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A lot of George Carlin's later work really gives the impression of someone who loves nothing more than to hold himself above others. The chance to denigrate people who take themselves seriously was what got him up in the morning. Frank Zappa had that streak too. The prize we place on reason makes indignation uncharismatic.
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Mar 17, 2013 16:42
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Thanks to my local NPR station I learned at a young age that there are truly awful people on the left too. Like Alan Chartock. At least he is limited to radio.
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Mar 17, 2013 18:21
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You can still see this in comedy with guys like Louis CK, who cares more about his identity as a comedian than a person who has policy positions and holds to them. It's easy for them to take swipes at the wingnuts of course, but God forbid you suggest Daniel Tosh is an rear end in a top hat. They're more concerned about their 'turf' and identities as provocateurs than anything else. I guess I'd exclude David Cross from this list, but maybe that's because he hasn't done much lately and I've forgotten.
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Mar 17, 2013 19:01
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Walter posted:In contrast, the weekday NPR is Morning Edition (twice), then classical music with really terrible local hosts, Fresh Air (sometimes interesting), more classical, All Things Considered, and then more classical or jazz. Weekends, it's reruns of Car Talk (good once, not on reruns), PHC (both Saturday and Sunday), WWDTM or Zorba, This American Life (occasionally entertaining) or "On Being" (bullshit feel good crap, used to be called "Speaking of Faith" and was even more obnoxious then), and then good ol' Splendid Table, "the show for people who love to eat." That sucks man. In Dallas, instead of classical and jazz music we get Diane Rehm (her shows are mostly good), and a local interviewer Krys Boyd on "Think," which is a good localized Fresh Air type of show, and others. On Friday there is a local show where people call in with questions about anything and others call in to answer, which is fun. I can't really complain about DFW NPR, though I don't listen on weekends. I can't take the noise of any other radio stations, it's all so loud and NPR is such a nice change of pace from almost every other kind of media out there.
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Mar 17, 2013 19:32
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Rev. Bleech_ posted:Garrison Keillor is loving Treebeard with a microphone and I hate him. Hurf durf lol rhubarb pie herf durf. The people who hate Garrison Keillor are completely alien organisms to me who come from the same dimension as this thing: http://www.theonion.com/video/after-obama-victory-shrieking-whitehot-sphere-of-p,30284/
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Mar 17, 2013 19:56
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Spacedad posted:The people who hate Garrison Keillor are completely alien organisms to me who come from the same dimension as this thing: http://www.theonion.com/video/after-obama-victory-shrieking-whitehot-sphere-of-p,30284/ The spleen here for Garrison Keillor etc. is pretty myopic. First, as I think Wat Par said, it is dad humor and subsequently not terribly funny, but patently inoffensive and easily digestible. And second, the show has been around for ages and that's the only real problem; it, like a lot of the other NPR shows you lot are bitching about, have gone beyond stale. Garrison Keillor may be pretty tedious to jaded internet heroes, but he has had moments of greatness. He had the balls to make a song parodying Newt Gingrich during the height of his power in the House of Representatives - and his show is not a political show. I understand the sentiment and I have to admit I feel you, about some NPR shows as well as a lot of similarly worthy artists and humorists like Trudeau, but get a little perspective. Maybe PHC should do a show scolding an empty chair just for you guys. The real reason it's irritating is because it's emblematic of the liberal side of the American politics; growing more stodgy and staid with each passing day. I think sometime in the late 90s an ultimatum was communicated to all the left-leaning radio show hosts on public radio; stop making waves or you'll get defunded. And the gardening show guy with the Howard Cosell delivery style is the result. All the color and flavor of dry saltines, discussing topics that are almost impossible to offend. And he actually has some good gardening tips, if you can stand to listen.
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Mar 17, 2013 21:50
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You're just talking about old liberal guard, though. Younger liberals are more grounded, aggressive, know their poo poo, know what they're up against and what's necessary to combat it (even though there are some hippy-dippy types in the movement, but they're on the margin). I think today's liberal movement is much more pragmatic. It certainly helps that conservatives have become so transparently hypocritical & ridiculous.
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Mar 18, 2013 02:37
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Death Himself posted:Thanks to my local NPR station I learned at a young age that there are truly awful people on the left too. Like Alan Chartock.
