I've read about this Big Freedia character before and found him to be a compelling figure in print, but I've only just now realized he's also my favorite musician.
I'm glad to read your take on this this morning b/c when I saw this headline popping around the web last night I watched the video and my main thought was "um, that's what hidden cameras catch me saying all the time." Also, you would not believe the jokes I'd laugh at if $5M for one of the few reliable sources of international journalism was on the line.
First I was like "oh nice, i'm gonna totally laugh at this guy cause I am better than him and he is foolish" but then I was like "oh no, he is better than me and I feel jealous of his unabashed joyousness" and finally I was like "oh well, at least I've been reminded to take greater pleasure in life's simple joys and not be such a crabass all the time."
Maybe it came out too late, or maybe you guys aren't doing enough shtupping, but R. Kelly's Love Letter is outstanding and should definitely be on this list somewhere.
I agree that Kanye gets too much cred on this site. He's got a big budget and no one to tell him no, so he puts out some funny stuff, but I don't find any of it to be particularly memorable on either artistic terms or pop terms. It's his confidence that what he is doing is awesome that makes him fun to watch. Just watch any of his latest SNL performances. Unfortunately, he is not awesome, at least not in the way he thinks he is. And yes, I am arbiter of what's awesome.
I do however think George Bush didn't care about black people during Katrina and am sad to hear Kanye back down from that assertion. If Nantucket was under water, that would have gone differently.
This show is garbage for all the reasons you mentioned but also for it's lazy insert-foreigner-here xenophobia.
White man looks at burrito, scratches his head and says "what no bread?"
White man looks at chinese food, scratches his head and says "what no fork?"
It is asking too much for the viewer to suspend disbelief that an American professional would not have come across Indian food, or turbans or Indians for that matter or at the very least have a wee grasp of multiculturalism. And it expects too little of the viewer if these weak-ass gags are supposed to illicit actual laughter.
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