IFC TV

Scott Aukerman's TV show "Comedy Bang Bang" premieres tonight at 10pm on IFC

Writer, performer, podcaster, and impressario Scott Aukerman has created a show called "Comedy Bang Bang" on IFC which premieres tonight at 10pm. In the same way that his "Comedy Bang Bang" podcast is not a simple interview podcast, "Comedy Bang Bang" the TV show is nothing like a TV talk show. Yes, there's some chairs on a set, and yes, there is musical accompaniment by surreal musical humorist Reggie Watts, and yes, there are comedians/performers as guests - but what they talk about is not limited to their next film or TV project, and how they talk is not limited to expected human language. Is the show a parody of a talk show or is it its own "thing"? How many talk shows take off into other locations, times, and dimensions? Perhaps "dementions" is a better word. The show is absurd, surreal, but most importantly, funny. Aukerman kindly gave us a few minutes to chat late last week:

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The cover of Reggie Watts' new CD/DVD "A Live In Central Park"

Reggie Watts is on a roll right now and he's coming to town tonight to perform his incredibly original melange of comedy and music at the Fonda Theare. Within a period of 4 weeks Reggie Watts will have had his "A Live At Central Park" Comedy Central special premiere coinciding with dual CD and DVD release of the uncensored material, he will have embarked on a tour to support this release (bringing him to LA and all across the country), and the IFC premiere on Friday, June 8, at 10pm, of "Comedy Bang! Bang!", a parody of a late night comedy talk show where Watts has been billed as a musical cohort who does much more than just provide banter and a catchy tune.

If you watched the Comedy Central premiere of the special, Watts' 13-track CD is gloriously uncensored, preserving the rhythm and energy of the original live performance. Although these bits and songs are "funny," the layers of material often contain references, if you listen carefully, to universal themes of providing love to others and a need to stop violence. Damn you Watts for luring us in with laughter! But for some people these references are so subtle they very well could miss them in the first few listens because amusement is the primary purpose. Favorite tracks, and these were difficult to pick, include "Having Sex," "Tweet Yourself Right," and "Reggiohead."

Tonight's show at the Ford Theatre will be an ideal venue to take in the Reggie Watts experience. If you go, prepare to laugh and dance.

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Thomas Attila Lewis

Amy Poehler, Aubrey Plaza, and Aziz Ansari of NBC's "Parks and Recreation" at the 2012 Peabody Awards, Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York, May 21, 2012

The 2012 ceremony of the Peabody Awards was held this Monday at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. The awards are bestowed in 2011 so, technically, these are the 2011 awards, leave it up to a bunch of intellectuals to complicate things. We spoke with "Portlandia" co-creators Carrie Brownstein and Jonathan Krisel who gave huge props to KPCC in the above video.

In the videos below: we ask "Portlandia" co-creator/co-star Fred Armisen if he will be bringing one of his favorite bands, cult punkers No Means No, on the show next season; Nikolaj Coster-Waldau gave us some insight on his "Game of Thrones" character Jaime Lannister; Retta, Jim O'Heir, and Nick Offerman of "Parks and Recreation" give us some laughs; and Alex Trebek of "Jeopardy" strongly hints that he would like to be a corpse in a TV crime series.

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