Rec: #901: All the Travel Man Drinking Scenes

 

What: What it says on the tin --- a compilation of Richard Ayoade drinking with Kathy Burke in Barcelona, Jessica Hynes in Iceland, Chris O'Dowd in Vienna, Mel Giedroyc in Paris, Noel Fielding in Copenhagen, Greg Davies in Moscow, Paul Rudd in Helsinki, Aisling Bea in Budapest, Sally Phillips in Stockholm, etc.

I dare you not to howl with laughter when Mel starts glugging absinthe.

Representative quotes: 

"Gosh, you can taste the savings."

"It's like being slapped by a tiny, scented fist."

How to get it: This particular one-hour video is currently up on YouTube.

Connections to previous Wreckage: I've mentioned Travel Man before (Rec. #396, List #63, Rec. #592, SSoW #36)! Gosh, I miss traveling. And drinking/eating indoors with other people, actually.

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #41: Take Me to the World

Stream what: This 90th-birthday celebration for living legend Stephen Sondheim is two-and-a-half hours of taped-ahead-streamed-live theater magnificence.

(And unlike the actual live stream from April 26, this video doesn't start with one hour of technical problems.)

Stream why: Remember real, identifiable emotions that weren't "nameless dread"?? Feel them all here!

There is so much good, amazing stuff. The highest highlights for me personally are Katrina Lenk's "Johanna"; Alexander Gemignani's "Buddy's Blues"; Ann Harada, Austin Ku, Kelvin Moon Loh, and Thom Sesma's "Someone in a Tree"; and, of course, Christine Baranski, Meryl Streep, and Audra McDonald's "The Ladies Who Lunch."

Stream where: YouTube. And donate to ASTEP if you can.



Connections from previous Wreckage: For more Sondheim, see also Rec. #99: Company, Rec. #215: The Last of Sheila, Rec. #511: The Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened, and Rec. #557: Sondheim Lyrics on Twitter.

Streaming Suggestion of the Week #39: Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

Stream what: Like many other late-night hosts, Samantha Bee has found a way to continue with her show.

Unlike the men, however, Bee is not sitting in her living room or office. Oh no! She has taken her blazers to the woods and has been presenting produced segments from outside a woodshed.

Stream why: Samantha Bee is great. She should get more press for being great. She's great.

Stream where: It's all on YouTube!


See also: List #63, Rec. #664, Rec. #739, etc.

Rec. #880: Marian Keyes on YouTube

What: Author Marian Keyes is a delight and her vlogs on YouTube are like chatting with a friend. 

A friend who is gratifyingly annoyed by daylight and warm weather, who reads loads and loads of books, who doesn't ignore that the world is a mess, who nevertheless delights in shiny things, and who speaks with a really great Irish accent.

Representative quote: "F-ing clocks! Isn't it awful? It's just not nice, it's really upsetting, all that fecking light going on at 4 in the morning."

How to get it: Visit her YouTube channel.

Connections to previous Wreckage: Marian Keyes also has a monthly newsletter that is extremely charming (Rec. #418).

Rec. #873: Taskmaster (UK) YouTube Channel

What: The tv show Taskmaster is, truly, one of the only things making me feel even moments of true happiness in this world right now.

As I've said before, it's completely absurd, but a joyful absurd, which is something I had almost forgotten was possible.

Representative tasks:
Buy the Best Present for the Taskmaster
Paint a Picture of a Horse, While Riding a Horse
Destroy a Cake as Beautifully as Possible
Do Something Remarkable, Synchronised
Get as Close to Alex as Possible Without Him Seeing You


Connections to previous Wreckage: I previously highlighted the task "Write and Perform a Song for a Stranger" as Rec. #858: Best Earworm. The US version of the show was Rec. #696.

How to get it: Glory be, the original UK version now has an official YouTube channel. There have been nine (9!) series of the show so far, so keep uploading those videos, please.

Rec. #858: Best Earworm

The show Taskmaster is very funny -- both the UK and US versions. Many of the full British episodes are being added to YouTube by an official "Taskmaster" channel (finally!).

In one such episode, people are tasked with writing and performing a song for a stranger.

"Quite Good, Considering [Rosalind's a Nightmare]" is one of the gobsmacking results, and I've now had it stuck in my head for ... literal weeks. 

