The Best/Worst Moments of last night's show

[roman]

I will never tire of the Four Day Creep!

The Pigpen thing is one of my favorite things to ever happen on the show.  I'm still waiting for Pigpen to be used to hang up on callers the way "Bad Company" was

And I do like Steely Dan.  I've seen them live way too many times.  I know Mike said "The Royal Scam" wasn't his favorite album by them, but I think it's probably one of their more accessible albums....Cause it's probably about as rock musicy as they got.  It's a very guitar driven album.  I can absolutely see why they turn a lot of people off though.  They're definitely not for everyone.

[buffcoat]

I haven't listened to this week yet, but Morrissey has to lead the league in sincere heckling (and hugging)! My one and only Morrissey show (and maybe his only show ever in Raleigh?), at The Ritz is chronicled (not by me) below:

http://www.morrissey-solo.com/wiki/Raleigh,_North_Carolina_1997-11-16_(Morrissey_concert) - setlist

http://www.morrissey-solo.com/tour/1997/raleigh.html - discussion

People kept throwing flowers at him. I don't care what you're throwing at people, you're still throwing stuff at a guy trying to sing. He said to one, "You're pissing me off, you know. You probably don't care. You haven't even heard me, have you?"

He had to cut the encore short because the people who loved him so much more than the rest of us couldn't resist jumping onstage and hugging him.


Encore: One guy who jumped on stage to hug Morrissey criticizes ANOTHER guy who jumped on stage to hug Morrissey. Complaint? The second guy *just took it too far, man.*

http://www.morrissey-solo.com/tour/1997/raleigh-s2.html

[BadGuyZero]

re: "sincere"/"funny" heckling as the worst of the worst

I agreed so wholeheartedly with that dude. Every time I've seen the Mountain Goats play some doofuses feel the need to repeatedly thank him and comment on his hair or the funny stories he's telling. The worst instance of it I've ever endured was when I went to see Indie Rock Legend Jeff Mangum and the dude who kept yelling "come on, Bloomington! We can do better than that!" after between song clapping died down went ahead and shouted "Jeff, you my [n-word]!"

I think it's especially prominent for folks like Darnielle and Indie Rock Legend Jeff Mangum who have a mythos about them that they're "shy" and "introspective" and somehow that means they really need our help to perform on stage. People need to stop that.

Last time I saw Yo La Tengo I had two chuckleheads behind me that wouldn't shut up; talked pretty much the entire show about what gear and playing style/techniques they were witnessing. The worst.

[dave from knoxville]

By the way, if anyone else that frequents the board likes Steely Dan, come help me out! Don't leave me hangin'!

I'm in, Iago. Lots of favorites in there; Boddhisatva, Rikki, Fez, Dr Wu. These, and many more, are great great great. I only wish people who are put off by them could get some enjoyment from them, but I understand how it works.....I never liked Mission of Burma, even though I keep trying.

[buffcoat]

By the way, if anyone else that frequents the board likes Steely Dan, come help me out! Don't leave me hangin'!

I'm in, Iago. Lots of favorites in there; Boddhisatva, Rikki, Fez, Dr Wu. These, and many more, are great great great. I only wish people who are put off by them could get some enjoyment from them, but I understand how it works.....I never liked Mission of Burma, even though I keep trying.

Pavement is my own reverse White Whale.

[fonpr]

Boddhisatva, Rikki, Fez, Dr Wu. These, and many more, are great great great.

Good choices, Dave.


How are you feeling?

[erg79]

Another Dan fan here. I have to go with Pretzel Logic as my favorite album, but ironically has my least favorite Steely Dan song--East St. Louis Toodle-Oo.

[Epic Soundtracks]

By the way, if anyone else that frequents the board likes Steely Dan, come help me out! Don't leave me hangin'!

I'm in, Iago. Lots of favorites in there; Boddhisatva, Rikki, Fez, Dr Wu. These, and many more, are great great great. I only wish people who are put off by them could get some enjoyment from them, but I understand how it works.....I never liked Mission of Burma, even though I keep trying.

Pavement is my own reverse White Whale.

Thanks, guys....

[Brandon0476]

The Pigpen/Frankie Teardrop mash-up was definitely inspired. Weirdly enough, sometimes the Frankie Teardrop lyrics and the "four day creep" riff actually complimented each other. I don't know if Tom knew about it ahead of time, but it made it even funnier.

Darren's call was fun as well. I'm sure part of it was an excuse for Tom to let off steam, and it was a dead on critique of the current state of the comedy business. There's definitely a formula entertainment executives are using to put together most "comedy" shows. It's either "comedian makes fun of videos on You Tube" or "comedian talks about issues of the day with other comedians (which are essentially televised podcasts)". It makes shows like "Nathan for You" all the more special because they are trying to do something different.

