MeTube

The Last Post

2008-04-11T02:50:00.006-04:00

Wow. The end. I'll never post here again. (But I will try and keep the clips as current as I can.)

Before I post the clip, I'd like to thank a few people.

First, I'd like to thank the people who knew me before MeTube was a twinkle in my eye, who came by on a regular basis. That means you, Jim & Steph in Maine, Zach and Heather in DCish, Mike Daisey in NYC, Paul in NJ, and John in LA.

Next, I'd like to thank those who met me through MeTube. It's nice discovering all those out there who have a similar way of thinking. So thanks to Millie Wink (who still kept watching even after the offensive stuff), Sam L., The Great White Dope (who made me understand how important it was to credit your sources), and Deputy Dog (who doubled my traffic when he recommended me on his web site).

Most especially, I'd like to thank Jason Soto. He said to me (I'm paraphrasing through Elvis in "Suspicious Minds"), "Let's don't let a good thing die." So he'll be taking over the MeTube mantle. I give you MeTube: The Next Generation. Jason has my confidence, and I look forward to seeing what he'll do.

UPDATE: I have gone on to start another blog, similar to MeTube, except it's geared toward pop culture that touches on Maine, however tangentially. If you're interested, check it out here.

Now, let's go on to the final clip.

I weighed a lot of options for this. I would like to post the last scene in WKRP, to mirror my posting a scene from the pilot on my first post, but this is one of those shows that keeps getting pulled from YouTube, so forget that.

I thought of posting other sitcom final scenes (Newhart, Cheers, M*A*S*H), but that's speaking more for them and not for me.

I already posted the Saw Doctors' "I'll Be On My Way" back in January. (What an awesome song that is.)

But to be honest, there was one clip I've had in mind for months, and nothing could have possibly proved itself better. It's the final moments of Dr. Strangelove, where Vera Lynn sings "We'll Meet Again."

Take care, God bless, and I truly do look forward to some sunny day.

The Last Guest

2008-04-10T00:01:00.004-04:00

Johnny Carson's final Tonight Show was just a bunch of clips and him saying goodbye to Ed, Doc & America. It was the episode before, the last one with guests, that meant something. Robin Williams was one of the guests, but the other, the one the night belonged to, was Bette Midler. She performed a parody of "You Made Me Love You," and later she closed the night with a beautiful rendition of "One For My Baby (and One More For The Road)." She later won an Emmy for Outstanding Performance in a Variety Program for this.

For pianist Marc Shaiman's memories of that night, click here.

The Last Laugh

2008-04-09T00:04:00.005-04:00

Before I knew Statler and Waldorf were hotels, I knew them as the two old codgers on The Muppet Show. As a kid I loved them for their "Ahhhh-ha-ha-ha-ha" laughs; when I got older, I loved them for their smart aleck heckling. Never was it greater than when they tore Milton Berle a new one.

Anyway, you'll remember that every show came to a close with one final zinger from the two of them. Here's five and a half minutes of them.

The Last Lecture

2008-04-08T00:02:00.003-04:00

There's a book coming out today from Randy Pausch called The Last Lecture. It's a tradition at some colleges and universities to have professors give a lecture and imagine it to be their last. In Pausch's case, when he was asked to do so, that wasn't such a hypothetical - he'd just been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

The resultant talk has become semilegendary. YouTube has a 75-minute version here, but Oprah used her Oprah powers and got him to squash it down to ten minutes. The points, and they're powerful, wonderful points, come across just fine.

Please don't skip this just because it's an extended clip. Take the time. You'll not be sorry.

MeTube Extra: I knew this was going to happen

2008-04-07T11:38:00.006-04:00

No sooner do I announce my impending departure than I find a bunch of videos that I simply can't keep to myself.

First, here's one I've been hoping to find for a long time. Woody Allen, early in his career, did some work for Allen Funt's Candid Camera program. Here he dictates a love letter to an unsuspecting secretary.

One more Sesame Street bit I (L is for) love, love, love.

And then there's Steve Riks. He's a UK comedian got hundreds of clips on YouTube where he does impressions of various musicians. His McCartney and Freddy Mercury are pretty awesome, but here I'd like to just focus on his Lennon...

...and his Bowie.

Like I said, his Lennon and his Bowie.

Clinton's final days

2008-04-07T00:07:00.003-04:00

When President Clinton was coming to the end of his time in the White House, he made this short film, which was shown at the White House Correspondents Dinner.

Believe it or not, there were some people who griped about this, saying the leader of the free world shouldn't be spending his workdays filming comedy. I think some people are paid not to have a sense of humor.

