Guests Louis CK, Florian Keller, and Neil Hamburger. Louis CK is one of America's best standup comics -- we talk with him about his new kind of old-fashioned sitcom. Florian Keller writes in his book "Andy Kaufman: Wrestling with the American Dream" that Kaufman's work was a satire of that cherished ideal. Also, America's Funnyman, Neil Hamburger stops in to talk about his sad, sad, sad life.
The Jacksons - Can You Feel It Official Music Video of The New Sincerity
In this video, the Jacksons use magic to create THE ENTIRE WORLD. Then they go around spreading joy (in the form of joy dust) to children and adults of every race color and creed. They also fly through space on wings of song, traverse great Tron-like grids of nothingness, and do cool dance moves. When you think that this video was made in the very first days of music video... stunning.
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Word came down from America's commentary class around September 13th, 2001. Irony was dead. In what would come to be called "The Post 9-11 World," there would be no room for that particularly distasteful form of discourse. It was to be replaced by soft, sweet sincerity. Somewhere, an eagle shed a single tear.
Of course, reports of irony's death were greatly exaggerated. A few weeks after the tragedy, irony made a heroic, if modest, resurgence. Great exemplars of the form like The Onion and Jon Stewart went back to their grindstones. Hipsters in Williamsburgh, Brooklyn slapped on their Roos and drowned what was left of their trauma in Pabst Blue Ribbon. Within two years, America was watching The Simple Life and basking in contempt.
The great irony of all this is that the pundits and prognosticators who declared irony dead three years ago were absolutely right. Irony is dead. Their account of it's death, however, was greatly flawed. Irony died not in a fiery explosion, but slowly, quietly, of old age. And it wasn't replaced by a return of the old guard. This time around, there�s a new cultural paradigm, itching to get in the ballgame.
This radical new ethos has a name. It's called: The New Sincerity.
What is The New Sincerity? Think of it as irony and sincerity combined like Voltron, to form a new movement of astonishing power. Or think of it as the absence of irony and sincerity, where less is (obviously) more. If those strain the brain, just think of Evel Knievel.
Let's be frank. There's no way to appreciate Evel Knievel literally. Evel is the kind of man who defies even fiction, because the reality is too over the top. Here is a man in a red-white-and-blue leather jumpsuit, driving some kind of rocket car. A man who achieved fame and fortune jumping over things. Here is a real man who feels at home as Spidey on the cover of a comic book. Simply put, Evel Knievel boggles the mind.
But by the same token, he isn't to be taken ironically, either. The fact of the matter is that Evel is, in a word, awesome. His jumpsuit looks great. His stunts were amazing. As he once said of his own life: "I've had every airplane, every ship, every yacht, every racehorse, every diamond, and probably, with the exception of two or three, every woman I wanted in my lifetime. I've lived a better life than any king or prince or president." And as patently ridiculous as those words are, they're pretty much true.
So now, dear reader, you're in on the Next Big Thing. Something more Hedwig than Rocky Horror; more Princess Bride than Last Unicorn; more Bruce Lee than Chuck Norris. Something new, and beautiful. So join us.
Our greeting: a double thumbs-up. Our credo: "Be More Awesome." Our lifestyle: "Maximum Fun." Throw caution to the wind, friend, and live The New Sincerity.
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An Evening of a Thousand Scowls, 826 Valencia's Fourth Annual Comedy Night April 1, 2006 FEATURING: Sarah Silverman, Jimmy Kimmel, Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifianakis, and Al Madrigal
Every year, 826 Valencia, the literacy arm of McSweeney's puts on a benefit comedy show. Every year, it is a great comedy show. I'm only about 75-80% behind 826 Valencia, but I'm 100% behind this show if you live within two hours of San Francisco. I mean, even a psuedo-vanity charity is dramatically better than the people who own a local comedy club. Sorry to see no local comics in the lineup (well, Al is a SF native, but he lives in LA), but still, kind of a murderer's row nonetheless. All but Kimmel have been on TSOYA.
Win Louis CK Tickets from The Sound of Young America!
This week, Louis CK will be doing two surprise shows at Cobb's Comedy Club in San Francisco. That's right. Wednesday night and Thursday night, Louie will be sharing his unique standup voice with all of us non-geniuses.
For those of you unfamiliar with his work, he's written for Conan O'Brien, the Chris Rock Show, TV Funhouse, The Dana Carvey Show, and more, in addition to his upcoming HBO sitcom "Lucky Louie."
How can you win tickets to Wednesday night's show, courtesy of Louie, me, and the good folks at Cobb's? Add a comment to this post with your real email address and your real name. I'll pick a winner randomly Monday at midnight. That winner and a guest get free tickets to see Louie!
(If you hate the idea of putting your name and email out there, you can email that info to me with Louis CK in the subject; make sure you still add a comment below with some distinguishing characteristic referenced in the email. I need the name and email to get you your tickets.)
I wrote a press release to congratulate myself on a full year of podcasting...
A year ago, The Sound of Young America became the first public radio show west of the Mississippi to podcast. Since then, it has counted over a quarter million program downloads, expanding its reach from three small radio stations (in Santa Cruz, San Francisco, and Hattiesburg, Mississippi) to a broad crossection of the world. Now, the show and its producer/host, Jesse Thorn, are considering how to transform a credit-card financed non-commercial venture into a long-term sustainable media enterprise.
Pitchfork reports that after an extensive Euro tour, the Go! Team are coming to the US of A in March. Take a listen to them on the July 16th edition of the show, if you haven't already. 03-15 Austin, TX - Exodus (SXSW) 03-19 Washington, DC - Black Cat 03-20 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom 03-21 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club 03-22 Brooklyn, NY - North Six 03-23 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church $ 04-27 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall # 04-28 Las Vegas, NV - The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel % 04-30 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Field (Coachella)
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Official Winter Olympics Skill Sport of The New Sincerity
Biathlon is a great sport for people who are in the military forces of Scandinavian countries. Which kind of makes it just like every other sport in the Winter Olympics.
Guests Chad Trujillo, Paul Moller, and Dippin Dots.
A look deep into the future. We talk with the inventor of the Skycar, with the discoverer of a new planet, and with a representative of the Ice Cream of the Future, Dippin' Dots. Plus the future of scrapbooking, reptiles, and more, and relationship advice from The Evil Computer Bent on World Domination.
"Rust, a fungus disease, sapped the
wheat crop. Production of durum wheat dropped from the 10-year average
of 31,547,000 bushels a year to 4,976,000 bushels."
