In anticipation of the 20th anniversary of the debut of Tim and Eric‘s Awesome Show, Great Job!, one of the few TV shows that we make some space to cover and discuss, here’s a partial rundown of musicians who appeared on the sketch show. The very best and strangest cameos are up top, the right-up-there picks are right up there on the list, and the last ones are last.
1. “Weird Al” Yankovic (seven episodes total)
2. Josh Groban
For all the talk about the upheaval in the music industry – a topic of discussion that started 25 years ago and hasn’t abated since – the monopolistic industry is still riddled with some of the same unsavory practices and behaviors that have persisted in it for decades. That includes major label incursions, which fertilize egocentrism in young, wanna-be musicians who, for the most part, are lucky if their careers last more than a few years.
The Bad Penny was reminded once again this year that, while indie labels are struggling to stay afloat and quality musicians are working as hard as they can and trying to develop fresh ways to establish themselves, the industry still encompasses shiftless, entitled, 401k-backed major label signees as well. Those execs are the people who not only don’t know how good they’ve got it, they seem to believe they can always deny responsibility when something goes wrong and the blame lies squarely in their lap.
[Case in point: Read heretofore unpublished interviews with New York industrial-metal Black Satellite and try to locate any valuable insights, cleverness or deep thoughts.]
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