And I don't even hate it yet!

(See also Rec. #696 and Rec. #731)

Rec. #828: Echad Mi Yodea by Ohad Naharin performed by Batsheva

What: During the summer of 2018, I saw work by choreographer Ohad Naharin performed by Hubbard Street Dance in Chicago. (See Rec. #573.)

At the time, I described it as "exquisite and powerful and maybe even life-changing?" This particular piece, Echad Mi Yodea, is the one that's stuck with me the most. In this clip, it's performed by Naharin's own Batsheva Dance Company. Just wait until they start throwing shoes.

How to get it: You can watch the piece on YouTube, and you might be interested in Batsheva's YouTube channel in general. Or you might want to watch performances from other companies, such as the Opéra national de Paris.

Connection to previous Wreckage: More on DecaDance/Chicago is at Rec. 573.

Rec. #815: Highlights of Side by Side by Susan Blackwell

I so thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the Amy Poehler/Natasha Lyonne shenanigans (Rec. #812) that this whole week is going to be all about short, mood-booster videos. Enjoy!

"I rock out my dinger eight times a week in that show." (Will Swensen)
"You smell good."  "Thanks, it's lady deodorant." (Lin-Manuel Miranda)
"I hate everybody." (Andrea Martin)
--- with Will Swensen, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Andrea Martin (2010)





"This is my personal heaven. Feeding goats with Jonathan Groff."
--- with Jonathan Groff (2011)

"If you can explain the rules of cricket to me before I get bored, you don't have to scrub my toilet."
[cut to Radcliffe scrubbing a toilet]

--- with Daniel Radcliffe (2011)
(Rec. #454)

"Are those Broadway.com-approved words?"

--- with Audra McDonald (2012)

"It was Rosh Hashanah ... I was making my one phone call, but everyone was at temple, so I couldn't get out of jail."

--- with the cast of Falsettos (2016)

Connections to previous Wreckage: See Rec. #328 for much more about Side by Side by Susan Blackwell (which has now been going for 10 years!).

Rec. #814: Assorted British Nonsense

I so thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the Amy Poehler/Natasha Lyonne shenanigans (Rec. #812) that this whole week is going to be all about short, mood-booster videos. Enjoy!

"I mean, you might have another name, well done, but in my mind: 'Ferret.'"

--- "Does Claudia Winkleman label every person she meets as an animal?"
(Rec. #502)

"I've got an egg in my hand for the first time in my life."

--- "MasterChef at No10"
(Rec. #434)

"It's like a bunch of white people drowning in milk."

--- Richard Ayoade's "Travel Man: Spa Days"
(See also Rec. #396, Rec. #592, List #63)

"You've cut your hand on the toilet flush?"

--- "QI: Pre-Show Pandemonium"

"Go on - tell Jodie Foster that story!"

--- Greg Davies on The Graham Norton Show
(See also SSoW #5)

[dances like Kate Bush]
--- "Noel Fielding Does 'Wuthering Heights'"

(Rec. #447)

Rec. #813: Alexis and David videos

I so thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the Amy Poehler/Natasha Lyonne shenanigans (Rec. #812) that this whole week is going to be all about short, mood-booster videos. Enjoy! 

"I didn't 'go missing', David -- the FBI knew where I was the entire time."

--- "Alexis Rose: International Woman of Mystery"

"Ew, David!"

--- "Alexis Says 'David'"
(Rec. #595)

"And it can't be wrong, take my heart and make it strong, babe"

--- See Rec. #733 for the whole constellation of videos around David and Patrick and "Simply the Best"

"Dead silence. Is it a Yoko Ono song?"
--- "Dan Levy & Annie Murphy Play Jam or Not a Jam"
(Rec. #490)

Connections to previous Wreckage: For more Schitt's Creek, see , Rec. #680, List #59, List #63, and List #65.

Rec. #812: Amy Poehler Attempts an Impression of Natasha Lyonne

What: This video has given me so much joy recently. I have already watched these three minutes more than 20 times (a very restrained estimate).

The whole thing is eminently gif-able.

A few top moments:

Connection to previous Wreckage: Russian Doll is really, really good (Rec. #775).

How to get it: On YouTube. It's basically a commercial for Netflix and I don't even care.