EPISODE NUMBER: 6060 (April 29, 2010)
GUESTS: Lt. Gov Abel Maldonado, OK Go
SEGMENTS: Rube Goldberg machine, Tip of the Hat, Wag of the finger
VIDEOS: Thursday, April 29, 2010
Before I get started on the Guide, I want to talk about something that happened to me at work. I was talking to our Credit manager, who I knew was a fan of the show. She said, “Did you watch last night’s show? I really liked that bit about the oil slick!” And we sat there and deconstructed the show and talked about our favorite bits over the past couple of weeks or so, and laughed until my face hurt. My new job ROCKS! But what rocks even harder is that this last couple of weeks have been filled with such energy and innovation, and trying of new things and going places the show has never gone before.
I feel so energized as a fan because of all of the new and different places the show has been lately. And last night’s Rube Goldberg intro, by Brett Doar of Synn Labs, was one of those new and wonderful things. I had to go back and watch the whole thing a few times, first for my own enjoyment, and then again to catch everything used in the device:
- OK Go being put On Notice pushes a copy of “I Am America “And So Can You!”
- Dominoed stack of “I Am America (And So Can You!)” falls, triggering a music box
- Music box playing the first few notes of the ‘Colbert Report’ theme has a wheel which releases a stuffed eagle sliding down a wire
- Eagle knocks over a stack of Americone Dream cartons and starts a belt with a ‘Colbert Report’ themed toy car being driven by Stephen with an eagle hood ornament going down a moving belt
- Moving belt pulls a trigger to release a hot dog going down a ramp in a little red wagon
- Little red wagon pushes an apple pie out a window with Ronald Reagan cutout with mitts on
- Apple pie drops, triggering a flag to raise
- Flag pulls Jesus arm to set an an eagle in flight
- Eagle flight cages the bear
- Cage dropping triggers Emmy to pop a balloon, which releases a big painted C
- Dropping C turns and uncovers a cutout of Stephen
Leave it to Stephen to take a looming ecological disaster about the Gulf Coast oil slick and make it funny. It’s so funny to see Stephen trying to fight the horror that the media is describing, and what the people of Louisiana will be living with in, oh, 15 miles or so. And I really liked the Abel Maldonado interview. Maldonado is feisty! Stephen’s comment of “what the f**k is that about?” was excellently timed, and quite funny. I also thought that Stephen made a very valid point at the end, a very serious point, about no spending provision being in the bill meaning that the two richest guys are going to win.
Stephen sitting in the unicorn postered bedroom was both pitiful and hysterical. Johnny Weir references always make my heart sing. I also enjoyed how Stephen saved the world by eating a bucket of KFC.
Can I just say really quickly that Damian Kulash’s pink socks were awesome? Now that we got that out of the way, we can talk about the interview. I loved the honesty of Damien, and and he seemed to be honest without a huge scoop of hipster piousness on top of it. Loved Stephen’s response to videos with groupies. And what a great song! It will be on my iTunes very soon! And it’s always a good musical feature when Stephen gets to grab a mic. The video of the Stephen Choir behind them was trippy, and I love how Stephen got the audience to sing along. What an energizing performance!
I love that feeling at the end of a really, really good show when I get to the end and I feel like I just had a five-shot Venti caramel mocha. What a rush! What did you think about the show tonight?
- A wind farm? Do you know how dangerous that is? What if it breaks and we have a catastrophic wind spill? The last one nearly destroyed New Orleans.
- The ocean hasn’t seen that much oil since the cast of Jersey Shore all went swimming at the same time.
- All right. Everybody just calm down. There is no need to get heated. Particularly because you don’t want a heat source anywhere near that thing. It will explode!
- Speaking of oily disasters, Florida governor Charlie Crist.
- Last year, Crist had a 37 point lead in the polls, thanks to the kind of deep tan that says, “You want smaller government? S**t, I don’t work at all.”
- At Obama’s next State of the Union address, do we really want Joe Wilson shouting “I disagree, but that is a valid point”?
- What are *you* talking about? You’re the one sleeping under your desk.
- According to local old-timers, the worm was three feet long, smelled like lilies, and spits at its attackers, which, coincidentally, is also a way to describe Johnny Weir.
- Tip of the hat to KFC, and not just for their double down sandwich, where the bun is replaced by two pieces of fried chicken, or the triple down sandwich, where your hands are replaced with fried chicken.
