Just stopping by for an update (in what is probably a vain attempt to keep things rolling here..)
I have aquired the rights to the domain manscouch.com and as soon as I can figure out the hosting and site design I'll be moving things on over there. As always, any ideas, suggestions, or snide comments must be printed in 10 pt Verdana on a yellow 3x5 card and mailed to Mans Couch, C/O Luke Skywalker, PO BOX 11, Culver City, CA 9090901. Seriously, if you have ideas or suggestions I'd love to hear them.
Caught up with the Fargo's this weekend. Always good to see the 3 of them!!!
May I present you a little treat from my state? This is why we fought the Civil War...so people can buy furniture regardless of the color of their skin....even those Hix-panics.
I hope you're sitting down (of course you are, you're at a computer, unless you're reading this on your iphone blackberry thingy, then I guess you could be standing, but..well forget it...)
After 9 years, 10 months, 2 weeks, and 1 day I no longer work for U92. I know, I know... what will happen to the hip Hop scene in Salt Lake City? Frankly, I don't care. Hip Hop makes you dummer.
When I started as part-time on-air on Saturdays I didn't even pronounce the names of the artists correctly. As I packed up my belongings on Friday, I thought about some of the middle-aged white male business owners and thirty-something female media buyers who as recently as last week I was helping to assure that rap music was actually consumed by white suburban kids who beg their parents to let them listen to the station in the car on the way to school. Oh, and those fantastic 18-34's with all that expendable cash.
Thanks to U92 I had alot of experiences I never thought I would. One of them was listening to rap music (ha!). Others were meeting some of the biggest stars of all time (and telling them to shut up), Jello wrestling (in provo of all places), hosting school dances (well, i thought I might actually do that regardless), spending an entire saturday hoisted up in crane bucket in sub zero temperatures to raise turkeys for the food bank, and getting nearly 14,000 people to "make some noise" for a truck driving school. It baffles even me.
But, as I said, those days have come to an end. I'll tell you that I hate it nearly as much as I love it. And this is the kind of thing I thought you guys might want to know... you know, in case you were looking for tickets for Eminem's world tour this summer.
I keep checking back to see if anyone has posted anything and then realized, "Hey, why don't you post something!" So here it is...
I am heading back to Elko in a few weeks for my sister's graduation from good ole' Elko High. We are also taking a family picture so one of my co-worker's sent me the following link to give me some ideas.
There really are no words for these....I wonder how many are Mormons?
Stumbled across this video today while searching for some cool mashups to add to the 'ol collection. This guy edited together bits and pieces of different people playing different songs to make one totally original piece. According to his site, it took him three months to make this, and I can understand why. It's pretty much the coolest thing I've seen in a long, long time.
If you're reading this turn me over (bwaaahahahaha). Seriously, I've been working on a new look for the Man's Couch (as you can see). I've gone for something of a Mini-disaster Movie theme. I know this takes us away from our Rat Pack persona a bit, but let me know what you think. When I am a world famous graphic and website designer you can say "wow, your work is much better now than it was with the Man's Couch Blog thing..."
Seems that Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer and Michael McKean are doing a series of acoustic shows as themselves. They'll feature songs from Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind. I would sell my left arm for a chance to see one of these shows. Click on the title up there for the link to their tour website. In the meantime, let's all settle down and enjoy some really good music, shall we?
I can't let a conversation about the Salad Days go by without mentioning one of my personal B-movies of the era, a little gem I like to call "No Retreat, No Surrender."
Filled with a cast of several--including Jean Claude Van Damme in what I think is his very first movie--the story follows our hero Jason, as he and his family move from L.A. to the mean streets of Seattle. It is there that Jason meets R.J., (a poor man's Alfonso Riberio), and we learn of Jason's adoration of Bruce Lee. In this clip, check out R.J.'s mad rapping/dancing skills. Fargo will want to pay special attention to the Chris Tuft-esque bully shown briefly in the background.
Jason runs afoul of the bully and his minions, so he gets help from none other than the ghost of Bruce Lee! The movie ends in a thrilling climax as Jason fights Van Damme in a high school gymnasium.
