After I play hockey, I need at least an hour before I can go to sleep. That usually means coming upstairs to write a blog post or parking it on the couch for an hour to watch television. Last night I opted for the latter – and it was a good decision. A trip through my late night television wanderings:
- Jerry Seinfeld was on the David Letterman show, presumably to discuss and promote the seventh season of Seinfeld being released on DVD. I loved that sitcom, but for whatever reason I was never a big fan of his stand up act. But last night on Letterman, he killed. Especially when he was talking about those inflatable bouncie things, his kids and all the birthday parties he now has to attend. Previous to the discussion, though, the show took a serious and awkward turn when they discussed the Michael Richards incident. For those who haven’t heard, the guy who played Kramer flipped out on stage at a comedy club and said some inexcusable things to someone who was heckling him. Back to last night: next thing you know, Richards is live on the Letterman show via satellite, talking to Seinfeld and Letterman and trying to explain himself, which is going to be a near-impossibility for him if you watch the video. It’s a dark turn for a guy who will always be identified with laughter. Adding to the painful few minutes was the occasional nervous laughter from some in Letterman’s audience. They didn’t know how to react. At one point, Seinfeld said “hey, stop laughing. This isn’t funny.” That said, Richards did seem awfully torn up about it. Then again, he’s an actor. Sad.
- Pontiac might make shitty cars these days, but their marketing folks deserve a pat on the back for realizing how important search is for marketers today. At the end of their commercials (one of which I saw last night), they’re encouraging the viewing audience to go to Google and search for the keyword “Pontiac.” It’s such a simple and easy way to deliver a message and get web traffic, yet I’m not aware of any other company who does it. Just stop and think for a second how many times you search the web each day……..
- Chris Cornell made an appearance on the Jay Leno show. I always felt that Cornell, who was the lead singer for the early-90’s Seattle band Soundgarden, possessed one of the better rock voices of the modern era. I’m mentally blocking out his stint as lead singer of Rage Against the Machine, though. I think he has a solo album out now and I haven’t heard it, so it’s totally unfair for me to pass judgement, but the song he did on Leno last night was horrific. I feel bad, because I think this guy has got tons of good songs in there somewhere. Soundgarden was not my favorite band back then, but I did really like some of their stuff and his powerful voice was usually the catalyst. He could also slow it down – my favorite song ever from him was this one, called Seasons, from the soundtrack to the great movie “Singles.” Oh, how I loved that movie! It’s now 14 years old! Anyway, when you listen to this lost treasure of a song, you get a real sense of what could have been. Cornell really ought to cut an entire album of acoustic songs like this. It kills!
- ESPN’s Dan Patrick followed Seinfeld on Letterman. That had to be a tough thing to follow, but Patrick is a funny guy in his own right. Some of the jokes were too easy – sports type stuff about how bad the Knicks are, etc, but the high point of the interview was when Patrick recalled his interview of OJ Simpson four years ago and after the interview, OJ asked him point blank “do you think I did it?” Patrick then recalled that he had been leaning back the entire interview, as if he was trying to get away from Simpson. He didn’t know how to respond to the question, either, so he just said “did what?” Classic.
Last 10:
Elliot Smith – Strung Out Again
Anders Parker – Under Wide Unbroken Skies
James Gang – The Bomber
Sloan – Fading Into Obscurity
Martin’s Folly – Swimmer’s Blues
Gram Parsons – Still Feeling Blue
Fu Manchu – Squash That Fly
Ringo Starr – Photograph
Band of Horses – Our Swords
Fairport Convention – Come All Ye