Jimmy Fallon is scheduled to host a “Yacht Rock Party” on tonight’s episode of “Late Night” that will feature the smooth stylings of Christopher Cross, who will perform the yacht rock cornerstones “Ride Like the Wind” and “Sailing.” From OK Magazine:
You mean you don’t know what Yacht Rock is? Hearken back to the soft rock of Southern California in the late ’70s and early ’80s, that certain strain of music celebrated with nautical references in lyrics, videos and album artwork. Yacht Rockers like Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Steely Dan and Toto joined [Christopher] Cross in celebrating all things yacht-like.
The reason I’m making it a point to write about this is that it blows my mind that some people still haven’t seen the Yacht Rock series from Channel 101, which chronicles the fictitious stories of how yacht rock’s classics came to be. Above is episode 1 to get you started; below is my favorite in the series. Watch it or we can’t be friends. It’s so smooth!
Tiffani Thiessen remains the only “Saved by the Bell” cast member who hasn’t signed on for a reunion on Jimmy Fallon’s “Late Night” show, and she made a joke-y video for Funny or Die (see below) to explain why she’s too busy to do it. Apparently she’s making cat videos and helping NASA and some other whimsical things that I didn’t find very funny. It’s obviously supposed to show that she has a sense of humor about the situation, but it fails because if she had a sense of humor about it, she’d just go and do the stupid reunion. Dammit, Tiffani, an entire generation of Americans had to shut their brains off to like that retarded-ass show, the least you could do is indulge in our nostalgia. Who do you think you are? Jennie Garth?
Glenn Close was a guest on “Late Night” last night month (Edit: eh, sometime in the past), and she kicked Jimmy Fallon’s ass after he challenged her to see who could stuff more baby carrots into their mouth. That seems to be Jimmy’s approach to being a late-night host: try to get his guests to loosen up by doing silly challenges. I’m not sure if it works or not, but I like the idea of shoving things into people’s mouths. Like this chocolate I got for you. Here, have a bite. Oh, you thought I meant…? Perv.
Anyway, you can watch the video below. Glenn Close hasn’t been this sexy and creepy since Fatal Attraction.
In an appearance that harkened back to simpler, uglier times, Mark-Paul Gosselaar appeared in character as Zach Morris on last night’s episode of “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.” It had everything you were happy to forget about the ’90s: French-rolled acid wash jeans, a gigantic cell phone, and Elizabeth Berkeley before she got naked in Showgirls. But the highlight is definitely Gosselaar playing Zach Attack’s “Friends Forever” with the Roots (starting with 1:45 remaining). Eventually, I may one day have my mind NOT blown by the fact that the Roots are Jimmy Fallon’s house band. I’m thinking probably the year 2028.
Last night, Craig Ferguson delivered another “Late Late Show” cold opener full of excellence when he addressed all the different white men who are changing jobs in late night television. As you can see in this clip, he talks about the new Conan vs. Letterman, the old Conan vs. Ferguson, and his new battle against Jimmy Fallon. (Fallon, meanwhile, was making his case by slow-jammin’ the news).
It’s kind of cool to see a late-night host actually addressing the elephant in the room, and I have to admit, I like the idea of a naked wrestling match. Because I like gay things, you see. (Except gay sex — that’s gay!)
Things would have been so much easier for the average cynical blogger if Jimmy Fallon had failed miserably at the reins of “Late Night.” But not only has Fallon pulled solid ratings since taking Conan O’Brien’s late-night slot, he’s actually… **looks around nervously** … kind of good. I mean, I’m not watching every night or anything, but when I do check in, he’s doing cool stuff like TuSpock or being surprisingly quick on his feet while interacting with the audience.
The clip above — “Head Swap” — is a good example of him going an entirely different direction with a standard gimmick of late-night shows. With offbeat skits like this, Fallon just might be — and I fear your reprisals for saying this — an acceptable replacement for Conan after all. Y’know, maybe that Lorne Michaels fellow has a future in the television industry.
