The Last Bass Outpost
Main Forums => The Outpost Cafe => Topic started by: Muzikman7 on January 22, 2010, 10:44:52 PM
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Anybody catch the end of Conan O'Brien? the shows band, Will Ferrell dressed as Ronnie Van Zant, Conan O'Brien, Billy Gibbons, Robert Randolph, Beck, Ben Harper and more played Freebird to close out the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmotcuW7YI4show.
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Ferrell does a credible job! He obviously has pitching problems, especially during the early verses, but that is most likely due to lack of practice. But his voice as such ain't bad at all and has quite a bit of RvZ in it.
CO'B stopped because they wanted to return him to his old time slot and he didn't accept that, is that true?
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NBC moved Leno to prime time and his ratings tanked. They moved Leno back to his time slot and wanted Conan to move back to his old slot - which he had no interest in - so he left.
I loved the Freebird thing and the cowbell at the end is an obvious nod to famous "More Cowbell!" skit on SNL. The bassist nailed the bass part as well.
Wonder if Conan was actually plugged in?
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Leno's prime time audience was just as big as his Tonight Show audience, averaging a little over 5 million viewers. Unfortunately that's about one-third as much as it takes to be number one in prime time. The affiliate stations were losing ad money and news ratings and were threatening revolt.
Conan's late night audience was only about 2.5 million, he was getting clobbered by Letterman consistently. To be fair, he had only been on a few months. No telling what might have happened down the road, NBC really didn't honor their commitment to him.
Conan will return, either on Fox or on cable. Leno will probably go back to beating Letterman in the ratings. I'll keep on watching Dave's monologues and then switching off unless there's a must-see guest.
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I'm pretty sure Conan does play guitar and his lead break looked and sounded real. I'm not sure if the 'pregnant' groupie/make out partner of Ferrell's Van Zant ruins the bit, but other than that it seemed appropriate.
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Wonder if Conan was actually plugged in?
Yes, he is plugged in and he takes a lead, right after the cowbell solo.
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I'm not watching the clip. Never heard Freebird to my knowledge and I'm not going to start now, and I can't take more than a few seconds of Will Ferrell. But Conan can really play guitar.
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Curiosity got me to play thru... WF's homage even went as far as finding the correct "Tonight's The Night" tee that RVZ used to wear live...
Best version of Freebird (imho - live) is with Collins/Rossington only, recorded at the Cardiff Capitol - had it as a vinyl boot' as far back as '77 (although "real" vinyl existed as it was from a radio broadcast in '76) - presently commercially available - the tour was great - saw them at Hammersmith that year...
Conan played solos through about 2/3rds of that end section - perfect (tongue- firmly-planted) homage, even down to the multiple playing differing solos all over the place... ;)
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I'm not watching the clip. Never heard Freebird to my knowledge and I'm not going to start now, and I can't take more than a few seconds of Will Ferrell. But Conan can really play guitar.
It's amazing. All these years I thought Dave is an American. Now I learn he's a Russian communist even though even most of those know Free Bird as well.
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Freebird must be one of the worst "rock" songs ever written. Every version I've heard (and there haven't been many) is worse than the one before.
I also have very little Will Ferrell tolerance.
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Oh please! Will sounds like a braying mule. ha haaa ...but that's part of his charm.
More Cowbell!
Is that David Spade far right?
Good fun!!!
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Freebird must be one of the worst "rock" songs ever written. Every version I've heard (and there haven't been many) is worse than the one before.
I also have very little Will Ferrell tolerance.
How dare you criticize so openly beautiful big hair chicks (Taylor Dayne meets Stevie Nicks at the hairdresser) and handsome moustached hunks on Harleys (this guy escaped from Three Dog Night, right? :mrgreen:) and their timeless 1988 rendition, nothing says "horn" better than a nice synth chord:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_7XYCka8NQ
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Is that David Spade far right?
Ha ha! That's Beck, though I do see the similarity!
