COMEDY: An Exhaustive Personal Odyssey

I find a lot of things funny, and, not surprisingly, a lot of things I don't find funny. For example, while I've seen a variety of Will Ferrell films (Step Brothers, Old School, Elf) none of them have resonated with me. While familiar with his work, I wouldn't cite Ferrell as any sort of influence on my humor.

What, then, have been my big comedy influences? The following traces the themes of comedy throughout my life that have, in some significant way, shaped my sense of humor. There are four sections: Funny Pages and Webcomics, Television, Movies, and Stand Up. These are then divided into the different ages when I became familiar with the material. For example I encountered 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' in adolescence, and my love and reaction to it was based on it being discovered in that period of my life.

Each source of comedic inspiration has a corresponding example of the work in question. Books are omitted, since they are of course important, but don't translate as well to the format.

So strap in, and get ready for either an exhaustive - nay, comprehensive - guide into my psyche, or a pleasant diversion and rabbit-hole to get lost in during shelter-in-place.

Funny Pages and Webcomics

Childhood

Calvin and Hobbes – Bill Watterson

Rightfully regarded as one of the all-time greats, Watterson's work blended the reality of childhood with adult messaging that still resonates years later. His characters are fully realized, and you can connect with their foibles while laughing at his incredible visuals.

Foxtrot – Bill Amend

This was our family comic - as I grew up I related with Jason, and then Peter, and increasingly Andy and Roger; just as I now relate more with Calvin's dad than Calvin. The humor was top-notch, with consistently well-crafted punchlines.

The Far Side – Gary Larson

The wonderful weirdness of The Far Side was amplified as Larson was a hometown favorite in San Francisco: the local science museum had a whole gallery dedicated to his works. Off-beat and often dark, the one-panel punch of The Far Side was a favorite as a weird kid.

Gordo – Gus Arriola

My dad's collections of older comics commanded varying levels of interest, but none were more enjoyable than Gordo, by Arriola. Gentle, but sometimes gut-busting, it was also visually inspired, much like Watterson's work.

Adolescence

The Boondocks – Aaron McGruder

90% of America thought Dubya handled 9/11 well - it was dark times for the other 10% of us. McGruder's strip provided a safe-haven during those years of resistance.

Bloom County/Outland – Berkeley Breathed

While Breathed's work was from an earlier era, I didn't encounter it until adolescence. I liked Outland, I think, more than than Bloom County, but both are great off-beat comics.

Sherman’s Lagoon – Bill Toomey

My parents collected Calvin and Hobbes, Foxtrot, Dilbert, and the rest - so when I took a shine to Sherman's Lagoon it became special to me as the comic that I collected. I sat around and reread my copies so many times that I barely glance at the pages any more.

Get Fuzzy – Darby Conley and Pearls Before Swine – Stephen Pastis

The era of newspaper comics was coming to a close in the early 2000s, but these two cartoonists developed solidly funny works that I really enjoyed, and would go out and buy, in my teen years. Pastis even credits Conley with getting his career started.

Bizarro – Dan Piraro

Like The Far Side, Bizarro is a one-panel of often surreal imagery, but tempered instead with drier punchlines. I liked the strip so much that I included a panel on my senior page of my high school yearbook.

Sluggy Freelance – Pete Abrams

The one that started it all... Sluggy Freelance was already a behemoth of a webcomic when I started reading it in high school - it published daily since 1997, and I stuck with it for years. Just reading the archive, back then, took months, but the weird comic of assassins, friendship, aliens, and a switchblade-wielding mini-lop named Bun Bun opened up the world of webcomics to me...

Adulthood (including college)

Webcomics: Least I Could Do, XKCD, Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, Nerf This, Romantically Apocalyptic, Copper, & Sinfest

At one point, my bookmarks bar was jammed with great webcomics. It eventually became too much - spending lots of time every day scrolling through them all - of those comics, these were ones that had the biggest influence.

The Perry Bible Fellowship – Nicholas Gurewitch

Distinct from the rest, PBF was recommended by a friend, had a beautiful absurdity, and sometimes a really disturbing twist. Still going, I occasionally check in on it.

Doonesbury – Gary Trudeau

Doonesbury was always the 'adult' comic in the funny pages, dealing with politics and current events. My parents had the collections, so during college I read the back archive and, for the brief period that newspapers were still being delivered to my mom's house, I began to read and appreciate Doonesbury - like an adult.

Questionable Content – Jeph Jacques

The last of the slice-of-life webcomics which I still follow. I don't recall the last time I laughed at it, the humor has largely dissipated over the years, but at one point it was laugh-out-loud, and it's still interesting enough to stick with - for now.

A Lesson is Learned But the Damage is Irreversible – David Hellman and Dale Beran

This now-defunct work is, to me, the equivalent in artistry to Calvin and Hobbes: unconstrained by space, it uses the webcomic medium beautifully, with delightful absurd humor. Definitely a stand-out in visuals and comedy.

Mac Hall / Three Panel Soul – Ian McConville & Matthew Boyd

Mac Hall was a great comic for my college years, and, when it ended, it became Three Panel Soul, which follows the same characters through adulthood. I'm not super into it these days, but when it was peaking it was a great comic.

Dresden Codak – Aaron Diaz

Another visual treat - drawing from influences like Frank Lloyd Wright and Fritz Lang's 'Metropolis' - the earlier, non-arc comics had tremendous humor. While the comedy is lessened these days, it is still an excellent work.

Hyperbole and a Half – Allie Brosh

Brosh's inspired visuals matched the vulnerability of her posts. I don't know if this counts as a webcomic, but it was definitely an influence, before lapsing indefinitely.

