{"id":1612,"date":"2009-01-26T13:35:35","date_gmt":"2009-01-26T21:35:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/?p=1612"},"modified":"2009-01-26T13:37:00","modified_gmt":"2009-01-26T21:37:00","slug":"tina-fey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/2009\/01\/26\/tina-fey\/","title":{"rendered":"Tina Fey"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was reading in "Advertising Age" that SNL parodied the "Whopper Virgins" commercial.<\/p>\n

I’ve never seen it.\u00c2\u00a0 Not the original, not the comedic remake.\u00c2\u00a0 I could search them out on the Web, but that wasn’t why I was reading this "Advertising Age" article.\u00c2\u00a0 What had me Googling was an essay by Scott Perry, in his "New Music Tipsheet", raving about the agency’s creativity.<\/p>\n

You can read about Crispin Porter & Bogusky’s exploits here: <\/p>\n

\n
Agency of the Year: Crispin Porter & Bogusky<\/a><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But I never got past that SNL reference.\u00c2\u00a0 My neurons were firing.\u00c2\u00a0 I don’t watch SNL.\u00c2\u00a0 To say it’s sophomoric would be charitable.\u00c2\u00a0 And for those that rave about its parodies…\u00c2\u00a0 I don’t even watch them.\u00c2\u00a0 But I DID watch Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin takes.\u00c2\u00a0 Why?<\/p>\n

Tina Fey first crossed my consciousness in the early part of this decade.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe 2002, possibly earlier.\u00c2\u00a0 I pick that date because I just did a little research and found that’s when I wrote about her Hugh Hefner joke.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s what convinced me.<\/p>\n

I’ll reprint it below.\u00c2\u00a0 I was looking for a YouTube clip, but the copyright police are making sure no violations are transpiring.\u00c2\u00a0 Keep your assets locked up, that’s the way to make money!\u00c2\u00a0 Worked for the music business, right?<\/p>\n

This one joke was so good that I had to tell everybody I knew about it.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, it was funny, but it was more than that.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got this girl (yes, I know we’re supposed to call them "women", but you call us "boys" and she looked GIRLISH!), who you might ask about the math homework but would never think of in a sexual way, talking trash, in the process skewering both Hugh Hefner and her sister females.\u00c2\u00a0 She was like Michael Jordan going to the hoop.\u00c2\u00a0 To watch her slice and dice was a thing of beauty.<\/p>\n

Now I was a fan.\u00c2\u00a0 I recorded SNL every week just to fast-forward to Ms. Fey’s segment.\u00c2\u00a0 When she ultimately moved on, I continued to record, but then stopped, realizing it wasn’t about the segment, but her.\u00c2\u00a0 She was brilliant.<\/p>\n

Tina got her own show, "30 Rock".\u00c2\u00a0 I watched an episode online.\u00c2\u00a0 It was too safe.\u00c2\u00a0 It didn’t have the edge of that Hefner joke.\u00c2\u00a0 The "cognoscenti" said it was great, but no one was watching.\u00c2\u00a0 Could it be that the show just wasn’t that good?<\/p>\n

But then came the Sarah Palin impersonation…<\/p>\n

First, Tina Fey was lucky that Sarah Palin was a dead ringer.\u00c2\u00a0 If the nominee was Hillary Clinton, or a\u00c2\u00a0 male, she’d have been shit out of luck.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 And with this facial similarity, Ms. Fey used all the chops she’d honed for the better part of a decade to hit one SO far over the wall that the entire country tuned in.\u00c2\u00a0 And continued to tune in to watch her skewer the VP nominee.<\/p>\n

It became a Web phenomenon.\u00c2\u00a0 Viewed by many more people than watched the show.\u00c2\u00a0 The "cognoscenti" said it was about SNL, but it wasn’t.\u00c2\u00a0 It was about Tina Fey, her time had come.<\/p>\n

I liked the Palin parodies.\u00c2\u00a0 But not as much as the Hefner joke.\u00c2\u00a0 Once upon a time, she was mine.\u00c2\u00a0 This girl who could run with the boys, and beat them.\u00c2\u00a0 Now she was everybody’s.\u00c2\u00a0 But that was fine with me.\u00c2\u00a0 Because she DESERVED IT!<\/p>\n

Kind of like Yes.\u00c2\u00a0 I had their first two albums before anybody had heard of them.\u00c2\u00a0 When they broke through on their fourth, I was proud.\u00c2\u00a0 Even though I liked the first record best.\u00c2\u00a0 This is the way it used to be in music.\u00c2\u00a0 You found an act and owned it.\u00c2\u00a0 You told everybody you knew about it.\u00c2\u00a0 And by time they finally broke through, you were happy.\u00c2\u00a0 And sometimes, burned out.\u00c2\u00a0 But you didn’t hate the act.\u00c2\u00a0 You could never hate the act.<\/p>\n

Today, you become a fan of an act and then the label is so busy reaching every last customer that you hate the band before they’re even through working the first album.<\/p>\n