Fun fact: Clinton ad-libbed the part where he watches the clothes go round.

The Best of MeTube 2

2008-04-06T00:02:00.012-04:00

Last year I posted my favorite clips from the previous twelve months. I'm not going to make it to the two year mark, but I still came up with ten favorites since that posting.

Actually, I came up with more, but some links are no longer live, while others are in constant danger of coming down. So these are my top ten favorites that I hope will stay on YouTube for a long time to come. (The future will show us how ridiculous that last sentence turns out to be.)

10. The top 10 WTF moments in Mystery Science Theater 3000.

9. One of the "Two Girls, One Cup" reactions.

8. The incredibly filthy Ed McMahon.

7. "Thriller" a cappella.

6. The Police via A Charlie Brown Christmas.

5. The Saul Bass Star Wars credits.

4. Fenway Park sings the National Anthem.

3. "The Laws Have Changed" video by the New Pornographers.

2. The final scene from My So-Called Life.

1. Perry Como - Still Alive.

Bubbling under: Woody Allen in Play It Again, Sam...

and "When Your Mind's Made Up" from Once.

Cheating? Hell yeah! Whattaya gonna do, fire me?

I drop a bomb on you

2008-04-05T00:16:00.004-04:00

This is the final week I'll be running MeTube. My last entry will be on Friday, April 11.

I'm going to move up to Maine and live in an Airstream trailer and write a novel. I'll be living off the grid - no phone, no electricity, and no Internet. I'll drive into town once a week or so to check emails and such, but the days of carousing among the clips are coming to a close.

Also, to be honest, not having the means to surf the nets will provide me with some much needed discipline. If I learned one thing from my unexpected forced withdrawl last month, it's that I can get a lot done when I can focus.

So any more dubbed clips of FDR swearing...

...or X-rated trailers created by the makers of Scooby-Doo...

...or oddly compelling clips my friends send me (thanks once again to Paul in NJ)...

...or even clips of people licking their own elbows (you'd be amazed how many there are)...

...will have to come to you from somewhere else.

I've got a great bunch of final clips lined up for this week, so let's go out with a bang. Thank you all so much for stopping by, and now, let the wild rumpus start!

Sesame Street favorites

2008-04-04T00:08:00.005-04:00

You know, I've posted a veritable ton of clips from Sesame Street on this blog, and they're all pretty darn great. But, as Johnny Depp says in Chocolat, not my favorite.

Herewith my top five all time Sesame Street clips.

Number 5: Ernie and Bert play "What Happened Here?"

Number 4: E & B again, this time going over why there's a cookie on the table. I've been known to say, "Why is that, I ask foolishly." No one's ever spotted the source before, though.

Number 3: I'm a dog, I'm a workin' dog, I'm a hardworkin' dog. How can you not love that guitar?

Number 2: The Great Cookie Thief. Cookie Monster's shrug at 1:29 is a thing of beauty.

And far and away number 1: Cowboy X. Yiiiiippeeeeeee!

Tomorrow: a very important announcement...

The blind leading the blind

2008-04-03T00:01:00.006-04:00

Happy birthday to my mom up in Maine! To celebrate, I'm dedicating these clips to her.

First we have the final scene in the 1970 TV movie Jane Eyre, where Jane (Susannah York) reunites with a blinded Mr. Rochester (George C. Scott). That megaromantic score is by John Williams.

Now Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman. Mom loves this scene; she would have me cue it up on the videotape on such a regular basis that I can still recite 90 percent of the dialogue from memory.

Lots of great character actors in this, led by the very young Philip Seymour Hoffman, hiding in Big Daddy's pocket.

Since that clip is ten minutes long, here's something much shorter - every "Hoo-ah!" in the movie.

Th-th-th-th-that's awesome, folks

2008-04-02T00:17:00.003-04:00

One of the features of YouTube that I'm quite fond of is their "Related Videos" column. The "If you liked this, try this" approach has landed me a lot of great finds that I likely would never have come across otherwise. This was especially true for tonight's entry.

Here a number of great Looney Tunes moments are set to "Dancing in the Dark" by Bruce Springsteen. The too-perfect visual for "I check my look in the mirror" made me laugh out loud.

But here's the thing - great as this is, I only found it because it was in the "Related Videos" file. It was connected to this piece of genius - a pairing of What's Opera, Doc? with "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Considering these are the two greatest opera spoofs of the 20th century (sorry, Marx Brothers fans), I'm amazed nobody thought of combining these before.

Coming soon to DVD

2008-04-01T00:21:00.002-04:00

Happy April Fool's Day (shoe's untied! Bwahaha!), everyone. Today I'd like to take a look at a few of the DVDs that are being released this month. Anything to get the hype rolling.

