Like, hey man -- that Terry Gross chick is a bummer

February 7, 2005 12:43 PM

Like, wow, man. NPR interviewista Terry Gross sits down with a talk with infamously legendary comedian Tommy Chong and the DOJ flunky who decided that he'd make a good target. The acrimony between Chong and the much more successful Cheech Marin seems to be healed, no doubt in part owing to their upcoming appearance together at the US Comedy Arts Festival. Terry gets down to business including the bust and the origins of the comedy duo, more interesting than one would expect.
posted by Ogre Lawless (28 comments total)

Heyyy, you ruined my record, man. I just bwaaght it!

This was awesome, thanks Ogre. As much as I try tend to dismiss claims of the media's impact on kids with regard to drugs and sex, I must admit, that as an impressionable 5th grader, listening to Cheech & Chong records made me WANT to go out of my way to find some pot to try (I went to a private school where it wasn't available). I'll always love those guys.
posted by psmealey at 1:05 PM on February 7, 2005

I think Chong is a great dad.
posted by oh posey at 1:13 PM on February 7, 2005

So, it's me, Dave, let me in, man...
posted by jonmc at 1:15 PM on February 7, 2005

Dave's not here.
posted by gompa at 1:17 PM on February 7, 2005

I think the cops saw me.
posted by asok at 1:47 PM on February 7, 2005

Anyone know what the bumper music is around 35 minutes in, when Terry takes a break?
posted by AlexReynolds at 1:48 PM on February 7, 2005

I've never seen more than a few minutes of a Cheech and Chong movie, but I found this interview incredibly compelling. Near the end, Gross seemed to lose patience with the DOJ lackey. Gross pointed out that you could make a bong out of most anything, and all the prosecutor could respond with was "but there are 10,000+ bongs off the street."
posted by drezdn at 1:52 PM on February 7, 2005

Oh, and of course -
No sticks, no seeds that you don't need;
Acapulco Gold is...baaadaaass weed.

Also - go Tommy, go go go.
Hmm...mixed comedy quotes.
posted by asok at 1:54 PM on February 7, 2005

But then he went and did "That 70's Show" and ruined everything...
posted by tkchrist at 1:56 PM on February 7, 2005

I felt bad for the prosecutor. What a pathetic wasted life. I wonder how much money she spent for Law School in order to go after people who conspire to sell something that might be used by someone else to inhale plant smoke.
posted by EmoChild at 2:02 PM on February 7, 2005

"but there are 10,000+ bongs off the street."

Sweet... that represents a boon for the canned soft-drink industry. Coke and Pepsi rejoice!
posted by psmealey at 2:06 PM on February 7, 2005

AlexReynolds: Might want to check here . It pupports to be the music interludes used for the show though I can't tease them out of the archived show to be certain.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 2:24 PM on February 7, 2005

Ogre, you kick ass. Aquaplane!
posted by AlexReynolds at 3:07 PM on February 7, 2005

Coke and Pepsi rejoice!
Not to mention the fine folks at American Beekeeping Foundation!
posted by sonofsamiam at 3:19 PM on February 7, 2005

Interestingly (to me) - he's 68 years old and has only stopped ingesting pot because he's now in the system and must be drug tested.
posted by melt away at 3:20 PM on February 7, 2005

sonofsamiam: Those work best with honey still in them.
posted by melt away at 3:21 PM on February 7, 2005

Gross pointed out that you could make a bong out of most anything, and all the prosecutor could respond with was "but there are 10,000+ bongs off the street."

This dovetails nicely with Denis Leary's observation, "Marijuana doesn't lead to harder drugs. It leads to carpentry."
posted by jonp72 at 3:34 PM on February 7, 2005

I can always look back to those early C&C movies to get a good taste and reminder of my So Cal childhood. To me, they are an important thread in our cultural fabric. Knowing that Chong was imprisoned, albeit an almost resort prison, for "kind of" endorsing a product that is "kind of" illegal makes me very sad. BTW one of my favorite scenes, and I've done this myself (but in the garage), was when he fired up his Harley in the living room while jammin to equally loud music. Sgt. Stedenko would have just given him a ticket.
posted by snsranch at 4:16 PM on February 7, 2005

jonp72,
Haha dovetails
posted by CCK at 4:17 PM on February 7, 2005

I waited through 38 minutes of this crap to hear 'the DOJ flunky', which was my reason for listening. What tendentious bilge as well as a poorly constructed tag (nice job Ogre). Terry Gross could not dislodge her nose from Tommy Chong's, er, whatever. Teee hee hee. You smoked dope.
Heard 'em, saw 'em. Loooong time ago. Ho effing hum.
posted by nj_subgenius at 4:45 PM on February 7, 2005

Okay, you've listened this interview...
but have you listened to this interview...
ON WEED??
posted by hellbient at 4:49 PM on February 7, 2005

Er, no. I have no brownies, Chinese crackly noodles or guacamole. And no dope :(
posted by nj_subgenius at 5:02 PM on February 7, 2005

...weed...etc.
posted by nj_subgenius at 5:03 PM on February 7, 2005

What I found most interesting was Chong's comment about performing sober for the most part.
posted by spaghetti at 11:52 PM on February 7, 2005

By the time I got to college and tried weed, Cheech & Chong were pretty much over. So I ingested nearly all their comedy in a non-polluted state, and to a teenager, anyway, it was still pretty damn funny.

Their movies were certainly less riotous than the radio bits (yes, whippersnappers, there was a time when Cheech & Chong were international stars and yet had never made a single movie!) if only because the shorter form allowed them to temper the anything-goes lunacy with strict, well-thought-out comedy structure. That said, my fave moment is in (I think) Next Movie, when Chong says "I'm gonna turn this glass into a dick!"

They certainly had no redeeming social value, and separately I find them uninteresting, but as a team they had an enduring effect on our culture. I know a schoolteacher and still find myself, when she mentions her class, involuntarily emitting "cleh-aaaassss..."

I doubt I'm the only one.
posted by soyjoy at 7:57 AM on February 8, 2005

does anyone have any links with info on the movie they're working together on? I couldn't find anything on imdb
posted by analogue at 10:45 AM on February 9, 2005

You're not, soyjoy. And, thanks to that record, my brothers and I spent the rest of our teen years annoying the heck out of my mom by announcing "I gotta go to the can, man!" I never particularly got into their drug humor, but some C&C routines never failed to make me laugh. I still remember the first time we heard "Earache, My Eye" on the car radio...my stodgy ol' dad actually laughed out loud, especially at the "oh, that didn't even hurt, man. Oh, what're ya trying to do, tickle me?" part. I think that that record is one that every parent can identify with.
posted by Oriole Adams at 10:47 AM on February 9, 2005

to a teenager, anyway, it was still pretty damn funny.

The 'humor' is about 'rebelling' or at least opposition to 'the system'.

As a teenager - rebellion looks good. As a DOJ official - rebellion needs to be squashed.

Good for the both of 'em that they can still get money for thier act. No matter how funny/unfunny it is.
posted by rough ashlar at 7:59 PM on February 9, 2005