This week on The Sound of Young America, we bid farewell to our erstwhile flagship station, KZSC in Santa Cruz. Our theme is "Santa Cruz, You're Not That Far." The show features two of our all-time favorite segments from our time at KZSC.
First, we chat with rock & roll superstar and New Sincerity legend Andrew WK. He'd just started on a television advice show, and he talks about his philosophies of life. Then, he offers my younger brother Brendan some advice on rock & roll. Andrew even asks Brendan if the youngster minds if the oldster picks up a few tricks from his record.
We also hear "Mace Detective: Private Detective," one of the first original comedy pieces we ever wrote and performed on the show. It follows the travails of the eponymous gumshoe as he blunders his way through the detecting process, eventually solving The Case of Popinjay's Whizbang.
"Big Time" Gene O'Neill's nominee for Secretary of Energy
On this week's College Years podcast:
Hear Jesse call the show "Voice of Young America" instead of "Sound of Young America," thus himself making the mistake that will annoy him to no end for years to come.
We hear a high school story from Tyler MacNiven about his elaborate (failed) campaign for Stanford student. These days, Tyler is on CBS' "The Amazing Race," and the director of the film Kintaro Walks Japan.
The Extreme Weatherman with a now horribly outdated weather report.
The immigration debate got me thinking about a song my college friend Jesse Davis gave me once on cassette. Jesse comes from a musical family (you can check out his LA-based indie band, The Karabal Nightlife, here)... one of his relatives even composed the score for Star Trek IV (the one with the whales). Anyway, here's the story of this song, in Jesse's words:
I don't know too much about it but from what I understand, my great-grandfather Herb Zwicker started something called the "Black Talent Workshop" in the 70s. He went down to Watts and recruited talented black musicians and recorded some records of their music. I guess he was big on funk and soul music. In addition he had them perform their renditions of some of the songs that he wrote including "Go On Home You Foreign Communist" He was a real character from what I understand. He was a nationalist and a big union leader. In his 60s he was on the news bashing two young Neo-Nazi's heads together. A real bruiser. Its a great song though I'm glad its getting some play. I think it's the great lost soul hit of the 70s.
Needless to say, I've uploaded the song for you to hear. It's truly remarkable how Mr. Zwicker decided that the late-60s/early-70s funk sound was the best idiom for lyrics like: "Hey Commie! I'ma tell you something you should know... this is AMERICA... the country where I was born! You're not welcome here!" and "Lemme tell you somethin'... I'm a HAAAARD HEART! And I DON'T like COMMIES. So you better get the HELL outta here!"
There's some pretty killer bass work on the record, too.
The Sound of Young America is proud to announce the launch of our second podcast, "The College Years."
"The College Years" chronicles the ascent of the program, from early-morning college radio show to beloved cultural institution. Join Jesse Thorn, "America's Radio Sweetheart," Jordan Morris, "Boy Detective," and Eugene "Big Time" O'Neill as they consider the world through the lens of youth.
The show will be available in iTunes soon, meanwhile, you can subscribe by selecting "subscribe to podcast" from the "advanced" menu, and pasting in this feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/collegeyears
TSOYA pal Brandon Bird informs us that he'll be appearing in a show called "I Am Eight Bit" at the Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles. It opens Tuesday night, April 18th. More info here. Brandon is also selling t-shirts of his painting "Crimefighters," which features the cast of "Law & Order" and Batman joining forces to, well, fight crime. You can buy those here.
Elephant Larry are one of my favorite sketch groups in the country. Their style is a bit silly, a bit smart and very delightful. Their last show, "Boom," was a smash hit in NYC, with great reviews in the Times, Time Out New York, and elsewhere. They've got a new one coming in May.
You may also have heard two pieces of theirs in audio form on The Sound of Young America -- "Sittin' On a Bear" and "Francophone." The former is a parody of "Livin' on a Prayer," about, well, sitting on top of a sleeping bear. The latter is one of my favorites of their repetoire, a sketch in which a young traveler recounts his trip to France -- which seems to have been a whirlwind tour of the major locales detailed in the first semester of French class (airplane, family dinner, cafe, restaurant, library, supermarket, discotheque). Both are on their MySpace page.
W. Kamau Bell is one of San Francisco's top standup comedians, and a good friend to The Sound of Young America. He wrote this provocative note on his myspace blog, and I thought it was perfect to share with you. What do you think?
Sarah Silverman is racist.
I put this sentence at the end of a bulletin I posted recently. And the funny thing was the amount of responses that I got to that comment and not to the bulletin itself. (Though at this point I don't even remember what it was about either.) I put it in randomly. It was a thought rolling through my head at the time, but not because it was a "joke". I actually do believe it.