Hark! a Vagrant – Kate Beaton

Many of the webcomics I read deal with history and culture, but none do it better, in my mind, than Beaton. Unfortunately this one is also on a permanent hiatus.

Television

Childhood

Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain

'Animaniacs' had the manic energy of really old Loony Tunes, and 'Pinky and the Brain' was one of my mom's favorites. My sister and I understood many, but not all, of the references - it hinted at a whole world of comedy out there just beyond reach.

Friends

Like most 90s youths, 'Friends' was a family staple - I watched nearly every episode until the last couple of seasons. Growing up with the same name as one of the characters was also a thing.

Frasier

Another which we didn't miss an episode of - at least up through Niles and Daphne getting together. As a kid I liked 'Frasier' a lot, more than 'Friends', and still find it amusing.

NBC Shows: “Suddenly Susan”, “Just Shoot Me”, “Mad About You”, “Will & Grace”

Must-See-TV: God help us we watched them - we watched them all. They all sort of blended together (except 'Will & Grace') generating the white-noise hum of comedy during the 90s.

The Simpsons

The big one - in part because as a child I didn't fully appreciate how seismic 'The Simpsons' was in the cultural landscape. I missed the earliest Bart-mania years, and rode the wave of seasons 3-12 or so, when its honest, sometimes heart-breaking view of modern America was an incandescent form of satire.

Adolescence

South Park, Robot Chicken, & Family Guy

These all followed in 'The Simpsons'' footsteps, but with more absurdity ('South Park'), more obvious cultural referencing ('Family Guy'), and more of a sketch-comedy feel ('Robot Chicken').

Daria

Back then, I didn't understand how rare well-written female characters were when 'Daria' came out. I still rewatch and own the show, because it remains a very funny, very well-written depiction of adolescence.

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

I still remember the first time I got to stay up and watch Leno with dad - Leno was doing a bit on new state mottoes, which, for Connecticut was "Kiss my lily-white ass". For years we watched Leno, and particularly enjoyed his "Headlines" - it opened up the world of late night to me.

Celebrity Death Match

The atmosphere I grew up in was vaguely anti-celebrity, and definitely anti-commercialism. This show was also easily the most morbid thing I'd been exposed to up to that point - but my sister and I loved it.

Chapelle’s Show

Besides sitcoms, I've long had a preference for sketch comedy shows, and 'Chapelle's Show' was one of the first I began to enjoy in late adolescence. It was also my gateway into modern black comedy.

Coupling

Our family watched this show religiously - it became my bible for relationships as I entered adulthood. Moffat's writing is at its best, and the sex sitcom remains endlessly funny.

Monty Python’s Flying Circus and Fawlty Towers

John Cleese was a huge influence, and I loved both the weirdness that was 'Monty Python', and the zany situation comedy of 'Fawlty'. Both are more difficult for me to watch now, but they had a huge impact then.

Whose Line Is It Anyway?

'Whose Line' was a show that was reliable - you were basically guaranteed a good laugh. The Mocherie - Stiles duo also had a profound influence on me later on, when I decided to teach improv.

Jeeves & Wooster

I watched a lot of BBC America and British shows in general growing up, from 'Poirot' mysteries to 'Brideshead'. 'Jeeves and Wooster' introduced me to the great comedic duo of Fry and Laurie, and later on I would read a couple of Wodehouse novels based on the enjoyment from the show.

Mystery Science Theater 3000

A huge influence - MST3K was a favorite, and manifested its impact in all sorts of ways, from dining room comebacks to Rocky Horror callbacks. The frame stories were useless, but I immensely enjoyed the wit, and the exposure to so many terrible movies.

Adulthood (including college)

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

In the firmly anti-Bush years I started to get interested in Stewart, and then watched the show religiously, through the last episode. I missed much of the early stuff - there were no Stephens by the time I arrived - but it became critical viewing for me, and influential satire.

Clone High

A friend in college introduced this delightful off-beat show to me, long after it had gone off the air. By senior year we were explicitly referring to ourselves in the context of these characters - I even bought my friend a knork.

Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law

I binged this with a guy in college, and loved it, even if it hasn't aged super well. The novelty of re-contextualizing the Hanna Barbera canon was genuinely funny, and Stephen Colbert does a lot of the voice work.

30 Rock

There have been many sitcoms that didn't have a big impact (for example, I, like the rest of America, enjoyed 'How I Met Your Mother', but barely remember it now). '30 Rock', with its cameos and guests and extra-ludicrous comedy rose above the rest, securing a more memorable place in my personal pantheon.

Firefly

Proving the expression about stars that shine the brightest burn out the fastest - 'Firefly' gave us one brilliant season of great writing and acting. And so Alan Tudyk entered my world...

The Dick Van Dyke Show & The Bob Newhart Show

After college I began probing into classic television, and while much of it, perfectly fine, didn't stick (looking at you 'WKRP in Cincinnati') these two stuck with me more. Dick Van Dyke was a master physical comedian, and Newhart, whom I was familiar with via stand-up, was the master of holding the deadpan stare as the audience laughed.

Aaron Sorkin

I'd have no interest in 'The West Wing' or 'Newsroom' if they were straight dramas. Sorkin's witty comedic genius made those shows, and even made 'Studio Sixty on the Sunset Strip' - which is nowhere near as good, and yet still remains better than most.

BoJack Horseman

'BoJack' was more of a drama, but it is also the best source of existential and dark humor in recent years. It managed to blend wit and wordplay, absurdity and gallows humor, all together effectively.

Rick and Morty

Like everyone else, I enjoy the self-aware humor of 'Rick and Morty'. Arguably you could lump this in with 'BoJack' since it covers much of the same comedic territory.

