The National @ The Human Giant MTV Marathon 5/19/07
Everywhere we looked Friday night was a mind explosion. The surreality of the scene at MTV studios was best captured by Aziz and Fred Armisen squaring off in a Guitar Hero challenge -- using the Times Square big screen as their personal Xbox monitor. (Aziz's excuse for missing notes: "There's a delay on the jumbotron!") Or maybe it was by seeing the National play "Mistaken For Strangers" with a ginormous glamour shot of Ashlee's reconstructed nose looming over Matt's shoulder? The Human Giant troupe took over MTV and MTV2 for 24 hours -- ostensibly to earn a second season for their sketch show, actually to bring the network a full day of some laughs, unpredictability, good music, and Aphex Twin's "Come To Daddy" beaming perversely over 44th and Broadway. One comedian's dream was 322 little girls' Times Square nightmare.
We got up to the studios shortly after John Krasinksi, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, and Rob Riggle had their hilarious hostage stand-off, but managed to catch plenty of insanity (and watch a fleet of young comics bow at Bob Odenkirk's feet) before leaving at 6AM. Riggle's wand-toting, camera-mugging security guard character (Cliff Carver) was a reliable go-to for laughs in the wee hours (so was Nick Kroll as the gay, Rob Huebel-crushing/Paul Scheer hating/"Aziz Aziz"-calling craft services coordinator Fabrice Fabrice, and as Paul's Turkeytini quaffing uncle). The only band we got to enjoy was the National (check out the vid of "Mistaken For Strangers" and "Apartment Story" -- mislabeled, yes ... blame the interns). Also saw Morningwood, but they don't really count.
We've pulled for Aziz from the start; remember our Aziz Punched A Wall contest? He's come a long way, desi. All this couldn't happen to a better group of guys. (Paul's really nice too! Rob ... we haven't met.) So the show gets a well deserved second season, and hopefully a second 24 hour marathon next time their heads are on the Viacom chopping block. For at least a day, we forgot the abomination of MTV's current roster of programming via some good old fashioned fun and lots and lots of red bull. Though, Aziz, we'd totally watch Pregnant'd.
Vid highlights from the night here. Lots and lots of pics of the National and other very funny people after the jump. (Live MP3s and a similarly dismissive attitude re: Morningwood at Culture Bully.)
THE NATIONAL
HUMAN GIANTS
LOOK HARD AND SEE MICHAEL SHOWALTER
SNL'S FRED ARMISEN AND BILL HADER
SCHEER GETS SOME MORNINGWOOD
AZIZ AND ARMISEN'S TIMES SQUARE GUITAR HERO CHALLENGE
"HAPPY NEW DAY"
MORNINGWOOD COLDCOCKS AVRIL
TURKEYTINIS
1,000,000,000 HITS
MR. SHOW
THE DRUNK PINE TREE
CLIFF CARVER: WASTED
PAUL & SELF-PORTRAIT
ANDY SAMBERG & JORMA (& ASS COOKIE)
WEB CAM GIRL
FABRICE FABRICE
FABRICE FABRICE AND CRACKED OUT
Craked Out can count. When you pour Grey Goose in a bottle of Sprite? You're Bennigan'z.
HUMAN GIANT GROUPIES IN TIMES SQUARE AT 4AM
They were for real. We asked.
Posted at 9:00 PM in Concert
Tags: Aziz Ansari | Bob Odenkirk | Human Giant | Michael Showalter | Morningwood | Nick Kroll | Paul Scheer | Rob Huebel | Rob Riggle | Saturday Night Live | The National
Who is the Web Cam girl?
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rob's a nice guy, too.
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dude who the fuck is fabrice fabrice? that is such a rip off of skate legend renee renee. why does peter bjorn and john do pontiac commercials? grrrrr im mad as hell
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I still think Human Giant and especially the 24 hour takeover is the best thing to hit MTV in years. Loved Fabrice Fabrice, loved Rob Riggle as the security guard and thought the part with Arnett, Michael Cera and Krasinski was just plain awesome.
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so so so funny. i contemplated going to the studios over and over but i got too lazy and just watched it until 6am. it was the best delirious tv i have ever seen.
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I don't know what Human Giant is, but the guys at MTV need to listen to Boxer a few times, and then relabel The National songs.
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Fabrice Fabrice was hilarious but I STILL don't get why The National are so popular.
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i fucking hate mtv.com's US copyright restriction bullshit. and when i try to open mtv.ca, it tells me to download an activex plugin for firefox.
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The National = awesomest band
I just put up some photos of them myself, right here
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Or actually, here: http://rawkblog.blogspot.com/2007/05/live-national-troubadour-los-angeles.html
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I really don't get why the national is so blogged about either.. they seem very dull to me. It's like an older, less edgy walkmen...
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Personally, I think The National are the best band in America. I don't listen to the sheer volume of music I used to (marriage, kids, jobs will do that to you), but of what I have been able to listen to, few bands seems to measure up to these unassuming boys.
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human giant 24 was good but their show is so tepid. It's like watching watered down snl digital shorts. and national put me to sleep. I don't know if it was because it was 2 in the morning or cause they sounded like they belong on 102.7 lite fm but they sounded like old lady music to me.
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watered down digital shorts?
wait, so there's a world where SNL is edgy and hip?
Those digital shorts are the easiest jokes in the world....ummmmm, I know this week, let's make fun of........white guys rapping!
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The National: Boxer
Get your copy today, at participating Starbucks locations.
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It's so funny to read hipsters rag on The National. Get over yourselves.
Human Giant the show isn't that great but their 24 hour invasion (which I watched to hear Michael Showalter say that The State is finally coming to DVD--that's comedy) was solid. Sure, it hit some lulls but it's hard to do comedy 24 hours straight.
I still can't tell if Fred Armisen is an asshole or just a wacky guy.
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So was MTV actually going to cancel the show if they didn't get 1,000,000 hits to their site, or was that just a ploy? It seemed like a ploy to me (especially given the skit with MTV's "president"), but the way people have written about it, including the 'Gum, it's got me wondering... anyone know?
Besides, they couldn't possibly have justified cancelomg Human Giant after 1 season after giving Andy Milonakis (who's hilarious, imo) 3 seasons. I don't know anyone who watches Andy, though they ought to.
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This was probably the most redeemable thing MTV has done in years. I mean with all the reality shows that got shat out of its asshole, I was refreshing to actually watch this channel where they played decent music videos, sketch comedy, had celebrity walk ons, and awesome guest performances. The execs shouldve been taking notes, cause this is what MTV should be. A variation of everything thats ace.
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Hey, isn't that guy in the black and red striped shirt (the first photo under the heading Human Giants) the same guy that was in one of the photos from one of the Dan Deacon posts?
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so did they actually show some Sifl & Olly episodes!? and if so, which ones? anyone? p.s. S&O was the most underrated comedy show ever put on MTV, maybe on TV, EVER.
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> Hey, isn't that guy ... in one of the photos
> from one of the Dan Deacon posts?
Absolutely. Don't think I didn't notice. Or tell people all night whenever I'd see him. Good eye, owl ;)
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I thought that was him.
The owl sees all. Hoot, hoot!
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that guy is pretty cute and i hear hes single
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