SNL 5/5 and 5/12 Guest Announcements: Reactions

5/5/12: Eli Manning/Rihanna: Guess what?  Little Eli may just be the best quarterback in the Manning family.  Now, yes, he absolutely has a ways to go to catch up to Peyton statistically, but he does have more Super Bowl rings, and that is no fluke.  But … the topic at hand is hosting SNL.  Peyton Manning is hands down the best athlete host in SNL history, and Eli has never really indicated that he has the charisma to match his brother when it comes to endorsement deals or television appearances.  All I’m saying is, Eli may want to take some pointers from big brother.
RiRi appears for her third time, for the third season in a row.  I’m not sure what songs she’ll be peforming, though.  “We Found Love” is the only major hit from her most recent album Talk That Talk, and that has already peaked.  The best song she is a part of right now is Drake’s “Take Care,” which I would be happy to see a performance of, but that seems unlikely, as Drake was already an MG this season.  This seems like a perfect time to dip into the classics and whip out that “Umbrella.”

5/12/12: Will Ferrell/Usher: I keep thinking that Will Ferrell has only hosted season finales, but he has actually hosted one season finale and one second-to-last episode of the season.  So, with this third hosting appearance, it will still be true that he has only hosted the last or the second-to-last episode of the season.  Anyway, he is the greatest SNL cast member of all time.  ‘Nuff said.
Usher (like Will Ferrell the host) has only appeared on SNL in May.  During his two previous stints, he was reliable for fun club-bangers like “Yeah” and “Love in This Club,” but if his current single “Climax” is an indication of what he has in store for May 12, then I am not excited.

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 4/28/12

How is Gotye sliding down the countdown as “Somebody That I Used to Know” keeps getting bigger and bigger?

Original Version
1. fun. ft. Janelle Monáe – “We Are Young”
2. Train – “Drive By”
3. Katy Perry – “Part of Me”
4. Andy Grammer – “Fine By Me”
5. Nickelback – “Lullaby”
6. B.o.B – “So Good”
7. Graffiti6 – “Free”
8. Jason Mraz – “I Won’t Give Up”
9. The Script – “If You Ever Come Back”
10. Karmin – “Brokenhearted”
11. Gotye ft. Kimbra – “Somebody That I Used to Know”
12. Usher – “Climax”
13. Calvin Harris – “Feel So Close
14. Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull – “Dance Again”
15. K’Naan ft. Nelly Furtado – “Is Anybody Out There”
16. Kelly Clarkson – “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
17. Gavin DeGraw – “Sweeter”
18. Ellie Goulding – “Lights”
19. Drake ft. Rihanna – “Take Care”
20. Matt Nathanson ft. Sugarland – “Run”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Somebody That I Used to Know
2. Feel So Close
3. Take Care
4. Lights
5. We Are Young
6. Brokenhearted
7. Free
8. Part of Me
9. Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)
10. Run
11. Sweeter
12. So Good
13. Dance Again
14. Is Anybody Out There
15. Drive By
16. If You Ever Come Back
17. Fine By Me
18. Lullaby
19. Climax
20. I Won’t Give Up

Fuse Top 20 Countdown – 4/24/12

I watched the 100th episode of Top 20 Countdown at the same time as I was reading an article in Sports Illustrated that discussed Wilt Chamberlain, among others.

