Wake You Up When September Ends? Okay.

Ah, September. You went by so fast. How can it be the end of you already? We're still debating whether or not it's okay to wear white and now you want us to start thinking about Halloween costumes? Sigh.

In honor of the end of September and a certain song by Green Day that has been stuck in our heads all day, we present images of My Damn Channel stars sleeping so that we can tell them to "WAKE UP!" just like the song asks us to.

Wake up, Daily Grace! It's the end of September!


Wake up, Kristen Schaal! It's the end of September!


Wake up, Gigi! It's the end of September!

So we hope you're awake now."Waking you up when September ends" was kind of a weird request, right? Pretty arbitrary. We mean, if you're going to hibernate, why not just wake up in March? Whatever. We're your friends so we'll play alarm clock for you but just this once. Unless you pay us or something. Then we'd probably do it more.

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Meet The Worst Generation

Editor's Note: Today we have guest bloggers! The Worst Generation is our newest series and we thought it might be nice for you to get to know its stars a little more intimately, so here they are:

So, My Damn Channel wants us to do some type of blog thingy to kinda introduce ourselves to the people of the internet. Since we don't have any actual "fan mail" (or even "fans" for that matter), I've ripped off a few questions from a Justin Bieber fan site for us to answer. Answer these bad boys and any other questions you can think of to get this bad boy rollin'.

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If your house was on fire and you could only take one thing with you what would it be?
- Roxy, 13, Detroit

JIM: Hi Roxy. Thanks for watching. I'd probably have to grab my amazing-incredible-pornography box, a.k.a. my computer. Either that or my collection of Simpsons action figures.

THOMAS: Bauer, he's the only hope any of us have for success. And you're an idiot Jim the question clearly stated one thing that you would take and you clearly listed two.

JIM: I get nervous talking to people from Detroit. She probably just wants to steal our stuff.

MITCH: My depression pills.



Where do you get your best love advice?
- Lonely in Little Rock

MITCH: My dad once told me. "never take home the three legged dog from the pound just because you feel sorry for it." That made since when I was 9 and it still does to this day.

JIM: I've tried it all; tarot cards, gypsy palm readings, fortune cookies, magic 8 balls... and I found the best place for you to get your love advise... is from inside your heart :)

THOMAS: I just watch what Mitch does, and it teaches me exactly what NOT to do as far as love is concerned.



If you could  have dinner with 3 people, dead or alive, who would it be?

THOMAS: I don't really care as long as those three people are buying. And it better be some gourmet shit, if I have to go listen to three other people bore me to death I don't want to do it over a Big Mac and fries.

MITCH: Bo Jackson, The Pope, and Dennis Rodman

JIM: Wow Mitch, what are the odds of the Pope even responding to that evite?  I'm going with Jenna Jameson, Pamela Anderson and Angelina Jolie. In their primes. Next question.


How does it feel to be mobbed by screaming girls?

JIM: You get used to it.

THOMAS: Feels normal, they've been doing it my whole life.

MITCH: Sometimes, I don't feel worthy of it all. Other times, it gets annoying having to hear all the jibber-jabber that comes along with it.


Describe your dream girl.

MITCH: I hear your dream girl is actually a version of your mother. So probably an annoying old bitch.

JIM: My dream girl is funny, smart, nice smile, pretty eyes, caring of others, and got an ass so big you can see it from the front.

THOMAS: Depends on my mood. And the season.


What would a fan have to do to date you?

THOMAS: Tell me their daddy was Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Jerry Bruckheimer or any such type of person, so that I can leave these clowns of TWG behind and get started on my life doing something that is actually worth a shit.

JIM: Be 18 years old and have a vagina. A trust fund wouldn't hurt either.

MITCH: Have you ever heard of a ballcuzzi?


Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

JIM: Hopefully off of unemployment and out of my parents' basement.

