Category Archives: Comedy

“This is 40” dir. Judd Apatow (coming Christmas 2012)

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Yes, at its worst, I realize this looks like a Gen-X version of “Thirtysomething” with a few f-bombs thrown in. However, I really think it’s going to be much better than that. Apatow is a great, astute writer and despite his popularity, is unfairly dismissed by many folks as the guy who popularized “d–k jokes with heart.” I’m a huge fan of Apatow’s … loved not only all of his films, but also two of the TV shows he had a hand in (“Freaks and Geeks” and “Undeclared.”) Paul Rudd’s and Leslie Mann’s characters were the best part of Apatow’s “Knocked Up” and I’m very pleased to see Apatow made a follow-up exploring those characters’ lives.

“Jerks on 45” – Circle Jerks

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One of the most transcendent moments of my pop culture youth was hearing this “song” on my local classic rock station during a marathon of the 500 “greatest classic rock songs of all time” back around 1985 or so. It wasn’t an official entry, but the acknowledgment that the area’s most popular classic rock station gave to a “hardcore punk” band was pretty cool at the time … even though said band was making a mockery of several 1960s and 1970s AM radio hits. While I’m a non-ironic fan of 1960s and 1970s era AM pop, I still love this “savaging” tremendously … mainly because I suspect the band secretly loves this stuff because it’s played so well.

“Underwater” – The Frogmen

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A great surf-rock tune that would have been relegated to the dust-heap of pop-culture had it not been used in John Waters’s 1974 film “Female Trouble” during the montage of Divine’s Dawn Davenport’s character marriage to Gator. A tune too bizarre to be bustin’ surfboards to, but damn, I’m glad it exists. Love the piano on this track.

Chris Rock on Michael Jackson

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Can we finally agree we’re ready to hear this? Yes, MJ was a talented performer, but he was a seriously, SERIOUSLY f–ked up individual. I know his death prompted some mixed reactions of people from my generation. Yes, his music was (and is) brilliant, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that this was a seriously screwed-up individual who, before he died, prompted nothing but snickers and eye-rolling from practically everyone I knew. Death doesn’t erase a lifetime of bad deeds (and there’s overwhelming evidence to suggest MJ committed a LOT of them), just as a lifetime of bad deeds doesn’t make someone a bad artist. Nuff said. Let’s move on.

“Bitchin’ Camaro” – The Dead Milkmen

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The Milkmen’s greatest moment and an early parody (circa 1985) of mullet-culture. If you happen to find Philly accents awesome and/or hysterically funny, you should have a blast. There is a “joke” spoken in the opening interlude that probably would prompt lawsuits if released today. I take it as being in the context (and lexicon) of the people being lampooned. However, some may not see it that way.