David Letterman > Stephen Colbert?

That is possibly the most provocative, click-baity title I've ever written.
But don't get me wrong - I love Stephen Colbert, and actually watch The Late Show religiously now, which I didn't while good ol' Dave was in charge.
But I've got to say that Dave may have Stephen covered when it comes to musical guests. I've been checking out some of them and...well...I think I'll just let the music videos speak for themselves. 
(Except to say that I think that, in many of these, the live versions are better than the originals!)
(Aaaand that you could do a lot worse than have these as a permanent playlist...)

1. Foo Fighters - Everlong
Apart from being a great song by a great band, Dave reckons this is his FAVOURITE song by his FAVOURITE band!



2. Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American
This is the song that got me started on this quest - it's amazing.

3. Beastie Boys - Sabotage
My favourite Beastie Boys song! The official music clip (directed by Spike Jonze) is one of my favourite clips of all time, too, but seeing them play this live is just mind-blowing (I actually did see them play this live at Summersault in 1995...but this is better!)



4. Beastie Boys - Ch-Check it Out
Speaking of the Beastie Boys, forget about best Late Show performances, this has got to be one of the best Broadway performances ever!



5. Weezer - Say It Ain't So
And speaking of favourites, this is my favourite Weezer song - and they look so young and cute!



6. TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me
Awesome.



7. At the Drive In - One-Armed Scissor
Wow. Just....wow. 
It's at this point that I wonder whether Dave is trolling his audience (in a good way...)



8. Red Fang - Blood like Cream
Maybe not as good as the Fred Armisen-starring, zombie-apocalypse with beer-drinking  official clip (The Drinking Dead?), but still, this shows that Dave clearly didn't mind a bit of metal, stoner- or otherwise...



9. Screaming Trees - Nearly Lost You
I'm including this for two reasons: (a) Seattle Repre-ZENT (apart from the aforementioned Dave Grohl contingent), and (b) Mark Lanegan's voice. Also...my band used to play this song and I kind of love it...
 

10. Foo Fighters - Everlong
Yeah, I know I've already got them above, but, as I said, favourite band, favourite song, and Dave got them back on his last ever show. Love it.


Dishonourable (later Honourable) Mention - Bill Hicks
Famously, Dave refused to allow this stand-up bit by the infamous Bill Hicks to air at the time of filming, but, to his credit, he recanted and broadcasted it after Bill's very untimely death, when he had Bill's Mum on the show. Hats off, Dave.  



Plus one more: Eagles of Death Metal played out on Broadway in front of the Ed Sullivan Theater, which is cool and weird and interesting, but I'm including the official clip, because it's amazingly super-awesome.



But of course, given the title of this post, it's not fair if I don't at least give Stephen a fair hearing music-guest-wise. In fact, I'll allow him the right of rebuttal right here, with the insanely fantastic Babymetal:


I rest my case(s).

I'd rather be watching TV

The rilestar does heart the teevs, and these are a few of his more public rantings lately.
First, in relation to The Age article "All just a little bit tasteless", which states the bleeding and punning obvious by saying: "Despite both being based around food, The Biggest Loser lacks taste and My Kitchen Rules has no flavour", rilestar said:

"I have never watched a single one of these games shows (calling them "Reality TV" I think is giving them more credibility than they deserve), including Big Brother, Survivor, et al, apart from a few episodes of The Amazing Race, which was actually very entertaining. But otherwise I generally stick to quality scripted dramas and comedies...and dramedies...stuff like Entourage, 30 Rock, Deadwood and Community.
I have no great desire to watch boring people being boring. Leave that to other boring people.
Plus I'm not fat."

Speaking of fat people, another contributor, Tara, said "To anyone overweight who is reading this, may you nourish yourself with love and the food that benefits your body." By which I assume she means "Hey fat people: eat a carrot." Harsh! (her words, not mine)
Another article, "Goodbye Daily Show, we hardly knew you", reports that ABC2 no longer has the rights to broadcast Rant faves The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. The rilestar had been wondering what had happened to them, as they were good back-ups in case the old iQ failed to record either or both for whatever reason, and so also contributed to the discussion (swimming against the tide of "Foxtel sucks, I download everything"):

"It seems I'm one of the few (or the only person?) who signed up to Foxtel just to watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report (about 5 or 6 years ago). Love 'em both - also flew to Washington last year for the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, so paying for Foxtel is not that big a leap. There's lots of good stuff on Foxtel though, like Louie and the latest episodes of Entourage (just a little late), so I'm happy with it (though was wavering a bit last year when TDS and TCR were on ABC2 and the other networks seemed to be getting their acts together on their alternative channels - not wavering any more). Now my bugbear is Channel Go! not showing Community any more - tempted to jump on Channel BitTorrent for the first time ever, just to get my fix of the funniest show not currently on TV..."