Community

Speaking of self-aware shows by Dan Harmon, the first few seasons of 'Community', through Jeff's graduation, were a masterclass of deconstruction and style. If the violence and near-nihilism of 'Rick and Morty' are too much, 'Community' is the warm-hearted counterbalance.

YouTube: QI and British Panel Shows (Would I Lie to You?, etc.)

A girl I was dating was flabbergasted I'd not seen 'QI', and showed me a clip on YouTube. I then went back and watched them all, and stuck with it through all of Stephen Fry's tenure. This opened up a massive new world to me of British comedians who lived in a panel-show ecosystem but also had their own stand-up careers and such - and thanks to YouTube I began to devour these shows.

YouTube: Mitchell and Webb, Fry and Laurie, & Key and Peele

In the process of finding out about these British comedians, and as YouTube came of age, I got into the sketch shows, since the format lent itself so well to being uploaded. The duos of 'Fry and Laurie', 'Mitchell and Webb', and 'Key and Peele' became favorites, having despite never having watched them when they were on television.

YouTube: College Humor & Adam Connover

College Humor was part of that snarky, satire-laden world of Web 2.0, when making comedy content for YouTube was still cutting-edge. Recently it went through a mini-renaissance, from roughly 2017 through early 2019 - it also launched the great 'Adam Ruins Everything', which is more informative than amusing, but still funny.

YouTube: Rifftrax, Honest Trailers, Epic Rap Battles of History, Ze Frank

From the ashes of MST3K came RiffTrax, and a variety of YouTube-specific movie critiques that have all become quite popular, such as Honest Trailers. Meanwhile other YouTube-specific content favorites are the early hits of ERB and Ze Frank, both still producing material.

Look Around You

A great educational satire, this short program became an immediate favorite. The second season doesn't come close to the first's brilliant deadpan absurdity.

Late Night: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Real Time with Bill Maher, & Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

Every week I keep up with the late night shows: they have become the life-sustaining carbohydrates of my media diet. With the exception of Meyers and Maher, they all come from the world of Jon Stewart, and do a better job of harnessing that humor than Trevor Noah (in my opinion).

SNL

During my teens I liked Celebrity Jeopardy...and that was it. Since the Trump era began, however, SNL has become essential viewing, and sufficiently topical to warrant it a spot in my weekly television consumption.

Movies

Childhood

Old Disney and New Disney

Growing up, I went to the theaters to experience the Disney Renaissance films, and then went home and watched the VHS my dad bought to see the old, largely-forgotten films like The Three Caballeros. Disney's humor is very gentle, but well-crafted, and I saw a lot of it.

Old Looney Tunes cartoons

Again, from my dad, I was introduced to classic Warner Brothers: Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett, and Tex Avery. It was weird and wonderful, and helped reinforce what I was watching on television at the time (Animaniacs).

The Muppets

I watched all of the Muppet movies as a kid, through Treasure Island. The trademark Muppets humor also made itself known through Henson's side-projects that I saw, like Labyrinth - and came back years later when I was introduced to The Muppet Show.

Wallace and Gromit

The trilogy of 'A Grand Day Out', 'The Wrong Trousers' (my favorite), and 'A Close Shave' were family favorites as a kid. I still say "Cheese, Gromit!" while shopping at Safeway (and Shannon is very indulgent of this).

David Niven

My childhood was filled with classic movies on VHS and TCM, many of them British since our family was headed by anglophiles. In this ecosystem David Niven was a fixture in the background (Rex Harrison was another), in works like 'The Pink Panther', 'Around the World in 80s Days', and 'Murder By Death' - he was always just around.

Adolescence

Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian, & A Fish Called Wanda

As I got into the show 'Monty Python' I also got into the movies in my teenage years (when quoting 'Holy Grail' was a badge of nerd honor), and saw 'A Fish Called Wanda' for the first time, which is still my favorite rom-com. John Cleese looms large in my comedic world...

Classic Mel Brooks: The Producers, Blazing Saddles, and Young Frankenstein

We watched 'Blazing Saddles' over and over in high school, but I also loved 'The Producers' with Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel (we watched others, but 'Space Balls', or 'Men in Tights', never had the same appeal). 'Young Frankenstein' was one of the first VHS I bought for myself.

“The Big Lebowski”

One of the other films we watched over and over in our dorm, and which we even joked about with our teachers. 'Lebowski' was my introduction to the comedy of the Coen brothers, as well.

“Dr. Strangelove”

For many years I cited 'Strangelove' as my favorite movie - because it was. Sellers' brilliant performance, the dark, dark humor, the screwball aspects - all combined into a timeless and tremendous film.

The Marx Brothers

As a kid, at the corner store, you could by a Groucho disguise, but it wasn't until high school that I actually bothered watching the Marx Brothers. Much of their work is forgettable, but 'Duck Soup' has aged very well, and I still like watching it.

“Spinal Tap”, “Best in Show” & Bad Eugene Levy Movies

The improvised classic 'Spinal Tap' doesn't do much for me anymore, but at the time I found it hilarious, and it opened up that world of actors like Christopher Guest and Levy. Also, like any red-blooded teenage boy in the 00s, I was required to watch the terrible 'American Pie' films and the rest of those lousy flicks.

“The Princess Bride”

Sticking with Guest, we have the classic with the wittiest dialogue and endless quotability. 'The Princess Bride' has it all, and is still fun all these years later.

Kevin Smith

My first Smith film was 'Dogma', followed by 'Clerks', 'Mallrats', and 'Chasing Amy'. While the latter two do nothing for me, 'Dogma' and 'Clerks' have retained their comedic influence.

