Jack Black shows up in the new Gorillaz video
Jack Black hasn’t been up to too much lately. Why do we know this, because he’s spending his time on… MORE
Jack Black shows up in the new Gorillaz video appeared first on The Laugh Button.
Tag: Music
Lil Dicky and the truth about comedy rap – it’s tricky!
Comedy rapper Lil Dicky has reached No 1, adding to successes such as Big Shaq and the Lonely Island. But as Honey G’s example shows, doing funny rhymes right takes sophistication
‘He’s not like a ‘rapper’ rapper,” the guy in the restaurant explains to his unimpressed girlfriend. “He’s like a ‘funny’ rapper.”
Those two statements – true and open to debate respectively – are from the opening scene of the video to Lil Dicky’s Freaky Friday, which is this week’s UK No 1 single, and which on Monday crossed 100m YouTube views, and will soon join its thriftiness-espousing predecessor $ave Dat Money in passing the same number of Spotify plays.
Related: Lil Dicky: the comedy rapper who made a blinged-out video with no money
Continue ReadingLil Dicky and the truth about comedy rap – it’s tricky!
Comedy rapper Lil Dicky has reached No 1, adding to successes such as Big Shaq and the Lonely Island. But as Honey G’s example shows, doing funny rhymes right takes sophistication
‘He’s not like a ‘rapper’ rapper,” the guy in the restaurant explains to his unimpressed girlfriend. “He’s like a ‘funny’ rapper.”
Those two statements – true and open to debate respectively – are from the opening scene of the video to Lil Dicky’s Freaky Friday, which is this week’s UK No 1 single, and which on Monday crossed 100m YouTube views, and will soon join its thriftiness-espousing predecessor $ave Dat Money in passing the same number of Spotify plays.
Related: Lil Dicky: the comedy rapper who made a blinged-out video with no money
Continue ReadingOpera isn’t elitest. If I can learn to love it so can anybody | Chris Addison
Only a handful of people can sing in this visceral, thrilling way – but the feelings they evoke are universal
The best thing I’ve ever seen, in all my long and misspent years hanging around comedy gigs, wasn’t standup. It was opera. Back in the late 90s, I was standing at the bar in one of the spit-and-stale-beer clubs where I cut my teeth, watching the MC corral the usual drunken Friday-night punters. He lighted on a woman in her early 20s at a table down the front and asked “What do you do?” “I’m an opera student,” she replied to general raucous disbelief. “Oh, yeah?” twinkled the compere, smelling pretentious blood (and what MC wouldn’t? An opera singer and a student – that, friends, is a double whammy), “Give us a song, then.” So she did. The gleeful muttering and ironic applause stuttered out when she stood and sang : Puccini’s O mio babbino caro, which, like pretty much everyone else there, I knew at that point only either as the tune from A Room With a View or an ad we couldn’t quite place.
It was incredible: the clarity of her voice, the pureness, the emotion. Such an odd and striking thing to hear in a room where most of the time what comes from the mouths of the performers is soaked in self-conscious irony. And what a reaction! I’ve never seen a four-pints-down crowd focus like that; there was a stillness to the place – a wonder, really – as she sang. And when she finished, they went crazy. Standing screaming crazy. X Factor final audience the-guy-whose-gran-died-just-won crazy.
Related: ROH’s Oliver Mears: ‘Our job is to generate an emotional reaction’
You’re listening to the most basic human tool of communication – the voice – used in an almost impossibly superhuman way
Continue ReadingWinter Blues Band for Hire, by Bizzy Coy
Dear Nightclub Booker, Hi. I’m Dugan Rathbone, guitarist and lead vocalist for Doctor Sad Man’s Sad Time Jam Band, the nation’s only winter blues band. That’s right, our quartet makes your favorite blues tunes even bluer thanks to our debilitating case of seasonal affective disorder. We’re now accepting bookings for our Endless Winter national tour. […]
Continue ReadingSandra Bernhard review – swagger, songs and starry stories
Ronnie Scott’s, London
The standup and singer has stellar personality, and a few neat lines, but not all of her material lands with a London audience
“If I looked at a crib sheet that much during my show,” I heard one punter complain on leaving Sandra Bernhard’s gig, “I wouldn’t have a career.” Ah yes, one might reply – but you’re not Sandra Bernhard, who is here to sell not her craft, but her charisma. Movie star, singer and raconteur, Bernhard is one of those acts – her compatriot Kathy Griffin, a recent visitor to these shores, is another – who trades less on any one skill than on force of stellar personality. That, and a four-decade career’s worth of names to drop. I give you a typical line from tonight’s show: “Recently both Diane Keaton and Lily Tomlin commented on my height … ” When such names can be rallied to boost your stature, why bother learning lines?
