Fuzzy Lion

Mark your calendars because The National will be performing on The Late Show with David Letterman on July 24th. The band has also announced a slew of new North American tour dates for the Fall:

17 AUG: USA, New York, NY / SOUTH STREET SEAPORT w/ Takka Takka + The Forms

04 SEPT: Philadelphia, PA - Theater of Living Arts
05 SEPT: Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
06 SEPT: Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
07 SEPT: Carrboro, NC - Cats Cradle
08 SEPT: Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
10 SEPT: Orlando, FL - The Club @ Firestone
11 SEPT: Tallahassee, FL - Club Downunder
12 SEPT: Birmingham, AL - The Bottletree
14 SEPT: Dallas, TX - Grenada Theater
16 SEPT: Austin, TX - Zilker Park (Austin City Limits Festival)
18 SEPT: Denver, CO - Ogden Theater
19 SEPT: Omaha, NE - The Slowdown
20 SEPT: Minneapolis, MN - The Fine Line
21 SEPT: Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater
22 SEPT: Chicago, IL - The Vic // Tickets >> ON-SALE SOON!
23 SEPT: Cincinnati, OH - Madison Theater
27 SEPT: San Diego, CA - Casbah // SOLD OUT
28 SEPT: Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
29 SEPT: San Francisco, CA - The Grand Ballroom

01 OCT: Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
02 OCT: Seattle, WA - Showbox
03 OCT: Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
06 OCT: Boston, MA - Roxy
07 OCT: Montreal, Quebec - Le National
08 OCT: Toronto, Ontario - Phoenix Concert Hall

(Photo: djenvert)

Just a quick reminder that The Smashing Pumpkins will be performing on Letterman tonight and on Friday (they are taping two shows today).

It’s contest time again!

To celebrate the release of Reno 911: The Complete Fourth Season Uncensored, I will be giving away a copy of this wonderful show to one lucky reader. Simply send an email to staff [at] fuzzylion.com with your name and address and I will select one winner at random on Saturday, July 7th.

If you don’t win, get your ass over to a store and pick this up because it’s probably the best show on Comedy Central that’s not called South Park!

While I hate and pretty much boycott MTV, I did find their old show “Say What - Karaoke” pretty entertaining at times. It appears that they are bringing the show back and holding auditions next week, according to this post on Craigslist. (At the time of posting this, the fools at MTV fail to realize that April 5th is a Thursday, not a Friday, so if you’re thinking of trying out, I’d check with them first to find out the correct details.)

A little piece of me died inside last night when I saw this on television.

I guess the only saving grace I have is that it wasn’t a Smashing Pumpkins cover. (yet?!)

People, if I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times…30 Rock is one of the best new shows on TV. Some of my friends have taken my advice and are now obsessed, but if you have yet to check it out, DO IT!

There’s a story in today’s Variety about shows that are on the bubble, which is a nice way of saying “in danger of cancellation.” While it appears that NBC has enough faith that 30 Rock will be a hit, it’s still not a guarantee that it will be back.

If you need proof of 30 Rock’s brilliance, head on over to NBC Rewind and you can watch full episodes there. If you’re looking for a great intro episode, check out #16 “The Source Awards.” If you don’t laugh your ass off you really need to get your sense of humor checked.

Who doesn’t love William Shatner? I know I do. While I may avoid Star Trek like the plague, I get my Shat fix via Boston Legal these days.

Mr. Priceline himself was roasted late last year on Comedy Central and they’re releasing the program on DVD in an extended and uncut version next week. If you missed it during it’s original airing, you missed one of the better roasts of late.

Keep checking this blog becuase I should have some Shat-tastic giveaways coming up in the near future.

On another note, if anyone out there has an Xbox 360, be sure to check out the HD South Park episode “Good Times With Weapons” on the XBox Live Marketplace. It’s free and will only be on there until the end of this week. If you’re like me, you’re probably wondering how the hell South Park benefits from high definition, but I can tell you first hand that it is amazing. I will find it very tough to watch South Park in standard definition from this point on.

