Monday Morning Pick-Me-Up: Wiig of Thrones and Conan on Letterman
WATCH & LAUGH Time to get real: most of the bits on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon are awful. No matter how much Fallon attempts to sell it by cackling like a hyena, there's nothing actually funny about seeing a celebrity play a familiar game or lip sync. (Sorry, America/Internet.) That said, the program is a must-watch when Kristen Wiig shows up. Rather than traditionally promote her projects, Wiig has developed a routine out of characters she knows almost nothing about, like Michael Jordan or Harry Styles, and then totally wings it as Fallon grills her. For her most recent improvised appearance, she played Khaleesi (aka Karen from the Forest) from Game of Thrones with delightful inaccuracy.
READ It's almost time for David Letterman to say his final goodbye as host of the Late Show, so expect an onslaught of tributes before his final show on May 20. Few of them will hit the mark as much as this essay written by Conan O'Brien to honor the rebel spirit of his hosting hero. It's easy to forget (especially for anyone under the age of 35) how much of a comedic anarchist Letterman was way back in the days of Late Night with David Letterman, where he constantly subverted the very idea of the archetypal talk show.
WATCH & LAUGH Amy Schumer has become the lead voice in humorously skewering societal views of women. On the latest episode of Inside Amy Schumer, she took aim at the shallowness of boy bands singing about inner beauty—specifically One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful"—with the hilarious (and actually supercatchy) "Girl, You Don't Need Makeup."
Grammar Lesson Anyone who doesn't use the Oxford comma is a linguistic maniac (we're looking at you, Vampire Weekend). If you need any convincing, take a look at this old book dedication, which circulated online once again last week.
I will fight to support the Oxford comma until I draw my last breath. pic.twitter.com/Y0T6c3F4iI
— Alexander MacDonald (@alex_macdonald) April 30, 2015
WATCH & LISTEN There's serious real-life baggage behind the latest music video by Seattle-turned-Brooklyn band Iska Dhaaf. The clip for "Dependency" (from Even the Sun Will Burn) finds Nathan Quiroga's estranged father, in their first meeting in years, mouthing the haunting lyrics before digging a hole (grave?) at night. It's worth taking the time to read the video's description and the backstory online in order to get the full emotional impact.