Very bad comment by Bill Maher about the Beach Boys/us

[Dunderhead]

We must be harder up for boxset news than I thought.

Little does Mr. Maher know, we fans haven't a suicide emoticon to our name. Don't count your chickens before they hatch Mr. Maher.

[guitarfool2002]

Bill Maher starring as Pizza Man in the film "Pizza Man":



Bill Maher being cooked by cannibal women in a giant cauldron in the film "Cannibal Women In The Avocado Jungle Of Death":




Get the popcorn ready, it's a double feature. 

The best one though is the episode of Win, Lose or Draw where he accidentally gets his nose broken by an overly excited Erik Estrada, particularly when they immediately cut to a "Please Stand By" sign, in the style that The Simpsons were parodying around the same time. See for yourself - you would almost assume it to be a comedy bit, it's so perfectly timed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufGml7lRoMc

Wow, I can't believe that! I've never seen that clip until now. Judging from the year, I'd say there were either too many bottles of Zima or Bartles and Jaymes being consumed backstage by those celebrities.

The hilarious part is seeing that other guy try to pull Maher up off the floor, yelling "Get up, c'mon!" as he's writhing in pain with an actual injury. I guess he thought Maher was doing a comedy bit or something. 

[I. Spaceman]

Bill Maher starring as Pizza Man in the film "Pizza Man":



Bill Maher being cooked by cannibal women in a giant cauldron in the film "Cannibal Women In The Avocado Jungle Of Death":




Get the popcorn ready, it's a double feature. 

I assume a double feature of The Girls On The Beach and The Monkey's Uncle will follow?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Keep in mind, you're talking about a fan base that at least 90% of which I'm quite sure is comprised of people who listen to nothing BUT the Beach Boys.

Personally speaking, I very, very rarely listen to The Beach Boys unless:

1 - it's a new release...
2 - I'm researching something...
3 - I'm paid to...
4 - they're on the radio.

[?]

Nah, I'd say Jimmy Buffet's fans would win that contest hands down.

Not true.   The "Very bad comment by guitarfool2002 about Jimmy Buffet/us" thread over at margaritaville.com is only up to 2 pages so far.

[NatureShowInStereo]

Well, you know, there really aren't that many Beach Boys fans in the general US population. We are of a rare breed.

[guitarfool2002]

Nah, I'd say Jimmy Buffet's fans would win that contest hands down.

Not true.   The "Very bad comment by guitarfool2002 about Jimmy Buffet/us" thread over at margaritaville.com is only up to 2 pages so far.

Only 2 pages? That's still pretty cool considering I don't even have a cable television program, a book deal with a major publisher, or films like "Pizza Man" on my resume. 

[SMiLE Brian]

Nah, I'd say Jimmy Buffet's fans would win that contest hands down.

Not true.   The "Very bad comment by guitarfool2002 about Jimmy Buffet/us" thread over at margaritaville.com is only up to 2 pages so far.

Only 2 pages? That's still pretty cool considering I don't even have a cable television program, a book deal with a major publisher, or films like "Pizza Man" on my resume. 

Going to check this pizza man movie out now...

[AndrewHickey]

Keep in mind, you're talking about a fan base that at least 90% of which I'm quite sure is comprised of people who listen to nothing BUT the Beach Boys.

Personally speaking, I very, very rarely listen to The Beach Boys unless:

1 - it's a new release...
2 - I'm researching something...
3 - I'm paid to...
4 - they're on the radio.

I can actually tell how much I listen to the Beach Boys as compared to other artists with a fair degree of accuracy, since I've used last.fm since late 2006. In that time I've listened to 149657 tracks while last.fm was enabled, of which 19,129 were the Beach Boys. So allowing for mislabelled MP3s, solo tracks, that kind of thing, they make up around 15% of the music I listen to.

(Incidentally my 'least-listened' of the 5092 different artists I've apparently listened to is "Nancy Sinatra & Brian Wilson" -- I've apparently listened to that version of California Girls precisely once in the last six and a half years.)

[HeyJude]

Maher indeed has re-used this joke several times. It clearly has nothing to do specifically with the Beach Boys; it's about using any aging band with a very recognizable name to make the joke work.

Not that much of anyone cares, but Maher is supposedly a huge Beatles fan (he has made many Beatles references in the past), to the point of even having attended "Beatlefests" in past years. While that certainly doesn't prove that he knows anything about the Beach Boys, I would imagine he probably knows that the Beach Boys are more than just the surf and car stuff. The joke about the Beach Boys works because of the age of the group anyway; it has nothing to do with Maher's perception of the quality of their music.

