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Tracy Morgan and Terry Gross
Posted Fri, 11/20/2009 - 14:22 by Jesse Thorn
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8 comments
8 comments
This is old news now, but I hadn't had time to give it a proper listen yet.
A) I feel that Tracy's emotion is very real in this. Some people have suggested it's a put-on of some kind. Tracy is obviously kind of a ridiculous guy, but he's a sincerely ridiculous guy. And I think Tracy talking about appreciation of someone caring about his story for real is true.
B) Terry Gross' greatest strength as an interviewer, among many strengths, is her humility. She doesn't make any assumptions, she just asks sincere questions. Which was exactly the right thing to do in a situation where Tracy is a little uncomfortable and not afraid to poke her a little. And that's why he responded so honestly.
C) There is a moment where Morgan starts to break down. There's an eternity of silence (in radio terms - long enough that it may have been longer in real life, because they couldn't have left it any longer on the air or people would think their radios were broken). Then Terry starts to ask a question, then asks if Morgan is OK. I've heard criticism of Gross' approach here. I think it's worth remembering that they (I presume) weren't in the same room, and it was a very tough situation for Gross to read and navigate. I think she did a great job.
D) Morgan's analysis of his work in SNL is very trenchant. Tracy Morgan has *always* been as funny as he is on 30 Rock. Always. He was also very tonally different from the tone of SNL when he joined (like many of the show's black castmembers have been), and he isn't a writer. He talks insightfully about how Lorne Michaels changed the course of his career - taught him that he had to stretch. He gives great credit to Tina Fey for finding a way to put what's funny about Tracy on the air. He admits that he had to learn to collaborate with people who were very, very different from him to share that. Those are great insights, in my opinion.
E) As someone on Twitter shared with me, anybody dissing Terry gets The Gas Face from me.
Comments
Gross errors
I'll take one in the grill if it means questioning some little white lies. It was an unfortunate bit of culture-clash, Terry has had to deal with emotional guests before but was clearly uncomfortable talking to someone of Morgan's background, and maybe even a little frightened. As a social worker I have seen many well-intentioned middleclass white folks make similar mistakes in the face of raw emotion. But as bad as it was it doesn't come close to KQED's Michael Krasny's horrible interview of Larry Wilmore for public radio misses "urban" culture and Willmore isn't a "new" black man like Morgan.
Disagree.
I think she was a bit hesitant because Morgan has a reputation for being all over the place and she didn't know what she was going to get. And he delivered on his reputation.
ear of the beholder
Maybe, but I would disagree that he was "all over the place" he was just being himself, and this was a not so new black man for people who regularly interact with people coming from where he comes from, for other views see:
http://ta-nehisicoates.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/10/tracy_jordan_on_...
The most interesting stuff
The most interesting stuff really was Morgan breaking down his own work and the dynamics he's had with other performers and writers. I mean, the reason I've listened to this thing five times is to hear the Bed Stuy tales, but the really illuminating stuff is the analysis of his comic relationships.
And while I agree that Gross's humility is her strongest trait I don't think she has a lot of other strengths beyond that, like better interviewers have. It's not that I think she's bad, it's not that I disrespect her, I just find her unremarkable amongst her contemporaries. I'll take The Gas Face though, and I'll shake my ass to it aaaaaaaaaall night long.
-Bucho.
Tangentially Related
Again, marginally related - if at all.
This video features Zev Love X from KMD, who grew up to become MF DOOM. If anyone is curious as to what DOOM looks like, just slap about fifteen years and some enormous personal tragedy onto that fellow there.
T. Morgan & T. Gross
Listening to the interview, I also was guessing that the two of them were not in the same room ... I think the vibe would have been different if they were. Jesse, I think it was either through listening to your show or reading your blog that I got hip to the fact that a lot of modern radio interviews try to fool the listener into thinking that interviewer and interviewee are in the same room. Crackly phone connections are becoming increasingly rare in radio & podcast interviews.
I love Fresh Air, but I think Terry should inform the audience when the interviewee is in a separate location. It really seems to make a big difference in the dynamic between interviewer and interviewee.
Comment submitted by daveB from Oakland (I started the thread about this on the board ... and yes, Gas Face to the Terry haters. They don't know. They need to learn).
Today's captcha is "Chief mozart"
Interesting Interview
Jesse, these are great thoughts on the interview. Much appreciative.
I have to admit when I first
I have to admit when I first started listening to the interview I was taken a little aback by how defensive Tracy Morgan was, but the longer I listened the more I liked him, especially when he reached out to Terry and told her that he appreciated her curiosity. Yes the interview is a little awkward and strained at times, but I think there is a genuine level of respect between Tracy and Terry.