The Office: An Unexpected Journey

Martin Freeman. 

Star of The Hobbit. 

Former star of The Office. 

Inspiration for this inspired mash-up:

h/t to the theonering.net's Facebook page for this!

Andrew

Sunday Sounds 60

I came across this on Twitter earlier (h/t to Marie Jenkins) and decided that, although dated, it was a lovely festive song to share with you all...

Andrew

Review - The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

The Ukulele is an instrument which is hard to take seriously. In the national consciousness it will always be associated with George Formby, leaning on lamp-posts and cleaning windows.

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain embraces the reputation of the instrument whilst, simultaneously, demonstrating it's great versatility. Most of the numbers they perform are done to comic effect; Weetus' Teenage Dirtbag is quite a straight cover version but is nonetheless somewhat incongruous given a backing of seven various Ukuleles, The Sex Pistol's Anarchy is more of a full-on parody.

There are eight members in the group, playing a range of Ukuleles - Soprano, Tenor, Concert and "Bass" - and the act is hung together with a series of corny jokes and exchanges between the band. The quality of the gags may be poor but the quality of the songs is fantastic.

Collectively, the musicianship is excellent with some virtuoso displays. Individually, various members of the band take lead vocals with harmonies provided by the rest. The whole show is imbued with a certain joie de vivre. That's not to say that there's not moments of pathos as well, typified by a version of Johnny Nash's Tears on My Pillow.

By the end of the evening, the audience has been treated to a wide variety of styles of music and of playing the Ukulele. There's even been a nod to George Formby with Cossack version of Leaning on a Lamp-post. The Ukulele may be hard to take seriously but as a musical comedy act the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain should be.

Andrew

My highlight of the night, which sent me into fits of the giggles, was their version of Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights in Yorkshire dialect:

Tuesday Titter 21: The Laughing Policeman

This may be 90 years old but it will never grow old...

(OK, this version is only 84 years old, but my point still stands!)

Andrew

Tuesday Titter 20: Doctors Orders: A Cup of Tea

The latest in the sporadic series of Tuesday Titters comes from Doc Brown, comedy rapper. I came across this clip whilst browsing You Tube, although I was aware of him - I once heard him do a rap aimed at making The Archers cool!

In this piece, taken from Russell Howard's Good News Extra, he takes on that long-standing British obsession: the perfect cup of tea...

Enjoy! 

Andrew

Sunday Sounds 42

Yesterday I featured Tim Minchin and his Three Minute Song. In another version of that song, he name-checks Victor Borge who becomes the subject of this week's Sunday Sound with a version of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1. performed with The Muppet Orchestra...

Andrew

Tim Minchin - Three Minute Song

I don't tend to watch the Royal Variety Show and so I've only just discovered this absolute gem from last years show from the ever-fabulous Tim Minchin. 

There are not many superlatives I can't throw at this - it is, quite simply, one of the best things I have EVER seen. That's not hyperbole - I defy you to watch this and not be in awe of his lyrical and musical dexterity and the precision with which he executes his "Three Minute Song":

Enjoy:

Andrew

Pearls of Wisdom

A long time ago there was, you may recall, a craze for little books of inspiration sayings and a host of parodies too. One such was Rohan Candappa's Little Book of Wrong Shui which promises to tell you "How to drastically improve your life by basically moving stuff around. Honest."

Here are some pearls from that book:

Beams are Bad: 

Beams are exceedingly bad Wrong Shui. Steer clear of anyone who beams at you. They are invariably untrustworthy. Or come from California.

Nipping the Problem in the Bud: 

If you are having trouble with your neighbours, try to heal the rift by planting a soothing hedge of Leylandii between your properties.

Eggsistentialism: 

Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Use an egg box like everyone else and stop being such a poser.

Interior Design:

Always try to keep your lungs positioned above your kidneys.

On Rocks and Hard Places:

Never position a rock near a hard place.

Andrew

Is your iPod worth $8billion?

Rob Reid uses ©opyright Math™ to explain how it could be...

Enjoy!

Andrew

Tuesday Titter 19- Let's Dance for Sport Relief III

When I started this series of posts, I intended the third entry to be Noel Fielding's performance of Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights... and then I discovered I'd previously blogged it here. Soooo... after much research and deliberation, here's one I missed last year: Ade Edmondson as the Dying Swan... If you're not familiar with his ouevre, the end may not make sense - if you feel in need of a primer, click here.

As ever, enjoy and again, as ever, remember that the show is in aid of a really good cause.

