The Demise of Kanye West — What Went Wrong?

Hollywood gives all its players a chance to re-live high school . . . the good way. Everyone has six degrees of separation, and that includes A-listers. If you emit disrespect in any capacity — word gets around. Shockingly, this close click of insiders tell me that Kanye West is actually a nice guy. Though it’s seemingly shocking at first glance, further inquiry sheds some light on his current darkness. In short? The man can’t handle the media.

With every attack, Kanye trades humility for haughtiness, pounding his chest while screaming about his world domination. My arm-chair psychology degree tells me that the man is simply insecure, and with each jab, he throws a boulder. His recent outrage surrounds Jimmy Kimmel, who made fun of the rapper’s recent BBC 1 interview (see below), using children to reenact his pompous declarations. I can only assume Kimmel thought of children because Kanye was in fact acting like a spoiled child, whining about his legos while slamming the floor.

Many people speculate that Kanye’s demise began with his mother’s passing, assuming she reeled in these rants. Since then, it can also be assumed that he’s surrounded himself with “yes-men,” and only agrees to do interviews where he may speak freely (he was sandbagged by Matt Lauer — and never quite recovered). My advice to Kanye West is to dismantle his twitter, find some real friends to reign him in, and to host Saturday Night Live. If that doesn’t work — call Alec Baldwin. He’s a master at cleaning up his temper tantrums — and Kanye can learn a thing or two.

Vintage Quote of the Day — Chris Rock Talks Chris Farley

“At the end of the sketch, the guy goes up to Farley and says, ‘You’re fat and disgusting.’ A lot of Farley’s problems were connected to the fact that he felt . . . ugly. That sketch kind of fed into that shit. I like Danny Devito. You know why I like Danny Devito? They never mention he’s short in any fucking movie. He’s like, ‘Fuck you. I’ll do your movie. Take this short shit out.’ There’s eight hundred things to make fun of. Why go to the obvious thing?” Chris Rock to Howard Stern, on why he hated Chris Farley’s most famous Chip & Dale’s sketch on Saturday Night Live.

Did Beyonce Lip-Sync at the Inauguration? UH-OH!

Here’s a question: Does the world owes an apology to Ashlee Simpson? Remember the hate-parade she got following her lip-syncing melt-down on Saturday Night Live which subsequently sunk her career? Well, it appears Beyonce has joined the party, and is guilty of the same. The only difference? She didn’t get busted in the moment. In case you missed it, Beyonce lip-synced the Star-Spangled Banner at President Obama’s inauguration, and the public didn’t take kindly to it. There’s speculation as to whether she sang over a pre-recorded track, or she actually didn’t sing at all, but either way — her team has yet to respond. Watch Below.

Update: Mike Doughty, one of my favorite musicians, is certain she sang live. Read his article here: SLATE MAGAZINE

The Lumineers Play Saturday Night Live — WATCH

Much to the dismay of all of my friends, my early discovery and interview of The Lumineers has lead to endless pats on the back. And those pats on the back just got better with their performance on Saturday Night Live. So congrats to the very nice guys I had the pleasure of meeting early-on in their massive success. Watch below.

Saturday Night Lives Children’s Choir Sings for Sandy Hook

This video makes me cry every time I watch it, but I keep doing so. Saturday Night Live opened its show by forgoing the traditional comedic sketch in favor of a children’s choir who paid tribute to the victims of the Sandy Hook tragedy by singing Silent Night. Watch below.

Saturday Night Live Hits a Homerun With Homeland Sketch — WATCH

 

It’s astounding that ‘Saturday Night Live’ is still this good all these years later. It’s hard to sustain momentum, and Lorne Michaels is an unequivocal genius. Watch Anne Hathaway kill it as Claire Danes during her Homeland sketch. Might I add that the Jewish references for Saul’s character were also quite enjoyable? He nailed Mandy Patinkin.

Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven” — Police Rip-off?

The second I heard Bruno Mars perform “Locked Out of Heaven” on Saturday Night Live I thought it sounded strikingly similar to a Police song. So I googled it, and predictably, I’m not the only one who noticed. In fact, Bruno Mars himself addressed the controversy, saying, “I grew up listening to the Police, I grew up performing in bars, singing Police songs. … I remember performing a song like ‘Roxanne,’ and you play those first couple of chords, and you hit that first note, and you watch the whole bar ignite. And as an artist, as a songwriter, it’s like ‘Man, I want to write a song that makes people’s eyes explode the first chord!'” I suppose the best way to write a song like The Police is to copy it? As an aside, Bruno Mars is an astoundingly good performer. Watch below.

Update: Sting just performed this song with Bruno Mars at the 2013 Grammys. If Sting isn’t pissed, then neither is The Dishmaster.

Rihanna Performs on SNL — Too Slutty?

I’ve officially had it with Rihanna. If you know The Dishmaster, then you know I’m a prude. That being said, I think anyone would agree that dancing on stage while slapping your vagina isn’t the best course of action on national television. Sexy is fine — slutty is not. Watch below.