- No, madam, it’s hypo-crispy!
- Tim, do you ever come out of a meeting and saying “Those guys are dicks.”
- I’ve known that nerdy can be hip, but I didn’t know that just plain boring could be hip.
Glad to hear work rocks!
This week on TCR has been amazing. Fun and shook up! YAAAAA and *cough cough* bring back the Harem! LOL.
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Just went and bought the video on iTunes. I know that song is going to be stuck in my head all day, so at least I can listen to it while I watch the video.
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firstly db- great job on catching all the details of the rube goldberg.
secondly what an amazing episode!!! the minute i saw ok go were gonna be on i was excited but every part of this show was just hilarious and entertaining. sigh what a great end to a great week :)
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Yes, it’s really been a great week!
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That episode was so fantastic – it’s so hard to pick a favorite segment! And in an episode with a singing Stephen, that’s saying something. If Stephen could just sing in every episode, that would be wonderful. :D
Thanks for breaking down that awesome intro for us, DB! I enjoyed the Abel Maldonado interview as well. They were both so energetic throughout the whole thing, and I laughed so hard at Stephen’s, “What the f**k is that about?” comment. Love any and all Johnny Weir references, and the KFC bit was brilliant.
The great thing about musical guests on TCR is that sometimes it reminds me how much I love a particular band (like with Gorillaz or The Decemberists). Now I can’t wait to buy OK Go’s new cd. And I can’t even talk about how much I loved Stephen singing with them, so I’ll just say that the Stephen Choir behind them was both weird and awesome, which totally goes along with the rest of the episodes this week. What a great week of shows! That man is a constant source of joy and amusement. :]
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May I just say that I’m a major Rube Goldberg nerd and loved the opening. One of my first TV-memories is seeing Mr. Goldberg himself with a “bureaucracy machine” – which was my introduction to both RGMs and political satire at a very early age.
I liked Damian much better in this interview than the first one he did – don’t know why, but he turned me off a bit in 2006. (Maybe trying too hard?) Here he seemed much more natural and more interesting.
I nearly died when OK Go started their song because that’s the song that’s been my earwig for the last week and I had no idea it was theirs! I don’t even know where I heard it, but it was just the once and it definitely stays with you – in a good way.
Not like some campaign songs I could mention…
Oh God, now I’ve started that one in my head.
BTW:This morning I watched both the RGM version and the marching band version and like them both.
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I’m skipping straight to the bottom here (no spoilers!) because I’ve only seen the intro so far, but the Colbert Rube Goldberg machine is possibly The Best Thing I Have Ever Seen. They’re just bursting with joy and creativity over at TCR lately! :D :D :D
Ok, back to the show…
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Sorry to disagree, but I didn’t like the Maldonado interview. Most of the things I think about him can’t be said in this family-friendly blog. :-) Suffice it to say he is the worst kind of cynical, phony, opportunistic politician, and sadly I suspect he will be around a long time.
However, the whole rest of the show was a complete delight! Starting with the Rube Goldberg intro which almost made me weep with joy. So awesome. And I loved the OK Go performance too. Classic!
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“Sorry to disagree, but I didn’t like the Maldonado interview. Most of the things I think about him can’t be said in this family-friendly blog. :-) Suffice it to say he is the worst kind of cynical, phony, opportunistic politician, and sadly I suspect he will be around a long time.”
Here, here! Thank you so much for saying that nerdgirl! I live in CA. and that guy is our Arlen Spector or Ben Nelson. A real lowlife opportunist! And I’m sorry Stephen gave him the time of day.
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I instinctively distrust any man who assumes such familiarity with the “Steve” this and “Steve” that, he said his first name every third word.
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I forgot about that, but your 100% right!
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Oh, that ticked. me. off. Big time. Utterly smarmy.
The only part of that interview I liked was Stephen’s insistent questioning at the end.
The rest of the episode was A-MAY-zing!!
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I was put off by him as well but knew very little about him. Thanks for sharing your viewpoint. I don’t feel badly about not liking him now. :-)
I LOVED the Rube Goldberg intro! Thanks for breaking it down, DB. The KFC bit was brilliant! Great week of shows!
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Thanks for the alternate view. That’s what I love about this blog. I can honestly say I know nothing about the guy. But I did love how Stephen cornered him at the end and pointed out the glaring flaw of the bill.