“Galaxy Quest”

At my dad's home we watched sci-fi shows at night: 'Sliders', 'Stargate', 'Farscape', and of course, 'Star Trek' ('TNG' and 'Voyager'). 'Galaxy Quest' was a sleeper-hit, but a wonderful satire.

“Groundhog Day” & Bill Murray

High school was my introduction to Murray - when I first saw 'Ghostbusters', 'Scrooged', and 'Caddy Shack', along with his then-recent work with Wes Anderson, like 'Life Aquatic'. Of them all, 'Groundhog Day' resonated the most, and is a favorite still.

Adulthood (including college)

Richard Curtis: “Four Weddings and a Funeral” & “Love Actually”

I'd seen 'Four Weddings' as a kid, but it didn't stick until I was older, and had seen and enjoyed (bite me) 'Love Actually'. Curtis' two rom-coms are still light and fun.

“The Incredibles” & Pixar

Brad Bird's 'Incredibles' is still the high point, in my opinion, in Pixar humor, but there were a lot of very solid offerings. A week after graduating from high school, my friend and I saw 'Finding Nemo' on a whim, and left the theater laughing about surfer bro turtles and seagulls. 

Silent Greats: Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin

In college I began delving into film history, and finally encountered the silent greats of Keaton and Chaplin. The best, in my opinion, are Keaton's 'Sherlock J.' and Chaplin's 'Modern Times'.

Classic Hollywood: Hawks, Wyler, Lubitsch

Some of these I'd seen as a kid (like 'Bringing Up Baby') but again, in college and immediately after I started to seriously look at them and seek them out. Best of each: Hawks - 'His Girl Friday', Wyler - 'Roman Holiday', Lubitsch - 'Ninotchka'.

Stand-up

Adolescence

Dr. Demento: Tom Lehrer & Weird Al

In middle school I got a two-disc compilation of Dr. Demento, with lots of novelty songs going back to Stan Jones. Of them all, Tom Lehrer and Weird Al stuck with me, spurring me to go seek out their other recordings.

Eddie Izzard: “Dressed to Kill”

This was my stand-up introduction, which I can practically quote from memory. A very long set, full of classic witty bits and absurdity.

Robin Williams: “Live on Broadway”

This, with Izzard, was a staple in high school, and we watched it practically on repeat. I'd grown up with Williams' movies (Hook, Mrs. Doubtfire) but this opened up a whole new world.

Chris Rock

I always felt like I was secretly spying on something when I watched Rock's specials. Throughout his career, his specials have been favorites, from "Bring the Pain" up to the present with "Tambourine".

Lily Tomlin: “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe”

For class we read the play, by Tomlin's partner Wagner, and then we watched the one-woman show. It's still poignant, profound, and very funny - if very, very dated.

Adulthood (including college)

George Carlin

In college my freshman year I was introduced to Carlin, and the world of stand-up became a big part of my comedy consumption, instead of an occasional side-dish. 'Jammin' in New York' rose to the top of the Carlin favorites.

Bill Hicks

Turns out you can be angrier than Carlin, and Hicks' anger was great for college. Much of his small oeuvre is difficult to watch, but the segments that land are incredibly funny and fierce.

Bob Newhart and Mitch Hedberg

Newhart's deadpan is second to none, and his comedy recordings are still hilarious, so much so that when we did a college comedy night celebrating our idols, Newhart was my obvious choice. On the then-current side, there was Hedberg, who felt like the spiritual successor to Newhart: at least in terms of idiosyncratic delivery.

Colin Quinn: “Long Story Short”

Co-written with Seinfeld, this funny tour of world history became a favorite, and I would share clips with my students when I taught high school. It's over-simplified in parts to the point of being a problem, but it's still good.

Louis CK

So much Louis CK - I never missed a special, and loved his show 'Louie'. His (totally justified) disappearance during #MeToo has made rewatching some of his work difficult, but he still casts a significant shadow across my comedy landscape.

Bill Cosby: “Himself”

*oof* I never grew up with Cosby - but when I started teaching improv and stand-up to high school students, I needed something both clean and good. I found the special 'Himself', and then went on to his comedy albums: but his way, way justified disappearance didn't mean nearly as much to me as that of CK.

Patton Oswalt

With CK out of the picture, I needed a new comedian to be my champion - and Oswalt became the commanding presence. His was also the first stand-up show I saw live, in Berkeley, when a work friend had an extra ticket.

John Mulaney

Initially I knew Mulaney just for his now-classic bit on the Salt and Pepper Diner, and didn't bother to seek out his other stuff. However, again due to CK leaving a very large hole to fill, right as Mulaney was just surging in popularity he helped fill any of the space not taken by Oswalt.

YouTube British Panel Show Comedians: Dara O’Briain, Jimmy Carr, Tim Minchin, etc.

Since the introduction to QI, and the British panel shows in general, I began using YouTube to discover the work of these comedians, and spent tons of time watching and rewatching their work online. The snarkiest ones were my faves - and in Reno I even used to time my walk to the library by practicing making up my own Tim Minchin lyrics.

YouTube Minor Influences: Doug Stanhope, Greg Proops, Norm MacDonald etc.

Some comedians have one really good bit that sticks with you - and YouTube made those bits very accessible. I've seen a fair bit of these three comedian's work, which is why they are my choices, for there are many others who I investigated along the way that didn't make the cut.

The Smothers Brothers

Finally, in college, my mom introduced me to the wit of the Smothers Brothers recordings, and again, with YouTube, I was able to find their old show clips and get into them even more. Sly, and subversive, they are still funny all these years later.

Welp, that does it - an exhaustive look at the comedians who influenced me, from Bill Watterson to Bob Newhart, and from Stephen Fry to Jim Henson. This has been...not cathartic exactly, but a tremendously fun exercise, one which I highly recommend if you're bored, or feeling self-reflective.

Police Discrimination, Miscarriages of Justice, and Little Richard

When Little Richard recently died, I decided to listen to Here’s Little Richard!, his ground-breaking 1957 LP. One of my favorite tracks in a hit-filled record is the little-known track “Oh Why?”

It is very different from the rest of the catalogue. Slower, quieter – almost meditative. The lyrics, not written by Richard, are far more sober than the other high-energy songs:

I dreamed I was arrested
Charged with a crime
Forgot to plead innocent
Because darling, you're not mine

Oh why?
Why should it happen to me?
Well, I'm fine with it
Have mercy on me

The policeman said maybe
The judge he can agree
The jury keep on guessing
But the DA says it's me

The lawyer said, plead guilty
And try to cop a plea
But why should I try plead guilty
When you don't belongs to me?

… this is not a love song. This is a song about black Americans being caught in a justice system that doesn’t treat them fairly. It’s part of a long history, up to the present – a history I’ve long been interested in tracing, and which has been humming, in the back of my mind, for many years.

*     *     *

A decade before “Oh Why?” a song was released that is a rare antecedent to Little Richard’s message of injustice, and, according to Chuck Berry, might have been the first rock and roll song. Louis Jordan’s 1949 track “Saturday Night Fish Fry” is a fun song, but the lyrics, telling of a couple of musicians taking part in a black house party, take a turn, reflecting the same theme of racial injustice:

Now, we figured this was a good place to play,
'Cause the party was already underway;
But all of a sudden the lights went low,
And everybody made straight for the front door,
Man, I was so scared I didn't know where to go,
I stood right there, then I fell on the floor!

Now, the women was screamin' and jumpin' and yellin',
The bottles was flyin' and the fish was smellin';
And way up above all the noise they made,
Somebody hollered, "Better get out of here; this is a raid!"
Now, I didn't know we was breakin' the law,
But somebody reached up and hit me on the jaw,
They had us blocked off from the front and the back,
And they was puttin' 'em in the wagon like potatoes in a sack.

I knew I could get away if I had a chance,
But I was shakin' like I had the St. Vitus dance,
Now, I tried to crawl under a bathtub,
When the policeman said, "Where you goin' there, bub?"
Now, they got us out of there like a house on fire,
Put us all in that Black Maria,
Now, they might have missed a pitiful few,
But they got both me and my buddy, too!

We headed for jail in a dazed condition,
They booked each one of us on suspicion;
Now my chick came down and went for my bail,
And finally got me out of that rotten jail;
Now, if you ever want to get a fist in your eye,
Just mention a Saturday night fish fry!

Lots of clear discrimination in there. These songs, and these themes, were, therefore, part of the very birth of rock and roll, and the themes continued into the rock and R&B era. All through the 1960s there were a variety of great Civil Rights anthems, sometimes dealing with generalized discrimination and marginalization, and sometimes optimistic: from Nina Simone’s “Mississippi Goddam” in 1964 to James Brown’s 1968 “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud”. That said, these Civil Rights tracks usually didn’t address the justice system or policing. However, entering the 1970s, Marvin Gaye closed his landmark album What’s Going On with the track “Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler)” which returned decidedly to lyrics of discrimination:

Oh, make me wanna holler
And throw up both my hands
Yea, it makes me wanna holler
And throw up both my hands

Crime is increasing
Trigger happy policing
Panic is spreading
God know where we're heading
Oh, make me wanna holler
They don't understand

That line of “trigger happy policing” is a notably violent shift from the previous songs, and during the next two decades this concern over police violence would grow, and continue to find expression in music. The same year as Gaye’s song, Gil Scott-Heron addresses this violence as well on the classic “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” from his album Pieces of a Man:

There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
Brothers on the instant replay
There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down
Brothers on the instant replay
There will be no pictures of Whitney Young being
Run out of Harlem on a rail with a brand new process
There will be no slow motion or still life of Roy
Wilkins strolling through Watts in a Red, Black and
Green liberation jumpsuit that he has been saving
For just the proper occasion

During the 1970s we also see the older theme of miscarriage of justice return with Stevie Wonder, in his 1973 track “Living for the City”, during a long spoken-word section, which, using sound effects, tracks a man’s arrival to New York through his immediate arrest, trial, and jail sentence:

Bus for New York City!
Hey, bus driver! I'm getting on that, hold it
Thanks a lot
Wow, New York, just like I pictured it
Skyscrapers and everything
Hey hey brother, hey come here slick
Hey you look, you look hip man
Hey you wanna make yourself five bucks man
You look hip
Run this across the street for me right quick
Okay, run this across the street for me
What? Huh? I didn’t know! What?
Gimme your hands up you punk!
I’m just going across the street
Put that leg up, shut your mouth
Hell no, what did I do?
Okay, turn around, turn around
Put your hands behind your back, let’s go, let’s go

A jury of your peers having found you guilty, ten years
What?
Come on, come on, get in that cell nigga
God, lord

A decade after the Civil Rights Act, clearly, there was still a lack of racial criminal justice. The prejudice of white America against black America was being given a voice by some of the greatest musicians of the decade.

