'm hoping all my comedy nerd
friends and acquaintances will tune in and enjoy it. There are a lot of
people on this site who are serious about developing comedy criticism. It's a worthwhile effort. <br /> <br /> So here it is. Enjoy. And if you like it, spread the word. Thanks in advance. </span></span></span></h6><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-21281956237307797092012-02-29T11:11:00.004-05:002012-02-29T11:11:50.717-05:00Libboo.com Humor Writing Contest<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfqG5VVHB3Az-oJCjuE0XVCZ9AAFsX-dPwYqLpaugnivVFtrhehJx2l4Fqf7aLr1Mz7UGLopRvZJ8fJlIug1bWmAu8sXBVX2NDUPbBx3bRdScsZqCsQFVMt7pCLxJKt9ydJmwl36SvpFVd/s1600/Nutcracker+Cover+Small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfqG5VVHB3Az-oJCjuE0XVCZ9AAFsX-dPwYqLpaugnivVFtrhehJx2l4Fqf7aLr1Mz7UGLopRvZJ8fJlIug1bWmAu8sXBVX2NDUPbBx3bRdScsZqCsQFVMt7pCLxJKt9ydJmwl36SvpFVd/s320/Nutcracker+Cover+Small.jpg" width="236" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Read, download, and review on Libboo.com</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Thanks to everyone who has read, downloaded, or reviewed my essay, The
Nutcracker: As I See It, in the Libboo.com contest. I know it's asking
more than going someplace and clicking or voting, and I appreciate every
moment you've spent on it. We are going into the last week of the
contest, so this will be my last post here about it. <br /><br />This is a
humor/short story contest with a holiday theme. The top five make it
into an eBook compilation, and the writer's get paid and earn royalties.
I convinced my friends Mike Vago and Jessie Baade to write stories, as
well. Right now, it seems we're all in decent shape. But the other
writers are likely making their last appeals, as well. So I am posting
the links to all of our stories one more time. Reading them all the way
through helps the score (it tracks how far a reader gets in a
complicated algorithm). Downloading helps a bit more (for desktop, Nook,
or Kindle). A good review helps the most, although you have to create
an account for that. <br /><br />So if you'd like a trippy account of the
Nutcracker ballet, take a look at my first-person essay. If you ever
wonder how Christmas would be for a vampire visiting his girlfriend's
family, read Mike's story. And if you want to read how a Journey
songbook brightened a couple's Christmas morning, read Jessie's story.
That should cover most of you, right? <br /><br />The Nutcracker As I See It by Nick Zaino<br /><a class="ot-anchor" href="http://www.libboo.com/read/the-nutcracker-as-i-see-it">http://www.libboo.com/read/the-nutcracker-as-i-see-it</a><br /><br />Vampires We Have Heard On High by Mike Vago<br /><a class="ot-anchor" href="http://www.libboo.com/read/vampires-we-have-heard-on-high">http://www.libboo.com/read/vampires-we-have-heard-on-high</a><br /><br />A Very Journey Xmas by Jessie Baade<br /><a class="ot-anchor" href="http://www.libboo.com/read/a-very-journey-xmas">http://www.libboo.com/read/a-very-journey-xmas</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-75874957418258607762011-09-09T09:24:00.000-04:002011-09-09T09:24:29.732-04:00God's Twin“God of the rich man ain’t the god for the poor.”<br />
Clouds by The Jayhawks<br />
<br />
We once thought we were praying to the same god. And the results left us confused. Those praying for a cure for cancer, or a little more time to make that payment before the lights got shut off, or a bed to sleep in that night, those people usually waited a long time. But the people waiting for their big defense contracts to be signed, for their tax breaks to be extended, for their sons and daughters to be spared strapping on those boots on the ground, those people seemed to have an express line. And sometimes, they even claimed god talked to them. <br />
<br />
Come to find out, he did. Or at least one of them did. One of the gods. Come to find out, there are two. And they are brothers. Theoretically, they are both all powerful, Jesu and Larry, but Larry has an inferiority complex. He could do some serious damage to Jesu, if ever he got the gumption. But he doesn’t think he can. He thinks he has to do everything Jesu tells him to do. <br />
<br />
So Larry monitors the prayer circuits of the poor and needy. He listens to all of the sad stories, then reports to Jesu. Jesu takes the reports and files them and produces a giant marketing database for the people whose prayers he answers, the people who are just right, the ones that do seem to be made in his image. And when those people need something, Jesu gives it to them and balances the scales on the backs of Larry’s people. Divine intervention is a zero sum game, you see. <br />