Continue ReadingTake an exclusive first look at Kate Wolff’s music video, “Labia Game”
NYC comedian Kate Wolff is the baddest woman in the game… what game you ask? Well that’s the Labia Game.… MORE
Take an exclusive first look at Kate Wolff’s music video, “Labia Game” appeared first on The Laugh Button.
Hannibal Buress and Eric Andre Show Up in Jean Grae and Quelle Chris’s New Music Video “Gold, Purple, Orange”
In addition to rapping on the recently engaged Jean Grae and Quelle Chris’s new collaborative album Everything’s Fine, Hannibal Buress is also showing up in their music videos. The newest video for “Gold, Purple, Orange,” premiering right here, is described as “a twisted, bleary karaoke crossed with an awkward family photoshoot” and features a delightfully weird […]
Continue Reading‘I’m still in the game’: Sandra Bernhard on stage fright, The King of Comedy and not running for president
The comic, singer and actor, performing in the UK for the first time in seven years, answered your questions
2.16pm GMT
Thanks for all the questions – I’ll be at Ronnie Scott’s at the end of the week!
2.14pm GMT
unprinted asks:
What does the song You Make Me Feel Mighty Real mean to you? Why chose to cover it?
Mighty Real was sort of an anthem for the pre-AIDS gay experience – a time of unbridled celebration and sexual freedom.
2.11pm GMT
toooom asks:
Another admirer of King of Comedy here. What are you most proud of?
What I’m most proud of is that I’m still in the game. I still love performing and being creative. I love what I do!
2.10pm GMT
sachat asks:
Have you ever had stage fright? Which of your projects has been the most nerve-racking?
Of course! Any time you walk on stage you’re nervous, that’s part of what motivates you to do a great show. But any time that I do television or films that’s the most nerve-racking because other people are dependent on your professionalism.
2.09pm GMT
25aubrey asks:
Who in your eyes, are the real king and queen of comedy, past or present?
When I was growing up, I adored Totie Fields and, of course, my dear friend Paul Mooney.
2.07pm GMT
Genevieve Scoville asks:
I’m a keen listener to your radio show on SiriusXM. Is there someone who sticks out as your favourite interviewee?
Most recently, Mena Suvari was a lovely surprise but on a regular basis, comedian Judy Gold is a fabulous interview. She’s on my show frequently. She’s a terrific conversationalist.
2.06pm GMT
Myam0t0 asks:
Beans on a fry-up?
I adore beans. On anything and everything!
2.02pm GMT
SeanWylas asks:
Today’s political and cultural climate in the US and the UK is shifting in a way that was not expected by many. As a result, it seems that a comment that once would have been seen as thought-provoking (even if you disagreed with it) can now send social media lynch mobs at people and potentially ruin careers (if not lives). This is seen on the left and on the right. As someone who speaks her opinion, how do you feel about this culture? How do you respond to such things?
I have definitely started to edit a lot of things that I would not have thought twice about saying 10 or 15 years ago. It simply isn’t worth it to be exposed to the unsophisticated thinking of so many people. I’ve learned how to recalibrate my approach to social commentary.
1.59pm GMT
Murdomania asks:
You recently said: “I try not to get caught up and swallowed up by the changing tides because they’re gonna keep changing” … however, now that Oprah indicated a lack of desire to be nominated to run to be the next President of the United States, would you be enticed to throw your hat in the ring? Sandra Bernhard POTUS46 has a nice ring to it.