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Mar 18, 2013 02:41
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Pablo Gigante posted:Is he really that bad? I've listened to his shows a bunch and never got that bad an impression from him. I wish we got WNYC instead though since I'm just about as close to New York as I am to Albany. He's a huge hypocritical rear end in a top hat eternally slobbering the leftwing cock. In theory I agree with many of his views but the way he pushes himself is just insufferable, it's all about him him him. If you pay attention you start noticing how much he forces himself into every show he can so that it's all about him. Every year he sucks up a nice chunk of the fund drive money as his personal salary while also having a couple no-show jobs too which is pretty drat lovely.
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Mar 18, 2013 02:53
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SnakePlissken posted:He had the balls to make a song parodying Newt Gingrich during the height of his power in the House of Representatives - Hey, that song was pretty catchy. To briefly get off the subject of comedians for a bit, I bring an update from Rush Limbaugh stating that Hitler supported Obamacare too.
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Mar 18, 2013 03:26
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Mr Interweb posted:Hey, that song was pretty catchy. Rush dropped oxy and watched the time cop TV series where the Nazis figured out time travel. It is there that future-hitler made a quip about lahvink ze Obahmacaer.
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Mar 18, 2013 06:44
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Even if you do not like A Prairie Home Companion (and you should because its great), you have to at least give credit to Keillor for his sheer output. He writes a two hour show weekly almost completely by himself and performs it along with his other duties. He is a fish-faced showbiz machine. I still cannot understand how people can hate APHC though, the music alone makes it NPR's best show.
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Mar 18, 2013 14:12
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The Time Dissolver posted:A lot of George Carlin's later work really gives the impression of someone who loves nothing more than to hold himself above others. The chance to denigrate people who take themselves seriously was what got him up in the morning. Frank Zappa had that streak too. The prize we place on reason makes indignation uncharismatic. I think I'm the only person in the world that thought Carlin's Old Man material was just that. An Old Man bitching about stuff instead of cracking jokes. "Whats with it with people who wear hats? gently caress people who wear hats. And what's with it with kids and rainbow boots? gently caress rainbow boots. And whats with it with guys who..." Kiwi Bigtree posted:Even if you do not like A Prairie Home Companion (and you should because its great), you have to at least give credit to Keillor for his sheer output. He writes a two hour show weekly almost completely by himself and performs it along with his other duties. He is a fish-faced showbiz machine. It can be a little silly sometimes but for the most part I agree. Helps that Keillor has this fireside chat down home kinda delivery. Guy can squeeze in a heartfelt soliloquy in the middle of a comedy routine and make it feel sincere. quote:And the gardening show guy with the Howard Cosell delivery style is the result. Felder Rushing? Cause that guy is awesome. Zuhzuhzombie!! fucked around with this message at 14:53 on Mar 18, 2013 |
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Mar 18, 2013 14:48
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Zuhzuhzombie!! posted:Helps that Keillor has this fireside chat down home kinda delivery. Guy can squeeze in a heartfelt soliloquy in the middle of a comedy routine and make it feel sincere. Might also be a culture thing. I come from a rural city and some of the imagery and characters he pulls from his Lake Wobegon stories are downright profound.
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Mar 18, 2013 14:50
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Kiwi Bigtree posted:Might also be a culture thing. I come from a rural city and some of the imagery and characters he pulls from his Lake Wobegon stories are downright profound. Fumbuckt, MS here.
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Mar 18, 2013 14:53
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Kiwi Bigtree posted:Even if you do not like A Prairie Home Companion (and you should because its great), you have to at least give credit to Keillor for his sheer output. He writes a two hour show weekly almost completely by himself and performs it along with his other duties. He is a fish-faced showbiz machine. It was much, much better before he took his hiatus/got married and moved to Switzerland or wherever in 1987. Somewhere there's a "best of Prairie Home Companion" collection with his best monologues from before that break. They're brilliant, screamingly funny, profound, the whole works. Similarly, the "Final Show" they did in '87 when they were going off the air because Keillor was going to move to Switzerland or whatever, that's two incredibly great hours of radio. After that . . . something in his head just sorta broke I think. Nothing he's done since that I've heard has had the zing of his old stuff. My wife and I play a game in the car when we turn on APHC; we see how many seconds we can stand it before it's un-utterably boring and unfunny. The current record is three and a half minutes because we dialed in during a music act. He'll occassionaly get a good line in here and there but it's just not funny to listen to any more. I just realized . . . am I a Prairie Home Companion hipster? Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 15:34 on Mar 18, 2013 |
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Mar 18, 2013 15:30
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Kiwi Bigtree posted:Even if you do not like A Prairie Home Companion (and you should because its great), you have to at least give credit to Keillor for his sheer output. He writes a two hour show weekly almost completely by himself and performs it along with his other duties. He is a fish-faced showbiz machine. I have to agree that at the heart it is basically not funny. The thing I can't stand the most is Keillor's constant wheezing and nose whistles. I can't go thirty seconds without hearing the wheeze and his breathing and once thats noticed it becomes unnoticeable.