The movie also has some of the most homoerotic training montages ever committed to film, but we won't talk about that.
1986 was definately one of the Golden Years; the Salad Days as some say. Sammy Hagar debuted with Van Halen, Tommy Lee married Heather Locklear, Skid Row is formed, Reagan is still president, Duran Duran becomes a 3-some, Top Gun is in theaters, as is Crocodile Dundee and Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
And if you're talking about B movies my mind has to wonder back to a flick I'm not sure was considered a "B" at the time (who were they kidding?). However, it still stands as one of my favorite movies of ALL TIME:
Rad - Starring Bill Allen and Lori Loughlin.
It's the story of Cru Jones, a young man who can overcome all obstacles that prevent him from participating in the BMX race "Helltrack." As he works towards his dream, Cru falls in love with Christian, an amateur racer. With the help of Christian and her friends, can Cru's "Rad Racing Team" defeat the top BMX factory rider, Bart Taylor?
I don't remember BMX bikes being allowed at my stake dances... Nevertheless, this movie, this song, and many stake dance memories will always be with me!
Btw: '86 was all shits n giggles. It was also the year Metallica crashed their bus and lost Cliff Burton, The Smith's play their final gig as a 5-piece, and Wham! broke up. Ed was inconsulable...
My buddy Jesse -you all know him- sent me this video and it is the most amazing thing I have seen so far this year:
He certainly says a lot that needs to be heard. The only thing he didn't mention that needs to be heard is that Susan Serandon is the devil, Sean Penn is a high school drop-out and a complete moron, and our President is not the Savior.
Maybe its my MST obsession that instilled it in me, but I love really bad movies. When The Muse and I first got married, basic cable in the OC provided us with hours of amazing poor-quality cinema with B-Mania, a channel made purely of bad movie programming. When we moved and it was no longer an option, we graduated to the Bargain DVD section at Best Buy. Before long, that became tainted with actually cromulent titles, so for a while we went through a sort of disaster drought.
Lately, however, Second Banana Heaven (and the arch-angel TV's Frank,) has smiled on us with the blessing of Comcast On-Demand. Not sure if they have this in Utah or NC, but you can basically go into their FREE movie section and watch anything they might have at the moment any time you want (the live music section has had some real gems lately, like whole U2 concerts from the Joshua Tree tour and Tears for Fears in 1984 on Rockpalast.)
The Impact Channel (which -I am guessing- is manly programming for manly men who are too manly for Spike,) has been putting some real gems on there lately that have had the Muse and I in stitches.
The thing I love is that most of these films have the same story; which normally revolves around living your dreams, sticking with your friends, and saving some struggling business. This, as you might imagine, is done through multiple "If We Work Together We Can Bring Goliath Down!" montages, and kinky jokes that were probably written by a group of 7th Graders.
Here are just a few that have been moving us to tears of joy lately:
Gas Pump Girls: The compelling story of a ditzy high school graduate and her bouncy friends who band together to save her scary uncle's struggling gas station from going under against the evil forces of a major oil company's newly-opened Pump n'Munch next door. High points include a motor cycle gang that at first wants to cause trouble but then joins forces with the girls to be their towing crew, a musical number by our heroine, and an aging celebrity cameo by the two dudes from "Car 54". This one is more like "Angels Revenge" than anything else you will ever see.
Malibu Bikini Shop: The compelling story of a college graduate and his slacker brother who band together to save the sea-side swim suit store left to them by their late aunt from being bought out by the evil forces of a holistic church. High points include an awesomely-80's "Flashdance"-type number performed by my wife's cousin (really, I'm being totally serious,) and an aging celebrity cameo by the guy who always said "YEEEEESSSSS!?" on "I Love Lucy".