<br />
Larry can’t talk to his people. Jesu talks to his people all the time. Directly. Lunches with them, although that’s kind of a courtesy, really, because Jesu doesn’t really need to eat. But if he shows his image once in a while, sometimes his people will commission a really cool painting about the experience, and they will wind up paying a painter, usually one of Larry’s people, for the job. Jesu thinks in that scenario, everybody wins. And sooner or later, a software giant or an oil tycoon will need that money back, and Jesu will raise gas prices. <br />
<br />
Larry always objects, of course. He’s a decent sort of god. But Jesu knows how to put him in his place. “What do you matter, anyway?” he’ll say. “For all you’ve lobbied for these people, never once have they written ‘Larry, Joy of Man’s Desiring.’ There’s not even a Latinate translation for ‘Larry.’”<br />
<br />
Larry will sulk back to his prayer banks and listen to all of the pain and suffering, and wish liquor affected him.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-76192726266508006842011-02-28T15:53:00.001-05:002011-02-28T15:57:02.777-05:00Music: A New Song, "Live Through You"A new song, shot somewhere in the vicinity of the computer what posted it, and edited shoddily by the musician: <br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/17iGuSyoedM" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe><br />
<br />
<a href="http://sl.reddit.com/r/blogger/submit" onclick="window.location = 'http://sl.reddit.com/r/blogger/submit?url=http://optimisticcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2011/02/music-new-song-live-through-you.html' + encodeURIComponent(window.location); return false"><img src="http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q36/nickzaino/redditbutton.gif" height="26" width="95" alt="submit to reddit" border="0" /></a><a href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Foptimisticcurmudgeon.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fmusic-new-song-live-through-you.html%20&bodytext="><img src=" http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q36/nickzaino/duggbutton.gif" width="100" style="height:20px;" alt="Digg!" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" /> </a><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Foptimisticcurmudgeon.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fmusic-new-song-live-through-you.html&layout=standard&show_faces=true&width=270&action=like&colorscheme=light&height=28" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:270px; height:28px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-16880966423270937482011-02-28T11:08:00.005-05:002011-02-28T11:14:33.556-05:00OC-Ed: Sometimes A Good “Fuck” Is Called For<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTbLWhFVVLeaoV4_K22siyAe1OeHziFwP2bbYgNtl-EuJto3zxeP2xMUP7cPbA3bCardmnC_s-QwjT6m3k_Ge0UXc82L_OLTXi7zrs0x4QxuTXm-qAu4ZhVM5u4JzAVWiEYC2X2g4Bwep/s1600/TheKingsSpeech.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTbLWhFVVLeaoV4_K22siyAe1OeHziFwP2bbYgNtl-EuJto3zxeP2xMUP7cPbA3bCardmnC_s-QwjT6m3k_Ge0UXc82L_OLTXi7zrs0x4QxuTXm-qAu4ZhVM5u4JzAVWiEYC2X2g4Bwep/s1600/TheKingsSpeech.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The King's Speech will get a new<br />
sound edit to move from R to PG-13.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="http://www.kingsspeech.com/">The King’s Speech</a> <a href="http://www.rte.ie/ten/2011/0228/oscars.html">won big at the Oscars last night</a>, taking home awards for Best Picture, Best Actor (Colin Firth in the title role), Best Director (Tom Hooper), and Best Original Screenplay (David Seidler). That’s going to mean more theaters for the drama, about King George VI struggle to overcome his stuttering to address a nation sorely in need of leadership as it heads to war. <br />
<br />
And now, according to the <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/mpaa-oks-pg-13-version-161385">Hollywood Reporter</a>, the film is going to get a quick edit so it can exchange its R rating for PG-13, which would allow more people to see it. The Weinstein Co. wants families to be able to see the film together, so they have removed the word “fuck” from the film by muting the sound whenever it is said. <br />
<br />
The King’s Speech is a wonderful film, a great story told with humor, passion, and empathy. I am all for more families seeing the film. It’s inspiring. But cutting the language seems like a desperate grab to wring a few more dollars out of the screenings. <br />