I can tolerate hearing Freebird but only once a year or so. I don't hate it but I don't love it all that much either. As far as this version's vocal qualities, the braying mule description is also apt. :)
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As mentioned, the situation came down to Leno not getting the ratings, affiliates getting upset because it was bringing the news ratings down and Conan's ratings weren't the best either. The executives got the bright idea to move Leno to a 30 min show at 11:35 and bump The Tonight Show to tomorrow, 12:05 am. Those executives told Leno and he asked if Conan was alright with it and the execs assured Leno that Conan would be fine with it. Conan wasn't alright with it and felt that the move would ruin the show so it started the drama. The execs went back to Leno and asked him if Conan walked, would he want the Tonight Show back and he said alright because the network would not let Leno go after his show was canceled.
When Conan started his hosting career, he was on a contract that was renewed every 13 weeks and it was a rocky start. When Leno started on The Tonight Show, he was given 18 months yet Conan only got 7 months before they wanted to replace him with the person he got the job from. Conan was classy about it and stood up for the show while Leno just chalked it up to being how the business worked.
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................Never heard Freebird to my knowledge.......
Only if you're deaf! Cripes, I hear Freebird in elevators! The only thing worse than Freebird is the Muzak version of Freebird ;D
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Might be that male affliction... "selective" hearing... ;)
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I'm possibly the only guy here that loves Freebird. My high school band "Omega" did a version that was correct to their classic 1976 live record "One More From The Road". Even a bunch of 16 and 17 year old kids could do the "correct" ending although I guess last nights performance was not rehearsed. My favorite version is still the original one on "Pronounced".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-_8xivRTsY
See if you can put up with this version. I like Leon's T-Bird bass!
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Might be that male affliction... "selective" hearing... ;)
I may have heard it and not known, but otherwise I just wouldn't know unless somebody pointed it out to me. Lynyrd Skynyrd is not the kind of music I listen to, no offense to anyone who likes them. I won't make a conscious choice to listen to them.
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OK, so the affiliates were complaining about their news shows (the lead-ins) suffering lower ratings because the show that followed was Conan instead of Leno? No one suggested that maybe people are fed up with what passes for news shows in this country? Our household normally watches a drama from 9:00-10:00pm, avoids the lame local news at 10:00 by switching to John Stewart, then switched to Conan at 10:30. I suppose the networks use statistics to believe whatever they want to believe.
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No, they were complaining mostly about Leno's ratings costing them ad dollars in prime time and giving them a poor lead-in to the news, causing lower newscast ratings. It's can't just be about the quality of local news if it's only happening to NBC affiliates.
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As Dave said, they weren't complaining about Conan, they were complaining about Leno but the big wigs at NBC did not want to get rid of him.
It all started when Conan started getting offers 5 years ago. I guess NBC wanted to keep him so they told Leno that Conan would be taking over in 2009. When it came time, Leno had about 6 months left on his contract and he asked if they would let him out of it because he was being replaced. They said no telling him they had other plans for him, his show that replaced at least 5 other shows at the 10/9 timeslot. The main goal was to keep their pize host with them on a show that was cheaper than an hour long drama and would hopefully carry over with his normal audience. He failed to do so and most bashed the show for not being funny. What was funny about the show was not Leno but a few of the skits he had other people do. I was listening to Kevin and Bean on KROQ yesterday morning before my drawing class started and they had guest Patton Oswalt. They brought up the topic and Oswalt was on Conan's side partially because when it comes to the show, Leno is more of an interviewer than a comedian yet when he is outside of his show he is one of the best comedians out there.
EW is reporting that Conan's ratings were actually higher at 11:35 than they were at 12:35 meaning that his original following carried over and then some. That is pretty good even considering that a lot of his viewers are around my age meaning they are still in college and often times busy or not around when his show airs.
One thing that I guess puzzled some is that viewers just seemed to disappear. I just saw an article saying that overeall viewers were down for certain timeslots. They weren't watching Show A but the viewers of Show B were unchanged just as with Show C.
