Episode 138: The Oft-Overlooked #1 Variety

The Overthinkers tackle the meaning of art.

Matthew Wrather hosts with Peter Fenzel and Mark Lee to attempt to overthink the Oscars, instead discussing Jackass 3D, the Legend of Zelda, Finding Forrester, comedy festivals, poetry slams, and the inner battle for beauty.

[audio:http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/mwrather/otip138.mp3]

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11 Comments on “Episode 138: The Oft-Overlooked #1 Variety”

  1. Edvamp #

    So, when do you guys plan on doing an Oscar episode? :)

    Actually I am fine with this format. I didn’t watch the Oscars and don’t care about them, so find your meanderings much more enjoyable.

    I found the discussion about art and the reasons to create art interesting, particularly the comments about the classical guitarist. So you know, his other option is music licensing for TV and Films which is good work for instrumentalists.

    When I worked in the music industry I would hear a lot of opinions on music and that balance between music as art and music as a product for consumption. Rock musicians were particularly annoying because they would rail against the commercial music industry for destroying music in the interests of profit while simultaneously trying to ingratiate themselves to that very industry. Rappers, on the other hand, were much more honest about treating their music as a means to an end, namely commercial success.

    I know very little about comedy and am curious if that industry has similar conflicts of ideology and artistic integrity or if it is basically a means to get paid.

    Reply

  2. Chris #

    Man, a couple weeks ago Fenzel disparaged the Detroit Lions, and then he tried to take a jab at the Tigers. As a sports fan, I do believe I am now required to hate you forever, ravage your land, and salt the Earth so nothing may grow again. The important thing is that the Wings are having a great season.

    Armond White named Scott Pilgrim vs. the World his favorite film of the year, so Mark Lee is good company. That is to say, he’s in the company of a man known solely for being a contrarian dick.

    New audio entertainment on Overthinking It? Does that mean you guys are doing another rendition of The Overview?

    Reply

    • fenzel #

      My mistake – I thought the city that gave us Bill Lambeer’s Combat Basketball would be more comfortable with some good-natured ribbing than sincere affection.

      If it helps, I’m a huge Tradesmen fan, and it was a real Shock when you lost your WBNA team to Tulsa ;-)

      Reply

      • Chris #

        I actually went to a Detroit Shock game once. My dad won some sort of package from a charity auction that included, but wasn’t limited to, a suite for a Shock game. I went, but didn’t watch a moment of the game, preferring to spend my time eating food and watching The Amazing Race for the first, and I’m pretty sure last, time. I’m partial to MTV’s Cannonball Run 2001 thank you very much. Hip Hop with Pop for life!

        Reply

    • lee OTI Staff #

      For those not familiar with Armond White, he’s the film critic for the “New York Press” (does anyone even read that? If so, they don’t ride the New York subway ’cause I’ve never seen it in 6 years of riding the rails in this city) whose contrarian opinions include:

      Social Network – thumbs down
      King’s Speech – thumbs down
      Inception – thumbs down
      Clash of the Titans – thumbs up
      Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – thumbs up

      Rotten Tomatoes has him agreeing with the Tomatometer about 50% of the time. By comparison, Ebert agrees 77% of the time, and A.O. Scott agrees 76% of the time.

      Reply

  3. Howard #

    The “boost” thing was from Final Fantasy VIII, not X. I never finished that game…

    WELL ACTUALLY (I’ve always wanted to say that), the multiple dimensions thing is something that comes out of string theory. It’s not a quantum thing. I’m a physicist at THE Ohio State University, I should know.

    I’m also a Warriors fan, and they don’t win all that many games. Certainly they haven’t in my lifetime (~24 years). But at the same time, only one team wins the championship every year, and the structure of the NBA is well-designed to reward good teams. That is, it’s hard for an okay team to get lucky enough to win enough games to win the title. Despite that, I’ll always remember the year we upset the Mavericks in the first round, and maybe that memory is better than how Celtic fans remember losing to the Lakers in the Finals last year.

    Reply

    • fenzel #

      If I were a warriors fan, I would get a lot more satisfaction from Chris Mullin being on the original Dream Team than, say, a Bulls fan would from Jordan being on it.

      Reply

  4. EZ #

    Speaking of Anthology of Hip Hop, have you seen the NPR article in which a NY Mag book critic listens to the songs therein after reviewing the book?

    Reply

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