Original Version
1. Gotye ft. Kimbra – “Somebody That I Used to Know”
2. fun. ft. Janelle Monáe – “We Are Young”
3. One Direction – “What Makes You Beautiful”
4. Carly Rae Jepsen – “Call Me Maybe”
5. Flo Rida ft. Sia – “Wild Ones”
6. The Wanted – “Glad You Came”
7. Nicki Minaj ft. 2 Chainz – “Beez in the Trap”
8. B.o.B – “So Good”
9. Train – “Drive By”
10. Katy Perry – “Part of Me”
11. Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull – “Dance Again”
12. Kelly Clarkson – “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
13. Calvin Harris – “Feel So Close”
14. Shinedown – “Bully”
15. Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa ft. Bruno Mars – “Young, Wild & Free”
16. Drake ft. Rihanna – “Take Care”
17. Drake ft. Lil’ Wayne and Tyga – “The Motto (Remix)”
18. Imagine Dragons – “It’s Time”
19. Karmin – “Brokenhearted”
20. Gym Class Heroes ft. Neon Hitch – “Ass Back Home”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Somebody That I Used to Know
2. Feel So Close
3. Take Care
4. We Are Young
5. Beez in the Trap
6. Wild Ones
7. Call Me Maybe
8. Brokenhearted
9. Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)
10. Part of Me
11. So Good
12. It’s Time
13. Bully
14. Ass Back Home
15. The Motto (Remix)
16. What Makes You Beautiful
17. Glad You Came
18. Dance Again
19. Drive By
20. Young, Wild & Free

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 4/21/12

It just seems so wrong to have a Nickelback video mixed in nowadays.

Original Version
1. fun. ft. Janelle Monáe – “We Are Young”
2. Katy Perry – “Part of Me”
3. B.o.B – “So Good”
4. Graffit6 – “Free”
5. Train – “Drive By”
6. Jason Mraz – “I Won’t Give Up”
7. Andy Grammer – “Fine By Me”
8. Gotye ft. Kimbra – “Somebody That I Used to Know”
9. Nickelback – “Lullaby”
10. The Script – “If You Ever Come Back”
11. Usher – “Climax”
12. Karmin – “Brokenhearted”
13. K’Naan ft. Nelly Furtado – “Is Anybody Out There”
14. Kelly Clarkson – “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
15. Gym Class Heroes ft. Neon Hitch – “Ass Back Home”
16. Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull – “Dance Again”
17. Ellie Goulding – “Lights”
18. Gavin DeGraw – “Sweeter”
19. Madonna – “Girl Gone Wild”
20. Drake ft. Rihanna – “Take Care”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Somebody That I Used to Know
2. Take Care
3. Lights
4. We Are Young
5. Free
6. Brokenhearted
7. Part of Me
8. Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)
9. Sweeter
10. So Good
11. Ass Back Home
12. Girl Gone Wild
13. Dance Again
14. Is Anybody Out There
15. Drive By
16. If You Ever Come Back
17. Fine By Me
18. Lullaby
19. Climax
20. I Won’t Give Up

SNL Video Recap April 14, 2012: Josh Brolin/Gotye

Fuse Top 20 Countdown – 4/17/12

I don’t think Fuse watches SNL.

Original Version
1. fun. ft. Janelle Monáe – “We Are Young”
2. Gotye ft. Kimbra – “Somebody That I Used to Know”
3. Drake ft. Rihanna – “Take Care”
4. Carly Rae Jepsen – “Call Me Maybe”
5. Flo Rida ft. Sia – “Wild Ones”
6. Train – “Drive By”
7. The Wanted – “Glad You Came”
8. One Direction – “What Makes You Beautiful”
9. Kelly Clarkson – “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
10. B.o.B – “So Good”
11. Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull – “Dance Again”
12. Katy Perry – “Part of Me”
13. Calvin Harris – “Feel So Close”
14. Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa ft. Bruno Mars – “Young, Wild & Free”
15. Drake ft. Lil’ Wayne and Tyga – “The Motto (Remix)”
16. Adele – “Set Fire to the Rain”
17. Tyga ft. Lil’ Wayne – “Faded”
18. Karmin – “Brokenhearted”
19. Gym Class Heroes ft. Neon Hitch – “Ass Back Home”
20. Chris Brown – “Turn Up the Music”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Somebody That I Used to Know
2. Feel So Close
3. Take Care
4. We Are Young
5. Set Fire to the Rain
6. Wild Ones
7. Call Me Maybe
8. Brokenhearted
9. Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)
10. Part of Me
11. So Good
12. Ass Back Home
13. The Motto (Remix)
14. What Makes You Beautiful
15. Glad You Came
16. Turn Up the Music
17. Dance Again
18. Faded
19. Drive By
20. Young, Wild & Free

SNL Recap April 14, 2012: Josh Brolin/Gotye

We need beans, like, yesterday.

