This American Life Parody
July 6, 2007 11:58 AM   Subscribe

 
I almost can't tell the difference.
posted by ageispolis at 12:08 PM on July 6, 2007


Ha. I didn't think this would be all that funny, but it's pretty spot on. Not quite as good as this Onion article, but a good parody.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 12:15 PM on July 6, 2007


I've been hoping for a third for ages. They're very good.
posted by Mayor Curley at 12:15 PM on July 6, 2007




Really well done. His Ira Glass impression is hilariously accurate.
posted by Dr-Baa at 12:22 PM on July 6, 2007


First one was better.

Jesse Thorn, are you co-producing this still?
posted by parmanparman at 12:23 PM on July 6, 2007


That Onion article OverlappingElvis linked to is doubly worth it if only for the perfect written representation of Ira's cadence in the last paragraph:

"When we finished, I have to tell you, I felt something I never expected: a profound sense of contentment—maybe even relief," Glass said. "Afterwards, the other producers and I sat around for a long while, remarking on how interesting and strange it was to finally complete the study, and how perhaps it is, in some way, symbolic of life in general."
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 12:24 PM on July 6, 2007


Great post! I laughed out loud.
posted by eddydamascene at 12:48 PM on July 6, 2007


Great post. I hate that program and this parody captures why. It's spot on. I couldn't stop laughing.
posted by about_time at 12:55 PM on July 6, 2007


Jesse Thorn here!

Yeah, I still produce their podcast, but to their credit, they did all the editing on this one themselves. I was kind of jealous of what a good job they did. The parody is obviously spot-on, but they way they create these bizarre worlds in their parodies is much more National Lampoon than it is Mad Magazine... iow, the joke is not that he talks like Ira Glass, the parody is a vehicle for their worldview.

If people enjoy this, you seriously, seriously won't want to miss out on their book SkyMaul. It is unfathomably funny. Seriously I can't believe how funny it is. I just talked to Patton Oswalt yesterday, who blurbed it, and I asked him if he ever got a proper copy, and he saw that as an opportunity for a two minute expletive-laced rant about how great and funny it was. And I agree completely.

Folks should also check out the rest of their podcast.

A few faves:
Phone Call to the 14th Century

The Law Firm of Glinder & Glinder

Captain Kirk (tripping balls)

In addtion to the web link above, here's a link that should refer you to their iTunes page.
posted by YoungAmerican at 1:17 PM on July 6, 2007 [5 favorites]


Apparently there was supposed to be a bit of a TAL backlash?

I think, though, given the ridiculous amount of analysis that produced this parody, it's fair to assume that the Kasper Hausers aren't (completely) anti-TAL. Right?
posted by Reggie Digest at 1:23 PM on July 6, 2007 [1 favorite]


Neither I nor Kasper Hauser (as far as I know) are anti-TAL at ALL. In fact, I know at least one of the KH guys occaisionally pitches to TAL. It just has a very specific form and cultural context that make it ripe for parody.
posted by YoungAmerican at 1:39 PM on July 6, 2007 [1 favorite]


The Onion, story is funny, but anyone who listens regularly knows that as an accusation it's way off the mark. I haven't heard as many stories documenting prison life, military life and oodles of other non-upper-middle-class topics anywhere else on radio or TV.
posted by hmaroon at 2:06 PM on July 6, 2007


Very funny. The music was the best part. Where do they get that air pudding? Not the Ventures. That other stuff.

That said, in the beginning--and I mean the very beginning--I was huge TAL fan. Listen to the "Hands on a Hard Body" segment and be amazed. Most public radio sucked before Ira et al. helped it along. But TAL's jumped the shark, as all excellent things must. I'd like to see him do something new. I bet I'd like it.
posted by MarshallPoe at 2:25 PM on July 6, 2007 [1 favorite]


Their skit about "El Mundo de PERRRROOO!" makes me fucking cry every time - these guys are geniuses. "Spicy Pony Head" is also a classic.
posted by tristeza at 2:51 PM on July 6, 2007


I thought Kaspar Hauser died 174 years ago.
posted by Pope Guilty at 3:08 PM on July 6, 2007


I think many of the TAL shows they do now aren't quite as strong as the old ones were, although they are also just suffering from "old things always better when they was new" syndrome. But the show they did a year or so ago on Habeas Corpus was really, really excellent -- in fact I really like most of the shows they've done addressing how America is responding to (perceived?) threats of terrorism.
posted by Deathalicious at 3:33 PM on July 6, 2007


I love the KH podcast... pretty much all of 'em are funny, even after repeated listens. You've gotta get 'em off their asses to do more of those things, Jesse.
posted by ph00dz at 4:53 PM on July 6, 2007


Did it occur to anyone else that this guy speaks with the cadence of Ira Glass and with the articulation of Matt Haughey? I'm serious.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 5:49 PM on July 6, 2007


W/R/T the Ira Glass impression, it's really an impression much more than it is an impersonation. If you listen to Rob (of KH) doing Ira and then Ira, their voices are wildly dissimilar. Glass just has some really distinctive quirks.

As far as new episodes: they have some stuff they're working on, but they're also writing a new book. The thing about KH is that they all have serious professional jobs (doctor, lawyer, stanford prof, etc), so time is short for projects that don't pay :).

tristeza, I am so glad you liked Mundo de Perros. That is one of my all-time faves, but they don't perform it much. I had to convince them to tape it for the podcast.
posted by YoungAmerican at 6:31 PM on July 6, 2007


Oh, no way, Jesse, that wasn't just done for the podcast? Jesus, it's so perfect, I assumed they only did it there....I think if I saw it live I might choke to death.

"This is my show."
posted by tristeza at 6:45 PM on July 6, 2007


I remember finding this from Merlin's blog and being bummed because I was working on my own parody at the same time and KH did it so much better.

Also, no way, Jesse is on mefi! Sweet!
posted by mathowie at 8:33 PM on July 6, 2007


"This is a real show, and you did a bad job." - Mundo de Perros
posted by YoungAmerican at 6:24 PM on July 7, 2007


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