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Portishead, GNR, MBV, yadda yadda—the comeback no one much talks about from this year was actually one of the better ones: The B-52’s Funplex, which adapted the group’s classic sound to modern ends with very little strain. My favorite track, “Eyes Wide Open,” even resembled high-end DFA, no small thing. But the album’s relatively quiet aftermath might be due to Fred Schneider completely upstaging it with a short appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
Scott McClellan, a former White House aide, wrote a tell-all about his time in the Bush administration; unfortunately, he also read the audiobook in a flat, affectless monotone. So Jon Stewart took it upon himself to “zazz it up” by bringing Schneider out to sing portions of it to the tune of “Love Shack.” It was a match made in heaven, or at least close enough for me to IM everyone I knew the next day the following message: “SCOOOOO! TERRRR! LIBBYYYYYYYYY!”
McClellan’s Audio Book [The Daily Show]
80 ‘08 (and heartbreak)
Great call Matos! I was just thinking the other day that The B-52s was actually my favorite comeback of the year and Funplex was pretty underrated overall.
Fred Schneider should be recruited to narrate all the good nature shows.
I love Fred, but I did once laugh at a standup comedian pointing out that he has the easiest job in rock history.
Then again, this Daily Show bit did reveal his schtick to be a somewhat subtler art than I thought.
I thought the new album was phenomenoal, and that sketch right there was great.