1) The new album by Beach House, Bloom, is pretty good even though it feels more like a slightly different sequel to Teen Dream than the next step in the band's evolution. Don't get me wrong, it's almost as good as Teen Dream. Perhaps the best parallel is Radiohead's Kid A and Amnesiac; both are great, but the former came first and felt newer/fresher even if many prefer the latter.
2) After spending most of their career using as little instrumentation as possible, and falling more often than not on the dour side of things, The Walkmen have recruited producer Phil Elk and guest Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes to help them expand their sound. The result is arguably the band's best record yet, Heaven.
3) The titles of the new Beach House and The Walkmen albums should be switched. Heaven should be a place of relative stagnation but enjoyment (more like how Beach House's new one feels), whereas Bloom is more fitting for the by turns majestic and uplifting Walkmen record.
4) You should immediately go listen to all the Felt that you can. Such an underrated, under-known band.
5) I've slowly become addicted to Beach Fossils. Their new single, Shallow/Lessons, is fantastic, and I'm definitely anticipating their forthcoming sophomore record with increasing impatience.
6) The Horrors and The Drones are also underrated and under-known bands. The Horrors's Primary Colours sounds like a combination of Liars and My Bloody Valentine. The Drones recorded Gala Mill at the titular mill in an isolated area of Australia, and the atmosphere of that environment permeates these songs. The Drones sound most to me like the rock guitar side of Sun Kil Moon and the impassioned side of Nick Cave combined with bare bones, distorted Spiderland guitars as engineered by Steve Albini.
7) Bardo Pond's 'Back Porch' and 'Tommy Gun Angel' kick incredible amounts of ass.
8) The Days Of Wine & Roses by The Dream Syndicate is a perfect amalgamation of Velvet Underground and The Feelies-esque jangle-pop.
9) Sufjan Steven's Age Of Adz gets better with time.
10) How I Met Your Mother is my new favorite sitcom. Imagine a modern version of Seinfeld, with all the wit, neurotic characters, made up words and terms, and odd misadventures that implies, but actually much better than that comparison makes it sound.
11) Predator 2, as with Ghostbusters 2, is an unfairly maligned sequel to a classic film.
Showing posts with label List. Show all posts
Showing posts with label List. Show all posts
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Weekly Whiskey Episode 36
Drum roll, please...
(Note: I was having a bear of a time getting blip.tv to work last night, so if the video is still screwed up, I'll fix it when I get home from work today)
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Whiskey Pie's Best Of 2009 (Part 1)
(Read the full, badly spellchecked text below for clarifications of bad sound quality and my mush mouth)
To be perfectly honest, 2009 was one of the weakest years for music in recent memory. Thinking back to last year in particular, I had a much harder time deciding the order of my "best of 2008" list. 2009, by contrast, was really a race between three for the top spot and then a rabble fighting for the other 7. You know, sort of like crabs trying to climb out of a pot of boiling water, continually reaching the top and tumbling or being pulled back down.
There were no obvious trends to the year--or at least none that I thought were anything other than forced categorization--so I'll skip the ivory tower monologues about the further blurring of genres and get right to it. This is Whiskey Pie's Totally Inessential, Weeks-Too-Late-To-Be-Relevant List Of The Top 10 Albums of 2009.
10) Album by Girls: While I really hope they come up with a better title for their next album, Girls did put forth the effort for the music of Album. A summery California record that is subtly and sometimes not so subtly recalling 1960s California music, it also has some subtle and not so subtle appreciation for weed and lazy, hazy afternoons.
9) Wind's Poem by Mount Eerie: In my review of Wind's Poem, I described it as "like going for a walk on a late Fall night during a storm, the wind and rain alternately pummeling and gentle." It's too bad that so many reviews describe this as Phil Elvrum's black metal album, since nothing here is heavier than anything from The Glow, Pt. 2 from his Microphones band, but I digress. The album is dense and challenging, but those with patience and a good set of headphones will find much to love.
8) Bitte Orca by Dirty Projectors: It took me a long time to fully come around to Bitte Orca. It is such a unique, experimental take on pop music that I hardly knew what to make of it at first. Much like my initial experiences with Deerhoof and the Fiery Furnaces, I started by giggling at how seemingly random the song structures developed, at how arbitrarily sounds came at me. But with time, it is obviously deliberate and calculated, leading me to conclude that this band is either visionary and basically uncategorizable, or that they're willfully perverse songwriters who don't want to make it easy on the listener. Whatever the case, Bitte Orca is one of those fascinating, divisive listens that I think everyone should hear even if they will likely end up hating it.
7) Tarot Sport by Fuck Buttons: Assuming you ended up liking Street Horrrrsing by Fuck Buttons, your reaction may have been similar to mine: "huh, this is really interesting stuff, but I don't ever feel like listening to it." Tarot Sport, then, plays like a remix and reboot of Fuck Buttons, bringing in post-rock structures of loud/quiet/loud and melodic peaks and valleys while also adding the driving beats of electronic music. Since they took out all of the screams and just enough of the noisier textures, Tarot Sport ends up being a surprisingly compulsive listen for what is, still, a relatively experimental electronic album.
