Things I Like: Late Night w/ Jimmy Fallon

I was never a Jimmy Fallon fan when he was on SNL. He was a capable Weekend Update host, but seemed to crack himself up a little too much in the sketches. With that said, I had low expectations with him moving into Conan O'Brien's late night spot. However, when he hired the Roots as his house band, my interest was piqued. After watching the first week of shows, I was a fan. Jimmy is too earnest for me to root against him. While his first monologue was rough, I loved it when he slow-jammed the news. I applaud his quest to reunite the "Saved By The Bell" cast. I love his weekly spoof on the Hills, "7th Floor West". I enjoy the way he interacts with his guests, reminds me of a toned down Chris Farley from the famous "Chris Farely Show" SNL sketches.

Here are three great clips of Jimmy Fallon at his best. First, we have last night's interview of Mark-Paul Gosselaar playing the interview AS Zach Morris. Second, we have an episode of "7th Floor West". Last, we have Jimmy slow-jammin' the news with the Roots. Enjoy.


Zach Morris on Jimmy Fallon



7th Floor West - Episode 1, "Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down"



Slow Jammin' the News

School's Out (For Summer)

I love summer vacation. I love muppets. So here's the perfect clip to get my summer going. And if anyone wants to hang out, do lunch, go see a movie in the middle of the day, give me a call. I have some free time.


Alice Cooper & Muppets - "School's Out"

A Reason Not To Go To Bed After Weekend Update

Will Ferrell hosted the season finale of SNL and delivered some great comedy. I know many people have given up on the show, but I still find two or three great moments per show, which is actually how the show has always been. Ferrell revived his George W. Bush, Alex Trebek hosting Celebrity Jeopardy, and even Harry Caray, a personal favorite of mine. You can check out most of Ferrell's work over at Hulu. However, my favorite sketch of the night was left off the Hulu playlist. See if you can name all the "guests" that appear in this wonderful sketch that closed the show. Please enjoy.


Will Ferrell - "Goodnight Saigon"

I Love Kids Singing Pop Songs

I’m in the middle of AP test preparation, stressed out of my mind, and worn down from a rough school year. However, every once in a while you encounter something that gives you hope and inspires you to keep going and do better. A few years back I discovered the Langley Schools Music Project, a rare seventies album where some hippie music teacher recorded his elementary school classes performing classic tunes by David Bowie, the Beach Boys, and the Beatles. These albums were rediscovered and properly released a few years ago. A short documentary was made that helped inspire the Jack Black classic, School of Rock. Well, it appears that we have a contemporary example of this in the PS22 Chorus, a group of fifth graders from NYC public schools. I found them through an amazing version of “The Eye of the Tiger” and was immediately moved by the passion of each and every kid. They obviously love music, their teacher, and are a wonderful example of loving life. I literally cried tears of joy and kept watching and watching into the wee hours of the night. These kids remind me why they deserve our best and why we shouldn’t neglect supporting music and art programs in our schools. I hope you enjoy the clips as much as I did late last night.


PS22 Chorus - "The Eye Of The Tiger" (Survivor Cover)



PS22 Chorus - "Viva La Vida" (Coldplay Cover)



PS22 Chorus - "Joga" (Bjork Cover)

A Night Of Bromance

Last year I linked to an article by NPR music blogger Carrie Brownstein dealing with all the bromance she witnessed at a Fleet Foxes show. She defined concert bromance as small groups of men high-fiving during songs, raising glasses at the band in a show of brotherly love, and shouting "I love you!" toward the stage. Reader comments mentioned The Hold Steady as one of the great bromance bands of all-time. Last Saturday I felt the bromance for myself at The Urban Lounge, as The Hold Steady played an amazing set to a sold out club. I dare say the male-female ratio bordered on 4:1, with packed conditions and plenty of social lubricant providing ideal bromance conditions. I haven't seen so many men reach for the stage since I saw Morrissey a few years back. One drunk fellow jumped on stage and tried to give the keyboard player a kiss. Anyways, even without the bromance, it was an amazing show musically. The Hold Steady are one of the best rock band going today and certainly one of the best live shows to behold.