Honestly, I boggles my mind why Tom has struggled so much to get his own (for profit) stuff going. Honestly, I think does boil down to the art vs commerce thing. What Tom is doing I think perplexes executives because it takes time to really digest and understand the show. Almost every podcast is doing the same thing (comedians interviewing comedians or people riffing on pop-culture) so it's easier to translate into a show or make it fit a cheap formula. Tom (and Jon) are world building with dozens of characters, telling personal stories, breaking formulas (puppets on the radio!), it's just over the heads of too many people. It's the "Big Bang Theory" vs "Parks and Recreation" argument. One is creatively superior, but for some reason the it doesn't get the ratings the dumber show gets.

I think the Best Show DVD is an example of what Tom could do with his own show and it would be amazing.

[Steve of Bloomington]

I know he's just trolling and "like what you like" etc...but c'mon Dan fans, can we propose one song he might not hate? What's not to like about "FM" or "Peg", for instance? As for "Hey Nineteen" he should try Jimmy Page's version, "Hey Thirteen"!
Oh yeah, I basically like everything he plays at the top of each show--the man has exquisite taste, no doubt--but those songs by the Sweet make me want to rip my ears out....are they all the same song with different words?

I think "Dirty Work" is the best ice-breaker for reluctant Dan fans. But it's easy to see why some people hate the Dan...it's all that jazziness. YUCK.

It is hard to believe that ANYONE doesn't like The Sweet though. If you are a fan of rock and roll and don't like the Sweet then how can you be a fan of rock and roll? Behind the Beatles/Stones/Who/Zep they have one of the deepest catalogs of non-stop blazing rock and roll hits! Also if you don't like the sound of twenty-thousand harmonies all singing at once then I wonder if you are even human.

As an old dude I have been enjoying the songs by The Sweet because they fall into the 'I missed them in the past' category, so there was this music sitting out there that I didn't know about and now it's new to me although in fact it's pretty old. I don't know that I'll run out and buy something by them though (I'm so old, I run out and buy music).

Also, I love Steely Dan, one of my all-time favorites. They've had a number of great guitarists play with them over the years, although I suppose one thing people don't like about them is that they are Becker/Fagen plus studio musicians as opposed to a proper band. I'm not afraid of non-standard chords, either.

[Steve of Bloomington]

"My Old School" is the one I would think should be irresistible, but IMO their greatest song is "Dr. Wu." They're notorious for being cold and unemotional, but when Fagen affects sincerity, as on "Wu" or the chorus of "Haitian Divorce," the nastiest song they ever wrote, the effect can be extraordinarily moving.

Dr. Wu was also covered by the Minutemen, which was cool. They screwed up the lyrics a bit, though.

[nec13]

I know he's just trolling and "like what you like" etc...but c'mon Dan fans, can we propose one song he might not hate? What's not to like about "FM" or "Peg", for instance? As for "Hey Nineteen" he should try Jimmy Page's version, "Hey Thirteen"!
Oh yeah, I basically like everything he plays at the top of each show--the man has exquisite taste, no doubt--but those songs by the Sweet make me want to rip my ears out....are they all the same song with different words?

I think "Dirty Work" is the best ice-breaker for reluctant Dan fans. But it's easy to see why some people hate the Dan...it's all that jazziness. YUCK.

It is hard to believe that ANYONE doesn't like The Sweet though. If you are a fan of rock and roll and don't like the Sweet then how can you be a fan of rock and roll? Behind the Beatles/Stones/Who/Zep they have one of the deepest catalogs of non-stop blazing rock and roll hits! Also if you don't like the sound of twenty-thousand harmonies all singing at once then I wonder if you are even human.

As an old dude I have been enjoying the songs by The Sweet because they fall into the 'I missed them in the past' category, so there was this music sitting out there that I didn't know about and now it's new to me although in fact it's pretty old. I don't know that I'll run out and buy something by them though (I'm so old, I run out and buy music).

Also, I love Steely Dan, one of my all-time favorites. They've had a number of great guitarists play with them over the years, although I suppose one thing people don't like about them is that they are Becker/Fagen plus studio musicians as opposed to a proper band. I'm not afraid of non-standard chords, either.

I also count myself as a fan of Steely Dan. Their early 70's output is pretty unimpeachable, IMO. But, at the same time, I can see where the band's critics are coming from. I think after Pretzel Logic, Becker and Fagen's notorious studio perfectionism actually became something of a detriment, because it resulted in records that, while still great, were a bit too slick and polished.

[Epic Soundtracks]

Thanks, all. I have a terrible feeling that Tom's going to unleash on me (or Steely Dan with a passing chord of contempt for me, rather) tonight after all this Dan-i-tude. Gonna sting but I'm bracing for it!

[fonpr]

Gonna sting but I'm bracing for it!

Splash your face with some cold water.

[Jason from Huntsville, AL]

The call from Anthony, the human bass (ex-Traymarsh), was a pretty good call. It crossed over into rare air (into Clark territory for me) with "I work in a laser factory."

That was something special.