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Being employed by an NBC affiliate that was affected, let me set things straight. NBC was making money off of Conan AND Leno, since Leno's show was an order of magnitude cheaper to produce than a primetime drama. BUT Leno's show was awful as a lead-in to the news and Conan that followed it. It basically just encouraged people to switch the channel. My station went from being a double-digit decades-solid ratings #1 at 11:00 to an occasional #2 after Leno debuted at 10:00.
Local newscasts are where local stations make most of their money, and any drop in ratings there hurts them far more than the network. Several stations boycotted primetime Leno even before he went to air for this reason, and 22 NBC affiliates eventually refused to air his show, opting instead for syndication or local content.
Personally, I think NBC lied to Leno and Conan, and Leno got unfairly cast as the bad guy. I like them both, and the limited professional interaction I've had with both of them has been great. I had to talk to them when they were doing satellite interviews to promote their shows. Conan was more personal and funny and Leno was the consummate professional. Jimmy Fallon, OTOH is a talentless and clueless twat.
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Those that have been following it closely point the blame towards Zucker. Leno even said that the executives told him that Conan would agree to the move to which Leno basically signed on for the move. When things went sour, they asked him if he would like the Tonight show back if Conan walked and he said alright to keep his guys working and added that he has nothing against Conan, it is just business.
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I've also heard that Fallon had a hefty golden parachute if they dumped him because he has been meeting all of the promised numbers for his sponsors. It was supposedly around $20 mil which seems way too high for someone of his 'talent'. I'm sure Conan will land on his feet, or in a large pile of cash!
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I've also heard that Fallon had a hefty golden parachute if they dumped him because he has been meeting all of the promised numbers for his sponsors. It was supposedly around $20 mil which seems way too high for someone of his 'talent'. I'm sure Conan will land on his feet, or in a large pile of cash!
Well Conan did get $33 million as part of his exit contract and at the same time he got about $12 million for his crew which amounts to around 200 people to total $45 million for leaving.
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I also heard that A-listers were avoiding Leno in his early spot because, in theory, it put so many people out of work beacuse it took the place of five shows. Five show that would have employed actors, writers, technicians, etc. This does seem to hold some logic.
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Actually although Freebird has been played to death, I have to say that it still evokes strong feelings for most audiences my band has played it for people crying in their beer etc. so to me if someone wants to hear it I have no problem playing it
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It's Southern Rock's Stairway to Heaven for better or worse. I'm alright with it as I am on Southern Rock unless you overdose on it. But I can dig a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert - I don't have to agree with everything they say.
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Hi. Lunchtime log in!!
As with any genre of music, some will like it, some will not. 8)
For me, I will never forget the first time I saw anything of Lynard Skynard.
1970's, BBC 2, Late at night, Old Grey Whistle test - Free Bird LIVE.
Hairs of the back of the neck! Sorry to those who can't stand the band,
I respect your views but that's the way I see them and to echo what
someone else said, when we do Free Bird as an encore - bravely, or foolishly,
with one guitar, one bass, one drummer and one singer . . . . . the place
goes wild and yes, grown men, saluting their pints to the ceiling, singing
at the top of their voices, tears running down their cheeks!!
That's just the way it is!
? ? If I leave here tomorrow. . . . . .? ? 8)
And. . . . for the unwashed. . . Who are Conan and Fallon??? 8)
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One thing I havn't seen anyone address is that Jay Leno has talked about retiring before, doesn't it seem short sighted of NBC to send Conan up the river when Leno probably only has a few years left in him before he wants to retire anyway?
Personally I think Leno should have just retired when all this became a big mess.
Dunno the truth to this but I heard a rumor that Conan's contract/leaving settlement disallows him to host a show for x amount of months. I heard they may start up a new show before that time is up and until Conan's contractual obligation finishes Andy will host the show and Conan will be his sidekick so they can get back on the air sooner. I hope that's true. :)
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And. . . . for the unwashed. . . Who are Conan and Fallon??? 8)
Conan O'Brien, longtime host of NBC's Late Night, and Jimmy Fallon, comic who took his place seven months ago when Conan moved to the Tonight Show. Conan has just left the Tonight Show and NBC after a big row and big financial settlement.