I wish I had it in me but I’m afraid I’m not your lady for this one!
1.56pm GMT
Arthur666 asks:
I’ve always enjoyed your multilayered approach to comedy, and it always seems to have a message. Do you think this is lacking in the current comedy world?
I think the issue is there’s too much product out there. And there’s only a certain amount of things people can talk about. So sometimes it becomes redundant. It’s getting harder to hone your craft because of YouTube and the internet. You really need to get out to the clubs to hone your craft. A lot of people these days don’t have the patience.
1.49pm GMT
Buckaroo asks:
There’s an amazing film of yours from the mid 90s – an Australian film called Dallas Doll (featuring the screen debut of Rose McGowan), a sort of reverse Crocodile Dundee. It had a huge cult following, but is unavailable to buy. There’s a host of classic lines in the film, two of which are particular favourites in our family: “I’d like to see THAT angry!” and “Don’t forget the garlic bread, gorgeous.” For old times’ sake, please would you say those lines again now?
Actually it’s Rose Byrne. Working on this film was one of the strangest experiences of my life. It was like being trapped in a ‘no exit’ situation.
1.44pm GMT
DarkAnaemicI asks:
What’s your favourite memory of filming Hudson Hawk?
All my time spent with Richard E Grant! In particular a trip we took together to Vienna. We always had a great time.
1.43pm GMT
Buckaroo asks:
You performed a brilliant version of the Rolling Stone’s Angie on a Channel 4 show years ago called Viva Cabaret. Is it available now?
The answer is no! It’s one of my favourite songs of all time. It reminds me of my first trip to London in 1973 when the song was released. I was 17 and travelling around the world and having an incredible time.
1.42pm GMT
JimdiGriz6 asks:
[I’m] yet another massive fan of your work in King of Comedy. Did your craziness in that film come from real life, or was it a stronger version of [it]? … I’ve known a few women a little like you at times in that film!
At that time i was much closer to the character in the sense that i was just starting out in my career. I was very young, had a lot of extra energy, emotion to spare. Masha was more in tune with who I was then rather than now for sure…
1.36pm GMT
HdAlex asks:
What things are most important to you in your job?
Promptness, professionalism and no obscene language.
1.34pm GMT
OzMogwai asks:
Are you as funny in real life as you are on film, tv and stage? PS, you fucking own Raging Bull.
It depends on the setting! Of course I can be much funnier offstage rather than when I’m performing but those are private moments with friends who get the absurdity I seem to capture as I go through life!
1.25pm GMT
aemenzies17 asks:
Any advice, ideas or recommendations about how to survive Trumpageddon? I live in the US, and each day is more painful than the last. Please help!! PS, thank you for all the years of comedy therapy!
My best advice is to take big breaks from listening to the talking heads and endless updates on his latest faux pas and do something creative and rewarding so you can continue to have some normalcy in your life. As in all stressful times, this will pass!
1.25pm GMT
Arthur666 asks:
I see you musically as a rock’n’roll vixen. What can we expect from your set at the jazz church that is Ronnie Scott’s?
It’ll be a blend of personal stories, fabulous misc of course with my Sandyland Squad band on hand and a journey in and out of day-to-day quotidian life as I see it!
1.24pm GMT
Hello – It’s great to be back in London where, although the language is generally the same, the culture is much different. And that’s always inspiring!
3.00pm GMT
Sandra Bernhard webchat – post your questions now
To call Sandra Bernhard a triple threat would be selling her short. Since she started out in LA’s comedy scene and on The Richard Pryor Show, she’s been a provocative force in standup, and her cabaret-style shows prove she can deliver a song as well as a punchline.
Continue ReadingSpinal Tap’s Derek Smalls to Release Solo LP ‘Smalls Change’ in April
Last year, Harry Shearer revealed in an interview that he was working on a Derek Smalls solo album, and now the album – titled Smalls Change (Meditations Upon Ageing) – has a release date. In a music video for the title track released this week, Smalls revealed that the album was “made possible by a […]
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