All posts by Matthew Callan

Endeavors Elsewhere

Me Elsewhere: Rap Ads at Low Times

Let this be a heads-up to all and sundry that all this week, you can read contributions from yours truly over at Low Times. You see, once upon a time, companies thought they could capitalize on the emerging hip-hop culture in order to move some product. They also thought anybody could rap, and the results that littered the airwaves in the late 80s/early 90s were not pretty. So that we can all take a trip down memory lane, or expose unwitting younger generations to their horror, Daniel Ralston and I have compiled a few examples for your listening and viewing pleasure (?).

The first installment is up as we speak, with more segments to follow all week at Low Times’ “Long Player” section. The inaugural post includes a commercial I think you’ll “love in a major way.” Enjoy!

Slice of Turkey

Slice of Turkey: Cornucopia Finale

To wrap up this feature, I figured I’d showcase a collection of Thanksgiving artifacts from years gone by that didn’t quite warrant a post of their own but which deserve viewing nonetheless. First, an NBC parade promo from 1977, which also contains an ad for a Dolphins-Cardinals game, plus a very 1970s Jane Pauley tells us about Anwar Sadat.

Here are a few opening segments from old Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parades. The thing I love about these is that they cram together all the celebrities in no particular order, and in so doing, create an odd potpourri of folks who have almost nothing in common. Stick around for Jim Nabors, Gregory Hines, and Don McLean!

The 1983 parade opener tells us to get excited for Tommy Tune & Twiggy, Ashford & Simpson, Lou Rawls, and Ballet Hispanico! Plus, Bryant Gumbel hosts this year and he could not give less of a shit!

1984 parade opener, featuring a young, mugging Joey Lawrence and a weird, rubber-necked clown. The glory-hogging cast of The Tapdance Kid returns! The cast of V is here, and so is Dom Deluise!

The 1984 parade ended like this, with that weird clown making a kid disappear. Then a litany of sponsors, and Santa Claus tells us Christmas is here, so you better get your ass to the mall.

Not parade related, but certainly worthy of inclusion: Happy Thanksgiving from The Weird Al Show, the parodist’s short-lived kids CBS kids show, circa 1997.

Slice of Turkey

Slice of Turkey: Phil Hartman, 1996

In today’s clip, which I assume is from some sort of Thanksgiving Day parade pregame show, Phil Hartman gives us a bird’s eye view of the parade route from the cockpit of a helicopter. This was back in 1996, post-SNL, when Hartman played Bill McNeal on News Radio.

The video quality is not fantastic and some of the banter is a little weird and stilted, but dammit, Phil Hartman is bulletproof in my book. He’s one of my favorite comedic actors ever, and I’d listen to him read the telephone book, if only he was still around to do so. Gone too soon. Try not to think about the fact that he only had a little over a year to live when this video was made, even though I’ve just put that thought in your head.

Bonus Hartman! A Thanksgiving-themed SNL sketch from 1988, featuring John Lithgow, Fargo accents, and some window-rattling burps.