6) Embryonic by the Flaming Lips: While At War With The Mystics was far from a bad album, between its mostly forgettable orchestral space pop and the band's increasing emphasis on elaborate stage shows, everyone had all but forgotten the old Flaming Lips. Their earlier, noisier albums actually aren't the masterpieces that people make them out to be, so it was a relief to listen to Embryonic for the first time and see that they didn't revert to the 1980s so much as tear it up and start from scratch. Embryonic is a LOUD, demanding listen, but even as a double album it moves at a much brisker pace than their two previous releases. Also, any album that has Karen O. from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs making animal sounds rather than actually singing is OK in my book.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Album Vs. Solo Album
It's often the case that a band releases an album and a member of that band releases a solo album in close proximity. This can just as often make for an interesting compare/contrast comparison, revealing how much of a band's sound or brilliance is up to that person, or at the very least, how much the band can bring to their work.
Album: Deerhunter- Cryptograms (2007)
Solo Album: Atlas Sound- Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel (2008)
What Say You??: While Cryptograms adheres to a mixture of kraut rock, shoegazer, ambient, and noise pop, Bradford Cox's solo album under the Atlas Sound moniker falls closer to the dream pop, ambient, and electro-pop borders of the musical lands. You might be fooled into thinking Let The Blind Lead Those... is the next Deerhunter album because they sound close enough for unknowing ears to accept, but you'll definitely notice a difference in texture and mood.
Album: Animal Collective- Sung Tongs (2004)
Solo Album: Panda Bear- Young Prayer (2004)
What Say You??: I've gone into this in greater detail elsewhere, but Sung Tongs is Animal Collective's landmark release. This is not so much due to the fact that they were playing on mostly acoustic instruments but that they were writing actual songs--and catchy ones, at that. Panda Bear's solo album from that era takes the same starting aesthetic but goes in a different direction with it, featuring acoustic guitars almost exclusively, and all the while driven by Panda Bear's full range as a vocalist. It may be a step back toward abstraction versus songs, but it's more affecting for it.
Album: Broken Social Scene- Broken Social Scene (2005)
Solo Album: Kevin Drew- Spirit If...(2007)
What Say You?? Though released two years apart, and under the confusing label Broken Social Scene Presents..., the implication was that this would be a solo album, and so it wasn't unreasonable to expect that Spirit If... sound different from the last BSS album. However, I'll be damned if I could tell this wasn't a Broken Social Scene album. All of which confuses me, because it was recorded with seemingly the entire usual BSS crew, and it sounds like the sequel for their self titled album. But, whatever. I'm not complaining here--that album is better than You Forgot It In People in my opinion, and in this case, more of the same is "more of the awesome" in my book.
Album: The New Pornographers- Electric Version (2003)
Solo Album: A.C. Newman- The Slow Wonder (2004)
What Say You??: There isn't as much difference between these two albums as may initially appear. Though The Slow Wonder isn't the only "solo" album of a New Pornographer from this era, it would infect the band's sound most obviously. On their last album, Challengers, the band's sound evolved toward a more nuanced, orchestrated, and acoustic sound--not unlike The Slow Wonder. However, I don't really want that from the New Pornographers. What I want is something like Electric Version, which is a modern classic of indie pop/power pop that gets better and better with time, as do their other pre-Challengers releases. I also love The Slow Wonder though I love it expressly because it is a solo album, which implies something. But I digress. My case against Challengers will have to be made another day.
Album: Deerhunter- Cryptograms (2007)
Solo Album: Atlas Sound- Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel (2008)
What Say You??: While Cryptograms adheres to a mixture of kraut rock, shoegazer, ambient, and noise pop, Bradford Cox's solo album under the Atlas Sound moniker falls closer to the dream pop, ambient, and electro-pop borders of the musical lands. You might be fooled into thinking Let The Blind Lead Those... is the next Deerhunter album because they sound close enough for unknowing ears to accept, but you'll definitely notice a difference in texture and mood.
Album: Animal Collective- Sung Tongs (2004)
Solo Album: Panda Bear- Young Prayer (2004)
What Say You??: I've gone into this in greater detail elsewhere, but Sung Tongs is Animal Collective's landmark release. This is not so much due to the fact that they were playing on mostly acoustic instruments but that they were writing actual songs--and catchy ones, at that. Panda Bear's solo album from that era takes the same starting aesthetic but goes in a different direction with it, featuring acoustic guitars almost exclusively, and all the while driven by Panda Bear's full range as a vocalist. It may be a step back toward abstraction versus songs, but it's more affecting for it.
Album: Broken Social Scene- Broken Social Scene (2005)
Solo Album: Kevin Drew- Spirit If...(2007)
What Say You?? Though released two years apart, and under the confusing label Broken Social Scene Presents..., the implication was that this would be a solo album, and so it wasn't unreasonable to expect that Spirit If... sound different from the last BSS album. However, I'll be damned if I could tell this wasn't a Broken Social Scene album. All of which confuses me, because it was recorded with seemingly the entire usual BSS crew, and it sounds like the sequel for their self titled album. But, whatever. I'm not complaining here--that album is better than You Forgot It In People in my opinion, and in this case, more of the same is "more of the awesome" in my book.
Album: The New Pornographers- Electric Version (2003)
Solo Album: A.C. Newman- The Slow Wonder (2004)
What Say You??: There isn't as much difference between these two albums as may initially appear. Though The Slow Wonder isn't the only "solo" album of a New Pornographer from this era, it would infect the band's sound most obviously. On their last album, Challengers, the band's sound evolved toward a more nuanced, orchestrated, and acoustic sound--not unlike The Slow Wonder. However, I don't really want that from the New Pornographers. What I want is something like Electric Version, which is a modern classic of indie pop/power pop that gets better and better with time, as do their other pre-Challengers releases. I also love The Slow Wonder though I love it expressly because it is a solo album, which implies something. But I digress. My case against Challengers will have to be made another day.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Tom Goes To The Mayor: Season Two Highlights
With season two, Tom Goes To The Mayor got weirder, darker, and, yes, funnier. Though the show has never been officially canceled, since Tim and Eric moved on after this season to do Awesome Show, it's fairly certain that these will be the last episodes of the series. Here I present the second half of my personal choices for funniest moments from Tom Goes To The Mayor.
