I am a Los Angeles-based twentysomething. I have a profession, and I have a secret life in music, and this blog isn't about any of that. I like Blogger because I can't read what you're thinking.
I Approve Of These Links
- A Blog Supreme
- AdamRiff
- AdFreak
- Hermitology
- Losanjealous
- Piano Jazz
|
Wednesday, March 2
>>
WHEN THINGS WERE MUCH SHITTIER, I WAS WAY MORE FUNNY AND I WROTE WAY GOODER AND I GUESS I WAS KIND OF A COOLER GUY
I'm serious.
One of my band mates let me borrow Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live about a month ago. It is a HEAVY read, but only when you read it as I have: by watching episodes mentioned in the book as they're being read. At this pace, I'll be done with it in about two more months. Not joking.
I have also been missing a lot of sleep for this style of reading. But whatever, that's another story.
One common and obvious thread in the book is that the SNL institution was just way more funny when it was struggling. When it hit its profitable stride shortly after its debut, cultural and narrative deviation wasn't the backbone anymore. When there's a cushion, whether from cash, or fame, or anything else, there's no desperation to stand out and be radical.
----
In high school, I used to be the guy that had all the comedy CDs. Everyone used my comedy CDs in marching band because we liked to listen to this stuff together on the bus on the way to competitions or other gigs. When you had a major fascist as a high school music director like we did, you'd find anything to de-stress and get you out of a Nazi youth mindset.
I also listened to these CDs because, when my parents grounded me (and oh my GAWD did I get grounded), they wouldn't allow me to watch TV, so I'd just download a bunch of funny shit and listen to it in my room. My parents would think that I'd be depressed, but I was having a blast because I hacked a way to get entertained.
And I think this is why the Marc Maron WTF podcast and the SNL book and the SNL episodes and my general comedy nerdery has re-surfaced in recent months: I've undoubtedly made my 9-to-5 a fun endeavor, but I can't deny that, since the majority of my time is working for a company, it's given me a cushion. My job has put me in a comfortable spot, and it's easy to not bitch about daily minutiae when the world is seemingly a cool dude all of a sudden.
But I've lost a bit of my dorky spirit because of it. The corporate world, even if you consciously let it into your life as little as I have with a conscious effort to not let it affect you, WILL AFFECT YOU. I don't write as often, and I can tell that my sense of humor has diminished since the majority of my day is spent in political communication.
So these podcasts and getting to revisit my comedy catalog is resurrecting an old self. An old self that slipped through the cracks and is still important to my identity.
COLLEAGUE: LivingSocial has 4-for-1 passes for 18 holes at Malibu Country Club! Let's go!!!
HUGO: Err...
I so desperately do not want to become a WASP.
|