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Mar 18, 2013 15:39
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Kiwi Bigtree posted:Even if you do not like A Prairie Home Companion (and you should because its great), you have to at least give credit to Keillor for his sheer output. He writes a two hour show weekly almost completely by himself and performs it along with his other duties. He is a fish-faced showbiz machine. This. I'm not a big fan of APHC, but even I recognize that Keillor is a national treasure.
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Mar 18, 2013 16:08
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I can understand why people might not find the show funny. His humor can come off as incredibly benign, but i think there is some sharpness there under it all. Two weeks ago he had a sketch about an existentialist snowman preparing for the arrival of spring and his slow death. It had a lot of dad humor but also a lot of good stuff about death and the shortness of life.
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Mar 18, 2013 16:18
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Kiwi Bigtree posted:I can understand why people might not find the show funny. His humor can come off as incredibly benign, but i think there is some sharpness there under it all. Two weeks ago he had a sketch about an existentialist snowman preparing for the arrival of spring and his slow death. It had a lot of dad humor but also a lot of good stuff about death and the shortness of life. Ehhh... I'm just not that into folksy humor. I also don't really like Prince all that much so I'm basically the shittiest Minnesotan ever.
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Mar 18, 2013 16:33
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Walter posted:Fact is, I've actually gotten to the point where I flip to the local right wing station first when I get in the car in the mornings, rather than NPR (which is still #1 on my radio presets). I've gotten a little tired of the way things are presented on there. This is what I do. Right wing radio is just so energizing to listen to. I can flip it on at any time and hear anything ranging from howling over the latest talking points to conspiracy theorists having screaming matches over the ethics of hunting bigfoot. Sure the political stuff is enraging at times, but it really does capture that awesome freak show feel. Even when you think you've seen it all, the hosts have an amazing gift for taking things to a level you just couldn't have anticipated. Although all the hate towards NPR here makes me sad. I've listened to so much This American Life that Ira Glass is basically Mr Rogers for my adult life. No one should say mean things about Mr Rogers. 
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Mar 18, 2013 16:46
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Ira Glass is at his best when he stays away from political topics that show his neoliberal side.
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Mar 18, 2013 17:30
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Radbot posted:Ira Glass is at his best when he stays away from political topics that show his neoliberal side. Not to turn this into the NPR thread, but I get a kick out of "The Dinner Party." It's like Ira Glass laid an egg and out popped Little Ira Glass Hipster Babies.
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Mar 18, 2013 17:39
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Sorry to interrupt NPRchat but some Congressman said a stupid-rear end thing and it's breathtakingly stupid. http://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/kevin-mccarthy-on-obama-march-madness-88802.html quote:House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) says he thinks President Barack Obama spends “more time filling out his March Madness brackets” than writing a budget.
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Mar 18, 2013 17:45
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Considering the vast majority of Americans are unaware whose job it is to write the budget I'd say it's a pretty smart play.
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Mar 18, 2013 17:47
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Ghost of Reagan Past posted:Sorry to interrupt NPRchat but some Congressman said a stupid-rear end thing and it's breathtakingly stupid. To be fair, this has been the post-election Republican strategy. Step 1: gently caress everything up through belligerent obstructionism Step 2: Blame Obama for it
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Mar 18, 2013 17:47
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Kiwi Bigtree posted:To be fair, this has been the post-election Republican strategy.