<br />
The word “fuck” in the now Oscar-winning script is not gratuitous. It perfectly expresses the anger and frustration that King George VI feels as he receives his tutelage from Lionel Logue (played by Geoffrey Rush in what was also an Oscar-worthy performance). I’m sure ever utterance of the word was agonized over by Seidler and Hooper, and it is used to great effect, sometime bursting a bubble of tension that has been skillfully built throughout a scene. Cutting it, or muting it, hurts the film. <br />
<br />
For what it’s worth, Firth agrees with me. Backstage at the Oscars last night, <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/colin-firth-i-am-pg-162238">he told the Hollywood Reporter</a> that he does not support the new edit of the film, which he said has “integrity as it stands.” <br />
<br />
"It serves a purpose," he told the Reporter, mentioning that he doesn’t take profanity casually, but that he takes his children to soccer games where they might hear swearing because he still wants them to experience the game. "But in the context of the film, it couldn't be more edifying, more appropriate. It's not vicious or insulting. It's not in the context that might offend."<br />
<br />
When I was a kid, my parents allowed me to hear all kinds of language in film. They trusted me to handle it. We would sometimes watch fucktastic flicks like Scarface, the atomic profanity weight of which was the rough equivalent of uranium. We made a joke of it. It was absurdly profane and over the top, something we acknowledged in its context and moved on. In my admittedly biased opinion, I was not harmed from it. <br />
<br />
We would have watched a film like The King’s Speech without flinching. The profanity (I agree with Billy Connolly on this – it is not “cursing” or “swearing,” there is no oath taken here) is organic to the scene and the character. The character of King George VI presented in the film is tightly wound and has a rash temper. He can even be a little mean. A handful of well-placed “fucks” is exactly what the script calls for. <br />
<br />
We are too shy about language as a culture, which is somewhat amazing. Context should matter more than it seems to. Cee Lo Green had a viral video hit over the summer with “Fuck You,” one of the most joyous, soulful songs I have heard come out of the mainstream in years. But in order to reach more people, the song got changed to “Forget You,” a version that loses a lot of its potency. It was terrible on Glee, it was terrible on Saturday Night Live (but still great on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17eSUnQ-_ek">Later with Jools Holland</a>). The groove was there, but without that lynchpin profanity, the urgency of the narrative is gone. <br />
<br />
Which of these moves you more? <br />
<br />
I see you driving round town with the girl I love <br />
And I’m like, fuck you<br />
I guess the change in my pocket wasn’t enough <br />
And I’m like, fuck you and fuck her, too<br />
<br />
OR…<br />
<br />
I see you driving round town with the girl I love <br />
And I’m like, forget you<br />
I guess the change in my pocket wasn’t enough <br />
And I’m like, forget you and forget her, too<br />
<br />
The guy in version two is milquetoast. I don’t care what he is feeling if all he can muster from his pain and frustration is “forget you,” which is a meaningless stand-in. The phrase is counter-intuitive in the context of the song. There is no release in it (pardon the roundabout pun). <br />
<br />
Sometime post-Oscars, the original version of The King’s Speech will fall out of circulation in favor of the sanitized version. So if you want to see the film that just won four Oscars, get out and see it before it leaves. And if you want to hear Cee Lo’s song the way it was intended, the video is below. And for good measure, the next time you see Scarface on network TV, skip it. It’s not worth it.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pc0mxOXbWIU" title="YouTube video player" width="460"></iframe><br />
<br />