Juno is due out soon, as is There Will Be Blood, but I don't think those guys need the hype. So I'll throw my inconsiderable weight behind these four - Walk Hard, a faux-Johnny Cash story, due out on the 8th...

...Lars and the Real Girl, about a man and his artificial gal pal, coming out on the 15th...

...and two, count 'em, two movies with the fan-tan-tastic Philip Seymour Hoffman - Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (4/15)...

...and The Savages, the week after that.

Beer - it's what's for dinner

2008-03-31T00:29:00.003-04:00

I'll confess to being a little dry tonight in the idea department, but even so it wasn't too hard to track down something good. Namely, vintage animated beer commercials.

Here's a Claymation one for Ballantine beer.

This one has bears having a pie fight for God knows what reason.

Best of all, here are Bob and Ray doing one of their Bert & Harry Piel ads for Piels beer. This was a campaign that actually put Piels out of business - so many loved the ads that they tried the beer, and unfortunately the beer was pretty lousy.

Bonus! If it's modern funny beer ads you want, here are the folks at Red Stripe (who make the best beer ads in the world hands down) topping themselves with an infomercial.

The Big O

2008-03-30T00:05:00.003-04:00

My college roommate once said about Roy Orbison, "His eyes were too close together and he sounded like a wounded deer."

Let's just say we differed. On the part about the wounded deer, anyway. Here's a rare clip of him lip-synching "Only the Lonely," shadeless and looking pretty uncomfortable.

Here he is in better form, doing "It's Over."

A quarter century after he recorded "Crying," his voice was no less amazing when he performed it; this is from the famous Black & White Night concert.

And call me silly, but I got a big kick out of this video for "In Dreams" performed by sock puppets.

Joe Raposo, genius

2008-03-29T00:20:00.005-04:00

Joe Raposo's best known for his work with Sesame Street, having composed "Sing (Sing a Song)" and "Bein' Green." He's done some other pretty great stuff, too (including the Three's Company theme and four songs on Ol' Blue Eyes is Back; the record company talked Sinatra out of recording an entire album of Raposo songs).

But you all know me; I've got to focus on the kiddie stuff.

A couple of big favorites of mine are "Take a Bweaf" and "There's a Bird On Me."

He performed the vocals for more than a few of the Sesame Street songs, in a really nice tenor voice; this is him singing "Trying and Trying Again" and "Somebody Come and Play."

And here's the man himself acting out a battle with the letters "UN." I'd say his gift for physical comedy is on a par with that of his songwriting.

John Cale's got a secret

2008-03-28T00:05:00.002-04:00

I've got a bunch of Lou Reed-related clips here on MeTube, but alas, the attention I've paid to Velvet Underground cofounder John Cale has been sadly lacking. Well, no more. (Thanks to Paul in New Jersey for introducing me to this.)

In 1963, four years before VU & Nico was released, Cale appeared on the game show I've Got a Secret. His secret: he was one of five pianists who'd performed a piano piece three lines long 840 times, in a concert that lasted over eighteen hours. After the panel attempted to guess his secret, Cale performed that piece.

It's ten minutes long and, to my mind, pretty fascinating. I hope you agree.

Loud and long and clear

2008-03-27T00:34:00.000-04:00

Don't you love a good contagious laugh? I like to think I've got one myself. I remember once in college, I was having lunch in the cafeteria and started laughing at something, and two girls got up and moved to another table. That's how contagious I was.

Anyway, here are a couple of great ones. Dustin Hoffman and a reporter explore the word "cut."

And a religious TV show host nonverbally expresses his opinion of a singing caller.

Fatthew Sweet

2008-03-26T00:12:00.004-04:00

I have about ten Matthew Sweet albums, and his 1991 masterpiece Girlfriend holds a permanent place in my top 15. Saw him live once, and I was surprised at how solidly he was built. Like a linebacker, I remember thinking.

But Matthew, come on, what happened to you? To quote Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, David Crosby thinks you've let yourself go.

I mean, here he is making his television debut on Letterman, playing a storming "Girlfriend," with the late Robert Quine playing one hell of a lead guitar.

Now here he is 16ish years later, duetting with once and future Bangle Susanna Hoffs on a cover of the Beatles' "Rain."

Seriously, I see him in this and I worry for his health. The music's still pretty great and Hoffs looks glorious, but I just keep looking at Matthew and wincing. I hope he's not ruined or anything...

For all you artists and tradespeople

2008-03-25T00:14:00.002-04:00

At last, I'm back in Holyoke, home of high speed internet, and I can make high-class updates to the blog. Better yet, I can check my email for ideas.

