Greatest Colbert Report ever? 7/20

The thing with Julian Bond was great, the congressman interview was great, and he made Brokaw at least a little funny. I enjoyed the hell out of the show tonight.

 

I missed it. Damn.

 

So did I. Double damn.

 

I just saw the repeat and I concur, that was awesome. Julian Bond was excellent, and the congressman was hilarious. I barely even noticed the absence of "the word," which is one of my favorite segments.

On the other hand, did anyone else see the one the other night when Colbert had Dhani Jones on? What a fraud that guy is. Tries to portray himself as a "renaissance man" but he didn't say one remotely original or intelligent thing. Colbert kept encouraging him to come up with something poetic - about his emmy, the pictures on the wall - and Jones had nothing. In the end all he did was pick up a bunch of books and read their titles. Yeah dude, that was some poetry. What a douchenozzle.

 

I actually thought the book thing was pretty good. I'd say it's probably hard to come up with a poem on the spot without sounding like a douchenozzle.

 

Dhani Jones is incredibly smart and well-rounded, unlike many athletes and many people in general. Just because he's not a one-line witticist like Colbert doesn't mean he's a fraud. And yes, the book title "poem" was pretty impressive.

 

He could have said a few lines from a poem he'd previously composed, if he's ever composed any. I guess I just don't buy his shtick. He certainly didn't come across particularly intelligent in that interview. Colbert owned his ass, and the good interviewees, that I've seen, are able to pick up on the give-and-go with Colbert. Also Jones' little story about how his dad didn't know what to name him until he'd seen Dhani do "his thing for 2-3 weeks" was so beyond stupid. Dhani must know very little about newborns.

 

What's the schtick? The bow-tie thing? Yeah, he designs them. And wears them. So what?

As for not coming across, would you ask a writer you don't know to read a few lines from his book? Do you ask a musician you don't know to sing a few lines from his song? He's not there to give samples of his body of work. And yeah, he was out of his element with Colbert. Dhani's not a comedian, he can't give-and-take with one-liners like that. But Colbert is the master at interviewing (comedic, parody division), better than Jon Stewart, better than Conan, better than anybody I've ever seen, for what he does.

If you're interested, go to www.dhanijones.com. Compared to any football player, Dhani Jones is a breath of fresh air. Few others would even dare to go on Colbert anyway.

 

look, buckweaver, let's just disagree; i respect you have a different opinion. From my point of view, he was billed as a renaissance man coming on there, so yeah, why shouldn't he give a sample of his work? And yes, I would ask an writer I don't know to read a few lines from his book, or a musician to sing a few lines. Why on earth not? He's obviously open about having written poetry, from what I gather - so why not rattle off one line?

And to get back to the original post, did you see the repeat with Julian Bond & Brokaw?

 

Opinions can differ. What I meant was, tell me one author that comes on a talk show and reads from his book. If a band is a musicial act on a talk show, then yes, they'll sing a song or two. But if they're on as a guest, they're most likely not going to sing anything. Why would Dhani Jones -- who does write poetry, but that's certainly not his calling card -- be any different?

 

Because I thought from the way he was introduced that was the reason he was on the show - it wasn't because he plays football, but because he's a poetry-writing footballer. So I was disappointed not to hear anything other than him reading off book titles, that's all.

 

The thing with the congressman from Florida was hilarious. I can't believe the guy was stupid enough to say he liked prostitutes and cocaine because they are fun.