<a href="http://sl.reddit.com/r/blogger/submit" onclick="window.location = 'http://optimisticcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2011/02/oc-ed-sometimes-good-fuck-is-called-for.html' + encodeURIComponent(window.location); return false"><img src="http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q36/nickzaino/redditbutton.gif" height="26" width="95" alt="submit to reddit" border="0"></a><a href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Foptimisticcurmudgeon.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Foc-ed-sometimes-good-fuck-is-called-for.html&bodytext="><img src="http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q36/nickzaino/duggbutton.gif" width="100" style="height:24px;" alt="Digg!" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></a> <iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Foptimisticcurmudgeon.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Foc-ed-sometimes-good-fuck-is-called-for.html&layout=standard&show_faces=true&width=270&action=like&colorscheme=light&height=28" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:270px; height:28px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-43014275452279693012011-02-23T00:29:00.002-05:002011-02-23T00:36:24.945-05:00Allison Moorer Interview - Moorer Stretches Out with Crows<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Q3mTUhscAf33DPElj2m5W-2pGNNwHG2-1bXZYi6zrjM522g7M9ppMolp6mjypyH271ZgcpUiqY-9spF2pqXCqIYXCo4u5kYUrNMYrKd1Xa0-6vTmqtcMMplqI2Jumf6L0zm9aBAu6IzJ/s1600/AllisonMoorerCrowsCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Q3mTUhscAf33DPElj2m5W-2pGNNwHG2-1bXZYi6zrjM522g7M9ppMolp6mjypyH271ZgcpUiqY-9spF2pqXCqIYXCo4u5kYUrNMYrKd1Xa0-6vTmqtcMMplqI2Jumf6L0zm9aBAu6IzJ/s1600/AllisonMoorerCrowsCover.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Allison Moorer's 2010 album, <em>Crows</em>. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Last Year, I reviewed <a href="http://www.boston.com/ae/music/cd_reviews/articles/2010/02/01/allison_moorer_crows/">Allison Moorer’s CD <i>Crows</i> for <i>The Boston Globe</i>.</a> It was one of my early favorites for best album of the year when it was released in February, and remained so throughout the year. There was something different about <i>Crows</i>, Moorer's follow-up to her covers album, <i>Mockingbird</i>. Even though she was working with frequent producer R.S. Field again, the songs sounded different, and the lyrics were different as well, in some subtle way, from Moorer’s previous work. There is a story here, or at the very least a progression, with the narrator starting on her knees in “Abalone Sky” and ending up looking back at how she survived in “Crows,” the closing song. <br />
<br />
After the review, Moorer was kind enough to agree to an e-mail interview. Because of a personal illness, I was not able to tend to the Curmudgeon for a while, and the interview was never published, until now. As I publish this, Moorer is planning her first album together with her sister, Shelby Lynne, and getting ready to go on tour with husband Steve Earle when he releases his next album, <i>I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive</i>. <br />
<br />
So if you haven’t listened to <i>Crows</i> in a while, or you never caught up with it, now is the time to fire it up, and to read what Moorer has to say about it. <br />
<br />
<b>Did you write and arrange this album specifically to be a departure from your previous work?</b><br />
<br />
I’ve never consciously decided to “depart” from any album, or an style of music I’ve explored. I’ve just followed my path and have done what felt right at the time. It has not been calculated. However, I knew that I was exploring some new territory on this album, from the poetics in the songs to the musicality of them, to the way I sang them. I think that’s okay to do, and if you’re not growing and changing, are you really doing your work as an artist? <br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bTvI3d6Q4a4" title="YouTube video player" width="430"></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>Did you work with R.S. Field any differently this time out?</b><br />
<br />
One of the great things about working with R.S. on this record was that we already have a “language” – we know how to communicate with one another, so there was no guesswork as far as that part of making the record was concerned. I didn’t want to have to get over that communication hurdle, so that was one reason why I asked him to produce it. Plus, he’s really great. The only thing that was different from the other records we’ve made together is maybe that we had the most fun doing this one than any of the others. <br />
<br />
<b>Did any of the artists you covered on <i>Mockingbird</i> influence your writing or performing on Crows?</b><br />
<br />
Absolutely! Though I can’t and won’t analyze how, if you don’t mind. <br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZDTJmgcF3hQ" title="YouTube video player" width="430"></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>Are your influences as a singer different from your influences as a songwriter?</b><br />
<br />
That’s a very good question – I’ve never really thought about it that way. I guess I like all kinds of singers – from the traditionally “great” voices to the singer/songwriter voices that may not be thought of as classically beautiful. At the end of the day, I like artists that move me, and there is something good and informative to find in all the music that moves me. <br />
<br />
Someone may be surprised to learn that I consider Astrud Gilberto and Chet Baker influences on my singing because they both sing/sang so softly, but it’s about the economy they used. Dinah Washington was also a really economical singer though she had a much bigger voice and more sheer vocal presence than the previous two I mentioned. But just because a singer influences your own singing doesn’t mean you try to sound like them. The same goes for songwriting, I believe –you can have an influence, but the listener may never pick up on it. <br />
<br />
<b>I got the sense of an arc on Crows, or at least certain stages – a reticence at the beginning, questioning in the middle, reminiscence, resolution, and then a postscript in Crows, looking back from a healthier place. Was that purposeful, or am I reading too much into it?</b><br />
<br />
There is definitely a beginning, middle, and end to the record. For me, it’s a song cycle – not one as literal as I did on The Hardest Part, but it’s there if you’re listening, which you obviously were!<br />
<br />
<b>Were you conscious of how fans might react to a less twangy sound?</b><br />
<br />
I didn’t really know I wasn’t being twangy. But I guess I never considered myself to be twangy in the first place. I sound country from time to time, but I can’t help that, and don’t guess I would if I could. That wouldn’t be honest, now would it? <br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Yk61muXfVYI" title="YouTube video player" width="430"></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>“Should I Be Concerned” stands out to me, vocally. Was there a particular source of inspiration for it?</b><br />
<br />
I wanted to write a big time, pull out all of the stops dramatic ballad. The inspiration was, believe it or no, poking fun at being down in the dumps. Sometimes you have to laugh at your own funk to pull yourself out of it. <br />
<br />
<b>Are you in a groove with this new sound? Is it something you think you’ll stick with for another album or two?</b><br />
<br />
Oh my goodness. I never know what I’m going to do next. It frustrates the hell out of my audience! God bless them for sticking with me.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg87YJhblwHwGp4U_7cdSmbcwhcmvh-hNhocjKtJAySp_qVw7uBS0SgJu4LiiKLsNkN-LmQxtDx31RTmDaZGTMfcQ9TdcqIgkvoomU2TK68kfFPyibHQ1EwU9o_YxhwXAQgyyE9a7PvlqQK/s1600/BlackEyedPeas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg87YJhblwHwGp4U_7cdSmbcwhcmvh-hNhocjKtJAySp_qVw7uBS0SgJu4LiiKLsNkN-LmQxtDx31RTmDaZGTMfcQ9TdcqIgkvoomU2TK68kfFPyibHQ1EwU9o_YxhwXAQgyyE9a7PvlqQK/s200/BlackEyedPeas.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Black Eyed Peas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I know a lot of people who will be turning the channel when the Black Eyed Peas take the stage for the Super Bowl halftime show Sunday. My ears burn now whenever I hear “I’ve Got A Feeling” and it’s not by the Beatles. The Peas are ubiquitous now, and the songs get dumber as the grooves get bigger and the sales get higher. “Let’s Get It Started” was originally “Let’s Get Retarded,” one of the few instances of censorship making a song better. <br />
<br />
But it wasn’t always like that. Years ago, when the Peas first came out, they were a great band, in the vein of Arrested Development or De La Soul. They used to brag about being a band that didn’t wear Tommy Hilfiger or baseball caps. “We don’t use dollars to represent” they rapped on “Falling Up.” <br />
<br />
They found fame and enormous success after Fergie joined the band in 2003 and they started cranking out more product-placement friendly tunes. Hard to begrudge them their living, but the music changed considerably, and for the worse. <br />
<br />
So for those who don’t remember the old Peas and want to dismiss them outright, here’s a reminder of better, leaner times.<br />
<a class="DiggThisButton DiggMedium"