ANYWAY... Here's my point. First of all despite what people may think since I am a comedian, I don't have any INSIDE information as to her racism. (I have only met her once BRIEFLY several years ago, and like much of that alterna-stand-up crowd, she seeeeeeemed nice at the time... but then why wouldn't she?) I just saw her movie, Jesus is Magic, and I was... well... not so much stunned as I was disappointed in how racism is apparently becoming chic amongst the hipsters. (I guess if they can make Coldplay hip ANYTHING is possible.)
Watching her act I was just left cold by how racist jokes are apprently OK when they come out of a mouth of a beautiful woman who allegedly coats them in IRONY, but somehow when Larry the Cable Guy does his red state/redneck jokes(some of which are racist), David Cross and Lewis Black speak out aganst him in Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone is the same magazine that places the mantle of both Lenny Bruce AND Richard Pryor on Silverman's shoulders.
To quote Eddie Murphy in RAW, "GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK!"
Sarah Sliverman NO PERCENTAGE of either Lenny Bruce OR Richard Pryor. (I have to believe that she would admit to this.) Those tw GENIUSES used the topics of race and sex to criticize the status quo AND to further the discussion of these topics along, not to just titillate as she does.
There is NOTHING wrong with titillation as long as it is not dressed up as intelligent social criticism.
It's not that I don't think she is funny. I GET THE JOKES. In fact, that is most of my problem... After listening to all of her racist jokes in her movie, I walked out thinking, "I GET IT, SARAH! All the stereotypes about black people are TRUE. Thanks for the update." I'm sure many would say that I am missing the ironic twist... YOU'RE CORRECT! After five or six of her jokes supporting the same stereotypes that have been perpetuated in the U.S. for four hundred years, I COMPLETELY MISS THE IRONY. Her comedic point of view on race seems so simplistic and unevolved. I would think her act was BRILLIANT... if she was twelve... or if it was out of the mouth of a comedic character who is CLEARLY an idiot... you know, like Andrew "Dice" Clay. His first album is still hilarious
The experience of watching her movie was all made the more pathetic for me due to the fact that these jokes are performed in front of a mostly white audience. (I say mostly, because I did actually see ONE black guy in the audience. And yes he was laughing... maybe because he came with white people.)
The ultimate tragedy of this is that Hollywood clearly not only condones this, but sees it as brilliant. In a time of incredible comics like Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, and... (Well, I guess that's all we have for now.) who are clearly links to Bruce and Pryor AND are working hard to advance society's conversation about race it is painful to see Silverman SOOOOO celebrated. I will conclude with what I often say in situations like these, if me and all my friends (comics, performers, musicians, and artists) were as successful as her I wouldn't even blink an eye at her antics.
And YES, I know her act isn't all about race, but anyone familiar with her knows that it's basically 70% jokes that put down women and 30% jokes that put down minorities.
I'll leave it to someone else to cover that other 70%.
I love "The Sound of Young America" as a show name, but it has a few problems. It's kind of long. At first blush, people think it's a kids' show, or maybe a fascistic political show, or maybe a Motown show. It may alienate some older listeners, who I don't think would be alienated by our actual content. It also makes for a crappy URL and a complicated T-shirt.
So what do you think might be a *better* name for The Sound of Young America?
We're looking for something memorable, meaningful, pithy, maybe clever. Double points if the .org for the name is available, triple if the .org and .com are (you can check with register.com). That's not a requirement, though. Multiple entries are fine, but try to keep it to a half-dozen or so.
Post your entries below in the comments, or email them directly to me at splangy@splangy.com and I'll post them here myself. I haven't decided how we'll pick the new name, but we will, and the winner will get a big prize that I haven't thought of yet. I think we will end the "contest" at the end of the month.
A few early suggestions (both serious and less so) to get ya thinkin': Maximum Fun The Sound Radio Fun House The Dream Machine Liquid Sunshine Tommorow, Today Stiftungsfest (google it) The Extravaganza The New Chevy Chase Show with Jesse Thorn
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Tim Goodman, the San Francisco Chronicle's esteemed television critic, has finally started blogging. It was only a matter of time, as he's always been a perfect fit for the medium. He's not a great stylist, but he's enthusiastic, full of opinion, and often funny. He seems to understand the reasons people turn to television, and can write thoughtfully and effectively about both "Trading Spaces" and "Nova."
He also values funny on TV -- he was a great champion of series like Arrested Development, Sportsnight and Newsradio that really needed (and deserved) champions. In fact, he was so vocal about Arrested that his name appeared in an episode in season two -- a sort of sly tribute.