And speaking of Community, rilestar also waded into the debate regarding "Where did all the intelligent TV go?", in particular, the many comments along the lines of "All US shows are crap":

"To the US-haters, a lot of my current favourite TV shows are American: Community, 30 Rock, The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Louie, Entourage, Modern Family, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, and that's just the comedies. Great dramas include Deadwood, Lost, The Sopranos, Mad Men and Breaking Bad (just to name a few). Not to mention Seinfeld!
Anyone who thinks all American TV is like Two and a Half Men really needs to get out more. By which, I mean, they should stay in more.
But to respond to the point being made by Mike (who also mentioned many of the above shows), I agree that the Australian commercial networks really do seem to think that Australians can't handle quality TV (though maybe their market researchers only interview ignorant people like the US-haters).
Personally, I rely on Foxtel's iQ taping all my faves and watching them at my leisure, supported by iView, etc. I like my TV.
But here's a message for GO!: Start broadcasting Community again! Funniest show not currently on TV."

Yeah. The rilestar's not afraid to re-use the same line, time and time (and time) again*.

PS Continuing the bad news, The White Stripes also announced they were breaking up. The writer in this article talked about the first time he saw them in 2001, and the rilestar responded with an anti-rant:

"I was also blown away by their cover of Jolene the first time I saw them - on the second stage at the Corner Hotel supporting Six Ft Hick (probably 9 or 10 years ago, as well). Much as I like the Hicks, I couldn't believe that this band was supporting them. And obviously the rest of the world (at least, the part that rocks out) went on to love them, too. Vale, White Stripes. Long live the Dead Weather."

Were you at that gig, too**? Let me know!

* A Strangelove song, I think...
* Saying this makes this seem like a professional blog. I realise that the chances of someone both being at that gig AND reading this are infinitesimally small. Actually, just the chances of someone reading this are infinitesimally small...

How to watch TV without watching TV

Continuing on from my last post about our mentalist one-week trip to the States, the day after the Rally we braved a train to New York (despite it being scary and Halloween), for what turned out to be a 5-day TV/BeerFest (without really watching any TV ... and drinking a lot of Beer).
First order of business: seeing both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert in Washington DC was clearly not enough - we were determined to go to tapings of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, too.
We had hoped to go to one or both shows when we were in New York back in 2007, but they just happened to start a writer's strike THE DAY WE TOUCHED DOWN IN THE U.S., so we were unable, that time around (note my sad face and the "No Show Today" sign in the window in the photo below, which would stay in the window at least until we left the country):

This time, in 2010, was our chance to make amends.
The main problem, of course, was actually getting tickets. Although the shows are free, they are ticketed.
Now, I thought that, since we were making the effort to fly half-way around the world to attend their Rally to Restore Sanity/March to Keep Fear Alive, the least Messrs Stewart and Colbert could do would be to let us attend a taping or two whilst in New York. Plus, Australians are so, like, adorable, right?
I thought wrong. And no.
E-mails went unanswered, a tweet to @ColbertReport of "Hey! My wife and I are flying from Australia for the March. We're AFRAID we won't also get tix to the Report - little help?" also received no love. And, according to Comedy Central's website, they don't even open snail mail. So it seemed that the ONLY way to get tix was via the websites themselves, at http://www.thedailyshow.com/tickets and http://www.colbertnation.com/tickets.
Unfortunately, every time I logged on to those sites, they reinforced the lack of fortune and said "Unfortunately, there are no tickets available to see The Colbert Report/The Daily Show with Jon Stewart at this time. Check back soon to secure your tickets or sign-up below to receive e-mails letting you know when new dates open up" (just as they probably will NOW if you hit those links). After many attempts I naturally concluded the internet was broken, because there were NEVER tickets available.
However, and in a reversal of the Fortune-Lack, a few weeks before we left I discovered (like I'm Magellan) a Twitter account that constantly updates when tickets become available: @dailytix. Thanks to this service, and my near-constant monitoring of Twitter (just kidding, boss, if you read this!! Everyone else: I'm not kidding), we managed to get tickets to The Daily Show about 2 weeks before we left for the States. And then, whilst still in DC just before we caught our train to New York, we managed to score two tickets to The Colbert Report for the show being taped the VERY NEXT DAY!
So, after arriving in New York, checking into the Bowery Hotel in the East Village - a great place in a great location, just one block from the former CBGBs - and then partaking in the Greenwich Halloween Parade and many, many microbrews, we recovered on the Monday and made our way to The Report's studio on 54th Street. Thanks to arriving pretty early (around 4:30pm for a 7pm taping), we were something like 20th in line, and dead-certs to get in (although we had tickets, they overbook (since they're free, people tend to not turn up), so they still recommend that you get there early if you want to be sure about getting in).

