Each week, we comb through the comments we receive and pick our fave. Then, we dump it in the pile with our other favorites for a drawing on FABULOUS PRIZES. The first of these drawings will be in a few weeks. Whatever.
This week’s CotW comes from our favorite contrarian, Cappy. He’s (I think it’s a he, anyhow) also been commenting here under the name SchvaNtz and, aside from being kind of a dick, is clearly the most intelligent person IN THE WORLD. Evidence:
“hey get a load of me” hipsters or pretentious bloggers….pick your poison. Maybe you should have a space for those two character types along with the blacks and gays on your OTR bingo card. And speaking of pretentious bloggers, anyone who spends any amount of time hanging out with Schwartz should not be snarking on conspicuous headwear.
Congrats on your bold move of going to OTR in the late 90′s, I’m sure it was your presence at have a nice day cafe that cleared the way for the neighborhood to be cool. You should make Hamilton (or Hamiltucky as you so hilariously and originally called it) your next stop. There are plenty of backwards judgmental types there and you’d fit right in.
Thanks for pitching in, Caps. We appreciate you handling the comment load this week, and good luck in the drawing (even though you’ll probably complain if you win).
From the department of “Nothing About This is Sane,” some guy conceived of a Sound of Silence-inspired “musical concept” and put it up for auction on ebay. Opening bid? $500,000. You can, however, buy it now for only $550,000. Look:
Now, when I say, “Unauthorized,” I mean to say that the guy’s apparently been told, “No, you can’t use any Simon & Garfunkel or Paul Simon music for this. Not a chance. Stuff it.” This, of course, means that it’s no longer a million dollar idea–but that don’t mean it’s not a half million dollar idea! No sir!
I’ve gotten to the point where I’m bordering on Jehovah’s Witnesses when it comes to badgering people to the point where they become opposed to whatever I’m trying to sell them on. But you don’t understand. Louie is the best thing to happen to comedy television since Chappelle’s Show. It’s completely wrong in all the right ways. Tragedy through comedy at its best.
Before this show, I wasn’t necessarily an avid Louis C.K. fan. I didn’t really watch his first show (I don’t remember it at all). Sometimes I watched HGTV instead of one of his comedy specials. But after 2 episodes, I am in love. I don’t want you to be able to say someone didn’t tell you to watch. FX / Tuesdays / 11pm
More Comedy MVP. This time, we’re looking at 1995 through 1999. Go!
1995: Norm MacDonald: Norm’s 1995 Weekend Update run was epic, and would earn him the “Best Weekend Update Anchor Ever” award, if such an award existed.
1996: Chris Rock, David Cross and Bob Odenkirk: 1996 marked Chris Rock’s Bring the Pain tour/special. 1996 also marked the debut of what might be the best sketch comedy show ever, Mr. Show. Look for Janeane Garofalo, Brian Posehn, Mary Lynn Rajskub from 24, and Tom Kenny (better known as the voice of Spongebob Squarepants. Seriously).
1997: Trey Parker and Matt Stone: The debut of South Park. Need I say more?
1998: Joel and Ethan Coen: The Big Lebowski, in all its semi-avant-garde glory, might be one of the best understated and simultaneously absurd comedies in recent memory. Here’s the trailer:
1999: Mike Judge: Riding high on two shows I couldn’t possibly care less about (Beavis and Butthead and King of the Hill), Mike Judge broke off one of the best comedies to do terrible at the box office I’ve ever seen (you too, probably). Office Space is hilarious and also depressing. How many times have you wanted to beat the holy crap out of a printer? That particular scene is at once cathartic and iconic, and every single time I watch it, I wish I were one of them.
Here we go, continuing with the exercise in futility that is the year-by-year comedy MVP. Here’s 1990-1994.
1990: Andrew Dice Clay: Say what you will, but The Day the Laughter Died might be one of the most brilliant comedy releases ever dropped on the world. Wanna see a guy bomb beyond belief? This is the place to go.
1991: Dennis Miller: Despite being the humongoid douche that he is now, Dennis Miller was more or less the best thing going in 1991. Cut to Monday Night Football, when he ruined all that… Ergh.
1992: Bill Hicks, Kids in the Hall (Honorable Mention): If there’s a particular period where you’d have to point out Bill Hicks’s peak, it’d probably be the Relentless album. Of course, it was at this point that he was only beginning to realize his potential. Man, he was great. More on this later.
Kids in the Hall had enough of a long-term influence to deserve a mention. What better place?
1993: Chris Rock: CB4 might be the best satirical take on gangsta rap out there. At a minimum, it’s the one that all others are measured against. Take that and the fact that Chris Rock is no doubt one of the funniest guys of the 90′s, and you’ve got a recipe for magic. He’s getting close to his peak in CB4.
1994: Bill Hicks: Bill Hicks died in February 1994. Had he lived, the entire landscape of comedy, and maybe the world at large, would be incredibly different. He is, without argument, along the lines of a John Lennon-esque figure within the comedy world. The difference, of course, is that there’s no Mark David Chapman. Just a disease. We’re lucky that Hicks left behind a legacy and some material. By all accounts, though, there aren’t recordings of his best nights, which is a shame. Imagine that. Here’s a vid of his last known recording:
