"... my actual lived experience of being a teenager/twenty-some[t]hing in the 90s.
This clip in all of its awkward, heartbreaking, briefly, inexplicably lovely 'how did all of these people end up here together?' energy is exactly it for me"/"It’s remarkable how the vibe of everyone on-set changes when Elliott Smith starts playing the song, they all seem like people who’ve all fled their god’s command to seek truth and beauty, and then that song rises from the deep and swallows them all, even the puppet."
Hosting the show are: 1. Tom Bergeron (later of "America’s Funniest Home Videos" and "Dancing With The Stars"), 2. Laurie Hibberd (AKA Laurie Gelman, who published a 2022 novel titled "Smells Like Tween Spirit"), and 3. Bob (a puppet):
Elliott Smith died, in 2003, of 2 stab wounds to the chest. He left a note: "I'm so sorry—love, Elliott. God forgive me.
It is really a look at what morning television was. The governing principle was easing viewers into the day. Katie Kouric and Jeff Zucjer killed that…
…and all a bit morning TV incestuous. Tom Bergeron was a local Boston TV morning personality with a Donahue type panel show. Laurie Gelman is married to Michael Gelman who runs the morning show Live! franchise- Regis and Cathy Lee at the time…
I think the puppet idea was it was easier to clean up after than J. Fred Muggs
I’d never heard of Elliott Smith until today. He was born in Omaha. A very long wiki entry.
10/14/23, 6:34 AM
If you've watched "Good Will Hunting", you've heard one of his songs. "Miss Misery" plays over the closing credits. That song, "Behind the Bars" and "Waltz #2" are three of my favorites of his.
That wiki article that Dave Begley mentioned says that Smith’s TV debut was in 1998 on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, but we know that this posted clip from Breakfast Time was from 1995. Goes to show you not to put too much faith in the editing of Wikipedia articles… no wonder ChatGPT has so many errors.
Dave Begley, I was not born in Omaha but I lived there for over 40 years. I also had forgotten that Smith was born there. I first knew of him from the song "Needle In The Hay", used in the suicide scene from "The Royal Tenenbaums." Very emotionally striking. I don't know if that's the right word or not but it's memorable anyway.
I worked as an Assistant Director (one of many, I'm sure) on "America’s Funniest Home Videos" in the late '80s. We'd sleep in hotels, and travel from one city to another, visiting college campuses and comedy clubs, searching for talent. It was a good time.
I miss the 90s. It felt like things were less serious then. And the problems seemed more solvable. Military men like my father were more at ease and there was a perception that the great threat of the Soviet Union was gone and their greater challenge was dealing with all the BRAC (Base Reallignment And Closure) fallout economically.
The summer I graduated high school 9/11 happened. My entire adult life has been defined by 22 years of warfare, decline, and economic stagnation. The things that have occurred since then almost defy imagination and most important predictability. Neither my father or I or millions of others recognize America in the current year. Everything about this timeline is a practical 180 from the vision of the future I had in the 90s, and men like my father don't recognize the country anymore.
Channeling Hunter Thompson, if there's a country in 200 years it feels like they'll look back and view the dot.com bubble and 9/11 as the high-water mark of American civilization. It's where the tide of American optimism and "can do anything" attitude peaked, and slowly rolled back ever since.
"I was having babies during the 90’s. To me, it was long walks, museums, playgrounds, and memories of my young children. A happy time!"
Indeed. I was happily married, had a great music career going, lots of friends who visited often, and what appeared to be a bright future. All gone now. Looking back now, the main indicator that the future was not going to go right was a friend/musician who was also a journalist, and he would come over whenever they were people at my house, and stir them all up to get angry at George W. Bush. I begged him to stop doing it, and he refused. Just as journalists, now, are determined to keep doing what they're doing to us,....
"Channeling Hunter Thompson, if there's a country in 200 years it feels like they'll look back and view the dot.com bubble and 9/11 as the high-water mark of American civilization."
It's hard for me to believe, now, that I once owned Google and Red Hat stock, and was considering buying Amazon. I thought, in the late '90s, I could retire in a few years. (To say "cultism destroys lives" is a vast understatement.) My self-produced, post-9/11 anti-war album was even applauded by Jell-O Biafra and Country Joe McDonald. Both sent me notes of encouragement.
I recall hearing Elliot Smith for the first time. It was "Waltz #2." Quite striking for the time. Try "Son of Sam.". It's quite good. His death/suicide was quite tragic, but not unforseen. He was one of those depressed geniuses, and hitting it big didn't do him any favors. Whenever I hear one of his songs I feel a little sad, but also a little happy that he left that behind for us.
The 90s started with my family and I starting post active duty life in Germany, with me working for the Army. The financial compensation was very good, my kids basically grew up over there, and we got to see a lot of the world.
We came back to the US in late 95, and, I did not know it yet, but our marriage was in pretty rough shape. I was concentrating on keeping a decent job, and adapting to career changes. It all went to hell in 99. Everything is good, now, we both got that out of our system, I guess.
Every time I hear Elliot Smith, or Aimee Mann, or any of the music of that era, I aim brought back there, and, again, I am a little sad, but glad to be here now.
remember the 1990's? No more Berlin Wall No more USSR Parades HONORING veterans, not BSDM trans strippers Economic Prosperity Governments with (nearly) balanced budgets Abortion was "Safe Legal and Rare", instead of a thing to BRAG about it was: The end of history Fukuyama argues that history should be viewed as an evolutionary process, and that the end of history, in this sense, means that liberal democracy is the final form of government for all nations. According to Fukuyama, since the French Revolution, liberal democracy has repeatedly proven to be a fundamentally better system (ethically, politically, economically) than any of the alternatives,[1] and so there can be no progression from it to an alternative system. Fukuyama claims not that events will stop occurring in the future, but rather that all that will happen in the future (even if totalitarianism returns) is that democracy will become more and more prevalent in the long term.
Great artist and songwriter. Also from Wiki: "Smith mentioned his admiration for Bob Dylan in several interviews, citing him as an early influence. He once commented: "My father taught me how to play 'Don't Think Twice, It's All Right'. I love Dylan's words, but even more than that, I love the fact that he loves words."
In 2003, aged 34, he died in Los Angeles, California, from two stab wounds to the chest.[9] The autopsy evidence did not determine whether the wounds were self-inflicted.
This is one weird statement. Do you know how hard it is to stab yourself to death, with only two wounds? And wouldn't self inflicted knife wounds be at different angles and have different entry/depth wounds than a murderous knife attack? And therefore easily identified during an autopsy?
Anway, its astounding how many musicians/Singers are mentally ill. I wonder if there's sone brain connection between musical ability and various illnesses.
In 2003, aged 34, he died in Los Angeles, California, from two stab wounds to the chest.[9] The autopsy evidence did not determine whether the wounds were self-inflicted.
This is one weird statement. Do you know how hard it is to stab yourself to death, with only two wounds? And wouldn't self inflicted knife wounds be at different angles and have different entry/depth wounds than a murderous knife attack? And therefore easily identified during an autopsy?
Anway, its astounding how many musicians/Singers are mentally ill. I wonder if there's sone brain connection between musical ability and various illnesses.
With Wiki's it's the moderators that stake out kingdoms within a Wiki. With chat bots it's individual owners of machinery and code delimiters. With both it's that by definition neither is isolated from the world at large, allowing sewage to seep from one to another. It's inevitable, regardless of preventative measures each will become biased, even in data.
I believe most of happy nostalgia and the feeling that X decade was better and happier than the current one comes from the knowledge that that were know how it turned out.
The 9os were full of dread and uncertainty just like any other decade.
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23 comments:
It is really a look at what morning television was. The governing principle was easing viewers into the day. Katie Kouric and Jeff Zucjer killed that…
…and all a bit morning TV incestuous. Tom Bergeron was a local Boston TV morning personality with a Donahue type panel show. Laurie Gelman is married to Michael Gelman who runs the morning show Live! franchise- Regis and Cathy Lee at the time…
I think the puppet idea was it was easier to clean up after than J. Fred Muggs
I’d never heard of Elliott Smith until today. He was born in Omaha. A very long wiki entry.
Where's Mickey Most when you need him? I think he was still alive when this was made. Someone should have arranged a meeting.
I’d never heard of Elliott Smith until today. He was born in Omaha. A very long wiki entry.
10/14/23, 6:34 AM
If you've watched "Good Will Hunting", you've heard one of his songs. "Miss Misery" plays over the closing credits. That song, "Behind the Bars" and "Waltz #2" are three of my favorites of his.
That wiki article that Dave Begley mentioned says that Smith’s TV debut was in 1998 on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, but we know that this posted clip from Breakfast Time was from 1995. Goes to show you not to put too much faith in the editing of Wikipedia articles… no wonder ChatGPT has so many errors.
Dave Begley, I was not born in Omaha but I lived there for over 40 years. I also had forgotten that Smith was born there. I first knew of him from the song "Needle In The Hay", used in the suicide scene from "The Royal Tenenbaums." Very emotionally striking. I don't know if that's the right word or not but it's memorable anyway.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pyBB7y8fDU
I was having babies during the 90’s. To me, it was long walks, museums, playgrounds, and memories of my young children. A happy time!
I worked as an Assistant Director (one of many, I'm sure) on "America’s Funniest Home Videos" in the late '80s. We'd sleep in hotels, and travel from one city to another, visiting college campuses and comedy clubs, searching for talent. It was a good time.
I miss the 90s. It felt like things were less serious then. And the problems seemed more solvable. Military men like my father were more at ease and there was a perception that the great threat of the Soviet Union was gone and their greater challenge was dealing with all the BRAC (Base Reallignment And Closure) fallout economically.
The summer I graduated high school 9/11 happened. My entire adult life has been defined by 22 years of warfare, decline, and economic stagnation. The things that have occurred since then almost defy imagination and most important predictability. Neither my father or I or millions of others recognize America in the current year. Everything about this timeline is a practical 180 from the vision of the future I had in the 90s, and men like my father don't recognize the country anymore.
Channeling Hunter Thompson, if there's a country in 200 years it feels like they'll look back and view the dot.com bubble and 9/11 as the high-water mark of American civilization. It's where the tide of American optimism and "can do anything" attitude peaked, and slowly rolled back ever since.
I don't think it's coming back.
Like Begley, I had never heard of Elliott Smith (and have not seen "Good Will Hunting.")
I guess I'll watch the clip now and see if I can say something relevant.
If that's what your lived experience was like in the '90s (per the Metafilter comment) . . . it's not too late to get a life now.
Smith seems a very modest talent to me.
Sydney said...
"I was having babies during the 90’s. To me, it was long walks, museums, playgrounds, and memories of my young children. A happy time!"
Indeed. I was happily married, had a great music career going, lots of friends who visited often, and what appeared to be a bright future. All gone now. Looking back now, the main indicator that the future was not going to go right was a friend/musician who was also a journalist, and he would come over whenever they were people at my house, and stir them all up to get angry at George W. Bush. I begged him to stop doing it, and he refused. Just as journalists, now, are determined to keep doing what they're doing to us,....
That Metafilter comment is really exquisite. The song? - rather boring and unremarkable.
RideSpaceMountain said...
"Channeling Hunter Thompson, if there's a country in 200 years it feels like they'll look back and view the dot.com bubble and 9/11 as the high-water mark of American civilization."