For an idea of what to expect (e.g., in the queue, once clearing security, in the actual studio), I recommend reading one of these highly informative reporTs, all of which involve stories better than mine:

• Girl asks Stephen a perfect question;
• World's Biggest Fangirl meets Stephen and he sings to her;
• Another Australian has BEST HOLIDAY EVER.

The warm-up guy for us was the very funny and charming Julian McCullough, who asked if anyone was from out of town. Our hands shot up, and we surprised him by apparently being the first Australians in the history of the show to proudly announce "Yes, We Are Convicts", before he had a chance to.
A very cool thing about attending the tapings is that, before every show, Stephen comes out and allows the audience to ask him questions, about anything, out of character. There are some examples of very good questions in the reporTs above, but I did manage to get his attention and wittily ask: "Would you ever think about getting John Travolta to fly a planeload of your audience out to Australia?" To which he frustratingly replied, with a twinkle in his eye: "You seem to know the way!" and moved on to the next question.
NOOOOOOO!!! I really wanted to know if he would think about coming to Australia! Plus I forgot to mention that we flew over just for the Rally (like I've told everyone else I've ever met)!!
However, I got a hint of why he may have moved on from my question so quickly the next night at the taping of The Daily Show, when another Australian in the audience right behind me boringly asked Jon "When are you coming to Australia?" YAWN!! Can't you Australians think of anything else to ask? Especially since (as we were told by staff when we were in the queue for The Report) they have had at least one Australian in the audience EVERY NIGHT since The Colbert Report began!
So if I can offer some advice: if you're Australian, don't even think about asking "When are you coming to Australia?" (even if asked cleverly and topically like me) - ask something interesting about Watership Down or Large Fruit-based sculptures like the ladies above.
Anyhoo - the shows were great. The episode of the Colbert Report was the first one after the Rally, which started with Stephen doing his "Steph Colbert's Hobby Hovel" in front of a green screen (right in front of us - the studio really is small, and we were only about 4 rows back, so we were super-close) and we all had to practise and then perform the song "It's the Greatest, Strongest Country in the World" ("From North to South and East to West and diagonally!") along with Stephen when he went through some Rally highlights, as well as at the end. Plus Stephen looked right at me after one of his jokes, knowing that I get his stuff, and we also both wear glasses.
And The Daily Show we went to the following night was the live election special (on 2 November - the day of the mid-term elections) which was also very exciting. Although the guests weren't super-famous for either show, at The Daily Show taping we were blessed with seeing not 1, not 2, not 3, not 5, but FOUR of the regular correspondents: Aasif Mandvi, Olivia Munn, Jason Jones and John Oliver (wearing his green-screen suit)! We just needed a Wyatt Cenac or a Sam Bee for a full house! (though we did run into Kristen Schaal in The Pony Bar in Hell's Kitchen after the show - did you know she's a horse? Incidentally, The Pony Bar is one of many, many great bars in NY with many, many microbrews on tap - check it: http://www.theponybar.com )
So, anyway, after the two tapings, and speaking to some of the legends involved, I think I can very safely and humbly say: "TV Cha-Ching!!!"
In all seriousness, it's great to watch both the shows now and picture how it all fits together behind-the-scenes (especially when we get glimpses of the scary security guys who just watch the audience the whole time ready to open up multiple cans of W-A. For a comedy show, they sure look like they want to dismember some audience members).
Our TV Adventures didn't stop there, though.