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It’s so fantastic that Stephen will repeat his question over and over again if the guest is ducking giving an answer. I really love that he does that.
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So do I!
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Having the perspective of actually seen the work that the guy is doing puts things in a different light. When Bush was running for president in 2000, I was screaming “DON’T DO IT, AMERICA!!” Because being from Texas, I saw how he had thrashed all of the good that Ann Richards had done and added heaping piles of damage on top of that. I feel your pain. Thanks for the viewpoint!
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I mostly enjoyed the interview just for the discussion, and for Stephen’s fun energy. Last night was the first I’d ever heard of Maldonado, so I had no idea of any of his politics. So you have no reason to be sorry to disagree – I appreciate the opposite viewpoint! :D
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A wonderful show to end the week. I appreciate that the band is full of it-getters. The collaboration that went into the performance was obvious (be still my heart- a choir of Stephens!) and the band didn’t miss a beat during the interview. Loved it!
Where can we find an mp3 of the live petformance?!
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I don’t know yet, but as soon as I find one online, I’ll post a link!
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More musical acts!!! *grabby hands*
Rube Goldberg is a genius. Very impressed by the band’s desire to “make things” instead of sell records. Refreshing.
MP3, pretty please:-)
Anyone else freak that he would trip and fall getting onto the treadmill?
HIS NAME IS NOT STEVE!!
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“HIS NAME IS NOT STEVE!!”
Exactly! Unless your name is Tom Hanks, you call him Stephen.
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I completely agree that the past couple weeks have been a total joy! Yeah!!!
By the way, somebody should re-post Stephen’s GMA story about Rube Goldberg Machines so we can be all proud and say, “Aww, look how far he’s come.” :)
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See this week’s Apopcalypse – the Zoners ask, and the Completists provide :)
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What service! Haha, thanks, wren!
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Best “Wtf?” moment ever!! I still have no idea what Abel Maldonado was on about, I just couldn’t get into that interview. Though, I did notice that Stephen was holding a purple pen during the interview then switched back to his normal pen for Tip/Wag. I’m not sure how I managed to notice that while being blinded my his light grey socks and loafers. A big fashion no, no!!
I loved the opening. I wonder how long it took them to set it all up. I’m not a big fan of Ok Go but I did enjoy their performance. That song will be rattling around my brain for awhile.
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Yay for a choir of Stephens. Great song!
The interchange between Stephen and the oil slick coverage was great, and I loved the Tip to KFC, with the whole circle of unhealthy product image management by charitable association. Maldonado came across as a talking points windbag, but I enjoyed Stephen’s responses (“What are you talking about?” “What the f@#k is that?”), and repeating his question about campaign finance until he got an answer.
Can we have a bonus Friday show, please?
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What an amazing show! That’s a definite keeper. The Rube Goldberg intro was just so, so cool. I really liked the musical performance, too. I think that’s the first time I’ve heard the song without the distraction of the video. Love it. And the audience singalong with Stephen conducting was so awesome. I really wish I had been in last night’s audience so I could add that to my life story as “best choir experience EVER.”
I might have to consider getting that OK Go CD…
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Something I just noticed after watching the video again this evening – Stephen conducts the audience. Not just encourages him, but busts out the choir director arm and really gets in there to get the audience singing in time. It’s quite cool.
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due time for my intermittent post of the year: awesome to see the guys on tcr ‘again’
to chime in on the cali lt gov – he was indeed so pushy with his speaking that I didnt even understand what he was trying to say, I was so distracted.
it would be pretty awesome if that wrist strong bracelet that damian gave stephen was the one I gave to him (http://yfrog.com/izimg00146j)
those 5 guys rock
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What a great show. I didn’t really know why they had a mouse trap game at the beginning of the show. I was painfully unaware that Mouse trap was actually something called a Rube Goldberg machine. Colbert informs me once again and also about the Cape wind farm. That is a contentious issue here in the Northeast. I had not heard that it was approved.
The KFC bit was amazing. I had a feeling as it was nearing the end that it would come back around to KFC.
Abel Maldonado seemed like a typical politician, but at least he was an it-getter, he knew about Stephen’s Olympic association. I’m glad Stephen nailed him at the end. I hate it when politicians try to dodge the question.
The OK Go interview and performance was so enjoyable. I was very jealous that the audience got to see such a great show and then be a part of the performance. They seemed particularly jacked up, even before they started singing along.
Great end to an amazing week.
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