Returning to the abuses of police, in 1981 the typically upbeat Rick James included “Mr. Policeman” on his album Street Songs:

Hey Mr. Policeman
I've seen you in my neighborhood
You look to me up to no good
I've seen you with your gun in your hand
Hey Mr. Policeman
I saw you shoot my good friend down
He was just havin' fun
Checkin' out a one & one
It's a shame and disgrace
Everytime you show your face
Somebody dies man
La la la la la la la la la

Hey Mr. Policeman
Why don't you leave the boys alone
Why don't you just roll your own
And call me on the telephone
Hey Mr. Policeman
I see you walkin' on your beat
Searchin' strangers on the street
Especially the whores you meet
It's a shame such a disgrace
Everytime you show your face
Somebody dies man
Somebody dies

This pivot back towards police misconduct was not unique. Famously, by the end of the decade in 1988, N.W.A. released “Fuck Tha Police” which shocked much of white America. The lyrics were not subtle:

Fuck the police comin' straight from the underground
A young nigga got it bad 'cause I'm brown
And not the other color so police think
They have the authority to kill a minority
Fuck that shit, 'cause I ain't the one
For a punk motherfucker with a badge and a gun
To be beatin' on, and thrown in jail
We can go toe to toe in the middle of a cell
Fuckin' with me 'cause I'm a teenager
With a little bit of gold and a pager
Searchin' my car, lookin' for the product
Thinkin' every nigga is sellin' narcotics

This song brought the anger and injustice of racist policing to national attention (the FBI even responded), even though, as we’ve seen, it had never disappeared. Two years before “Fuck Tha Police” caught people's attention, crack had been labeled more dangerous than cocaine – a law that disproportionately affected black Americans.  Soon after, in 1992, the Rodney King riots took place, as a response to police brutality. By 1994 the infamous Crime Bill was passed, again disproportionately affecting black Americans, and by 2002 tens of thousands of New Yorkers, usually black, were being stopped and frisked.

In this context, a lot of hip hop artists, in the gangsta-influenced decade of roughly 1988-1998, had similar lyrics and themes to NWA. The popularity of gangsta-inspired songs which dealt explicitly with illegal behaviors, such as drug dealing, assault, and drive-bys, dominated hip hop for years, with lots of lyrical content that was anti-cop. Public Enemy was a rare exception during this era for creating an anti-cop song that dealt with the earlier themes of injustice seen in Marvin Gaye and Rick James, in 1990’s “911 is a Joke”:

Now I dialed 911 a long time ago
Don't you see how late they're reacting
They only come and they come when they wanna
So get the morgue truck and embalm the goner
They don't care cause they stay paid anyway
They treat you like an ace they can't be betrayed
A no-use number with no-use people
If your life is on the line then you're dead today
Latecomers with the late coming stretcher
That's a body bag in disguise y'all, I'll betcha
I call 'em body snatchers cause they come to fetch ya
With an autopsy ambulance just to dissect ya
They are the kings cause they swing amputation
Lose your arms, your legs to them it's compilation
I can prove it to you watch the rotation
It all adds up to a fucked up situation

But songs against the police lose some sympathy when, for the most part, they were packaged with songs glorifying violence like drive-bys and assassinations. Still, the issue of police violence against innocent black victims was present during these years, and was expressed by Wyclef Jean in his song “Diallo”, which dealt with the shooting of an unarmed black immigrant, Amadou Diallo in 1999 – when police shot him 41 times:

Diallo, Diallo - similar to Steven Biko
Diallo, Diallo - you tell me that the murder was an error
Diallo, Diallo - but every man will be judged
Diallo, Diallo - according to his words

You know what?
You told me - that I wouldn't understand man
Tonight some cry - in the streets a burial
Survival of the fittest - only the strong will survive
How can I survive - with forty-one shots by my side?

You guys are murderers
in the middle of the night
Killin innocent people
is that your appetite? Ohhh

You said he reached sir
but he didn't have no piece sir
But now he rest in peace sir
in the belly of the beast sir

After 2000 or so hip hop moved away from East coast / West coast gangsta feud, and lyrics began to revert back to the general theme of harassment seen in the much-earlier songs of Little Richard and Louis Jordan. Most notably Jay Z, in 2004, released “99 Problems” which deals in part with harassment faced due to ‘driving while black’, which has been shown statistically to be a form of racial discrimination on our highways:

The year is '94, in my trunk is raw
In my rearview mirror is the motherfuckin' law
Got two choices, y'all: pull over the car or
Bounce on the devil, put the pedal to the floor
And I ain't tryin' to see no highway chase with Jake
Plus I got a few dollars, I can fight the case
So I pull over to the side of the road
I heard, "Son, do you know why I'm stopping you for?"
'Cause I'm young and I'm black and my hat's real low?
Do I look like a mind reader, sir? I don't know
Am I under arrest or should I guess some more?
"Well, you was doing 55 in a 54
License and registration and step out of the car
Are you carrying a weapon on you? I know a lot of you are"
I ain't steppin' out of shit, all my paper's legit
"Well, do you mind if I look around the car a little bit?"
Well, my glove compartment is locked, so is the trunk in the back
And I know my rights, so you gon' need a warrant for that
"Aren't you sharp as a tack?
You some type of lawyer or something?
Somebody important or something?"
Well, I ain't passed the bar, but I know a little bit
Enough that you won't illegally search my shit
"Well, we'll see how smart you are when the K9 come!"
I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one

The song was a critical and commercial hit, and once again brought on the scrutiny of white America. More recently, another decade-defining song comes from Kendrick Lamar, who released “Alright” in 2015, with this now-well-known lyric:

And we hate Popo, wanna kill us dead in the street for sure, nigga
I'm at the preacher's door
My knees gettin' weak and my gun might blow but we gon' be alright

This re-enflamed a backlash the likes of which hadn’t been seen since NWA, due again to the context of the time when released and the increasingly visible discrepancy between the lives of white and black Americans. “Alright” debuted just as Black Lives Matter was surging – eight months after Eric Garner was killed by police. It was a song that captured a new moment in America. In an Oscar-winning track released shortly before Lamar's, in 2014, Common chose to explicitly link the new Black Lives Matter movement to the long history of Civil Rights, in his song “Glory” with John Legend:

Hands to the Heavens, no man, no weapon
Formed against, yes glory is destined
Every day women and men become legends
Sins that go against our skin become blessings
The movement is a rhythm to us
Freedom is like religion to us
Justice is juxtapositionin' us
Justice for all just ain't specific enough
One son died, his spirit is revisitin' us
Truant livin' livin' in us, resistance is us
That's why Rosa sat on the bus
That's why we walk through Ferguson with our hands up
When it go down we woman and man up
They say, "Stay down", and we stand up
Shots, we on the ground, the camera panned up
King pointed to the mountain top and we ran up

The focus here is on Ferguson, Missouri, which boiled over when Michael Brown was killed by a police officer – one of the Black Lives Matter catalysts. As we can see, songs of police violence and a discriminatory justice system have, by now, become part of the American musical heritage, folded in with the Civil Rights anthems, protest tracks, and songs about discrimination against black Americans in general.

*     *     *

Generalized songs of discrimination, of course, long predate the rock and roll boom of the 1950s – Louis Armstrong often recorded “Black & Blue” which was originally a Fats Waller song from the 1920s, and Billie Holiday is famous for describing a lynching in 1939’s “Strange Fruit”. But, it was with the birth of rock and roll, and artists like Jordan and Little Richard, that a new type of song about discrimination in the justice system began, which eventually evolved into songs explicitly dealing with police brutality. And so, in light of Richard’s death, it’s worth remembering that a whole legacy of songs, from Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, to NWA and Public Enemy, to Jay Z and Kendrick Lamar, can trace their history back to Richard’s ground-breaking work. In brief, there was so much more to him than his delightful “Good Golly Miss Molly!” and “Tutti Frutti” – and we should honor and celebrate that contribution and legacy as well.

Little Richard, 1932-2020.

Rock Hall of Fame - Most Egregious Oversights

Back in 2017 I wondered about which artists were likely to be added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the next fifteen years or so. Many of those artists are still very deserving, and some, pleasantly, have been inducted, but there are people who are equally deserving in both the performing and non-performing categories that need a shout-out. So here's my top list of the artists not in the Hall but who definitely, without question, should be.

First, the Artists, in alphabetical order.

Joy Division / New Order. I mean, I'm not a fan of Joy Division, but I totally respect their influence on shaping the post-punk landscape, and their influence on 80s music in general. Tremendously popular (as New Order) as well as impacting so many artists to follow makes them clearly eligible entrants, but they've yet to even be nominated.

Kraftwerk. They have been nominated six times, without getting in. Very few artists have been nominated that often: Chuck Willis and Chic are the only other artists nominated so often (Chic, actually, was nominated a record 11 times, before their great guitarist Nile Rodgers was inducted on his own). Kraftwerk isn't in, as far as I can figure, because they are German. But with bands like Depeche Mode being inducted, Kraftwerk's omission is pretty ridiculous. Perhaps adding them would force them to acknowledge non-English rock artists around the world, from Serge Gainsbourg in France to Os Mutantes in Brazil. Horrors!

The Pixies have never even been nominated, despite their widespread influence on other artists who are in the Hall, like Nirvana and Pearl Jam, and many others. They were integral to the late 80s and 90s rock, and that they've not been recognized is just dumb. Many of their albums are now considered classics (Surfer Rosa, Doolittle), as are their popular singles.

The Smiths are another odd exception. Widely considered one of the most significant indie groups of the 1980s they've only been nominated twice, and still have no presence in the Hall. Heck, all four of their albums made the Rolling Stone's Top 500 - that's a bizarre omission right there. Now that the Hall seems to be on an 80s kick, it would be a good time to consider both the Pixies and The Smiths.

Sugarhill Gang is yet another unusual oversight. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five get a spot, as do the other early hiphop pioneers like Run DMC and Public Enemy, but not Sugarhill Gang? I can only name one Grandmaster Flash song (The Message) - I can easily name three Sugarhill tracks (Rapper's Delight, 8th Wonder, and Apache - all influential and popualr). I get the Hall not including DJ Kool Herc, since he wasn't a recording artist, but Sugarhill definitely was, and, like Herc, helped invent hiphop, thereby deserving due credit.

Dionne Warwick has never even been nominated, despite being one of the most popular female singers of her time and all-time, with a string of classic tracks. She is, admittedly, on the 'pop' side of rock - but so are many other inductees, likely the recently, rightfully, inducted Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson. Her addition would certainly help address the gender imbalance. (Next year I'm hoping Sleater-Kinney and the other mid-90s girl groups and artists get in: PJ Harvey, Alanis Morissette, Bjork.) Besides, even if she's pop, the Hall is full of inductees from other areas of music, which I'll address now.

Outlying Artists:

John McLaughlin and Joe Zawinul. These two both deserve to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (separately inducted) because they were two of the three biggest names in jazz fusion. The third name, Miles Davis, gets to be in the Hall, so if he's in there for contributions to rock via fusion, these two, who worked at the same time and with Davis and did lots of innovating on their own, also deserve credit.

Award for Musical Excellence (formerly Sidemen):

Carol Kaye was the bassist of the famous Wrecking Crew - a group of session musicians in LA who played on a bazillion recordings from the Phil Spector era through the psychedelic era and beyond. A couple of the members have been inducted into the Hall - Leon Russell, Earl Palmer, Steve Douglas, and Hal Blaine. But Kaye ("La Bamba", "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling", "These Boots are Made for Walking", "River Deep Mountain High", "Wichita Lineman", "Sloop John B", "California Girls", "In the Heat of the Night", "The Way We Were", Freak Out! and so, so many more) definitely also deserves a spot.