The same night we saw The Colbert Report, we managed to then get into another show - the script reading of a movie based on Glenn Beck's book "The Overton Window" - at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (which, since we're speaking about TV, was started by, amongst others, Amy Poehler, and includes such alumni as The Daily Show's Rob Corrdry and Ed Helms). They promised a special guest, and they delivered when Chris Meloni (Elliott from Law and Order: SVU, as well as a scary man from Oz (the prison drama, not the colloquialism referring to Peter Allen)) walked out and sat 3 metres away from us!
TV Cha-ching!
The next day at our hotel we were accompanied into the elevator by a dashing and familiar young man. Tash couldn't help herself and simply asked: "You're in something aren't you?" He was gracious and suggested helpfully that he was currently in the TV series "Bored to Death (questioning shrug?)", whereupon Tash wrinkled her nose and said That's Not It. He took it in his stride and was very friendly, though, and told us he loved Melbourne and would live there if he could (Go Melbs)! Back in our hotel room we fell back on good ol' reliable IMDB and discovered he was Jason Schwartzman (and that he'd been in The Darjeeling Limited, which is what Tash recognised him from, among many others things)!!
TV Cha-ching!
We also went to another comedy show another night (at Comic Strip Live - although it seemed like a bit of a tourist trap, they claim it's the "legendary home of Jerry Seinfeld, Eddie Murphy, Paul Reiser, Carol Leifer, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Ray Romano and more") and Judah Friedlander from 30 Rock was the first of the infinite number of comics they had on. He actually wasn't very funny, but he's on TV!
TV Ka-Boing!
Plus William Stephenson, who played the bus driver in the first episode of Louie CK's show "Louie", was the MC.
TV Mini-Ching!
Ummm...and we also went to Carrie's apartment and Magnolia Bakery in the West Village...
TV A-hem!
The New York Comedy Festival also just happened to be on while we there, and we were tempted to extend our trip by an extra day just so that we could see Joel McHale's (of Community and The Soup fame) stand-up show at Carnegie Hall on the night we left, before realising that New York is the worst place in the world to say "We'll just extend our holiday each day there's something we'd like to go to" ... and so we let it go.
But basically what I'm saying, in case I didn't make it clear, is that we managed to squeeze in a lot of TV experiences in our 5 days in New York without really watching any Cathode Rays. You could say we had a Cathode Rays-Ban!
I am very glad that my writings have led me to type that sentence.
Before I wrap it all up, we also managed to squeeze in some movie experiences, combined with a liberal helping of AWESOME, by hitting the New York edition of Lebowski Fest at Brooklyn Bowl the night before we left (this is something we actually did extend the trip for).
I only found out about Lebowski Fest last year, and never imagined that one day I would actually be able to see, in the flesh, the many people dressed up as The Dude, Valkyrie Maude and Baby Nihilists, the many people drinking white russians ... and bowling.
If you're interested, this is a link to a news item about the night we were there: http://vimeo.com/16722086
The organisers also booked the obligatory cock rock band to finish off the night: Diamondsnake.
And yes, that's Moby in the picture on the left (not just a dude who looks like Moby) shredding on the guitar. We also recognised the bassist, but couldn't quite place him, until we realised it was Dave Hill, who was also one of the "stars" of The Overton Window script reading at the UCBT: Craziness!
The lead singer also plays in a Bee Gees tribute band: Tragedy!
Seriously - "Tragedy" is the name of the band.
Gold.

Below is a video of Diamondsnake playing "D-Snake Riot" that night:

I could go on (for example, our A380 plane was mysteriously absent from LA airport on Friday 5 November), but I think you've read enough.
Congratulations - you are an Achiever - and take 'er easy.