If you DON’T have a 360 (you’re missing out), you can get the episode on HD-DVD after March 20th at Best Buy, or for free with the purchase of a 360 or HD-DVD Drive. (Check Best Buy for details.)

I know it sounds shocking, but there’s actually a reason to turn in to “Last Call with Carson Daly” this week. Emily Haines will be his musical guest on Wednesday night (1/31), and if you peek at the “Heavy Rotation” sidebar, you’ll see that I’ve been loving her record Knives Don’t Have Your Back.

If you’re not familiar with Ms. Haines solo material, be sure to check out the first track off the record, “Our Hell.”

Other notable guests hitting the late-night shows this week include Sarah Silverman (Conan, 1/29), Mary Lynn Rajskub (Leno, 1/29), Matt Damon (Letterman, 1/30), Bill Murray (Letterman, 2/1) & David Spade (Letterman, 2/2).

Calling all comedy lovers with HBO. If you haven’t seen it already, Louis C.K.’s comedy special “Shameless” is one of the funniest stand-up specials I have ever seen. There’s a complete schedule of the re-runs here, so set your DV-R and make sure you take a piss before you watch it or you’ll end up staining the couch.

For those of you who are unfortunate enough to not be familiar with Louis C.K., he’s basically the comedian that Dane Cook strives to be, only funny.

I have been a little late getting into 30 Rock but I’m glad that I did; it’s the funniest new comedy on TV since The Office.

There are two shows this season based on the behind-the-scenes makings of a live television show, but only one of them is worth watching, and it’s not Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. I’ve never been able to sit through a full hour of Studio 60, and it appears many Americans are with me; it’s a ratings disaster. If it weren’t for the big creative team behind the show, it would’ve went away along with Smith and 3 Lbs. to cancellation heaven.

But 30 Rock is different. The show’s star is also it’s creator, Tina Fey, and features Alec Baldwin in one of his best roles in years. Fey plays Liz Lemon, the head writer of a SNL-esque sketch comedy show called “The Girlie Show” which was forced to add the mentally-ill but wildly popular Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) as a cast member.

For the record, let me state that I have never found Tracy Morgan funny, or even tolerable. He was a waste of a cast member on SNL in my opinion and I honestly can’t remember ever laughing at one skit he was in. That being said, Fey has created the perfect outlet to prove that he actually IS funny and he shines in his role.

Now here’s the problem. The ratings for this show aren’t that great, but NBC has thankfully ordered it for a full-season pickup. It’s great to see that they’re not pulling the plug on this show in hopes it will turn out to be as successful as The Office has become, another show which started off slow ratings-wise.

Unfortunately, the idiots who run NBC are out of touch with the demographic for this show. I don’t know who they’re aiming for, but I can pretty much guarantee that if you like The Office and that brand of witty humor, you will find 30 Rock hilarious.

The Office became successful mainly through iTunes, at a time when there were limited shows available. The Office’s strong word-of-mouth buzz, coupled with the curiosity of the tech-savvy in purchasing television episodes through iTunes became the series’ saving grace.

If NBC is hoping for that to happen with 30 Rock, they are sadly mistaken. iTunes is not going to break this show because people are not aware of its brilliance. There’s little buzz, and buying TV on iTunes is old hat. Other networks realize this, and that’s they’ve created opportunities to view past and current episodes of their content for free (ad-supported) online. Unfortunately, NBC doesn’t allow you to watch all the back episodes of 30 Rock at their website, so you’re limited to watching just the most recently aired one.

How does that make any sense? Does anyone even know when this show’s regular time-slot is?! I didn’t, and I’m pretty damn TV savvy. (It’s Thursday @ 9:30). NBC should be doing everything they possibly can to get this show out there, for free, so people can get hooked.

In the meantime, stream the episodes that have aired already from the links below. Get caught up, and help spread the word and ratings of this show so we’ll see it next year too. As of now I am only able to find the first 4, but I will keep updating as I track down more.
Episode 1: Link
Episode 2: Link
Episode 3: Link
Episode 4: Link