Photo Credit30 Rock put out the first major mainstream utterance of “The Saints Bandwagon” this year. Bah. Congratulations to The New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV champions!
My Super Bowl XLV prediction – Detroit Lions 65, Houston Texans 51.
January 26, 2010
January Playlist
Because a fan requested it. This one is for Kerry in Long Island.
“Blame It On The Boogie” by The Jacksons
“No Cars Go” by Arcade Fire
“Smiling Black Faces” by Rain Machine
“Two” by The Antlers
“Every Little Bit Hurts” by Title Tracks
“Novacane” by Beck
“Bang The Doldrums” by Fall Out Boy
“How I Got Over” by The Roots
“Move” by Q-Tip
“The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” by The Band (Live from The Last Waltz)
January 22, 2010
The Matt Fried Hour is back in 2010!
January 11, 2010
Malcolm Gladwell Explains The Philadelphia Eagles
Photo credit: AP Photo/David J. Phillip
This weekend was tough to swallow, as I got to watch my beloved/loathed Philadelphia Eagles choke big time against The Dallas Cowboys, a team that apparently has no problem aligning itself with Evil & Stupidity any day of week. If I were ever made to root for them or The Yankees, I think I’d rather stand in for Will Witherspoon’s tackle dummy come 2010 training camp.
It’s sad to admit, but Postseason Disappointment is a tradition I’ve become used to as a Philly sports fan, eased only recently by The Philadelphia Phillies (God bless you, Chase Utley). But with the Eagles, I – like the rest of its fan base – somehow manage to come down with amnesia every fall, kiss and make up with the team, and pretend like 50 years of Championship Starvation never happened… until it, of course, it does happen again, right on schedule. I guess this is what it feels like to be Charlie Sheen’s publicist.
But after this season, I want answers: why has a full decade come and gone, and The Birds are still without one lousy Super Bowl ring? This same weekend, I started reading The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Here’re a few things I know for sure, by applying “The Three Rules of Epidemics”: 1) McNabb-Reid are the most successful tandem in Eagles’ history since the 1960s; McNabb has the talent and the leadership, Reid has the strategy and the philosophy. 2) Because the ’00s Eagles have proven they can be productive, Philadelphians keep coming back to them. 3) As the postseason gets closer, the pressure gets higher – and that’s when 34-14 losses in the Wild Card start to happen. So, what can this possibly point to? Here’s my take: come December, somewhere in that locker room an inferiority complex sets in that can’t ever seem to be shaken. Yes, there are other factors like injured starters, but look at the first stint of Joe Gibbs’ Redskins, or Dick Vermeil’s Rams for god’s sake! Those teams won Super Bowls with back-up quarterbacks! Despite talent and productivity, the Power of Context seems to point out The Eagles’ tipping point – a mental inability to compete. When the chips are down, and everything seems to be in their favor, The Eagles psyche themselves out – and then half the cars on South Broad Street mysteriously get torched.
All anger and pessimism aside, there’s a lesson in this: the downfall of the self-loathing genius. Not unlike The Eagles, they’re tons of talented people in this city – trying to be “the hot thing” in entertainment. However, New York is a tough town, and defeatism is way more contagious these days than sucking it up. Everyone has great ideas, but you’re always left to wonder who is going to act on them. Steve Martin wrote of his own career in 2007, “I was not naturally talented – I didn’t sing, dance, or act – though working around that minor detail made me inventive.” It’s times like these when I’m always reminded that “the best” is rarely about talent; it’s about persistence, which naturally breeds confidence. Rather than give into arrogance, remember that everything you have can easily be taken away. Rather than give into frustration, remember that you never know who is watching and enjoying what you do. The only people I’ve known to ever truly give up in life are the ones who buy the hype, and then can never see past one setback, or one disappointment.
I hope The Eagles can realize that one day, too. Until then, I’m going to make sure my Toyota Accura is fireproof in 2011.
January 4, 2010
Clack, Clack Goes A Laptop
Writing can be one of the hardest things for a writer. It isn’t helped by your own sense of sprawling ambition, which can equally hold you back if you get too caught up in what something should be, versus what you’re – in fact – creating.
This year, I’m sitting down to write my first one-man show in half a decade, and I’ve purposefully set up at least two performance dates for my show in 2010: one this Friday for the month of January, and the next one a month later in February. I plan to keep this schedule up, and intensify it as I get further along, until I have a 30-60 minute script ready to present to an audience. I’ve done this to give myself a deadline as a writer, to create a schedule for myself as a producer, and to keep the juices flowing for myself as a performer. And I’ll be completely honest with you: I’m incredibly scared to have committed to this kind of process. What I’m sure you’ve also noticed is that part of it includes regularly presenting what I’m working on to an audience. For many writers, this essentially amounts to career suicide.
