reading Norm MacDonald's fantastic binge-tweeting of the SNL 40 episode, i saw his reference to a rolling stone article ranking the cast members and he mentioned he had been ranked quite low on the list (i.e., not good). since i love Norm beyond reason, i found this offensive, but sought out the article to gawk at it like a wreck on the highway.
it is indeed insane. Norm is 135 of 141. sure, it's subjective to an extent, but putting Norm at 135 is objectively fucking ludicrous. i recently started receiving rolling stone as some kind of promotion from a credit card or some other such nonsense and opened the magazine for the first time in years.
what a bunch of garbage. it seems like it has completely lost its course as a subversive - or even interesting - publication. it was already backsliding a bit when my parents got me a subscription in 1990, but it was still a bit hip. it covered "college" (later "alternative") music and did a decent job of providing exposure to lesser-known bands. with it and CMJ, a suburban kid could learn about a lot of very interesting artists. now its only asset is Matt Taibbi. why he stays, i have no idea.
SNL has not fared much better over the last several years than rolling stone, so i suppose it's fitting that they combine to provide the tasteless pap that is the ranking linked to above, but it was stomach-turning nonetheless. scrolling down the list is still interesting, however.
anyway, i guess my personal top ten would be:
10) david spade
9) mike myers
8) john belushi
7) eddie murphy
6) norm macdonald
5) will ferrell
4) dan aykroyd
3) bill murray
2) chris farley
1) phil hartman
beyond phil being number one, they can all move up and down (with a couple of alternates - belushi, sandler, radner - occasionally making appearances).
it is indeed insane. Norm is 135 of 141. sure, it's subjective to an extent, but putting Norm at 135 is objectively fucking ludicrous. i recently started receiving rolling stone as some kind of promotion from a credit card or some other such nonsense and opened the magazine for the first time in years.
what a bunch of garbage. it seems like it has completely lost its course as a subversive - or even interesting - publication. it was already backsliding a bit when my parents got me a subscription in 1990, but it was still a bit hip. it covered "college" (later "alternative") music and did a decent job of providing exposure to lesser-known bands. with it and CMJ, a suburban kid could learn about a lot of very interesting artists. now its only asset is Matt Taibbi. why he stays, i have no idea.
SNL has not fared much better over the last several years than rolling stone, so i suppose it's fitting that they combine to provide the tasteless pap that is the ranking linked to above, but it was stomach-turning nonetheless. scrolling down the list is still interesting, however.
anyway, i guess my personal top ten would be:
10) david spade
9) mike myers
8) john belushi
7) eddie murphy
6) norm macdonald
5) will ferrell
4) dan aykroyd
3) bill murray
2) chris farley
1) phil hartman
beyond phil being number one, they can all move up and down (with a couple of alternates - belushi, sandler, radner - occasionally making appearances).
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There are many great comics like Farley, Carvey, etc. but the whole cast is a lot weaker than it was in the past.