Not only does he offer some thoughts on things like The Sopranos and Bonds on Bonds, but also some interesting miscellany -- like the telephone numbers of all the major networks, and how to contact the FCC. I'm looking forward to what he comes up with next.
A reader of The Apiary offers this potential scoop...
I'm not sure if this is an accurate scoop, but I was on the Magnet Theater's site and one of the upcoming shows caught my eye:
Friday, April 14th 9:30pm Padsana on Human Potentiality and Equipoise by His Holiness the Guru Pitka. Reservations will be accepted by phone only beginning at noon on Wednesday the 12th. Standby tickets will be given out at 8:30 on the day of the show and we will try to accommodate as many people as we can. $7
Time Magazine has a big group profile (or more properly, group of profiles) on alternative comedy. Feature are our good pal John Hodgman (not really our good pal, more like a solid acquaintance of whom we are very fond), the guys from Wonder Showzen, Channel 101, and more.
So I'm starting a new podcast, called The Sound of Young America: The College Years. Lots of folks ask me what happened to Jordan, where did the banter go, that sort of thing. I have a big pre-podcasting archive of TSOYA broadcasts on CD, so I thought I'd podcast them for anyone who's interested.
But here's the question... should I do them in order? I'm inclined to, except that of course, the ones at the beginning are rougher than the ones later on. I guess that could be part of the fun, but won't it bother people?
I saw three movies this week that I really liked. March is a good time for movies, because it isn't the lame Oscar-bait biopics and Issue Films, but and it's not the awful Hollywood summer pablum. Here are the three I saw:
Thank You For Smoking. If anyone tells you that Thank You For Smoking is an insightful, incisive and biting satire, they are full of baloney. The satire is of the broad literary sort -- funny acronyms and the like. There is little insight in the film about its topic, the manipulation of truth and morality.
That said, it's wonderfully funny. Aaron Eckhart is a very special actor, and he's really found his niche in Neil Labute's films, and in this one, playing a guy who is both a believably horrible person and slick enough that you might be willing to forgive him.
There's a scene where Eckhart is visiting Hollywood super-agent Rob Lowe at his huge agency complex. He's getting a tour from an eager young assistant, and the stop at the koi pond. The assistant points out a few koi... "That one cost $8,000. That one cost $12,000: gift from Oprah."
Eckhart offers an impressed mumble.
"Yeah," says the assistant, "its almost enough to make you want to give up sushi." Then he adds, in the perfect off-handed/serious tone, "But I guess you couldn't do that, really."
Then I said "HAH!!! HAHAHAHAHA!"
The Inside Man
A perfectly executed film. The sort of regular-Joe touch that marks some of Spike Lee's best work (especially Do The Right Thing) really grounds this bank robbery, and there's enough intruige in there to keep you guessing until the very end. The plot is simple but nonetheless surprising, and the acting is uniformly spectacular. Note the presence of two regulars on "The Wire."
There are little touches of stylization that are really effective in the context of the film, and don't feel showy. And it's designed and photographed beautifully as well.
Also on this film: Is there any doubt that Denzel Washington is America's Finest Movie Star? I mean, there's a few other real good ones (Clooney), and some sort of Emeritus ones (Hoffman, Freeman), but can you seriously compare like Brad Pitt or Matt Damon to Denzel? Hell to the naw.
Finally: Brick.
What a winner this one is, and certainly the best I saw of the three. The premise is pretty simple: it's a film noir set in a contemporary high school. Sort of a serious answer to the Clueless variety of classical comedies placed in that setting. And it WORKS. Boy does it work.
Its much more Daschell Hammett than the kind of Chandler thing that's often parodied (no complicated similes, lots of tough talk). The characters talk in a semi-made-up language that echoes both the way language is created in the streets, and in young people. Social groups become very important... burnouts, drama queens, and how they interact.
What's wonderful is that none of this gets in the way of the story, which is thrilling and is never deflated by the absurdity of the setting. In fact, even when the setting is funny (and it often is), it seems almost to strengthen the tension, rather than undercutting it. This is a VERY New Sincerity quality for a film to have.
This just came in over the transom from Stella headquarters. I've never seen Showalter or Allen perform solo, but I've also never seen them be lousy. Seeing Eugene Mirman is a wonderful multi-media experience that I reccomend to all.
Michael Showalter, Eugene Mirman and Leo Allen will be on an East Coast tour in May. It will a very fun, life changing and lively evening of alternative stand-up comedy. Please come and check it out.