Republican Candidates at a Bar
It felt like this sketch could have been written months ago, and SNL was just waiting for everyone besides Romney to drop out before airing it.  Humorously keen observations were made about each candidate.  The digs at Rick Perry’s propensity for gaffes in this sketch were the best digs at him all season. B+

Josh Brolin’s Monologue
It was nice to see that Josh Brolin was comfortable enough to get through his monologue (mostly) by himself, despite not having much material.  I got that he only said one word as Tommy Lee Jones because Tommy Lee isn’t a big talker, but it would have been nice to hear more of that impression, because based on the MIB3 trailer, he has his cadence down well. B-

HBO First Look: Game of Thrones
I’m guessing that most of the sex in Game of Thrones was in the books, so that 13-year-old could have been more or less a part of George R.R. Martin himself.  I’ll allow the same joke to be repeated over and over if it is astute enough.  The frequent bathroom breaks was the best isotope of that same joke. B

The Californians
At first, I thought this was going to just be a series of soap opera scenes with Southern California accents, which would have been good enough for me, but then it turned into something Monty Python-esque when the obsession with the California highway system was introduced.  The cast could barely believe what they had created. A-

America’s Next Top Empire State of Mind Parody Artist
Are “Empire State of Mind” parodies an actual thing on the Interwebs?  Even if they’re not, I still would want this sketch to have existed, as it was so wonderfully esoteric.  The individual parts of this sketch weren’t brilliant – Andy’s Weird Al was decent, Kenan’s Chocolate Rain guy was pointless, Abby’s Ke$ha had one okay joke, and Jay’s Jay-Z was acting in a way that didn’t make a whole lot of sense – but, oh man, that premise was something else.  Also, I could listen to Fred sing a list of various exercises all day. B+

Digital Short: Laser Cats 7
A bit stale for a Laser Cats effort.  But I’m a sucker for purposefully half-assed references like “Catch Me If You Can The Terminal.” B

Gotye (ft. Kimbra) performs “Somebody That I Used to Know”
Nicki Minaj wore a wig, Win Butler of Arcade Fire wandered offstage, the Black Keys and Kings of Leon always sound good, Robyn toppled over backwards and danced with her head on the floor, and Foster the People had a keyboard that quacked, but in the end, it was Gotye who delivered the best musical performance on SNL since Kanye’s rendition of “Power.”  Gotye  and Kimbra may not have brought the look of the “Somebody That I Used to Know” video to the SNL stage, but they did bring the energy and the emotion. A

Weekend Update
-The Jokes: Seth was on fire.  He actually added good jokes to the stories that were already funny in the first place. B+
-The Segments: -What Are You Doing?: Really!?! has a new baby sibling. B
-Garth and Kat: G & K have a knack for digging themselves a hole, and then making it deeper and deeper, and then somehow finding a way out of it that doesn’t make any sense (see: “Garth and Kat Live at Every Auditorium Around Get Your Tickets Now It’s Live” being named after their grandma), but there’ s no arguing with them, and you don’t want to really, because it’s too much fun to see them convince themselves of something so ridiculous. B+

Piers Morgan Tonight
I appreciated the randomness, and the acknowledgement of said randomness, but each individual part didn’t do much of note, not even Fred’s Ice-T, which was put to such sublime use in the Celebrity Teen Crisis Center sketch from last season. B-

Woodridge High
More of a germ of a sketch than a fully realized sketch.  Characterization would have helped.  By the way, the song was “More Bounce” by Soul Kid 1. (Was that song meant to make it an homage to The O.C. or something?) B-

Digital Short: Gotye Backstage
With this short and the Game of Thrones commercial, this SNL episode made it clear that nudity is now de rigueur in comedy.  This sort of faux backstage encounter is bread-and-butter for the digital shorts, and Gotye’s laid-back persona worked well for bouncing off of. B+