Episode: My Big Cups
Funniest Moment: After getting caught passing off his sons' macaroni art as his own in front of a city council meeting, Tom's beeper goes off. The Mayor, making the bizarre assumption that it's the fire alarm, begins spraying people with a fire extinguisher. "Whew, saved by the bell," Tom remarks, as the episode ends and we cut to footage of Dustin "Screech" Diamond doing a strange neck dance.
Episode: Bass Fest
Funniest Moment: The Only Married News Team are caught unprepared when their teleprompter apparently is blank. Jan is petrified while Wayne tries to encourage her. Finally, Jan asks 'Ryan' if they can cut to a commercial. Suddenly, Wayne shrieks "Ryan go to commercial!!" and you can almost tell that Tim was caught unaware by the outburst, giving the show an improvisational feel that would come to the fore with their next project.
Episode: Jeffy the Sea Serpent
Funniest Moment: No, it's not The Mayor forgetting that Tom is inside a fake sea serpent. It's the ending where the "dead" sea serpent is on display in a museum of "Nature's Greatest Mistakes", with a placard that reads "Underwater Bigfoot-Style Monstrosity."
Episode: White Collarless
Funniest Moment: Combining a poop joke with poor spelling is funny no matter how you slice it.
Episode: Wrestling
Funniest Moment: After abusing a drug to help win a boys' wrestling tournament, Tom is reduced to a wheelchair bound wreck. However, his statue is being installed next to The Mayor's, who helpfully puts a telescope in front of his "good" eye. Realizing that not only is his name misspelled, but the statue looks nothing like him, Tom moans out an exasperated cry that gets me every time I hear it.
Episode: Saxman
Funniest Moment: One of the running gags on the show was people circling things on paper like an elementary school teacher might. However, in this scene, it's combined with Tom realizing the music writing process with the creepy Saxman isn't going so well because he's working in the bass cleft.
Episode: Spray a Carpet or Rug
Funniest Moment: As the darkest episode up to this point, 'Spray a Carpet or Rug' also has an ending that is the strangest yet. After being talked into suicide, Tom goes through a surreal scene that recalls the ending of 2001 before he ends up in what appears to be heaven's version of The Mayor's office. Things quickly turn sinister before the camera cuts to The Mayor, revealed to be a demon, who screams a terrifying sound...and then the episode ends.
Episode: Surprise Party
Funniest Moment: This is one of those episodes where things get worse and worse for Tom. And while this business card/spelling joke had been done in an earlier episode (specifically in 'Re-Birth'), Tom's addition of "the phone number isn't current" is especially ridiculous since, well, the phone number is listed as "pending."
Episode: CNE
Funniest Moment: In an episode packed with hilarious things, the commercial for CNE medication takes the cake. It's first introduced as "not just your father's diaper rash medication anymore!!" and then later "though first developed as a dangerous fox repellent..." before Dr. Michael Ian Black turns it off. It's worth noting that Black holds a medical degree from Dr. Peppar's Medical Institute aka the guy behind the Re-Birthing episode's strange adoption legitimizing program.
Episode: Friendship Alliance
Funniest Moment: I have a weak spot for ridiculous products, and Rat Nap is one of the best Tim and Eric came up with. Ostensibly a liquid used to induce sleep or comas in rodents, in this episode it's used in large quantities to put Tom, The Mayor, and Gibbons to sleep for two weeks so John C. Reilly can escape town without legal consequences.
Episode: Zoo Trouble
Funniest Moment: 'Zoo Trouble' is probably my least favorite of the second season of Tom Goes To The Mayor simply because the ending is too arbitrary and silly for its own good. However, they do manage a few good laughs, such as during the ride Tom and The Mayor go on at Bernie Fusterillio's Real Live Animal Experience. Told to "smell the breath of the deadly lion", Tom's smell tube malfunctions and seals around his mouth, giving his face a coat of stinky paste as he chokes and coughs.
Episode: Layover
Funniest Moment: Fun Fact: According to the commentary, this is among Tim and Eric's personal favorite episodes of the show. While the other restaurants they came up with were funny--WW Laserz, Gulliver's buffet, Sauceman's--Fishanelli's is the best yet. A seafood establishment where you can choose your fish, dip, and waiter, the small legal text at the end of the commercial is comedy gold. You probably can't read it from an image this small, but it informs the viewer that the "squid snaplins" may contain up to 94% of a few disgusting sea creatures that clearly aren't squid. Also that color and salt have been added to maintain appearance and consumer appetite.
Episode: Couple's Therapy
Funniest Moment: During an exercise to help get some more romance into the bedroom, The Mayor is told to say something erotic without using words. He leans toward Tom and makes a series of the most strange human sounds you've heard in a long time before Gary Shandling, as the leader of the couples cruise they're on, says "Mayor, that's turning the whole boat on."
Episode: Glass Eyes
Funniest Moment: During a barrel goat hunt, the Only Married News Team are singing a song to urge the participants on. When the goats escape from Memorial Park, they begin to sing about the events unfolding. I don't know, I just think it's really funny that they quickly cut from a scripted, pre-filmed song to "breaking news" in the form of a song.