Here are two related clips. The first is a slightly humorous bit from the Letterman show on how "normal" Hold Steady frontman, Craig Finn, appears. The other is concert clip of one of my favorite songs, "Stuck Between Stations."



Craig Finn on Letterman




The Hold Steady - "Stuck Between Stations" (live)

Opening Day

Today is opening day for baseball. I take work off every year to watch opening day games, grill sausages, and celebrate the beginning of spring. It is easily one of my favorite days of the year. I won't bore with some sanctimonious essay concerning the greatness of the game or how the game is woven into the fabric of America. Instead, I just hope the Padres can win a few games and I hope my fantasy baseball team is respectable. If anyone wants to stop by for a polish sausage, just drop in and catch a few innings.

"Field of Dreams"




If Darth Vader can't convince of baseball's magic, try the final scene of "The Natural".


Roy Hobbs' Magical Homerun

I Love Power Pop

In high school, one of my favorite artists was Matthew Sweet, who became a 120 Minutes staple with his breakthrough album Girlfriend. While there was certainly a dark side to this divorce-inspired masterpiece, I fell in love with its combination of wailing guitars, harmonious back-up vocals, and song structures that contained more chorus than verse. I later learned that this style of music had a genre all its own-- Power Pop. After seeing Matthew Sweet in concert, I learned that his touring band consisted of eccentrc, but ultimately the coolest guy in the room, drummer Ric Menck, and guitarist Paul Chastain, also had their own Power Pop band, Velvet Crush. As I devoured their back catalog, including an amazing Ric Menck solo album, I found a few interviews of the band that cited their main influences as Smile-era Beach Boys, Paul McCartney’s Beatles output, and hipster favorite from the seventies, Big Star, which became another band to explore. I finally knew why the the Replacements had a song called "Alex Chilton," Big Star's main singer-songwriter.

By 1997, I was a Power Pop junkie and I was looking for a new fix, which led me to purchase the Rhino compilation, Poptopia: Power Pop Classics From the 90s, an album chuck full of obscure bands that worshiped at the alter of Brian Wilson. I tracked down more albums from bands like the Greenberry Woods, Gigolo Aunts, and the Greys. However, the best discovery out of this compilation was the Canadian band, Zumpano. I devoured their two albums and included their tracks on most of my mix tapes from the late 90s. When I read that Carl Newman of Zumpano was forming a Canadian Supergroup, I was excited, just hoping they could achieve the same sound as Newman’s previous band. The New Pornographers released Mass Romantic in 2000 and became critical darlings on the strength of Carl Newman’s sugary song-writing, Neko Case’s vocals, and Destroyer’s Dan Bejar being Dan Bejar. Projects like these tend to be one and done, so I was pleasantly surprised when they released a follow-up. Pretty soon, the New Pornographers became more popular than the bands of the core members.

Why do I bring this up? While the New Pornographers are on hiatus, they all like to release their own projects, leading to my favorite release of the young 2009, Get Guilty, released under the A.C. Newman moniker, although we all know it’s Carl. While Get Guilty is not as immediately accessable as some of the New Pornographers pure-cane sugar pop, it is a nuanced album that rewards repeated listens. Newman is clearly a skilled song-writer and doesn’t need to hit the listener over the head with his hooks, instead he seduces us over the course of multiple listens. I encourage you to check it out, as well as all the New Pornographers albums. I’ll even make you a mixed CD with some Zumpano if you want.

A.C. Newman - "Like A Hitman, Like A Dancer"




Zumpano - "I Dig You"

(Please note Carl Newman's crazy Zumpano hair)



Matthew Sweet - "I've Been Waiting"

(I always loved Matthew Sweet's anime videos)