href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A//optimisticcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2011/02/oc-ed-when-black-eyed-peas-were-good.html"></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-84997900769724443042010-12-15T22:14:00.004-05:002011-02-07T02:02:50.311-05:00All of Billy Joel's hits played at once, from Regrettable MusicThis is an utterly ridiculous concept, playing all of Billy Joel's hits (or at least all of them from The Essential Billy Joel, disc one) simultaneously. Which is probably why I laughed so hard when I saw it on <a href="http://www.regrettablemusic.com/">RegrettableMusic.com</a>. You can barely make out any real melody or song, and somehow, the less discernable the noise, the funnier the idea becomes. <br />
<br />
Check this out and take a look at the YouTube site this is from for Celine Dion screaming for 1.5 minutes. And follow RegrettableMusic.com. They do for bad music what <i>Mystery Science Theater 3000</i> did for bad film. <br />
<br />
<object height="365" width="420"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FcvVPuJVKcs?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FcvVPuJVKcs?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="420" height="365"></embed></object><br />
<br />
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href="http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A//optimisticcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2010/12/all-of-billy-joels-hits-played-at-once.html"></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-50570366575835947032010-12-08T15:15:00.002-05:002016-06-08T23:38:35.084-04:00John Lennon "Watching the Wheels"<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr28JlEM7qh2WY3sIvccMTqIun-avU4fNYdstpplUMC-bZRKKkUgCtl_0RswP1Qjhjzmt1dVGHTBqieJNVt69FKdGr7sYm7tvdhIJgxs7H07s2iy6neT0aPGtiVAqdSDAs7ThOk079z_77/s1600/lennon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr28JlEM7qh2WY3sIvccMTqIun-avU4fNYdstpplUMC-bZRKKkUgCtl_0RswP1Qjhjzmt1dVGHTBqieJNVt69FKdGr7sYm7tvdhIJgxs7H07s2iy6neT0aPGtiVAqdSDAs7ThOk079z_77/s1600/lennon.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Lennon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I have been enjoying some of the Lennon nostalgia surfacing recently, even if the reason for it, the 30th anniversary of his assassination, is somewhat macabre. I usually try to resist nostalgia, especially for something I was barely alive to feel in its heyday. I was only eight years old when Lennon was killed in 1980, and hadn't really warmed up to rock and roll yet. But there's something too powerful for me to resist in this music. <br />
<br />
I'll admit that the part of the film 'Imagine' that shows a pair of Lennon-like specs falling to the ground always gets to me. It makes me angry. For some reason, I will often flash to Lennon singing "All You Need Is Love," and think about how he was killed, and what that message means in that context. <br />
<br />
Hearing Frank Gifford insisting that Howard Cosell break the news of Lennon's death on Monday Night Football, in some newly released audio from that night's broadcast, also left an impression today. Something more than celebrity made Gifford say immediately that the news had to be told, no matter what was going on in the game. Lennon must have reached him somehow, too. <br />
<br />
I have been going back through my Lennon CDs and found some songs that had not really sunk in before. But there are two that most often stick with me, those being "In My Life" and this one, "Watching the Wheels." There was no doubt a massive ego at work here, one big enough to believe one guy with a guitar could make people love each other. It doesn't get any more bittersweet than that. <br />
<br />
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<br />
Enjoy!<br />
-Nick<br />
<br />
<object width="420" height="345"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KmmHIt-BY1Q?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KmmHIt-BY1Q?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="420" height="345"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-27981121582630296082010-02-18T14:51:00.002-05:002010-02-18T14:54:01.901-05:00News from FunnyGrownHere.com: Comedy Central and Live Nation bring comedy to the House of BluesComedy Central and Live Nation announced a partnership to bring comedy to House of Blues locations across the country. Comedy Central will also tape specials at the venues. <br /><br />Read the <a href="http://bostoncomedy.blogspot.com/2010/02/comedy-central-live-nation-partner-for.html">full story here</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-91180763742689658162010-02-17T01:59:00.005-05:002010-02-17T02:34:14.047-05:00Preview: Cinematic Titanic's The Alien Factor<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1AfZQEDKm1FGTTvw-2m5hnp9jI49kTEAoYtm-DqpnasI6cDxvAAhGvDPu_FiDU557eM7Tk47uNA3vymCYVroNDcd-ApUP_U9l6IvJDJN_KGsbIj8hXM9-wUpGLuyivmv_oireyMyoXKY5/s1600-h/cinematic_titanic_green.