One could argue Maher is misjudging the fact that the group has younger fans, but analyzing all of that misses the point of this joke/reference. I can also attest to the fact that about 99% of the audience at the reunion show I went to this past summer was older than I am, and I'm not in the youngest demographic anymore these days. The fans of 60's bands are dying at an acclerated rate; that's just statistics. I know many people that literally died waiting for the Beatles to put freaking "Let It Be" out on DVD or for the Beach Boys to release the "Smile Sessions" or waiting for Dennis' POB to be reissued, etc., so I don't point out the increased mortality rate of baby boomer era music fans with anything but a huge sadness.

And yeah, as Stebbins said, some of the comments here are immensely funnier than Maher's joke. 

[Bean Bag]

He just said on Leno something to the effect that we have it going for us in that Republicans are dying off faster than Beach Boy fans. I was shocked and will drop HBO, at least consider it, from my home. This was very bad Bill. Have another vaporizer hit. Goodbye Bill. You ain't no George Carlin.

Good for you on dropping HBO.  They're a bunch of tossers.  You can always buy the shows you like on Blu-ray/DVD.

As for Maher, I love it.  He's the physical embodiment of today's Hollywood, junk-food, pop-culture thug-politics:  blaming others for the things they do.  I can't speak for his audience... but I assume they like it: Yay! Republicans and Christians and Beach Boy fans dying.  Woohoo!, they applaud.   "Down with happy!"  That's the sweet spot.  A bitter cocktail of drive-thru militant elitism with a healthy portion of angry white male-ism... mix in some half-a55ed socialism and some shallow sh*t-smearing cynicism... and finish it off with a heaping drizzle of hypocrisy and self-loathing fecalphilia. 

BAM! Bon appetite! 

[Mikie]

Thanks for clearing that up, Jude.

[Dave in KC]

Justin sticks out like a sore thumb.

[Paulos]

Justin sticks out like a sore thumb.

Who the hell is Justin? And why has this thread managed to reach 4 pages?

[Justin]

 

[Paulos]

There he is! Dave In KFC's comment didn't make sense to me as your last post in this thread was way back on page 3.

[Justin]

 

[Paulos]

If he'd used the quote function we wouldn't have become bogged down in this smiley quagmire

[Dave in KC]

There he is! Dave In KFC's comment didn't make sense to me as your last post in this thread was way back on page 3.

Paulos, you mean..........like this? Thanks so very much for the tip and sorry you feel so bogged down.
 Dave in KFC. Now THAT is the funniest post in this thread. To me at least.
And I started the damn thread because I really like Bill Maher and felt very let down. As for someone's comment in the thread about me watching Leno? I was watching BECAUSE I knew Bill Maher was going to be on. So it really felt personal to me and I just reported on SS what I saw. Kinda surprised no one else on here saw it too.

[KittyKat]

There he is! Dave In KFC's comment didn't make sense to me as your last post in this thread was way back on page 3.

Paulos, you mean..........like this? Thanks so very much for the tip and sorry you feel so bogged down.
 Dave in KFC. Now THAT is the funniest post in this thread. To me at least.
And I started the damn thread because I really like Bill Maher and felt very let down. As for someone's comment in the thread about me watching Leno? I was watching BECAUSE I knew Bill Maher was going to be on. So it really felt personal to me and I just reported on SS what I saw. Kinda surprised no one else on here saw it too.

Dave in KFC? Now I'm hungry for hot wings with a side of mashed potatoes and mac'n'cheese.

[Letsgoawayforawhile]

There he is! Dave In KFC's comment didn't make sense to me as your last post in this thread was way back on page 3.

Paulos, you mean..........like this? Thanks so very much for the tip and sorry you feel so bogged down.
 Dave in KFC. Now THAT is the funniest post in this thread. To me at least.
And I started the damn thread because I really like Bill Maher and felt very let down. As for someone's comment in the thread about me watching Leno? I was watching BECAUSE I knew Bill Maher was going to be on. So it really felt personal to me and I just reported on SS what I saw. Kinda surprised no one else on here saw it too.

Dave in KFC? Now I'm hungry for hot wings with a side of mashed potatoes and mac'n'cheese.

I found what appeared to be a toenail in my KFC the other day. KFC rules.

[Paulos]

There he is! Dave In KFC's comment didn't make sense to me as your last post in this thread was way back on page 3.

