The (other) Jon Brion Show

January 18, 2013 5:06 PM

The basic history is that back around 1999/2000, Jon Brion shot a pilot with VH1 for a variety show that would feature music & comedy of the various performers hanging around LA club Largo at the time (Aimee Mann, Fiona Apple, etc.) but the network turned it down. So PTA decided to step in and shot his own version of "The Jon Brion Show" via 3 test episodes which he shot and paid for himself, but as far as we know never presented it to the network (or any network) for possibility to air.

PTA being Paul Thomas Anderson. The first episode, featuring Elliott Smith, has been posted on the Al Rose Promotions YouTube channel. There are two other episodes yet to be seen.
Via Cigarettes & Red Vines.
And, previously…

posted by Red Loop (9 comments total)

Every time I see a blurb for this I think it's Brion James.
posted by steinsaltz at 5:18 PM on January 18 [1 favorite]

I think its Brion Gysin.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 5:19 PM on January 18 [1 favorite]

I was like "who's Al Rose?" Apparently according to the Indiewire story on this Jon Brion show, Al Rose Promotions is Paul Thomas Anderson's YouTube account. As this blog comment points out "for anyone who doesn’t know, Al Rose was the old-timey estate agent in There Will Be Blood," played by off-and-on SNL writer Jim Downey.
posted by larrybob at 5:42 PM on January 18 [1 favorite]

I'm not down for internet vengeance, but somebody should leak the names of who turned this down so we can have some internet mocking.
posted by history is a weapon at 6:07 PM on January 18

This is wonderful, thanks. There's maybe not a lot left to be said about Elliott Smith, but this shows a little different side of him, at least to me. When I think about Smith I tend to think about grunge and Portland and heroin, not the Brion circle of alt-Hollywood pros, and seeing him in this context is illuminating. His work showed the same dedication to craft of that bunch, but was on a whole 'nother level, really—elevated by the force of feeling and soul he put into it. He had something to say, and said it; and I heard it. Brion's song sounded like a school exercise in comparison.

Brion's a good accompanist though, and the songs with Mehldau are fantastic, full of little harmonic savorments. I would've loved a full set with all three of them.
posted by absqua at 8:15 PM on January 18

Ugh, I want to adjust the tracking on someone's VCR and rerecord this.

But it was great - thanks for the link!
posted by tkerugger at 8:57 PM on January 18 [1 favorite]

Thanks for this.
posted by mayurasana at 9:30 PM on January 18

This really is great! Thank you!
posted by princelyfox at 8:23 PM on January 19

That would be Paul Thomas Anderson's VCR..

This was far too good to ever actually end up on tv.

This is also Elliott Smith at about the peak of his form, relaxed, confident (for him), none of the looming decline/issues having kicked in.

This is also a testament to the Largo scene of LA in the 90s/Naughts that nurtured Brion, Aimee Mann and Michael Penn, comics like Marc Maron, and PTA.
posted by C.A.S. at 2:34 AM on January 20