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 225px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1AfZQEDKm1FGTTvw-2m5hnp9jI49kTEAoYtm-DqpnasI6cDxvAAhGvDPu_FiDU557eM7Tk47uNA3vymCYVroNDcd-ApUP_U9l6IvJDJN_KGsbIj8hXM9-wUpGLuyivmv_oireyMyoXKY5/s320/cinematic_titanic_green.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439111741405094770" /></a><a href="http://www.cinematictitanic.com">Cinematic Titanic</a> will release <em>The Alien Factor</em> on Tuesday, Feb. 23, the group's second live release following December's <em>East Meets Watts</em>. <br /><br />I had a chance to see the Cinematic Titanic crew (made up of original Mystery Science Theater 3000 cast members Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, Joel Hodgson, Mary jo Pehl, and J. Elvis Weinstein) skewer <em>East Meets Watts</em> in Boston, and it might have been the funniest I've ever seen them. The video release featured a lot of material that seemed new, and some of it topping the live show.<br /><br />The live show is great, and the live DVDs do a good job of capturing that. Expect a complete review of <em>The Alien Factor</em> by Tuesday. Until then, the CT crew have posted a preview featuring the first five minutes of the release. <br /><br /><object width="4000" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ksqb8-7dPDI&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ksqb8-7dPDI&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-28995896162688157172010-02-16T00:06:00.003-05:002010-02-16T00:29:19.335-05:00Out Today: Backyard Tire Fire's Good to Be<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqEbF0qwgIUpSWFhGKR6rbkAcefpJjbr-KvkM9Dsx-GkL3dS-nbuWPa98levdKUr0SWbRX55dcDOpfN8fYmGwYlKyJ6wUFm5GOpGKOJVHE7EpY5tsW1mA2uSVuZeRTxRfFDKWLGwqrNmDv/s1600-h/goodtobe.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 248px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqEbF0qwgIUpSWFhGKR6rbkAcefpJjbr-KvkM9Dsx-GkL3dS-nbuWPa98levdKUr0SWbRX55dcDOpfN8fYmGwYlKyJ6wUFm5GOpGKOJVHE7EpY5tsW1mA2uSVuZeRTxRfFDKWLGwqrNmDv/s320/goodtobe.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438707701670381746" /></a>It’s rare to run across an album as unrelentingly positive as Backyard Tire Fire’s <em>Good to Be</em> that doesn’t make you want to pull your brain out through your nose with ice tongs. But the band’s chief songwriter/singer/guitarist Ed Anderson is too talented a lyricist, and his band too capable musically, to serve up a sugary disc of platitudes. And Los Lobos’s Steve Berlin wouldn’t produce that kind of album. <br /><br />The closest comparison to Good to Be is Six String Drag’s <em>High Hat</em>, a lost treasure packed with different styles of American rock and country. Like Six String Drag, Backyard Tire Fire deftly assimilates different styles and sounds without losing the signature that identifies them. There is still a core that is Backyard Tire Fire, whether it’s the jaunty verses of “Learning to Swim,” the Tom Petty-like chorus of “Estelle,” the McCartney-esque guitar picking that opens “Hell and Back,” the happy toe-tapping of the title track, or the dirty blues of “Road Song #39.” <br /><br />Anderson has a proclivity for lightly overdriven, crunchy guitars that can drive a mid-tempo rocker like “Ready or Not” or float in the background and accent a bouncing bassline, as on “Brady.” And Anderson’s voice is smooth but with undeniable twang, comfortably in range with the Drive-By Truckers’ Patterson Hood and former Six String Drag singer Kenny Roby. <br /><br />There’s a grit to the happiness on <em>Good to Be</em>. Every moment of joy is fought for and earned. The title character in “Estelle” had a baby at 20 years old and still went back to school, and is trying to make a life for herself. As Anderson sings, “She’s happy/She’s not needy/She’s an independent lady and likes to be.” “Learning to Swim” is about a relationship long past the honeymoon stage but far from stagnant – there’s no small amount of humor in the line “I get the feeling right now/The feeling that this just might work.” <br /><br />The title track is the most hopeful of the bunch, singing the praises of honest struggle over a poppy two and four beat, a strumming acoustic guitar, and merrily plinking piano. “It’s a minor inconvenience,” sings Anderson, “My fingers crack and then they bleed/Sometimes it hurts in a good way/Sometimes it’s just what I need.” It’s hard not to feel inspired by the chorus, “It’s okay/It’s all right/I’m alive/And it’s good to be.” <br /><br />When music like this appears, it is good to be alive. <br /><br />Preview the "Good to Be" music video:<br /><br /><object width="400" height="225"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9299220&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9299220&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="225"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/9299220">Good To Be</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2765738">Backyard Tire Fire</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p><br /><a href="http://www.backyardtirefire.com/shows/">Click here</a> for Backyard Tire Fire tour dates.