Fresh Loaf

Randy Bewley

Pylon guitarist Randy Bewley R.I.P (Heartbreaking news from the tragic car accident.)

Friday Funnies: ‘I’m on a boat’ (It’s good to see T-Pain has a sense of humor, but could it hinder him from being taken seriously?)

Where you at? ‘Atlanta Bitch’ — and thoughts on how we rep our city (Geography: Hip-hop’s least common denominator.)

Spin Cycle: Top-selling CDs at Atlanta’s independent record stores (From Criminal to Sound Shop.)

Neurosis, Mastodon et al rock Scion fest (Severed pig heads mounted on spikes?!? I smell a metal concert.)

Read more at Crib Notes.

(Photo courtesy Pylon)

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Hanukkah — or however you prefer to spell it — begins at sundown on Sunday, Dec. 21. In a nod to the Festival of Lights, I present the most famous bit Hanukkah-related humorous character that I can think of. Despite indications to the contrary, the embedded sketch below isn’t exactly about Hanukkah (go figure), but you can find an extended sample of the original sketch here. “On Moische! On Herschel! On Schlomo!”

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It’s a Wonderful Life airs tomorrow night at 7 p.m. on NBC. It’s unquestionably one of the best Christmas-themed movies ever made, but some things about it really stick in my craw, and I’m not alone in this. Maybe it’s because the inequities and injustices of American life seem so close to its surface. Everyman George Bailey sacrifices his dreams to fight the good fight in Bedford Falls, and almost loses everything to his Uncle Billy’s idiocy.

Theatrical Outfit’s radio play version of the material (reviewed here) simply celebrates the work, but satires of It’s a Wonderful Life can cut Frank Capra’s vision to the quick. Gary Kamiya’s classic Salon article “All Hail Pottersville” suggests that the nightmarish version of Bedford Falls sans George Bailey might be more fun than the real thing (and is certainly more diverse). The comic strip “Sheldon” gives Uncle Billy some much-needed tough love. I love this recut trailer that suggests that George Bailey’s dark side is close to the service.

The best spoof of It’s a Wonderful Life came from “Saturday Night Live’ about two decades ago, however:

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1. Ludacris, T.I., Young Jeezy stump for Jim Martin in Atlanta

2. Annals of Bizarro: Sugg dishes on the Loaf in the Sunday Paper

3. SNL parodies Zell Miller and Georgia U.S. Senate race

4. Rapper, Diddy’s cousin sentenced in BMF sting

5. Saxby supporters are at it again

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It’s finally on Youtube, but hurry quick before it gets pulled. On last weekend’s Saturday Night Live, Zell Miller — the former Georgia governor and U.S. Senator who’s all about the gunplay — was played by Will Forte.

In the clip, Miller gave the real reason he endorsed incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss in his U.S. Senate race against Democratic candidate Jim Martin — names.

Elect Goolsby Scroggins!

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Mark Wahlberg’s new film Max Payne opens in theaters today (and my review is now up). Max Payne is based on a video game of the same name, and the film prompts the question, from MTV Movie News and elsewhere, “Do All Video Game Movies Suck?” (I can’t think of any good ones.)

Max Payne seems destined to upstaged by Wahlberg’s media feud with “Saturday Night Live.” On a recent sketch called “Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals,” Andy Samberg does a spot-on impersonation of the Best Supporting Actor nominee from The Departed. It’s the rare “SNL” sketch that doesn’t overstay its welcome:

Wahlberg is not amused. Doing promotional interviews for Max Payne, he has dissed “SNL” and in this clip from Jimmy Kimmel’s show, he “jokingly” threatens, “When I see that kid, I’m going to crack that big fucking nose of his. Then I’m going to tell him, ’say hi to your mother for me’” and more in that vein. Having starred in The Happening this summer, Wahlberg hasn’t had his best year, but things should pick up in 2009 with the release of Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones.

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Oh, please let this be true: according to the Chicago Sun-Times columnist Bill Zwecker, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is interested in appearing on “Saturday Night Live” in order to parody Tina Fey, whose Palin impersonations have been the must-see-TV of the presidential campaign. Zwecker says “I’m hearing some sort of Palin tweak of Fey’s American Express commercials is in the works,” which sounds potentially hilarious. (Those American Express ads with the likes of Fey, Jerry Seinfeld or Ellen Degeneres tend to be pretty funny, but they’re also overdue for parody.)

Zwecker alludes to an unnamed “top honcho with the McCain campaign,” which makes the whole thing sound more like wishful thinking than a done deal. “Saturday Night Live” is in reruns this week and returns Oct. 18, but will be producing at least two prime-time “Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday” specials on Oct. 9 and 16, so it might could happen. At any rate, the Sarah Palin/Tina Fey impressions have been a bonanza for “SNL,” giving the show its best ratings in years. If you haven’t seen them, Hulu has her season-opening sketch with Amy Poehler’s Hillary Clinton (NBC.com’s most-watched viral clip ever), the Fey/Poehler parody of the Palin/Couric interview and Saturday’s vice-presidential debate.

(more…)

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First Congressman John Lewis, now rapper Young Jeezy.

In the August issue of Vibe magazine, Young Jeezy is quoted in the cover story as saying, “No disrespect to Barack, but I fuck with John McCain.”

Turns out, he meant to say the opposite. At least, that’s what he’s saying now in a classic what-had-happened-was moment. He’s even posted a YouTube video statement to clarify his position, saying “somewhere down the line my words got misconstrued.”

Read more in Crib Notes.

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