Episode: Undercover
Funniest Moment: Tom's height reduction surgery in order to pose as a child at the school was funny. So funny that Zach Galifianakis, as a doctor, laughs hysterically while describing it to Tom. However, his re-heightening is funnier still, and probably the best ending reveal of the whole series. Tottering on stick legs with an idiotically throaty voice, Tom tries to lean in toward the microphone to thank the city council before his legs snap and he falls over.
Episode: Puddins
Funniest Moment: This episode is the blackest humor Tim and Eric have ever produced. I happen to think it's among the funniest. The poem that Tom reads at his son's memorial service at the school is genius in its awkwardness, only trumped by his ensuing grief and furthering madness. Appearing at The Mayor's office, who mistakes Tom for a baboon, he tries to introduce his new son "Brindon Again." Of course it's not a real human baby: rather, it's an irritated cat, who jumps out of the empty Puddins container and crashes through a window while Tom collapses into despair. I dunno, you'd have to watch it to think it's funny.
Episode: Joy's Ex
Funniest Moment: Here we are, the last one. This episode is a fairly appropriate note to end on, especially given the psychedelic vibe the whole thing has. I mean, they do get stoned in it. Anyway, the best bit comes when Tom explains that he shouldn't go outside in the thunderstorm because his briefs have a lot of underwire. "You know, for support," he offers, striking a hilarious pose.
Episode: My Big Cups
Funniest Moment: After getting caught passing off his sons' macaroni art as his own in front of a city council meeting, Tom's beeper goes off. The Mayor, making the bizarre assumption that it's the fire alarm, begins spraying people with a fire extinguisher. "Whew, saved by the bell," Tom remarks, as the episode ends and we cut to footage of Dustin "Screech" Diamond doing a strange neck dance.
Episode: Bass Fest
Funniest Moment: The Only Married News Team are caught unprepared when their teleprompter apparently is blank. Jan is petrified while Wayne tries to encourage her. Finally, Jan asks 'Ryan' if they can cut to a commercial. Suddenly, Wayne shrieks "Ryan go to commercial!!" and you can almost tell that Tim was caught unaware by the outburst, giving the show an improvisational feel that would come to the fore with their next project.
Episode: Jeffy the Sea Serpent
Funniest Moment: No, it's not The Mayor forgetting that Tom is inside a fake sea serpent. It's the ending where the "dead" sea serpent is on display in a museum of "Nature's Greatest Mistakes", with a placard that reads "Underwater Bigfoot-Style Monstrosity."
Episode: White Collarless
Funniest Moment: Combining a poop joke with poor spelling is funny no matter how you slice it.
Episode: Wrestling
Funniest Moment: After abusing a drug to help win a boys' wrestling tournament, Tom is reduced to a wheelchair bound wreck. However, his statue is being installed next to The Mayor's, who helpfully puts a telescope in front of his "good" eye. Realizing that not only is his name misspelled, but the statue looks nothing like him, Tom moans out an exasperated cry that gets me every time I hear it.
Episode: Saxman
Funniest Moment: One of the running gags on the show was people circling things on paper like an elementary school teacher might. However, in this scene, it's combined with Tom realizing the music writing process with the creepy Saxman isn't going so well because he's working in the bass cleft.
Episode: Spray a Carpet or Rug
Funniest Moment: As the darkest episode up to this point, 'Spray a Carpet or Rug' also has an ending that is the strangest yet. After being talked into suicide, Tom goes through a surreal scene that recalls the ending of 2001 before he ends up in what appears to be heaven's version of The Mayor's office. Things quickly turn sinister before the camera cuts to The Mayor, revealed to be a demon, who screams a terrifying sound...and then the episode ends.
Episode: Surprise Party
Funniest Moment: This is one of those episodes where things get worse and worse for Tom. And while this business card/spelling joke had been done in an earlier episode (specifically in 'Re-Birth'), Tom's addition of "the phone number isn't current" is especially ridiculous since, well, the phone number is listed as "pending."
Episode: CNE
Funniest Moment: In an episode packed with hilarious things, the commercial for CNE medication takes the cake. It's first introduced as "not just your father's diaper rash medication anymore!!" and then later "though first developed as a dangerous fox repellent..." before Dr. Michael Ian Black turns it off. It's worth noting that Black holds a medical degree from Dr. Peppar's Medical Institute aka the guy behind the Re-Birthing episode's strange adoption legitimizing program.
Episode: Friendship Alliance
Funniest Moment: I have a weak spot for ridiculous products, and Rat Nap is one of the best Tim and Eric came up with. Ostensibly a liquid used to induce sleep or comas in rodents, in this episode it's used in large quantities to put Tom, The Mayor, and Gibbons to sleep for two weeks so John C. Reilly can escape town without legal consequences.
Episode: Zoo Trouble
Funniest Moment: 'Zoo Trouble' is probably my least favorite of the second season of Tom Goes To The Mayor simply because the ending is too arbitrary and silly for its own good. However, they do manage a few good laughs, such as during the ride Tom and The Mayor go on at Bernie Fusterillio's Real Live Animal Experience. Told to "smell the breath of the deadly lion", Tom's smell tube malfunctions and seals around his mouth, giving his face a coat of stinky paste as he chokes and coughs.