5/9 Toad's Place, New Haven, CT 203-562-5694 5/10 Higher Ground, Burlington, VT 802-654-7079 5/11 Lupo's, Providence, RI 401-286-0902 5/12 Iron Horse, Nothampton, MA 413-584-0610 5/13 Trocadero, Philadelphia, PA 215-922-6888 5/14 Black Cat, Washington, DC 202-667-4490 5/15 Relative Theory Record Store, Norfolk, VA 757-962-8052 5/16 40 Watt Club, Athens, GA, 706-549-7871 5/17 The Earl, Atlanta, GA 404-522-3950 5/18 Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC 919-967-9053 5/19 Ottobar, Baltimore, MD 410-662-0069
Also: on a related note, I really liked "The Baxter," which surprised me, because I'd heard such mixed reviews. Schowalter was indeed a bit too mannered to be the lead, but other than that, it was really wonderful and hilarious.
Last week, I taped an interview for this week with Philip Lopate, editor of the Library of America's Anthology of American Film Criticism, a hefty and wonderful book. The Anthology is the first to seriously consider film writing in the canon of critical writing, and it does a great job.
It's considered by The Atlantic this month (although you have to be a subscriber to read the whole article). You can also check out Lopate's great interview on WNYC's "The Leonard Lopate Show," the host of which is Philip Lopate's brother (though Philip seems to enjoy calling him "Lenny" on the show). It's streaming or downloadable.
Anyhoo, keep your eyese peeled for my Lopate interview, he was a cool guy. A little skeptical of me, I think, but he gets points for mentioning that before he got on the horn, he was sitting in his hotel room watching "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," a film which he described as being mostly about Angelina Jolie's lips.
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Careful listeners may recall that during our Wonder Showzen interview, the creators of that show discussed working on Doggie Fizzle Televizzle, Snoop Dogg's short-lived MTV sketch comedy series. Besides hilariously recalling Snoop's "real name" (Snoople P. Doggsworth, DDS), they shared the story of how they tricked Snoop into being on their album: one of them told Snoop it was his birthday. This lead directly to the only words Snoop ever spoke to him.
Snoop pointed to the sweater the Wonder Showzen fellah was wearing, and uttered the simple (but now classic) phrase: "Birthday Sweater."
My birthday is coming up, and my mom got me a nice, sky blue cashmere v-neck sweater. And all I can think of is Snoop pointing at me and saying, "Birthday Sweater."
If you'd like to help spread the word about The Sound of Young America, you can use one of these great banners... we have a variety of sizes for you to choose from.
The Philly City Paper has a regular feature where local artists talk about something they love... and guess what? A local artist loves The Sound of Young America...
I'm a comedy nerd. So is Jesse Thorn. Only, he has a radio show. The Sound of Young America is a weekly radio program out of KZSC in Santa Cruz, Calif. Each week Jesse interviews comedians, authors and other artists that comedy nerds find cool. Lest you think by "comedians" I am speaking of the local Chuckles' open-mic winner; let me present you with a sampling of his guests: Louis CK, Paul Feig, Patton Oswalt, Mike Nelson, Shelly Berman and Terry Jones. If none of those names sound familiar then I've just wasted about 26 seconds of your life. Otherwise, fellow nerd, check out The Sound of Young America at www.splangy.com/radio or subscribe to it in iTunes.
--Don Montrey Comedy writer, member of ComedySportz and sketch group Bad Hair
If you or someone you know has a podcast, here's a 40-second promo for The Sound of Young America you can use for it. If you do use it, leave a comment with your website info so I can check out your show!
In this week's Boston Globe Ideas section (which is wonderful every week, by the way), James Parker briefly considers "Wrestling with the American Dream," whose author, Florian Keller was a guest on The Sound a few weeks ago.
Keller in his book goes at this ''anticomedy" with the tongs of academe; but where contemporary commentators registered their bafflement in woolly references to European avant-gardism (''...like Ionesco doing stand-up," ''comedy's stand-up Pirandello," ''the Dada of ha-ha," etc.) Keller is committed to Kaufman's Americanness-specifically his relationship to the American Dream. The moment in Kaufman's set when Foreign Man, who has been nodding placidly along to a recording of the theme from ''Mighty Mouse," suddenly raises his arm and lip-synchs the line ''Here I come to save the day!" is for Keller a ''primordial scene": It ''basically re-enacts," he writes, ''the most fundamental myth about America as the land of opportunities where immigrants can reinvent themselves."
Also considered: the week that Kaufman opened for... wait for it... BARRY MANILOW.
First, we chat with rock & roll superstar and New Sincerity legend Andrew WK. He'd just started on a television advice show, and he talks about his philosophies of life. Then, he offers my younger brother Brendan some advice on rock & roll. Andrew even asks Brendan if the youngster minds if the oldster picks up a few tricks from his record.