MITCH: Cute cottage near the sea with roommates that make me breakfast and flush the toilet once in a while... or unemployed in my parents basement.

THOMAS: Dating Spielberg's daughter.


How do you deal with all the haters out there?

MITCH: I always carry a butterfly knife I got in Baja. Can't hate when you're getting stabbed.

THOMAS: In the words of Tupac: " Fuck it. I feel like I shine. And I don't give a fuck how many white people, the Media, black people, playa haters, police, whoever, try to darken my shine, Im'a always shine through. "

JIM: Uhhhhh wait what? 


What would you do if all the fame went away tomorrow?

JIM: If all of this fame was suddenly taken away from me, I'd probably blow my head off.

MITCH: It would be a long way to fall, but I'm sure I could still pull ass so who cares.

THOMAS: Be excited that I'd never have to answer stupid questions like these again. Is this really what you want us to do Jimmy? Whataya' stupid or something?


How would you describe your style?

THOMAS: Lazy

JIM:  Oh I dunno, maybe rural-chic with an urban twist.

MITCH: Commando, Ballistic, and Fresh.


How do you maintain such a hot body?

THOMAS: Layers and no AC.

MITCH: Commitment to Excellence.

JIM: More like commitment to purging after every meal. I usually lift like 8 hours a day, 6 days a week.

Editor: Uh, thanks, guys! We'll all be watching you and Bauer every Tuesday at www.MyDamnChannel.com/TheWorstGeneration! And following you on Twitter at @TheWorstGen!  And on Facebook at Facebook.com/TheWorstGeneration!

Otherwise we'll be avoiding Mitch and his butterfly knife.

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#SnarkWeek

If you haven't noticed, Michael Ian Black has been hosting Comedy Central's #SnarkWeek.  That's right, #SnarkWeek.

If you’ve ever felt left out not being able to participate in Shark Week, then #SnarkWeek is for you.  Tweet the snarkiest tweets you’ve got with the eponymous hashtag #SnarkWeek.  If they're snarky enough, they’ll be featured on Comedy Central's very snarky stand up page.  Snark!

The week culminates with Michael Ian Black’s comedy special “Michael Ian Black: Very Special,” which premieres Saturday on Comedy Central at 11:00 ET. The Comic’s Comic interviewed Michael about #SnarkWeek (the pound sign is very important) here.  And as always, you can see Black’s face in this Wainy Days episode, or on our very own Stella Channel.

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FREEDOM WINS

It's an historic day on planet earth. We salute every family who's suffered terror. We salute our President. We salute every woman and man serving freedom on the frontlines of a war that goes on.

We'll continue to entertain you at My Damn Channel as we honor and praise what's right and what's just.

"Justice has been done." (President Barack Obama, 5.1.11)

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Thoughts of the Week

As an avid fan of Super Bowl Champions the Green Bay Packers, I've spent much of the last week celebrating by shoveling as many different kinds of cheese down my throat as possible. True, this is how I mostly go about life to begin with, but the cholesterol choking off my arteries and slowly murdering me has been especially festive as of late.
 
But not everyone was pleased with what went down on their TVs last Sunday. Steelers fans, sure. But music fans also suffered a devastating one-two punch in the forms of Christina Aguilera's freedom-hating National Anthem flub, and the Black Eyed Peas' over-aggressive imperative to "DRANK!" And then there are those weirdoes who only watch the Super Bowl "for the ads." And for these folks there was nothing more controversial and upsetting than Groupon's "save your money"-themed ads skewering celeb activism.
 
Okay, fair enough. A drunken, sports-obsessed viewing audience and a perhaps too-subtle bit of Swiftian satire do not the perfect marriage make. But if you're looking to be shocked, angered, and perplexed by advertising, these videos remain the gold standard...
 
First, we have this cute lil' nightmare factory from famed Japanese artist Takashi Murakami.
  
