My Interview With Hari Kondabolu

A few years ago, comedian Hari Kondabolu made The Problem With Apu, a documentary that expressed his issues with the inherent racism of The Simpsons' depiction of convince-store owner Apu. He has a new stand-up special, Vacation Baby, out now, so we talked about that, the documentary, the fallout, and fatherhood. It was a blast. Read all about it over at Cracked.

Which of Troy McClure's Fake Films and TV Shows Sounded the Best?

You might remember him from such great shows as The Simpsons. For Cracked, I ranked Troy McClure's best projects that he mentioned in passing, mostly judging them by their titles. Hope you enjoy.

In Praise of 'The Shinning'

It's almost Halloween, so for Cracked I had to write about my favorite segment of The Simpsons' "Treehouse of Horror." Hope you enjoy.

The New York Yankees and Their Clean-Shaven Players

Another baseball season, another year in which the Yankees aren't allowed to have beards. For MEL, I wrote about the nearly 50-year tradition for the Bronx Bombers, and why it's getting increasingly silly.

Pop Culture and Politicians

For MEL, I spent a little time scouring through movies, TV and music to find some of the best/weirdest/funniest political ephemera. The Simpsons! Spitting Image! Mermaid Avenue! The Candidate! It's all here.

Father's Day: The Evolution of the TV Dad

This whole week at MEL has been dedicated to fatherhood, and today I focus on how television has portrayed dads over time. If you want a thumbnail history of American social norms from the 1950s to the present, just turn on your TV and see what kind of father stares back at you from sitcoms and dramas. You can read my piece here.

talkin' softball

If you follow baseball at all, you know that Ken Griffey, Jr. recently announced his retirement. Sure, he's a guaranteed first-ballot Hall-of-Famer but, perhaps more significantly, it means that the entire team of professional ringers Mr. Burns brought in to win the power plant's softball championship are retired. Yes, this is a Simpsons reference. And here's the great song from that very great episode.

Radiohead Win Best Grammy Comment

It's not a Grammy category yet, but Radiohead guitarist Johnny Greenword deserves some sort of award for this response to the ridiculous lavishness of the Grammys:

Everything I know about pop culture I know from The Simpsons, and they say the Grammys aren't very good.

For the record, I thought their performance of "15 Steps" with the USC marching band was just OK. It's not one of my favorite tracks from In Rainbows.

the best rock band cameos on the simpsons

The Simpsons has been on the air for 20 years now. To celebrate, I list my 11 favorite rock band appearances on the show. (Hint: I decided not to include Aerosmith.)

(Update: You can now read that piece here.) 

the simpsons movie

At long last, after much worrying and cynical naysaying, The Simpsons Movie comes to us. So what did I think? Check here -- and also see my reviews of The Bourne Ultimatum, Spoon's latest album, and a great new theater piece called Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings.

falling out of love with the simpsons

I ask every Simpsons fan in my life the same question: How do you think the movie will be? They all have the same response: They grimace, fearing the worst. I'm the same way. The show hasn't been great in years, so it's hard to imagine that the movie won't be a embarrassing final nail in the coffin.

Ian Jones has a great piece in The Guardian about this shared dread among longtime fans. I imagine my friends will nod their head in agreement while reading this.

sick of los angeles traffic?

Fans of The Simpsons can't hear the word "monorail" without laughing ... some of us even remember the words to the song in that particular episode. But author Ray Bradbury makes a pretty strong argument for the necessity of this form of air transportation in Los Angeles. Next time you're on the freeway, going nowhere, keep it in mind.