devolute.net

Stewart Lee

Stewart Lee isn’t just good at pissing off Christians, he’s also a very funny stand-up comic. Now he might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s great to have a comedian on that early in the evening on BBC2 who doesn’t insult my intelligence. Especially as he spends most of the time slagging off the BBC staples of Moyles, Clarkson et al. It’s not even a one off. He’s got a series out of it. God knows who let that happen. Presumably the same person who allowed the classic TMWRNJ with Richard Herring. It’s even produced by Armando Iannucci for crying out loud! What more do you people want?

Last nights show focused on ‘Toilet Books’, or rather celebrity hardbacks. Leigh deals with the whole thing not with anger, or angst but with a lofty disapproval. He’s cleverer than all of us (and of course much funnier). That’s just something we have to deal with.

See it on iPlayer here for the next few days.

And yes, it’s got the actor Kevin Eldon in it, obviously.

Star of this is Ed Helms of course, who’s musical stylings are probably the best part of the whole show. This post is primarily for one of my keenest commenters, Rami.

via Huff post

I finally got around to seeing the Simpsons film recently. It was on a ferry and as such there wasn’t anything better on offer. It was the very definition of mediocrity. The same can be said for most recent Simpson’s episodes, however at least now there is a reason to watch the latest seasons offering. A ‘guest’ appearance from the finest ‘Daily Show’ escapee, but still better featured than previous guests have been. Is there nothing Stephen cannot bring a little light to?

Everyone should be pretty much aware of not only the musical Genius of Mark E. Smith, but his unwillingness to co-operate and knuckle down for (usually feckless) presenter-led interviews. This Guardian arts blog round-up of the most horrid interviews is a perfect way to celebrate. It includes, of course, the infamous Newsnight appearance after Peel died.

One of my favourites is a recent interview by the lovely, if not a bit soft in the head, Lauren Laverne. So uncomfortable, yet enticing, to watch. Her poor treatment wasn’t very surprising. She introduced him by reciting the same old boring tale that the Fall wouldn’t have been stirred into action, were it not for the famous Sex Pistols Manchester Free Trade Hall gig in 1976. Shockingly, there was actually music in the North of England before the Sex Pistols came to play to a couple of hundred Mancunians. So I heard anyway.

That’s not a typo. This is a new comedy about a folk-pop band composed of two New Zealanders in New York. Wikipedia tells me that the act was created before the HBO show, but it’s so hard to tell what’s genuine these days isn’t it? I blame the internet. You can see the 1st full episode in lovely streaming flash video here. It features the oldest Fleetwood Mac joke ever, mockery of the New Zealand tourist board and peripheral ‘Peep Show’ actor Rachel Blanchard. Watch for hipster-friendly music references and cringe-worthy relationship development and a promise of Welsh legend, Rob Brydon.