What is Inochi-Kun? My best guess is ceaseless, unending horror. Don't even think about mushrooms while you watch this, or your eyeballs will start to bleed and white foam will start to come out of your nose.
 
And then there's this gem, from a pre-Muppets Jim Henson, shilling for the now-defunct Wilkins Coffee. 
 
Why is this lumpy little proto-Kermit being such a dick about coffee? What is his agenda? Frankly, I don't like being strong-armed into drinking dirty water. No wonder the Wilkins Company's mafia tactics drove them out of business.
 
But if you're looking for puppets, why not check out the frightening-yet-friendly beasties of Spook House Dave!? 
 
In this episode, the monsters try to cope with Dave's absence while he's away at summer camp. Suffice to say, they don't exactly hold it together. Maybe they just need to get out of the castle. I hear Groupon has some great deals on hot air balloon rides.

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My Damn Channel: Our 3rd Birthday

My Damn Channel is 3 years old today.

Punk was still a baby when this photo was taken. Nixon is looming in the background. He's pointing the finger!

The pic is taken during a time called "college radio" before consultants sucked freedom out of the souls of rock radio madmen and mystical women who turned us onto music completely capable of changing and defining our lives.

I first met Harry Shearer that year. I chased rock dreams through radio, television and film - and called Harry in late 2006, with the idea to start a then-unnamed business which became My Damn Channel. I called Don Was. I called David Wain.

We launched My Damn Channel exactly 3 years ago, on July 31, 2007.



We give artists we love, trust and respect all the tools they need to skip over stone walls of multi-national media empires and create video delivered directly to you.

We've never been stupid enough to think www.MyDamnChannel.com would be the most visited online destination in the world. But we built a home base big and bad enough for every creator to have their own channel and we built a massive distribution network to move video onto every digital platform where we can make a solid business deal to support the work. The good shit ain't free.

We built a business driven by advertising, licensing and the certainty that we can bring you talent and content in special events later this year - worthy of a buck or two from you to support the art. Crazy, right?

Artists like Illeana Douglas prove that companies like IKEA can connect in a whole new way with millions of people watching millions of videos every hour. Illeana birthed a baby called "Easy to Assemble," which Ad Age dubbed "the most-watched sponsored web show."



We survived the world's worst economy and found our way to success because YOU watch and share our videos. THANK YOU.

We have artists that trust us to respect their art. THANK YOU.

We have sponsors and business partners who believe that we can deliver the good shit and guarantee millions of eyes on it all. THANK YOU.

We have backers who put their faith and coin into a vision for a new show business as powerful today as television was in the 50's. YOU GET IT! THANK YOU!

We have a man named Warren Chao, our Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, who knew how to stop us from avoiding most of the mistakes baby companies make to screw it all up. Warren: I've never known a single human being as smart, dedicated and effective inside a company as you. THANK YOU.

Biggest thanks to our families for not killing us when the hill seemed to high to climb! 

RESPECT and THANKS to every one of you who have spent a day inside our small, evolving staff of rebels and business partners.
(Keep an eye out for your party invite!)



We start year four today. Documented in "the world's longest press release" here - with all our new channels for your immediate inspection.

One more major announcement is coming out in days to prove that you'll still have My Damn Channel to kick around for years to come. 
F Nixon.

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The King And I: The Irreplaceable Howard Stern

Like millions of us, my stepmom is a lifelong Howard Stern fan. She just sent this photo taken off of Howard TV, airing our in-studio interview from earlier this week. I had the honor of being Howard Stern's guest on his Tuesday, 420 show (scroll to 840a).

Response is coming into My Damn Channel via email, phones, video views, comments, new subscribers, tweets, wall postings, and even a live spotting this afternoon in a clothing store (to complete the surreality). The influx of intense energy all flows back to a man undeniably uniquely qualified to hold the heavyweight title: "King of All Media."

