Category: Television

Norm Macdonald’s Touching (and Funny) Tribute to Letterman

macdonald letterman
As David Letterman prepares to sign off from the Late Show With David Letterman, his final shows have allowed some favorite guests the chance to say goodbye. Friday night’s show featured Oprah Winfrey and Norm Macdonald (and a few minutes of George Clooney finishing up his joke from the night before when he handcuffed himself to Letterman). At the end of the night, Macdonald closed the show with a surprising standup routine.

I have been a fan of Macdonald for a long time, and I will miss his exchanges with Letterman. But Friday night, instead of sitting down for a conversation, he did a straight-up standup routine in a tribute to Letterman’s own standup work. And while we are used to seeing Macdonald with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek, his affection for Letterman came through as he could barely finish his routine without breaking down. Check out the touching tribute and his very funny jokes.

David Letterman ends his run on Wednesday, May 20. It was announced today that his final musical guest will be Bob Dylan on May 19. But nobody seems to know what Dave has planned for the final show. Knowing how Letterman acts like he hates sentiment, I am guessing that he might pull a Good Will Hunting and not be there when we turn on our televisions for the final show.

What did you think of Macdonald’s routine? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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  • Bob Dylan Sends Off Letterman With “The Night We Called It a Day”
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    This Is What We Call the Muppet Show!

    Muppet Show
    The first official trailer for the new Muppets Show has been released. The makers of the new series have promised a “more adult” version of the Muppets that will explore the behind-the-scenes personal lives of the beloved characters such as Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Fozzie Bear.

    The new trailer hints at the direction of the new series. Check it out.

    Catch the new Muppets show on ABC on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. starting this Fall.

    What do you think of the new version of the Muppets? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    “More Than Words” From Jimmy Fallon, Jack Black, and Weird Al

    More Than Words Parody

    Recently Jack Black and Jimmy Fallon put together a shot-for-shot remake of the classic video of Extreme’s song “More Than Words” for The Tonight Show. The creators of the new video did a great job with both the singing and the images, even including the shot of the band member holding up a lighter.

    “More than Words” originally appeared on the 1990 album Extreme II: Pornograffiti. The ballad was a bit of a departure for the rock band, but it went to number one. While the Fallon-Black remake probably will not be a number one song, the video is already popular on YouTube. Check it out.

    The Fallon-Black remake is not the first time the video has been copied. “Weird Al” Yankovic did his twist on the “More Than Words” video with his video for “You Don’t Love Me Anymore.” The song appeared on Yankovic’s 1992 album Off the Deep End.

    While the original song by Yankovic was not a parody of “More Than Words,” some fans mistakenly thought it was. So when the record company insisted on a parody video to accompany the release of “You Don’t Love Me Anymore” as a single, Yankovic decided to use the “More Than Words” video as the basis for his video. Check it out (trivia: the piano player who gets the bow in the eye is singer Robert Goulet).

    If the parody/tribute videos leaves you wanting to see the original Extreme video, see below. Or you can play it simultaneously with the Fallon-Black one above.

    What do you think of the videos relating to “More Than Words”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Saturday Mornings in the 1960s and 1970s

    1960s commercials

    As a kid growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, Saturday mornings were always special. In those days before everything was available 24/7 on the Internet, kids had to wait until Saturday mornings to catch a string of mindless fun programs aimed at their age group.

    I remember anticipating the new season of shows every year. I looked forward to waking up early on Saturdays, pouring myself a bowl of Quisp cereal, and sitting back in my own world of television. Occasionally, there were some lessons, such as in the Schoolhouse Rock segments, but mostly it was just for fun.

    The following video compiles clips from Saturday morning cartoons and commercials. If you grew up during this time span, the video will bring back a lot of memories of your favorite shows, as well as memories of the toys you had and the ones you always wanted. Maybe you remember when the child Mason Reese was famous for his commercials, or maybe you remember The Hudson Brothers, or maybe you remember commercial catchphrases like “I’m the sole survivor!”

    On the other hand, if you did not grow up during this time, the video will show you what we used to do in the old days. For example, before we had cell phones we had to play Spirograph and a game that shoved a pie in our faces. Check it out.

    What is your favorite Saturday morning memories? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    John Fogerty Rocks One More Time for Letterman

    Fogerty Letterman

    This week, John Fogerty pulled out several of his classic Creedence Clearwater Revival tunes in a medley on The Late Show with David Letterman. At a thunderous pace, Fogerty played excerpts from “Travelin’ Band,” “Proud Mary” and “Fortunate Son.”

    Having seen Fogerty live during the era where he did not play CCR songs because of legal battles, I am always happy to see him bust out these great songs even though I also love his post-CCR songs. Note where Fogerty points when he gets to the “Proud Mary” lines about leaving a good job in the city. Check it out.

    If you wish to catch Fogerty live singing some of his CCR songs, check out his tour this summer. As for Letterman, watch for this final show on May 20, 2015.

    What CCR song would you like to hear Fogerty perform? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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  • John Fogerty and Family Gift Us “Green River” from the Campfire
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  • Norm Macdonald’s Touching (and Funny) Tribute to Letterman
  • Darlene Love’s Final Letterman Performance of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
  • Bob Seger on Letterman: “All the Roads”

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)