Hot Dog - The Movie: The compelling story of a home-spun farm kid who splits town to help a freestyle skiing gang -lead by a post "American Werewolf" David Naughton- save the circuit from the evil forces of a German Olympian and his cronies. High points include a hairy truckers cheering on a wet T-shirt contest accompanied by 38 Special, a ski ballet competition that will make you cringe, and an almost-celebrity cameo by Gene Simmons' concubine. This is the kind of movie that Dean-O used to watch in Chris Day's basement, but not in a good way (at several points in the film, the wife and I both went "Eeeewwww!" in disgust.)
Breakin' 2 - Electric Boogaloo: Turbo and Ozone are BACK in the compelling story of a gang of street dancers -who seem to incite spontaneous BREAKIN' everywhere they go- who band together to save the community center they hang at from the wrecking ball of an evil real estate tycoon. High points include a dance-off against the rival gang (which is lead by El Debarge and Rea Pearlman,) a musical number by a pre-pimp Ice-T, and "Special Needs" poppin' and lockin' by a kid in crutches. I'll have the "Boogaloo Shrimp" with a side of "Shabba-Do" please!
By the way, we watched "Weird Science" a couple of days ago as well. Now, I watched that movie at least once a day back in 8th Grade, but a recent viewing was not unlike seeing "V" again after a 15-year absence: puzzling. Were these movies this crappy when we first saw them and our adolescent minds just THOUGHT they were cool at the time, or have we become more refined with time? The world may never know.
So I'm at the local neighborhood KFC one day last week for lunch. I've given my order and the nice young man behind the counter, as is customary, has asked for my name so they can call me when my lunch is ready. I haven't done this in a long time but for some reason, a name pops into my mind that is not my name. Nor is it the name of a family member. But out it comes...
"Chuck."
The boy looked at me for a second. Almost like he didn't believe me.
"Chuck?"
"Yeah, Chuck."
Then he says, and i don't think he meant to, but he says...
"Alright, that'll be right up, Chuck."
You can't plan this kind of comedy. Well, you can, but then you'd be working for a first class comedy organization, like Saturday Night Live, or MSNBC.
Secondly, Dennis, I need to buy a cheap SLR Digital camera for my wife, what would be a good one to get?
Thirdly, about 2 years ago, when Crowded House got back together, someone on one of the message boards said something about "...breaking out Champagne and Tim Tams" in celebration. On a whim, the old I.T. guy at my former employer and I investigated as to what a Tim Tam was. Turns out they are Australia's favourite biscuit (that's cookie to you and me,) and they taste like Mardi Gras in your mouth (and you don't even have to show your boobs!) Imagine a better-tasting Oreo with a chocolate center, dipped in chocolate. Ambrosia.
At the recent NAMM show in sunny Anaheim, California (which was off-the-chain in it's coolness!) my former Australian distributor (who used to surprise us for Christmas with CASES of Tim Tams,) brought me a pack of them as a surprise and I thought I was going to pass out in excitement. I soon realized that just one pack was not enough to satiate my crapulence.
Further investigation has revealed that Tim Tams -as of November '08- are being brought to the USA by the fine folks at Pepperidge Farms exclusively at Target. The day I found out I ran immediately and got 3 packs. That was 2 days ago. I now have 1/2 of the last one left. They don't have quite the zing that the Arnotts version from down-under has, but it is 98% there and it is spectacular.
Tip: Try the Tim Tam Slam. Bite off each end of the cookie and suck milk up through it, then eat the cookie. Amazing.
Rock the Tim Tam, Rock your world.
By the way, remember in Elementary school when there were really only TWO football teams and you LOVED either one or the other and there was no in-between? Remember when those two teams were the Cowboys and the Steelers? Always loved the Steelers for that reason only (I think if there were another reason it was that Chris Tuft loved the Cowboys and I hated him so intensely that I loved anything he hated.) Glad to see that the ONE football game a year I watch will include that element of my childhood. However, it will be without "Mean" Joe Green, and he will NOT be drinking a Coke, nor will he be throwing his game jersey to some eager Campbell Soup kid.........
Happy 2009 Man's Couch! I know all of us are probably crazy but I felt like I needed to post SOMETHNG. Just heard this cover today and had to pass it along. I know it is not the best quality but I love it for some reason!!
Life in NC is good and I hope all of you are well too.