Howard endures as one of the most talented and honest souls alive. He embodies the freedom of speech with every breath. For all who've been fired, laid off, downsized, pink slipped, discharged, axed, or job eliminated...it's hard to imagine speaking truth to power on a live microphone the way Howard has done it for decades.

I first followed Howard Stern on a carrier current, college radio station, 64 WTBU at Boston University. (There's a great scene depicting TBU in "Private Parts.")

If you've ever chased a radio dream, then your college years are likely the last time and place you ever experienced the fear and thrill of exercising your freedom of speech over a live mic.

Primordial FM rock radio stations were created in the late 1960's. Early heroes like Harry Shearer and Steven Clean were blowing minds at places like KPPC in Pasadena, California (which eventually became the world famous KROQ).

The combined forces of original radio talents and pre-corporate rock music created stations throughout the 70s powerful enough to infect audiences with a sense of community, purpose, passion, sex and fun that began to hit the wall around 1980.

I was sitting on the front steps of my apartment on Beacon Street in Boston with Steven Clean and my best friend, Mike Isabella the night Ronald Reagan was elected President. I was 20. I was about to drop out of college and take a full-time job as a rock radio jock at WAAF out in Worcester, Mass. One year later, I had the only radio thrill that came closest to being on Howard's show this week. Lightning struck and we convinced the Rolling Stones to do a private show for our station's fans in 1981 to start up the "Tattoo You" tour.

But, back to Mr. Clean. I'd been Steven's intern for a time at WCOZ in Boston. At that point in his career, Clean had been fired by many of the best radio stations in the country. He was a real life inspiration for the Dr. Johnny Fever character in "WKRP in Cincinnati." Steven was incredibly talented, brilliant, a true music expert and fan...and he was rebellious enough to drive the most patient souls to the edge of their sanity.

Considering the nation's new President, Steven held a joint firmly in my face and said, "See this? This is OVER!"
By the time of Reagan's second term, most radio station managers had a "Just Say No" policy for disc jockeys expressing free thoughts on mic, or taking free reign over any music playlist.

A small number of former radio station program directors shaved their beards, cut their hair, bought expensive suits, and armed themselves with halliburton briefcases filled with blow and bullshit designed to convince every fearful radio exec that they had the only secrets to ratings success, fortune and fame.

Conformity soon became the norm. Tighter playlists made stations sound the same from city-to-city. The job of disc jockey was transforming free thinkers into people paid to read positioning slogans, timechecks and weather forecasts.

In the midst of all this unholy homogenization, Howard Stern began to build a radio show free from the constraints put on most of his competitors. His talent grew on the radio and expanded with every carefully planned new project he launched.

Superfans know that Howard pays homage to legends who came before him like Lenny Bruce and George Carlin. I can't think of another entertainer who has more succesfully won battles with corporate brass than Howard. One of the many surprises about the real man to outsiders is how he maintains his position with grace and wisdom.

No one knows what the next chapter will be for the Stern show in 2011. Assume Howard can see the possible moves on the chess board more clearly than most. As a fan, I'll be following as I have since the beginning. As a business owner, My Damn Channel stands ready to serve The King anytime he calls. 

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My Damn Channel Oscar Predictions

Movie geniuses everywhere, including the amazing Roger Ebert, say this year's Oscars are more predictable than ever before. My Damn Channel opens our Hurt Locker full of fun to reveal the full list of winners you'll need to pick to take home the Oscar pool cash at tonight's viewing party. We'll be ready to be attacked or thanked in the morning:

Actor:   Jeff Bridges*

Supporting Actor:   Christoph Waltz

Actress:   Sandra Bullock

Supporting Actress:   Mo’Nique

Best Picture:   The Hurt Locker

Director:   Kathryn Bigelow

Foreign Film:   The White Ribbon (Germany)

Animated Film:   Up

Art Direction:   Avatar

Cinematography:   Avatar

Costume:   The Young Victoria

Documentary Feature:   The Cove

Documentary Short:   China’s Unnatural Disaster

Editing:   The Hurt Locker

Makeup:   Star Trek

Original Score:   Up

Original Song:   The Weary Kind (Crazy Heart)