Episode: Layover
Funniest Moment: Fun Fact: According to the commentary, this is among Tim and Eric's personal favorite episodes of the show. While the other restaurants they came up with were funny--WW Laserz, Gulliver's buffet, Sauceman's--Fishanelli's is the best yet. A seafood establishment where you can choose your fish, dip, and waiter, the small legal text at the end of the commercial is comedy gold. You probably can't read it from an image this small, but it informs the viewer that the "squid snaplins" may contain up to 94% of a few disgusting sea creatures that clearly aren't squid. Also that color and salt have been added to maintain appearance and consumer appetite.
Episode: Couple's Therapy
Funniest Moment: During an exercise to help get some more romance into the bedroom, The Mayor is told to say something erotic without using words. He leans toward Tom and makes a series of the most strange human sounds you've heard in a long time before Gary Shandling, as the leader of the couples cruise they're on, says "Mayor, that's turning the whole boat on."
Episode: Glass Eyes
Funniest Moment: During a barrel goat hunt, the Only Married News Team are singing a song to urge the participants on. When the goats escape from Memorial Park, they begin to sing about the events unfolding. I don't know, I just think it's really funny that they quickly cut from a scripted, pre-filmed song to "breaking news" in the form of a song.
Episode: Undercover
Funniest Moment: Tom's height reduction surgery in order to pose as a child at the school was funny. So funny that Zach Galifianakis, as a doctor, laughs hysterically while describing it to Tom. However, his re-heightening is funnier still, and probably the best ending reveal of the whole series. Tottering on stick legs with an idiotically throaty voice, Tom tries to lean in toward the microphone to thank the city council before his legs snap and he falls over.
Episode: Puddins
Funniest Moment: This episode is the blackest humor Tim and Eric have ever produced. I happen to think it's among the funniest. The poem that Tom reads at his son's memorial service at the school is genius in its awkwardness, only trumped by his ensuing grief and furthering madness. Appearing at The Mayor's office, who mistakes Tom for a baboon, he tries to introduce his new son "Brindon Again." Of course it's not a real human baby: rather, it's an irritated cat, who jumps out of the empty Puddins container and crashes through a window while Tom collapses into despair. I dunno, you'd have to watch it to think it's funny.
Episode: Joy's Ex
Funniest Moment: Here we are, the last one. This episode is a fairly appropriate note to end on, especially given the psychedelic vibe the whole thing has. I mean, they do get stoned in it. Anyway, the best bit comes when Tom explains that he shouldn't go outside in the thunderstorm because his briefs have a lot of underwire. "You know, for support," he offers, striking a hilarious pose.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Tom Goes To The Mayor: Season One Highlights
With the recent release of the first season of Tim and Eric's Awesome Show: Great Job!, I felt compelled to go back to their first series, Tom Goes To The Mayor. As the 3 DVD set contains both seasons of the show, I figured I may as well split this post into two convenient halves highlighting what I consider the funniest moments from each episode.
Episode: Bear Traps
Funniest Moment: As The Mayor introduces Tom to the Jefferton City Council, he mentions that Tom is a real astronaut, not like that imposter. Cut to newspaper clipping seen above. Doubly funny because Tom is also not an astronaut.
Episode: WW Laserz
Funniest Moment: After being knocked unconscious by an angry, asthma suffering child's brick projectile, Tom comes to days later in a dumpster. The Mayor explains that he has been keeping Tom there because he was "too tender to move" and has been feeding him cat food. In what would become a series signature moment, a real life hand and cat food are shown, with the fingers disgustingly breaking up the canned feline treat.
Episode: Pioneer Island
Funniest Moment: Though technically the second episode aired, the DVD lists it as the third episode. Anyway, the best scene in 'Pioneer Island' is after Tom writes a postcard to his family while helping with the Pioneer Island renovations. As he mispronounces the word "brochure" it shows up on the screen as a subtitle. This would become another series staple: mispronunciations, sometimes with subtitles. See also constant misspellings, often of Tom's full name, Tom Peters.
Episode: Toodle Day
Funniest Moment: This is one of those episodes where you just have to go along with the ridiculous premise to have any fun with it. Basically an annual town festival where dogs are married off, The Mayor has decided that for this year's Toodle Day they should train a matchmaker dog to help pair off the canines, as dog divorces are extremely high due to inappropriate husband/wife combinations. So it's up to Tom to train this dog, which he does so in ridiculous attire. The blackboard, complete with "by Tom Peters" on it, seals the absurdity of the whole thing.
Episode: Rats Off To Ya!
Funniest Moment: I don't know why I think it's so funny, but this whole episode spoofs America's tendency to latch unto one cultural fad and take it to extremes. In this case, it's a t-shirt that Tom makes, the titular 'Rats Off To Ya" with a rat presenting a hat to the t-shirt viewer. A local business owner steals the idea from him, and the whole thing ends up with Rats Off To Ya wristlets, electric scooters, bongs, and this hilarious, teen pop skewering music video. Truth be told Eric Wareheim's outfit and dance moves--foreshadowing his amazing 'Casey and his Brother' stuff on Awesome Show--are a funnier visual gag this the singer chick grinding on a man in a rat costume, but I'm a sucker for bestiality.
Episode: Porcelain Birds
Funniest Moment: We're roughly halfway through the season, and I think it's with this episode that the series came into its own. There are a lot of hilarious moments in this one, but the ending is what always gets me. It's not even the surprise screeching giant bird that pops out of the huge toilet dedicated to a despondent Tom at the very end. For me, it's just the huge toilet itself, because it makes for a great reminder that the same thing that useless shit like porcelain birds are made out of also goes into the thing that we use to shit in.