Paulos, you mean..........like this? Thanks so very much for the tip and sorry you feel so bogged down.
 Dave in KFC. Now THAT is the funniest post in this thread. To me at least.
And I started the damn thread because I really like Bill Maher and felt very let down. As for someone's comment in the thread about me watching Leno? I was watching BECAUSE I knew Bill Maher was going to be on. So it really felt personal to me and I just reported on SS what I saw. Kinda surprised no one else on here saw it too.

I'm just surprised you let it get to you so much, it was clearly a joke and jokes aren't meant to be taken seriously.

[Bean Bag]

I'm just surprised you let it get to you so much, it was clearly a joke and jokes aren't meant to be taken seriously.

Yes and no.  I don't think this applies to Maher.

I think many people "in his field" want to be taken seriously.  Political comedians, social commentators, ex-sportscasters.  Directors.  Movies with political/social statements weaved into them -- some subtle, others not so subtle.  It's everywhere.  Modern "entertainment" (I use that word lightly) is CONSTANTLY pushing an agenda.  Trying to influence opinion.  Religion, politics.  Sex, abortion.  It's all day.

This "culture war" is readily apparent to many Americans.  Entertainment is marinated in seriousness.  And it's pushy.

I think that's why Seinfeld was so loved by many.  He didn't push agendas.  The Beach Boys, too.  I'm not being preached to when I listen to Brian Wilson.  The little dance that twerps like Maher do is this:  "I'm just joking.  So you can't criticize me.  But I'm not joking.  So 'ha!'"  It's a defense mechanism.  A passive-aggressive bullying tactic used to generate a group-think wall of protection, from where he can "strike" his "oppressors."  Maher was probably bullied a lot as a kid.  So this is his "revenge."  He's a bully now.


Really, Maher?  Beach Boy fans dying?  Did your childhood bully look like Brian Wilson and Mike Love?  Did they drive cool cars and score chicks?  Yeah they did.  Get over it.  You're still a loser and you always will be.  

There.  That ought to hold him for awhile.

[HeyJude]

I think many people "in his field" want to be taken seriously.  Political comedians, social commentators, ex-sportscasters.  Directors.  Movies with political/social statements weaved into them -- some subtle, others not so subtle.  It's everywhere.  Modern "entertainment" (I use that word lightly) is CONSTANTLY pushing an agenda.  Trying to influence opinion.  Religion, politics.  Sex, abortion.  It's all day.

This "culture war" is readily apparent to many Americans.  Entertainment is marinated in seriousness.  And it's pushy.

I think that's why Seinfeld was so loved by many.  He didn't push agendas.  The Beach Boys, too.  I'm not being preached to when I listen to Brian Wilson.  The little dance that twerps like Maher do is this:  "I'm just joking.  So you can't criticize me.  But I'm not joking.  So 'ha!'"  It's a defense mechanism.  A passive-aggressive bullying tactic used to generate a group-think wall of protection, from where he can "strike" his "oppressors."  Maher was probably bullied a lot as a kid.  So this is his "revenge."  He's a bully now.

Or........ Maher is a comedian telling a joke..... because he's a comedian. Maher may have been bullied in his youth, maybe not. If he did, that experience may or may not inform his comedy and commentary now. But the fact that he made a joke that referenced the BB's in an unflattering light (actually their fans more than the band I suppose!) doesn't tell me anything about his past. It's a joke. I don't care about his past, and I may or may even care about the joke.

I would also argue against the idea that the Beach Boys have never pushed agendas. They rarely have in their music, but statements over the years and appearances with various politicians, partisan talk-show hosts, etc., are certainly not free of any "agenda pushing." The fact that Mike Love is buddies with Bill O'Reilly, etc. or appears with Republican politicians is not always a hugely overt pushing of an agenda, but it is also not a non-partisan action either. It's not as apolitical as an episode of "Seinfeld."

Maher's stuff is a hybrid of comedy/entertainment and politics/social commentary, etc. There shouldn't be any delusion about what you're getting into when you see or hear him. The BB joke/comment is a good example of this. The "joke" part of it was the reference to the BB's. I don't think Maher cares whether his real or joke opinion of the BB's or their fans are taken serious. The rest of the the statement was indeed the part that was meant to be taken seriously.

[KittyKat]

Maher is weird because he's not really liberal or conservative on every issue. He seemed to be supporting Obama the last election, but I used to be under the impression he was a right wing libertarian type. He's super-sexist in some of the stuff he says about women. Like saying they're into diamond rings instead of reading books. That might reflect the type of women he dates, though. He's a weird guy in general. I guess that's why he has a show on cable and didn't make it on mainstream network TV. He's a taste that only people some people have, similar to the way Howard Stern is either loved or loathed.