However, that’s also another part of the reason why wanted to do it. It’s easy – when you are writing, or acting, or producing, or even blogging – to constantly be revising in private. I think for anyone in the arts, it gives him a sense of productivity, without a need to show something for his efforts. Case in point: Guns N’ Roses’s Chinese Democracy. After a decade of build-up, most people severely disappointed with what GnR produced. The album created a mystique for itself, and an anticipation for something amazing, but because Axl Rose kept DELAYING the album’s inevitable release, I’m sure it got away from what he originally wanted to put out. His fans, while happy to finally see Chinese Democracy on iTunes, couldn’t help but feel like they got less than what they hoped for. This isn’t uncommon, albeit in this case bizarre. If you love something, of course you want it to be the best. And, in the case of a solo vehicle consider the stakes:
*It could create more career opportunities for me as a performer.
*It could create more career opportunities for me as a writer.
*It could change the way other people see me as a comedian.
*It could simply just be “something I wrote” if none of the above happens for me.
Risky, obviously; so much so that I’d want everything about this show to be perfect, just so it can have some kind of positive impact on my career.
But here’s the rub, my friends: you can’t control how anything you create – whether it’s a script, a film, a play, or even a resume – is going to impact your career. All you can do is do it, put it out there, and listen to your instincts. A producer I worked for put this way: think of your career as playing baseball – success or failure, you still have to suck it up, get back up to bat, and try for something great. And as long as you never give up, you’ll always be staying busy and productive.
If you ask me, sounds like a much better plan than waiting 10 years to release “the perfect album”.., though, for the record, I think “Better” is a great track.
September 16, 2009
Feist Will Turn Your Kids Into Record Geeks
I could very well be behind the curve on this one, but I discovered this Feist video about two weeks ago and haven’t stopped watching it. It’s cool to know that even with the current state of kids entertainment, there are still people in TV who believe that you don’t have to talk down to children. Parents clear out some shelf space – your toddler is going to start buying vinyl like crazy.
September 11, 2009
9/11/09
Since moving to New York, I’ve made an effort to always post a 9/11 blog on the anniversary, because – personally – it’s a day I will never forget. This year, I would prefer to share my blog from 2008, since it still relates all of my sentiments from that day.
9/11/01. Never forget. God Bless America.
August 26, 2009
Bring On The Good Press
Well, blog readers, you know by now that when I go MIA, it usually means I’m gearing up for another amazing show for The Matt Fried Hour! Last week, comedy photog extraordinaire Keith Huang was awesome enough to give us a little recognition on the NYC comedy blog, The Apiary. Check it out! Come out to the show tonight!
August 10, 2009
To Tennis Moms, With Love
I was reading the Sunday New York Times, and stumbled across an article about matchmaking services between men in finance and women in fashion. I’m not so naïve that I don’t think there aren’t shallow people in New York, yet I was still surprised by the story.
It’s no secret that status is the big thing here. It’s the reason half the under-30 crowd moved here: to be someone five years after college. Yet it still weirds me out to consider that my generation is beginning to get married and have kids. Or, at the very least, seriously concern itself with getting married and having kids. But, to at least create a bit of empathy, I tried to imagine what the story is behind some of these people. What would happen in their lives that brought them to a pair of vodka and Red Bulls, talk of how wonderful Paris is in the springtime, and how they can’t wait until the next Dave Matthews tour. For the record, this what I imagine conversation to be like between all young, successful, boring couples.
Now, on that last bit, I don’t mean to sound like some culture snob. Sure, there was a time when I railed against yuppies in my blog. There is definitely evidence on the internet of me touting my love and knowledge of TV On The Radio as superiority. But, c’mon people: that was sooo 2008 Matt Fried. Now, I’m all about Frightened Rabbit. Anyway, what I should be saying is that: I always railed against yuppies because they embodied everything I thought was wrong about living in New York City. But then again: for me, New York never changed past 1955. I was majorly disappointed when I got here three years ago, and found out that La Coste had turned half of Manhattan into its playground. But now, I’m really beginning to wonder: seriously yuppies – why are you here? It always occurred to me that people came to this city to find something. The least of it was a husband, or a “future ex-wife”. For the upper crust, is it really all about a life of quiet desperation? Do they not believe in fate, excitement, or even the idea that there’s more to New York City – and love and life – than just simply someone to share a mortgage with?
It all just gets me wondering about what we really do think we know about monogamy and faith. Is it really about finding the one you want? Or only ever about loving the one you’re with?