Episode: Vehicular Manslaughter
Funniest Moment: It's impossible not to love the dance/handshake thing that The Mayor and Dr. Michael Ian Black do. There's just something inspired about the weird gestures and nonsense words that Tim and Eric come up with for these kind of situations.
Episode: Boy Meets Mayor
Funniest Moment: Though I will admit that I think it's funny that The Mayor seems more concerned with Tom's broken sandal than he does with his sex scandal, I also think it's far funnier when they both find themselves in a hot air balloon race/record attempt and lose their minds. There has always been something disturbing and creepy about The Mayor, something inhuman, but this is the first time he truly gives off a serial killer vibe. When Tom argues that they need to give up and land before they all die, The Mayor grabs him and, with a dagger to Tom's neck, calmly intones "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Episode: Calcucorn
Funniest Moment: Like 'Porcelain Birds', 'Calcucorn' is funny from start to finish, and its best scene comes at the end. I would have to summarize the whole episode to help contextualize the hilarity of this part, but just know that as Tom sinks in a heavy, unwieldly unicorn suit he politely offers something along the lines of "this suit is making me sink, that's the only problem I have with it right now." Much of the humor from this show comes from awkward situations or Tom not standing up for himself, and this is one of those situations where Tim and Eric absolutely help you understand what they were going for with this show and this character.
Episode: Gibbons
Funniest Moment: While the majority of the humor in this episode comes from the interplay between The Mayor, Gibbons, and Tom, they also manage to sneak in a great bit about what Tom is trying to sell at the Friendship Expo. The show usually managed to sneak in little bits of text on posters, postcards, backgrounds, or just other funny details that you only notice on the second or third viewing. However this one's side humor is delicious: Tom's wife Joy has him selling 'friendship skirts for men' ("to be worn in tandem", Tom explains) while he is trying to hock his BOTCs--books on tiny cassette. Somehow, Tim and Eric always manage to push something that already is funny--a motivational seminar on an outdated audio format from a man who constantly fails and has no backbone--to something funnier yet--the same thing only on an even more useless audio format that practically no one has heard of.
Episode: Pipe Camp
Funniest Moment: I have actually seen official Pipe Camp shirts in the wild. I just wanted to note that because I think this image speaks for itself: Tom in another stupid outfit, with his fly undone, trying to motivate kids to exercise at a camp that, unbeknownst to him, is teaching kids proper pipe smoking and what fatty meats would complement what blends of pipe tobacco. I should add that Tom mispronounces aerobics, too.
Episode: Re-Birth
Funniest Moment: As with 'Toodle Day', you just have to roll with the premise of the episode to like 'Re-Birth.' However, I hope I'm not alone in thinking that what Tom renames his three sons--Brandon, Brindon, and Brendon--is one of the funniest running gags of the series from here on out.
Episode: Vice Mayor
Funniest Moment: Tim and Eric's 'Married News Team' bit gets better with time. Though taken to even loftier and creepier heights later in the series, and in Awesome Show, this scene from the last episode of season one ranks up there for me with one of the best images from the series. Even not knowing anything about what is going on in this picture, you could probably get some amusement out of it. That Jan is pawing at the image of Tom's house, where the hobo stink wave originates, while Wayne nods adoringly from the bottom right of the screen is simply sublime.
Episode: Bear Traps
Funniest Moment: As The Mayor introduces Tom to the Jefferton City Council, he mentions that Tom is a real astronaut, not like that imposter. Cut to newspaper clipping seen above. Doubly funny because Tom is also not an astronaut.
Episode: WW Laserz
Funniest Moment: After being knocked unconscious by an angry, asthma suffering child's brick projectile, Tom comes to days later in a dumpster. The Mayor explains that he has been keeping Tom there because he was "too tender to move" and has been feeding him cat food. In what would become a series signature moment, a real life hand and cat food are shown, with the fingers disgustingly breaking up the canned feline treat.
Episode: Pioneer Island
Funniest Moment: Though technically the second episode aired, the DVD lists it as the third episode. Anyway, the best scene in 'Pioneer Island' is after Tom writes a postcard to his family while helping with the Pioneer Island renovations. As he mispronounces the word "brochure" it shows up on the screen as a subtitle. This would become another series staple: mispronunciations, sometimes with subtitles. See also constant misspellings, often of Tom's full name, Tom Peters.
Episode: Toodle Day
Funniest Moment: This is one of those episodes where you just have to go along with the ridiculous premise to have any fun with it. Basically an annual town festival where dogs are married off, The Mayor has decided that for this year's Toodle Day they should train a matchmaker dog to help pair off the canines, as dog divorces are extremely high due to inappropriate husband/wife combinations. So it's up to Tom to train this dog, which he does so in ridiculous attire. The blackboard, complete with "by Tom Peters" on it, seals the absurdity of the whole thing.
Episode: Rats Off To Ya!
Funniest Moment: I don't know why I think it's so funny, but this whole episode spoofs America's tendency to latch unto one cultural fad and take it to extremes. In this case, it's a t-shirt that Tom makes, the titular 'Rats Off To Ya" with a rat presenting a hat to the t-shirt viewer. A local business owner steals the idea from him, and the whole thing ends up with Rats Off To Ya wristlets, electric scooters, bongs, and this hilarious, teen pop skewering music video. Truth be told Eric Wareheim's outfit and dance moves--foreshadowing his amazing 'Casey and his Brother' stuff on Awesome Show--are a funnier visual gag this the singer chick grinding on a man in a rat costume, but I'm a sucker for bestiality.
