Bumped

Bon Iver [Late Show with David Letterman, 12.11.08]: Just realized Mr. Brawny made the record Timberlake thinks he can make with Rick Rubin. Plus, he’s trying AutoTune and multiple dudes hitting drums at the same time? Heartbreak it is, then. A- [video]

Zooey Deschanel [Jimmy Kimmel Live!, 12.11.08]: I feel like it’s my Tumblr duty to write about this Zooey appearance. I also feel like I may get banned from Tumblr for pointing out it wasn’t great. (I feel a lot.) Is this the Zooey tipping back point? The fuck no sharks moment? I saw The Happening. I don’t want to see Yes Man (though the clip here is a highlight). Is it sexist to note her biggest and best cultural mark this year was made with Him? Hope not. Sure, she’s close to normal. But there’s such a thing as too close to normal, i.e., cute; the end. Is she purposely trying to kill all the Tumblr stalkerism with that prom dress and Hot Topic-combo ribbonwear? If so, kudos. If not, 500 Days of Summer better not suck. C [video]

Mike Huckabee [The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, 12.09.08]: With all the talk of Jay and 10 p.m. and spanking new ideas like JayTalkers and replacing the band with Rock-afire Explosion, I’m thinking about Jon Stewart. Mostly because I tried to watch The Tonight Show yesterday and couldn’t. The Daily Show is still the most consistently funny late night show (granted: lead is dwindling post-election). But if Jon was to take over The Late Show in 2010 (or 2012), he would need to talk to stars. Jon is not good at talking to stars: inside joke, Big Daddy joke, awkwardly laughing at something the star said that’s not funny, out. The best Daily Show interviews are the confrontational ones, where Jon can barely look the guest in the eye as if to say, “I know this is a fun show and maybe you didn’t expect this but I really hate your book/politics/sense of self and I don’t feel like hiding it, sorry.” This Mike Huckabee interview was one of those.

Huckabee is promoting a book all about how people should be nice to each other. And he doesn’t think gay people should have the right to get married. This is a conflict that Huckabee doesn’t acknowledge, but it bothers Jon Stewart. A lot. “At what age did you decide not to be gay?” isn’t an applause line, really. It’s a shake-some-sense line. And I can see why Jon’s  pressing here—Huckabee seems like a decent guy who can understand reason. “Seems” being the keyword. It’s sad how Huckabee is totally oblivious to the fact that he’s on the wrong side of history, and I think Jon wanted to plant that seed, basically. If so, he did a good, polite job. The preaching to the choir aspect was (relatively) muted. And, of course, Huckabee’s game. It was just uncomfortable enough. But this can’t be his go-to schitck for 11:30 on a network. Dave claims to be dumb, but it’s only half true; his intelligence lies in experience, and he makes it work. Jon is more of a nerd. Which is great. For Comedy Central. At 11. Elsewhere? Not so great. A-

This week’s top ten late night guests in order of presumed excellence:

10. Jennifer Connelly [Late Show with David Letterman, 12.08.08]
09. Tokyo Police Club [Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, 12.10.08]
08. Paula Abdul [Late Show with David Letterman, 12.10.08]
07. Taylor Swift [Last Call with Carson Daly, 12.10.08]
06. T-Pain [The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, 12.08.08]
05. Tom Cruise [The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, 12.11.08]
04. Joel McHale [Late Night with Conan O’Brien, 12.09.08]
03. Will Smith [The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, 12.08.08]
02. Stephen Colbert [Late Night with Conan O’Brien, 12.08.08]
01. Don Rickles [Late Night with Conan O’Brien, 12.12.08]

Don Rickles (ft. Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and John Wayne) [The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, 10.15.75]