Andrew

Tuesday Titter 18- Let's Dance for Sport Relief II

The second of my selection of three performances from the various series of Let's Dance... is Rufus Hound as Cheryl Cole performing "Fight for this Love":

Enjoy... and, as before, please visit the Comic Relief site to see the great work that the money they raise does.

Andrew

Good Evening, Here is the News

A couple of years ago, I posted this video by Cassette Boy which skillfully edits Nick Griffen's pronoucements on Question Time for comic (but all-too-real) effect.

Last night my cousin (whom you can follow on twitter here) posted Cassette Boy's latest video on his Facebook page. This time, he has re-edited the BBC Six O'Clock News. 

Enjoy:

Andrew

Tuesday Titter 17 - Let's Dance for Sport Relief I

Let's Dance for Sport Relief is back on the tellybox, although I must confess I missed it on Saturday. For those unaquainted with the show, the format is simple: various comedians, actors, singers and personalities recreate classic dances - often for comic effect - in a televised contest raising funds for Comic Relief (the charity which Sport Relief is in aid of. (I may have mentioned it once or twice in the past...)

I was discussing this with a friend the other day and we fell to reminiscing about various favourite performances from previous series. I've decided to share three of these with you over each of the next three weeks. First, here's a performance from the first series of the programme, back in 2009. Although runners up, this was one of my favourites - Paddy McGuinness and Keith Lemon with some Dirty Dancing:

Enjoy... and please consider donating. You can do so here.

Andrew

Tuesday Titter 16

Whilst I was selecting Sunday's Sunday Sound, You Tube suggested the following video to me. It's a piece of Ballet choreographed by Matthew Bourne of Swan Lake fame. My first thought was to use it for a stand-alone entry but it wasn't long before I realised it would be perfect as a Tuesday Titter (although it is around 9 minutes long in total.)

Anyway, enjoy!

Andrew

Tuesday Titter 15 - Ve Have Vays Of Making You Laugh...

I was reminded of this week's purveyor of mirth, whom I have previously only heard on the wireless, when I found a flyer advertising an imminent performance in Bristol. Henning Wehn is a German comedian who has cornered the market for German comedians in Britain. Here he is being introduced by Stewart Lee and telling a couple of gags which he proceeds to deconstruct:

Andrew

Tuesday Titter 14 - Am I Bovvered?

I wasn't a particular fan of The Catherine Tate show but, rather like Little Britain, thought it worked really well when the characters interacted with celebrity guests. Both shows have done this for Comic Relief in the past, I particularly remember Little Britain did this with Elton John delivering the "only gay in the village" punchline.

In 2007, Catherine Tate took her character Lauren to Downing Street where Tony Blair questioned whether he was "bovvered", Nan became possibly the most crude and rude contestant on Deal or No Deal and Elaine Figgis became romantically involved with a certain Daniel Craig. 

In this sketch, Lauren's English class has a supply teacher...

Enjoy, 


Andrew

Tuesday Titter 13 - Mrs Brown's Boys

Last night I saw some of Mrs Brown's Boys for the first time. I found it quite enjoyable although I felt that, in some ways, it was derivative of Father Ted. It certainly taps into a similar vein of the humour to be found in parochial Irish life.

Anyway, a brief browse of the BBC Comedy site found the following clip. It's not particularly big or clever comedy but it is funny and brilliantly timed. My main complaint is the volume of the laughter track - I find it a bit too dominant:

Andrew

Tuesday Titter 12: Kylie, Clunge and Bus Wankers

Last Friday saw the annual Comedy Awards, hosted as usual by Jonathan Ross. During the show, the fabulous Kylie Minogue presented an Outstanding Achievement Award to the creators and cast of The Inbetweeners. After three fantastic series, the film (which I have yet to see, as it happens) has broken various box office and DVD sales records this year.

Puerile, cringe-worthy, crude, rude, the show is everything you'd expect from four teenage boys who are caught between the good students and the bad, the cool kids and the nerds. The film trailer gives a flavour of the humour:

What you might not have expected was Kylie's obvious fandom and wholesale adoption of the show's own particular lingo:

I've a feeling I'll be enjoying that clip for years to come!

Andrew

Tuesday Titter 11

Would you mind just telling me your name, Sir? A bit of old school comedy with Fry and Laurie:

Andrew

Tuesday Titter 10: Vic Reeve's Windiest Night Out

This week's Tuesday Titter is an animation courtesy of BBC Comedy which describes a momentous night for Vic Reeves, narrated by the man himself:

Andrew