Episode: Porcelain Birds
Funniest Moment: We're roughly halfway through the season, and I think it's with this episode that the series came into its own. There are a lot of hilarious moments in this one, but the ending is what always gets me. It's not even the surprise screeching giant bird that pops out of the huge toilet dedicated to a despondent Tom at the very end. For me, it's just the huge toilet itself, because it makes for a great reminder that the same thing that useless shit like porcelain birds are made out of also goes into the thing that we use to shit in.
Episode: Vehicular Manslaughter
Funniest Moment: It's impossible not to love the dance/handshake thing that The Mayor and Dr. Michael Ian Black do. There's just something inspired about the weird gestures and nonsense words that Tim and Eric come up with for these kind of situations.
Episode: Boy Meets Mayor
Funniest Moment: Though I will admit that I think it's funny that The Mayor seems more concerned with Tom's broken sandal than he does with his sex scandal, I also think it's far funnier when they both find themselves in a hot air balloon race/record attempt and lose their minds. There has always been something disturbing and creepy about The Mayor, something inhuman, but this is the first time he truly gives off a serial killer vibe. When Tom argues that they need to give up and land before they all die, The Mayor grabs him and, with a dagger to Tom's neck, calmly intones "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Episode: Calcucorn
Funniest Moment: Like 'Porcelain Birds', 'Calcucorn' is funny from start to finish, and its best scene comes at the end. I would have to summarize the whole episode to help contextualize the hilarity of this part, but just know that as Tom sinks in a heavy, unwieldly unicorn suit he politely offers something along the lines of "this suit is making me sink, that's the only problem I have with it right now." Much of the humor from this show comes from awkward situations or Tom not standing up for himself, and this is one of those situations where Tim and Eric absolutely help you understand what they were going for with this show and this character.
Episode: Gibbons
Funniest Moment: While the majority of the humor in this episode comes from the interplay between The Mayor, Gibbons, and Tom, they also manage to sneak in a great bit about what Tom is trying to sell at the Friendship Expo. The show usually managed to sneak in little bits of text on posters, postcards, backgrounds, or just other funny details that you only notice on the second or third viewing. However this one's side humor is delicious: Tom's wife Joy has him selling 'friendship skirts for men' ("to be worn in tandem", Tom explains) while he is trying to hock his BOTCs--books on tiny cassette. Somehow, Tim and Eric always manage to push something that already is funny--a motivational seminar on an outdated audio format from a man who constantly fails and has no backbone--to something funnier yet--the same thing only on an even more useless audio format that practically no one has heard of.
Episode: Pipe Camp
Funniest Moment: I have actually seen official Pipe Camp shirts in the wild. I just wanted to note that because I think this image speaks for itself: Tom in another stupid outfit, with his fly undone, trying to motivate kids to exercise at a camp that, unbeknownst to him, is teaching kids proper pipe smoking and what fatty meats would complement what blends of pipe tobacco. I should add that Tom mispronounces aerobics, too.
Episode: Re-Birth
Funniest Moment: As with 'Toodle Day', you just have to roll with the premise of the episode to like 'Re-Birth.' However, I hope I'm not alone in thinking that what Tom renames his three sons--Brandon, Brindon, and Brendon--is one of the funniest running gags of the series from here on out.
Episode: Vice Mayor
Funniest Moment: Tim and Eric's 'Married News Team' bit gets better with time. Though taken to even loftier and creepier heights later in the series, and in Awesome Show, this scene from the last episode of season one ranks up there for me with one of the best images from the series. Even not knowing anything about what is going on in this picture, you could probably get some amusement out of it. That Jan is pawing at the image of Tom's house, where the hobo stink wave originates, while Wayne nods adoringly from the bottom right of the screen is simply sublime.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
The Four Greatest Creative Duos I Can Think Of Off The Top Of My Head
As my counterpart is taking a sabbatical from posting and trying not to have a nervous breakdown, it's had me thinking about the dynamic of two people working together. I've always thought of myself as a solitary fellow, who doesn't and can't rely on someone else for input and ideas. It might be just because I haven't met another who works in the quite the same fashion that I do--not to mention one who has the same pacing and creative processes. Anyway, off the top of my head, here are the four best creative duos working today.
Who??: David Berman and Stephen Malkmus.
What??: Though not so much a duo as a kind of mutually inclusive musical brotherhood, Berman and Malkmus have worked together on and off for roughly 20 years. Most of the time it's been in the context of Berman's Silver Jews, a sort of revolving door group with only Berman as the permanent member. That said, Malkmus's contributions to the band's albums over the years have been frequently brilliant. As friends who often appear at each other's shows, and collaborators in the Silver Jews proper, the two are 40 something pillars of indie rock--the more literate and singer/songwriter-y Berman having a true foil in the more absurdist and rocking Malkmus.
Crucial Work: American Water by the Silver Jews
Who??: Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins
What??: Now closing in on its 10 year, Penny Arcade is the gaming webcomic. Through their alter egos, Gabe and Tycho, Krahulik and Holkins deliver comics three times a week that range from obscene to hilarious to surreal to violent. Lest this devolve into a PR introduction to the duo, let me just say that Penny Arcade is the only webcomic I've been able to stand for more than a year at a time, and their consistency as well as ability to always update on time is unmatched.
Crucial Work: Uhm, Penny Arcade.
Who??: Avey Tare and Panda Bear.
What??: Though it diminishes the contributions of the other two members of the band, Animal Collective is, for all intents and purposes, led by Avey Tare and Panda Bear. And in their journey, they have turned Animal Collective from being a merely interesting noise/psychedelic band to one of the most rewarding and gifted groups of today. Even outside the context of the band, the two produce great solo work that demands equal attention and appreciation.
