Today's song is...
Phone Calls From The Dead
I think for the purposes of this feature, this should just refer to the song that introduces the PCFTD segment since the segment is not actually a song. And that song is an entertaining enough little dirge. But it can not really be separated from the segment. Which is one of the most entertaining and ridiculous special features the band has ever introduced into their shows. I think part of what made it so funny was the amount of time it left Linnell alone on the stage to ad lib. Sure Flans could drive the conversation once he got on the "phone" but it was still Linnell on the stage facing the crowd. The other thing that made it work so well was that it gave the guys an opportunity to really play off each other's insanity. It really was like a fantastic five minute comedy act.
I only got to see one Phone Call From The Dead myself. It was with Eleanor Roosevelt and I remember thinking at the time that it was really weird, because I did not know anything about the band yet at that point. But I wish now I could go back and watch it again because I think I would appreciate it a lot more. Because I've listened to quite a few versions of the segment on live show recordings now and some of them made me laugh so hard I hurt. That is some seriously high quality humor. And not a bad little introduction song either.
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My favorite version of this (that I've heard, anyway) is the one from Durham in 2007. Eleanor Roosevelt calls from her crypt where she lives with her cats (who are also dead) and complains that she can't get cable in her crypt, just YouTube, and then she sings a Van Halen song with Linnell and starts sobbing about how much she hates YouTube and the cable company won't return her phone calls.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite involved Carl Sagan's "brother", Richard Milhous Sagan. He sang a children song about brushing your teeth. Then later during Particle Man, he tried to defeat Triangle Man, but was thwarted.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite...it's a tie between Emily Dickinson and MC Bones.
ReplyDelete-Kathy