Rally to Restore Virginiaty

We're baaack!
Actually, we've been back for a week, but I've been tired and sick and also my record for punctual posting is pretty pathetic. Pwnage (I've wanted to use that expression for a while).
Nonetheless, it was great trip. It was, in fact, the biggest television experience of our lives, magically achieved without watching a single pixel of television.
But first: The Rally! The entire reason for our trip was to go to the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington DC.
When it was first announced by Jon (and then Stephen), I originally thought "I wish I lived in America, because that would be great to go to." By the next night, I had seriously started thinking about flying over (but shook my head, slapped my own face (Jane's Addiction-style) and said "pull yourself together, rilestar!") By the third night, I had checked my work schedule (I could fit in a week's holiday), checked with the wife (she wouldn't mind a quick trip to the States and back), and the parents and parents-in-law (who confirmed they could look after the kids or at least periodically re-fill their food bowls). A week later, we booked our tickets, and then on Friday 29 October, we flew to LA on a big Qantas A380 (more on that later) and walked into our hotel room in DC 26 hours later (but still on the 29th of October, thanks to the miracles of Science!)
We had no idea how big (or small) the Rally would be, but the lady I was sitting next to on the plane from LA to DC was also going, as well as another couple nearby who overheard us talking about it, which made 5 people per 4 square metres in that piece of real estate alone. Then everyone except for two people on the shuttle bus from Washington Dulles Airport (technically in Virginia - hence the witty title to this post) had flown in just for the rally, and when we went out in Georgetown that night (still not having slept a wink since leaving Melbourne), the first guy we sat down next to in our first of many bars was also going to the rally. Back in the hotel, a couple we chatted to in the elevator were also going.
So, based on our market research, it was going to be Big, and we would need to get there early.
We got up late.
We also then struggled to get on a train - the first two that came by were completely chockas - they couldn't spare a square! Finally, when the third one came by, we begged and pleaded with the squashed commuters to let us on - "We flew all the way from Australia for this!!!" I recall someone crying hysterically - and a kind and generous and large and bearded man in the doorway wearing a T-shirt saying "Han Shot First" allowed us to squeeze on, despite the protestations of a skinny and unkind and bearded woman about 10 metres away from the doorway.
That said, we were luckier than the many people living in surrounding States (like Maryland, Delaware and VIRGINIA), who were similarly unable to get on trains and who didn't have the option of walking like we were about to ... or a large Star Wars fan called Bill who would allow them on to His train).
So we arrived at the Mall a little late. And the closest we were able to get to the stage (at least until the Rally finished) was just over 7th Street (and the stage was around about 3rd St).
But it was still gooooood.
As I will allow my video to demonstrate:

This is also my pretty shaky report for Boxcutters, recorded not with a camcorder, as one would expect, but with my eeepc laptop's webcam. Enjoy the choice I made:

(If anyone wants me to film and edit your wedding or bar mitzvah, let me know. I'M AVAILABLE).
And since the signs were such a big part of the day (I really regret not getting my ar$e into gear and printing up our Oz-centric signs "I am Australia - and so can you!" and "Dropbears are REAL, people!") this is a link to a hundred of the best: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-100-best-signs-at-the-rally-to-restore-sanity
This has all probably been a lot to take in, and since we left DC (and Virginia) the day after the Rally for New York (New York), I think I'll finish off my stuff about our magical TV adventure in another post.
But it does involve more Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, in case you're wondering...

Give Fear a Chance

Well, we're at Tullamarine airport, waiting to board the plane that will take us to the States, for our imminent appointment with Messrs Stewart and Colbert at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear!

(Technically, Tash is going to the Rally to Restore Sanity and I'll be attending the March to Keep Fear Alive, but since they're both in the Washinton Mall at the same time, we might as well go together).

I've been asked by @sealfur to provide a report for Boxcutters, and I might see if I can get that on here, too (if I learn how to use technology in the next 24 hours).

If you're going as well, let me know! I'll be the one wearing a Saints guernsey (because Saints are scary...)

Try not to burn Melbourne to the ground while we're gone (although the monsoonal rains should help avoid that)!

We the (male) people

Just after I change the name of my blog, a surprising twist of anti-rantiness in this post: Congratulations to America (a "Tip of the Hat", if you will)!
I've been keeping a close eye on the Democratic primaries (thanks very much to my friends Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert) and it looks like, although all of the black people have obviously been voting for Obama and all of the women have been voting for Hillary, in the primaries held in Indiana last week, WHITE MEN have finally shown that they might still have some influence in a presidential election.
God Bless/Damn America.
Whilst anti-ranting, congrats also to Cadel Evans, Australia's favourite cyclist (and anyone who's driven in Melburne knows how much we love cyclists), who recently wore a "Free Tibet" T-shirt during the Liege-Bastogne-Liege one-day classic.
If he receives any discrimination over this, I will have only one response: BOYCOTT! That's right: I won't watch the Olympics telecast on television.
They will rue the day.
PS I believe China's human rights record is also an acceptabvle reason for boycotting.
PPS Go Cadel, Tour de France '08. I WILL watch that.
PPPS I should point out that Jon and Stephen are my TV friends, not real friends.