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I heard they may start up a new show before that time is up and until Conan's contractual obligation finishes Andy will host the show and Conan will be his sidekick so they can get back on the air sooner. I hope that's true. :)
The non-compete is only until September according to what I've read (and it would take almost that long to tool up a show from scratch anyway), but them doing that would be the funniest F-U to NBC that I could think of. It would generate a hell of a buzz for the new network as well. I doubt the lawyers would actually let that happen, but it would be funny!
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One thing I havn't seen anyone address is that Jay Leno has talked about retiring before, doesn't it seem short sighted of NBC to send Conan up the river when Leno probably only has a few years left in him before he wants to retire anyway?
Personally I think Leno should have just retired when all this became a big mess.
Dunno the truth to this but I heard a rumor that Conan's contract/leaving settlement disallows him to host a show for x amount of months. I heard they may start up a new show before that time is up and until Conan's contractual obligation finishes Andy will host the show and Conan will be his sidekick so they can get back on the air sooner. I hope that's true. :)
I don't think Leno is anywhere near retiring. He did talk about "retiring" from the Tonight Show 5 years ago, but that's just the way things were said instead of the truth, that NBC was taking it away from Jay 5 years down the road in order to keep Conan from going to ABC.
I don't see why Leno should retire, he was #1 in the late night ratings and will probably do well when he returns. The people who say they won't watch him now are probably the people who don't find him funny and didn't watch him anyway.
As George said, Conan can't host a show until September 1st. I think the part about Andy hosting until then was a joke, but you never know.
As for me, I'll keep on watching Letterman's monologue and occasionally watch Conan or Jay if they have a guest I want to see.
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News this AM says that the Washington Generals (the team that plays the Harlem Globetrotters) has offered the 6'5" Conan a gig playing with the Generals until he can return to TV.
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News this AM says that the Washington Generals (the team that plays the Harlem Globetrotters) has offered the 6'5" Conan a gig playing with the Generals until he can return to TV.
That would be hilarious, and it would be great publicity for all of them.
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I think Conan should make a very public spectacle of returning to his old writing duties for "The Simpsons". It would give that show a much-needed boost in both the actual writing since Conan wrote many of its best episodes, and publicity for a new talk show he could host on Fox, a win-win for all parties involved. Leno's audience is aging, and to be blunt, most of his 'supporters' don't stay up late enough to watch his show anyway. Those who complained the most about Conan's humor being too "edgy" didn't watch "The Tonight Show," Leno or Conan.
I've never understood Letterman's appeal in any fashion (through Craig Ferguson is downright hilarious on a regular basis.) That sets the stage for Conan to take a Fox late show to #1 and NBC and CBS to return to fighting Leno against Letterman; both are dying horses, but Leno lacks the 'hipster cred' factor that seems to keep Letterman afloat, and NBC may be justly rewarded for its actions now.
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(through Craig Ferguson is downright hilarious on a regular basis.)
Ah, I'm not the only one that noticed that? That show is just wonderfully strange...
I might watch some Simpsons episodes again if they get Conan back for a few months. He could probably knock out a season's worth of scripts in that time (or at least punch up the ones they already have).
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I am still annoyed that NBC yanked Tom Snyder off to make room for Letterman.
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I am still annoyed that NBC yanked Tom Snyder off to make room for Letterman.
Feeling our age, are we?
Still annoyed that your horse and buggy got replaced by those newfangled horseless carriages?
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I want Danny Kaye and Garry Moore back!
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I had hoped not to see Glenn Beck and Conan in one channel!
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I had hoped not to see Glenn Beck and Conan in one channel!
Don't worry about that. Only the bad comedy ends up on Fox News Channel. ;)