And there’s no development.\u00c2\u00a0 Tina Fey could not have nailed Sarah Palin if she hadn’t put in all that hard work.\u00c2\u00a0 She was READY! As for the other "stars" on SNL…\u00c2\u00a0 Not one could have done the VP nominee justice.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re journeymen at best.\u00c2\u00a0 Whereas Tina Fey is a star.<\/p>\n

Stars are not hatched overnight.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re developed, they grow.\u00c2\u00a0 But in the music business, everybody’s an instant supernova. But the public isn’t buying it.\u00c2\u00a0 People don’t want to see these wannabes.\u00c2\u00a0 They want to go see the acts that have proven themselves again and again, who they believe can truly play.<\/p>\n

It takes years to get it right.\u00c2\u00a0 Which is why Death Cab For Cutie does great business and the "American Idol" winners appear in plays, if they’re lucky.\u00c2\u00a0 As for Ms. Clarkson…\u00c2\u00a0 If she truly had fans, if she truly had a career, her last album wouldn’t have stiffed. Fans support your every endeavor.\u00c2\u00a0 Kelly is only as good as her last hit.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s too much about the hits and not the acts.<\/p>\n

As for the acts you love who can’t sing…\u00c2\u00a0 Or who can play but can’t write memorable material…\u00c2\u00a0 They’re like those indecipherable cast members on SNL.\u00c2\u00a0 You may like them, but the rest of us are not paying attention, they’re not quite good enough.<\/p>\n

You’ve got to be great.\u00c2\u00a0 And greatness doesn’t happen overnight.\u00c2\u00a0 It doesn’t mean you’ve got to develop in public, although it helps, it just means you’ve got to focus on writing, singing and playing more than your look.<\/p>\n

As for Whoppers…\u00c2\u00a0 Crispin Porter & Bogusky can always get a new client.\u00c2\u00a0 Just like a label can always get a new act.\u00c2\u00a0 But if you’re the burger, if you’re the talent, every decision is critical.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s your reputation, your career on the line.\u00c2\u00a0 If you’re willing to do anything to make it, you’re doing too much.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to learn how to say no.<\/p>\n

_____________________________________<\/p>\n

The joke:<\/p>\n

\n
"Tonight, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner will celebrate his 75th birthday. At Hefner’s side will be his seven girlfriends – Stephanie, Tiffany, Regina, Cathy, Kimberly, Buffy and, of course, Tina. Because wherever two or more whores are gathered, there’s always a Tina.<\/p>\n

Now, when I first saw these women, I thought the same thing we all did – what has happened to affirmative action in this country? Hefner’s dating seven blonde, white women – not a blonde pubic hair among them, might I add. Not a pubic hair among them. Come on, though – seven blondes? There’s not a hot Asian woman you can throw in there? A light-skinned black woman? A deaf brunette? Something? Where’s the diversity? When are we going to have a Hefner harem that looks like America? Am I really to believe that these women, each of them, offers you something unique? Let’s go over them, if you will…<\/p>\n

This one is 19, okay. Two months ago she was working at Dairy Queen, now she goes clubbing every night with Bill Maher and Don Adams. Is she better off? It’s hard to say! <\/p>\n

This one…this one isn’t even trying. I’m actually very disappointed in this one. What is that, a man’s shirt? You are the weakest link – goodbye!<\/p>\n

This one doesn’t even have a name anymore.. she’s just ‘Girl.’ She’s basically just there because she knows CPR. <\/p>\n

This one is always next to him, always holding his hand. (in Chinese accent) ‘She a numba one girlfriend!’ <\/p>\n

At 28, Tina is the oldest and has a two-year-old son. That must be a wonderful way to grow up, playing Fetch the Ashtray with James Caan in the Grotto, while your mom’s upstairs praying for the Viagra to wear off so she can get you to the orthodontist on time. Fantastic. <\/p>\n

These two…(points to next two girlfriends)…these two right here, these two are like this…(crosses fingers) But sometimes they’re like this…(squeezes fingers) <\/p>\n

And this one, clearly, this one is willing to do something the others will not do. Whatever the filthiest thing you can think of — it’s a little worse than that, and she’ll let you photograph her doing it. Gotta be the reason she’s there.<\/p>\n

But you know what? You can’t condemn these women, because at least they work together, they support each other, and how many women can say that, right? <\/p>\n

And these women aren’t doing it for the money. They’re doing it because they were molested by a family friend. <\/p>\n

I salute you, Hefner ladies. You are making it work! Back to you Jimmy!"<\/p><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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I was reading in "Advertising Age" that SNL parodied the "Whopper Virgins" commercial. I’ve never seen it.\u00c2\u00a0 Not the original, not the comedic remake.\u00c2\u00a0 I could search them out on the Web, but that wasn’t why I was reading this "Advertising Age" article.\u00c2\u00a0 What had me Googling was an essay by Scott Perry, in his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-business"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-q0","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1612"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1612\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1614,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1612\/revisions\/1614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}