Animated Short:   A Matter of Loaf and Death

Live Action Short:   The Door

Sound Editing:   Avatar

Sound Mixing:   Avatar

Visual Effects:   Avatar

Adapted Screenplay:   Up In The Air

Original Screenplay:   Inglorious Basterds


* Note: An inspiration for Jeff Bridges' character in "Crazy Heart," and the man who wrote most of the songs in the film, is the great Texas musician, Stephen Bruton. Stephen died last May, just two weeks after finsihing all his work on the film with T Bone Burnett.  You can see two of Stephen's songs produced by Don Was on our music destination at My Damn Channel. They're on Stephen's site linked above as well.

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The Simpsons - 450th Episode!

Who says The Simpsons don't age??

This Sunday night, "The Simpsons" turn 20 yrs old and the Internet is going viral with excitement (I mean, hey, they're almost drinking age!). 

For those who don't know (welcome to Earth!) - our very own Harry Shearer performs a huge range of the voices for the characters on "The Simpsons", including (but not limited to):

• Mr. Burns
• Waylon Smithers
• Ned Flanders
• Principal Skinner
• Otto
• Reverend Lovejoy
• Dr Hibbert
• Kent Brockman
• Jasper
• Lenny
• Eddie (the cop)
• Rainier Wolfcastle (McBain)
• Scratchy
• Kang
• Mr. Bouvier (Marge's father)
• Dr. Marvin Monroe
• Herman
• Mr. Largo
• Marty (from KBBL)
• Dr Loren J. Pryor
• Jebediah Springfield
• Judge Snyder
• Sanjay (Apu's brother)

Wow!

Harry was featured in an interview with the Associated Press, and from there - it's spreading like a Winter Cold across the globe!

Here's a sneak peek:

Shearer, who began his career as a child actor... keeps a multiplicity of projects under way. He hosts his own signature channel on the "My Damn Channel" comedy Web site. "Matt [Groening] has a satirical, anti-authority streak," says Shearer. "From the beginning, 'The Simpsons' was taking the side of the family against all the authority figures and institutions that buffeted them in the modern world. Certainly, that resonated for me."

To celebrate - we're asking all of our readers/fans to dress up as Ned and attend church this Sunday (JUST KIDDING).  In all seriousness, check out some of the awesome articles going around on the web with Harry's exclusive interview and don't make plans this Sunday evening.  This week's episode ("Once Upon a Time in Springfield") will be one you won't want to miss!


(It doesn't hurt that they're mentioning My Damn Channel, either... whoo-hoo!!)

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LABOR DAY

Brad O'Farrell gave our almost official mascot the Labor Day treatment. Njoy. He's linked to one of our happiest videos of all-time.

New unemployment stats are the worst in 26 years. If you're like any of the dreamchasers at My Damn Channel, it's a fair bet you're no stranger to losing a gig in TV, radio, music, or the arts & little sciences.

"Go Your Own Way" may be a lame, overplayed, 70's sing-along...but it's also fine solution for what to do after getting tossed out of a gig.

We're raising a glass to everyone with the brains and the backbone to embrace a new way to get your work seen by an audience large enough to actually make you money.

One last-ever reference to Fleetwood Mac...

We got some sad news over the weekend, that one of our best co-cons at My Damn Channel is moving on. Vivian Kyinn provides much of the mystical glue that holds this house together. She wrote and co-produced a film called White Wall which got her to Cannes and now she's decided to get after her movie-making passions full-time. BIG THANKS & BIG LOVE to one of the better humans we know.

Warren Chao posted the replacement gig based in our LA office this weekend. Economic insanity created hundreds of candidates in hours. If you're read "The Night Feed" and know the best human for this gig - email: Jobs@MyDamnChannel.com

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