Crucial Work: Sung Tongs by Animal Collective
Who??: Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim
What??: You may have gathered from my posts that I am a bitter, depressed loner who can only feel joy while I'm giving poison candy to babies or flipping off priests. However, Tim and Eric take a chisel to my stoney frown and flip it upside down with their genius. Both Tom Goes To The Mayor and Tim and Eric's Awesome Show: Great Job! are two of the most polarizing shows on Adult Swim: people seem to be completely in love with them or utterly detest them. Being in the former camp, I can safely say that Tim and Eric are two of the funniest people alive today, and their brand of surreal/absurdist/dry humor, with dashes of dark humor, self deprecation, and gross out jokes thrown in for good measure, is like my favorite thing ever.
Crucial Work: Tom Goes To The Mayor
Who??: David Berman and Stephen Malkmus.What??: Though not so much a duo as a kind of mutually inclusive musical brotherhood, Berman and Malkmus have worked together on and off for roughly 20 years. Most of the time it's been in the context of Berman's Silver Jews, a sort of revolving door group with only Berman as the permanent member. That said, Malkmus's contributions to the band's albums over the years have been frequently brilliant. As friends who often appear at each other's shows, and collaborators in the Silver Jews proper, the two are 40 something pillars of indie rock--the more literate and singer/songwriter-y Berman having a true foil in the more absurdist and rocking Malkmus.
Crucial Work: American Water by the Silver Jews
Who??: Mike Krahulik and Jerry HolkinsWhat??: Now closing in on its 10 year, Penny Arcade is the gaming webcomic. Through their alter egos, Gabe and Tycho, Krahulik and Holkins deliver comics three times a week that range from obscene to hilarious to surreal to violent. Lest this devolve into a PR introduction to the duo, let me just say that Penny Arcade is the only webcomic I've been able to stand for more than a year at a time, and their consistency as well as ability to always update on time is unmatched.
Crucial Work: Uhm, Penny Arcade.
Who??: Avey Tare and Panda Bear.What??: Though it diminishes the contributions of the other two members of the band, Animal Collective is, for all intents and purposes, led by Avey Tare and Panda Bear. And in their journey, they have turned Animal Collective from being a merely interesting noise/psychedelic band to one of the most rewarding and gifted groups of today. Even outside the context of the band, the two produce great solo work that demands equal attention and appreciation.
Crucial Work: Sung Tongs by Animal Collective
Who??: Tim Heidecker and Eric WareheimWhat??: You may have gathered from my posts that I am a bitter, depressed loner who can only feel joy while I'm giving poison candy to babies or flipping off priests. However, Tim and Eric take a chisel to my stoney frown and flip it upside down with their genius. Both Tom Goes To The Mayor and Tim and Eric's Awesome Show: Great Job! are two of the most polarizing shows on Adult Swim: people seem to be completely in love with them or utterly detest them. Being in the former camp, I can safely say that Tim and Eric are two of the funniest people alive today, and their brand of surreal/absurdist/dry humor, with dashes of dark humor, self deprecation, and gross out jokes thrown in for good measure, is like my favorite thing ever.
Crucial Work: Tom Goes To The Mayor
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Kids Grow Up To (Indie) Rock
It’s by now a rather well worn tale: child star who grows up either to be a complete mess or to fall off the face of the Earth. Less well worn are the tales of child stars who grow up to become rockers, of the distinctly indie variety.
Who?? Danny Tamberelli
Where Do I Know Him From?? Little Pete on The Adventures of Pete & Pete, a show that featured all kinds of great indie music as well as Iggy Pop as the father of one of the characters; the red haired kid on All That.
Little Pete (right) rocking with The Blowholes in the episode 'A Hard Day's Pete'
How’s He Rocking?? Danny is the bassist/vocalist for Jounce, a pseudo-jam band.
Danny, Jounce-ing It Up
Who?? Jenny Lewis
Where Do I Know Her From?? The girl in Nintendo commercial/cult film The Wizard; some girl in Troop Beverly Hills, a movie I never saw and never want to.
Haley: So Sophisticated
How’s She Rocking?? Jenny is in Rilo Kiley (alongside Blake Sennett, see below); she also released a solo album (with the Watson Twins, whoever they are) and contributed vocals to various projects, most famously the Postal Service album.
Jenny Lewis: So Hot, So Now
Who?? Bill Mumy
Were Do I Know Him From?? Will Robinson from Lost In Space; A Disney movie called Rascal about a kid with a pet raccoon.
Will Robinson
How’s He Rocking?? Various solo albums over the years; as half of Barnes & Barnes, who had a semi-hit with bizarro novelty song ‘Fish Heads’; also as the narrator for A&E’s Biography series.
Bill Mumy: sadly, this is one of the best pictures I could find of him
Who?? Blake Sennett (aka Blake Soper)
Where Do I Know Him From?? Joey “The Rat” Epstein on Boy Meets World; Pinsky from Salute Your Shorts.
Joey The Rat with tough guy Harley and some fat fuck (Boy Meets World)
Pinsky: not as memorable as Donkey Lips or the misanthropic red haired kid who has a brief scene in Terminator 2 as John Connor's friend (Salute Your Shorts)
How’s He Rocking?? As a member of Rilo Kiley (alongside Jenny Lewis, see above); also a member of The Elected.
Blake, with moustache and a look of intense concentration
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)