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Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead -- National Lampoon documentary

Augustus

By Augustus
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Augustus

Augustus 3061

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I don't know how long ago this was made, but I just found it on Prime yesterday (had never heard of it) and it was fantastic.  It came up in the suggestions after I finished the Hunter S Thompson documentary.

So much I didn't know, including how so many of the original SNL cast were part of the Second City troupe and were originally performers for National Lampoon before the company made the mistake of passing on the new show "NBC's Saturday Night."  Quite the mistake in hindsight. 

Lots of great clips from album recording sessions, audio from the National Lampoon Radio Hour, and interesting stories about the involved parties.  Interviews with Chevy Chase, Kevin Bacon and lots of the personalities involved in the magazine, albums, radio and films.  

There were a lot of LOL moments, but the biggest one for me was when I caught a headline from one of the magazines that said "Richard Nixon Nominated for Nobel War Prize."

This trailer is from YouTube but the documentary is currently included with a Prime subscription.

 

 

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Augustus

Augustus 3061

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7 minutes ago, mdleast said:

I watched it a couple of months back and really liked it.  In fact, so much so that I may revisit it.

I knew before it was over I'd be watching again.  Incredibly interesting and extremely well done.

Plus, it really takes you back if you're old enough to have been around for the Radio Hour and the magazine when it was great.

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Augustus

Augustus 3061

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3 hours ago, dogbreath said:

A child’s humor formed by Mad Magazine, Monty Python, Mel Brooks and National Lampoon. What a wonderful time. 

 

Great observation.  That may be a big factor in the Gen X overall attitude compared to those who came before and after us.

One thing that really disappoints me today is that the kind of satire they employed would get met with outrage/shouted down by a lot of noisy folks today.

In its way, it's a bizarre neo-Puritanism.

(Not that Lampoon didn't generate outrage and shout-down efforts.  It's just coming from a different sector today, and they have far more influence.)

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Deej

Deej 76797

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15 minutes ago, Augustus said:

 

Great observation.  That may be a big factor in the Gen X overall attitude compared to those who came before and after us.

One thing that really disappoints me today is that the kind of satire they employed would get met with outrage/shouted down by a lot of noisy folks today.

In its way, it's a bizarre neo-Puritanism.

(Not that Lampoon didn't generate outrage and shout-down efforts.  It's just coming from a different sector today, and they have far more influence.)

70's humor was all about taking the piss out of anything and everything. If you can't laugh at yourself, you can't laugh at anything. It was the era of comedians like Richard Pryor and George Carlin. The era of Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, Dean Martin Roasts, and Don Rickles. We understood you could be funny and an asshole without being mean-spirited. The humor brought us together. 

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Augustus

Augustus 3061

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1 hour ago, RPM said:

You're all lemmings.

 

Christopher Guest shredding the guitar.  Chevy Chase doing a nice job on the cans.  Belushi jamming on bass.  Incredible.

How often do you unintentionally create a successful off-Broadway show?  This was supposed to be a TV special and that was that, but it ended up having a nice run.

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Augustus

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2 hours ago, Deej said:

70's humor was all about taking the piss out of anything and everything. If you can't laugh at yourself, you can't laugh at anything. It was the era of comedians like Richard Pryor and George Carlin. The era of Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, Dean Martin Roasts, and Don Rickles. We understood you could be funny and an asshole without being mean-spirited. The humor brought us together. 

Well said, man.  And it informed our own attempts at humor.

When I was a teenager, some friends and I were getting drunk in a treehouse at Lake Mexia, and my buddy always carried this hand-held tape recorder around.  So I grabbed it, hit record and went into this act like I was a Washington DC radio news correspondent, reporting live from the Crucifixion.  I discovered there was a lot of opportunity for humor if you just start describing the scene from the moment Jesus and the two other guys appear, dragging their crosses up the hill, all the way to "It is finished."  God I'd kill to find that tape somewhere.

I also think your post is a good example of why Gen X is the most sarcastic generation.   We were taught to find the absurdity in everything, make fun of it, laugh at it, and not to take anything too seriously.

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Deej

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Yep. People are amazed at the shit I get away with saying. "Your an asshole, but I can't get mad at it because it's hysterical."

All those years growing up watching the masters. Say it with a smile and a wink, and they are never sure if you're serious. Haha. 

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Texzilla58

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I gotta watch it this. NatLamp was my favorite and I had a subscription from 7th grade on. My parents just thought it was another version of MAD. It framed a lot of my humor and view of life. I wanted to be a writer there.

John Hughes great stories that later spawned Animal House and Vacation movies, Son o God comics, nekkid women. The specials, like the High School yearbook and Sunday newspaper, were massive projects that built complex ecosystems and spawned later characters like Larry Kroger.

Thanks for the heads up; I had totally missed it.

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Augustus

Augustus 3061

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I remember back in 1985 or 86, my dorm roommate had a Rolling Stone subscription, and in each issue they'd list which touring acts were bringing in the biggest crowds/most cash, whatever metric they were using.

Every month The Grateful Dead were number one on the list, and I kept thinking WTF?  I was 19 and didn't know a single song of theirs.

(Actually, I knew "Truckin" but didn't know it was the Dead)

Finally got around to learning all about them and was blown away.

 

 

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Hate

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4 minutes ago, Augustus said:

 

Well that looks just absolutely awesome.

Shit, keep posting stuff like this, gentlemen.  That's two great looking vids on this thread that I've never seen.

That's taken from their "last" show in 1974 when they took a break.  It would be two years before they began touring full time again.  If you want a documentary to help "explain" The Grateful Dead, watch Long Strange Trip on Amazon Prime.

Another great documentary is about Bob Weir, The Other One.  It's on Netflix.

 

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statsman

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On 9/2/2022 at 5:08 PM, Augustus said:

 

Great observation.  That may be a big factor in the Gen X overall attitude compared to those who came before and after us.

One thing that really disappoints me today is that the kind of satire they employed would get met with outrage/shouted down by a lot of noisy folks today.

In its way, it's a bizarre neo-Puritanism.

(Not that Lampoon didn't generate outrage and shout-down efforts.  It's just coming from a different sector today, and they have far more influence.)

You don’t think “Sgt. Nick Penis and the Brassballs Battallion” would be just as appreciated today?

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