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-20981529535408084182010-02-11T03:35:00.003-05:002010-02-11T04:14:59.520-05:00Shoot a promo for Tim and Eric!If you have a camera, some editing skills, and a little time before noon tomorrow, you could win some stuff from <a href="http://www.timanderic.com/">Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!</a> Just found out about their contest, for which you make a 30 spot for Season Cinco of the show and send a YouTube link to <a href="mailto:timanderic@timanderic.com">timanderic@timanderic.com</a> by noon PST on Friday. Videos will be judged by DJ DOUGGPOUND. <br /><br />According to the Tim and Eric mailing, "It can be of anything you want, although keep it Awesome Show related." It must also say, at some point, "SEASON CINCO premieres FEB 28th on Adult Swim." They ask that you don't send any files. <br /><br /><strong>The prizes:</strong> <br /><br />FIRST PLACE PRIZE:<br />-Personalized video greeting from Tim and Eric<br />-Signed Season 3 DVD<br />-Pusswhip Banggang T shirt<br />-2010 Calendar<br />SECOND PLACE PRIZE:<br />-We prank your Dad. Give us his phone number and we'll record it.<br />- Please Touch Me T shirt<br /><br />THIRD PLACE PRIZE:<br />-Signed head shot from David Liebe Hart<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-31513250109176710852010-02-09T14:21:00.003-05:002010-02-09T14:26:09.049-05:00Josh Groban tribute to Casey and His Brother (Tim & Eric)There are a lot of things of which I could accuse Josh Groban, but a lack of sense of humor is not one of them. Follow the link below (Adult Swim disables embed codes), and you'll see Groban singing the best of Casey and His Brother from <em>Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!</em> That includes the classig "Hamburgers and Hot Dogs." <br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cqtqxGigAQ">Click Here</a> to see.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-23331555369386686302010-02-04T15:43:00.003-05:002010-02-04T15:46:00.301-05:00TV Squad interview with Sarah SilvermanUp in time for tonight's premiere of <em>The Sarah Silverman Program</em>, season three, is my interview with Sarah Silverman. She talks about the partnership with LOGO that saved the show, a bit of what we'll see on the show this year, and the current state of her stand-up. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/02/04/sarah-silverman-talks-season-three-and-more/">Read it here.</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-60618182098128385262010-02-04T01:20:00.003-05:002010-02-04T01:22:26.359-05:00New on FunnyGrownHere.comJust added a preview clip of Louis C.K.'s new FX sitcom, Louie, plus Robby Roadsteamer's Quiet Desperation Episode 17, and info on the Magners Comedy Festival. Click the "Boston Comedy" button to your right for the stories.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631706411505709869.post-22789411607284178002010-02-03T16:24:00.005-05:002010-02-03T16:33:50.041-05:00TV Squad interview with Human Target's Jackie Earle HaleyWatching <a href="http://www.fox.com/humantarget/"><em>Human Target</em></a> (Fox, Wednesdays at 8PM EST) is the most fun I've had with a pure action show in a long time. It's got a great cast, in Mark Valley, who plays the title role of Christopher Chance, Chi McBride, and Jackie Earle Haley. <br /><br />I got to speak with Haley as part of a media conference call, and wrote about it for a story appearing today on TVSquad.com. <a href="http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/02/03/jackie-earle-haley-on-the-dark-side-of-human-target/"></a> He talks about his <em>Human Target</em> character, Guerrero, and the show in general.<br /><br />Look for my TV Squad interview with Sarah Silverman tomorrow.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOptimisticCurmudgeon" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Boston Comedy Radiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18038181403517083677noreply@blogger.com0