This one comes to me from my friend Allison in Nashville. It's a Canadian couple named Fred and Sharon Spencer, advertising their video company, and it has to be seen to be disbelieved.

Erin Still Go Bragh

2008-03-24T07:49:00.001-04:00

This is the post I would have made last week, on St. Patrick's Day. (For more St. Patty's fun, click here.)

I have here a couple of songs performed by the Irish for your enjoyment. First we have the chalk 'n' cheese pairing of Sinead O'Connor and Shane McGowan doing "Haunted."

And now, my favorite song from the movie The Commitments, "Dark End of the Street." Most unbelievable fact of all time: Andrew Strong was 16 years old when he sang this. Keep an eye out for the guitarist - that's Glen Hansard, the star of Once.

Finally, a joke:

Q. What did St. Patrick say while he was driving the snakes out of Ireland?
A. (mime holding a steering wheel, look over left shoulder) "Ye alroight beck there, lads?"

He is risen!

2008-03-23T08:13:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter, all a y'all - let's celebrate with a little three-part harmony.

These are the Roches - sisters Maggie, Terre, and Suzzy - performing the Hallelujah Chorus. Just try not to be uplifted.

No mass communication

2008-03-22T17:04:00.002-04:00

Well, it turned out that the house I was caring for had some cable issues, which meant no internet for me for two weeks. Not knowing what emails were waiting for me was torture, but not near as much as being away from MeTube and its faithful readers (that's you).

Well, I'm back, but in a somewhat limited capacity. I'm typing this from a dialup connection that takes forever and won't let me see the clips (or, for that matter, my emails). Fortunately, I take good notes, so I know just what I want to post.

And today, I want to post what I would have posted yesterday, Good Friday (I didn't eat my last two slices of BBQ chicken pizza in observation). Namely, the 1973 movie version of "Jesus Christ Superstar."

I recommend going to YouTube and checking out the Japanese stage version. I'd link to it, but this relic of a computer won't let me. I wouldn't be surprised if this only runs on direct current...

Anyway, enjoy, look for another post tomorrow, and by gum it's good to be back.

I'd love a bite of your sandwich

2008-03-08T00:23:00.004-05:00

I'm going to spend many of the next 24 hours driving up to Mount Desert Island, where I'll be housesitting for the next two weeks. I'm told the house is all wired up for the Internet, so I'm bringing the computer with me in order to keep MeTube going. But just in case I can't do a timely update, I'm putting a longish one up here today.

This is an episode of Fishing With John, a very, very deadpan look at fishing in various spots around the world with actor/musician John Lurie and a different guest star every show. Unlike most of these sorts of shows, we get a lot of the dead-air moments. I suspect the show prefers these times to the times they actually catch something.

This show's guest is Tom Waits, so you know we're talking classic. It's a half hour long, in three parts.

Tor

2008-03-07T00:24:00.005-05:00

Tor Johnson was a professional wrestler (stage name: The Super Swedish Angel) and the inspiration for a hugely popular Halloween mask. He's probably best known for his roles in the movies of Ed Wood; here he emotes in the trailer for Bride of the Monster.

Somebody out there had the common decency to post a clip of him on You Bet Your Life, then had the wit to title the clip "You Bet Tor Life." Listen to the crowd react as he walks in. Needless to say, Groucho runs verbal rings around poor Tor.

And now, as the great man once said, "Time for go to bed."

The Other Elvis

2008-03-06T00:06:00.002-05:00

He looks like Buddy Holly after drinking a can of STP oil treatment. - Dave Marsh

The reason why most rock critics love Elvis Costello is that most rock critics look like Elvis Costello. - David Lee Roth

My ultimate vocation in life is to be an irritant, someone who disrupts the daily drag of life just enough to leave the victim thinking there's maybe more to it all than the mere hum-drum quality of existence. - Elvis Costello

The former Declan Patrick McManus is one of the great rock lyricists, in the sense that his lyrics are crammed with wit and wordplay. I mean, look at the chorus from "New Amsterdam":

New Amsterdam it's become much too much
Till I have the possession of everything she touches
Till I step on the brakes to get out of her clutches
Till I speak double dutch to a real double duchess

Top that, Paul McCartney.

My personal favorites of his are, in chronological order, "Pump It Up," which in this video inspires him to dance like he's got two left feet, both of them clubs.

"Love For Tender," which has the best slam-to-a-close ending in his catalog (though this video mutes it just a touch).

"Almost Blue" didn't have a performance video on YouTube, but I don't think anyone will mind looking at pictures of Audrey Hepburn for a few minutes while it plays.