YOU CAN'T TORQUEMADA ANYTHING: The annual Kennedy Center Honors coincided with my vacation in Mexico last week so I didn't blog it at the time (note to self: even more cenotes next time!), but for those who missed it you will want to view its singing, dancing Mel Brooks tribute with Martin Short on a horse and Glee's Mr. Schu as the most handsome singing Nazi you've ever seen.
Also: Jon Stewart eloquently honors fellow Garden Stater Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder sings "My City of Ruins" and Ben Harper and Jennifer Nettles perform "I'm On Fire," which might not have made my top fifty list of Songs You Should Be Sure To Play When You're Honoring Bruce Springsteen, but was rather nice regardless.
It really was an excellent show. I enjoyed all of the Springsteen song performances, and it was nice to see a broader range of his songs. Not sure that Ben Harper was the best duetist for I'm on Fire, but really, Jennifer Nettles can duet with just about anyone.
ReplyDeleteThe Mel Brooks tribute was hilarious. As my boyfriend said, kind of unbelievable that we had all of this Nazi stuff going on, you know, in front of the American president, but he seemed amused by it, so I guess it's okay.
The Dave Brubeck tribute was pretty great, too. He seemed to be enjoying it, but then there was this sudden reveal of a sudden surprise, and he was grinning like a mad man. Awesome.
I loved the show too -- just wish the broadcast wasn't limited to 3 hours. Did anyone else see Jane Krakowski on stage for the bows after the Brooks tribute? Dollars to donuts, she sang "I'm Tired" from "Blazing Saddles," and to quote Liz Lemon, "I want to see that." The opera diva certainly got the short shrift on the broadcast, too.
ReplyDeleteMy City OF Ruins. But yes, a very good show, and it looked like a good time was had by all. The Streep/Stone/Keitel/Norton/Stiller combo pack for Bobby DeNiro was pretty great too. And I was impressed that Zach Galifianakis can sing just like Sting.
ReplyDeleteAs well as Roger Bart from Young Frankenstein. It was edited down to 2 hours, and you could see the seams.
ReplyDeleteFixed. And, yeah, I can't get over just how weird Sting looks with That Beard. I'm not quite sure if The Rising *can* be covered.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure The Rising can be covered either. Sting made a valiant effort, and it had the "this is Sting doing it" vibe, but still.
ReplyDeleteOverall great show and too bad that CBS seemed ashamed of it and punted it to the week between Christmas and New Year's. The thing was filmed weeks ago, it could have been aired when more people were around to watch it and had heard about it. It's fun to see talented people geek out about their heroes on stage.
CBS always airs the show during the week between Christmas and New Year's. It's a holiday tradition--has been for several years.
ReplyDeleteI wish they didn't edit it down...very sad to lose some of the performances and kind words. The seams were very showy.
I was worried too, that they were burying it, because when something is sponsored by Cadillac, that's to me a sign that things are being marketed to the old demo (= unprofitable) (The only thing more worrying is when it's sponsored by pharmaceuticals related to urology (= elderly demo = super-unprofitable.)) But I think the next day I heard that it did impressively well in the ratings, so apparently it's not just a nice tradition but a profitable one.
ReplyDeleteI wish they didn't edit it also, except that the editing was fine on the stuff I'm merely somewhat interested in...
Does anyone know how I can view the entire show, the not-edited-for-TV version?
ReplyDeleteAgree on Ben Harper - he wasn't gritty enough, or something, for I'm On Fire. But loved Jennifer Nettles in it.
ReplyDeleteAnd just about everything else was terrific. So enjoyed the surprise for Brubeck (and I have to get the name of the trumpeter in the first part of the tribute - gorgeous sound he had) and just about all of Springsteen's and Brooks' and DeNiro's tributes. Though I'm reminded that I don't like Brooks as much as I think I should. We rented Spaceballs for the kiddo on the strength of it, but accidentally got Spaceballs The Animated Adventures, which looks considerably more risque from the part I saw.
Sorry, that was me.
ReplyDeleteAh, I should have Googled. Good choice for her, but I would have rather heard "I'm Tired."
ReplyDelete