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Mar 18, 2013 17:48
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Zuhzuhzombie!! posted:I think I'm the only person in the world that thought Carlin's Old Man material was just that. An Old Man bitching about stuff instead of cracking jokes. "Whats with it with people who wear hats? gently caress people who wear hats. And what's with it with kids and rainbow boots? gently caress rainbow boots. And whats with it with guys who..." You're not. I grew up listening to and loving Carlin but soured on his material as he aged. You're right, the further along we got into the HBO specials, the more he just came off as a cranky old man. To re-rail the thread, I tolerated about 10-15 minutes of Rush today and it was really odd. He was going on about "Democrats think the job of the government is to protect people" and "Liberals think they're fighting a modern civil rights movement with this gay marriage thing" - poo poo like that - and I was sitting there nodding my head going "Yes, Rush. That's exactly what we think." He rattled off, like, 4 or 5 things in a row that "liberals and democrats truly believe" and, as I was agreeing with every one of them, I kept waiting for him to explain why those things that I believe were either bad or false. The furthest I got was that, apparently, the only "truly liberated black people" are conservative black Republicans, and "look what 'the media' does to them!" I'm used to Rush just making poo poo up and claiming that the ACLU donates money so that people are free to molest children and that the media loves "black quarterbacks" and poo poo, but today he was actually taking on the idea that the government exists to protect citizens. Yes, Rush. That's exactly what government is for. And the ACLU for that matter when they protected your medical records, you fat piece of opportunistic, carnival barking poop. Good lord, this man is played out and tired. Is it possible to become a parody of a self parody? It's like listening to Bill Cosby doing an impression of Eddie Murphy doing an impression of Bill Cosby. Or like that time Bush Sr. did a Dana Carvey impression of Bush Sr. How meta and self-eating can this sort of thing get before it implodes in a black hole of star spangled, flag waving, angry irony; sort of like the intro to The Colbert Report?
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Mar 18, 2013 19:14
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FlamingLiberal posted:Step 3: When said strategy fails to produce electoral gains, return to Step 1 Actually thats step 4. Change the law so we would have won and will win the next election.
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Mar 18, 2013 19:16
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Mike Huckabee was going on today about Portman abandoning his principles because of "personal experiences" and how he didn't understand and also the definition of marriage has been consistent for thousands of years in every culture and religion and if we allow two men to marry then what's to stop marriage from allowing one man with multiple wives in the future. 
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Mar 18, 2013 19:28
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mr. mephistopheles posted:Mike Huckabee was going on today about Portman abandoning his principles because of "personal experiences" and how he didn't understand and also the definition of marriage has been consistent for thousands of years in every culture and religion and if we allow two men to marry then what's to stop marriage from allowing one man with multiple wives in the future. I don't see why people can't marry multiple people, consenting adults and all. It's idiotic. I fully support this.
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Mar 18, 2013 19:32
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SilentD posted:I don't see why people can't marry multiple people, consenting adults and all. It's idiotic. I fully support this. One step at a time.
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Mar 18, 2013 19:42
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SilentD posted:I fully support this. I, too, support people changing their minds and forming opinions based on personal experiences. mr. mephistopheles posted:Mike Huckabee was going on today about Portman abandoning his principles because of "personal experiences" and how he didn't understand and also the definition of marriage has been consistent for thousands of years in every culture and religion... Yes, Mike. The definition of marriage has never changed through any culture or over any period of time. A person would have to be insane to believe such a thing. BiggerBoat fucked around with this message at 19:55 on Mar 18, 2013 |
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Mar 18, 2013 19:44
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SilentD posted:I don't see why people can't marry multiple people, consenting adults and all. It's idiotic. I fully support this. Yeah the joke was more that polygamy used to be really common and he acts like it's this unspeakable horror that is worse than gays marrying and again, the whole "marriage has existed in one form for thousands of years" bullshit.
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Mar 18, 2013 19:46
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Polygamy is a very traditional form of marriage, it's even in the Bible. 
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Mar 18, 2013 20:36
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platedlizard posted:Polygamy is a very traditional form of marriage, it's even in the Bible. There's probably more biblical support for polygamy than for "traditional" two-person marriage.
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Mar 18, 2013 20:44
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The way we currently structure marriage benefits and divorces would be a disaster with polygamy. Assing we redid the laws and such there is literally nothing immoral or bad about polygamy if the people are all willing.
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Mar 18, 2013 20:45
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WoodrowSkillson posted:The way we currently structure marriage benefits and divorces would be a disaster with polygamy. Assing we redid the laws and such there is literally nothing immoral or bad about polygamy if the people are all willing. So what? Morally consenting adults should all be able to do what they want. If I was king for a day I'd destroy all marriage benefits completely and just let people sign their own legal papers for whatever sort of arrangement they want. Make it so there is no financial benefit to marriage at all.
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Mar 18, 2013 20:49
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SilentD posted:I don't see why people can't marry multiple people, consenting adults and all. It's idiotic. I fully support this. The problem is making it gender neutral. Most polygamist systems do not allow multiple husbands.
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Mar 18, 2013 20:57
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Kiwi Bigtree posted:The problem is making it gender neutral. Most polygamist systems do not allow multiple husbands. Actually tons of them do historically. Polygamy is highly associated with multiple wives in America because the 19th century mormons did it like that, but that's just a function of the Mormons being weird.
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Mar 18, 2013 21:03
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