It's hard for me to believe, now, that I once owned Google and Red Hat stock, and was considering buying Amazon. I thought, in the late '90s, I could retire in a few years. (To say "cultism destroys lives" is a vast understatement.) My self-produced, post-9/11 anti-war album was even applauded by Jell-O Biafra and Country Joe McDonald. Both sent me notes of encouragement.
I recall hearing Elliot Smith for the first time. It was "Waltz #2." Quite striking for the time. Try "Son of Sam.". It's quite good. His death/suicide was quite tragic, but not unforseen. He was one of those depressed geniuses, and hitting it big didn't do him any favors. Whenever I hear one of his songs I feel a little sad, but also a little happy that he left that behind for us.
The 90s started with my family and I starting post active duty life in Germany, with me working for the Army. The financial compensation was very good, my kids basically grew up over there, and we got to see a lot of the world.
We came back to the US in late 95, and, I did not know it yet, but our marriage was in pretty rough shape. I was concentrating on keeping a decent job, and adapting to career changes. It all went to hell in 99. Everything is good, now, we both got that out of our system, I guess.
Every time I hear Elliot Smith, or Aimee Mann, or any of the music of that era, I aim brought back there, and, again, I am a little sad, but glad to be here now.
remember the 1990's?
No more Berlin Wall
No more USSR
Parades HONORING veterans, not BSDM trans strippers
Economic Prosperity
Governments with (nearly) balanced budgets
Abortion was "Safe Legal and Rare", instead of a thing to BRAG about
it was: The end of history
Fukuyama argues that history should be viewed as an evolutionary process, and that the end of history, in this sense, means that liberal democracy is the final form of government for all nations. According to Fukuyama, since the French Revolution, liberal democracy has repeatedly proven to be a fundamentally better system (ethically, politically, economically) than any of the alternatives,[1] and so there can be no progression from it to an alternative system. Fukuyama claims not that events will stop occurring in the future, but rather that all that will happen in the future (even if totalitarianism returns) is that democracy will become more and more prevalent in the long term.
GOD! people were SO STUPID back then!!
Very modest &very shy- numbing his feelings w/cultural lidocaine.
Great artist and songwriter. Also from Wiki: "Smith mentioned his admiration for Bob Dylan in several interviews, citing him as an early influence. He once commented: "My father taught me how to play 'Don't Think Twice, It's All Right'. I love Dylan's words, but even more than that, I love the fact that he loves words."
In 2003, aged 34, he died in Los Angeles, California, from two stab wounds to the chest.[9] The autopsy evidence did not determine whether the wounds were self-inflicted.
This is one weird statement. Do you know how hard it is to stab yourself to death, with only two wounds? And wouldn't self inflicted knife wounds be at different angles and have different entry/depth wounds than a murderous knife attack? And therefore easily identified during an autopsy?
Anway, its astounding how many musicians/Singers are mentally ill. I wonder if there's sone brain connection between musical ability and various illnesses.
In 2003, aged 34, he died in Los Angeles, California, from two stab wounds to the chest.[9] The autopsy evidence did not determine whether the wounds were self-inflicted.
This is one weird statement. Do you know how hard it is to stab yourself to death, with only two wounds? And wouldn't self inflicted knife wounds be at different angles and have different entry/depth wounds than a murderous knife attack? And therefore easily identified during an autopsy?
Anway, its astounding how many musicians/Singers are mentally ill. I wonder if there's sone brain connection between musical ability and various illnesses.
Whiskeybum said...
no wonder ChatGPT has so many errors.
With Wiki's it's the moderators that stake out kingdoms within a Wiki. With chat bots it's individual owners of machinery and code delimiters. With both it's that by definition neither is isolated from the world at large, allowing sewage to seep from one to another. It's inevitable, regardless of preventative measures each will become biased, even in data.
(If dup posting, sorry for scroll.)
'70s were better : )
I believe most of happy nostalgia and the feeling that X decade was better and happier than the current one comes from the knowledge that that were know how it turned out.
The 9os were full of dread and uncertainty just like any other decade.
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