Gotye performs “Eyes Wide Open”
Gotye picked two songs that have quite the dramatic (in the case of “Eyes Wide Open,” dramatically abrupt) ending.  I appreciated his ability to continue to belt it out while banging on those drums. B+

Prom
Wow.  Um, who ever expected the return of these characters?  I was too much in shock  by that surprise to be able to figure out if there was much of a point to this sketch.  But, anyway, I don’t think there was. C

Overall
Was it Appreciate Jay Pharaoh Day or something?  He got to bust out his Will Smith, Jay-Z, and Kanye and reprise a truly bizarre recurring character.  Actually, just about the entire cast got plenty of screen time (always a good sign).  This episode started off with several weird and fascinating sketches (and a weird and fascinating musical guest to go along with them), but it fizzled out with sketches at the end that felt like they weren’t fully thought out.

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 4/14/12

Have Katy Perry gone too far?

Original Version
1. Katy Perry – “Part of Me”
2. Train – “Drive By”
3. fun. ft. Janelle Monáe – “We Are Young”
4. Andy Grammer – “Fine By Me”
5. Gotye ft. Kimbra – “Somebody That I Used to Know”
6. Graffiti6 – “Free”
7. Jason Mraz – “I Won’t Give Up”
8. B.o.B – “So Good”
9. The Script – “If You Ever Come Back”
10. Kelly Clarkson – “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
11. Nickelback – “Lullaby”
12. Gym Class Heroes ft. Neon Hitch – “Ass Back Home”
13. Karmin – “Brokenhearted”
14. Usher – “Climax”
15. K’Naan ft. Nelly Furtado – “Is Anybody Out There”
16. Madonna – “Girl Gone Wild”
17. Neon Trees – “Everybody Talks”
18. Ellie Goulding – “Lights”
19. Gavin DeGraw – “Sweeter”
20. Christina Perri – “A Thousand Years”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Somebody That I Used to Know
2. Lights
3. We Are Young
4. A Thousand Years
5. Free
6. Brokenhearted
7. Part of Me
8. Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)
9. Sweeter
10. Everybody Talks
11. So Good
12. Ass Back Home
13. Girl Gone Wild
14. Is Anybody Out There
15. Drive By
16. If You Ever Come Back
17. Fine By Me
18. Lullaby
19. Climax
20. I Won’t Give Up

Fuse Top 20 Countdown – 4/10/12

Never before has a boy band sounded as exotic as The Wanted, or, whatever.

Original Version
1. fun. ft. Janelle Monáe – “We Are Young”
2. Gotye ft. Kimbra – “Somebody That I Used to Know”
3. Flo Rida ft. Sia – “Wild Ones”
4. Carly Rae Jepsen – “Call Me Maybe”
5. One Direction – “What Makes You Beautiful”
6. The Wanted – “Glad You Came”
7. Kelly Clarkson – “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
8. Karmin – “Brokenhearted”
9. Train – “Drive By”
10. Katy Perry – “Part of Me”
11. Usher – “Climax”
12. Calvin Harris – “Feel So Close”
13. B.o.B – “So Good”
14. Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa ft. Bruno Mars – “Young, Wild & Free”
15. Adele – “Set Fire to the Rain”
16. Drake ft. Lil’ Wayne and Tyga – “The Motto (Remix)”
17. David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj – “Turn Me On”
18. Neon Trees – “Everybody Talks”
19. Chris Brown – “Turn Up the Music”
20. Tyga – “Rack City”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Somebody That I Used to Know
2. Feel So Close
3. We Are Young
4. Set Fire to the Rain
5. Turn Me On
6. Wild Ones
7. Call Me Maybe
8. Brokenhearted
9. Everybody Talks
10. Part of Me
11. So Good
12. Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)
13. Rack City
14. The Motto (Remix)
15. What Makes You Beautiful
16. Glad You Came
17. Turn Up the Music
18. Drive By
19. Young, Wild & Free
20. Climax

SNL Video Recap April 7, 2012: Sofia Vergara/One Direction