Non-Performing (Producers):

Lee “Scratch” Perry was a reggae producer who helped invent dubbing and scratching. Now, two reggae artists are already in the Hall: Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff. So if we're recognizing reggae's influence on Rock, and if many hiphop artists are included, then surely Perry deserves a spot. He was even included on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Immortals in 2003 - and one of only two artists on that list not to be inducted who is eligible (the other is Gram Parsons, nominated three times, and Eminem who isn't yet eligible).

Rubin, left.

Rick Rubin. Rubin helped get hiphop off the ground, and for that alone should be in there - he produced Run DMC, Public Enemy, and the Beastie Boys, whom are all inductees, as well as plenty of other rock members, notably the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but also Joan Jett, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Neil Diamond, Metallica, U2, ZZ Top, Black Sabbath... and more.

Non-Performing (Songwriters):

Taupin, left.

The fact that Bernie Taupin isn't in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is just absurd. Elton John was inducted in 1994, but the man who wrote basically all of his classics, wasn't included at the time, and the error has never been rectified. His is one of the most glaring absences: Rocket Man, Tiny Dancer, Candle in the Wind, Your Song... He made Elton John. It's unfathomable that he's not already in.

Quarantine Activity: 100 Movies to See Before You Die

So. Sheltering in place. This has been something. In a way it felt like there's nothing to talk about. But since people are getting stir-crazy, I figured I would try and help, and share a list to help occupy people's time.

These are not my 100 favorite films, by a long-shot (some I actively dislike). Instead, I made sure no director was on here twice, and tried to give a broad array of flicks, aiming for diversity, innovation, and novelty. Really, some of these are just so-so, but they all stick with you. And a few are just exemplars of their genre, time, or movement, to round it out - I mean not everything is experimental, boundary-pushing, and cutting edge. 

If you watch them all you get an honorary film degree from the University of Walla Walla.

1924. Sherlock Jr. – United States  

1927. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans – United States

1928. The Last Command – United States

1928. The Passion of Joan of Arc – France

1929. Man with a Movie Camera – Soviet Union

1930. The Blood of a Poet – France

1931. M – Germany

1933. King Kong – United States  

1933. Duck Soup – United States  

1936. Modern Times – United States  

1936. Dodsworth – United States

1937. Grand Illusion – France

1938. Olympia – Germany

1939. The Wizard of Oz – United States

1939. Ninotchka – United States

1940. Fantasia – United States  

1940. His Girl Friday – United States  

1942. Casablanca – United States

1945. Children of Paradise – France

1949. The Third Man – United Kingdom

1949. White Heat – United States

1951. An American in Paris – United States  

1951. Awaara – India

1952. Umberto D. – Italy

1953. Ugetsu – Japan

1953. Tokyo Story – Japan

1954. Seven Samurai – Japan

1955-59. Apu Trilogy – India

1957. Sweet Smell of Success – United States

1958. Vertigo – United States

1959. The 400 Blows – France

1959. Black Orpheus – Brazil/France

1961. West Side Story – United States  

1962. Lawrence of Arabia – United Kingdom

1962. The Manchurian Candidate – United States

1963. 8 ½ – Italy

1964. A Hard Day’s Night – United Kingdom

1964. Soy Cuba – Cuba/Soviet Union

1965. Alphaville – France

1966. Andrei Rublev – Soviet Union

1966. Persona – Sweden

1966. The Battle of Algiers – Italy/Algeria

1967. Mouchette – France

1968. 2001: A Space Odyssey – United Kingdom/United States

1968. Once Upon a Time in the West – Italy/United States

1971. A Touch of Zen – Taiwan

1972. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie – France

1973. Touki Bouki – Senegal

1974. Blazing Saddles – United States

1974. Chinatown – United States  

1975. F for Fake – France/Iran/West Germany

1975. Monty Python and the Holy Grail – United Kingdom

1976. Network – United States  

1977. Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope – United States  

1979. Apocalypse Now – United States  

1980. Mon Oncle D’Amerique – France

1981. Das Boot – West Germany  

1981. My Dinner with Andre – United States

1982. Koyaanisqatsi – United States

1982. Blade Runner – United States  

1985. Brazil – United Kingdom  

1985. Come and See – Belarus/Soviet Union

1986. Bashu the Little Stranger – Iran

1987. Wings of Desire – West Germany

1988. Cinema Paradiso – Italy  

1989. The Seventh Continent – Austria

1990. Goodfellas – United States

1991. Raise the Red Lantern – China

1993. Jurassic Park – United States

1993. Farwell My Concubine – China  

1994. Chungking Express – Hong Kong

1994. Pulp Fiction – United States  

1994. Clerks – United States  

1995. Ulysses’ Gaze – Greece

1997. Mother and Son – Russia

1998. The Big Lebowski – United States  

1998. The Truman Show – United States

1998. Dil Se.. – India

1999. The Wind Will Carry Us – Iran

2000. Snatch – United Kingdom/United States

2001. Mulholland Drive – United States  

2001. Spirited Away – Japan  

2001-03. The Lord of the Rings – United States/New Zealand

2002. City of God – Brazil  

2002. Talk to Her – Spain  

2004. The Incredibles – United States  

2005. The New World – United States

2006. The Wind That Shakes the Barley – Ireland  

2006. Paprika – Japan  

2008. Synecdoche, New York – United States

2008. Summer Hours – France

2009. White Material – France

2009. The Hurt Locker – United States  

2010. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives – Thailand

2010. Winter’s Bone – United States

2011. Melancholia – Denmark/Sweden

2012. Moonrise Kingdom – United States

2013. 12 Years a Slave – United States  

2014. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night – United States

2016. The Handmaiden – South Korea