Letterman Meets Mark Twain

11/24/2017

My schedule is a bit convoluted for the next day or two, so I don't know how often I'll get to the keyboard and post here. But at least for starters, this should fill up a good part of your time quite nicely.

The other day I mentioned how funny and well-done the Kennedy Center Prize to David Letterman was -- almost like a Best Of edition of his TV show. Not only did they use the old show's announcer Alan Kalter, but also the regular CBS Orchestra with Paul Shaffer as the band -- and they even did a Top Ten list. And I posted a funny fake-documentary they did that supposedly focused on two of Letterman's childhood friends.

Well, thanks to PBS for making the show available online, here is the full broadcast. If you only watch the opening bit with Steve Martin and Martin Short, that ,might well be enough. But keep going because there are a lot of gems, most notably Bill Murray's appearance as last year's recipient talking about the end of his reign. And the documentary (if you missed it before). And some fun comments by Amy Schumer. And a terrific performance by Eddie Vedder. And...well, here it all is --

3 Comments

GregVB

11/26/2017 07:06:56 pm

Good call all around, my friend... that was a Jim Dandy.

I really have come to love Vedder, although I am not an ardent fan of Pearl Jam. Both he and Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, who with Vedder appeared during Dave's last week) embody all I love in R&R: passion, and absolute love for what they do.

Vedder seems to be the Forest Gump of rock, turning up seemingly everywhere, and when he came out to do a Warren Zevon song, I was unprepared for that one... and it instantly put a lump in my throat. You probably know that Dave gave Warren an entire show in his honor, and given that Zevon wrote that song while terminally ill from lung cancer, it was particularly poignant. I'm sure Vedder would have known about Zevon without Letterman ("Werewolves of London', "Money, Guns, and Lawyers", "Poor Poor Pitiful Me"... hello?), but the Dave certainly gave him a showplace. And Vedder nailed it, turning into an homage for Dave.

And the rest of the show was great, too.

Robert Elisberg

11/27/2017 07:42:23 am

What perfectly thoughtful Dr. Buzz-like comments, taking the subject of Letterman and turning it into a most-proper homage to Warren Zevon -- and even a bit on Eddie Vedder. I don't think I knew all that about Zevon, so thanks.

And no doubt your appreciation for Vedder is enhanced by his great love of the Chicago Cubs. (Not only writing the wonderful song, "Someday We'll Go All the Way, but after missing out on the post-season in 2015 when the Cubs unexpectedly were the Wild Card team because Pearl Jam was on tour, he announced that the band wouldn't tour again in October-November just in case. It worked out well since the next year they won the World Series, and he was there for it.)

Mainly, though, I'm just glad you weren't pissed off at me recommending you watch a two-hour TV video and then feeling you'd wasted your time...

11/27/2017 12:28:49 pm

As a dear friend of mine says, "We aims to please." And it was a most pleasurable time spent (although it cut out after about ten minutes, and shot me over to the PBS site!). The mockumentary was splendid (Bill Hader could pass for a young relative of Letterman, and both were wonderfully droll), Steve Martin and Martin Short extraordinary (I loved how they entertained one another), and Bill Murray was... words fail. He is one of those rare comedians who relishes those empty spaces where nothing is said, there is no laughter, and he just stops until little more than that face gets a laugh.

I have had mixed feelings about the Twain Award, as I have thought that writing should be manifested in the person's background more than a little bit (if it were a popularity vote, I'd put you up for it). As a consequence, some who are actors/comics, without stand-up or other writing experience, somehow take me aback. However, in the grand scheme of things, Dave certainly changed late night comedy, and as my as I love my Steven Colbert (and Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Trevor Noah, etc.), I miss Letterman a lot.

For a VERY elementary crash course on Zevon:
Money: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1BxGded604
Werewolves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIPvljWfH00
Poor Poor Pitiful Me (also covered by Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TbfQPRgcS8&list=RD_TbfQPRgcS8&t=64

And his last appearance on Dave's show (mine is only about an hour... here is the first of several parts... you can see if it is worth going through them all): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7Mirkd3CT4&list=RDz7Mirkd3CT4&t=9

Letterman Meets Mark Twain

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